Chapter 1: The close encounter with a wild soul; What does Death taste like?
Chapter by God_Pigeon
Chapter Text
The sun blazed, panting down on the city. It was quiet in the park except for a small bird in the tree beside them. A breeze rustled through the branches and the bird hopped closer. It was early spring, and the birds of Death City were filling the background with song.
The red-eyed boy smiled. His Meister blushed. She took his hand and in a soft voice said his name, "Soul."
"Maka," He answered easily, giving her hand a gentle squeeze. Today was the day. He had decided that. He knew from the day they met four years ago. Sometimes he had been foolish - and fighting two years in a war hadn't exactly helped. Yet here they were, two years after Maka's bravery had destroyed the Kishin Asura, and he loved her even more. He'd known it would be her when she hadn't run from his song. But how was a weapon to tell his Meister...?
Maka's face fell. Soul frowned. Today had been mostly perfect, aside from Blair being... Well, Blair. So what was Maka upset about now?
"Do you feel that?" she asked. Her voice was still soft, but it now held an edgy note.
He sighed and reclaimed his hand, "You're the one who can see souls."
"It's coming closer...." Maka glanced around the empty park. Her body tensed, "It's so.... Cold..."
A cold soul? Soul scowled. Today wasn't the day after all. "What is it?"
It answered for him. A girl with thick red pigtails reaching the ground grabbed Maka's shoulders from behind. The sudden stop of fast movement sent a whirlwind of red hair whipping around the three of them.
The girl's yellow eyes were wild. She stood on her toes and licked Maka's cheek. "I want.... Your soul!" Her voice was light, airy, and all together too happy.
"Maka!" Soul shouted. He tried to grab her hand, but the yellow-eyed demon was too fast. They were halfway down the path by the time Soul could give chase. "DAMNIT!"
"Get off! Let me go!" Maka flailed. The weapon was unaffected by her attacks.
Rivin giggled, coming to a stop in the center of the graveyard. "This looks like a good place! It's all stitch-y and stuff!"
"What!?" Maka exclaimed. She suddenly found herself on her feet, staring at Dr. Stein's massive grey house, "Why did you bring me here?" She glared at her kidnapper. Delicate features and small stature would have made the girl a laughable opponent, had it not been for the coldness radiating from her bloody orange soul.
"Because, silly," Rivin grinned. Her teeth were sharp, small and seemed more carnivorous than most human teeth. Her large, long canines gave the Meister chills. "I want to eat your soul~" She straightened the high collar on her black leather vest, using the motion to also ensure that her bikini top was firmly tied. It wouldn't do to have it fall off now, after all.
Maka's eye twitched, "You can't do that! It's against the rules. You are a weapon, aren't you?" She wondered if that was all. With teeth like that, what kind of weapon could she be? She started to edge away, half helplessly hoping she could outrun her opponent.
"Yup, yup!" Rivin sang with a nod as she removed her shoes. She never did understand why she was obligated to wear them. The black leather thigh-highs lay dejectedly on the ground. Four inch metal heels glinted like malevolent daggers. "But your soul looks yummy..." There was a rush of wind and Rivin's nose touched Maka's. Her trembling fingertips touched Maka's solar-plexus. "Can I have it, please?"
Maka gasped and jumped away. It felt like a direct soul attack. Just what was this weapon? Who was her Meister? She didn't have time to wonder. Her opponent was dangerous and mad. She forced her own weapon side to awaken. A scythe slid out of each elbow, curving back around her body. Each was black with a jagged silver blade.
Rivin was enjoying herself. She attacked lightly, driving her prey into the house. Small jabs and light kicks, sometimes just touching her bare toes against Maka's open points - Hips, shoulders, shins. She left herself completely unguarded, cackling madly when Maka managed to separate a large chunk of bicep from her arm. The wound closed before it could bleed. The most damage that seemed to be done was the slippage of her arm warmer down to her elbow. Rivin giggled, "That kinda hurt my feelings, you know."
Maka gritted her teeth. She parried a kick with the flat of her blade, trying to toss Rivin back. Instead, the deranged weapon bolted to the side, using the split second to sink her canine like fangs into Maka's upper arm. Warmth gushed down, dripping from the meister's fingers.
The yellow-eyed demon grinned, snaking her hand into Maka's and clasping it tight, "Bite marks are love notes, written in flesh." She grabbed Maka's pigtail and jerked her head to the side. "I love you~" Rivin bit her shoulder, creating a steady stream of blood down Maka's back.
The meister gave a war cry, exciting scythes from her back. They made a satisfying sound as they slid through the weapon's chest and stuck into the floor behind them.
"B-but ai wuv you..." Rivin pouted, tugging lightly on Maka's hair, "You're not supposed to hurt the people who love you!"
With her free arm, Maka grabbed the collar of her opponent's vest and tugged her over her shoulder, ripping Rivin apart on her bladed wings. "HA!" she cried, throwing Rivin to the ground.
Rivin gaped up at her, feeling very upside down and put out. "That wasn't very nice," she whispered as she closed her eyes slowly.
"Did I... Win?" Maka stared at the downed weapon. Her body lay in tatters and she didn't appear to be breathing... But then, she wasn't actually bleeding, and hadn't been reduced to a soul either... She stepped back, hoping that Soul could find her.
One yellow eye popped open and Rivin grinned, "Of course not. I'M INVINCIBLE!" She sprang to her feet with a sickening slurch as her body simply fit back together.
Maka ran through the house. She slid through the laboratory door and slammed it behind her. Rivin threw it open with a wide grin, "You're all out of strength. I'm going to eat you now~"
"No, you're not!" Maka rushed forward, swinging an already bruised and bleeding fist at her face.
Rivin grabbed the meister's fist, her own, smaller fingers reaching just passed Maka's knuckles. It was only then Maka realized just how much smaller her opponent was... Not that it seemed to matter. Rivin flipped her onto her stomach and sat on the Meister's back with a sigh, "If you keep struggling, your soul will start to taste funny. Just go to sleep now, okay?"
"I don't think so!" Maka rolled, forcing Rivin to jump to her feet.
There was was an explosion of glitter as the monster showed her Weapon side, followed by the clinking of metal. A heavy black ball slammed into the concrete by the Meister's face. Rivin's expression was dark. She held a black chain in her clenched hand. The chain came from the base of her spine like a tail. The glitter seemed comically out of place in the middle of the bloody dining room.
Maka froze with fear. "Wh-what kind of weapon are you?"
"I'm Rivin Soulstealer," she answered, pulling her tail up and swinging it in a circle next to her head, "And I'm rather hungry. Shut up now and let me eat you."
Maka crawled backwards. This weapon was crazy. Mad. Where was Soul?
Rivin dropped the ball on Maka's stomach. The Meister bounced in the crater she created. She coughed up blood. Rivin grinned, watching some of the light fade out of Maka's eyes. She grabbed Maka by her feet and swung her up onto the table.
The light bulb flickered and shattered. Bits of glass sprinkled her back. The darkness shrouded the room. Their battle had destroyed it. The weapon crouched above her helpless opponent. Rivin grinned manically down at her prey.
"Get off," she was trying to be brave, but Rivin knew better. Maka's green eyes were dull. The Meister could not even move. Most of her bones were broken. Where she was not cut and bleeding, she was bruised. Blood bubbled out of her mouth.
"Go to sleep now, okay?" Rivin tilted her head and smiled. The sweetness was sickening. Her fingertips traced a circle around Maka's solar-plexus. She could feel the Meister's soul tremble. Rivin applied both physical and spiritual pressure and pushed into the Meister.
She could feel the Meister's scream, though Maka never made a sound. How could she? Rivin had a hold of her soul.
The monster twitched. There was a familiar presence in the house, and it was not happy.
Leila looked up at the stitched house with an exasperated sigh and tossed her long, dark amethyst braid back over her shoulder. Her combat boots thunked down the dirt path as she entered the graveyard that surrounded the strange residence. Sharp, barbed hooks dangled from the branches of skeletal dead trees. The setting was eerie and strangely beautiful, but she had no time to stop and appreciate it.
Loud sounds were emanating from various rooms. From the sound of it, the deranged weapon in her custody had managed to find another young girl to terrorize. She approached cautiously, but impatiently. Rivin's shoes were on the front porch, confirming the crazy weapon's involvement in the situation. According to the repeated shouts from a male voice, her victim's name was Maka. Leila rubbed the bridge of her nose and opened the door.
She walked carefully through the house. She felt awful for whoever owned it, particularly if they had been home to experience the intrusion. Bits of wood and broken glass crunched under her black combat boots. The white walls were full of holes and dents. "They're gonna need a lot more stitches for that," she muttered to herself, walking further into the house.
"Who are you?" she heard the male voice ask from a corner. The white-haired boy who had been calling his friend's name had noticed her as she entered the dining room.
She didn't answer at first. Rivin was straddling a blonde girl with pigtails, reaching her hand into the girl's chest. There was no blood or wound, but Leila knew she was still in danger. She strode determinedly toward Rivin and picked up her chain. She would explain and apologize to the boy and girl after the situation was under control.
"Rivin," Leila said disapprovingly. "Is this what we should be doing?"
"Listen you, if she's your partner or something then get her away from my Meister!"
"Working on it... RIVIN." She rattled the girl's chain. "Get off that girl immediately or you'll have no dinner. NO dinner. AT ALL."
Rivin froze. Her eyes widened as her jaw dropped and her bottom lip trembled, "At all? But.... But Leila you're so mean!" the weapon threw herself on the ground at Leila's feet and cried, "Why do you hate me!?"
Soul ignored the exchange and hurried to Maka's side, "Maka! Maka, can you hear me?"
Maka did not answer. A yellow soul protruded from her chest.
Soul turned on Leila, but before he could begin his attack there was yet another visitor.
"What exactly are you doing in my house?" asked the stitch-y man as he turned the screw in his head. A thin trail of smoke wafted up from his cigarette.
"LEILA HATES ME!" Rivin wailed. "MR. STITCHY STABBY MAN SHE HATES ME!"
Stein blinked behind his glasses and turned his screw several more times.
"Oh goodness..." Leila would have been amused if the situation had been less serious. "We're sorry for the intrusion...sir..." she trailed off as she turned to look at the owner of the stitched house. He resembled his dwelling, looking like his shirt, shoes, jacket, and flesh had been ripped or cut and mended numerous times. He also had a large screw through his head that he had begun to twist while glaring at them. It made a soft click-click, click-click-click.
As strange as his appearance was, Leila was no stranger to the strange. Why, then, was she so intimidated by him? She hadn't felt intimidated by any man in over a year. She tried to meet his gaze, but could manage to do so for no more than thirty seconds or so. She blushed and looked away.
Her gaze fell instead upon the girl, Maka, and her friend. She walked toward them, feeling guilty. It had been at least half her fault, after all. The insane, soul-hungry weapon was supposed to be in her care. "I'm sorry... I should have been watching her better, but I fell asleep... And when I woke up, she was gone. The weird thing is that I wasn't even tired befo..." She trailed off, a realization hitting her suddenly. "Damn it. RIVIN!" She turned back toward the girl on the end of the chain in her hand. "I knew you wouldn't offer to make me tea unless you were planning something..."
Rivin continued to wail. Soon she was sitting in a puddle of tears, "And I didn't even get to eat her!" she sat with her knees bent, the outsides of her feet and the palms of her hands on the ground.
"I'll be having words with the two of you momentarily, but right now, I'll need some space cleared around Maka." Stein walked over to her and gestured Soul aside. "As you can see, her soul is halfway out of her body. That's a dangerous state for one to be in, especially for an extended amount of time. Please stand back, all of you."
He twisted the screw in his head with one hand and placed the other hand on Maka's chest. He closed his eyes. A shockwave went through the house. Maka stirred. "Her soul is back in place, but she still appears to have internal damage. We'll need to take her up to the DWMA to get her patched up."
Stein felt a cold, manic gaze cross the room. He quickly glanced out the window. For a moment, only an instant, really, he had thought... But of course there was no one. He could only feel the four people in the room with him. Besides, the imagined presence had died in a fire a long time ago... Of course there was no one...
Soul stared down at his Meister. It was obvious that he wanted to ask if Maka would recover, but he just ground his sharp teeth. Stein leaned against the back of the room, half in shadows. It seemed as though he was waiting for someone to enter. The infirmary was strangely quiet, even for the late afternoon. Perhaps especially for the late afternoon. The window was open, and the curtains fluttered softly in the warm breeze.
Leila sat on the opposite side of the room from Stein, alternately watching him and Rivin. She felt guilty, but there wasn't much she could do at this point. Rivin had been caught, and now they would both likely have to answer to Lord Death. Leila hoped he'd be merciful, on Rivin especially.
The mad weapon watched the stitchy man suspiciously. His face was in shadow, but she could just barely see his eyes behind his glasses. His soul was dark and conflicted. Rivin was sane enough to realize that he didn't fully know who she was, but he suspected.
He was watching the door impatiently. He reached up to the screw in his temple and began to twist it, the soft click-click-click-click gently piercing the silence. He had chain smoked on the way to the school, and Leila could tell he wanted another. She assumed the nurse wouldn't allow such a thing.
Click-click-click-click. He paused, and his hazel eyes flicked over to meet her purple ones. She wrenched them away to focus on Rivin again, feeling heat rising in her cheeks.
Rivin herself filed her nails to sharp points. "I just wanted to eat her soul," She complained after several minutes of silence.
Leila kicked her, but the other two didn't react. Rivin sniffled.
The door across the room flew open. A red haired weapon wearing a black cross for a tie practically fell into the room. "MAKA!" he screeched.
"Spirit..." Stein cautioned, stepping forward to catch his friend.
Rivin got to him first, "You smell like you would taste good." She stood on her tip-toes and licked his cheek. "Yup, If I ated you all up, it would a good thing~!"
His face turned as red as his hair, "You... uh, what?"
"Ri—"
Before even Rivin could react, Soul transformed his arm into a scythe and held it against her throat. His face was hidden by shadows, but his voice gave away his barely restrained anger, "I dare you to make a move. I'll take your head and eat your soul."
Leila took up Rivin's chain again and yanked it hard, causing Rivin to fall onto her butt. The tip of Soul's blade sliced open her cheek, but only Stein seemed to notice. He watched the wound heal with interest. What kinds of things could this one heal from? Was there a limit? Could he find it?
His jaw slackened slightly as he put a few key pieces of information together. She was one of three people who had the ability to directly grab souls. She healed almost instantly from any injury, and she was quite mad... He adjusted his screw once more. There was almost no way she wasn't Luceria Gorgon. The only way to tell definitely would be to check her soul. But he wasn't ready to see that. Not yet. He couldn't face the past; the static would be too loud.
Leila stood and glared at the girl. She really didn't want to cause any additional trouble for these people. "Rivin," she said, her voice even and dangerous, "All these cravings for souls, you don't seem to be very hungry for actual food...perhaps you'd like to go without dinner tomorrow as well?" She ignored Rivin's horrified expression and turned to the red haired man to apologize, but he seemed to be distracted by his bleeding nose. Leila rolled her deep violet eyes.
Stein chuckled and walked over to Leila. "Seems like you have quite the full-time job there...I'm sorry, I didn't get your name."
She shuddered. Her cheeks reddened yet again. "L-Leila."
"Leila. I see. Are you her Meister, Leila?" He knew the answer. He just couldn't understand how it was that such a simple, though admittedly elegant, woman could contain the Demon Weapon.
"No...I'm a weapon, actually." She fiddled with the end of her long braid, pretending to be fascinated with the black strands with an amethyst sheen.
"Well, we should leave Maka with her loved ones; I'll take you two to see Lord Death." He turned to lead them out.
Spirit looked back and forth between his daughter and Rivin. His nose continued to bleed. He seemed torn between actually being a father and getting to know the new weapon.
"Lord Death?" Rivin tilted her head, "Does he taste good?"
Soul growled, but it was Stein who responded, "I don't know. Maybe you should ask him yourself."
"Really!?" Rivin's eyes grew large and her mouth hung open for the split second it took her to process the idea. She skipped through the open door and pulled at her tail-leash, "Come on, Leila! Let's go! I wanna taste death!"
"Do I taste good?" Death looked down at his over-large hand and tilted his head, "I'm not sure about that. I am Death, after all."
The vibrant blue of the Death Room was completely cloudless today, contrasted only by the iron windows and the guillotine hallway.
Rivin pouted. She didn't think that the mirror containing the strange thing would taste good, and she didn't want to lick it. Who knew who else had tried to eat Death? "But I wanna know."
Stein sighed as Lord Death looked to him for help. Receiving none, the Shinigami looked back at the two new people. "Well, uhhh.... What is your name again, young weapon?"
"You changed the subject!" Rivin waved her fist around, "I am Rivin Soulstealer and I want to know how you taste!"
"Nerrrm...." Death tilted his head and turned his attention to Leila, "How is it you came to be her keeper?"
Leila jumped slightly when the strange shinigami addressed her. "Well I was walking," she began, forcing her mind to skip over the tragic events that had led to their meeting. "I had nowhere to stay, so I was trying to find a hotel or something. She tackled me out of nowhere, saying something about my soul looking purple and delicious. I figured those were the words of someone in danger of becoming a Kishin, so I took her into my custody so I could watch her."
"And feed me~" Rivin beamed back at Leila.
".... Riiiiight." Death tried to ignore her and continue his conversation with the more sane weapon, "Is she in danger of becoming a Kishin?"
"She did try to eat Maka's soul." Stein reminded him with a twist of his screw, "I don't think she's very safe to keep around. Why don't you give her to me? I could use a subject for my experiments, and it doesn't look like Spirit is going to volunteer."
"Hmmmmmmmmmmm..."
"NOOO!" Rivin glomped Leila's leg, hands trembling. "I'll be good I promise just don'tlethimgetmewiththeneedls!"
"OW," Leila exclaimed as Rivin's face hit her leg and dug in.
Stein's eyes narrowed. He wasn't ready to see her soul; the soul he helped create. However, it was the law of Occam's Razor: the simplest solution was likely the best. The logical conclusion was that Rivin was Luceria Gorgon... And she remembered him.
"She's still got a ways to go before she becomes a full Kishin, but as you can tell, she has the drive for it." Leila bent down and grabbed the top of Rivin's head, then positioned it to where they were almost nose to nose. She smiled, but her eyes glared. "So what do you say, sweetie? You wanna go with the nice stitch-y doctor man and help him with his work?"
Rivin squeaked and shook her head profusely. Her eyes shone with tears, "Nu! Leila! You gotta protect me from the scary people! Please."
"I think you have this companionship slightly backwards, dear." Leila sighed and narrowed her eyes in annoyance. She wanted to be angrier at the crazy weapon, but after traveling together for so long, Leila had grown a sort of sisterly attachment to her. The fear in her eyes made her feel guilty. "You ARE the scary people. I protect people from you." She let go of Rivin's head and patted it gently.
"Oh," Rivin sniffled, "I don't wanna be scary now. I'll be good and not eat. I don't have to. I can be hungry. I can deal with that."
That seemed to remind Death of another student, "Whatever you do, Stein, do not allow Rivin and Crona to have any contact. I forbid it, kay?"
"You don't mean...?"
"Oh, I mean it. Could you imagine if they fed off the other's madness?"
Stein sighed and lit another cigarette, "So. You're going to enroll them in the academy?"
"Of course," Death was taken aback, "What better way to keep an eye on them than have them attend classes?"
"Are you sure about this?" Stein did not seem confident in this decision, "Keeping a mad weapon around the students—"
"I'm not mad," Rivin blinked at him, "I'm happih! You're mad. Quite mad." She began to giggle uncontrollably.
"That's not really relevant right now," Stein said somewhat irritably. Her fear was giving way to madness. It was probably a defense mechanism, but it wasn't a good one.
Leila kicked Rivin again to make her stop giggling. She was wrong, she was clearly mad...but the more Leila watched Stein, the more she thought Rivin might be right about him. If nothing else, he was a bit...off. She couldn't blame Rivin for being scared of him...but it wasn't fear that drew her eyes to him and made her stomach dance when he spoke in his soft, calm voice. He made eye contact yet again, so instead she looked at Rivin. Her best friend. Why do I always surround myself with crazy people?
"Madness is always relevant," Rivin grinned, "especially...."
Stein tensed. Could she see his soul? Seeing as she was mainly a weapon, it was highly unlikely, but she was still a Witch. Still his creation.
"When it tastes good!"
"Well, then it's settled!" Death clapped, "Rivin and Leila, you are now enrolled in the academy!"
"Kay!" Rivin sang her agreement, "Leila, we're going to school! Maybe they can teach me how to cook."
Leila shuddered at the thought. Rivin cooking? Never again.
"Stein, you are in charge of them. Now, why don't you go show them around the school. Just keep clear of Crona."
"Fine." Stein had no more to say. He didn't want to be anywhere near them right now.
"Yay!" Rivin tackled him and pinned him to the ground, "Stitch-y doctor man is gonna stay with us!" She tapped his screw and whispered, "And if he tries to stick me with the needles, I'll eat him~"
He frowned. His cigarette had fallen out of his hand and rolled away. He knew that this one didn't make idle threats. The Gorgon's very rarely did. Her face was inches from his. He kept his voice low, for her ears only. "No one is going to do that again."
"Promise."
He hesitated. Not because he had thoughts to continue the experiment, but because of the tremble in her voice. Guilt was not an emotion he had experience with, and he wasn't certain that was what his soul was feeling... Even still, he was feeling something. "I promise."
Leila sighed and tugged her chain. "Yes dear, he'll go with us. Now get off of him or I'll let him dissect you."
Rivin obeyed with an overly cutesy smile, "He could try~"
Lord Death coughed, suddenly wondering if this was such a good idea after all. It wasn't as if he had actually checked their souls... And now he wasn't sure if he really wanted to know what Rivin was. "I usually don't send students to be dissected, so unless you get expelled, it's not something you'll have to worry about, I don't think."
"Oh," Rivin tilted her head at him, yellow eyes glowing, "I'll be good, don't worry."
"I'm a little worried." Death confided.
"Alright then, follow me." Stein waved them out, starting down the hallway.
They had barely stepped out of the death room when a crazy kid with spiky blue hair ran at them screaming, "YOU! IT WAS YOU THAT HURT MAKA. I, BLACK STAR, WILL DEFEAT YOU AND AVENGE HER!" He lunged at Rivin with his ninja sword.
Rivin blinked, grabbed his wrist and flung him through the wall. It all took so little effort that she didn't even grin.
Black Star, skidded on his head to the other end of the small-ish room and only stopped when his back hit the other wall. He jumped to his feet and charged again.
Stein sighed, "Black Star, This really isn't the time..."
This time when Black Star was close enough to grab, Rivin gripped his wrist and flipped his arm behind his back. She yanked her tail from Leila's hand and wrapped it around Black Star's throat. Rivin licked his cheek, then whispered in his ear, "You taste bad. I don't ever want to see you again, kay?"
A shiver went through Black Star, but he got over it quickly. He used his weapon to loosen the chain and escape. Tsubaki became two miniature scythes attached by a chain. "I am Black Star! I'm going to surpass god!"
"That's enough, Black Star," Stein seemed to be annoyed. He twisted his screw. "Rivin and Leila are new students here."
"Then I challenge them to a battle! You can watch and make it official. But I'm gonna get her for what she did to Maka!"
Rivin yawned, "You don't interest me, boy."
Leila wasn't sure what to make of the blue-haired boy. He was... loud. Stupidly arrogant. Loud. She grabbed the chain again. "Ok Rivin, that's enough." She couldn't keep the amusement from her voice. She felt bad for Maka and her white-haired weapon, but she couldn't help thinking ha, Rivin sure shut that kid up.
"Okay, Leila." Rivin grinned, absently pulling her torn vest over her breasts. "He's not worth my time, anyway."
"Be that as it may, let's continue the tour, shall we?"
"But...." The kid looked confused, "I'm Black Star... I'm the big man on campus..."
The weapon changed into her human form. She wore a small smile and patted Black Star on the shoulder, "Don't worry, Black Star. I'm sure you'll have a chance to fight them again. They are students here, after all."
"That's right!" Black Star was full of himself again as the trio began walking away, "They're just afraid of me. That's it. Because I'm Black Star, the man who will surpass GOD!"
"Riiiiiight...let's go with that." Leila rolled her eyes and turned to follow Stein.
"Next I'll show you two the classroom. You'll be expected to be there by 7:00 every morning or there will be consequences."
Leila sighed as her stomach did a particularly intricate little twist.
Suddenly they heard voices ahead of them. "All I'm saying is, if one half of the room has to be black and charred up then the other half should too. Of course I don't want to destroy Dad's school, but I wasn't the one to light the classroom on fire in the first place, so why should I be punished by having to look at an asymmetrical room while I'm trying to learn? It's bad enough that I've already had to get used to these being so uneven..."
They rounded the corner to see a pale boy with black and white hair grabbing the boobs of two girls in similar outfits. The shorter weapon had puffy shorts and the taller one was in pants, but they both wore calf-high cowboy boots and white hats, red crop tops with turtlenecks and no sleeves. They stood outside a large lecture room. The door looked to be in good shape, but looking into the room showed just over half of the desks and chairs were nothing more than black, charred wood and ash. Leila raised an eyebrow.
Rivin squealed and ran forward. Her tail elongated to allow the movement, "I wanna play, too!" She grabbed the free boob of each of the girls, "Hi, I'm Rivin!" she giggled when the three of them blinked at her, "I'm new here.... I like your boobs!"
"Uhh..." said both the boy and the taller girl. The boy's hands dropped to his sides.
The younger girl grinned back and waved, "I'm Patti! I like my boobs, too!"
The taller girl didn't say anything, but she did look rather uncomfortable. She raised an eyebrow at Rivin and Patti and cleared her throat. "Ahem?"
Leila wanted to tell her to stop, but she was too busy laughing. The black-haired boy looked calmly at Stein. "Who are these young women?"
"This is Leila, and the one currently violating your partners is Rivin."
"I see." The boy turned to Leila and smiled politely. "Welcome to the Death Weapon Meister Academy. I'm Lord Death's son, Death the Kid. You can call me Kid."
Leila shook Kid's hand and smiled back. "Nice to meet you."
"Not to interrupt the introductions, but don't you think that Rivin's hand placement is in a dangerous location, especially considering her power?" Stein took a drag from his cigarette.
"Well, she hasn't made a comment about how they might taste yet, but I see your point." She tugged the chain. "Come on now, that's about enough."
"But," Rivin turned her wide yellow eyes on Leila with a pout, "But they're so bouncy and round!"
"Eehee!" Patti agreed, groping Rivin in return, "Your Meister's pretty!"
Rivin giggled, "She's not my Meister. No one could be my partner! I'm too awesome."
"Be that as it may," Stein interrupted, "It would make me feel better if you would release Kid's weapons." So she isn't aware that she can resonate with any Meister. Interesting.
"Ohhhh...." Rivin pouted as she did as she was told, then she grinned slyly, "Don't be mad, Mr. Stabby Man. It'll make your soul taste funny."
His eyes narrowed slightly. "Stein will do."
"MR. STITCHY STABBY MAN!"
Kid's eye twitched and he looked Rivin up and down. Pigtails...hair parted directly down the center...gloves the same length and pulled up to the same place...there's not even a scuff mark on either of her boots! Even the tears in her vest are perfectly the same... He took a deep breath, his eyes wide. "You're..."
Leila was nervous. Was he going to yell at Rivin? She probably deserved it, but she didn't want Rivin to start crying and whining again...
"YOU'RE BEAUTIFUL!!!" he cried, hugging Rivin. Leila stared, dumbfounded.
"Uhhhhhhhh......." Rivin blinked, trying and failing to push him away, "Thanks?" Who is this kid and why is he hugging me? His soul is a funny color. It smells weird. But he thinks am pretty. Why? I'm apposedta be scary! "But.... Aren't I scary?" She turned to Stein for confirmation, but he was studiously ignoring her.
"I'm scary, too!" Patti exclaimed, hunching over with her wrists near her mouth, "I'm a dinosaur, RAWR!"
"Of course you are," said the taller girl, patting her on the head. "By the way, I'm Liz." She offered her hand and Leila shook it. She then turned to Rivin with an eyebrow raised, "So, What kind of outfit is that?"
Rivin tilted her head, still pushing ineffectively at Kid with one hand, "What do you mean? They're just clothes..."
