Chapter 28 – Little You

Sai Summers

I'd be surrounded by darkness for an infinite amount of time. I couldn't even see myself. I wonder if it looks like I've been shot, I debated. Probably not. It either looks like I'm dead or like I've been stitched up by a guy who would rather spend his time dissecting.

If this is death, I'd like to put a note in the suggestion box that it's an incredibly boring place. There's nothing here. The only way I know that I'm even here is that I can hear myself think. I wonder Shinigami-sama can do something about it. Maybe death needs tea-time to breakup the monotony of the mornings and afternoons. I know he like tea.

But Kid prefers coffee. Or maybe he just likes be difficult. Either way.

I've decided I'm taking the fact that I haven't seen anything nice and "holy" as a sign I'm not actually dead. I guess Kid actually found me. Stein probably operated on me.

So where the heck is this?

At some point at an unknown time, a light appeared. It was a cone of light coming down from an unknown position. In the dark it looked like a golden cone sitting on an unknown ground. Without knowing anything else about the darkness, I tried moving towards the light. I think I was walking, but without being able to see anything, it was hard to tell if I was moving, or the light was moving towards me.

At some point in the uncountable time, I reached the light. I was able to see myself for the first time, and I noticed I wasn't bloody. I looked like I had when I left for the factory with Kid and the sisters. There wasn't even blood or holes in my white shirt or on the wool coat Kid had given me.

That made me glad. I was feeling attached to this coat already. Or I had just started to pick up Kid's issues about cleanliness and perfection. Either way…

No wait, may that never happen. I don't know if the world could handle too people like him.

Amongst all of my musings, a scrapping sound distracted me. I looked down into the circle of like on the supposed-ground and saw what appeared to be a small boy.

It was Kid…as a little kid.

Which makes him, what? A little kid Kid? I pondered.

That was a hard concept to wrap my mind around. If I had a mind at the moment.

Since I could finally see myself, I understood my ability to kneel, which when was able to do; I could get a better look at him. It most certainly looked like Kid, but he couldn't have been more than five or six years old. The white lines in his hair shown brightly in the hard spotlight above us. Kid's dark hair shadowed his face. He was sitting on his heels, with his knees pulled up.

Little Kid was drawing invisible lines on the "ground" with his finger.

I looked at him, but he was too low to the ground with his head down to make eye contact. "Hey there, what'cha doing?"

He sniffed. "Nothing. There's nothing to do. I don't want to get dirty."

Somehow that didn't surprise me, and I noticed his black jacket and black shorts were spotless and lint-free. Even his loafers were shined to perfection. "You don't?"

He sniffed again and looked up at me. It was the same golden eyes I knew, except these one looked sad and…innocent. "No. I don't want to be dirty. All of the other kids go and do that. But…" He whispered. "I don't like that."

"Then…what do you like to do for fun?" I asked quietly.

He looked back at the ground. "I like to read." He said quietly.

I wasn't so good with the reassurance thing for kids. "Well, that's a good thing; you'll grow up and be really smart."

Little Kid was silent for a moment. "Big Sister?"

I watched his movements. "Hmm?"

He sniffed. "Why do the other kids make fun of me?"

That was a question I wasn't anticipating, but it still wasn't shocking to hear. "I didn't know they made fun of you, Kid."

He stood up, and rubbed his face with his left jacket sleeve. "They don't like me. They say I'm weird."

I wished I could tell him things would change when he got older, but I couldn't bring myself to lie to him…even if he wasn't a real person. "But you know what?" I asked, trying to sound upbeat.

"What?" He asked quietly.

"I like you." I told him, trying to smile.

He seemed surprised, and not disappointed. "You do?"

I straightened Little Kid's starched white tie that had become crooked in his kneeling. "Yeah, I think you're special. And so do a lot of other people."

He sniffed a final time. "Thanks, Big Sister."

I patter him on the left arm. "You're welcome, Kid."

Little Kid, the darkness, and the spot light were suddenly removed from existence. There were replaced by the much harsher light of reality.

***

Kid – in his older version – was sleeping on his folded arms on the edge of the bed I was resting on. His shirt collar and hair were ruffled, and his tie looked loose. He didn't have his usual state of desired perfection. Whatever he had been doing was obviously more important than his looks.

His breathing was deeper than if he had been awake, but he didn't snore like he was relaxed. I smoothed out his hair, and noticed his face skin was cold. "You're cold." I muttered.

"I would have thought you'd be more concerned with yourself." I heard from my right.

Stein was sitting backwards on the rolling desk chair that looked like it had come from next door. I vaguely remembered seeing something like it the first day Kid and I had been here.

"Hmm." I paused and thought for a moment, absentmindedly playing with Kid's hair. "If you're expecting something deep and mindful out of me about it, you're going to be waiting awhile..."

I noticed my left eye started to hurt and I rubbed it with my left hand.

Stein stood and walked to the right side of the bed. "What's the matter? I didn't notice anything wrong with your eyes." He searched in the right-hand pocket of his lab coat and pulled out a pen light, aiming it at me. "Look at me." He ordered.

I turned to him, and he lowered the light.

"What?" I asked, needing to rub my eye again.

He flicked on the light. "Can you see this light?"

"I know something's there, but not really." I paused. "It's pretty dark."

Stein pursed his lips, shut the light off, and replaced it in his pocket. "And it's probably because you know its there, not necessarily because you can see it."

"What is it?"

"It's something I was concerned about. Putting Kid's blood in your system has damaged your sight. But…"

I looked at him with uneasiness. "But what?"

"I don't know if it's a bad thing, yet." He used his hand to right around in the pocket he had placed the penlight in, but didn't seem able to find whatever he was looking for. "And actually, hold on, I'll be right back." Stein let him self through the doorway across the room, and on the right-hand side. He turned after a moment or two, and handed me a black, folded piece of plastic.

It was a pocket makeup mirror. I opened it and held it up to my face. Out of my right eye, I watched my left

My brow furrowed. "What is this, Professor?"

Stein rested his hands in his lab coat pockets. "I won't lie to you; I don't know the answer yet."

The red and black sawtooth pattern was fixed over my iris, and on stop of that were three white lines that ran parallel to one another from the left edge to the center of my vision. Or what would have been my vision spot, if it didn't look like my pupil was blown.

"Someone's going to notice this." I whispered. "What about Kid? He…"

"I'll get you an eye patch." Stein quickly mentioned. "And stay quiet about this until I can find out more." He started to walk from the bed.

I needed his attention quickly. "And Professor?"

He half-turned. "Hmm?"

For some reason having to tell him what I was feeling felt more like pleading than a statement of fact. "He didn't do it. It's not his fault." I paused. "Don't…let him get in trouble for this."

Stein simply gave me a nod, like what I had said was nothing unexpected. "I'll be back with that patch in a minute. Stay quiet so he stays asleep."

And now I had to keep hoping Kid wouldn't awake…like I didn't have enough worries at the moment.