vatheon | [closed] Off Course, Just Spinning His Wheels

[Rin had seen at least part of the conversation with Cronus, and while it pissed him off quite a lot, he also knew Maka could take care of herself just fine. Unless she asked, he wasn't going to get involved.

So at the time he stopped watching, he hadn't been aware that Kid was involved or even at home. A pass by his bedroom door though brought it to his attention.

Mainly because Kid suddenly sounded like a dying animal in there.

Pausing, Rin listened for a minute before knocking on the door and pushing it open a crack.]

Kid...? Everything okay? You sound sick...

[One hand reaches out from under the crumpled pillow, blindly warding Rin off. There's a slightly less muffled:]

I'm a grim reaper, we don't get sick. Even though I'm a poor excuse for one.

[Both hands appear, practically luminously pale in the dim light, pulling his pillow down tighter over his head, bemoaning his fate.]

Asymmetrical garbage, no matter what I do!

Oh.

[This again.]

Alright, alright... [Rin huffed and moved in to the bedroom, dropping down on the bed next to where burrito!Kid was located.]

What happened?

He's right! He's a tasteless, uncouth jerk, but he was right, my hair is hideous, no one can like, let alone respect, a grim reaper as unsightly as I am.

[Kid, trying to curl up while thoroughly wrapped up in a blanket is difficult, even for you. Stop.]

I should stay in here until the world forgets such slovenly scum exists!

[This by all rights should be hilarious, except for the fact that he's genuinely broken up over this.]

Damn these horrible lines!

["He"? The only person Rin could remember Kid talking to recently that wasn't a Villa resident and wouldn't likely make such harsh comments towards Kid's hair (not if they didn't want to deal with this anyway) was the troll that had been harassing Maka and Jade and countless others.

But if that was the case, it certainly made sense. Cronus didn't seem to take rejection very well, and argumentative busy bodies like Kid were enough to probably irritate him even more. Enough to make childish remarks about someone's hair.

Sighing, Rin scratched at his hair, fumbling about for something to say before finally just blurting out:]

I like your lines.

Edited (hurr english) 2013-03-06 02:22 (UTC)

[The silence wasn't lengthy, not really, but significant enough to show he heard; the pillow moved, and in the deeper shadows beneath it, it really seemed as if Kid's eyes did glow, the way a feline's did in the dark. One of them vanishes behind the back of his hand. Then the other.]

Even though they're only on one side?

[For a god who might very well end up measuring his live in centuries, that had all the sound of a child's hope. Kid, you are a real piece of work.]

[It's a little weird, seeing that. But Rin has been around demons long enough that it takes more than a little freaky eye glowing action to completely unnerve him.

He nods in response to the question, looking thoughtful but earnest.]

Mhm. They're Sanzu lines, right? It reminds me of the Sanzu River legend. I always liked that story as a kid, even though it was about death and stuff.

The Sanzu River legend.

[You don't go calling a deadly area-effect attack 'Sanzu River Falls' without at least distant awareness of the legend, but Kid's hung around long enough in Vatheon to know what is one way in one world wasn't necessarily so on another.

Gradually, as he began to sit up, his hair a mess and too distraught to try to correct it, his gaze swiveled to regard him sidelong.]

Would you tell me the story, as you heard it?

[Rin blinked a few times, clearly startled that anyone would want to learn something from him that wasn't related to cooking. Kid's disheveled appearance was hardly a concern for him - he wouldn't have cared anyway, but being asked such a thing was pretty monumental for him.

Not that it showed much more beyond that confused/surprised look on his face.]

Uhm. Okay.

[He straightened up, all proper like, his tail even going still as he cleared his throat and recited what he could from his usually poor memory.]

The Sanzu River is supposed to be this place that you cross on the way to the afterlife, and there's three places to cross - a bridge, a ford and deep serpent-infested water.

People who are really good and did a lot of good in life get to go across the bridge. People who didn't really do a lot of good but didn't do evil will cross at the ford. But if you're really evil you get to deal with the serpents.