"I mean," Liz rolled her steely blue eyes, "What's with the ragged fashion statement? Seriously. And is that a bathing suit?" Her voice practically twisted with contempt.
"Oh." Rivin grinned her best foxy grin and her eyes danced, "The statement is that I'm immortal, but my clothes aren't. You can stab me or rip me in half, but you just can't kill me~" Her tone grew light with giggles. There was someone hugging her who wasn't Leila, and who wasn't actively attempting to restrain her. There was no fear in his soul, just a subtle warmth. It was almost painful.
Kid collected himself and straightened his suit. He looked Rivin over once more, appreciating her perfectly symmetrical features, before turning to the slightly more interesting topic. "Immortal? I would like some more information. Perhaps a demonstration of some sort?"
Leila drew a sharp breath, placing a hand on Rivin's shoulder - just in case - "I don't think that's the best idea right now. It might make a mess and-"
"Awww," Rivin grinned up at her, hoping no one else could feel her heart beating frantically, "It would only bleed a little~" She giggled, turning back to Kid. He was still watching her. She didn't like it. Did she? It was hard to tell. She didn't usually like close personal contact. "But Leila says I can't show you now, maybe later. MAYBE I'LL FIGHT THAT KID IN CLASS TOMORROW!"
Patti roared, "YEAH GET HIM! I'LL HELP AND WE CAN BE INVINCIBLE DINOSAURS!"
"I'm not sure that's a good idea," Liz patted her on the head.
Kid cleared his throat, feeling something like suspicion from Rivin's soul - suspicion directed at him. He redirected his attention to Leila. "You'll be attending classes, then?"
"Yeah, starting tomorrow. I just hope we get to meet the teacher soon."
"I believe you've already met him." He nodded at Stein, who smirked and twisted his screw. I also believe that I need to know more about Rivin. Immortal? Like me?
Leila made a mental note to add ginger ale to her list of school supplies.
"Anyway, the classroom isn't in the best shape right now, but it's still functional." He grimaced at the thought of it. "I don't know which is worse," he muttered. "The fact that it's burnt, or the fact that half of it isn't!"
"Did you want to burn the other half?" Rivin's face brightened. She might just get to have some fun today, after all, "I wanna help!" She pulled a lighter out of the pocket of her black leather vest with a manic grin.
"Well, I can't pretend it didn't cross my mind, but I don't think my father would appreciate that. So you should probably put that away."
"Ohhhhkaaayyyyy...." Rivin pocketed her lighter, "Am I gonna have any fun today?"
"No." Stein twisted his screw, "Now follow me to your room."
"I don't wanna." Rivin sat at Kid's feet, "I wanna stay here with them. They're more fun than Leila." Even if Kid's weird, at least he's not cold. And Patti is silly. Maybe she would be... a friend? Can I have friends without eating them?
Patti giggled and nommed lightly on Rivin's head. Her words were muffled but still intelligible, "I want Rivin to stay! Stay and play with me!"
Liz made note of Leila and Stein's look and shook her head. She pulled Patti away, "I'm not so sure that's a good idea, Patti."
"But I want Rivin to play with me..." She tried to reach out for the weapon, but her arms couldn't quite reach.
"Well, you can play with her later. I'm sure she's tired and wants to see her room now."
"No I don't." Rivin crossed her arms and turned her head. Her tail turned into a bundle of sparkles and glittered into nothingness in Leila's hand. "So there."
"Well I do. You're exhausting." Leila pulled Rivin along by the collar of her vest and followed Stein.
He marveled at how easily and carelessly she kept the Gorgon under control. Likely, she had no idea who, or what, Rivin really was. Still, the bond that Rivin had formed with Leila was fascinating.
"Here we are." Stein said after a short walk through Death City. The duplex was small and quite old, with small windows and no shutters. He opened the door for them. Inside was a cozy - looking room with two small sofas, a table, and a television. The back of the room had a surprisingly large kitchen, and down a small hallway was a bathroom and two bedrooms, each with their own twin bed. The carpet was worn thin in some places, but the brown had stayed warm. "It's a bit small, but I think you'll be comfortable."
Leila stepped inside and looked around. It was nicer than any place she'd stayed in a while. She smiled at Dr. Stein. "Thank you, sir, it's great."
"Please, call me Professor. I'll see you two tomorrow morning, at seven." He closed the door and left. He hoped that he'd given them a room far enough from Crona. They wouldn't encounter each other...until class in the morning. He sighed. He still wondered if this was a good idea. Leila seemed trustworthy, but he wasn't certain this scenario was good for Rivin.
He twisted his screw. Not to mention the unsettling ability she had... And now he had a letter to write. Stein wondered absently which hovel his old partner was staying in, and if he had any knowledge of their third companion... Fire was usually a good way to cleanse the world of unwanted darkness, but one could never be sure with Witches... Particularly the old kind. Oh well. They would see how class went.
Rivin plopped down on the couch close to the window, "Leila, make me a doughnut? I'll be good, I promise." She didn't wait for an answer. She felt funny. Wobbly in the mind. But not the good wobbles that made her happy. "I think I like it here. I like Death. I want to taste him. I won't eat that Meister - for now. Please, can we stay for a while? I don't want to leave again."
Leila smiled softly at her. She felt the same way (with the exception of the tasting part), even if their teacher made her...uncomfortable. "Of course dear." She went to the kitchen to whip something up. She didn't have a lot of materials, but she was used to that. She pulled her meager collection of cooking equipment out of her small backpack.
It took her about an hour, but the result was a batch of rather good looking donuts. She brought one out to Rivin, but found her lying down and snoring. Leila laughed at her companion and covered her up with a blanket. "We'll have fun tomorrow. We're students now, can you believe it?" Smiling, she went to clean up the kitchen
Chapter 2: Two new students: Rivin, what did you do?
Chapter Text
Rivin sat straight up with a gasp. She panted, glancing wildly around the dark room. Red swirls glowed and spun in the light swallowing black around her. She could hear them. Laughing. Laughing at her. Her heart beat frantically. Her head was light but the rest of her was heavy - too heavy. She couldn't move. Couldn't run. She was—
Leila snorted in her sleep and rolled over. Rivin could see her through the open doors. Her arm hung off the small bed. Her heart slowed. She was able to take a deep breath and began calming down. "Just a dream."
Her voice shook. She took a moment to use her soul to check her bodily functions. Her heart seemed to be beating a bit faster than normal, but that was to be expected; the rest of her was fine, no new strange scars. No corpses with faces twisted by fear or shock or betrayal. She was, however, crying. It was that damn dream again. Needles. Rivin wiped her face with the back of her hand.
"I've been pretty okay, so there won't be any," she mumbled to herself, "And it's six thirty... I should get Leila up so she can see Dr. Stabby. She likes him..."
Before she could think too much about him, Rivin hauled herself out of bed and turned the corner into the bathroom. To the left of the door was a sliding door with a full length mirror. She opened it. Inside were the weird machines that made a lot of noise. Leila said that one got clothes clean, like when people take showers, and the other was basically a giant hair dryer.
She frowned to one side of her mouth, closing the door again. Leila would probably be happy that they were here, even though she wouldn't be happy if Rivin played with them again. Once Leila had told her that the dryer was really warm, Rivin had decided to test it. Apparently people weren't supposed to go in clothes dryers.
Across the closet was a set of four small cupboards. Directly across from the door were two towel racks. To the left was the counter and sink and toilet. To the right was the shower and tub. Rivin experimented with the knob, then with the shower head. It wasn't a fancy one, unfortunately, but it would do to wash her hair. Luckily someone had supplied them with some cheap shampoo and conditioner.
With the towel wrapped around her head, she sat on her fellow weapon, "Leila, is time to be awake. You have about twenty minutes until you get to see Stitch-y Doctor Man."
Leila smiled, still mostly asleep. "Mmmmmm...Stitch-y man... pretty... Professor... TWENTY MINUTES!" She sat up quickly, causing Rivin to fall onto the floor. She rushed, showering, drying, re-braiding her hair, and getting dressed again in about 10 minutes. She checked herself in the mirror and went to put on her combat boots. "Come on, or we'll be late!"
"Hmmm..." Rivin put the black bows in her floor-length pigtails and pulled them tight before following the rushed Leila out of the room and down the block. Leila walked into class without a second glance, but Rivin just had to stop and stare down at the pink haired, black robed kid drawing circles on the floor in front of the door.
"You smell funny." Rivin informed him. Something was wrong... Just slightly off.
He looked up at her with black eyes, "Maka is sick," he whispered sadly, "I don't know how to deal with people when Maka is sick."
Rivin sighed, "Well, I'm Rivin. You can sit with Leila and I. We're new here." There are two souls inside him.
"but.... You're a girl..."
"Yup." Rivin tried to smile. Why does the second soul look like....?
He put his head back down on his knees and mumbled, "I don't know how to deal with girls."
"Hey, you." A rough voice behind her growled, "Leave Crona alone."
Rivin grinned over her shoulder at Soul, "Don't worry, he smells funny. Not at all like your Meister."
"I don't wanna hear you talk about Maka." He snapped. His fists bunched up and his eyes were tight. "If you threaten Maka or my friends, I will kill you."
"You could try," she giggled, "But Patti the dinosaur might eat you."
His eye twitched, "Patti? When did you—"
"Her boobs are bouncy and round," Rivin recalled with a forced manic grin. She was too unsettled by Crona's scent to retreat into her madness. She needed to remember what was happening. "Much better than your Meis—"
He punched her square in the jaw. Rivin slammed against the wall with a dull thud. He hit me. Someone actually hit me. He's not afraid of me. At all!
"I told you not to talk about Maka!"
"Please," Crona whimpered, holding his head, "Don't fight. I don't know how to deal with you fighting..."
"Join in!" Raged a black demon with a white X on his face and white gloves. He hit the top of Crona's head several times and pulled his hair. "You're such a weakling!"
Rivin felt sick. All she could do was stare. No, not here! How...? Why? What do I do? Is this a punishment? But Raggy... They took my Raggy away but maybe that was a good thing... I'm already a weapon I'm already a weapon please no more i'm tired Twisting images of needles and black blood crashed into her but it wasn't Raggy's fault it wasn't his fault go away raggy they'll put the needles in me again.
"Hey, Ragnarok, leave him alone." Soul demanded. It seemed like it was a reflex more than actual concern. His eyes were glued to Rivin, watching her reaction to the demon sword.
Rivin gulped, unable to move. Maybe if I run away now, he won't know I was even here. He can't hurt me if he can't see me.
"It's RIVIN!" Patti cried, tackling the terrified weapon, "Good morning, Rivin!"
"H-hi, Patti," She managed a shaky smile, "How are you?"
Kid looked around at the scene. "Good morning..." his eyes narrowed. "What exactly is going on here?" If Rivin had been slightly unsettle by him, she was paralyzed by Ragnarok.
"Yeah, it seems kinda tense." Liz frowned.
Kid noted Soul's expression as the Death Scythe glowered at Rivin. "I think this has something to do with what happened to Maka."
"Oh right, that makes sense," Liz agreed. They had heard what had happened from Lord Death and Stein the night before, shortly after meeting Leila and Rivin. Liz wasn't sure what to think of her after that, especially since her meister hadn't been able to stop talking about Rivin's symmetry. And the fact that she's potentially immortal... Something I just can't be. "Well, we might as well watch."
Ragnarok suddenly looked up from beating Crona. Rivin thought she would burst into tears when it looked at her. She whimpered. Ragnarok tilted his head, then his face split into a huge grin, "I remember you! Your father can't cook. Not that Medusa was much better. Now, Tsubaki is a good cook! I wonder if she can cook doggies..."
Rivin gulped, glaring tearfully at him, "G-go away!"
"Huh." Said Soul, shoving his hands into his pockets, "I'm going to class now. Stay away from Maka."
"Good idea, Soul. We should all get to class." Kid stepped between Crona and Rivin. He addressed Ragnarok. "I don't think she's fond of you. I think you should leave her alone."
Ragnarok stuck his tongue out at Kid. "SHE LOVES ME MORE THAN YOU I'M HER RAGGY!" Crona looked apologetically at them. "I-I'm sorry!" he said timidly, then turned and ran into the classroom.
Rivin wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and rose on shaky legs, "Um, thanks, Kid...." She mumbled, unable to look him in the eye. She was supposed to be the scary one, not the scaredy-cat. Ragnarok being here would not change that. Besides, it looked as though he was attached to someone else. She didn't have to worry about him... Crona did.
Patti smiled and took her hand, "Don't worry, Ragnarok is funny. He likes candy! And I think he likes Tsubaki. I wonder if I should tell Black Star..."
Kid smirked. "Let me know if he bothers you again. Come along, Patti, Liz." He turned and walked into the classroom, flanked by his weapons.
Rivin stared after them. Why was Kid so... Nice to her? Even Leila would have just left her... But then, she was the mad one... Rivin the Smasher. Rivin the Soul Stealer... Rivin didn't matter.
"WATCH OUT BLACK STAR COMING THROUGH!" the loudmouth shoved passed Rivin and into the class. His weapon ran behind. She stopped to bow briefly with a small smile, "Sorry, we're a little late. Come on!"
Rivin sat next to Leila towards the back of the class. Kid sat in the row next to and in front of them. Soul was on the opposite side, also in front of them. Stein rolled his rolly-chair.
"Okay, class," Stein appeared rather bored, "Today's lesson is going to be interesting. You're going to learn how to resonate with another person's weapons. It's a very advanced technique that I don't expect you to accomplish."
"I'm Black Star! I can accomplish anything!"
Rivin rolled her eyes.
Stein's attention fixed on the loudmouth, "Is that right? Well then you can come show the class how to do it. Soul, you will be Black Star's weapon today."
"Again?" Soul sounded agitated, "Fine."
Black Star and Soul stood side by side at the front of the class, facing Professor Stein. "And my partner today will be..." His eyes skimmed the class.
Rivin could tell Leila wanted to volunteer. She got all fidgety when Stein looked their way. He stopped in their general direction. Leila took a sharp breath.
"Rivin. You will be my partner."
The whip sighed with relief.
Rivin blinked, "But I dunwanna. I don't need a Meister." No human could ever wield me. I'm not broken! I'm not broken but I'm not normal. He can't.
Stein was silent. He would wield Rivin, and resonate with her. Although the risks to both of their damaged souls would be great, he felt it was necessary. The benefits to knowing outweighed the risk of failure. At least in his mind. Besides, he needed to know the kind of actions she was capable of, and if she was capable of being rehabilitated at all. Just because Crona had ended up as a good ally did not mean both of them would.
Rivin glared defiantly down at him. She did not want to be within arms reach if she didn't really have to be. He had promised not to stab her anymore, but the years of fear and resentment still burned in her soul.
Leila, not understanding why her friend was being so obstinate, yanked on her tail and began twirling Rivin around above her head. Rivin brought her hands up by her face as tears leaked out of the corners of her eyes, "LEIla WHyy!?"
Leila released Rivin and she went flying towards their teacher. "Catch."
Stein held out his hand, catching Rivin by the wrist. There was an explosion of glitter and Rivin became a weapon. In one hand Stein held an over-large broadsword nearly as tall as he was. In the other was the black chain that doubled as Rivin's tail. On the end of the chain was a wrecking ball about a foot in diameter.
"Hmm. This is interesting." Stein commented, "Exactly what kind of weapon did you turn out to be?"
A pair of lips appeared towards the hilt of the sword, "I am Rivin the Smasher!"
"HEY!" Ragnarok screeched, "RIVIN, YOU GOT THE MOUTH! CRONA! I WANNA BE A SWORD! CRONAAAAAA!" He began to beat on his Meister's head and pull at his face.
"Nuuuu...." Crona tried to defend himself, "Ragnarok, stop it! Stop it, I don't know how to deal with this!"
"Strange," Kid mused, "I thought Ragnarok was the only sword with a mouth."
"I guess not." Liz shrugged. She didn't really care about Rivin's weapon form. Her left pinky nail was slightly longer than the right, and Kid's reaction to her slight asymmetry concerned her much more at the moment. She began filing it carefully.
"I'm a dinosaur!" Patti giggled.
Soul's eyes narrowed. He seemed to be the only one who had picked up on Ragnarok's familiarity with Rivin. How did they know each other? Was Rivin involved with the Gorgons? And was she going to be a constant threat to Maka? None of those lame questions had any cool answers. He would just have to be extra careful around her. She couldn't be more than a Death Scythe could handle, after all.
"RRRRrrrrrhg," Black Star gritted his teeth, "Let's go, Soul!"
"Right," He grabbed Black Star's hand and transformed.
The head of the scythe slammed into the ground and Black Star nearly fell on his face. "Watch it!" complained Soul.
"I am! You're just too heavy."
"You can't surpass God that way," Rivin giggled. Stein hadn't dropped her yet. She could even feel his soul starting to resonate with hers. Would he actually be able to wield her? The thought made her giddy.
Black Star laughed, "HA! This is nothing!" he jerked Soul up and swung him clumsily at Stein.
The professor used Rivin's broad-sword to block and swung the wrecking ball at Black Star's feet. The assassin jumped out of the way.
"Now try resonating."
"Right!" Black Star and Soul said in unison. The assassin closed his eyes. Rivin watched with wonder as the two different colored souls began attacking each other with their wave-lengths. They refused to mesh. Both souls wanted to lead. If only one of them could back off, just a little...
She felt a jolt of surprise when Stein began resonating his soul against hers. Stein's soul wavelength adapted, changing to be a perfect match for hers. Were all Meisters like this? Or was Stein special? Maybe. But what was most interesting was the part of him he didn't have to change in order to match her... It was so strange. It was almost like a part of her was... Going home.
You're like me, she thought at him, You're mad, just like me.
That's right. And, like you, I have done some objectively terrible, perhaps unethical, things. However, these days my pursuits tend to be on the more protective side.
Rivin took several milliseconds to ponder that, I can do that, too. I protect Leila from the sads all the time. I try... But sometimes I'm bad. And sometimes you're bad.
Sometimes, he had to agree, Sometimes good people do bad things. I often wonder if I'm one of those good people. Are you?
I could be, maybe.
"Hmmm," Stein shifted his stance as Rivin's form melted. She formed a sickle shaped shield. Her black chain attached inside the corner and the wrecking ball shrunk to fist size.
That seemed to catch Stein off guard, but Rivin was the only one who could tell. "Ready or not, here we come." Stein threw the wrecking ball. About halfway to Black Star, spikes popped out of it. Black Star jumped sideways, still trying not to let Soul lead. Rivin was disappointed that they missed. A spark of green jumped from the mace. It struck Black Star in the chest and shocked him.
The boy twitched and yelled out in pain. He hit the ground, steaming. "Uuuuhhhhgg."
"Fascinating."
"I know that tone of voice, Dr. Stabby. Put it back."
"You know, just one more dissection couldn't hurt." He giggled.
Her revolted shudder was visible to the class. "Why don't you dissect someone who would like it? Like Leila."
"Rivin!" She gasped, turing an intense shade of red. "Don't say things like that. You're so weird!" Leila stared at her feet, hoping at least Professor Stein couldn't see her face.
"It's true though!" she sulked. Hey, Nii-chan, your soul is turning funny. Why are you thinking about the broken one and the funny man? You should stop, they're bad for your soul!
The funny man? Bacchus. The broken man... Ginko? Your stepfather? Her descriptions were close to on the mark. He could see their faces the way she remembered them; feel them the way she remembered them. The pain. The fear. Being connected to her made him feel. He couldn't say that it was pleasent. Stein chuckled darkly. Bad for my soul? I suppose they are... They create so much static... I just want to turn them off!
Rivin removed herself from the resonance before Stein could pull her fully into his soul-scape. Her ears were still ringing from the overwhelming static, from the radio in his empty soul to the real world. She retracted her tail and pulled her torso out of the shield. She touched Stein's solar-plexus, "Nii-chan! Mad souls taste funny. Quit it."
"Nuh-huh...heh... hehe..." He dropped Rivin, gripping his head instead.
She landed on her feet and glanced back at Leila with wide eyes, "I didn't do it!"
"Rivin!" Leila leaped over the desks and students in front of her and nimbly landed beside Stein. "Leave it to you to try to kill the teacher on the first day..." She tentatively put a hand on his shoulder. Normally, she would have stopped to wonder why she felt embarrassed, but this was serious.
"I didn't do it!" Rivin repeated, stomping her foot. "He's—"
Stein threw them both off with a swing of his arm, "Get.... Away!" he managed through maniacal laughter. It was like a disease, spreading quickly to those vulnerable to it. Crona's pupils dilated as he covered his mouth, trying to stop the giggles.
Soul turned back into his human form and charged Rivin. She blocked his fist by crossing her arms in front of her face.
Black Star just looked confused, "I don't understand what's so funny..."
"It's not funny," Tsubaki tried to explain, "Stein is going—"
Rivin kicked Soul in the stomach and he flew into the gentler weapon, knocking both her and Black Star over. "I said, I didn't do it!"
Stein's laughter echoed around the room, inside Rivin's mind. Static and howling, swirling black blood drowning her they came to take her raggy away and they left her alone with the static.
Crona joined in. Ragnarok was nowhere to be seen. Rivin giggled. Why had she been scared? She didn't remember. It was only Raggy, after all. Something smelled good. Her eyes darted across the faces of the frightened and confused students until she spotted Kid. It was him.
He had a strong soul-red with three white stripes. Oddly familiar. She was outside for the first time in years. Laughing madly under the drooling sun. Bare feet slapped against the concrete. Her loose white shift barely reached her knees, but it was so much easier to run in than the stiff ribbons she was usually decorated with. If she ran far enough, maybe she wouldn't ever see them again. But how would she escape the funny man? A strange soul, neither human nor witch, came into view nearby. It was red, shiny, interesting. She altered her course, sprinting towards it. She was so close. Around the block- someone grabbed her arm, jerked her to a sudden stop. Sad, heterochromatic eyes stared at her from a cold, dead face. "You are the Weapon who will kill Death. The God slayer."
Hadn't Kid said he was Death's son? Maybe he tasted the same. She wanted to find out. She had been curious for years... what could true death possibly be like?
Leila was barely fazed by Stein's aggression; all it did was cause her to worry more. What was happening? She figured that Rivin had probably done...something...but she didn't seem to know that she had. Now there was laughter...Stein's laughter, mostly...the pink-haired boy was laughing...Rivin had started to giggle and her face was wearing a hungry expression that Leila remembered from the night they met...
Rivin continued to giggle as Soul got to his feet. He recognized her look from when she attacked Maka. He lunged with his arm in a scythe. Rivin was gone by the time he got to where she had been. She jumped from desk to desk, practically disappearing from sight until she landed. When she landed on Kid's desk, she grinned. Her eyes danced with madness. Rivin leaned in close to Kid's face.
He didn't seem terribly put out by her appearance, "Well hello. Did you need something?" From what he had heard about Rivin so far, he was almost expecting it. He hoped that by keeping calm and not getting excited he could encourage her to also be calmer.
"Your soul. I want it."
"Kid!" Liz cried, jumping to her feet. She tried to grab his hand, but was completely ignored. She bit her lip. What was going to happen to her Meister?
Rivin reached out for his soul, but found her fingers entangled in his instead. She hissed at the contact. Kid kept his expression neutral. "No."
"No?" she ripped her hand away, glaring. He was silent. Rivin was confused. Why wasn't he afraid? Why?
She turned to ask Leila why Kid wasn't afraid of her, but Leila was having trouble with Stein. The teacher had her pinned to the black board with one hand holding her braid above her head and the other at her throat. He cackled insanely.
"Pr...fe...sr..." Leila choked. With the way he had her hair, she couldn't transform properly. Stars danced around her field of vision, and the edges were fading black...
"NO!" Rivin yelled at him, "Bad Nii-chan!" She darted away from Kid, down to the front of the class. She slid under Stein and grabbed Leila by the ankle.
Leila transformed reflexively and snaked away from the crazed professor. Rivin giggled, cracking the braided leather whip. She flicked her wrist, smacking Stein's shoulder with Leila's sharp, silver tip to get his attention. When he turned to jump at them, Rivin used Leila to wrap him up. Stein fell to the floor, effectively tangled by the whip.
"Haha!" she cried triumphantly, "I win!" I win, win win! That means I get to eat people now, because that's what happens to the losers~!
"Good job Rivin, thank you!" Leila said breathlessly. She wasn't sure what to think; she was worried about Rivin, worried about Stein, worried about Kid, and the pink-haired boy, and all the other students...all the worry was swirling around her brain, along with a few odd thoughts about how she had been pinned to the blackboard...as well as how her body happened to be coiled around his...this isn't a good time, she scolded her active imagination. She typically would have giggled, but the stomach ache wouldn't go away.
Rivin grinned, rather proud of herself. Soul swung at her, intent on cutting her in half. She jumped over his scythe and landed behind him, "You can't hit me, neener-neener, neeeeneerr~"
Soul growled, "Black Star!"
"Okay!" Black Star took Soul's extended hand and allowed the Scythe to transform, "I'm Black Star, and I can wield any weapon!"
This time Soul's head did not hit the ground. Black Star swung him in a wide arc. Rivin hopped up onto Soul's head and froggy-crouched there with a grin, "You just can't beat me, little kid."
"LITTLE?!" He dropped Soul and lunged at Rivin with his bare hands, "Do you know who you're talking to!?" The fact that Rivin was faster than him seemed to go right over his head, "I AM BLACK STAR, THE BIG MAN ON CAMPUS!"
Rivin giggled, continuously dodging his sporadic attacks. She thought, maybe, she was mostly sane. This was almost fun. Then Crona joined in, twirling Ragnarok one handedly. Soon the two manic students were dancing around each other, throwing punches, dodging sword thrusts. Ragnarok was taunting her, and Crona was in her way. He sliced her at an angle, from her navel to her collarbone. Blood dropped from the wound in one large, wet splat. There was no other indication she had been hurt at all.
"You can cut me but I just don't die~!" Rivin sang, grabbing Ragnarok's blade and pulling Crona into a quick hug, giving her just enough time to bite his cheek, "So give me my Raggy back!"
Crona's eyes were completely white. They grinned from ear to ear. "Uh, but he's part of me now. That's right. You bleed red, but my blood is black."
"Stop ignoring me!" Black Star demanded, trying to join in again.
Patti had more luck, "I wanna play too!" She fit right in with Rivin and Crona. Ragnarok was laughing almost as much as them.
Soul gnashed his teeth as he returned to human form. He tried to get Black Star's attention by grabbing his shoulder, but the stupid kid just shrugged him off and attacked Rivin again. His fist collided with the back of Crona's head instead, causing the poor guy to stagger into another one of Rivin's 'hugs'.
If Maka were here, we'd have the situation under control by now!
Leila decided she'd be more helpful to the situation if she could move on her own, so she transformed her body, but left her hair in the form of a long whip to keep Stein restrained. When she finished, she was positioned on top of him, supported by her hands on either side of his shoulders. She stared down at him for a few seconds before realizing that she should probably move. Blushing furiously, she rolled off of the crazy professor (who was still laughing) and looked away. What the hell is wrong with me? she thought, annoyed with herself. It almost reminds me of...
Rivin, Patti, and the pink-haired boy caught her eye, distracting her from her thoughts. They were fighting, laughing uncontrollably the entire time. Crona was covered in blood, but didn't seem to be bleeding. In fact, no one was, which meant it was probably Rivin's blood. That was usually a bad sign. She knew she should step in, but what about Stein? He seemed a bit calmer now, definitely calmer than Rivin. She adjusted her priorities accordingly.
She turned her attention back to Stein. Small, quiet giggles escaped his throat with every breath. She sighed and firmly smacked him on the side of his head, right above the end of his screw. His giggles stopped. He blinked.
"Good. You're ok." Leila freed Stein and shortened her whip hair to a more manageable length. She ran to go help Rivin.
Stein stared after her, still blinking the last of the madness away. The static had faded around her voice, and then...stopped. As if the radio had been muted. Not off completely, and still there, but not a problem. What did she do? he wondered. No one had been able to cut through the static that easily since Marie, two years ago. He got to his feet and twisted his screw thoughtfully, still watching Leila.
"Rivin!" Leila shouted. She swung her head in Rivin's direction as her whip grew longer, wrapping around Rivin's waist. She yanked her head, pulling Rivin backwards and onto the floor in front of her. Then Leila sat on her companion and repositioned her whip so that it bound her arms to her body. "Knock it off!"
