Banjo gazed at himself in front of the mirror besides his bed, carefully tightening the tie of his suit, and going over every angle of his outfit to make sure he looked spotless, and perfect. Clearing his throat, he called out to the mirror. "Pan."
The mirror remained unchanging. Banjo put a hand to his mouth again and cleared his throat once again, this time louder. "Pan?"
"PAN." He called out for a final time, and watched as the mirror did...absolutely nothing! The hell? Although I don't completely understand that kid's powers, I'm pretty sure he can use mirrors as a medium for his senses. He should be able to hear me! Banjo thought to himself, sliding his phone into his pocket and leaving the room. Strangely, the house they had rented out in León was completely empty.
He headed up the stairs to the third, and final floor, before walking out onto the balcony. Looking down, he could see Shen and Malincha talking to each other about something, which was odd. They're either slowly becoming friends or moments away from murdering each other.
"Pan?" He called out again, cupping his hands around his mouth.
"I thought I told Shen to tell you the next time you called out for me, I'd make a banjo out of your rotting corpse." Banjo whipped around and saw Pan grinning down at him from on top of the chimney, still wearing the old boy scout uniform.
"Nice bluff! You need me to help find those eyes, or your fish food." Banjo climbed onto the railing and then neatly backflipped onto the roof of the house, landing beside Pan, who held a dead rat in his hand.
"Hey, can I kill that Andone guy? We don't need him, right?" Pan blurted out, completely ignored what Banjo said, swinging his legs happily from on top of the chimney while he fidgeted with the rat corpse. "The way he knocked Shoe, or whatever his name was into tomorrow was hilarious."
"Dude?" Banjo stared at Pan, who blinked and then shrugged. "Chill with the serial killer vibes for at least one moment!"
"You people are so ridiculous with all of your rules. Why can't we just go to the Labyrinth and kill everyone in our way?" Pan chuckled.
Banjo sighed. "All you know how to do is fight, but there's more to it then fighting when it comes to the Labryinth. If we didn't proceed carefully, we would have never learned about the shipping-"
"Buy your own ship, aren't you rich?" Pan suggested
"Well, it's not that simple, it-"
"Why not?" Pan interrupted again, grinning down at Banjo, who just snorted at him. "Well, I guess I can handle being bored for a bit longer, on the condition you don't make me do any boring stuff-"
"So, anything that doesn't involve brutally maiming people, got it." Banjo grinned and gave a thumbs up to Pan.
"Now whaddya want?" Pan tossed the rat corpse into the air, and it slid down the roof, Banjo stepping to the side. Banjo walked further up the roof, and then pointed down to the street, where a few kids played football in the streets.
"Am I supposed to be seeing something?"
"I came up here to ask if you want to play football, as a pass time while I wait for Andone to finish up writing everything he knows! You know, that's what normal, non-edgy kids do for fun."
"What's football?"
"Oh. So, you didn't play football with your papa, the devil, as a kid? Using human souls as the balls?" Banjo teased the kid, and Pan just narrowed his eyes at the man.
"I will kill you." Pan stated in a very serious tone, and Banjo laughed nervously.
"To be honest, I haven't ever played it either. It's something to do with kicking balls around with your feet." Banjo explained.
Pan watched the kids run around the street nimbly, passing the ball to each other swiftly, and finessing the balls into the makeshift goals they made. "What's the point of it?"
"To have fun, and exercise."
"By passing around a ball? It looks more like a waste of time." Pan put a hand to his chin as he watched them play, observing their every moves intently.
"You know what, this question's been pulling at me for ages, but I've gotta ask, what was your childhood even like? Like. What'd you do for fun?" Banjo asked, and Shen stared at him for a few seconds, scratching his head.
"Well...I dunno. The Devil always had control of my body, so I was just...there. In my own body, but I couldn't even move it! It was like I was dreaming....and then, when he stopped controlling it, it was like I finally woke up." Pan tilted his head to the side slightly. "Now that I think about it, I've never thought much about my past."
"Gotta agree with you on that one, kid. Not the whole monster controlling your body thing, but I've never really thought about my past. It's like everything in the past is just...irrelevant to me."
The two watched in silence, Banjo standing up, his hands in his pockets, and Pan sitting on the chimney. Banjo started to think about his past...his sister...how was his sister doing? He hadn't seen her since he had left her...did she hate him now? She must really hate me. She hasn't called me since. He thought, and..he felt himself sort of becoming a bit nostalgic and... sad.
I suppose it was a sacrifice that I had to make. He shook his head sadly, and found Pan looking at him, obviously confused. "Are you done looking all sad?"
"Well, you wanna play soccer or not?" Banjo asked.
"I'm bored...so fine! Whoever steals their ball-" He pointed to the group of kids playing out on the streets, grinning. "And makes it all the way around without getting it stolen wins."
"You're on." Banjo grinned at Pan, who stood up, sliding his pockets into his hands. They both slowly started to descend the chimney before vanishing off into the streets.
ns 15.158.61.48da2