... I think there's more to it than that. I only ever heard it in school, since it's more of a uhmn... Shinto legend? I think.

[Actually it's Buddhist but he constantly gets the two confused. It doesn't help that the practice of Buddhism in Japan was still heavily influenced by Shinto. Not exactly information given in lessons that would have been easy for some one like Rin to understand.]

So not really part of Catholic teachings. But there's still a ritual in place for funerals in Japan related to it. I kinda remember somethin' about it was symmetrical... what was it...

[The study of the soul and certain legends as they pertain to his father rested within the realm of interest for one Death the Kid, but he'd never heard the story of the Sanzu River from Rin's perspective, and there are numerous points that were never touched upon in his recollection.

Somewhere, about halfway through his recitation, Kid made an attempt to pat down his presently unruly hair.

That last had his attention hopelessly fixed on the half-demon, stunned, daring to be optimistic. Something perfect in the story? Perhaps this wouldn't be so bad after all!]

Really?

[Rin really wasn't used to having such rapt attention on him, but he was obviously enjoying it as his tail started to sway again in that content/happy feline like manner it did so often.

He fumbled in his pockets, though, while trying to remember what the ritual was. He had been trying to keep himself a little more groomed on his own, with varying rates of success, but it had gotten him to start at least carrying a comb in his pocket, which he now handed to Kid for his own hair.]

Something with coins... was it eight? ... no! It was six! Right, you're supposed't put six coins in the casket for passage across the river!

[Rin. Rin, no. Six isn't symmetrical, what are you doing?

Ugh he looks so proud of himself. Try not to scream too loud, Kid.]

[The comb was accepted with eyebrows lifting in muted, but pleased surprise, and Kid was setting it to immediate work as Rin continued.

There's a brief appearance of his smile at eight.

This shatters at the amended six.

The comb tumbles into his blanketed lap, and, hands now empty, he covers his face with them. No. No no no no no.]

That's not right! It should be eight, not six! Eight is better! How horrible, even the tale of a river with the same name as these awful stripes falls short of perfection!

[Oh great, now he's crying! GOOD JOB, RIN.]

[To say that Rin was completely confused now was a gross understatement. He didn't understand at all! He was trying to make Kid feel better, and all he did was make him start wailing again! What was so wrong with six?!]

Why eight?! I-I don't get it, what's so great about eight anyway?! If you split it in two it's four each and four is bad! Six split in two is three each! That's symmetrical isn't it?!

[Rin... really, how do you not understand how this symmetrical thing works after being around Kid this long?

But his point made, indignant as he was shocked, he finally realized that Kid was doing more than just vocally wailing.

He was crying.]

... a... are you-- ... aw, geez--! Kid, c-c'mon, please stop cryin', I didn't mean to make you cry...

Four's tied to my father anyway. And eight, split horizontally or vertically, is perfectly symmetrical! Take it back!

[He has strong feelings about bilateral symmetry even on a good day; this being a bad one, it doesn't take much to collapse into pathetic weeping over what probably seems absolutely ridiculous to anyone else.]

Three is lopsided and ugly, so of course, it would suit trash like me!

[Kid. Kid, stop.]

Tied to--

[Oh right.]

Death. Duh, Okumura...

[The mutter is directed solely at himself, and he barley makes it loud enough for Kid to hear, especially over his emotional cries of anguish.

Which leaves Rin sitting there for a good portion of it, eyes to the ceiling, flustered and exasperated and completely unsure of what to do here. Talking was getting him nowhere - he kept making the situation worse because he wasn't smart enough that symmetry applied to shapes, not how numbers were divided (though one should probably point out that 8 = 4 x 4 and 6 = 3 x 3 isn't correct. But he he did try to remember basic math) but he couldn't think of anything else that would cheer Kid up. Anything that would work anyway. And most everyone else had just given up on trying to help Kid during his little tantrums and just let him go.

