"Gern geschehen." Brandon replied, yawning as well. "Mind if I sleep in here tonight?"
"Go ahead," Alice said, as Brandon laid her on the king-sized bed. She scooted over a bit, climbing under the black silk covers. Brandon laid down next to her, sinking into the luxurious bed. Alice snuggled closer to him, hugging his arm and falling asleep. Brandon smiled a small smile to himself before falling asleep as well.
Alice woke up with a pounding headache the next morning, becoming startled when she saw Brandon. But then she recognized that he wasn't Cameron, calmed down and hugged him. "Good morning." she said.
"Morning." He said with a yawn. He had a small headache and his throat was parched, but he felt pretty good overall.
"Hey, I thought Cameron was supposed to be sleeping in here." Alice said, sitting up and stretching.
"We'll, he's too much of a horny bastard to be around a drunk girl, so I sent him to my room." Brandon replied, remembering last night, though it was a bit hazy.
"Oh, thanks." Alice said.
"No problem. Besides, I don't wanna get kicked out because of his raging libido." Brandon replied with a chuckle.
Alice yawned. "Ah, I feel great, which is weird because hangovers usually suck," she paused before looking him in the eye. "Did I say or do something embarrassing last night? Cause that usually happens when I'm drunk."
"You said something about being mien liebe." Brandon said, his memory impaired even farther than normal.
"Oh," Alice said nonchalantly, before her widened and her face turned bright red. "OH!"
Brandon just chuckled, shaking his head. "It's ok if it was the alcohol speaking. I'd understand." Brandon said, smiling warmly.
"You know what they say, there are only two kinds of people who tell the truth: drunks and children." Alice replied.
"Cause their too naïve to hold secrets." Brandon mused, coming up with a quick hypothesis.
"True." Alice yawned. "Huh, Kidd's usually up by now, being loud and complaining. I wonder what's wrong."
"Probably hungover." Brandon said, rising up in the bed to stretch.
"That's usually what he's complaining about."
"Well, he is a heavy drinker, and ironically, a light weight." Brandon said with a chuckle, relaxing back into the bed.
"Something's wrong," Alice said, growing concerned and running downstairs.
"This is certainly a way to wake up in the morning." Brandon said, throwing on his jeans before dashing downstairs.
When they arrived downstairs, at the foot of the attic, Cameron was pinned to the wall with at least ten knives. Kidd's bedroom door was open. The Reaper was sitting up, looking extremely pissed and ready to throw another knife at Cameron. He'd slept in his jeans, but he wasn't wearing a shirt. "Uh, a little help, guys?" Cameron asked, straining to look at the two. Brandon just started cracking up.
"NEXT TIME YOU WAKE ME UP, I'LL BITE YOUR FUCKING HAND OFF!" Kidd shouted, while Alice just laughed.
"Oh, you've already gotten on his bad side. Did you know that's almost impossible for most people?" she asked.
"Lucky me." Cameron said, straining to get off the wall.
"C'mon Cameron, that's no way to make a first impression." Brandon said with a chuckle, taking it in good nature. Cameron simply stuck out his middle finger while glaring at the meister.
"What have I told you about the unwritten laws of the universe?" Alice asked. "The number one rule is never wake Kidd up when he's sleeping."
"You never-oh wait." Cameron stopped mid sentence, remembering the previous night.
Kidd then smiled at Alice before climbing out of bed, pulling a black turtle-neck on, even though it was practically burning outside, and dug through his nightstand before handing something to Alice. "I forgot to give you your glasses yesterday. Here ya' go." he said in a care-free, happy manner, completely different from his previous mood. Alice took the square-ish, black glasses and put them on.
"Uh... thanks." Alice replied, somewhat creeped out.
Brandon turned and looked at Alice, and blood began trickling out of his nose. "Dear mother of god, the moe..." He breathed as Cameron struggled to free himself. Alice blushed in response while Kidd chuckled at them.
"Seriously guys, help." Cameron said, constantly struggling. Brandon snapped out of his trance and removed the ten knives, returning them to Kidd.
"Thank you," Kidd said, before slipping into a closet behind him.
