Cotton Dreams ((OPEN))

[Kaida Hoshiko]

[/color] she asked. If he passed out on the way there, then he might just freeze in this weather.

Kaida pulled out another jawbreaker and started unwrapping the plastic around it slowly. She was in no rush to get it unwrapped, as her sweet tooth has almost been satisfied. Or, partially has been. It wasn't anywhere close to it though. When she got a craving, she craved it for a while.

You could say that Kaida was almost worried for Haiiro. It wasn't really good that he had passed out, but maybe now that he has some sugar in him he won't do it again. Just in case though, Kaida would much rather prefer that she would go with him to his work. "Do you like it at the observatory?" she asked him, straightening out her shirt as it had wrinkled a little while she was sitting, which made it go up just a little. Kaida hated it when shirts did that, it was just really annoying.

Kaida had never been to the observatory before, but because she wandered around a lot she knew where it was. She didn't really think she had the time to go there, but she actually did, and she knew this somewhere in her mind, but she never went. Maybe she should go there someday. She decided that she would go there soon, and see what was there. Better go then not to when you have the chance.[/font][/size][/ul][/blockquote]

[Haiiro Navi]

"How about I come with you, just in case you pass out again?" Haiiro mentally cringed at this part but kept his face rather flat before nodding a bit and deciding to put it as that she wanted to come and see it just because rather than anything else (at least to preserve his self-esteem...heh..)

"Do you like it at the observatory?" Hm? Well that got his mind off the previous topic rather quickly. Haiiro nodded a bit at this and then found himself slowly walking towards the front of the candy store. He looked towards the man that was still sitting behind the counter for a moment before looking towards Kaida again. "Yes," he answered back after another few seconds. "It's rather peaceful there, and the people there are usually quiet," he finished. "Except on tourist days, yet even then... "

As he walked, he finally came to the front door and took hold of the handle before twisting it and stepping out into the rather cold air. The first thing that hit his mind was how cold it was outside in comparison with how warm it had been in the candy store. However, even this comparison was shoved to the back of Haii's mind as he started to walk out into it and onto the sidewalk.

In truth, Haiiro walked slowly which was probably why he had started to head over to the observatory so early. He wasn't one to run usually and only did so when there was an exact and complete need. He preferred to see the world around him. Snow as falling now, and Haii sighed outwards as he looked up at it. He didn't really like the snow that much given that it also paralleled with the general cold which prevented him from swimming....Eh, oh well.

[Kaida Hoshiko]

[/color] Kaida said, thinking of how busy and noisey the places were at which she worked at. Only when her father was giving instructions to the students were they more quiet, though the younger ones were a little more difficult to quieten. The busy maid cafe was always noisey. At least, when there were people there. Right after school, when Kaida met Ryo, was one of the less busier times there.

Kaida slipped her hands in the pocket of her coat, trying to keep them warm. Kaida didn't wear gloves, or mittens. She had decided that it was better to just leave her hands bare than to cover them up. After all, it was unlikely she would get frost bite on her fingers, even though it was cold.

Kaida wore this coat for one reason. It was warmer than all the other coats she looked at. It was long, and kept her legs warm, and it was thick. The only problem she had now with the cold was when she wore a skirt, her feet, her hands, and her face. The cold made her cheeks turn slightly pink and her nose too, and people thought it was cute, but Kaida didn't like it. It was annoying in her opinion.[/size][/ul][/blockquote][/font]

[Haiiro Navi]

Haii nodded a bit at the reply he was given and found himself walking smoothly through the snowy areas. Deciding to more or less keep on topic with this, Haii nodded his head again. "Have you ever been to the observatory?" he asked. In truth, that was completely up in the air given that many people had been there, and many had not. It was a tourist attraction sometimes, but it really only attracted a selective group. Students were among this group, and generally they were younger.

Haiiro took a few more steps and sighed as he started to cross the street in order to keep on track. A few people passed him, and a tall man bumped him causing Haiiro to all but leer at said man. However, unlike his thoughts that were demanding retribution, Haii didn't say anything but shook his head. Turning fully forwards again, Haii caught sight of several more shops in the area. One of them appeared to be a beauty salon while right next to it was a laundromat. On the other side of the street, what appeared to be a large clothes emporium could be seen. Haii said nothing about these things and simply continued walking.

Suddenly Haii felt something seize his jacket. The dark haired man instantly found his hands around the throat of a pale child who looked terrified of him. "Do you think it's right to pick pocket?" Haii growled causing the young boy's eyes to grow in more or less a rather unnerved fear.

[Kaida Hoshiko]

[/color] again, she hadn't demanded him to do anything. She had spoken in her calm voice, which she usually had spoken with.