Rivin giggled more, unable to respond. Crona stopped, staring with a wicked grin at Patti, who suddenly realized they weren't playing. She put her hands on her hips and stuck her tongue out at Crona and Ragnarok. Crona's face fell. He shook his head. Ragnarok liquefied and repositioned himself above Crona's head.
Patti skipped over to Kid and plopped down on Liz's lap, "That was fun!"
"I'm sure..." Liz responded dully. She couldn't keep the pain under wraps, but it didn't seem to matter. Kid wasn't paying her any attention.
He looked thoughtfully at Rivin. She had been intent on taking his soul until she saw Leila in trouble. She seemed to put her captor's well being above her own. Empathy wasn't a trait Lord Death had mentioned Rivin had.
He took a swift look at her soul - vibrant orange with sparks of yellow. Strange... It seemed almost... lost. He walked over and crouched beside her head. "Rivin, that is quite enough." he stated firmly. He brushed her hair off of her forehead. She stopped laughing abruptly and looked at him, confusion and suspicion in her slitted yellow eyes.
"That's better," he said, smiling slightly. "Leila, I believe that there's no need to restrain her any longer." He gestured for her to move aside.
Leila obliged, unwrapping her whip from Rivin's body and transforming it in a single smooth motion. Kid offered Rivin his hand. For a moment, he was almost afraid. Something inside Rivin's soul was angry, beyond suspicion and bordering on hatred. He noted a strange grey scar on her soul. He held his hand steady, knowing that whatever had caused such damage was past. She could only move forward from here.
Rivin accepted, feeling wobbly again. Something was different in the way he looked at her compared to how he looked at others. There was more attention, almost as though he were studying her. She didn't like it: she didn't like the extra attention he paid her or how his gaze lingered on her, and she didn't know how to react. She settled for watching him through narrowed eyes.
His soul was different, however, than what she would normally have expected to feel. The funny man was cold, demanding, and cruel. But Kid... his soul was warm. He hadn't made any demands, except that she not eat him, which was fair. Besides, there were plenty of warm feelings in the room. Leila was warm, and some of that warmth was directed at Rivin. Maybe it wasn't a bad thing that Kid had warmth for her. Maybe... Warm was... Good?
"Why were we fighting?" Crona asked in his usual soft, frightened voice, "I don't understand..."
Ragnarok shrugged, "How should I know? Rivin started fights all the time when she lived with Diomedes."
Kid felt a small pang as Rivin practically threw his hand away. She gave Ragnarok a nasty glare, "Well it's not like I had anything better to do."
"Who is Diomedes?" Crona asked, "Or what is he? Why isn't Maka back?"
"Maybe she went to get me candy?" Ragnarok suggested slyly, "Her brain is WAY bigger than a little doggy brain!"
Rivin shot him a dirty glare, "Vulpes zerda!" She contemplated jumping him and showing him just how different foxes were from basic dogs. Instead she turned her bright smile on Kid, "Sorry about earlier. I won't really eat your soul... At least not right now. Teehee~"
Leila sighed with relief and patted Rivin on the head. "Right now, or ever." She walked over to Stein. "Are you alright, Professor?"
"I think so. I'm still a bit shaky, but that will go away in time." He gave her a smile that made her face feel warm. "Thank you. I wouldn't have recovered nearly as quickly if you hadn't been here."
"O-oh, well... Rivin helped too... I mean, she grabbed me and pulled me away so I could transform..." She did her best not to turn away. It had been a long time since... Well, a long time, and she refused to back down now. The strange feelings in her stomach, whatever they were, would pass.
Stein's smile soured. "Yeah, I'm...sorry about that."
"I understand. I've been with Rivin long enough to know that madness is a tough thing to control." Leila smiled. Now that she knew Stein was alright, she wanted to check on the other students, see if anyone was injured, and make sure Rivin was alright with Kid. She turned to walk away.
"You're a very impressive weapon, you know."
Leila's eyes widened. "Uh...thanks, Professor," she said, keeping her face hidden and her voice calm. "But not really. I'm just...lucky." Stop it, she scolded herself. He's just a guy. She walked away before Stein could respond, scowling and blushing, stomach flipping violently.
A student with two patches of hair waxed to look like horns stepped up to Leila. He had swirly goggles and a shining scalp as well as pink cheeks, "L-Leila! I think you're fabulous!" He took the shocked weapon's hand in both of his and stumbled over more compliments.
"Mmmmmph," Leila responded, clearly creeped out.
Rivin frowned to one side of her face. She poked the kid's sternum, "Your soul is flaccid."
"Muh-what?" he stared at her, agape, "But I..."
"And static," she continued, "You're weak. Leave my Leila alone, do you hear me?"
"Uh-huh.... What?"
Patti giggled, "Ox is weak!"
The kid hung his head and slunk off.
"Ehh..." Leila groaned, wiping her hand on her cargo pants. "He was all sweaty...but thank you Rivin." She turned to Kid. "Is everyone ok? Did anyone get hurt?"
"Everyone seems fine. Rather alarmed and frightened, but no injuries that I can see. How is Professor Stein?"
"He's back to normal, but a bit shaky." She noticed the pink-haired boy standing behind Rivin. She was a bit unnerved by the splatter of Rivin's blood across his chest and face, but because she knew Rivin hadn't been hurt, she at least wasn't mad at him. "I don't think we've met. I'm Leila." She offered him her hand.
"Um...hi, I'm C-Crona," he stammered. He eyed her hand fearfully, but eventually took it and shook it gently.
"Nice to meet you Crona. Are you alright?"
He nodded. "I'm sorry for going all weird and giggly...I don't know how to deal with the things in my head sometimes."
Leila smiled kindly at him. "It happens. You weren't the only one, don't worry." She patted his shoulder. He smiled back at her shyly.
"Hey what about me!?" Ragnarok screamed, pulling Crona's hair.
Rivin shuddered, "Go away. No one likes you."
"Crona likes me!" he yelled, punching Crona, "Right?"
"OW yes okay. Just please stop hitting me!"
"I don't like you." Rivin crossed her arms and stuck her tongue out at him.
He mocked her, his own long tongue hanging down to Crona's shoulder.
"I think that's enough for today," said a calm voice. Stein walked over to the group of students. "Class is dismissed."
The young weapons and Meisters began filing out of the classroom, talking excitedly about what had happened. Rivin and Leila were the last to leave. Stein watched the students go, twisting his screw. He needed to speak to Lord Death.
"Hallo, Stein!" waved the huge white hand before it made the victory symbol, "You needed to speak to me? What about? How are our new students doing? Did Crona behave?"
"Yeah...the new students. That's what I wanted to talk to you about." Stein proceeded to tell Death about resonating with Rivin, and the resulting pandemonium in the classroom. He left out his reasons for resonating with her, and their shared madness. He wasn't intending to hide the entire truth for long, but he wanted a complete answer to his question before bringing this particular information to Lord Death.
Could Luceria 'Rivin' Gorgon be effectively integrated into society?
Could any Meister wield her without being consumed by her madness?
If not, what were their next steps?
Without answers or solutions, bringing more problems to the table seemed pointless.
"Hmmmm..." Death tilted to the right, "That does seem to be problematic... I forbid you from ever wielding Rivin. Or anyone wielding her, for that matter...." He added as an afterthought, scratching at the side of his mask. "I don't think it's safe to have a human wielding a weapon that can overwhelm a Meister like you. You know, I actually have a Meister picked out for her... But I don't think he wants to come home right now."
Stein snorted. "Home? Do you really think Ginko considers Death City home?" He lit a cigarette. "He'll come. His creation is here."
"OOOhhhoooohhhh?"
"Rivin." Stein took another drag before saying more. "As I told you many years ago, Ginko, Bacchus and myself were commissioned to create a god slayer. Luceria Ribbon Gorgon is the product of our combined research."
Lord Death gasped dramatically, covering his mouth with his hands, "I thought her name was Rivin!"
"I don't think that's the issue."
"Of course not." Grey and bloated clouds rolled into the walls. "But it doesn't hurt to make it one. So, she really is a Gorgon?" he looked more than a little sad, "That's really too bad. Kiddo has been asking a lot of questions about her. Do you think it's a good idea to keep her here?"
Stein blew smoke out his nose. "I don't think it would hurt. I can't say she's harmless, of course, but containing her isn't out of the question. As long as Leila is around, it's unlikely that Rivin can cause much damage. Keeping both of them in classes is most likely be the best course of action at this point, considering Leila is the only one who has been able to stop her abilities and hunger for souls."
"Can she be... Fixed?"
"Fixed?" He chuckled, "I'm not sure exactly what you mean by that, Lord Death. And I don't have an answer. As soon as Spirit found out about... What did he call it... the 'moral bankruptcy' of the experiment, he and I left."
"And then he became Robin's weapon."
"Correct. So, I have no idea if Rivin can be 'fixed', or if Kid should pursue someone else."
Death sighed and shrugged dramatically, "It's a pity... But! On a brighter note, your new partner is Leila. She'll be good for you." He bobbed his head as if this was the most incredible discovery he'd ever made, "Yes I think that's a good idea!"
"Leila...yes, I think that will be an effective partnership," Stein said thoughtfully. A small smile came to his face. "I'll be sure to let them know right away."
"Oh, and one more thing...." Death's voice became slightly more high pitched and held a smile, "If Rivin shows any signs of eating a human or weapon soul, be sure to confine her, kay?"
Stein twisted his screw, "Of course."
Chapter 3: A day on the town: Rivin looses it?
Chapter Text
"Uh, um..." Crona gripped his right arm so tightly that his hands trembled, "Rivin?"
"Yeeeeees?" Rivin stared out over the city. The two of them were up on the roof of the DWMA. The light over the desert was vivid red, making the sand look like a sea of blood. Rivin didn't have a good feeling about this, but the kid - Crona- was generally so shy. For him to have asked to talk to her alone was a big thing... Especially since this was week three of her attending the DWMA and they'd successfully caused each other to go mad at least once a day.
Besides, Kid knocked Ragnarok out earlier and he hadn't been seen since. What was his deal, anyway? He was always complimenting her symmetry and sticking up for her, even against his teammate, Soul. Not to mention that he wasn't afraid of her, like, at all... And he was always so warm...
"....?" Crona tilted his head, "Did you hear me?"
Rivin giggled awkwardly, "No, sorry. I got distracted."
"Oh..."
"I'm sorry!" she fell on him and hugged him until he was afraid, "I'M SO SORRY CRONA I LOVE YOU HUG ME BACK NOW DAMNIT"
"WHY ARE YOU HUGGING ME I DON'T KNOW HOW TO DEAL WITH HUGS LIKE THIS!"
"SORRY!"
"WHY ARE WE YELLING!?"
"I DON'T KNOW!" Rivin giggled and released him, "So, what did you want to talk about?"
"oh..." Crona trembled some more, "Well, you see..."
Rivin shut her eyes tightly and then covered them with her hands. "Nope." The wobbles were starting. Foxes nipped at the back of her mind. Strange noises peeling away her sanity. Stein's voice in her imagination, The static is so loud!
"Ehheh..." Crona stepped back. "I... I was wondering about..."
Rivin peeked at him out of one eye, then sighed and regained a more serious composure, "About?"
"A-about... Well, um...." He fidgeted, "Who... Who is this Diomedes person? Ragnarok keeps talking about him and I don't understand."
"Oh." Rivin turned to look out over the desert again, "Leila's probably looking for me. I should get going."
Crona half reached for her, "I'm... I'm sorry..."
"He's my father, okay?" Rivin stared coldly across the red sand. She couldn't look at Crona, or she might be sad... Crona, strange as he was, was warm for everyone. He was too sweet for his own good. Not to mention he had her Raggy. "He tried to attach Ragnarok to my soul and turn my blood black... He failed, obviously. The witch Medusa stole all of his research and applied it to you. Go away now."
"I..." Crona hung his head, "I'm sorry..."
Rivin glared out over the red sand until Crona's footsteps faded away. She wondered if she could count them. One, two, three...
Kid stepped back to hide in the shadows as Crona passed by. He contemplated what he had just heard. So Medusa's research on the black blood was stolen from Rivin's father. And she was the first test subject... I wonder what Dad knows... No, wait, I think I'd rather find out more myself first. He watched Rivin for another minute or so, then turned and left. It was time to have a chat with Leila.
The couch beneath Leila was old, but the latex cushions had aged well. They were both squishy enough to hug, but firm enough to provide support. They were a dark brown, redone with microfiber, and they contrasted nicely with the lighter brown carpet. No matter how much time she spent there, she just couldn't get used to the fact that she had a permanent place to live again.
It was humble and simple, but it had water, electricity, a roof, cable TV, and a reasonably spacious kitchen. Lord Death and Professor Stein had assured her that the space was theirs to use, free of charge, so long as they continued to train, and eventually take on missions, at the DWMA. She smiled. She and Rivin lived there. On top of that, the people in charge already knew about Rivin's...outbursts, making them less likely to be told to leave anytime soon.
The doorbell rang, pulling her out of her thoughts. "Come in," Leila called, setting down the book she had been neglecting. It was a cookbook entitled Cooking with Pennies: Cheap and delicious recipes for tough times. "Oh hey, Kid, what's up?"
Death the Kid stepped carefully into the small apartment and closed the door. "I'm sorry to bother you, but I have a few questions about Rivin."
"You do seem rather interested in her..." Leila smirked, uncrossing her legs and leaning forward, "What do you want to know? Her favorite flower? What she likes to eat? What kind of movie to take her to, perhaps?" Or not to. She might try to eat the projector again.
Kid's pale cheeks warmed slightly. His eyes narrowed and he glared at her. "Are you sure you're one to be talking about that, teacher's pet?"
Leila's smile vanished and she blushed. Ever since Lord Death had partnered them, Professor Stein had been using her in all the class demonstrations. They resonated and strategized well, and he complimented her skill and hard work regularly, which made her flustered. As much as they had been working together lately, she still smiled and turned slightly pink when he called her name. It would have been a lie to say that she hadn't flirted with the professor on occasion. He seemed to find it amusing. Apparently it hadn't gone unnoticed by the other students, at least not the son of Lord Death. "Fine," she muttered. "What's your question?"
"First of all, how did the two of you meet?"
"She tried to take my soul and eat it. I took her into my care so I could try to protect her from turning her soul into a Kishin egg."
"Has she ever talked about her past, her family?"
Leila thought for a moment. "No... I've asked her a few times, but she always seemed uncomfortable with the topic, so I didn't press it. I know her dad is a witch, and her mother was a weapon that had become a Kishin egg, but she's dead. That's all I've been able to get from her."
Kid sighed. "Alright." His line of questioning was leading nowhere. He was beginning to wonder why he was even there. Rivin had red blood; he had seen it during the fight in the classroom. She had healed abnormally quickly, but her blood had been of a normal consistency and color. Of course, she had stated that she was immortal. What had she said, exactly?
You can stab me or rip me in half, but you just can't kill me~
While the demonstration wasn't exactly what he had in mind, it did prove her correct. She seemed to be immortal, or at least very hard to kill. It was strange for a weapon, but so was the mouth her weapon form acquired. She also seemed to have a connection to Ragnarok, though whether it was positive or not seemed to be up for debate. At least some of their shared history was surely traumatic. Was Rivin another Demon Weapon? His father most likely had a plan for these new students, and he had no reason to believe the situation wasn't under control.
"She likes kids movies. Cartoons and anime." Leila's smirk had returned while he was distracted by his own thoughts. "Horror and darker action-y stuff are a bit risky. And get her snacks, not flowers. She will eat anything unless she's being stubborn. Probably even flowers."
Kid stared at her for several moments. He could feel the heat returning to his face. As far as he was aware, Leila was a pure-blooded weapon. She had no soul perception. Was his personal interest in Rivin truly so much more obvious to her than even himself? He cleared his throat. "That's...I assure you that..."
"Kid, it's fine." She giggled. "It's really cute. Rivin could use some fun. I'd love to see her do something normal, like go on a date. If you can handle her," she added with a grin.
He hesitated, but her soul seemed genuine. He relaxed slightly. "Thank you, Leila." He smiled at her. "I can tell you really care about her."
Leila nodded vigorously. "Just please don't hurt her, or I might have to fight you, and I'm positive that you would kick my ass."
"I'll keep that in mind." He chuckled as he opened the front door. "Have a pleasant day." He was instantly set upon by a very hyper Rivin.
"Exactly why were you in my house? ARE YOU STAYING FOR DINNER?! WHERE'S PATTI!?" Seeing Kid made her happy. She giggled. "Well, if you're not staying for dinner I guess I'll see you in class tomor... No, tomorrow is Saturday..." She trailed off thoughtfully, "Anyway, bye!" She waved and stepped into the room without giving Kid a chance to respond to anything she had said.
He stood outside the doorway, feeling slightly lost. He checked Rivin's soul, satisfying himself with the knowledge that she wasn't mad... And she had actually been glad to see him. He smiled to himself, then set out for home.
"Leila I'm hoooome~"
"Hey there." Leila placed her book on the table and stretched. "How was your day?"
"I played dinosaur with Patti," Rivin grinned, "Liz lost. She's no fun at all. I bet you would have even been more fun than her! Then I beat up Black Star again, but I felt bad for making Tsubaki sad. Why is that?" she tilted her head, "I never feel bad for things. Weird. I changed my mind, I laughed when she was sad.... Is that okay?"
Leila smiled at her and patted her head. "Feeling bad when people feel bad is a good thing. Then they're more likely to feel bad when you feel bad, and you'll be less alone."
She blinked, "But... Why would I feel bad?" Rivin shook her head, "How come Kid isn't staying for dinner?"
Leila thought of the questions that Kid had been asking her. She hadn't been able to give him much of what he wanted. "I think he's got some errands to run." She grinned slyly at Rivin. "Why do you ask? Any particular reason you would want him to stay?"
"Nope." Rivin shrugged, "Just wanted to know, since he came all the way over..." She mimicked Leila's sly grin, "Heeeyyyyyy when is your boyfriend coming over for dinner? Are you gonna tie him up again? It looked like you enjoyed that. Heehee~"
Leila threw a couch cushion at Rivin. "Shhhhh." She stomped into the kitchen to pout and hide her flushed cheeks. "Now tell me what you want for dinner or I won't make you anything."
Rivin giggled madly for a few minutes before she was able to speak again, "Something with pasta. And cheese. But not spaghets. I hate Spaghets... Hey Leila?"
"Hmm?" she answered distractedly, pulling down pots and pans from the cupboards.
Rivin sat at the small table and stared at her hands in her lap. It had been a wonderful, fun filled day with her friends. Friends she hadn't eaten. Or really thought about eating except to be mad at the idea and to tell herself not to. She didn't even try to eat Black Star! After so much fun and excitement, she should have felt happy and satisfied. A part of her did, but so much of her was suddenly exhausted and frustrated; boiling from so much exposure to people with such happy, warm souls.
How come... Why.... I don't understand!" she stood abruptly and flipped the table over in a fit, "Why don't you ever just leave me alone!?"
"Wh-" Leila stared at her with wide eyes. "What are you talking about?"
She punched a hole in the wall, "You're always there, watching. I don't ever have any time to myself! And even when I try to kill you, you stay! Why don't you just go away?!" Another hole joined the first and a burst of soul energy shattered the window and most of the glass objects in the room, "Why won't you leave? I don't know how to make you go away..."
Leila whipped her transforming hair at Rivin and wrapped her tightly. She pinned her to the wall and put her face close, so that their noses were nearly touching. "You know why, don't play stupid. I have to stop you from murdering people! Innocent people! If I hadn't found you, if I hadn't kept you from eating people, do you know where you would be? What you would be?" Leila's eyes filled with tears. "You would be a Kishin! You would be completely insane! And alone...you would be all alone. Forever."
"But... Leila..." Rivin's lip trembled. She burst into noisy tears, unable to speak.
/*-+-*/
The next morning, Rivin had breakfast ready when Leila woke up. The Whip was tired and didn't notice at first, but the strange weapon had spent quite a while preparing small pastries with fresh fruit, some sort of pudding, and Leila's favorite jasmine tea.
Rivin smiled at Leila's sleepy confusion, "It's not drugged this time, I promise."
Leila smiled. "Ok, but if it is, I'll tell the professor to cut you open." She sipped the tea. It had actually been made quite well.
"Ohhhh...." Rivin pouted, "Don't you trust me? It's not like I'm a crazy person..."
"Oh nooo, not at alllll!" Leila said mockingly. She poked Rivin's nose and tasted her breakfast. "This is good!" She continued eating with a smile.
"Really!?" Rivin leaned forward excitedly, "Really really? You're not just saying that to make me feel better? You sure?"
"I'm sure," Leila laughed. They finished their breakfast happily. Leila set her bowl down with a satisfied sigh. "Now, I'll go wash the dishes, and then we should go for a walk in the city. Maybe go shopping or something."
"Shopping!?" Rivin stared at her, "But... We're poor. You always say we can't afford to go shopping.... Is this a trick question...?"
Leila grinned. "We can go shopping with our eyes. We'll go try things on, look at things, play with things...but it doesn't mean we need to buy them. Just as long as we leave them in the store."
"Oh." Rivin crossed her arms, "But I get a five finger discount everywhere I go... okay, okay," She giggled and patted the air at Leila's expression, "I won't steal anything, I promise... But I have something I gotta do first. I'll meet you out in front of the school, kay?" she grinned and ran out the door before Leila could tell her no.
Rivin breathed a sigh of relief and set off down the hallway. She thought she saw a flash of pink hair, but she couldn't be sure and she had no want to talk to Crona today... Or Ragnarok for that matter. Instead, she made her way to the infirmary.
She stopped at the end of the last bed on the left. The Meister was still there. Her skin was pale and there were black rings around her eyes. If not for the steady rise and fall of her chest, Rivin would have thought Maka was dead. The Meister stirred. She cracked one eye, saw Rivin and opened the other. She stared, paralyzed.
Rivin tried to smile reassuringly, but it felt more like a cringe. "Hey, Maka..."
"G-get away!"
She sat on the bed farthest away from Maka. "I came to apologize. For trying to take your soul. Nii-chan fixed you, by the way. Soul hates me, but I can't blame him, really. I won't blame you, either. I just thought you would want to know that Leila and I go to school here now. Leila is Nii-chan's partner, too. Please stop shaking, you're making me nervous."
"You... You go to school?" Maka shook her head, dredging herself into a sitting position, "You can't..."
Rivin sighed, "I'm not going to eat you, Maka. I've been here for almost a month, and I like it here. I don't want to leave. And Leila likes it here. If I do something bad, she'll have to leave and then she might cry. I don't want to make Leila cry."
Maka blinked, "You do have a soul."
"It's yellow!" Rivin giggled. She coughed, straightening the wobbles. "Or, it used to be... So, can you forgive me? Or at least... Not be afraid?"
"I..." Used to be? But... It's orange now. There's been so much damage to it.
Rivin stood and walked over to Maka's bed.
"I don't think I can forgive you. Not yet..." she clenched her hands, "But living in fear... I won't. I won't be afraid of you!"
"Good. Cowardly souls taste bad..." Rivin put her fingertips on Maka's solar plexus, "Don't try to resonate with Soul for a while."
"What are you talking about?" Maka pushed ineffectively at Rivin, "Get your hand off of me!"
Rivin didn't flinch, "I hurt your soul pretty badly. If you try to resonate with your partner, it could kill you both."
"I don't believe you." Maka growled. Not able to resonate with Soul? No! I'm a three star meister now, and Soul is a Death Scythe!
"That's fine." She inserted her wavelength into Maka's soul, using it to pull together cracks and smooth blemishes. The Meister cried out, falling limply onto the bed. "Do you feel that? You're not whole. If you were, you wouldn't notice at all..." she paused, giving the Meister a disdainful look, "Actually, It might feel nice. I wouldn't know. I don't know anyone with powers like mine."
Maka continued to make pained noises, unable to stop herself. She could barely think. All she knew was that the wavelength flowing through her soul was so cold... So cold... Like pouring ice on a burn: it hurt for now but it would help in the long run.
The door swung open.
The room seemed to darken around Soul. "Get. Away. FROM MAKA!"
He was faster than Rivin gave him credit for. She was barely able to duck under his attack, and from there she was hard pressed to block him. He chased her around the room, slashing wildly. Soul even managed to cut her several times. Rivin never wobbled. She blocked a particularly nasty swing aimed at her face with the back of her forearms. For an instant it seemed there was no damage done.
Crimson flowed from the bone-deep wound. "That hurts my feelings, meanie-butt- poopy-pants!" she cried, jumping back. She stared at the damage with her bottom lip stuck out. The funny man is here, so I won't get better. I'll just bleed until he stops blocking my soul wavelength. But it doesn't matter because I can't feel it. Isn't that funny? I can bleed and bleed but I can never die!
"What?" Soul was slightly confused, "Why are you being so childish? Fight me, damn you!"
Rivin pouted, "But I'm trying to be good!" The laughter echoed through her mind, filling her thoughts with madness. There was no pain. There would be no consequences.
"Who's fighting!? WHY WASN'T I INVITED!?"
"Go away, Black Star," Soul grumbled, "Rivin is mine!"
"NO WAY I WANNA FIGHT TOO!"
The three of them were easy prey... Maka first, since she was broken... Then Soul because he's annoying... But if I hurt them, Leila would be sad...Oh, I'm healing now. The funny man must be gone. Rivin sighed, watching the last of her injury fade away, "Leila is waiting for me out front. She'll worry if I take too long. Why don't you two figure this out..." she ducked under Soul's blade and jumped his kick.
"Soul!" Maka finally called for his attention, "Soul, stoppit! She hasn't fought back this whole time. Haven't you had enough?"
"Maka..." The fight visibly drained out of him, "Alright, fine. But if I ever see you near Maka again, I'll kill you without a second thought. Got that?"
Black Star blinked a few times, "Why doesn't anyone want to fight me? Are you all just too afraid to lose? HAHAHAHAHAAA-OW!"
Rivin bonked Black Star on the head on her way out. Before she closed the door she turned and gave Maka a timid smile, "Get better, kay?"
She returned the gesture with a small wave. "Thanks to you, I think I will."
Leila put the last plate into the cupboard with a sigh. The cleanup had taken longer than she had expected; Rivin may have done a good job on breakfast, but she had destroyed the kitchen in the process. And now she was gone. She seemed as though she wasn't in the mood to cause trouble today, but Leila never knew for sure with Rivin. She left the room and set off quickly down the hall.
As she walked, her imagination began to give her ideas of what kind of terrible situations Rivin could have gotten herself into...she could have attacked someone...or gotten hurt...or made someone angry...possibly all those things...she quickened her pace-and ran into someone, who turned around curiously, twisting the screw in his head.
"Professor!" She backed away a few steps, looking embarrassed. "Sorry."
He laughed. "Where are you off to in such a hurry? Especially on a weekend?"
"Rivin and I were going for a walk, but she left without me. She said to meet her in front of the school. I'm trying to catch up with her before she decides to do something...not good."
"That's probably a good idea. I was going that way anyway. I'll come with you." His involvement in Rivin's past made him feel somewhat responsible for keeping her from killing people, at least for now.
Besides that, his new weapon was good company. He had been thoroughly enjoying her participation in his classes. He liked the flexibility and range of wielding a whip. Her wavelength was distinct and strong, yet nurturing and accommodating, making resonance effortless.
She was also much stronger than she seemed to think. They rarely had trouble defeating the older students when sparring, even Death the Kid and the Thompson sisters, and yet she was always surprised to have contributed to the victory. When their opponent did manage to seize the upper hand, she was quick to blame herself. He couldn't help but wonder what her experiences were with past partners.
Leila smiled, ignoring the unusually violent thumping of her heart. Aside from the strange (and often inappropriate) feelings he gave her, he was a good meister and a good friend. She could already feel herself getting stronger from working with him. She could get used to being flustered. "Ok! That might help."
He smiled back at her, and they continued down the hall. He couldn't help but glance over at her once in a while. She was trying to keep the stress from her face, but it wasn't working. He wished he could tell her not to worry or comfort her in some way, but it was difficult when she had every reason to do so. He decided that the best course of action would be to find Rivin as soon as possible.
"Thank you for coming with me, Professor."
"Of course. I don't want Rivin getting into trouble any more than you do." He turned his screw once. What she needs is a partner powerful enough to control her madness. Leila has done well up to this point, but she can't do it herself anymore.
She nodded, her eyes fixed forward determinedly.
"Also, now that I'm your Meister, you don't need to call me Professor, especially when we're not in class. Just call me Stein, it's much easier."
