Chapter 39 – Lone-Star State, Part 2

Death the Kid / Sai Summers

Kid

On my way to see Jonathan, I detoured in to see my Father.

It would end up being a mistake.

I immediately felt cornered and coerced into staying in the Death Room. This was in part due to the fact that Patty and Liz had decided to tag along.

The other part being that as soon as I shut the door to the room behind us, I felt compelled to reopen it and walk back out. When I tried to push the door back open, the handle wouldn't budge – it was locked, and I was locked in.

Anxiety hit fast – I'm here, and I can't leave…

I was quickly coming to the conclusion that despite coming of my own free will, I wasn't free to leave – at least not at a time that I wanted.

Liz looked slightly panicked. "Kid…"

"Don't say anything, Liz. This isn't the time." I hissed, with my hand still gripping the door handle.

I pried my hand from the door, and stuffed my hands in my pants pockets. I started walking towards the main platform with a heavy feeling in my chest. If I let it slip that I'm aware of the gilded cage, it might start a fight…

Father hopped twice in place. "I'm glad you stopped by Kid, I thought we could take a few minutes to watch Sai on her assignment."

My eyes narrowed. "That wasn't why I stopped in…"

His mask's eyeholes enlarged in faux surprise. "Are you sure?"

Suddenly I wasn't so sure. No, can't be like that…I'm sure…I'm sure…

Father cut off my words and thoughts. "Come; sit down and let us take a look at how she fairs."

A square outline appeared on the mirrored floor stage. It lowered itself slightly, and slide under a section of the floor to its right. Out of the floor rose a high-back, wooden chair with long side-arms. The floor slide back into place underneath it with a click.

I sat down in the chair and gripped the arms tightly. It was all I could do to keep myself from getting back up and trying the door again. "I feel somewhat voyeuristic doing this."

Father simply smiled, and I realized Patty stood on my left and Liz on my right. It was feeling starting to feel more like being the ruler on his throne, under house arrest.

Patty looked down at me in confusion. "But Kid, you've watched other people in the mirror before. During the remedial lesson that Soul and Maka had…"

I grimaced; there was no good way to explain the difference to her. "This is…different, Patty."

She seemed genuinely confused. "How so?"

Liz leaned across my space and towards her sister. "Err, Patty, don't worry about it, okay?" She waved her hand downwards.

It was obvious Patty didn't understand, but would follow her sister's request anyway. "Okay…"

I could feel a headache building already. Just let it go, okay?…there's no way I can explain it…

The mirror lit up and I could see the ruins of a church in the image.

And that Sai isn't alone…

My stomach up-ended itself and I grew nauseous.

***

Sai

"Who's there?" I yelled over the mechanical roaring.

The noise suddenly stopped and I heard footfalls coming around from the façade of the building into the space were the wall to my left should have been.

"Ahh, I was right. It's you." It was the gravely voice of a man – the voice of the kind of man who had smoked for a decade.

I was taken aback slightly by his appearance. His hair was reddish-brown and spiked, and he wore a metal bridge on his nose. His white, furred coat was oversized and outlandish. Most bizarre though was the line of jagged metal impaled in his right leg. It ran from the inside of his knee, down and around the middle of his brown leather boot, and back up the outside of his calf, to the outside of his knee.

I was nervous; I hadn't expected to run into anyone out here – and I couldn't help but feel nervous in his presence. "What do you mean, 'it's you'? Who are you?"

He chose to ignore my questions. "I guess Shinigami-sama didn't want to risk sending his son for this one…so he sent his mutt for the job."

My response was immediate and biting. My irritation was enough to draw out a Icelandic accident for a moment. "Goh t'hell."

The man blinked, and his white, fluffy coat blew slightly in the desert breeze. "What? That's what the witches recognize you as…"

I could feel my brow furrow. Witches…

I snarled at him. "I don't care about that. What do you want? This place is nothing but a ruin."

He grinned and his blue eyes crinkled. "I came for the same thing you did."

I needed to remain resolute, but I could feel my voice on edge. "I'm under orders from Shibusen. You'll have to take it from me then."

Not that I've found it yet…

He chuckled. "Big words from such a little Shinigami…"

"I wanna know who you are."

"To be honest, I wasn't going to bother. I suspected you'd be dead when I left. There'd be nobody to identify the killer anyway." He swung on his heels. "But just for fun, I'll tell you my name – you may call me Giriko, in the short time you have remaining."

I put my right arm behind my back. With warmth and a flash of purple, my scythe flashed into existence behind me.

His eyes lit up. "Ohh! So this is why you're special. I can see why Shinigami-sama let his kid get away with what he did."

I tried to mask my irritation as not knowing what he meant. Why does he know things I don't…?

"Leave him out of this…" I hissed, bringing the scythe around to my front. I held staff in both hands, across my waist, with the blade down.

Giriko kicked his right leg back against the floor, and the saw blades engrained around his foot and calf roared to life.

"So what's it going to be? Going to go quietly?" He asked with chagrin, and then ran towards me.

I waited a moment too long to realize it was a rhetorical question. Giriko ran towards me and lifted his right leg trying to kick at my chest with the bladed leg. I swung the scythe out, trying to put the blade between us, but I was too late. Instead of the blade, only the two inch wide blade staff stood between his chainsaw leg and my neck.

***

Kid

Watching Sai fight somewhere I couldn't easily be, was a struggle.

I started to squeeze the armrests out of stress; the wood was firm, yet somewhat pliable in my hands. "I need to go. I need to make sure she'll be okay." I muttered, my head hanging down between my shoulders.

Father bounced in place. "Kid, you can't run off and save her every time."

His words stung, but for another reason.

"There hasn't been an every time." I whispered, dropping my head. "The last time I failed."

Father sighed but didn't amend my statement.

I could feel the wooden armrest start to soften in my hands, and faint cracking noises could be heard.

"Kid…relax, I'm sure…!" Liz started, but I was paying little attention to her rabble.

Under the pressure I was exerting, I crushed the armrests in my hands, and I could feel the wood splinter in my hands. Wood shards started to pile up on the reflective floor, at my feet. Tiny drops of blood splattered on the reflective surface and the painted wood that had fallen.

Hosting myself up from the chair, I continued to keep my head down and my hair over my face. Unfurling my hands from the broken wood, the pieces remaining in my hands dropped to the floor, and splattered in the blood and previously dropped wood.

I could hear Patty gasp. "Kid, your hands!"

They may have looked bad, but I didn't notice the pain. The pain was centered in my chest. Not only could I not help now, I was reminded of a previous failure.

The same words ran over and over in my head. Don't remind me, don't remind me, don't remin…

I inhaled deeply and raised my head. This wasn't a time to be meek. "I need to go…"

Out of the corner of my eye I could see the confusion on Liz's face. "Kid…"

I raised my shoulders high and strong. "I want to wait outside for her…that's all." I paused. "Will you at permit me my leave?"

Father gave a slight nod. "That's fine. I can understand that." He turned back to the mirror for a moment, and the vision of the church disappeared. "And you wouldn't make it in time to make a difference in the fighting, I don't believe."

I wasn't quiet sure what that meant, but I had no desire to inquire more.

I rounded the chair towards the left and stuffed my hands in my pants pockets. They had stopped bleeding, but the splinters imbedded in them caused me some minor discomfort. I was aware the sisters were with me, but my mind was foggy and I wasn't fully aware of their presence in my space. When I had reached the exit, I pushed down on the door handle with my right hand, and found it opened.