Kaida wouldn't let Haiiro do that to the child without hearing the reason why the child had grabbed Haiiro's jacket. Sure, it might have been that he was stealing from him, but that still didn't give Haiiro a good reason. "What good would come of hurting him?" she asked Haiiro, still holding on to the two boys' wrists.

Kaida wasn't a fan of violence without a very good reason. Sure, the boy grabbed Haiiro's jacket, but that wasn't good enough for Kaida. If she was in his place, she would have just grabbed on to the boy's wrist as she was doing now, and spoke to him with a calm voice. This was usually what happened with her, unless she had a very good reason to hurt somebody. [/font][/size][/ul][/blockquote]

[Haiiro Navi]

The muscles in Haiiro's hand twitched a little, and for a good few seconds, he didn't move simply irritated. It was possibly the family's own light suffering that had made him this sharp. They had managed to live this long without resorting to anything of the like, and to have it......His eyes narrowed, yet his hand slowly released the boy, and he found himself looking at Kaida with a rather dark look on his face that resembled Ryo's own so much in that moment that there was literally no distinction in their expressions.

The child seemed to breathed inwards quickly though he hadn't really been choked by Haii's hand. Instead, it was more like a sudden shock moment finally breaking him. He made to pull back but found that Kaida had a hold on him, and for a good moment, the child looked fearfully at Kaida and said nothing but simply began mumbling something over and over again.

"I don't forgive thieves," Haii said all too sharply. However, he made no move to rip his hand from Kaida's grip. Instead, he simply frowned again suddenly having his mood thrown off. The younger child looked at Kaida and then at Haiiro and was probably pondering whether or not to even say anything and finally resolving to whimper.

[Kaida Hoshiko]

[/color] she said to him before looking at the child "You better have a truthful explanation" her voice was as calm as it always had been, but what she spoke of was the truth. If she didn't think an explanation she was given was truthful, she would threaten to hurt people rather badly. She didn't mind if it was bad, and they did wrong, but she would mind if the boy was lying to her.

Kaida didn't look back over to Haiiro, but spoke to him "He may not even be trying to steal from you though Haiiro" Her eyes moved over to him for a moment before looking back at the boy. Kaida's father had taught her to be looking at the person you are speaking to, or else it could be mistaken as you being rude towards them.

Kaida heared the whimper coming from the boy and crouched down a little so that her knees were not touching the ground, but she was closer to the boy's height "It's fine, as long as you are truthful, you have nothing to be scared of" again, she spoke the truth. Well, she did unless Haiiro went after the boy. That might be a little trouble, but Kaida would try to make Haiiro stop going after him. As long as he told the truth, that is.

Kaida hated lies, obviously.[/font][/size][/ul][/blockquote]

[Haiiro Navi]

Haiiro found himself take several steps back and cross his arms in front of himself staring still at Kaida and the child. His face was flat, yet he breathed out slowly and seemed to relax if even a small bit. The young boy seemed to stare at Kaida for a moment before looking towards Haiiro and then back at her again. "I...I...." he tried and broke off quietly. "I was going to ask......if...you've seen my mommy...." was what he finally answered with.

Haii found his muscles twitch under his skin, and a wave of peace rolled over him. Ah, alright then....However, in the back of his mind, his thoughts were still sharp, and his eyes didn't leave the kid for even a second. The dark haired man seemed to take yet another step back and then slowly stepped forwards again. "Ah," was all he answered with.

[Kaida Hoshiko]

[/color] this kid as in Haiiro. Kaida only called him this kid because the boy probably didn't know Haiiro's name, even though Kaida had just said it. Kaida lightened her grip on the boy's wrist and looked up to Haiiro "Maybe we can help him find his mom?" she asked him "Just on the way to your work, I mean, maybe we'll run across her" she knew that Haiiro had places to go, so why not walk around with the kid and see if anybody would recognize him.

Kaida knew that something wasn't right when Haiiro had his hands around the child's neck. Wouldn't a kid that was stealing from Haiiro try to fight back instead of looking white as a sheet with fear? Maybe a boy like that would yell and kick out at Haiiro while his hands were around his throat, and even when Kaida had her hand lightly around the boy's wrist he looked scared. The boy didn't seem to be the type to be a theif, not yet, at least. He could change when he got older, but why would Kaida care for when he was grown?

Kaida smiled to the boy, again, a fake smile to show hospitality. Kaida wasn't the type to smile often, but she had been told that her smile seemed to brighten a person's day, if she was really smiling "Would you like some help with finding your mom?" she asked him. With kids around his age, sometimes you had to be softer than you usually are to get them to work with you. [/font][/ul][/blockquote][/size]

[Haiiro Navi]

Haiiro mentally face/palmed but didn't say anything. Alright, but he really had to get to work..... His eyes shifted to the kid again who was now staring at Kaida and seemed to be blinking rather slowly. "Really?"he asked looking from Kaida to Haii and then back to Kaida. After a moment, he nodded slowly at his own wording.