She looked at him, surprised. "Oh, alright, thanks!" She looked away to hide her blush, but she couldn't hide the glow of her soul.
Finding Rivin didn't take long. As they approached the infirmary, they heard loud noises, as if there was a fight taking place. "Oh goodness," Leila said, her lips twisting into an exasperated grimace. "Rivin!"
Most of Rivin exited the infirmary, but her head was still poking through. Leila ran forward and pushed the door open. Stein was right behind her. "What's going on in here?"
"Oh hi!" she giggled, "I was playing with Soul. Maka couldn't join us kuz she's not well yet. But now Soul and Black Star get to play~"
Black Star pumped his fist, "Yeah that's it! SOUL FIGHT WITH ME!"
"You're not worth my time." Soul put his hands in his pockets. "Go away."
"Soul..." Maka sighed, "Black Star is our friend he can stay if he wants."
Rivin tilted her head, "Am I your friend, too?"
"No!" Soul snapped. He slammed the door.
Rivin crossed her arms, "He's so mean!"
Leila rubbed her temples. "You tried to eat his Meister."
"Oh yeah!" She giggled. Rivin turned to Stein, "You shouldn't let Maka and Soul resonate. Their souls will shred, and then they won't taste good." She took Leila by the hand, "Let's go before Dr. Stabby actually dissects you wiff his tools instead of his eyes." Rivin skipped away, dragging Leila with her before Stein could answer.
"Wha-Rivin!" Leila gasped as she was yanked down the hall, very annoyed and pink.
Stein felt a bit flushed as well. He twisted his screw to clear the unneeded thoughts of Leila from his mind. He considered the other comment that Rivin had made. Maka and Soul wouldn't be able to resonate...he'd been afraid of that. He'd have to do a bit more research.
Black Star threw open the door and yelled, "WHERE'D THEY GO!? I WANNA FIGHT RIVIN! I'LL SHOW HER THAT I'M A BIG STAR!"
Stein pointed down the hall and Black Star took off after the two new weapons.
The day progressed much like that-with Rivin and Leila window shopping and Black Star randomly appearing to challenge Rivin to a fight. Rivin would make a snarky comment, throw him through the wall, then she and Leila would move on to the next store. Eventually Tsubaki, tired of Black Star's antics and a bit jealous of the fun that Leila and Rivin were having together, joined their shopping.
"Rivin, you should try this one," Tsubaki smiled and held up a black bathing suit with three white stripes on the left boob.
"Why?" She tilted her head, "It's dumb looking and makes me think of... Now I hate it."
Tsubaki giggled, "I think you should try it anyway. Please?"
"Um, okay." Rivin wasn't certain why Tsubaki insisted, but she took the suit and walked into the changing room. She took off the bright green bikini top that she normally wore under her vest and replaced it with the black one. It looked just like Kid's hair.
A hazy memory, nearly blocked by the static of her madness, floated through her mind. Sitting on a desk. The striped red soul was in front of her. It would be so easy to just... Pluck it from its body. But something stopped her. A hand, fingers entwined with hers. Death the Kid's calm expression. "No." No fear or anxiety. Calm. Certainty. Warmth. It burned. She ripped her hand away...
"I don't like it," She called out to Tsubaki and Leila. Even Rivin could hear that something was off in her voice. It was wobbly. But not in the way the madness was wobbly. It was how she felt when Kid stood up for her... Rivin did not approve.
Leila giggled at Rivin's tone. "Of course you don't, dear." It was nice to be able to get back at her for all her little comments. "Just like I hate being Stein's partner..."
Rivin poked her head out and tilted it at Leila, "Don't lie. Liars taste funny."
"That's called sarcasm." Leila patted her head. "You'll understand when you grow up."
"But I don't wanna grow up!" Rivin looked horrified at the idea, "Adults are boring!" She shut the door and stared at herself in the mirror. The suit actually did look nice. "Neh." She threw her vest over the top. It wasn't as nice as the leather one Maka broke, but it wasn't bad either. It was light grey with crimson sides, and it zipped up the left side. Rivin didn't bother closing it - she would just be taking it off again to try on other things, anyway.
As she stepped back out into the store, Black Star rushed in, "I FOUND YOU NOW FIGHT ME!"
He lunged at her, swinging a soul-charged fist. Rivin ducked and kicked straight up. Black Star crashed into the ceiling. Bits of paint sprinkled down on them. Tsubaki sighed, "Black Star..."
"Tsubaki! Ninja sword mode!" he dropped down onto his feet and held out his hand to his weapon.
"But..."
"NOW!"
Rivin crouched in front of him with a manic smile, "If you really want to fight me, you'll lose your soul, kay?"
"I'm not afraid of you!"
"You should be." She grabbed the back of Black Star's head and slammed his face into the black and white tiled floor, "Go away. We're shopping."
"I THOUGHT YOU WERE GOING TO FIGHT ME!!"
Rivin sighed, "Not today, little boy. Maybe next time."
"I AM NOT LITTLE!" Black Star jumped up and lunged.
She rolled her eyes and stepped aside.
"Speed star!" Black Star's speed quadrupled and the battle was on. They clashed with astounding swiftness, only to repel each other into some part of the store. Rivin soul expanded, crushing things under its weight.
"You're only going to get hurt," she giggled, teleporting behind Black Star and wrapping her arms around his torso. She licked his cheek.
He twisted and swung his foot. Rivin made to block, but then Black Star was behind her. He punched her in the kidney - or would have if she had still been there. The illusion crumbled around his foot and Rivin slammed her palm into the center of his back.
He made a crater in the floor at the horrified shopkeeper's feet. "Ow, damnit that hurt!"
"And I haven't even transformed yet," Her grin was mad as she crouched over him and placed her fingertips over his solar-plexus, "Are you ready to really hurt, little boy?"
"I'M NOT LITTLE I AM BLACKSTAR THE BIGGEST ST—AAAAHHHHHHH!" his battle cry turned into a scream of pain as Rivin began attacking him with her soul wave-length.
She lashed at Black Star's soul with her own wrecking ball-like energy. "Had enough yet?" she cackled. Her wavelength rolled around them like a noxious yellow haze.
Leila wasn't sure how to react. Things had gone from normal to chaotic in a matter of seconds. Definitely a new record. She wanted to intervene, but they were both so quick...she couldn't see an opening. She watched, feeling helpless.
"Black Star!" Tsubaki cried. Although they had finally stopped moving, Rivin's soul wavelength would keep both her and Leila from touching either of them. She didn't know what to do any more than Leila did.
The shop keeper, dressed in a patched blue suit, kneeled in the wreckage of his once beautiful space, "My store, my beautiful store!"
Soul ran into the shop, sharp teeth bared. "Riiviiiiiin!" he charged into the haze and stabbed her in the back. She doubled over from the force. Her wavelength dissipated. He drove the length of the scythe completely through her, sending a glob of blood splattering onto Black Star's torso.
She giggled, holding the part of the blade sticking out of her stomach. "Do you think you're funny? Ragnarok couldn't kill me like this," Rivin looked at him from between her legs, blood dripping from her lips, "You gotta try something new." She fell forward, off the blade, and landed on Black Star.
Soul tried to stake her again, but narrowly missed stabbing Black Star instead. He transformed his arm back to normal, stumbling forward. "Damnit! Where did-" Rivin's foot connected with his back, sending him tumbling to the floor.
"You're just... Not good enough~!" Rivin giggled. Her wounds were already healed, but her face fell. She turned her head to look at her side. Several small shuriken were buried in her stomach and thigh. "Aww, Tsubaki, that's not nice."
Tsubaki glared at her, several more shuriken between her fingers. Her eyes were filled with tears and her expression was dark. Betrayal radiated from her soul. Leila stood beside her, dumbstruck. She had never seen Rivin quite like this before. She was completely... Wrong. Mad, of course, but not hungry.
Just violent and murderous.
"Rivin," she soothed, stepping forward, "If you don't stop right now-"
"You won't feed me?" Rivin guessed, tossing shuriken absently to the floor, "If I'm not a good girl you'll punish me. That's okay, that's your job, 'kuz you love me." She beamed, sidestepping Soul. She grabbed the back of his head and slammed him into the wall.
Leila felt like someone had just stabbed her in the soul. "RIVIN!!" she cried, almost desperately. As if begging Rivin to stop jeopardizing their first real home in years, their safety, their friends, everything they'd finally found. There was no way Lord Death would let them stay in the city if Rivin caused too many injuries. If she killed him it would all be over. She clenched her fists and blinked the moisture from her eyes as the tip of her braid began to glow purple.
"Let go!" Soul growled, jerking her around.
Rivin only laughed and used her tail to keep Soul within her attack range, which was too close for Soul to attack effectively. She crushed him against the wall and placed her hand over his soul, "I think I'm going to kill you now."
Soul retracted his scythe and tumbled out of the way. Rivin's wave-length annihilated the wall of the store, leaving their battle exposed to the streets. Soul slashed at her again, but only caught her vest, tearing the last of it away. Rivin had already jumped backwards with a snarl. She sent her wave-length crashing down on Soul, pinning him to the floor as he endeavored to stay silent.
"Alright then, that's enough of that," the calm voice seemed to come out of nowhere. Rivin felt a warm soul reaching out to her. Kid placed his hand on her shoulder and hoped that she would calm down. He wasn't disappointed.
Her hands fell to her sides and her expression fell into confusion. She turned towards him, tilting her head. Her soul seemed to be grasping for something tangible. He squeezed her shoulder slightly, hoping to reassure her, then turned to the other two. "Soul, no more for now. I'm certain you'll have an opportunity to prove your title another time."
Soul seemed reluctant to end the fight without a victory. He glared at Kid, his eyes still fiery. "I think now is a perfect time to show Rivin how cool a Death Scythe really is."
Kid pointed to the distraught shopkeeper. "I think you two have destroyed this man's livelihood enough for one day. Tsubaki, I have Rivin well in hand. You should go and see to Black Star's injuries."
Soul and Tsubaki exchanged glances. Soul shook his head and turned to leave. Tsubaki looked over at Leila, then made her way to Black Star. She knelt beside him and pulled him halfway into her lap, trying to wake him up.
Chapter 4: Homemade bread : Leila, what's wrong?
Chapter Text
"Are you alright now?" Kid addressed Rivin. He looked her up and down. Her bikini top caught him off guard and demanded his entire focus. It had three white stripes on one side, but was solid black on the other. Hideously familiar. "Your...bikini top...it..." He cleared his throat. "It's not symmetrical at all," he finished lamely.
Rivin shrugged, feeling defensive. She had done it again. Wobbled too far into the darkness. She still felt them, too. The foxes. The static. It had always been a background noise up until now. Up until her resonance with Stein. Now it was almost the focal point of her madness. The five tailed fox brought it with him, trailing it after him like a trane of black and white and grey slowly blanketing her soul; a sound so comforting and horrifying that her only recourse was to give in.
Her hands were shaking. She had a sudden understanding of and felt kinship with the humans who stood on the side of the road, crosswalks and red lights; begging for change so they could buy cigarettes or booze. She would have given almost anything for a soul; any soul; anything to turn the static off.
"So what?"
Tsubaki glared at her, "Why did you do this? We wanted to trust you... but now..."
"Again, so what?" She crossed her arms and turned her back on them. Guilt wasn't an emotion she had much experience with, and she wasn't certain that's what she was feeling, but she was certainly feeling something. She didn't know how to deal with it. She didn't want to deal with it. She wanted her Raggy and some candy and anything to turn the static off. "I'm going home."
"You can't take that!" the shopkeeper cried, "Thief!"
Rivin paused only long enough to pull the string on the bikini top. It fluttered to the ground and she sauntered down the street.
Kid's eyes widened. An unexpected trickle of blood ran from his nose. He wiped it absently as he noticed a greyish mark marred the left side of her back. It ruined her perfect symmetry, and he felt the intense need to hide it from the world. He determined to follow Rivin.
"Neerrrg..." Black Star groaned, "Did I win?"
Tsubaki tried to smile, but it looked more like a grimace. "You survived."
"RIVIN!" Leila caught up easily with the smaller weapon's casual pace. "What the hell happened there?"
Rivin ignored her, continuing on down the street. She glared at the many men who stared at her with bloody noses. What was their problem? She hated them. She could eat them.
Leila rolled her eyes at the lustful onlookers. "Rivin, that was insane. You destroyed a store in under a minute, and you went crazy completely out of nowhere."
"Go away, Leila." She grumbled, "I just want to go home and go to sleep..." And eat. I'm so hungry. So cold.
"... our place is the other way."
Rivin stopped as if she just realized she had been walking towards the exit to Death City. "Whatever. Just go away." She said she doesn't want me to be alone... But one of these days, I'm going to kill her. I always kill my friends, because I am a bad friend. If I leave, then Leila can be happy, and Nii-chan can be happy... And Maka will be safe... And then I only have to choose between Argus and Bacchus...
Leila sighed. "When do I ever go away when you tell me to?" She gently took Rivin's hand. "Now come on, let's go back to the house. I'll make you some lunch."
As Kid caught up with them, he realized that Rivin was still exposed. The drooling men watching annoyed him. He didn't like them ogling Rivin... But he also didn't like the fact that her startling blemish was exposed for the world to see. He had to fix it. He took off his jacket as he approached them, and placed it gently around her shoulders.
Rivin blinked, then blushed. She didn't know how to deal with this situation. I don't understand. He's not afraid of me. He doesn't want to own me. He just wants to be close to me. Why is he so warm? "Uh, thanks, Kid." She tried to smile, but her tummy felt wobbly again. She suddenly realized that being around Kid might not be very safe - for either of them. "Um... I'll give your jacket back to you later... Damnit, Soul broke my vest!"
She stomped her foot and turned to Leila, "He broke it! Can you believe that? How rude! I'm gonna go tell him so!" She began marching back towards the store, trying to push away the faces of friends, dead for so long. Eaten so long ago. But the faces of their corpses were always there to greet her when the madness died down. Sad, scared, betrayed.
"Um...Rivin...I don't think he wants you to talk to him..." Leila called after her. She turned to Kid with a small but genuine smile. "You really do care about her, don't you?"
Kid said nothing, but his cheeks turned slightly pink. "We should probably stop her."
Leila nodded, and they started after her.
She got halfway to the store before she realized that she was not in anyone's good graces. Soul already hated her, and Black Star seemed intent on fighting her for some reason (though hopefully he'd learned his lesson), and Tsubaki... The look of betrayal on her face pulled Rivin to her knees. She had tried so hard, but still failed to be a good friend. She threw her head back with a wail like a child screaming, with strange trills mixed in.
"Alright, come on now," Leila said, half amused, half annoyed. She was used to Rivin's very animalistic noises and her declarations of "I'm a fox!", so the unsettling scream wasn't as strange to her as it was to Kid, who had stopped to stare at her back.
"Witch." He muttered and shook his head. "Fox Witch."
Leila could have kicked herself. "Yeah, that explains it."
Neither of them were sure how long to let her go on. Interrupting her didn't seem like a great idea, but she was being loud and annoying, and drawing quite the crowd. Just as Leila was about to put her hand on Rivin's shoulder, the smaller weapon shouted, "TSUBAAAKKKIIIIII DON'T HAAAAAATE MEEEEEEE!"
Black Star's voice, weak though it was, called back to her from inside the store. "RIVIN GET BACK HERE AND FINISH THIS FIGHT!"
"BLACK STAR YOU IDIOT!"
"TSUBAKI I LOVE YOU PLEASE NO HATE!"
"I'M MAD AT YOU STOP TALKING TO ME!"
"FIGHT ME!"
Kid could have laughed. How did someone go from mad, murderous... dangerous... to silly, overly dramatic, and fun? He was certain, givin Black Star's proclivity for provoking people into attacking him, that Tsubaki would likely forgive her in the next day or two (particularly while her meister was screaming to be beaten up again).
Rivin hopped to her feet and readjusted the jacket to cover her boobs. She grinned, "Well that was fun...." Her face fell a little, "I think I'm ready to go home now. You could come have lunch with us, Kid." Why did I say that? What if I eat him or something? I'm such a horrible weapon... "Or not." she added and continued on her way back to the school.
"That sounds nice, actually," Kid smiled. "Liz and Patti are having some sort of salon day or something, so I don't really have much to do today." Besides, I doubt that Leila could control you if you fell back into the madness.
"The more, the merrier," said Leila, smirking at Rivin.
Rivin stuck her tongue out at her, "If you're not nice to me I'll invite Nii-chan over too!"
Leila blushed and flicked Rivin's nose.
"...I just hope they don't touch Liz's eyebrows...I spent a whole week on those!" Kid muttered to himself from behind them. He realized belatedly that the store would not repair itself as quickly as Rivin had, or without financial hardship. He hung back away from the pair of weapons and made a call to a well reputed construction company.
"Bare Bones Construction, this is Kendal, how can I help you?"
"Yes, Kendal, this is Death The Kid." He replied smoothly. "Tweed's Fabric Palace has been... Well, shall we say it needs a bit of a remodel."
Kendal cleared her throat. "I can see that on the news right now, actually."
"Ah." He felt a bit bad for not staying behind to assist the elderly owner. "Yes. Well, I would like to offer to pay for the damages on his behalf. Whatever the cost, just bill it to me."
"I can certainly do that. It's nice to know that we're all so well taken care of by you and your father. I'll be sure to let Mr. Tweed know."
"Actually, it might be best if you didn't."
"Okay. Well, we'll send someone out right away."
"Wonderful." He put the phone back into his pocket, watching Leila's soul do flips of guilt and appreciation, while she said nothing more about the subject. He debated reassuring her that it was not a big deal, but decided that to do so might make her feel worse. Instead, he caught up to them, walking beside Rivin. His hand brushed hers, and he blushed and started to apologize. She didn't seem to notice at all. He swallowed the words and allowed his fingers to graze hers again.
Rivin glanced over at Kid, who was staring determinedly ahead. His soul was ringed with uncertainty and embarrassment and hope. She had no idea what to do with any of those things, or why he was feeling them. What she did know was that sometimes Leila held her hand when she was sad or unhappy. She twined her fingers in with his and grinned a big foxy grin when he looked down at their hands. His face was so very red.
Leila, determined to think of something other than how much the young reaper's phone call might have cost, noticed the gesture immediately. She jogged to catch up and fell into step on Rivin's other side. "Nice," she whispered with a giggle. She wasn't even sure if Rivin understood the implications of her actions.
They were back in their neighborhood within minutes. It was a subtle but also strikingly obvious switch. Houses were just slightly smaller, the paint slightly older. Less people were outside, and more televisions could be heard from the inside. As they passed the bookstore, they heard a familiar click-click-click-click-click. Leila's stomach twitched.
"Nii-chaaaan!" Rivin dropped Kid's hand and glomped the professor with a giggle, "Nii-chan, you should come eat lunch with us!"
Leila wasn't sure if she would have punched her or hugged her, but she was too busy avoiding eye contact with the professor to do either.
Stein paused, then twisted his screw again. He could feel the remnants of madness in her soul like static on the radio. She seemed to have it at an acceptable volume for the moment, however, and their timing was excellent. "I was getting hungry anyway." He glanced over at Leila, who seemed to be uncharacteristically fascinated by the fingernails on her left hand.
"Yay!" Rivin kept a hold of Stein's hand and led the way to the house with high steps.
Stein struggled slightly, but Rivin's grip was strong. He decided to suffer through it for the moment. If his old friend received his letter soon, hopefully this weapon would have a meister to reign in her childish behaviour... Or at least someone to behave childishly with.
Kid eyed Rivin's hand curiously as it clasped Stein's. Despite the fact that there was clearly no chance of anything happening with them, it bothered him more than he would have thought. His hand closed on air, and he stifled a sigh. He would have to consult Liz on the matter later, but for now he would just hold onto the feeling of warmth that holding Rivin's hand had given him.
He felt a flash of annoyance from an outside source. He turned his head just enough to see a woman peering around the corner of a building, most of her shrouded in the shadows. She had short blond hair and angry eyes, and she appeared to be watching Rivin. He shrugged. She was probably just a mistrustful human, and he couldn't really blame her for being uncomfortable with Rivin's presence.
Leila followed Rivin and Stein, staring at their clasped hands. She knew Rivin had no intent, and in fact seemed to be attempting the role of an innocent and clumsy wing-woman, but she couldn't help but wish she could pull off the boldness that came so easily to her eccentric little sister. She cleared it from her mind with a smirk.
What would she make? Sandwiches, perhaps. She had meat and cheese and fancy mustard. Plus that bread she had baked. She was good at sandwiches. And then... Coleslaw. Even Rivin said her coleslaw was good, and Rivin hated coleslaw. That would work. Now as long as she could stop blushing and fidgeting long enough to hold a conversation and keep from saying anything stupid, the afternoon would go well.
As soon as they entered Rivin and Leila's apartment, Leila headed to the kitchen to start lunch. There was a neatly folded paper in the middle of the stove. She frowned, opening it.
Luceria,
Have you forgotten me?
No signature. Luceria? Her frown deepened. Who was that? And who wrote it? And just how did it get into my kitchen? She threw it in the trash and vowed to lock the windows next time they left the house.
Rivin plopped Stein down on the couch and skipped around in a circle, "Yay! I'M HYPER LEILA! LEILA!" she darted into the kitchen and wrapped her arms around Leila and licked her shoulder, "LEEEIIIIILLLAAAAAA I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DOOOOOO I'M WOBBLY AND HYPER AND YOU TASTE GOOD OH MY GAWD OF DEATH I JUST REALIZED THAT IF KID IS DEATH'S SON THEN HE MIGHT TASTE LIKE DEATH! CAN I LICK HIM?"
"Oh goodness Rivin. Why don't you ask him yourself? He's still here you know."
Rivin froze. Her yellow eyes got wide, "Oh. I'm gonna go hide now." She walked stiffly to the bathroom, refusing to acknowledge Kid's amusement. Rivin breathed a sigh of relief once the door was closed. Just because she was good at making a fool of herself didn't mean she always enjoyed it. "Damnit..." She sighed again and decided she wanted to see how Kid's jacket looked on her, but instead of her face in the mirror, she saw him.
He had a square jaw, close cropped black hair and long side burns. His dark amber eyes stared at her with no emotion. Rivin's heart stopped. "Diomedes..."
He answered monotonously, "It has been much too long."
She shook her head, "G-go away. I don't need you."
"Oh? Is that so?"
"It is so! I have Nii-chan and Leila and Kid-"
"Do you really?"
Rivin glared at him. She detested the blue stripes on his right cheek. Damn, Kid was rubbing off on her-the stripes had always been her favorite part of her father. "I do. So go away."
"I hear the demon sword is attending the DWMA."
She shuddered, "Go away..."
"I want you to bring him to me."
"No!"
His expression never changed. "If you don't bring him back to me, you will end up all alone. Your so called friends will be dead and you or Ragnarok will be their killer. I'm trying to protect you, Luceria."
"Lunch is re—where did he go?" Leila was disappointed. Regardless of her uncharacteristic shyness, she was looking forward to impressing Stein with her culinary skills.
"I'm not sure," Kid responded. "He said he'd be right back, then he went into the hallway. He might have gone to check on Rivin."
"Oh." Had Stein sensed something that she and Kid hadn't? Was Rivin ok? She busied herself with setting out the plates of food and cups of tea on the small table.
"Rivin?" Stein called through the door. He could hear her talking on the other side. He was wary of entering; he knew he should check on her, but he didn't want her to bring out his madness again. He sighed, gave his screw a few twists, and opened the door. "Rivin?"
She jumped. Her attention snapped from the mirror to Stein. She stared at him for a second, a scared look on her face. Then she grinned, "Doesn't Kid's jacket look great on me?" she buttoned it up, mostly concealing her chest.
Stein raised his eyebrow. She was hiding something, obviously, but Stein felt that it was best not to press it. She was probably trying to control herself, talking herself away from going mad. It was a helpful practice. He looked at her knowingly. "Yes, it looks fine. Now, lunch is probably ready, you should come join us." He exited the bathroom.
"Kay!" Rivin skipped out after him. She almost pounced Kid when they entered the room, but then she stopped herself. Rivin settled for a cutesy grin and putting her hands in the pockets of his jacket.
Kid grinned back at her. He sat down to eat, somewhat elated. Rivin plopped down beside him. Leila sat on the opposite couch, looking slightly nervous. Stein sat beside her with no hesitation and sipped his tea.
"Teehee~ Leila, you get to sit next to Dr. Stabby!" Rivin picked up one of the sandwiches and nibbled on it like a mouse.
Leila opened her mouth, thinking that she would attempt to stutter a response, but Stein was faster. "Is there something wrong with that?" he asked calmly.
Leila buried her face in the cushion of the couch as her stomach did a strange twisty-turn. As strange as it was to have such a debilitating interest in her professor, it couldn't compare to how it felt to have someone so kind and strong as a Meister. She was flattered by his praise, and excited to improve as a weapon...but all of her happiness was tainted by guilt.
Rivin giggled, "Heeeeyyyyy... Maybe someday Nii-chan will really be my Nii-chan, and then I'll have little baby nieces and nephews to play with!"
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," Kid tried to calm her imagination, "It's not too extraordinary for a weapon and her Meister to spend time together. There's no reason to blow it out of proport...i...on..."
Rivin's face got dark. Shadows covered the top half, but her yellow eyes glowed, "The painting on your wall is crooked."
"WHAT!?" his hands flew to his head and he nearly tumbled backwards, "No! That can't be! I'm sure I straightened it this morning! Didn't I? Oh no! I can't remember!"
"Take it back!" Rivin jumped on him and shook his shoulders.
Kid flailed, "MY PAINTING! IT MUST BE STRAIGHTENED!"
"TAKE IT BACK!"
"MY PAINTING!"
Leila wasn't sure what had happened, but there was suddenly a lot of yelling. "What the hell just happened with them?"
"Kid said something that Rivin didn't like, so she responded with emotional torture. Nothing to be concerned about." Stein sipped his tea and took a bite of the sandwich. "This is quite good. Where did you get the bread?"
"PLEASE JUST LET ME UP SO I CAN RUN HOME AND STRAIGHTEN THE PAINTING AND THEN I'LL DO WHATEVER YOU WANT I SWEAR!"
Leila ignored Kid and Rivin and smiled humbly at Stein, "I actually made it last night." There was a crash as Kid knocked over a vase.
"Ah, that explains the freshness. Is there anything you aren't good at?"
Leila blushed so hard she could swear she was purple. She buried her face again and uttered a muffled "thank you."
"KID! JUST ADMIT THAT NII-CHAN AND LEILA ARE IN LOVE!" Rivin began the tickle torture.
Leila stood up abruptly, looking suddenly nauseated. "I'll...be right back," she mumbled as she ran toward the bathroom.
Stein couldn't help but chuckle, "I wouldn't go that far. Although..." His grin disappeared as he noticed the wavelength Leila's soul was giving off. It was a toxic shade of purple with streaks of black. It shivered with guilt, and anger, and a horrified realization. He wondered why Rivin's statement had shifted her opinion on the matter so quickly. Her flirtatious behavior was far from subtle and hadn't gone unnoticed. Was it the concept of love that made her so uncomfortable? We really do have a lot in common then, he mused.
"AHAHAHAHA....FINE...LOVE...GAHAHA... HOME...PAINTING!" Kid gasped.
"I WIN! I'M BETTER THAN BLACK STAR!" Rivin giggled, relaxing. She rested her forehead on Kid's, "Your painting is fine. I just wanted to win." She stood up and stretched before walking into her room to open their small dresser. She took out a lime green bikini top with black tiger stripes and skipped into the bathroom with Leila, "Hiiiiii~"
Leila groaned a response into her knees from the corner. She watched the hyperactive, and very wrong, weapon meticulously check her whole body. She vaguely wondered why and for what, but Rivin's words assaulted her again, eliciting yet another painful, burning feeling in her soul.
"Ai luuuuv you~" Rivin sang as she tied her bikini top on, "And Stein loves you, too. So be good, okay? I'm gonna make dessert~" She skipped back out into the living room and dropped Kid's jacket on his lap, "Thanks. It was kinda awkward walking around without a top... but I like your jacket. I may have to borrow it more often." She smiled, feeling uncharacteristically shy.