"What the..?" Alice opened the closet door and he was gone. "WHERE THE HECK DID HE GO?!"
"Um, Chris Angel Mind Freak?" Brandon offered, examining the now-empty closet.
"What?" Alice asked.
"Nothing. He's most likely either dead or erased from history here." Brandon said, thinking of a likely cause.
"Eh, he probably used that creepy-ass time magic his Aunt Mabaa taught him." Alice replied.
"Lucky bastard." Cameron growled, a little envious of Kidd's magic.
"Oh, that reminds me! My Mana Glove should be fixed by now. Either of you want to come with me to the repair shop?" Alice asked.
"Sure!" Both replied, causing both to look at each other awkwardly.
"OK," Alice replied. "I might be stopping by the store later on, so bring some money."
"Got it." Brandon said, patting his pocket to make sure he still had it. "I'm gonna through on the rest of my clothes, so I'll be right back."
"But you don't have any..." Alice said, watching Brandon climb the stairs. "Eh, he'll figure it out when he gets up there."
"I forgot my shirt, remember?" He called back, while Cameron snickered in the corner.
"Oh," Alice said. "I thought he slept in it..."
"He sometimes dream strips if he falls asleep in his clothes." Cameron explained with a shrug. "Usually he only does it when he's in a bed, though." This made Alice giggle, thinking of the implications. "I know what you're thinking, and yes, it has happened before." Cameron said, a slightly lewd grin on his face.
"Oh, just wow." Alice whispered, not wanting Brandon to here her voice from upstairs.
Brandon then came down the stairs, hastily throwing on his over shirt. "Ok, what'd I miss?" He asked, panting slightly from rushing.
"Nothing," Alice replied a bit too quickly.
Brandon's face then went blank, and he turned to Cameron."What did you tell her." He stated monotonously.
"Oh, just the night of the Anniversary." Cameron said with a whistle. Brandon just sighed and punched Cameron in the shoulder.
Alice tilted her head. "Hmm, what's that?"
"The Anniversary party of the Academy." Brandon responded, slightly confused.
"Um..." Alice shifted uncomfortably. She didn't know what that was.
"You probably don't know." Brandon said, coming to that conclusion. "In December, there's a huge party at the academy to celebrate its founding."
"Oh, I think I heard Kidd talking to Stein about it once," Alice said. "He wanted to change the date to the day he became a Kishin Lord."
"Sounds like something he would do." Brandon said with a nod.
"Stein said if he wanted to change it, he should make it the day he turned back into a reaper." Alice added.
"That would probably be a better choice." Cameron added, leaning against the wall.
Alice frowned. "I don't think Kidd would agree. He thinks he's weaker now."
"Hmm." Brandon grunted in amusement. "He's a god, and he thinks he's weaker."
Alice nodded. "He thinks being Lord Death makes him weaker than a Kishin Lord."
Brandon simply chortled, shaking his head. "Nothing's ever good enough for him, is it?"
"What else do you expect from a rich kid?" Alice replied.
"Touché." Cameron responded.
"Hey, when we go get your Mana glove, do you think Kidd would let me get fitted for one too?" Brandon asked, remembering about them.
"It depends on if he trusts you enough to give his Protection," Alice said, pulling a black silk choker out of her pocket. It had a three-toothed skull on it, with the Kishin symbol on the 'teeth'. "He'll give you something similar to this if he does." she said, fastening the choker around her neck. "When a Kishin sees the symbol, it'll see that Kidd respects you and it won't attack."
"So, I'm screwed if i go out wandering?" Brandon questioned, raising an eyebrow.
"No, if you're with me, they won't attack. I'm the only human he's given his Protection to." Alice replied.
"Hmm. Well, there goes any chance of me getting a Mana glove." Brandon said, shrugging off the loss.
"I dunno, I might be able to get him to give you his Protection, not too sure about Cameron, though."
"I can protect myself just fine." Cameron said, claws growing where his hands were to prove his point.
"I know, it's just better to have Protection here." Alice said. "You could be jumped by a gang of Kishins."
"Come at me, bro." Cameron said, slamming his chest with both hands.