But Rin was also partially responsible for this newest one, and he refused to simply leave a friend who obviously needed some kind of support.]

Geeze... c'mere...

[Rin's hand found Kid's upper arm, and with barely any effort at all (Death God or not, Kid was scrawny as fuck) he yanked the reaper up out of his slumped, sobbing position and--

hugged him.]

Calm down, wouldya? You're not trash... you're a good friend and as far as I know and from everything I've heard, you're a damn good reaper, too. So just... quit cryin'. Please?

Edited 2013-03-07 18:11 (UTC)

[There was one of those embarrassing (if startled) hiccups when Rin pulled Kid up against his shoulder, but one stiff moment later, he dropped his chin against it, sniffing once.]

You really don't think I'm garbage?

[The grim reaper's negligible weight (at least, in comparison with Rin) was an unmoving deadweight against the half-demon, and a moment later had him adding another question:]

You like them? Really?

[He meant the stripes.

He also meant to return that hug, even if the gesture seems like an unfamiliar one, arms trying to figure out how and where they should go around him and what pressure was appropriate.

It's the most awkward hug in existence, but people don't usually go around embracing Death and His offspring.]

[Rin didn't mind the stiffness, or even the awkwardness of the hug. It reminded him so much of himself, when he was little and Shiro would take the raging child in to his arms, even at the risk of his own health just to calm him down.

Funny, how it didn't take that long for such a gesture that was common in Rin's life to come full circle, and for him to be doing the same to his upset friend.

So it didn't bother him, the uncertainty of Kid's movements, and once he was settled Rin moved one hand to rub at his back gently, voice quiet even as he scoffed softly at the questions.]

Tch... wouldn't say it, if it weren't true. You're not garbage, Kid. And I do like 'em. You wouldn't be you without 'em.

[It's a little funny, how a soothing gesture can make backing out of a highly emotional pitfall easier -- and how, in the drawing back, one can experience keenly the embarrassment of realizing your behavior was hardly admirable.

But Rin wasn't reprimanding him, which was more than Kid felt he deserved.]

You're too kind.

[Finally disengaging from the embrace, pushed the heel of his palm across one eye and nodded, gravely.]

While I'm not sure what this says about your aesthetic taste... I suppose I can live with it.

[Rin was seriously beginning to question if anyone had actually ever tried to comfort Kid in those moments. Even Maka was prone to saying "just let him get it out of his system", which... Rin could understand, but at the same time he knew from his own fits, especially as a child, that 'getting it out of your system' could also be just plain destructive. And he knew if his father hadn't come along to quell his anger after hurting people simply out of unbridled rage he would have become a much worse person for it.

Having emotional support, no matter how much Rin just wanted to stay angry at the world, was the only thing that kept him grounded, and made him the person he was today. Did Kid... never have something like that?

Rin didn't want to assume, but he had to wonder sometimes...

The comment earned a mildly irritated frown, but he countered quickly with:]

It says I don't give a fuck what my friends look like, symmetrical or not.

[Screw your symmetry superiority, Kid. Screw it.]

[He had the Thompson sisters, even if Patti tended to find enormous amusement at his obsessive shenanigans, and Liz often gave herself over to exasperation before the sisters made concerted efforts to cheer him up.

Their warm, positive hearts and rough demeanor made them uniquely suited to partnering with the naturally pessimistic, neurotic, yet refined grim reaper.

There was also Maka, but their situation was more complex.

Rin's reaction prompted the arrival of Kid's smile.]

No wonder Maka likes you. Among our friends back home, you could say there's a little too much importance placed on how a girl looks.

[A smile was good, and it made Rin feel like he was making progress on the situation. But then anything was an improvement from Kid throwing himself on the bed and wailing like a small emotionally disturbed child.]

I think it's like that anywhere, Kid.

[Rin answered casually, moving now that the hug was broken, leaning back on his hands on the bed.]