"I may allow that, but only if you refrain from tickling me in the future," he grumbled. He looked angry, but underneath that he was rather pleased. Sharing a jacket was a very couplish sort of thing, and the idea was a pleasant one. He would absolutely be talking to Liz about this later. She had more experience with intimate relationships, and was usually willing to help him interact with people. Perhaps she could give him advice on... Being a couple... With Rivin?
Rivin giggled, enjoying the soft glow of Kid's soul. Did I do that? Is that because of me? "I can't make any promises. So, do either of you like fruit? I wanna make dessert, but I'm only good with pastries... And pudding!"
Leila stood shakily and walked over to the sink to splash her face with water. She examined her reflection as she dried it with a tattered hand towel. What had Rivin said? Stein 'loved' her? She scowled darkly at her reflection. Rivin couldn't possibly believe that. He couldn't 'love' her. He couldn't possibly enjoy being stuck with her as a weapon either. No one could. She hadn't even been able to resonate with her last meister. Who else would put up with that?
And she didn't 'love' Stein either...the stomach aches were nothing. She had been flirting, but only for fun, to see if he would respond. He was handsome...and funny, and intense...but she didn't feel anything. They were just friends. Just weapon and meister, and she was lucky enough for that opportunity. She stared at herself in the mirror, repeating the words over and over in her mind, trying to convince herself that they were true. She shook her head angrily. "It is true," she muttered to herself, feeling for the doorknob in the dark. She needed to stop being so ungrateful and focus on taking care of Rivin.
When she left the bathroom, she found that everyone had finished eating. Rivin was in the kitchen, making her signature fruit pastries and pudding. From the looks of the kitchen counters, floors, and walls, it appeared to have exploded once or twice. Leila groaned. "What are you doing to my kitchen...?"
"My kitchen," Rivin growled when Leila tried to step onto the tiled floors. Her yellow eyes glowed wickedly, "Get out of my kitchen."
"I'd suggest that you leave her to it," Kid said from his spot on the couch, "She's made it quite clear that our assistance is... Unwelcome."
Stein sipped his tea.
"Fine..." Leila grumbled, watching Rivin with unease. She was clearly not her normal self. She sat down beside Stein. Her stomach knotted, but she ignored it. "Well, the final result will taste good, so that's something."
Every few minutes, a burst of manic giggles would explode from the kitchen, accompanied by the sound of something falling to the floor... And that would only serve to make the giggles more violent. Eventually, however, a smiling, happy Rivin sauntered into the living room holding a tray with four plates and four little bowls. On each plate was a decent sized angel food cake with strawberries and blueberries baked into and draped over them. Each bowl held Rivin's 'perfect pudding'.
She put the tray down on the table between the couches, "One for everyone, yay~!"
"Thank you dear," Leila said with a slightly forced smile. Rivin was worrying her. And Stein was there. Would he be affected too? She tasted her pudding. Delicious, just like it had been that morning.
Across the table, Kid seemed conflicted. He had already finished his pudding, but as for the pastry, all he could do was glare at it. The fruit was piled haphazardly on the pastry, with no logic or symmetry. He wanted to try it; Rivin had worked hard on it, and it probably tasted quite nice. The internal dilemma caused a trickle of sweat to form on his brow.
Rivin glanced over at him with her fork halfway to her mouth. At first she seemed confused. Did Kid not like it? His soul was upset, going back and forth in an internal situation. She vividly recalled the day he passed out in class because he couldn't make Ox's hair perfectly symmetrical. She laughed at the absurdity of the situation, then stuck the fork in her mouth and rearranged the strawberries and blueberries so that they had perfect symmetry. She grinned with the fork still hanging out of her mouth.
Kid looked surprised, but he smiled at her and tried the pastry. He finished it in three bites.
Stein had finished his as well. He looked at Rivin; she seemed to be back to normal, especially compared to how she had been while in the kitchen.
Leila sighed with relief. Rivin's dessert was over, and everyone had survived. The kitchen was in ruins (again!), but there had been no casualties. She stood. "I'd better clean that I suppose."
"Would you like any help?" Stein offered.
Leila's heart jumped painfully. "Um...no...thank you," she said slowly. She turned and scurried quickly to the kitchen. She scrubbed the colorfully splattered countertops angrily. Why had Rivin felt the need to use that word? Things were fine until then.They had been friends. She would have even been open to them being more, just a bit more, not too much...but now she felt uneasy when he was near her. It wasn't him making her uneasy; it was her own feelings. Her memories. Her guilt. Damn it, Rivin.
Rivin collected the dishes from the front room and dumped them in the sink. She sat on the clean part of the counter and swung her legs like a child, "Did I do something wrong, Leila? Your soul feels funny... Like when you're really mad at me, or something..."
Leila set her sponge down and took a deep breath. "No, Rivin... I'm fine." It's my fault. "Thank you for dessert, and for bringing the dishes." She patted Rivin's head and continued to scrub.
"... Okay... I'm gonna go see Black Star and Soul... Don't look at me like that-I'll take Kid with me and I promise not to fight with them even if they attack me, kay? I'll let Kid stop them. Leila..." she sighed, "Just clean the kitchen and don't worry." Rivin hopped up and walked out to the living room. She grinned at Stein, "Leila told me to tell you she's sorry for my behaviour and thank you for eating lunch with us."
Stein nodded. "Is she alright?"
"I don't know," Rivin answered honestly, "But I think it's time for us to go..." She pulled lightly at Kid's sleeve, "Will you come with me to make sure Black Star and Soul are okay?"
Kid nodded and followed her. Stein started to follow, but then he stopped and looked back at the kitchen. Leila was sitting in a corner, staring blankly at the door where Kid and Rivin had left. Stein watched her, turning his screw slowly.
Leila didn't look at him. She couldn't. She closed her eyes, but just knowing she was now alone with him forced her to acknowledge feelings she wanted to ignore. Feelings that became ignited with hot guilt as she felt them, as if passing through a wall of fire. Feelings she had been dismissing as shallow and meaningless, until she had heard that one word, the one that wasn't allowed, that couldn't be true. "Thank you for coming, Professor. Please leave now."
He looked at her sadly for another few seconds, then reluctantly complied. He closed the door behind him.
Leila buried her face in her knees and let the tears free.
Chapter 5: Your life is a lie: How can I open my soul to you?
Chapter Text
Rivin led the way to the infirmary in silence. Something was definitely wrong with Leila, but she didn't know what. Why wasn't she happy that Dr. Stabby liked her? Did she suddenly not want to be experimented on? But that wasn't right; she very much wanted Stein around, it was just that she felt bad about it... Like Rivin felt bad about being unable to make friends.
But Kid was her friend, right?
No?
Yes?
Maybe?
He did have some ability to cut through the static. But usually it was to tell her what to do. That was an Argus thing. A Bacchus thing. But Kid only told her to not hurt people, so that was okay, right?
Maybe?
Yes?
No?
Rivin sighed when they reached the door, "Hey, Kid? Don't let me hurt them, kay? I don't want Leila to be any more sad."
"Of course," he assured her. He wasn't entirely sure what had happened at Rivin and Leila's house, but he had a feeling that Leila had a dark past. Perhaps not quite to the extent of Rivin's, but she definitely was keeping something hidden.
She smiled, "Thanks. Here goes nothing." Rivin was greeted by three glares and a small smile from Maka.
"Hey Rivin," she said with a wave, "You really did a number on Soul and Black Star. Are you okay?"
Rivin flinched. Why was Maka being nice to her at all? "Yeah," she hung her head, "I healed pretty quickly..."
"Good."
Rivin could hear the smile in the Meister's voice, and the glare in her weapon's, "What do you want?"
"I just wanted to make sure you and Black Star were okay," She looked up with a forcibly bright smile, "I was sort of mad earlier... And I'm sorry. I promise it won't happen again..."
"Yeah right. That's what you said after attacking Maka. Look how well that turned out."
"Yeah!" Black Star put in, "How can I surpass god when I'm stuck in here!? It's all your fault! But I'll beat you next time because I'M BLACK STAR THE BIGGEST STAR IN THE WORLD!"
Foxes, laughing, pulling her back and forth, wobbling her mind. Five little foxes, each pulling a veil of static through her soul. Rivin's eyes narrowed. She needed to keep the wobbles straight, or they could get hurt again. She sat on a bed close to the door. "Could you tone it down a bit?"
"NO WAY I'M BLACK STAR!"
Rivin giggled. They're all wounded already, and one meister can't stop you... Wouldn't it be just so easy to take their souls? Eat and be warm. Get strong. Matter.
"I AM THE MAN WHO WILL SURPASS GOD!"
Tsubaki looked back and forth between them with one hand over her heart, "Um, Black Star, I think you should be a little more quiet..."
Rivin covered her mouth with one hand, trying to stifle the giggles. Surpass god? Him? What has he done to surpass a god-any god? Even if he does, I am the God Slayer.
"Black Star, shut up!" Maka yelled at him when he opened his mouth, "Can't you see you're upsetting Rivin?"
"Who cares?" Soul snapped. "It's not like she cares about any of us!"
"All of you should start caring," Kid snapped back, "Rivin getting 'upset' is what's been causing the behaviour that made you hate her in the first place."
Rivin took a deep breath, taking advantage of the ensuing silence, "Black Star, you should learn to hide your soul wave-length. The louder you get, the louder your wave... The madder I become."
"Maybe you should learn to control that!" Black Star crossed his arms, "You can't go all crazy every time someone gets excited, you know."
She sighed. He just didn't get it. It wasn't as though she tried to be mad (most of the time). Being cute and asking nicely wasn't getting her anywhere with Black Star. He wasn't the type to be swayed by simple kindness. She doubted if he would respond better to logic, but she could at least try to explain herself in a way that the others could understand more fully. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I know that, Black Star, but it would really help me if you could just—"
"I WON'T I AM BLACK STAR AN—"
Tsubaki slapped him. The sound echoed around the deathly still room. "Don't you get it? Every time you do that... You're provoking her! Do you like it in the infirmary? What if no one is there to stop her and she takes your soul? How will you surpass god then?"
Black Star stared at her. He blinked and was silent.
Rivin looked away. Tsubaki was obviously attached to him. Hurting Black Star hurt her, too. "I'm sorry," she whispered. I'm so tired of making people cry... Maybe I should just go.
"Don't worry." Maka stumbled out of bed. Rivin jumped forward to prevent the Meister from collapsing.
Soul jerked, but was unable to move due to the chains no one had noticed before. "Get away from Maka!" He screeched, desperately pulling at the chains tying him to the bed and preventing him from getting up and leaving whenever he felt like it. He looked mad. Quite mad.
Rivin could hear a discordant piano. The sound felt like it came from a distant tunnel under water; as though it had been hidden away and sealed. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly as she helped Maka stand up straight, "You really should stay in bed until you're feeling better. I'd feel bad if you got hurt again."
Maka smiled, "Tsubaki and I forgive you. Soul will eventually, too."
"No I won't, damnit!" chains rattled. The piano sounded louder, giving the foxes more energy. Barking and snarling and hungry energy.
Rivin choked on a giggle. She glared at him, "Soul, if you don't stop playing, I'll silence the piano for you."
Kid's eyes widened. The piano... His soul was playing again? That hadn't turned out well for Soul the last time... He might not have come back at all if it hadn't been for Maka. He didn't want to imagine what this could do to Rivin. He put a cautioning hand on her shoulder.
"I dare you to try!"
"ME TOO!"
Rivin glanced over at Kid, blushing lightly. Was he.... Trying to protect her from the madness? Argus had never done that. In fact, he encouraged her madness; talked directly to the foxes and asked them to come out and play. But Kid always talked to her. Always stopped her from hurting people. She could get used to having him around. She giggled and turned back to Soul, "No, that would upset Leila... And I think I could get used to this 'friendship' thing... And I don't think Crona would forgive me for hurting you anymore."
"HURT ME!? YOU COULDN'T HURT ME IF YOU TRIED! I AM BLACK STAR AND--!"
Rivin glared at him with glowing yellow eyes. His voice had the annoying ability to turn up the volume on the static, to get the foxes riled up. She could still feel the discordant notes, though they were fainter and losing power quickly. She could probably force it to pick up again. "Shut up or I will resonate Soul's piano against you. You're really getting on my nerves, got it?"
Maka stared at her for a second, then burst into peals of laughter. Rivin helped her back into bed, "I don't understand, what's so funny?"
Kid watched carefully, ready to step in at the slightest change of tone. The more the loudmouthed assassin yelled and bluffed, the more madness Kid could detect in Rivin's soul. However, seeing Maka needing assistance seemed to temper the madness slightly. She was clearly better suited to social situations than either Leila or herself gave her credit for.
"You are!" Maka laughed, "You say you'll resonate Soul's madness against Black Star's soul, but I know you won't. You're just too nice."
That shocked Rivin into silence. Nice? Nice is bad. Nice is weak...
"NICE!?" Soul raged, "That's so uncool, Maka. She tried to kill you and—"
"And what?" She blinked, "So did Crona and Ragnarok. They're part of our team now, remember? If we just hated everyone for their mistakes, we would all hate each other... And we would be afraid."
That seemed to calm Soul down. Or at least shut him up. He crossed his arms and sulked.
Rivin giggled. Maka was just so bright. Even damaged, her soul was radiant. She was still scared of the mad weapon, but she was facing it with logic and kindness. The giggles turned into chuckles became light hearted laughter. She fell over, clutching her sides and kicking the air.
"That's enough. We're leaving now," Kid said worriedly. He helped Rivin up and pulled her out of the infirmary by her wrist. She allowed him to lead her, still laughing hysterically. Once they were out in the hallway, Kid took her by her shoulders. "Listen to me. You have to calm down. Fight the madness. Don't let it take you!"
"Wh-what?" she doubled over, trying not to fall, "I'm not-not mad! Just happy." She wiped at her eyes. Rivin had never laughed this hard before-even in her madness. She was even crying! Maka thought she was nice and wanted to be her friend. The idea was ludicrous. Friends weren't really real, not for her. She thought maybe Patti could be a friend, but Maka? Someone she had tried to kill? Someone whose soul she had to put back together? But she could tell that Maka was serious. She wanted to show Rivin what her resonance group had. Something she had never seen before...
Something like the sun, bright and warm. Something she could bask in. Gentle rays of freedom and clarity. She had a sudden flash of memory of someone explaining to her what the world outside of the mountain could be. What the sun was. How many different types of people there were. How many different types of food and toys and houses; wouldn't she like to live in a house? All she had to do was give the scary snake lady her Raggy, and then he would take her to see the world.
But she didn't want to give the scary snake lady her Raggy. That was her Raggy. Besides, the man was broken. He had no soul to see, no soul to check, no soul to eat.
All she could do was laugh. Laugh at the absurdity of her circumstances. She had found people, people with souls, that she couldn't eat; didn't want to eat. Friends.
They heard a soft clicking. Stein walked past them, looking distracted. "Oh, hello," he greeted them absently. He gave Rivin an odd look. "What are you so happy about?" Rivin's only response was continued peals of laughter. Stein shrugged and continued down the hall.
Kid frowned. This did seem different from the high-pitched, unsettling giggle that he'd heard from her before. Maybe she really was just...happy. The state of her soul confirmed it. He smiled at her. "Well, I feel that this is good enough cause for celebration." He thought of Leila, curled up in her kitchen, and Stein, wandering the halls, lost in thought. Perhaps it could cheer up the others as well. "I'll let Dad know. It's been too long since we've had a decent party."
The laughter slowly calmed and Rivin was able to stand up straight again, "But Leila and I would have nothing to wear... And we can't go naked!" She gasped with wide eyes, "Can we?"
Kid coughed awkwardly. "Um...no, it wouldn't be customary to do so. And it might make the other guests a tad uncomfortable."
Black Star pulled himself out of bed and pumped his fist, "Alright! Tsubaki, let's go!"
"But Black Star... Go where?" she stood slowly, "You're supposed to be resting..."
"I can't get stronger by lying in bed." He threw open the window and edged out, "Well, come on!"
Tsubaki sighed and climbed out after him. She felt as though if Nygus were going to chain Soul to the bed, she should have done the same to Black Star. "Bye Maka, bye Soul."
"Tch." Soul grimaced, "How uncool." He snickered. The music wouldn't stop playing. It was his song, skipping like a broken record. It was maddening.
Maka smiled gently and wobbled out of bed.
"You should be laying down."
She staggered over to Soul and sat in the bed with him.
"Maka..."
The Meister pulled her weapon close, resting his head on her chest. She pet him lightly, running her fingers through his white hair.
"I..."
"Shh," Maka smiled, taking his hand, "I know."
He smirked, "That's so uncool."
/*/*/*/
Monday morning came about way too soon for Rivin's taste. She finally understood all the people who complained that weekends didn't last long enough. There just wasn't enough time in two days to fix everything that needed fixing or to laugh or play. She had even forgotten to pick up something sweet for Raggy!
It would be okay though. Sunday night, much to Leila's confusion, Rivin had opened the window and shouted, "HEY, I KNOW YOU'RE BACK SO IF YOU CAN HEAR ME I WANT SOME CHOCOLATE, PLEASE!" There were several bags of various chocolates left on their doorstep. Leila was somewhat alarmed by Rivin's apparently very diligent admirers, but she shrugged it off. For some men, the simple act of looking and dressing how Rivin did was enough cause for appreciation.
The two of them gathered what they wanted for themselves, and, after shouting "THANK YOU!" straight into the air, Rivin took the rest to class for Ragnarok. She handed one piece to him outside the classroom, then proceeded to put Crona next to the door so that she could sit directly across the classroom from him and throw chocolate pieces over Stein's head for Ragnarok to catch.
Leila buried her face in her arms as she waited for class to start. After what had happened at lunch on Saturday, this was the last place she wanted to be, but she had to. It was school, and she knew she needed it. It wasn't as if she could have gone to school during the two years she spent with Rivin, or the three before that. She hadn't even gotten to train anymore once he had discovered that they couldn't resonate. The only thing she had learned since she was fifteen was new recipes and how to survive being homeless.
"Good morning Leila! You look lovel-OWW!"
Ox limped back to his desk. He would have a bruise where Leila kicked him, but she didn't care. She heard a familiar clicking noise as Stein entered the classroom. She groaned, feeling sick.
Rivin felt rather accomplished as she leaned on Leila. "Have a chocolate!" She waved to Maka as the Meister entered the classroom and was happy when she waved back. Soul glared at her, but that was to be expected. Are they... My friends now?
There was a twinge in the back of her mind. A voice so quiet she might have imagined it. Yet she knew it was there, questioning her, contradicting her. Haven't you eaten every friend you ever made?
Black Star was nowhere to be seen, and neither was Kid. Patti sat next to Rivin with a giggle. Rivin grinned back and handed her several chocolates to eat. Maybe friends are more than food...
But can you be sure you won't betray them in your madness?
She blinked. Had she imagined that? Surely she wouldn't... But the thought made Rivin uneasy. She leaned back in her seat and waited for class to start. At least if I go mad, Kid won't be here.
"Well let's pick up where we left off, shall we?" Stein rolled in his chair, "Leila, come here please. Maka, you and Tsubaki will be paired up for this lesson. Since you weren't here last time, I'll explain. I want you to try resonating with Tsubaki. Wielding another Meister's weapon is as helpful as it is difficult. Don't worry if you can't, I don't really expect you to." After Rivin had told him that Maka shouldn't resonate with Soul for a while, Stein had been curious as to what exactly she had done to Maka's soul. He wanted to see what would happen if she tried to resonate in a controlled environment. He would be ready to step in if anything went wrong.
Leila had nearly forgotten that she was still Stein's partner. Simply coming to class had been enough of an endeavor. Now she had to resonate with him, share her soul, feeling the way she did? She couldn't do it. She got up anyway and shakily walked over to Stein.
He held out his hand to her. She took it limply and transformed. She could feel his soul wavelength surrounding hers, but they didn't resonate.
"Good. Now try resonating," she heard Stein tell Maka and Tsubaki. She expected him to try and resonate with her more strongly, but nothing was happening. She sighed with relief.
Maka and Tsubaki had a much easier time matching their wavelengths than had their respective partners. Maka grinned, "We've got this, Tsubaki!"
"Right!"
"SOUL RESONANCE!"
Rivin watched Maka carefully. She had warned Stein not to let Maka resonate, but it looked like he forgot. If anything happened, Rivin might be forced to help... And then Soul would be mad at her... And Crona would hate her.... Damnit, Nii-chan, are you trying to kill your students?
Stein kept trying to resonate with Leila. They'd had no trouble with it before, but now it seemed that her soul was closed off to him somehow.
Leila.
Silence.
LEILA.
Still nothing.
He could have forced a resonance and found out what was causing her to close her soul to him, but he would risk breaking a very important bond of trust between weapon and Meister. Besides, the effect was most likely subconscious, and would therefore wear off once she became comfortable again. Still, he found himself surprisingly concerned for her once again.
Maka cringed as the soul energy surrounded her and Tsubaki. The ninja sword had an incredible amount of power; much more than Maka had been expecting. It pushed against her. It almost hurt.
Are you okay, Maka?
"Yeah I'm fine. Let's go!"
"Right!"
Maka rushed, trying to use Tsubaki like she would use Soul. It worked against her. Stein stepped back and cracked Leila at Maka's feet, "You'll have to do better than that."
Maka! I'm not a Scythe. I'm an assassination tool. You'll have to get up close and chop him!
Maka grinned, "Tsubaki."
Rivin's eyes narrowed. She could feel the Meister's soul tearing. Stein could see souls, why wasn't he doing something!?
You can't be serious! It took even Black Star weeks of training to—
"Enchanted sword mode!" Black markings wrapped around her face and arms, spreading from the black sword. The smell of burning souls was almost too much to bear.
Rivin jumped to her feet, "Maka, no!"
Soul leaped in front of her, "Stay away from my Meister."
"Tsubaki..." Maka twitched, falling to the ground, "I can't... Feel my body..." Black marks clutched her, living entities with a hunger for souls.
"Maka..." Soul rushed to his Meister, "Maka!"
Rivin pushed Soul out of the way, "Move it!" She ripped Tsubaki from the Meister's hand and threw her at Liz and Patti, uncaring of where she actually landed. Rivin put her fingers over Maka's soul and sent small waves of energy to it, "I told you not to resonate." The burning smell faded, but previously healed cracks began to tear and ooze. Rivin focused on preventing the damage from spreading. If she worked too quickly, she could end up cutting Maka off from either her Weapon or Miester side, and either would be a detriment to her.
"Yeah sorry." Maka cringed. The black markings seemed to tighten on her body before finally retreating as her soul stabilized.
Crona joined them at the front of the class, "Is Maka going to be okay?"
Stein decided that he'd seen all he needed to see. Rivin was stabilizing Maka's soul, which was helpful, but Stein noted the look on Soul's face. He tapped Rivin's shoulder. "I'll take it from here."
She nodded, stepped back, glanced over at Soul and grinned, "Betcha thought I was gonna eat her."
"That's not cool, Rivin," He growled, cracking his knuckles.
Tsubaki ran down the steps, "That wasn't very nice, Rivin!"
"Sorry," she giggled, "I just needed to stop Maka from resonating. It would have killed her." The tiny voice with gravity like quicksand questioned her. Why didn't you eat her? She's broken. It would have been so easy.
Because she's my friend!
Has that ever stopped you before?
It could stop me now!
Are you sure?
She tried to fight against it. The more she struggled to come up with reasons why she shouldn't, the less she could argue. She had always eaten her friends before, what made Maka special? Maka was so bright and brave, though. But so many of the souls she had enjoyed eating were; wasn't that why she wanted Maka to begin with? But Maka was her friend! But what did that really change?
The conversation that made her head spin, that seemed to take an eternity, lasted less than a second in real time. That was all the time the foxes needed to wake up. To wake up and begin gekkering their hunger.
Tsubaki's eyes grew wide. Her hand flew to her heart, "What? I could have killed Maka?"
"Yup!" Rivin patted her shoulder, "But don't worry, I could have, too."
You could have, so why didn't you? The voice came from all the corners of her soul, as though someone were screaming from the outside and it was echoing through an empty mountain. So why didn't you eat her?
She's my friend!
That has never stopped you before.
"Don't remind me," Soul grumbled.
Crona nodded his agreement, "I just want Maka to be safe. She's my best friend."
"Heehee~" Rivin's grin widened, "You're so cute, Crona." So cute and so vulnerable. I could rip that sword right out of your spine and no one could stop me. She giggled.
Listen to yourself! The voice chided. All it takes is a touch of madness for you to think about murdering your own flesh and blood! More than friends; family! And you think you're safe to be around? You think you should be free, among them?
"Cute? You think this is cute?" Ragnarok pulled on Crona's face, "You must be crazy! Insane! Mad!"
The foxes dipped and darted, turning circles in her mind, pulling a veil of disquieting static along behind them. The faces they made; the grins and the howls; the sheer absurdity of their antics in their desperation to get her attention; to remind her that they were so, so hungry; she couldn't help but laugh at them. At Crona's face being pulled into uncomfortable expressions. At the ache forming in her chest and the pit in her stomach: the pit that even Leila's cooking couldn't fill.
"I'm gonna.... Go to the bathroom!" she called to Stein, staggering out of the room. She tried to stop the wobbles by covering her mouth, but by the time she reached the bathroom she could barely move. Rivin slid down the bathroom door, threw her head back and laughed insanely for a solid five minutes.
She was stopped by the voice made of quicksand, monotone and grating. "Luceria."
Her chest seized up. Her heart stopped beating. Time froze. She found herself standing in front of the mirror, face to face with a person she had nearly forgotten. He had a square jaw and broad nose, and close-cropped black hair. His dull, dark amber eyes stared apathetically into hers.
"Go away," she whispered, "Please go away."
His face was stoic, "Are you enjoying this lie?"
"It's not a lie."
"It is nothing more than something your madness has fabricated." Diomedes did not so much as blink, "You cannot believe anything you see here. Come home."
Rivin shook her head, "You don't understand. I'm happy here. Most of the group has forgiven me from almost killing Maka and—"
"Already you have tried to kill them."
"It was an accident!" Her heart hammered. She didn't want to think about that. She just wanted to go forward and make a home and learn how to be a better weapon and have more adventures with Leila and maybe have a Meister some day —
"I can see it on your face. You think you have a chance of finding a Meister. Because I love you, I will remind you that no human could ever wield you."
Rivin gulped. "P-professor Stein-"
"Is not human. He is his own creation, just as you are mine. Come home, Luceria. Come home, where you are safe. Where you will never go hungry. Where you never have to worry about who you are eating."
"N-no! I'm ha-I'm happy here. I have Leila and Maka, and Crona likes me and Raggy is okay now, and Black Star isn't afraid of me and maybe he'll be my friend. I can start over here! I can be happy and have friends!"
"That is a lie."
"No it's not!" she put her hands over her ears, bending so that her elbows touched the sink. Her chest hurt. Her eyes were full of tears. "Kid says that we're all friends, and that I might be able to join the team soon and-"
"Who is 'Kid'?" His voice held two notes; suspicion and contempt.
She let out a half laugh. Who was Kid? "Kid is Lord Death's son. He's my b-my friend."
"Lord Death? He kills my kind, Luceria. Our kind. Have you forgotten that you are half witch?"
"But... But I'm a weapon..." She didn't want to think about the other side of her heritage. She didn't want to think about her past; what had been done to her or what she was. She didn't want to be a Witch, or the God Slayer. She just wanted to be a normal weapon!
"And you are also a Witch. Death the Kid is a meister. No, he is more than that. He is a Grim Reaper." Diomedes's eyes were hard, "He will destroy your body and take your soul. Come home. You're not safe there."
"But..." Kid? Take her soul? If she hadn't already been frightened, the idea would be laughable. As it was, the idea terrified her, "He... He wouldn't!" So cold.
"Oh, he would." Diomedes assured her, "Because you will betray him."
"No!" I'm so hungry. Can I really stay here?
"Have you not hurt them already? Can you be sure he will be safe around you?"
"I..." I can't...
"I thought as much. Come home, Luceria. Come home, where you will be safe." Diomedes' fingertips reached out, pushing the surface of the mirror like water. The tension held him at bay, but all she had to do was touch him to break though. He was right there, just on the other side of the mirror, arms extended to embrace her. "I will keep you safe from now on. You're my precious daughter. You deserve to be safe and warm."
"Warm..." Rivin groaned. "It's so cold here..." She lifted one hand. Her finger came so close to the surface of the glass that she could feel him. His soul was cold, full of regret and grief. He harbored so much fear and anger around her existence, but he was home.