Alice sighed, rolling her eyes. "Men," she muttered. "Don't be embarrassing me when we leave, dammit. The people here already don't like me."
"Then they'll despise me." Cameron said, grinning sadistically.
"Gimmie a sec. I wanna ask Kidd something." Brandon said, then took off to check the kitchen, which was where Kidd was most likely to be. Just like Brandon predicted, Kidd was in the kitchen, raiding the fridge and muttering about how they had nothing to eat. "Hey, Kidd." Brandon called, attempting to get the reaper's attention.
"Yeah?" he asked.
"You wouldn't happen to have any guns lying around here, would you?" Brandon asked, hoping for a yes.
"Dunno."
"If there was, do you know where they might be?" Brandon asked, truly hoping that there was a firearm somewhere.
"Um, well it depends on what you mean by gun. We don't have any normal pistols, but I do have some prototype guns in the basement that need to be tested. Would you like me to get them for you?" Kidd queried.
"Prototypes, eh?" Brandon pondered, mulling over the data. "Eh, sure. Why not." He said, shrugging.
"OK, wait here." Kidd said, standing up and heading towards a door that led to the basement, before turning to Brandon. The look on his face was serious and stern-a rarity for him. "Never, under any circumstances, come down to this room. Understand?" Someone couldn't NOT get the evil undertone in his voice.
"Understood." Brandon responded, wearing a solemn expression and giving a curt nod.
"Good," Kidd replied, before going into the basement and closing the door with a slam. After a few minute, he came out with a small gun-type thing. It was silver-colored with blue electric currents running across it, looking like it could easily electrocute someone.
"Hmm, interesting." Brandon said, looking over it. "What's it do?" Brandon asked, looking down the sites. They glowed with an eerie blue glow and crackled with electricity.
Kidd looked thoughtful for a moment. "I don't really know."
"Hmm. Guess I'll have to try it out sometime." Brandon said, putting it in his waist band behind his back.
"Tell me what it does when you use it." Kidd said before pausing, the same creepy trickster smile on his face as always. "Why, uh, why do you need it?"
"Think of it as insurance." Brandon responded, taking a moment to think of the right word.
"Don't give me half answers," Kidd hissed, the smile dropping. "They annoy me. And don't lie to me, either. I can tell when a human is lying."
"Fine. In case i get attacked by a kishin." Brandon responded, hiding his slight aggravation.
Kidd smiled again. "OK, but Alice isn't leaving the house right now, so you can forget about taking her wherever you're going."
"Oh, ok. I was just going to go out to wander a bit." Brandon replied, remaining neutral.
"You're lying," Kidd hissed. "I don't appreciate liars in my home, so if you'd like to stay here, I'd advise not doing it again."
"I really was. I swear it on my life. I was also going to go pick up a case of soda." Brandon replied, a tiny bit ticked off by Kidd's accusations.
At that moment, Alice came downstairs with Cameron. "Hey, Brandon." she said. "You ready?"
"Ready for what?" Kidd asked.
"Oh, we were going to go pick up my Mana Glove from the repair shop." she replied. "Why?" Kidd's head whipped around in Brandon's direction. His eyes narrowed, like a snake's, and he looked mad.
"What?" Brandon asked, his shitty memory coming into play once more. "Oh, shit." Brandon realized, remembering about their little trip. "Well, this doesn't fare well for me, does it?"
"No, it doesn't." Kidd snarled. "But... at least you aren't stealing. God knows what I would have to do to you if you were."
"I'm assuming its punishable by death." Cameron said with a grin.
"Well, I could only assume you were going to hand over the technology to Russia." Kidd replied. "The consequences would've been much worse than death."
"I wouldn't. I'm not a Red." Brandon joked, both him and Cameron chuckling to themselves.
"We're in the middle of a war right now," Kidd snarled. "At the moment, no one can be trusted. Alice, I'll take Brandon to pick up your Mana Glove. You make sure Cameron doesn't touch anything." Cameron just flashed a grin, but Brandon slapped him in the back in the head.
"Asshole." Cameron growled, but Brandon chuckled.
