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“Are you ready, kiddo?”
“Yes.”
Two sets of legs stepped out of the car. Instinctively, their owners did a 360-degree sweep of the park to make sure they weren't being followed before making their way toward a large stretch of open grass.
The older of the two led the way, a duffel bag slung over his shoulder, the breeze blowing strands of blond hair into his face. The young boy had to almost jog to keep up with him.
Once they reached the middle of the field, the older man opened the bag and pulled out a crusty old baseball glove and a ball. The young boy rocked nervously on his feet.
“You okay, Gin?”
“This is the first time I've been somewhere so open, meow.”
“Are you scared? We can go somewhere else.”
“...I'll be fine, woof.”
“Okay...”
He handed the glove to the boy.
“You might struggle to wear this over your paws.”
“I can take them off, woof. For this.”
He did exactly that, tucking them safely into the pocket of his hood. The last time Keiji had picked him up for one of these outings, Gin had chosen to leave the hood at home. The fact that he was wearing it today meant he'd expected this to be harder.
Keiji took the ball and backed up a few paces.
“Okay, let me see what you can do!”
Gin raised the glove tentatively.
Keiji tossed the ball toward him.
The moment it came close, Gin yelped and jumped back.
“Was that too fast? Sorry...”
Gin silently nodded.
Keiji retrieved the ball and tossed it again, this time slower and softer. Gin didn't flinch away, but he still missed the catch.
“No problem. It takes a bit of getting—”
Keiji stopped when he noticed Gin's eyes filling with tears.
“It's a bit much, isn't it? That's okay. Let's rest for a bit.”
The two of them sat on the grass, letting the afternoon sun warm them.
Eventually, Gin spoke.
“Do you think he ever dropped it, meow?”
“I'm sure he dropped catches loads of times. Remember when we watched that video of one of his old matches? He dropped one in front of a huge crowd.”
“Oh yeah!”
“And do you remember what he did afterwards? After everyone saw him miss the ball, right in front of all those cameras?”
“He laughed, woof.”
“Exactly.”
Gin took a deep breath, thinking for a moment.
“Let's keep going.”
Gin raised the glove.
"Ready?"
Gin nodded.
Keiji tossed the ball in a gentle arc.
Gin kept his feet planted this time. The ball bounced awkwardly against the leather before dropping into the pocket of the glove.
"...I did it woof."
"You did!" Keiji couldn’t help but smile at Gin's bewilderment. "See? I told you it'd get easier."
A small smile spread across Gin's face.
"Again."
They threw the ball back and forth until the sun began to dip below the horizon.
At some point, Keiji stopped tracking the people walking past.
At some point, Gin's hood slipped off his head, and he didn't stop to put it back on.
Once the streetlights flickered to life, they packed up without a word. Being outside during the day was one thing, but neither of them was ready to face the nighttime just yet.
“You did good, Gin.” The blond man smiled. “He would be so proud of you.”
“And you too!” Gin replied. “You were brave today!”
“I was?”
“You went outside with me, and you didn't freeze up or zone out! And you didn't need your drink bottle!”
So he had noticed the bottle...
The last few times they'd met up...
Smart kid.
“Yeah... I guess we were both brave, huh?” Keiji sighed as he drove. “Maybe next time we could go to a busier park. There might be some other kids you could play with.”
“I don't think I'm that brave yet.”
“Yeah... me either, to be honest. Pretend I never said that.”
He absently scratched at his neck. It was still a little red and inflamed, but the worst of the infection had healed since the metal collar had been removed.
Keiji pulled up outside Gin's house. No doubt the boy's mother would already be waiting by the door.
“So... what's left on your list, Gin?”
Gin looked down.
“Next is 'Going to an ice cream shop.'”
“An ice cream shop?! There'll be lots of people there this time of year. It's summer!”
“Maybe... maybe we could buy ice cream and eat it at home?”
“Sure. That works. We'll do that next week, okay? Mr. Policeman has lots of appointments over the next few days.”
“Okay.”
They had almost finished Gin's list.
They hadn't been able to follow it exactly, but they'd decided changing things to make them easier was okay. Going to a rock concert had become listening to a CD in the safety of Keiji's apartment. Going to an art gallery had turned into making arts and crafts at home after the sight of the gallery's walls triggered a meltdown.
It was the thought that counted.
Something to remember them all.
After the ice cream, there was only one item left.
Gin hadn't mentioned it since the first time he'd shown the list to the policeman and asked if they could meet regularly to complete it together.
Keiji knew Gin hadn't brought it up again because neither of them was ready.
He also knew that when the time came, Gin would insist on doing this one properly.
No hood.
No drink bottle.
"Go to a kendo class and kick someone's butt."