Haiiro found himself breathing out and caught sight of his breath in the cold air. He shoved his hands deeper into his coat pockets and didn't say anything right off. However, after a moment, he eventually looked off down the street and finally started speaking again. "Alright...." he answered back allowing himself to answer back now.

The younger boy blinked a moment and then suddenly forced a smile onto his face. "Thanks so much!" he smiled happily looking happily at Kaida.

[Kaida Hoshiko]

[/color] she said, smiling in return to his smile.

"Hopefully she is around here somewhere..." she said more to herself, taking the child's hand in her's "Do you mind if we walk like this?" she asked him and stood up.

Kaida knew what the young boy must have been feeling, as when she was young she had lost both of her parents at an amusement park they had taken her to. She was one of the quieter children, and would not ask around, but instead she waited until she was found by a worker who helped her out. That was probably one of the most scariest things that had happened to her, just under when her mom died. She was scared the man who had killed her would go after Kaida as well, who was in the closet.

Kaida walked over to Haiiro with the boy's hand in her's "Thank you Haiiro" she said and smiled the cute, slight smile again. It was strange, how Kaida's personality would change very quickly when there were different people around her. With older people she was slightly cold, but respectful, and with younger people she was much more softer. [/font][/ul][/size][/blockquote]

[Haiiro Navi]

Haiiro didn't say anything too quickly but simply nodded after a moment and then started down the street again. He couldn't find exactly what he wanted to say next and preferred to stay quiet on this matter in order to preserve his own thoughts. Suddenly his eyes shifted down to his watch again, and he found himself blinking. The time had shifted suddenly, and he only had twenty minutes at most to get to work. Walking a tad faster, Haiiro kept his eye out for any sort of parents looking around even as he walked.

The young boy seemed to nod at Kaida and then found himself following Haiiro who was steadily getting farther and farther away from him even in that moment. Soon the young boy found himself following the motions of Haiiro as he looked around. He really wanted to find his mother, and and and.... His short thought process couldn't quite figure out what he would do after that, yet it didn't seem to worry him too much at that point at the very least.

[Kaida Hoshiko]

[/color] she asked the child, who she was still holding hands with. She didn't mind holding the boy's hand, but she had to make sure that she walked at a pace that he could keep up with. Her legs were longer than his, after all.[/font][/size][/ul][/blockquote]

[Haiiro Navi]

The child looked at Kaida for a moment and mumbled something not quite discernible, and after a moment, he looked around the street area and seemed to sigh a bit to himself. A few people were still walking down the street, yet none of them looked anywhere close to his mother. However, in another moment, a call hit his ears.

"Saito!" was the call, and the young boy whipped his head around to catch sight of a brown haired woman who was walking forwards. The young boy didn't even wait for Kaida to let go of his hand and instead starting to pull past her towards the woman.

"MOMMA!" he called all but ripping his arm from Kaida and then running to the woman and hugging her. She hugged him back quickly. By this time, Haiiro had heard the voice and turned around to stare at the mother hugging her child. For a moment, he found himself mentally sighing quietly to himself before allowing his eyes to fall downwards and his face to somber strangely. It wasn't that....well....he was glad but......

"My baby...." the woman continued on hugging the boy closer. "Please please please please don't wander off like that again... I was so scared and....." the woman seemed already on the verge of tears for whatever reason. However, after a moment, the woman finally seemed to notice Kaida and then slowly seemed to rise with the boy in her arms still. "I... I guess you found my little boy," she stated aloud starting a calmer smile. After a moment, she noticed Haiiro as well and more or less assumed that they had both found the young boy. "Thank you...." she stated not even caring if they had been kidnappers or something else. She was just happy to see her boy back.

At this point, Haii mentally sighed but managed to smile a little back at the woman. "We were looking around...." he finally stated before taking a half step back and then slowly starting away again.

[Kaida Hoshiko]

[/color] she said simply before catching up with Haiiro.

Kaida slipped her hands back in her pockets "Thanks Haiiro, sorry if I make you late..." she said to him, looking at the white path ahead of them, white with a small blanket of snow that softly crunched under their feet. Kaida could barely hear the soft crunching sound, and it annoyed her, but she ignored it.

She knew that the woman would be happy that she had found Saito, so happy she may have started crying. Kaida didn't want to see a mother that happy, because it hurt her. Kaida didn't like looking at mothers with their children, which was the only reason why she never went near parks or play areas. Her own mother was already long gone, and Kaida knew that her father would never marry another woman, because he would never love another woman like he loves her mother.

"Good thing Saito's mother was on our way, right?" If she wasn't, then Kaida would probably bring Saito to a pay phone or something and call the police to come help him. She was sure that if they hadn't found his mother on the way to the observatory then they would not have found her easily on their own. [/font][/size][/ul][/blockquote]