"C'mon," Kidd said, gesturing Brandon towards the door. Brandon followed quickly while Cameron flipped him off. Kidd took Brandon's arm a in bruise-inducing grip, walking briskly down the street, once again wearing a trickster's grin. Brandon noted the kishins staring at them out of the corner of his eyes, and flashed a grin. Kidd looked at Brandon out of the corner of his eye. "You taunt them and they'll attack no matter who you're with. You're lucky I'm not tossing you out on the street with them." The grin disappeared instantly, and something half between neutrality and a scowl replaced it.
Soon they came to the repair shop, luckily without incident. They went inside the cozy little shop. The shopkeeper was a thin woman with wavy brown hair and green eyes. "Hello, Kidd." she said. "What may I do for you today?"
"I came to pick up Alice's Mana glove." he said, making the shopkeeper scowl.
"She's lucky you came instead of her," the woman replied, grabbing a skeletal-looking bracelet and handing to Kidd. "Lord knows what would have happened to her. She causes bad luck, ya know!"
Kidd chuckled. "Humans. So superstitious. So, how much does it cost?"
"Free," The shopkeeper replied. "Anything for you, My Lord." Brandon looked at the woman curiously, swearing he could've seen her somewhere before. "So, um, who's you're friend?" The shopkeeper replied.
Brandon snapped out of his trance and smiled a small grin. "I'm Brandon Pazzo." Brandon said, offering his hand. "And you are?"
"My name is Clarice." she said with a kind smile, before turning to Kidd with a somewhat worried look. "He hasn't touched that... that THING has he?"
"You mean Alice?" Kidd replied.
"Yes."
"Why, yes. He has."
The woman then scowled taking a broom and whacking Brandon with it. "G-Get out of my damn shop!" she hissed.
"Hey, cut that out!" Brandon exclaimed, covering his head to stop the broom. He then quickly reached out, grabbed the broom handle, and forcibly removed it from her hands.
She hissed at him. "Get out, you little bastard! And don't come back!"
"Jesus, fine." Brandon said, tossing the broom back at her before walking out of the store. He then stood outside and leaned against the wall, waiting for Kidd.
Kidd walked out of the shop, Clarice muttering about having to buy a new broom because of Alice. He 'tsk'd, shaking his head. "She never told me things were that bad." he said, looking back in the shop at the hysterical woman.
"What?" Brandon asked, looking up at the reaper.
"Alice never told me people had such low opinions of her," Kidd replied, before looking at the Mana glove. "...So that's how it broke." he muttered.
"I don't understand how people's low opinions of Alice causes her Mana glove to break." Brandon said, trying to put those two pieces of info together.
"She told me she fell down a flight of stairs when she broke it." Kidd said. "Alice isn't that clumsy. Someone pushed her. HOW COULD I HAVE BEEN SO STUPID I COULDN'T REALIZE THAT?!"
"Well, didn't you say you didn't know that things were that bad?" Brandon inquired, glancing at a group of kishins staring at him.
"Yes," Kidd said. "But I've come to the conclusion that someone pushed her down the stairs."
"I'll ask when we get back." Brandon said, laying his hand on the gun because he saw a kishin make a move towards him.
"No, don't." Kidd replied. "She's just gonna' lie to you about it-believe me. I've known her longer than you have."
"Ok, fine." Brandon said, shrugging.
"I'll figure it out somehow."
Brandon simply nodded, thinking of conversational topics. "I'm sorry about earlier. I forgot entirely about the appointment. I kinda have a shitty memory." Brandon said, truly apologetic.
"Lemme check if you're lying." Kidd said, staring intensely at Brandon. His eyes began to glow eerily, casting dark shadows on his pale face. Brandon returned the cold stare, looking deep into the reapers eyes. Kidd snapped out of the trance, smiling that same creepy, highly unnerving, way-too-happy smile. "You're not lying~!" Kidd said before he frowned. "Huh? Why are you glaring at me like that?"
Brandon snapped back to attention, blinking and shaking his head. "Sorry, I zoned out." He replied, shaking his head a little more. Kidd raised an eyebrow, but didn't reply. He began walking back towards Gallows Manor. Brandon followed in silence, knowing that his stay in this universe wouldn't be pleasant.