Soul munched contentedly on his food while I occasionally glanced at him over the the top of the papers in my hands. Anticlimactically, all they had to show was the general routine to follow each time a co-op team set out together.

   Everything I already knew, such as what to budget for lodgings, food, and the like; how to track the target; what to do once target has been captured or killed; etcetera.
   Once I'd shifted through most of the rather large stack, I noticed that there was one paper that seemed more worn, less professionally printed than the rest.

  I slyly lifted my eyes a final time in Soul's general direction— taking note that he was quite occupied with noisily licking his fingers clean— and pulled out a partially stained, hastily flattened (but still crinkled) sheaf of journal paper.
   Though it was covered in messy scrawl, there weren't any exact hints as to what the focus of the page was.

   Here and there were jumbled thoughts on various subjects like 'Not all cats turn human' or 'Never ask Crona about it again'.

   I wasn't quite sure what "it" was, but I was pretty certain I didn't want to find out. Looking down at the nearly illegible writing again, my eyes passed over something even more puzzling.
"Do I love Kid?"

   I hadn't realized I read the last line aloud until I heard a choked gasp and hurried explanations.

   "T-that's a- uh. One of my c- cousins!" Soul blurted somewhat victoriously. "They act really, um, weird towards me. Like, they smile, then get angry at me for no reason."

   "Uh huh..." I say slowly. Either this guy was a nitwit, or he thought I that was. "And what's this kid's name? " I challenge him.

   "De- Devin," Soul stuttered. "It's Devin."

   My brow shot up. "Devin?" I rose and took a step towards his side of the room. "Alright, what's he look like?" I queried, deciding to play his little game.

   Soul gulped audibly, but started softly. "He's thinner than a twig, and he has black hair that he really doesn't like. His eyes change from the sunniest yellow to the coolest gold in an instant, and he's really smart but he doesn't flaunt it. And when I screw up—as usual— he's nice enough to not yell at me for it. He makes me feel like I- I'm more than just a failure." Soul stopped to gasp for air after what easily could have been hours and glanced up at me before blushing and looking away.

◇◆I apologize for the non-DtK picture, but it was unexpected, wasn't it? XD ◆◇

× F4Y out