"Come home and be safe, Luceria," Diomedes whispered. There was a strange softness in his voice, one she had never heard before. "You will never have to worry, because I will never let you leave again."
"Never?" Her voice came out as a timid squeak. Never leave? Never leave the mountain? I'd never see Leila again, or get to be friends with Maka, or get to make up with Tsubaki or get to know Black Star. I'd never get to play dinosaurs with Patti. I'd never... Get to hold Kid's hand again. "Why?"
"Because I'm your father and I know what's best."
The annoyance in his tone, coupled with the phrase she heard so often, brought vivid flashbacks of her childhood. Starving, sick, suicidal, desperate, alone, and so, so cold.
"No!"
///---///
"Pardon my tardiness," Kid said as he walked into class. He'd been up all night in the library, researching more about witches, seeing if he could find the name Diomedes anywhere. He'd had no luck at all. It had been hard for him to focus. An unseen malice had been watching him all night, and he had expended most of his concentration trying to figure out what it was. By the time he had noticed the clock, it was 7:15.
He noticed people gathered around Maka, who was prone on the floor. Stein had his hand on her chest. Rivin wasn't there. As much as he wanted to be surprised, he was simply too tired to muster up any emotion other than a pang of irony. He had spent the night trying to find out about her past, only to be unable to help her in the present. "What happened here? Where's Rivin?"
"The bathroom, most likely," Stein muttered. He appeared to be concentrating.
Kid left to go look for her. Had she attacked Maka again? Was she alright?
He heard the sound of glass shattering and scattering on tile. "Rivin?" he called, pushing open the door to the girls' bathroom.
She jumped as he entered. Her fist was still against the back wall, framed by jagged edges of the mirror clinging desperately to their base. Blood dripped from the deep lacerations. A few smaller shards had been impaled into her hand, but the majority of the mirror was on the floor, scattered at her feet. "G-go away!" Her voice sounded high pitched and shook as much as her hands.
He ignored her command and stepped cautiously closer. "Are you alright?"
Rivin gulped, glaring at the floor rather than at Kid. Her arms fell down to her sides. Plip. A drop of blood fell between several shards of glass. It was joined by another, and another. It wasn't healing. She had healed almost instantly from previous injuries, but her current one seemed to be more stubborn for some reason.
"Come on now, we need to go to the infirmary." He reached for her other hand.
Rivin stepped just out of his reach and shook her head. Glass crunched under her boots. She didn't know what to say. She just wanted him to leave her alone: To go away so he didn't get hurt. She giggled. Her mouth twitched into an unsettlingly mad grin.
He looked at the blood dripping from her hand. Red. Regardless of color, the image of her giggling at Crona and Ragnarokafter being nearly sliced in half was front and center in his mind. Her pupils were slitted, cat-like, and dilated with fear.
The madness he had seen from her before had come from either being too near (or resonating with) a person often afflicted with madness, or intense emotion. Fear was as good of a motivating factor as any other emotion, but perhaps the most dangerous. He just wondered what had caused it, and at such an intensity to cause madness.
Kid approached her again. He held both hands out, palms up. "I'm not giving you a choice," he said gently but urgently. "We need to have that bandaged up." He grabbed her upper arm with one hand and put his arm around her shoulders.
She tensed at his touch, hissing like a feral animal. Her face twisted into an angry snarl. Kid couldn't help but notice exactly how sharp her teeth were when they were being bared at him. Sharp and carnivorous: like the teeth of a dog. Or a fox.
"None of that, now." He chided softly, putting slight pressure on her to start coaxing her out of the bathroom. "We're going to get that bandaged so you don't get an infection."
Rivin jerked her head side to side. The hissing hadn't stopped. Her usually luminous yellow eyes were flat and cold.She was leaning away from him. She gnashed her teeth in annoyance, and ground out, "Dangerous."
"Ah." He gave a small sigh of relief. "No, I don't think you are. I'm not certain exactly the situation, but I think that you were frightened by something, and you're acting out of fear. However, it seems that the danger has passed, and you are safe now. Unless, of course, you're frightened of me." He added as an afterthought.
She shook her head again. The motion was more fluid. She stopped hissing, but her pupils were still dilated.
"Well, that's a start." Kid smiled. He still had no idea what had started the incident, or what had caused her to attack the mirror, but it brought him a measure of satisfaction to know that he had been able to talk her down yet again. He squeezed her shoulder gently, momentarily distracted by how nicely she fit under his arm. "Now, are you ready to walk with me?"
She licked her lips, then nibbled the bottom one with her extended canines. "Not scared I'll eat you?"
He chuckled. "I'm fairly certain you promised you wouldn't. So, no. I'm not scared of you. Do you want me to be?"
Rivin stared up at him, slowly shaking her head with her lips till between her teeth. She took a deep breath before speaking again. "Not counting Leila, you're the first one who hasn't..."
Kid waited several seconds for her to finish her thought, but she just sighed and looked back at her feet. He had a picture in his head resembling something he had seen in the romantic movies Liz liked; he could so easily tuck his finger under her chin and bring her face up, and... He cleared the image from his mind. He didn't know what to do with it, and it didn't seem helpful or appropriate. "Who hasn't done what, exactly?"
"Hm-mm." She looked back up with a small smile, and brought her still bleeding fist back into view. "You know, I'm usually more immortal than this."
"Right." Kid re-focused on his goal: getting Rivin first aide. "Are you well enough to walk on your own?"
"If I say no, will you stay close?" Her eyes shone with an uncharacteristic shyness.
His face flushed. He swallowed, then cleared his throat and looked at the ceiling. "I-if that's what you want. I'd rather... You be well. And also want..."
"You wouldn't mind?"
"Mind?"
"Holding my hand?"
"No-not at all."
/-/-/
"There, that should help for now," Stein said, removing his hand from Maka's chest. "But I would recommend that you go home and rest for today. Soul, please take Maka home."
Soul nodded, still looking angry. He was muttering about Rivin under his breath as he helped Maka up off the floor.
"Soul."
He turned to look at the professor.
"Your anger at Rivin is understandable, but I think it's time to forgive her. Maka's decision to try and use Tsubaki's Enchanted Sword mode was a dangerous one, and if Rivin hadn't acted so quickly, Maka's soul could have been damaged beyond repair."
Soul glared at him, "Whatever, Stein. She tried to eat Maka. If it wasn't for Rivin, Maka would have been just fine."
"Stop being so uncool." Maka sat up and crossed her arms, "You're embarrassing me!"
Crona giggled.
"What's so funny?" Soul turned his glare on the cowering boy.
Ragnarok laughed heartily, "You are! You're trying to be SO cool and you FAIL!"
"Oh, Ragnarok," Tsubaki laughed lightly and handed him a piece of candy, "You should try to be nicer to Soul. He's just worried about his Meister."
"Oh yea? Where's your Meister?"
"Training."
"With another weapon?"
"..."
"Ragnarok, that's not nice..."
"Not nice!? I'LL SHOW YOU NOT NICE COME HERE CRONA STOP MOVING!"
"NO STOP THAT HURTS, I'M SORRY!"
"Class dismissed," said Stein, twisting his screw. "Maka, Soul, go home."
The class filed out the door. Leila tried to follow.
"Leila," Stein called to her.
She turned and walked back slowly, looking at her shoes, her stomach clenching. "Yes Professor?"
"I just wanted to make sure you were alright, and to let you know that, if I did anything to offend you on Saturday, I apologize."
She still couldn't make eye contact. Now that the heavy wooden door had fully closed, the soft click-click-click of his screw was the only sound in the empty classroom. She shoved her hands in her pockets to keep herself from fidgeting. "Oh, no, you didn't do anything..." She sighed.
Of course, none of it was his fault. He couldn't control how he made her feel, couldn't stop his voice from being such a soothing sound, or from their resonance being the thing she secretly most looked forward to each day. He couldn't remove himself from the assorted thoughts she had that made her blush or smile randomly, or from the only pleasant dreams she had at night. He didn't even have any way of knowing that she wasn't supposed to feel that way. "Sorry for being a jerk and kicking you out..." she smiled slightly. "We'll have you over again sometime soon. I'll make something even better."
"I'll be looking forward to it." He watched her face and her soul closely. "As long as you're sure you're comfortable with it."
"Yeah, of course!" She said it as enthusiastically as she could. "Like I said, you didn't do anything wrong, I still want us to be friends." Just friends just friends just friends she chanted to herself repeatedly, attempting to untie the knot of guilt in her stomach. "Saturday was just...a weird day for me."
"Was it?" he inquired. "Did something happen?"
She finally forced herself to meet his eyes. They were a dull hazel, always so expressive, adding a glow of humanity to his otherwise unnatural appearance. They were always soft and kind when they looked at her. At the moment, they seemed to be full of genuine concern.
She was silent for several seconds, wishing she could tell him everything. She considered that hearing the truth from him directly, that he would never want anything more than friendship from her, might help her accept it. She wanted to get it over with, to deal with the truth and move on...but she stayed silent. Waves of guilt clutched at her throat. She coughed. "It's...hard to explain," she answered honestly.
"Understandable." He nodded. "As long as you know you can always come talk to me if you need anything." He smiled cheerfully. "That's what friends are for, after all."
A small smile sprang to her own lips. Relief washed over her soul at his use of the word. The worst of the guilt she had been feeling subsided. "Thank you!" she said sincerely.
"Of course." He lit a cigarette, watching her. "I'm glad you seem to be feeling better."
She fiddled with her braid and looked away. Even after being reassured that their relationship was fully platonic, she still felt flustered under his gaze. "I should probably go find Rivin..."
"That's a good idea, although she should be fine as long as she's still with Kid."
"That's true, but..." She sighed. "I at least want to make sure she's ok, see what she's doing." She waved at him and turned back toward the door. "See you in class tomorrow!"
"Good luck," he called after her with a chuckle. His concerns weren't fully alleviated. He still didn't know what exactly had caused her to be so uncomfortable. All he could tell was that she seemed to suddenly and vehemently reject the idea of any relationship with him beyond a standard friendly weapon/Meister partnership. It was somewhat odd, as she had been clearly flirtatious on multiple occasions. A few had even been somewhat obnoxiously confirmed by Rivin.
He thought back to the events of Saturday. Had Rivin's careless language truly affected her so strongly? He couldn't blame her; he was fairly unfamiliar with the concept himself...but that didn't seem to be the problem. For her to subconsciously block his wavelength all because of one exaggerated phrase...one could reasonably assume she hated the idea.
He was surprised and almost fascinated by the twinge of disappointment he felt. His current partnership with Leila was friendly, casual, and efficient. It was the same sort of relationship he'd had with most of his weapon partners, the one he had eventually found himself wanting from Marie...and yet, it no longer seemed ideal. These strange reactions seemed to be happening more and more since Leila and Rivin had arrived in Death City. He twisted his screw curiously.
Chapter 6: Enter Bacchus: Maka, what are you doing?
Summary:
*** Content/Trigger Warning for Bacchus ***
Bacchus is a pedo, and though nothing will ever be explicitly stated, chapters and sections with him in them or even mentioned are DARK and can be very upsetting. Please keep that in mind going forward. I will ALWAYS add a warning in the summary for him from now on, so if you are sensitive to certain topics or have trauma, please PLEASE use your best judgement about that chapter.
Chapter Text
Rivin wetted the sticky part of the envelope and sealed it. She nibbled at the end of the fancy pen she stole from Kid's jacket and sighed. It wasn't much, and the handwriting was bad, but it would have to do. She didn't know if she really was going back to Diomedes, but she didn't want to leave without leaving them something. She remembered the people in the shows she watched through living room windows when no one was paying attention to her; people often left goodbye letters to their loved ones.
She had a prickling sensation in her soul, like someone was watching her... But that couldn't be right, because all the souls she could sense were occupied with other things... Yet the feeling lingered. She wasn't sure if it was her father, watching from reflective surfaces, or Argus, sending his Dead Soul Wavelength to search for her, or if it was simply Bacchus, being himself. None of those thoughts were any more comforting than the other.
The door opened. Rivin jumped to her feet and hid the envelope behind her back with a giggle, "How come you're back so early? Did Maka die?"
Leila looked at Rivin suspiciously. "No...Professor Stein sent her home to rest, then he let class out early. Where did you go?"
Rivin slid the envelope into the back pocket of her pants, "The bathroom. I was quite mad, you know. I broke-ed-ded a mirror... see?" She held out her bandaged hand for Leila to see. It still hadn't healed, and using it to write caused blood to ooze from the wounds. So it's Bacchus. His wavelength always makes it harder to heal.
"Yeah..." Leila didn't like that Rivin was giggling. It had also looked like Rivin was hiding something, but maybe it was her imagination. It was hard to tell when Rivin was being dramatic or actually conspiring against her. "So you're alright now, then?"
"I didn't say that," she giggled some more before taking a deep breath, "But I will be. It's only like, four, so I got the rest of the day to be okay! Don't worry, 'kay?" Rivin smiled brightly. With all of her attention focussed on the whip, Rivin was able to push the prickling out of her mind. When Leila finally sighed and turned away, she glanced out the window with a glare.
There had been someone just outside the window... A someone whose soul she couldn't sense but whose heartbeat she could feel pounding against her own soul like a resonance gone bad. It was like any time she could remember that she had done bad. Any time she had almost told Diomedes or Ginko about him... Any time Argus asked her about him.
Yes, Bacchus was angry. The funny man wasn't so funny when he thought she needed to be punished. She just wasn't entirely certain what she was going to be punished for. Surely just having friends couldn't make him that jealous? But maybe he could sense that her friendship with Kid had the potential to be more...? Was that so bad, though? She shook her head. Bacchus would always be her funny man, just like she would always be his little Luceria.
Just like he wanted.
"Leila? I'm gonna go see Maka and Soul. I promise not to eat them~"
"What? No, Ri-" but the deranged weapon was already gone. Leila shook her head. She would just have to make a dinner that Rivin could smell from across town and hope it lured her back.
Rivin walked up the stairs of the colorful apartments and down the concrete walkway. She stopped in front of the door to the apartment containing the souls of the couple she was looking for. She took a deep breath and knocked.
"Whaddyawant?" Soul's grumble resounded from behind the door.
The lock clicked before Rivin could respond. Maka blinked at her, clearly surprised, then she smiled, "Hi, Rivin! How come you're here so late?"
Another face appeared above Maka, accompanied by large breasts. Her yellow cat eyes lit up and she grinned slyly, "Oh, hi there, sweetheart~ Would you by chance want to take a bath with me?"
"Uh..." Rivin tilted her head. She didn't know what to do with the person who clearly had the soul of a cat. She looked to Maka for help.
The meister sighed and opened the door wider, "No, Blair, I don't think Rivin wants to take a bath with you... Why don't you actually do something useful and clean the bathroom?"
"Ohhh.." Blair pouted, "But that's no fun... I'm sure Soul wants to-"
"NO HE DOESN'T!" Maka shouted, turning red.
Rivin giggled. Clearly a part of Soul wanted to take Blair up on her offer, but the larger part of him only had eyes for Maka... "I think you're right... Anyway, I just came over to see if you were okay... It wasn't a very smart thing for you to do earlier."
Maka sighed, "Yeah, I know. Do you want to come in for a bit? I was just about to send Soul out for some ingredients I need for dinner."
"YOU WHAT!?" Soul raged, "Like hell I'm leaving you here with that-"
The meister punched him. Soul fell to the floor with a bloody nose. "Hmph! Rivin is trying to be my friend and you're not helping. If you don't go get the ingredients, I guess you'll be eating more peanut butter and jelly!"
"Or fish~!" Blair added with a meow, pawing the air.
Soul pinched his nose, glaring at the three women. "Fine. Gimme the list so I can go and get back. And if anything happens to my meister while I'm gone..."
"I know, I know, you'll take my soul. Doesn't that line ever get old?" Rivin grinned.
"He's a little stubborn," Blair noted thoughtfully, perfectly manicured nail to her cheek, "He and Maka tried to kill me several times before they realized that I have nine lives... I don't think he ever would have learned if it weren't for Maka..."
"well..." Maka ushered Rivin in and closed the door, scratching the back of her neck, "we did take one of your nine souls, remember?"
Rivin gasped, "YOU ACTUALLY TOOKED HER SOUL AND NOW YOU'RE HER FRIEND!? SOUL HOW DARE YOU HATE ME! YOU ATED A SOUL OF A KITTY CAT YOU'RE AWFUL!"
"Nya~?"
Maka giggled. She jotted down some of the things she needed for dinner while her partner muttered curses under his breath. Soul grumbled some more, slipped on his shoes and snatched a hastily scribbled note from Maka. The door slammed shut behind him.
"Well, I'm going to take a bath. Come on in if you decide you want to play~!" Blair skipped off, leaving Maka and Rivin alone in the living room.
"I never thought about it like that," the Meister admitted after a moment of silence, "The fact that Soul and I took one of Blair's souls and how easily she forgave us... I actually feel a bit guilty now." she chuckled lightly.
Rivin sighed and fell belly first on the couch, "I am actually really sorry about everything... And I meant it when I said I don't wanna make Leila sad..."
"I know," Maka sat by Rivin's feet, "I could see it in your soul - no, I could feel it, when you were trying to resonate with me in the infirmary that one time. It was... weird..." she shivered at the memory. The weapon's cold, emotionless face staring down at her as their souls touched. "Rivin... Your soul is just as badly damaged as mine. You said it used to be yellow... Do you know what color it is now?"
The weapon shook her head, "I can't see my own soul, silly. Have you ever tried to lick your own elbow? It's kind of the same way."
Maka nodded, "I think I know what you're trying to say. But, Rivin, why..."
"Why your soul?" Rivin supplied, "Because weak souls are useless. Eating a weak soul won't help me grow. It has to be one at least as strong as mine, or else it's a waste of time. I won't get stronger or be warm that way..." she trailed of, holding the throw pillow tightly, "sorry, that's a bit more than you asked for. In short, it was because you're strong. And interesting. A half weapon, like me."
"Oh," Maka blinked, clearly not expecting that kind of answer. She hugged herself lightly, gathering courage to check Rivin's soul. She wasn't lying. She seemed surprised to have revealed so much. Maka frowned, "Rivin, did you know you have a grey mark on your soul? It almost looks like a scar..."
The weapon shuddered, then sat up. Her smile was large and uncalled for, and obviously forced, "Well I'm glad that you're okay and you don't hate me. I want to be your friend and Soul's friend if he'll let me. Just be careful and don't do anything dangerous anymore, okay? bye then!"
Maka had no time to react before Rivin flash stepped out of the house. "uh, bye? No, wait! Come back here!"
Rivin ran all the way home. Leila was in the kitchen, staring at an empty pot. "Leila? Are you okay?" There was no answer. The whip's soul was blank. Exhausted. How long had it been since Leila had a decent night's sleep? Too long apparently.
"Leeiiiila~!" Rivin skipped over to her and hugged her around the middle, "Nap time!"
She shook herself. Leila blinked owlishly down at the Weapon. She patted Rivin on the head with a small smile, "Don't be silly. I have to make dinner."
Rivin hugged her tighter, "I'll make dinner. Go to bed."
Leila hesitated, but eventually surrendered to her exhaustion. She patted Rivin on the head again reluctantly. "Don't break anything." She walked like a zombie to her own room. There was a fwump and a sigh as the exhausted whip finally fell into bed.
Rivin chewed her bottom lip, staring into the sparsely stocked fridge. They had some leftover chicken noodle soup (much to Leila's discomfort), and a whole chicken that had yet to be baked. She wasn't sure if she could do it without Leila, but what else could she do?
She pulled out the chicken and rummaged through their small kitchen to find all the baking supplies. Most of them were where she left them after making cakes, so that was something... She wrinkled her nose at the house. It was old, but better than where they had stayed in the past. Still, there was an odor that never quite went away, and everything was just slightly damaged: a crack here, chips there, wrinkles in the dated wallpaper.
Some day she wanted to get Leila nice things. Things like new carpet and better counters. Theirs were not disgusting, but they were cheap. Cheap and brown, like everywhere else they had ever stayed. She had watched the home network once and tried to renovate a hotel room. Leila made her promise not to do that again, but maybe someone else could do it for her? Someone who could come in and make things perfect for her Leila.
She dragged out an old dishrag, stained and grey and torn, and a cheap bleach cleaner that stung her nose. She just wanted to get a few of the stains off, maybe just lighten them a little. The counter was scarred from abuse, and no matter how hard she tried, applying salve to the surface just wasn't working.
The previous residents had left their mark on the dwelling, uncaring of its integrity or dignity, and then abandoned it to rot, hollow and alone. Someone had broken the heater, and no amount of repairs seemed to get it to work for more than a few minutes at a time. It was just long enough to warm the vents; to give a false hope that the rest of the house could feel comfortable again before making a loud crashing sound and shutting down once more.
There was nothing left to do to help it; the ugly house should have been torn down to make room for something new. Something that could bring joy and warmth to others, to add value to someone's life. To Leila's life.
Wouldn't it just be better if Leila went to live with Stein?
Rivin shook her head and sighed. Now was the time for cooking, not cleaning. Cleaning came later, and Leila leaving her definitely came later. Much much later. She straightened her pigtails and washed her hands. The sink sputtered as the water pressure faltered. Nothing about the house was reliable.
She turned on the oven to 425 degrees, hoping she remembered right from last time Leila made chicken. "I should know by now," she grumbled, frowning into the empty oven, "She only makes chicken four times a week..."
CLONK CLONK CLONK!
Rivin jumped, staring wide eyed at the door. She could see it shuddering from across the living room. Someone was going to wake Leila, and Leila needed the sleeps! She rushed past the sitting area to the door and threw it open, "Stoppit- oh."
It was the funny man. It had to be. His face wasn't the same, but something in his eyes was... He had a long face with high cheekbones and dark blue eyes. His shiny brown hair was just short of curly. He almost looked like the poster boy for some old army propaganda she saw once.
"Oh?" he smirked, raising one eyebrow, "Is that any way to greet someone you love?"
Rivin fidgeted, pulling one pigtail over her shoulder, "well, I guess probably not, if you loved someone. You were making lots of noise and my Leila is trying to use the sleeps now." She trailed off nervously. His expression was blank, and the human soul he was possessing wasn't a good indicator of his emotion. She didn't feel comfortable asking. She decided that an innocuous question would probably provide the answers she wanted. "Is four hundred and twenty five good enough for chicken?"
He chuckled, clasping her shoulder. His hand more than covered it. "Do you need help?"
"Maybe a little," she bit her lip, still playing with her hair. "I can't remember, do you cook at all? Would you want to help?"
"Of course," he soothed, stroking her cheek. He used his thumb to gently pull her bottom lip from her fang-like teeth. "You shouldn't do that, you know. It might give someone the wrong idea."
She tilted her head, "Cook? How does cooking give people the wrong idea? And about what? Anyway, are you gonna help me or not?" Rivin turned out of his grasp and led him to the kitchen. She pointed out the very limited ingredients they had to work with and gave him a helpless look. Even though she could have figured it out on her own, Bacchus liked feeling as though she were helpless without him. "Leila always does the cooking. I don't know what to do."
Bacchus chuckled, pulling spices from a nearly empty cupboard. "Fret not, my lovely little Luceria... I'm here to help you."
"You gotta wash your hands first!" She flashed between him and the chicken, arms out as if she could shield the food from him. "Leila says you always gotta be clean before you can touch the food."
"Clean?" He put his hands on the counter on either side of her, effectively trapping her in the corner between the sink and the stove. A curious grin pulled at the corners of his mouth. "Clean, hmmm? I'm certain we can arrange that... And, in the process, I can talk to you about why I'm here tonight."
Rivin had an unsettling feeling. She would never forget the time she had hugged Ginko, shortly after he showed her papers that proclaimed them family, and Bacchus had declared her tainted; in need of a cleanse. The machines had made an awful sound while they siphoned and spun and replaced all the blood in her body. What had he called it? Dialysis? She stood her ground, crossing her arms. "You gotta wash your hands."
Bacchus scooped her up, holding her against his chest with her arms trapped. "I think I'll be washing more than my hands." He carried the quietly protesting Rivin to the bathroom.
"I don't wanna take a bath," she squeaked, "And we don't have any big machines, and Leila is-"
He waved his hand lazily in Leila's general direction. A small blue cloud shimmered through the walls. "Don't worry, Erastis, she'll sleep soundly now."
Rivin pushed at him, but he continued to hold her, one handed, trapped against his broad chest. "We should be cooking, I told Leila that-"
"I told you that I had something to say," Bacchus flipped on the water in the shower, "And I intend to say it. You can be a good girl and listen, or we can test something that I brought with me..."
Rivin froze. "You promised. You promised no more needles!"
"I did," he sighed, setting her on the counter, "But remember, that was when you promised to be a good girl.... Ahh, that was so long ago now, I'm almost surprised you remember at all," Bacchus put his hands on her knees, "You were such a curious little immortal. Always so eager to help me test my formulas. And this one could be very interesting. It leaves the body paralyzed, but awake and aware."
As the water heated up, steam began to fill the bathroom like a thick haze, coating everything in moisture.
"But I don't like needles," she couldn't help but shake her head, "You said... You promised that if I was good, if I didn't tell daddy or mommy or Dad that you were there, that you would stop. And I haven't told anyone," Her voice was pleading, eyes wide, "I didn't tell mommy or daddy or Dad. I haven't told Leila."
Bacchus smiled, tracing her cheek with the tip of his finger, "But have you been good? You have been spending quite a bit of time with that young reaper." his fingertips trailed down her neck, "And I'm certain you know how I feel about Professor Stein, and why. It's not very good," he laid his hands on her shoulder, thumbs stroking her neck, "It's not very good if you don't obey me. If you can't keep your end of the deal, why should I keep mine?"
Rivin looked straight past his ear, holding her breath. She could hear her pulse in her ears. Her soul was frozen in fear.
He chuckled and kissed her cheek. "I forgive, you, Luceria, my love, my erastis." His kindly expression didn't quite reach his darkening eyes. "Now, we're going to take a shower, and be oh so clean before we cook."
She nodded dumbly, pulling off her vest. Bacchus folded his own clothes neatly on the back of the toilet seat, gesturing for Rivin to step into the shower. She stood under the water, skin instantly reddening from the heat. A quick pulse of soul energy to check her body status told her that she wasn't breathing right, and that her heart was beating much too fast. She couldn't make it stop. She couldn't grab hold of the madness. Leila was sleeping. There was no one she could call for help. She was alone.
Bacchus stepped in after her, gently removing the black ribbons from her hair. "Now," he said, rubbing the bar of soap between his hands, "We're both going to come clean. I'm rather disappointed in you, Luceria."
She gulped, unable to look him in the face. She knew what was coming next. If he was mad about Stein... Then he would be doubly mad about...
"I'm certain I made it clear that you belong to me." he continued, oblivious to her discomfort, "And I don't really appreciate all of the people you've been consorting with."
"I... I have friends now." She didn't need to use her soul perception to know that she was trembling. She didn't like being in the shower with someone who wasn't Leila. "People I don't plan on eating later. That's a good thing, right?"
He made a tsking sound, washing her shoulders and chest. "What you're doing is replacing me... REPLACING ME!" He roared. His hands convulsed, digging into her sides, "You're trying to replace me!"
Rivin felt her soul stutter in response to the anger rolling off of him. The steam was emptied from the shower, pushed away by some unseen force. It quickly filled once more, thicker than before. "Of course not," she managed weakly, guiding his hands back to washing, "No one could replace you. You're Bacchus. The funny man."
He ran his hands over her arms, not quite put at ease. "am I now? Your funny man. Your Erastis. Just like you are mine. My good little fox... My lovely, lovely little Luceria."
"I-I guess..."
"YOU ARE MINE!" Baccus raged, grabbing her chin. He forced her to look at him, "You are my Luceria! And I won't stand for you replacing me. Do you understand? I'm leaving on business soon, so I won't be able to watch you. If I find out you've been unfaithful to me..."
"I don't understand..." She whimpered, "Why are you so upset that I'm happy here? I thought you wanted me to be happy."
"WITH ME!" He used his thumbs to trace her cheeks. The water had already washed all the soap suds away. "Someday, you'll be happy with me. I don't want to see you with anyone else. You can't just throw me away like that!" He grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her. "YOU CAN'T LEAVE ME!"
Rivin made a mewling sound, not unlike that of a wounded kitten. "I-i never left, I promise. You're still my funny man, Bacchus, I swear. The only one. No one could replace you."
