The kid wasn't mute, was he? He'd talked before. Not much, admittedly, and he did sound as if he was recovering from either a bad cold or a lot of screaming. Ryouma flipped the candy over on his tongue and considered responses to a very one-sided conversation.

"Usually," he said at last, "people pick up on that. Ask about the mission. Ask what else I've been rescued with, if it wasn't candy. Hell, say they'd rather be Shida Akumaru's favorite than mine. That was a joke," he added sharply, as the kid's brows twitched. "I automatically increase the awesomeness level of my favorite people. Shida just breaks them, apparently. I haven't had the pleasure of meeting him yet, but you should hear some of the stories."

He paused. "That was another conversational gambit. You could ask me about the stories. Or you could tell me your name and why you run around handing out candy and then playing Tongueless Wonder Boy. It's got to be a good story."