I ain't gonna lie, I had an idea of what I "liked" before I met Maka, and as far as appearance goes, no. She doesn't match it. But I realized pretty damn quickly that I didn't care. She's smart, she's great to be around, she makes me feel like I'm the luckiest guy in the world and she doesn't give a crap that I'm dumb as a brick on a good day.

[He sighed, wistful sounding and perfectly content to go on about his feelings, even if they were things Kid didn't fully understand.]

I didn't have any friends before I went to exorcist cram school. Everyone hated me, or was afraid of me, and it wasn't 'til I got to start over in a new place that I even had a chance to make the friends I did. And here, too... but no one makes me feel the way she does. I... really care about her. A lot.

Is it? I don't usually entertain such talk.

[Not intentionally so much as a total lack of interest; his standards for aesthetic beauty differed from most of his peers and he lacked certain basic drives in any case.

Learning more about Rin and his regard for their mutual friend did well in distracting Kid from his earlier distress; he was a little too tangled in his own blankets to go bothering with unraveling them, but he did manage to sit up more comfortably, resting his chin in one hand, his elbow cradled by the other palm.

He wondered what that must have been like, not to have been so lonely but to know such mutually strong companionship.

The only such bond he has to compare it with is that he shares with his two Weapons.]

How you feel about each other is probably quite different than the way I care about you two. But the way you tell it, it sounds nice.

[Understatement of the year.]

There's a lot more to human attraction than symmetry.

[It was amazing that Rin even understood that, but even in a "polite" society like Japan there was a pretty heavy emphasis on outward appearance. Even a dim-witted teenager like Rin could see that.

But his idea of what he was attracted to didn't matter so much when he realized how much he enjoyed being around Maka. And she enjoyed being around him just the same. They made each other happy and that was all that mattered. He didn't bother to question why.]

Well you can care about people differently. Like how I care about Yukio or my dad is different from how I care about my friends, too.

Of course there is. I've read exhaustively about the subject recently.

[Trying to understand his best friends better, mostly. Being inhuman has its numerous perks, but in certain matters he helplessly clueless, and no amount of poring over books on the subject has illustrated to him anything about their sentiments for each other, nor has reading helped him sort out his own conflicted feelings about his friendship.

Perhaps there are just things books can't teach you.]

I understand the distinction between the kinship I feel with my own Honorable Father and that which I share with the Thompson sisters. That distinction, at least, is easy to make.

I'm glad for you, especially since it seems to bring the two of you encouragement in an otherwise unpleasant situation. [He means, being stuck in the bubble.]

Readin' can only get you so far.

[Don't mind Rin echoing your own thoughts, Kid. It's a pretty obvious statement to make anyway.

But he grins a little, and nudges the still blanket-burrito'd Kid with his fist lightly.]

That's what you got us around for, though. And stuck here or not I'm glad I met you two, and I'm pretty sure Maka would say she's glad to have you around, too.

And the next time you have one of your [tantrums] ... problems with some one makin' shit comments about your hair or whatever I'm gonna be right back here doin' this again, so don't think you gotta deal with it all on your own, okay?

I've caused her so much trouble. [Although Kid's delivery might read as bland to the casual observer, there's the downcast gaze and vague frown that suggest eloquent volumes of regret.] But I believe in her forgiveness and her friendship.

[His head lifting, he aims his fist to lightly punch at Rin's arm.]

It's unbecoming of a reaper to fall to pieces just because of a little insult.

[It's not really a 'little insult' to him, but he's working on it. Or trying to.]

But I appreciate it, Rin.

Good. That's all she wants, y'know?

[Rin grins at the light arm punch, happy to see Kid doing something that's just so... normal and teenage. Death God or not he's still the son of Lord Death and as far as Rin is concerned he really wants to see Kid enjoy himself once in a while, even if they are stuck in a bubble.]

That's what friends are for, man. Don't sweat it.

[closed] Off Course, Just Spinning His Wheels

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