He studied her intently, lips curled into a hungry snarl. "Somehow I doubt that. I see the way you have behaved. So much warmth for these people! Fine. Have your friends." He paused, watching her through narrowed eyes. "Because I trust you, Luceria... I trust you. I'll give you permission. Spend time with Death The Kid. But when I come home, I expect your undivided loyalty."
Bacchus stepped out of the shower and dried off. He dressed in silence. "You stay right there while I put the chicken in the oven. I'm afraid of the consequences if I see you again tonight."
The door closed behind him, trapping Rivin in the steamy shower. She sat at the base of the tub, running her fingers through her hair. She pulled down the shampoo and cleaned the ends, where it had fallen into the drain. Leila was still sleeping, thanks to the God's magic. Bacchus was in the kitchen still, cursing and slamming things around.
Rivin only hoped that he didn't make too much of a mess. Leila hated messes. She looked straight up into the water and closed her eyes. Bacchus had said she was allowed to see Kid, but whether he was being sincere or not was up for debate. She had only held his hand, and only twice. Yet Bacchus was so sure, and so angry that she would replace him. He almost never visited her like this anymore; not since she had been with Argus.
She shuddered. With four out of the six people she had known in her childhood back in her life, she had a feeling the other two were not far behind.
The plumbing creaked and groaned. The water pressure dropped, then sputtered out.
Poor house. People still want so much from you. They have so many expectations and rules. I bet you wish people had treated you better when there was still hope for you.
/*-+-*/
Maka stomped down the street. She clenched the piece of paper with Leila and Rivin's address tightly, crumpling it so badly that it almost couldn't be read. She was so tired of being unable to go on missions. There were important things to do! Witches to kill! On top of that, Rivin had even come to see her and hadn't offered to help. All because she mentioned that weird grey scar.
"I'll make you fix me," she grumbled. After feeling what Rivin's soul wavelength could do when she tried, it almost seemed selfish that she wouldn't take the time to help repair the damage she had caused. All she should need to do was resonate with her. They could do the work together... And Maybe Maka could help Rivin, too!
The duplex was small, with even smaller windows. Maka couldn't believe that this is where Lord Death had decided they would live. She knew they weren't his favorite students, but Leila had become Stein's Weapon partner, so she thought they would at least have the kind of space that she shared with Soul and Blair...
The door opened before she could knock. Maka paused, studying her opponent. Rivin looked.... Concerned. Anxious. It wasn't what she was expecting. She stood in the doorway, blocking the view inside the house. "Did you come here to yell at me, too?" Rivin asked, tilting her head, "Your soul is all mad and glowy... Please don't yell too loud though, okay? Leila has the sleeps now. The funny man didn't wake her, and that's good, but I'm tired of the yelling, so you can't come in now."
Maka blinked, "The funny man? The sleeps? You mean she's taking a nap?"
"Mm-hmm." Rivin nodded, "She was awake aaaaallll night, because she's afraid of being Nii-chan's Weapon. That's okay, though, because she'll be awesome!" her face lit up at the thought, "My Leila has a partner! She'll be the bestest Weapon ever and make all the good food and they'll fall in love and-what?" she pouted, indignant.
Maka couldn't help but giggle, "I think you're moving too fast for them." She took another look at the DWMA's newest student. Rivin had taken her extremely long, auburn hair out of her usual pigtails. It fell over her shoulders in damp waves, nearly concealing the silver and turquoise bikini and black short shorts. It pooled around her feet and trailed on the ground. Maka straightened her own pigtails unconsciously, wondering what Rivin might look like with shorter hair. Speaking of short.... Maka nearly gasped as she realized that she was taller than Rivin. Strange. I feel like she should be taller than me... But I think she's smaller than Patti.
"Rivin!"
The Weapon jumped, peering up at her suspiciously.
"Rivin, how old are you?" Maka asked eagerly. If they were about the same age, then Rivin was as tall as she was going to get, and that was, for some reason, absolutely adorable!
Rivin tilted her head. She didn't seem sure about Maka at the moment. "I never really counted... Is that important?" She glanced inside, but Bacchus still had his back to her. He didn't like it when she counted her age, and he treated her like a young child no matter what.
Maka giggled, "You're so short! There's no way you can be scary when you're so little." It was decided. Maka couldn't be angry at something so cute and small. What she could do, however, was make Rivin fix the soul she had broken.
"Um, okay." She blinked. Yes, she was just little. Little Luceria. "Are you feeling alright? Your soul has changed a lot since I opened the door."
"Yes!" Maka pumped her fist, "Okay, Rivin, you're coming with me!"
"Am I?" she turned to glance inside, "I don't think B- my Leila would like that much..."
Maka grabbed Rivin by the hand with a reassuring smile, "Don't worry, you're with one of the best Meisters in all of Death City! I'll keep you out of trouble, I promise."
Rivin blinked, taken completely aback, "But I-"
"Come on!" Maka tugged as hard as she could, absolutely radiating happiness and purpose, "Let's go do some training!"
"Okay, but Ba- the oven - oh, we're going now." Rivin stumbled along after the over-eager Meister, keeping a close eye on her soul. She was definitely not afraid, which was strange. Her soul was glowing with adventure. Rivin was a little more trepidatious about the whole expedition. Not only had she just left Bacchus in the kitchen without warning or permission, he was now alone with Leila. And there was nothing Rivin could do about it without telling Maka, which would make Bacchus mad, which could make him hurt Leila. She giggled uncomfortably at the situation.
This is a no win scenario for me. I don't know what to do.
Maka didn't slow down until they reached the park. It was strangely empty for a hot June evening. "Perfect!" she exclaimed, "So, now you get to fix what you did, so that I can resonate with Soul again!"
"I don't think that's a good idea," Rivin's tone was a somber contrast, "Maka, I'm okay right now, and I can talk to you, but if the foxes come back-"
"What are you talking about?" Maka grinned, "We all have a touch of madness. It's how you use it that matters. Are you ready to resonate?"
"That's not what I signed up for."
"Of course it is, silly. Here we go!" Maka forged ahead, throwing her wavelength out for Rivin to grab. When Rivin tried to pull away, Maka glared at her, "You're not going to get anywhere if you're afraid! Fear is important, but courage takes you places!"
Rivin shook her head, "No, it's not a good idea. Maka, you have one of the most powerful souls in Death City. I want it. I would enjoy eating your soul... And you can't stop me." She giggled, "You can't stop me... You really can't, and I want your soul." She took a deep breath, "Maka, I need to go home. There's a man-"
"NO!" Maka took both of Rivin's hands in hers, "I've decided that you're going to be my friend and there's nothing you can do about it. And friends stick by each other."
Two conflicting lines of thought battled for dominance. On one hand, Bacchus was at her house, probably angry, and Leila was alone with him. On the other, if she resonated with Maka, she could eat her soul and then go home to protect Leila.
The weapon ripped away from Maka, putting several feet between them. "Maka, I'm trying really hard right now, but please..."
"Please nothing," Maka stepped forward, "You injured my soul, and I forgave you. But forgiving you didn't make me better." she frowned.
Rivin could feel the Meister's soul shaking. Sad. Hurting. Missing something important... Something that was making her soul cold. Could Rivin fix it? Probably not. She could probably fully resonate with Maka... She was a powerful meister, and Rivin's Witch wavelength was unique. Would it be worth investigating? How long could it really take?
"I can't resonate with Soul." she sighed. "do you know what that means? It means... It means I can't be with him. We can't... We can't be a couple. Together...." her eyes brimmed, "You caused this, so now it's your responsibility to make it right. Come here." She grabbed Rivin once again and flung her wavelength at the weapon. It burned. It was like trying to bring out Tsubaki's demon sword mode multiplied by at least three. The pain engulfed her, stealing her senses. She ceased to exist.
She had to do something to exist. Something, anything! It was so cold here... So cold... She needed something warm... What was warm enough to make her exist?
*Souls. Strong souls are warm enough to make you exist. Will you eat them with me?*
*Souls? But we're not supposed to eat those... Are we?*
*Why does it matter what we eat? As long as it's warm! No one else matters. No one else exists like this!*
Maka wanted to argue, but she felt so... empty. Five foxes floated around the darkness, trailing static along behind them, giggling, snickering, crying... They were so hungry. She was so hungry. She could eat just about anything. It was kind of funny, really. Maka had never thought about eating souls before.
*Do they taste good?*
*Sometimes,* Rivin responded, *Sometimes they don't. Sometimes they don't have a taste. But as long as they're warm and strong then it doesn't matter. No one else matters. If we don't eat, we'll stop being real! And we'll die. Alone. I don't want to be alone!*
The foxes agreed with a howl, a growl, a laugh. The laughter was infectious. Neither Weapon or Meister could help but laugh along with them. They kept laughing until they cried. The foxes circled them, taunting them. Why were they crying?
Weren't they strong enough?
Of course not! They weren't strong enough... They couldn't be while the other one was alive. Maka had already survived Rivin once, but Rivin had survived, too... So which one was stronger?
Maka shrugged. *I don't care. As long as I can be with Soul, I don't care if I'm stronger than Rivin. I don't have to be.*
*But I wanna know...* Rivin whimpered, reaching for the Meister, *I wanna know...*
*Why does it matter? If we're friends, it doesn't matter who's stronger. We protect each other.* Maka smiled. *Tsubaki is your friend, too. And Patti and Liz. And Kid! Don't forget that Kid likes you a lot! So you're not really alone, and we can help you be warm... And, Rivin, you exist. you are real! *
Rivin smiled. She grabbed Maka by the shoulders. *Get out of my head!* She shoved Maka away. The Meister stumbled back and hit the ground. Rivin gazed at her with cold yellow eyes.
Maka stared back at her. She could almost imagine three yellow stripes on the Weapon's right cheek. Rivin was half Weapon... Half...? She didn't know. What she knew is that this kind of soul pressure only came from powerful Witches, like Medusa and Arachne.
"I said I couldn't help you," Rivin's voice was a low, poisonous hiss, "You can't make me. You can't force me to be your friend." She knelt down beside Maka, cupping her face. She brought her lips close to Maka's ear and whispered, "You don't have the power to make me real."
Maka could only tremble. Half Witch. I can't move. She's a completely different person... Consumed. Like the foxes ate her.
"You don't have the power to stop me." she kissed her cheek. The Weapon's voice was sickly sweet and smooth. "I warned you and warned you, and now there will be consequences."
Kid smiled, enjoying the breeze on his face as he rode Beelzebub toward the park. It was a beautiful evening to be outside, although he had a feeling he might have a different opinion if he wasn't immune to the temperature. Even in an oasis like Death City, a summer afternoon in the desert can be intense.
As he approached the park, the two only souls there began to attract his attention. One was that of a very terrified Maka, and the other was...a witch soul? Kid concentrated. It felt like a powerful witch's soul, and it was radiating madness, but it also felt unsettlingly familiar. He hopped off of Beelzebub and quickly made his way to the mysterious soul's location.
The sight before him was not what he was expecting. Maka was on the ground. Rivin was crouched beside her, with one hand on her cheek. The other hovered just above her solar plexus. He didn't need his Soul Perception to see what she was about to do.
"RIVIN!" Kid shouted, and tackled her. They landed heavily a few feet away. He rolled on top of her, straddling her with his hands on her wrists out to the side. He couldn't tell if he was angry, disappointed, or scared. Perhaps all of them. He focused on the anger first. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"
She smiled sweetly, "She asked me to fix her soul. How can I do that if I can't see it?" Rivin looked him up and down, "Do you think you can stop me?"
"As the son of the Grim Reaper, I absolutely can, and will." Kid kept his glare locked on Rivin's face. "It would be a shame to have to resort to exiling you from Death City, or worse...but I assure you that I'll take whatever measures necessary."
Rivin used her elbows to push herself closer to him. She put her lips against the base of his ear and whispered, "I don't think you can." She nipped his earlobe and giggled.
Kid suppressed a shudder. Rivin was like a different person, even compared to the other brief bouts of madness he had seen from her. She was taunting and confrontational, but her soul seemed almost... Secretive. And afraid. Defensive. It had never taken this long to reach her through the madness before, either. It was almost as though she were fighting against him.
"Rivin," he said firmly. "What's the problem? Why are you attacking Maka again?"
"Oh," she giggled, "You think I attacked her?" Rivin laid back in the grass with a sly smile, "I'd say throwing your wavelength at someone is rather rude, wouldn't you? Speaking of rude, you changed the subject. I was starting to think you were going to punish me~!" She bit her bottom lip lightly.
Kid ignored her teasing. It may have been strange behaviour for Rivin in general, but madness did have a tendency to change personality. Besides, this wave of madness was unique in and of itself; it really wasn't a surprise that it came with unique behaviour. "Yes, that would be rather rude." He frowned, somewhat skeptically. "Why would she attack you? Maka isn't the type to start a fight with another student unprovoked."
"I don't know." Rivin pouted, clearly put out by the fact that Kid wasn't getting distracted. "People are provoked by weird things."
He inhaled, counted to eight, and exhaled. If Maka had truly been the instigator, it would explain why Rivin was frightened and defensive. He had a feeling there was more to the story; he just didn't know how to ask.
As he contemplated how to phrase the question without prompting her to behave so out of character, her expression slowly melted into a mixture of realization and horror with a dash of utter shame. She continued to stare at him, waiting with wide, anxious eyes.
"Okay." Kid sighed again, this time with relief, as he saw a drastic change in Rivin. Her soul still seemed fearful, but now her face matched, and the madness was dissipating. "What did she say to you? Actually..." Kid reconsidered, then freed Rivin from his grasp. He sat back on the grass and looked at her patiently. "Just tell me everything that happened between you and Maka today. Chronologically, if you don't mind."
Rivin sat up and scooted away. She examined her wrists. They were red where Kid grabbed her, but they weren't likely to bruise. Even as she watched, the redness vanished. The important thing was that there was no ice; no permanent product left behind from his touch. Not that she expected to be hurt by him, not anymore. He wasn't Argus.
He wasn't Bacchus.
She tucked her hair behind her ear and wrapped her arms around herself. She just wanted to go home to the dirty, crumbling house. She didn't even care if Bacchus was still there: Leila was there and Leila fed her no matter what.
Maka was still frozen, staring at her like she was a monster. Well, I guess I am... "I went to be friends with Maka but Soul was mean so I left and was trying to make my Leila dinner but the funny man came and yelled at me for reasons and Maka was being weird and coming to see me so then she wanted me to come here with her and I told her no but she wouldn't listen and-" she took a deep breath to continue speaking, "then she wanted me to fix her and I told her no but she wouldn't listen and then..."
She shook her head, laying her face between her knees. Her hair fell forward, pretty well hiding all of her from view. She couldn't believe she had included Bacchus in her explanation. He's going to be so mad. Her voice was severely muffled as she mumbled, "I don't remember and then you were here and I didn't mean to!"
Kid nodded, seeing no trace of deception in Rivin's soul. He wondered briefly about the funny man, but was more concerned with the amount of fear still present in her soul wavelength. He wanted to reach out and pat her shoulder, to be physically reassuring, but he could sense that his touch wasn't welcome. He felt a twinge as he thought about how long it had been since she had moved away from him and felt the need to examine herself whenever he touched her. Just a couple of hours ago she had wanted continued contact...
"I believe you. However, I will still need Maka's account of the events before I can make a decision." He crawled over to Maka and waved a hand in front of her face. "Let's hope she isn't too badly injured."
Maka continued to stare up. It was much later than she remembered it. The periwinkle sky had become a dull, dark blue. Her expression began to fade from horror to sadness as she realized what she had almost done. To herself, to Rivin, to Soul... And to anyone else who had ever cared about the two of them. All because she couldn't listen.
Kid tapped her forehead. "Maka, can you hear me?"
"You really..." she muttered, her voice faint. "You really can't fix it?" She turned her head to look at Rivin. "There's nothing you can do? Nothing at all?"
Rivin raised her head enough so she could be sure Maka heard her, "I told you. I'm sorry. Even though my... Witch ability is that... I'm not able to ... Concentrate. Right now."
That? He wondered. That what? It was also the first time she had claimed her witch heritage at all, and now he had so many questions.
Maka was still for a moment, then she blinked and sat up. She took a deep breath. "Sorry about that." She gave Rivin a small smile. After what she had seen in Rivin's soul, forgiving her felt a bit easier. "You did try to warn me, I'm the one who didn't listen. Can we still be friends?"
Rivin looked up at her suspiciously, but could find no ill-intent in the Meister's soul. "I guess so..." She turned to Kid for confirmation, "Can I do that?" Probably not... Diomedes was right... I should go home.
Kid couldn't help but smile at her. It was strange to see her so timid, when she had been so aggressive only minutes before...but she seemed to have calmed down completely. Now, however, she just felt... Sad.. "I think so," he agreed. "But I'll be monitoring you closely in the future."
"I'm going home now," Rivin climbed to her feet. She started absently braiding her tangled hair, "So that I won't bother you anymore."
Maka tried to laugh, "You're not a bother, Rivin! You're our friend, and friends help each other." She stepped towards Rivin and Kid, but felt suddenly out of place. Kid was looking at Rivin with a mixture of curiosity, worry and... Compassion. It was the same look that Tsubaki gave Black Star when she thought he wasn't looking. Maka didn't need her soul perception to know why.
Rivin was nervous, disappointed, curious. She studied Kid with both skepticism and hope. It was the kind of look you only gave when you had been hurt in the past, but thought maybe this time it would work.
Kid put his hand on Rivin's shoulder, knocking both of them out of their thoughts, "Are you going to be okay now?"
Rivin nodded, "I need to make my Leila dinner. I promised."
"And you won't attack anyone if I'm not there?"
"I promise."
Kid squeezed her shoulder gently, "I trust you."
She gave him a pained smile.
/*-+-*/
Bacchus was still in the kitchen when Rivin came through the front door. She could smell the chicken broth and an assortment of simmering vegetables on the stove. The lights were on, and he had turned on the old tube TV. Soft music from an old classic cartoon movie played from the livingroom.
"I'm home." she called weakly, hugging herself.
He hummed in acknowledgment, stirring the large pot on the stove. "I can't say I'm pleased that you ran out on me like that."
Rivin cringed. "I'm really sorry." She took slow steps into the kitchen with her head down. "Maka was... Being Maka. And..." she flinched as Bacchus patted her on the head.
"Shhh, my little Luceria. What matters is that you came back to me. I knew you would."
"A-always."
"I know, I know." he tucked two fingers under her chin and pulled her face up. His eyes glittered maliciously. "Just remember what could happen if you decide not to. Fires start so easily in old houses like these, and you can't always expect the alarms to work properly. Sometimes, accidents happen."
She gulped, tears springing to her eyes. Some part of her wanted to defend Leila with all the power she could muster. But it wasn't stronger than the part of her who feared Bacchus, feared what he could do to her and to the ones she cared for. "Please don't hurt my Leila. You're the one who told me to see her the first time."
"Ah, Erastis," Bacchus sighed and stroked her cheek. "She's taken good care of you so far, hasn't she? A good, doting big sister."
Rivin nodded. Her tears spilled over, streaming down her face. Bacchus wiped them away with his thumbs. "I tend to like her better than I liked Argus, but she's still replaceable."
"Please don't."
"Not this time." He agreed casually. "Now, as I mentioned earlier, I'm leaving for a few weeks on business. I don't care as much what you do when I can't see you... As long as you know your behaviour must meet my standards when I return."
She nodded silently.
"I love you, Luceria."
"Mm-hm."
"I love you, Luceria."
"I love you, too."
Chapter 7: Gacy the Child Eater : Who is Diomedes?
Chapter Text
Gas lamps cast suspicious shadows: some long figures, others simply flickers. The matte browns, tans and beiges seemed to swirl together, refusing to reflect the light. Refusing to stay still. Refusing to play nice. Pillars from the floor to the towers seemed to be waiting, watching, guarding their precious books. Even the usually warm, welcoming plush chairs seemed unusually threatening.
Crona fidgeted. Ragnarok lounged on his head with his tongue hanging out. "It's so late... Why does Kid want to meet me? The library is so creepy at night... I'm not sure I can deal with this!"
Kid stepped out of the shadows. "Hello, Crona, Ragnarok."
"Oh!" Crona jumped, dislodging Ragnarok, who punched him. His heart was racing. His shout echoed back at him, like ripples in water racing back to the center point.
"Hey what's the big idea, Crona!? I was sleeping!"
"I'm sorry!"
Kid sat down across from them. "I apologize for asking you here so late, Crona, but it couldn't wait. And I couldn't exactly get Ragnarok here without you."
"Me?" Ragnarok blinked, "HAHAHA Hear that, Crona? He likes me better than you. I bet he even brought me candy."
Crona hung his head, "You don't have to be so mean..."
"As a matter of fact..." Kid reached into his jacket and pulled out a large bag of brightly colored candies. "I did." Ragnarok's eyes lit up, but Kid held it just out of his reach. "I'll give you a piece for every one of my questions for which you give me a satisfactory response."
"WHAT!? What kind of crappy game is that? You suck. CRONA TAKE ME HOME"
HOME HOME home... home...
"but..." Crona looked anxious, "But... Don't you want the candy? You'll get it if you answer Kid's questions..."
"Hummmmmmmmmm" It seemed as if Ragnarok would decline, but he pounded Crona's head decisively, "Okay! It's a deal."
"Good," Kid smiled, but his eyes were still narrowed. "First question." He pulled out a shiny red piece of candy and held it up. "Who is Diomedes?"
"A witch." Ragnarok reached expectantly for his reward.
"Not good enough," Kid growled. "You'll have to be a bit more specific if you want candy."
Ragnarok made an angry face before he answered, "He was Medusa's younger brother." He hit Crona again in a manner that clearly stated he just realized something, "He's your uncle!"
"My... uncle?" Crona blinked, confused.
"That's right aren't you listening to me!?"
"ow yes I am! Stop hitting me..."
"That's better." Kid held out the candy. "Second question: How exactly does Diomedes connect you to Rivin?"
Ragnarok swallowed the candy whole. He grinned wide, "Like this!" Ragnarok tugged at the place where he connected with Crona's spine, "Diomedes wanted to create the perfect weapon! So he tried to bind me with Rivin... But she was so mean to me!" His eyes filled with tears. "She tried to eat me."
"Riiiight..." Kid rolled his eyes and handed the crying demon sword another piece of candy. "Why did Diomedes' attempt to bind you with Rivin fail?"
Ragnarok shrugged, "How should I know? He was the scientist... Rivin kept saying she was already a weapon she didn't need me... Do you believe that, Crona? She said she didn't need me!"
"Ow! I don't even know what I did. Stop hitting me... OW!"
Kid thought for a moment. That made sense. Perhaps Medusa was able to connect Crona and Ragnarok because Crona wasn't a weapon. He handed Ragnarok his reward, orange this time. "Why is Rivin no longer in Diomedes's care?"
Ragnarok shrugged, rolling the candy around on his tongue for a while. "I was already attached to this weakling!"
"Ow! Stop hitting me! That hurts, knock it off, ow!"
Kid rescued Crona by giving Ragnarok a purple candy. "What are Diomedes's powers? Would you say he's powerful?"
"I guess so," Ragnarok shrugged dramatically, "He's toxic!"
"Ow! What did I OW"
"He likes mirrors, too...." Ragnarok remembered, "He can teleport through them. And bring things to him, too!"
"OW!"
Mirrors... Kid's mind flashed back to the shattered mirror in the girls' bathroom... Rivin's bleeding hand... He doubted it was a coincidence. He tossed Ragnarok another candy. "Tell me about Rivin's mother."
"Ragnarok, stop hitting me, I haven't OW!"
"She was a good cook," Ragnarok remembered, "But she hit me a lot..."
"OW"
"She was a wrecking ball."
"OW"
"Julie Sykes..." He remembered, bashing Crona's head again, "She went crazy. CRAZIER THAN ME!"
"STOP THAT HURTS"
"She became a Kishin egg. Rivin ate her."
"Wha... ow.... Stop hitting OW"
Kid's eyes widened. Even if she was a Kishin egg...Rivin ate her own mother? He held out a candy. "Why? What were the circumstances?"
"NOMMA NOMMA" Ragnarok grinned, "Eat or be eaten."
"But..." Crona fidgeted, "Killing her own mother...? I couldn't even do that... OW."
"Well, he did want Rivin to be a Kishin..." Ragnarok said thoughtfully, then punched his Meister again, "Rivin worshiped him-WORSHIPPED!" He threw his arms up in the air to emphasize his point, "I wonder why she left?"
"Maybe she didn't really want to be a Kishin?" Crona suggested. He was rewarded by another smack to the head, "Ow!"
If she didn't want to become a Kishin, why did she start eating human souls after she left? Kid doubted that Ragnarok would be able to answer that, so he kept it to himself. He gave Ragnarok his candy. "Did she ever show signs of wanting to become a Kishin?"
He shrugged, "Rivin is weaker than Crona. She just did what she was told. When they said jump, she said HOW HIGH?"
"Ow, Ragnarok... I won't let Tsubaki give you candy if you keep OW"
"Shut up, Crona!"
Kid handed over Ragnarok's reward thoughtfully. So Diomedes had a lot of influence over Rivin...and it seemed likely that he'd been talking to her through mirrors... "Rivin mentioned a 'funny man'. Do you know who that might be?"
"Blegh," The Demon Sword lolled, seeming to play dead. "Which one?"
"There was more than one?" Kid's eyes narrowed. "Explain."
"Caaaaan't," Ragnarok groaned painfully, rolling over and over, slapping Crona in the face several times in the process, "Rivin made me promise. She'll cry if I say, 'cause then he'd know she broke her promise. That," He slammed his fist into Crona's head, "Would be a no-no."
Kid sighed. The sword was genuinely upset by the question, and he didn't want to push it. "Alright, I have one final question." He held up, not one, not two, but three candies, just out of Ragnarok's reach. "I need to know why Rivin doesn't react to physical pain."
"Blaaaghlaaalahhhhh..." Ragnarok reached for the three candies with his tongue, trying futilely to reach them without answering. when he finally realized he wouldn't be able to, he crossed his arms and turned his head away, "Well it wasn't my fault!"
Kid raised an eyebrow at the response. "I don't recall blaming you. Whose fault was it, then?"
"Weeeellll..." Ragnarok eyed the candy sideways, "I think this question needs to be paid in advance!"
Crona blinked up at him, "W-wait... If Diomedes is my uncle, that makes Rivin my cousin... And she doesn't have a sense of touch? I don't think I could deal with that..."
Kid sighed. "I'm sure I couldn't either. But what I still need to know..." He glared pointedly at Ragnarok. "...is why."
Ragnarok scratched his head, trying to remember that far back. He then shrugged, "Can't think. Need candy."
The young Reaper scowled. "Alright, I'll make you a deal. You can have your three pieces now, but no more. Or..." He held up the bag of candy. "Or, you can answer my question and have the whole bag."
"The whole bag?" Ragnarok grinned, "In that case... I think Diomedes said something about 'anomalous test results due to outside contamination', and something else like, 'her body heals rapidly, but if her soul gets a boo-boo, then it shows up on her body, too'!" He tilted his head, rubbing his chin and looking uncharacteristically thoughtful.
"Come to think of it, I guess I can't blame her for not wanting to feel stuff. Diomedes wasn't exactly up for any Father of the Year awards." He grinned. "He was Medusa's younger brother, after all. Not to mention those other three guys... and all those experiments! Yuck!" He stuck his tongue out in a disgusted way, then nearly bit it off as he came to a sudden realization. "OW! HEY CRONA DID YOU SEE ANY SCARS? I GOTTA KNOW IF THAT ONE GUY EVER LEFT A SCAR! RIVIN SAID HE COULDN'T BUT I BET HE DID!"
Crona shook his head, "N-no... I haven't seen any scars..."
Kid felt an unpleasant feeling in his gut. Other three? The 'funny men'? Experiments? Rivin, what happened to you? "I think I may have seen one. It's on her back." He thought back to the grayish, asymmetrical patch of flesh on Rivin's back. He'd meant to ask her about it when he'd first seen it, but he had been distracted only seconds later by Rivin's sudden decision to remove her top.
Ragnarok grinned slyly at him. "On her back, huh? How'd you find that out? Pervert."
Kid turned red and scowled. "I have to go." He stood abruptly. "Thank you for your cooperation, both of you."
"No problem!" Ragnarok smashed his fists onto Crona's head.
"Ow, that hurts"
"Shut up Crona!"
"No candy tomorrow! OW"
/-/-/-/
Leila awoke with a start. Was that a knock on the door? She glanced at the clock. 1:08 in the morning. She stood up and rubbed her eyes. "This had better be damn important," she growled. She opened the door to see Kid, looking worried and annoyingly awake. "What is it?"
"Where's Rivin?"
Leila rolled her eyes with a yawn. "It's one in the morning. She's asle..." Leila looked back at the open bedroom door as she spoke, but trailed off when she saw that Rivin's bed was empty. "Apparently I don't know where she is. Maybe she went out for a walk or something?"
Kid nodded. "I apologize for waking you."
"Good luck," Leila yawned as Kid walked away. She was too tired to worry about Rivin properly. Back when it was just the two of them, she would have forced herself outside to search, but she trusted Kid to take control of a situation without hurting Rivin. She closed the door and went back to her bed, and hopefully, back to the very nice dream she had been having.
/-/-/-/
Rivin stared out over the lights of Death City. Too many people were awake, but it made the city look like hundreds of floating souls. It was nice and cool and quiet. She felt almost peaceful... It would be a nice feeling to take with her to the bottom. She could lay on the steps for a while in the quiet dark while her soul casually put her body back together.
And for those few moments, she would cease to exist. She would have no responsibilities, no titles, no expectations. She would have no aches, no cravings, no worries or fears.
She would be nothing.
But even that feeling would end. Eventually, her body would be whole again, and she would be real again, and she would be scared again. There were so many questions she needed answered. What was she going to do about Bacchus? About anyone? She was finally getting along with Ragnarok - mostly. He still reminded her of childhood trauma, but...
But Maka didn't hate her anymore. She even seemed to trust her, just a little. Maybe they could be friends after all...? What even was a friend, though?
She was distracted by a blue soul. It floated right up to her face, taunting her. Rivin sighed and cupped it between her hands. It felt sad, like it had been taken before its time. She felt bad for it. It had been a good person, well loved. How many souls like this had she eaten?
Enough.
Too many.
If she went back to Diomedes, would she eat more? Would she care... Or would she be too mad to know the difference? It wouldn't matter... She knew it wouldn't matter... Not then. But she cared now, and now was what she could focus on.
But Diomedes could protect her from Bacchus. He claimed that he wanted her to be safe and warm, and he seemed sincere at the time... But she had never been very good at reading him; his soul was fractured and mad, and often he said things that didn't match how he felt. Without the broken one, the soulless Ginko, the other dad who always smiled, what would the mountain be? A prison.
Would being isolated in the mountain again be better than being out here with Bacchus?
At least then Bacchus wouldn't have a reason to hurt Leila.
Rivin pushed the soul back and forth between her hands with pulses of her wave length. It seemed to have a calming effect on both of them. She got lost in the feeling of using her Witch ability. Smoothing a blemish there; repairing a trauma here; rebuilding the soul from the inside out. Reconstructing it.
"Rivin!?" Kid called to her. Why was she holding a human soul? Where had she gotten it - but more importantly - what was she going to do with it? "What are you doing?"
"Hmmm?" she answered distractedly, not realizing who was behind her as she stroked the side of the soul, "what're you talking about?" The soul shivered. She could release it now, and it would be okay. But would she? If she let it go, would she be alone?
He walked over to her and took her hand. The soul floated up into the sky. He looked into her eyes, relieved to see that her pupils were still round and human. "Where did that come from?"
She blinked, surprised to see him. Then she blushed, completely forgetting the question, "Hi?"
Kid sighed, his fears somewhat alleviated. She was clearly not mad. "Hello. Why are you up on the roof at this hour?"
What was she going to tell him? That she couldn't be in the broken house? That she couldn't face Leila after the compliments on her chicken and potato soup? That she had come up to the roof to contemplate life and maybe to jump just to see what would happen? To see how long she could be dead? "I dunno. Death City is pretty, though. All the lights... And that soul," Rivin suddenly remembered his question, "It floated up. I wasn't going to eat it, I promise." She forced herself to smile.
He relaxed slightly. Her expression was clearly not genuine, but it wasn't mad, either. "I didn't think you would." That wasn't entirely true. He had hoped she wouldn't, and he wanted to trust her...but it was better to be cautious. He looked out over Death City. "It is nice at night, isn't it?"
"Liars taste funny," Rivin giggled a little. He was being so polite. And he was still holding her hand. His grip had loosened; she could take her hand away if she wanted. She knew that she should; Diomedes didn't like them together and neither did Bacchus. But she did. Rivin liked being with Kid, and she thought he liked being with her, too. Would he be in danger? Would Leila be in danger? No, Bacchus wasn't in town anymore. He said she could be herself until he came back. Maybe he would stay gone?
She kept her hand in his, but didn't hold it any tighter. "it is a nice night..." oh look, another soul.... It's yellow, like mine was... She reached out and grabbed it with both hands. Her wavelength soothed it, just as it had the blue soul. "Where are these coming from? It feels so frightened..."
Kid narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "I don't know...but I think we need to find out."
She took a moment to calm the soul and then got to her feet with a growl. Whatever was doing this needed to be stopped. How dare it waste perfectly good souls? "Let's go."
Kid nodded. "Meet me in front of the school. I have to go get Liz and Patti."
*-*-*-*
"Kiiiiiiid...." Patti rubbed her eyes, staggering through the house. She dragged her giant teddy bear all the way across the house. "Kiiiid..... I had a bad dream...." There was no response. She pounced the bed, but found a pillow instead of her Meister.
"Where'd you go?" she wailed. The bad dream still hung around the edges of her mind. In it, Rivin had completely lost herself to the madness and ate Liz. For a moment, her tired mind thought that maybe Rivin had tried to eat Kid, too. It took her some time to fully wake up. When she did, she realized that the silky duvet she was sitting on wasn't hers. "I was sleeping," she mumbled to the darkness.
Receiving no response, Patti grabbed up her bear again and sprinted back to her and Liz's side of the house, "LIZ KID IS GOOOOONNE! HE MIGHT BE DOWN IN THE BASEMENT AGAIN! LIIIIIIZ!"
Liz pulled herself into a sitting position as Patti burst into her room. "Not again..." she groaned, "He'll be back by morning. Go to sleep."
Patti smashed her with her bear, "No! He's lost and panicked and scared and we need to find him!"
"Okay, okay!" Liz pushed the bear to the floor and stumbled to her feet. She pulled on a pair of shorts, "Just let me brush my hair first..."
"WE HAVE TO GO RIGHT NOW!" Patti grabbed her sister's hand and pulled her along.
Liz squeaked and made disgruntled protests all the way down the stairs and to the front door. It opened as they reached it. "KID!" Patti yelled, tackling him, "I was so worried and I had a bad dream but it's okay kuz you're here and we can go back to sleep now YAY!"
"I'm afraid we can't, actually," Kid said, disentangling himself from the weapon. "There's something potentially bad going on in Death City. We're going with Rivin to investigate."
"With Rivin?" both the weapons asked in very different tones.
"YAY!"
"Why not with Soul and Maka?" Liz ran her fingers through her hair, trying to untangle it at least a little.
"Maka needs her sleep. Professor Stein said she needed to rest after her soul was damaged in class, remember?" He gave Liz a confused look. "Do you have a problem with Rivin accompanying us on a mission?"
"She tried to kill me!" Liz waved her arms frantically, "She threw Tsubaki's Enchanted Sword Mode at us in class- right before you got there!" she calmed down slightly, "Where were you, anyway?"
Patti shrugged, "Shouldn't we get going? I thought we had a mission.... Or not?"
Kid ignored Liz's question. "Yes Patti. Rivin is meeting us in front of the school."
"YAY I get to play with Rivin!" Patti began walking with high steps to the front.
Liz followed them more slowly with her arms crossed. "I still don't get why you're so interested in her," she grumbled under her breath.
Rivin was swinging her tail around, staring out into the city when the three of them showed up. She felt nervous. What if she went mad when they were out? What if she hurt them... What if she hurt Kid?
Patti grabbed her hand with a bright smile, "Rivin! Let's go play!"
"As long as she doesn't throw Tsubaki at me again..."
"Oh shush," Rivin grinned over her shoulder, "I had to help Maka... And I was aiming at Ox." Patti is so happy to see me. Warm. But Liz isn't. She has resentment towards me.
"Like that makes it any better..."
"We're wasting time," Kid interrupted. He wanted to see what was going on so that they could stop it as soon as possible. "You two can argue later."
"But arguing is so much fun!" Rivin giggled. She stopped abruptly at the look on Kid's face and shrugged, "Okay, let's go. I can feel the area where the souls are coming from." She picked up her tail and led the charge.
They found the scene at the bottom level of Death City. It was a lesser area, even compared to the neighborhood where Rivin and Leila lived. Half of the street lamps were dark. The ones that were not broken illuminated four crushed houses and a decimated playground. People were strewn out along the street, blood was splattered on the walls. Most of the victims were children. There were a few souls floating around, but they were soon gobbled up by the giant mutant clown. Parents, too traumatized to leave, held the lifeless bodies of their children.
Rivin froze, looking at the destruction. Houses were destroyed. Smoke rose from the rubble. It looked like a war zone. It smelled of iron and fear and urine. It was so, horribly familiar. Her breathing came in shallow pants, head swimming. It wasn't me, i didn't do this. Not this time: this time it wasn't me it wasn't me i swear i never knew will i ever know? he should have been five this year but he will never be five these children won't ever grow up...
She realized that she had been mumbling, "It wasn't me, I didn't do it."
Kid spared her a concerned look. "Rivin..." He had known, of course, that Rivin was... Well, that she hadn't been exactly a model weapon before coming to the DWMA. Clearly she had been responsible for destruction somewhat similar to this, and the memory was surfacing as trauma. At least she feels guilty, I suppose. It shows that she's changed. "I need you to focus."
She blinked and shuddered. "Right."
A deep, grating voice came from around the corner. "Children! So sweet... innocent... delicious... MORE!" The kishin egg had gorged himself on so many souls all at once that his body had grown and distorted hideously. His spine had reverted to a more primitive state, allowing for efficient knuckle walking on his enormous forearms. His mouth had widened to literally split his face in half, and his lips had vanished. His teeth were long and serrated like those of a tiger shark.
Kid glared at the clown. His clothes displayed a jumbled mess of scalene triangles in primary colors. He had a ponytail on the left side of his head, but not his right. His eyes were two different colors. "Look at him," Kid growled at no one in particular. "Not only is he a child-murdering psychopath, but he lacks any sense of symmetry whatsoever." He held out his hands on either side of him. "Liz, Patti, transform."
"'Kay!"
"Yeah."
The two girls changed their bodies into two matching pistols. Kid held them upside-down, his smallest fingers on their triggers. He aimed them at the Kishin clown. "You're disgusting! Who are you?"
"I AM GACY, THE CHILD-EATER! BRING ME MORE YOUNG, SWEET SOULS!" he roared, reaching for a screaming toddler. His hand would have more than covered her.
Rivin responded without thinking. She flashed between the child and Gacy's hand, then flashed away. The hand closed on air. Rivin stood behind Kid, trying to sooth her charge.
Kid fired at Gacy, rapidly alternating between Liz and Patti. "You make me sick! DIE!"
The shots seemed to do very little damage, other than making the Kishin angry. Puffs of soul energy burst on impact with his huge shoulder and turned into a reddish fog before vanishing. Gacy whipped around, mismatched eyes glowing. "Insolent child...GIVE YOUR SWEET SOUL TO ME!" He breathed rancid, rotting air around them, peering open mouthed at the group.
"Take her out of here," Kid ordered, pointing down an alley that hadn't been destroyed yet, then addressed his weapons, "Looks like we'll have to strike a bit harder. Time to resonate."
"Right."
"YAY!"
Patti and Liz transformed to two elaborate arm cannons with black needles sticking from the back. "Death Penalty...execution mode acquired."
Rivin flashed to the nearest parent - a father holding a wailing infant in one hand and a silent, limp child in a nightdress in the other. She grabbed him by the back of his shirt and dragged him away. "You have to go!"
"But... She's not breathing." his voice was flat and dead.
Rivin shoved him forward. "But these two are! You have to take them and go! Live!" She could hear a faint whrrr behind her as she felt the three souls began resonating more strongly.
"Black Needle 'Soul Wavelength' charge complete."
"Sympathy rate: stable. Noise level at 0.3 percent."
Kid aimed the arm cannons at Gacy.
"Feedback in five..."
"Four..."
"Three..."
"Two..."
"ONE!" Liz and Patti exclaimed in unison. Two bright beams of Kid's compressed soul wavelength exploded from their barrels.
Gacy grumbled as the Soul Energy blasted a large hole in the center of his chest. He gathered several souls and proceeded to swallow them. The hole in his chest filled and he burped his appreciation. "Now I'll eat YOU!" He raised his massive hand and brought it down.
Rivin's eyes widened. If she didn't act, Kid would get hurt. She shoved the toddler at the terror stricken human and darted away. A trail of glitter followed her as she elongated her chain tail, curving up over her head and ending in a hefty broadsword. Her arms also changed from the elbow down. Black metal glinted in the poor, yellow light. She looked more like a horrifying scorpion than a fox.
She leapt between the oncoming attack and Kid. Her scorpion-like tail lunged, putting out the clown's right eye. At the same time she stopped his hand with her sword arms, allowing him to impale himself. She ripped her arms apart, neatly removing half of his right hand. It fell harmlessly to the ground behind Kid.
"Now he's even worse!" came the wail from behind her. She glanced back at Kid, who had deflated. "Please put out the other eye." He whimpered.
"HA!" Gacy leaned his weight on his good hand, using his bloody stump to bat Rivin away. "MAYBE I'LL JUST EAT YOU!"
Rivin slammed into the concrete wall separating the decimated playground from the street. She heard her shoulder crunch. She slipped to the ground, vision swimming. A quick status check told her that the back of her head had been cracked open, fairly badly. She found that her body wasn't responding to her wishes.
The ape-like clown descended on her, blood oozing from his eye. His sickening, permanent smile parted, intending to swallow her whole. Rivin closed her eyes and waited. She wasn't going to die; she would simply break him from the inside. It never occurred to her that anyone would worry about her predicament: she was immortal, after all.
"NO!" Kid roared. He sprinted over to the clown and jumped onto his back, pressing the barrels of his arm cannons against the back of his neck. "Leave her alone!" He fired a spine-shattering soul wavelength from Liz and Patti. He flipped over Gacy's head, landing beside Rivin, and kicked the Kishin backwards. He fell, wide-eyed, and his red, glowing soul separated from his unraveling body. The only evidence of his existence now was the destruction and the soul he left behind.
Kid crouched beside Rivin. He wanted to ask if she was alright, but couldn't form the words. Her shoulder was mangled and she was bleeding profusely from the back of her head. Before he could even think about how to get her help, he heard an awful squelching sound as her bones knitted back together. His weapons regained human form, surveying the battle zone and trying to comfort some of the survivors.
She stared at him. Just like Leila, he had jumped into a situation for her sake. It made no sense! She was immortal. She could be ripped in half or squashed at the bottom of a building or even be eaten, and she just couldn't die! "I'm fine." she told him tersely as she sat up properly.
He swallowed. "Yes. Well. You weren't a moment ago."
Her stomach filled with hot anger and confused shame. "Why does that even matter? Why are you here? Why do you talk to me like we're friendly? What do you want?"
"I - what?" Kid recoiled from her sudden hostility. He didn't need to see her soul to know that she was reacting to him through the lense of her trauma, but it didn't make his position less confusing or upsetting. "Rivin-"
"No!" she punched the ground, leaving a fist sized crater next to her thigh. "What do you want? I'm not a child and I can't age backwards and I wouldn't want to if I could! I never wanted to be the God Slayer! I never wanted to be a demon weapon or have Raggy put in my blood! And I never asked to go to school! But nobody asked me! So what is that you want?"
He didn't have any idea how to begin processing what she was telling him.
Patti and Liz turned to watch with open curiosity and disdain, respectfully.
"Why do you want me around?" She wailed. "Is it because I'm symmetrical?"
"Rivin-"
"Is that it? Your expectation of me is perfect symmetry? What if I stopped meeting that expectation? Would you still like me then? I want to know!" Rivin grabbed her hair in one hand and bundled it up. She transformed her other hand into a smaller version of her broadsword and sliced through her hair. The thick red-brown locks tumbled to the ground and lay there almost sadly. Her hair fell back around her face. The hair on her right side touched her shoulder, but the left barely reached her chin. "There! Now I don't fit on your pedestal. Now what?" She hung her head, angrilly blinking back tears. Her hands were balled into tight fists in her lap. Her shoulders shook.
Kid's eyes grew wide. "W-wh-" he stammered. "WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT?!" crawled forward, frantically moving bits of hair around and muttering to himself. "Now if that piece goes there...and I move this over here... And I brush this like this... It's a little better... But...GAAAHHH LIZ HELP ME DAMMIT!" He nearly cried in frustration.
Liz sighed, coming back to her Meister's side, "I don't think I can, Kid, sorry. But my salon opens at nine am."
"Wow, Rivin! Your hair looks so cool!" Patti sat down next to her, gathering the fallen locks. "I bet we could make so many wigs out of this! And then people could dress up like you and scare Leila!"
Rivin looked up at the three of them, then focused on Kid, "Why are you still here?"
"Because we're your friends, silly!" Patti sang, patting her on the head, "Rivin should eat the soul! To celebrate her new awesome hair~"
"But..." Rivin covered her face. Tears leaked from between her fingers and under her palms and her whole body shuddered with her sobs. "But I'm not..."
Kid put a hand on her back. He was still a bit flustered by her newly asymmetrical appearance, but he was more worried about the experiences that caused her to think he would leave her as soon as she wasn't 'meeting his expectation' of her. He thought back to his conversation with Ragnarok, about the three 'funny men' who might be upset by being exposed. Of course, that brought him back to the reason he asked Ragnarok about it in the first place. Rivin had stated that 'the funny man came and yelled' at her 'for reasons'. But which one? And for which reasons?
"Who cares?" He did, considering the back of his head was filled with wordless screaming, but it was something that could be fixed later. If she even wanted to fix it. "We're your friends, Rivin, and we're here to support you. Like you supported us tonight. One silly little haircut isn't going to change that."
She sniffled and whined and gekkered until she could form words again. "Why aren't you mad?"
Patti giggled and smacked her shoulder. "You're so weird, Rivin. What do you even think we should be mad about? I mean the ice cream shop is broken, so I guess I can be mad about that."
Rivin couldn't help but chuckle at her simple minded... Friend.
"Yeah, Rivin." Liz grinned. "You are pretty weird. Can you hear how you cry? It's like a cat or something."
She sniffled and wiped her eyes with the backs of her hands. "Vulpes zerda." the correction was automatic. "Jeez, I keep telling Raggy but I guess I gotta just tell everyone."
Kid breathed a sigh of relief as the tension ebbed away. He stood, quietly offering his hand to help Rivin up as well. He felt a small glow in his soul as she accepted the gesture. It faded slightly when she started pulling away. He reluctantly opened his hand to release her fully, but she abruptly changed her mind and twined their fingers together.
Rivin gave him a shy smile, which returned happily.
"Yay!" Patti giggled, doing a little dance. She put her hands to her mouth and roared like a dinosaur.
Liz sighed and shrugged to herself. "Are you going to eat that soul or what?"
"Me?" She blinked away the last of the tears, "How come?"
"Well, if one of us ate it, we'd have an asymmetrical number of souls, and we can't do that." Liz explained, running her fingers through her tangled hair.
Oh..." Rivin tilted her head. Did his asymmetriphobia really go that far? It was almost funny. She let go of Kid to scoop up the very angry red soul and poked it. It jiggled in her hand. "Ewww....." Rivin popped it in her mouth and swallowed it before she could fully register the taste, "Blleeehhhg..." Her tongue hung out, "Much too sweet."
Chapter 8: Leila, don't sell your organs! : Rivin has a normal job?
Chapter Text
Seven AM came much too soon for both Rivin and Kid. They had tried to sleep, but neither had been able to. Rivin had insisted on going home with the trio, promising to sleep either with Patti or on the couch. After saying good night to the twin pistols, both the young Grim Reaper and the God Slayer stayed in the living room.
Rivin sat on one side of Kid's couch, with him on the other and her feet in his lap. He rubbed them absently, staring at the large bookshelf on the wall. Rivin stared at him. They were both deep in their own thoughts. They didn't make conversation until the grandfather clock in the entryway told them that it was six thirty, and therefore time to go to class. Liz and Patti refused to get out of bed, so Kid left them at home.
She held Kid's hand all the way to class, her other hand holding the inside of his elbow, and rested her head on his arm. He was certain she would fall asleep on the walk, but he really didn't mind how close she decided to be.
They were among the only students in the school and the first to arrive in class. Kid led Rivin to his customary seat, and she took Liz's usual spot. She refused to let go of him, still laying on his arm. He squeezed her hand gently, and she smiled with a content hum. He couldn't explain the light in his soul, or the strange feeling in his stomach. Even with her horribly asymmetrical haircut, Rivin was quite cute. He watched her fight falling asleep and lose, and absently tucked a long strand of hair behind her ear. He didn't know who the men from Rivin's past were, but he did know that they would not be a part of her future.
As the class began to fill up, Kid trained his eyes on the floor where Stein usually lectured from. He studiously ignored the snickers and giggles from the younger Weapons and Meisters, and the scowls from several of his peers.
Soul glared down at Rivin from the desk above. How dare she look so comfortable after everything she did to Maka? Symmetrical bastard, He grumbled to himself, turning his glare from the back of Rivin's head to Kid's - not that it was much of a shift, seeing as Rivin's head was on Kid's shoulder. He's not cool at all!
Leila walked into class, hoping that Rivin would be there. As far as she knew, Rivin hadn't come home all night. She just hoped that Kid had found her. As she scanned the crowd, she caught sight of Kid. Rivin was fast asleep with her head on Kid's shoulder. She gasped and ran up to them. "Rivin! Kid! You guys!" She grinned at them and clapped her hands together. "YOU'RE SO CUTE!"
Rivin opened one eye, "Leila, shhhhhhhhhh I'm sleeping."
"I know! It's adorable!" Her voice rose to a squeal on the last word.
Kid pretended not to hear the conversation, but his pale cheeks had turned red. "Good morning Leila. How are you?"
Leila let out an incoherent squeak, still grinning. She finally realized that Rivin's hair had been mangled, as though a child had cut it. She probably cut it herself. I wonder why? She always kept it long.
"Neh. Am sleeping..." said Rivin, curling up on the bench and moving her head to Kid's lap. Since Bacchus hadn't shown up yet to be angry, she was probably safe to use Kid as a pillow.
Maka grinned, "Aren't they cute, Soul?"
"That's so uncool, Maka."
"MAKA CHOP!"
"OW!" Soul fell to the floor, holding his head where Maka smashed him with her book, "What was that for?"
She crossed her arms and refused to look at him.
"Hey, answer me!"
Tsubaki laughed lightly, "Oh, you two... Soul, why don't you ever let Maka use you as a pillow?"
Soul's face got warm, "Wh-what are you talking about!?"
Leila giggled. "So cute..." she mumbled happily. She was in a better mood than usual. She was vaguely aware that she'd had a pleasant dream the night before, but she couldn't remember it. She also knew that she'd been able to banish most of the unease from her mind. She'd managed to convince herself that Rivin's words had been nothing more than her overactive imagination. Rivin had always been good at jumping to conclusions. She took a seat beside Tsubaki, hoping her confidence would stay with her when Stein was actually in the room.
Kid blushed even harder as Rivin rested her head in his lap. He wasn't sure how to react, so he continued to pretend that he had no idea that anything was happening. Considering her previous behaviour, it was a little odd. However, they had sat together all night, in constant contact. He was afraid that if he asked for an explanation, that she might leave, and he actually found that thought unpleasant. He found that not only did he not mind her nearness, he rather enjoyed it.
Stein rolled into the class, looking slightly annoyed, "I would say good morning, but it really isn't. It seems that while most of us were sleeping, a Kishin egg attacked the city and then disappeared. Now all of you are supposed to go hunt it down."
"That's already been taken care of, Professor," Kid said calmly. The rest of the class looked at him immediately. The younger students' eyes were wide with awe.
Stein raised an eyebrow and twisted his screw. "Oh?"
"Yes. Rivin and I took care of it last night." The class began to whisper excitedly.
Stein stared at him for a moment, then he chuckled. "Well then. I suppose I'll have to teach today after all."
"SORRY I MADE YOU ALL WAIT THE BIG STAR IS BACK!" Black Star threw the door open with a huge grin. He marched up to Stein and slapped him on the back, "WHAT DID I MISS?"
"Apparently, Kid and Rivin took out a Kishin egg last night." Stein smirked at Black Star's expression.
"WHAT!? THEY DID WHAT!?" He ran up to Kid and slammed his fist on the desk, "HEY WHY DIDN'T YOU INVITE ME TO THE PARTY!? HEY RIVIN ARE YOU LISTENING!? I KNOW YOU'RE AFRAID OF ME KUZ I'M THE BIG STAR BUT—"
Rivin sat up with glowing yellow eyes, "Black Star. Shhhhhhuuuusshhh. Am sleeping."
"BUT WHY ARE YOU SLEEPING!? THE BIG STAR IS HERE! DON'T YOU WANT MY AUTOGRAPH!?"
Rivin stood up, "Are you trying to be annoying?"
"What are you talking about?" Black Star put his hands behind his head and turned slightly away, "Jeez, Rivin, you're touchy today."
"...." She narrowed her eyes, "You know something, I think I want one of these fights to count against you. So, Black Star, I challenge you to a fight."
"HA!" He smirked, "You sure you're not too afraid to lose? I am Black Star, after all."
Kid, Leila, and Tsubaki sighed in unison.
Stein twisted his screw a few times. "Well, begin whenever you're ready." This should be interesting.
"But when I win, you have to SHUT UP." Rivin pinched the bridge of her nose, "Kay?"
"And when you lose," Black Star grinned and pointed his thumb at himself, "You have to admit that I'm the man who's going to surpass god!"
Rivin giggled dangerously. "Sure, Black Star. Sure."
"Let's go!" they said in unison. She dodged his initial charge. Black Star destroyed Kid's desk, then used Kid to launch himself after Rivin.
Rivin giggled, "Ohhh, you missed!"
"That's what you think!" he kicked at the air where Rivin had been, "Get back here!"
"You can't catch me~" Rivin sang, gracefully dodging each of Black Star's attacks. The more he failed, the more Rivin giggled, but she never fought back.
"Fight me, damn you!" He yelled as he slid across Soul and Maka's desk, "This isn't getting us anywhere."
Rivin stood on the back of Stein's chair, "You can't hit me, neener neener, neenneeerrr~" She stuck her tongue out at him.
"OH YEAH!?"
"Yeah."
"Oh dear..." Stein sighed, "This isn't going to end well."
Black Star charged. Rivin moved at the last second, forcing Stein to catch Black Star. "HEY! YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO GET INVOLVED IN OUR FIGHT!"
"Well, injuring the teacher that's observing the fight automatically disqualifies you, making Rivin the winner by default," Stein said. "You should be thanking me." He tossed Black Star casually in Rivin's direction.
"BASE BALL!" she giggled, growing her tail. Today the weapon attached to the chain was the broadsword. Rivin's grin was manic as Black Star flailed closer and closer,
"I'M NOT A BASEBALL!"
She swung the flat of the sword. The sound of Black Star's face colliding with the flat of Rivin's blade resounded through the room. A tremor went through the loud assassin before he was sent flying through the wall.
Rivin giggled, "I win!"
"BLACK STAR!" Tsubaki cried out. She ran over to him to make sure he was alright.
"He should be fine. I'm not so sure about his ego, but his body will recover," Stein said distractedly. He could feel Rivin's madness resonating, trying to bring out his own. It was still at a controllable volume, but it worried him nonetheless.
Rivin sat down on Maka and Soul's desk so she wouldn't fall over due to the intensity of her giggles.
"Go sit with your boyfriend," Soul complained.
Rivin faltered. "What?"
Maka laughed, "Oh, Soul, I don't think either of them know what that word means!"
"Eh," Said Soul, leaning back in his chair, "Whatever."
"Heeeeeeyyyy," Rivin turned and grabbed Soul's shoulders and pulled him close to her face, "Why haven't you kissed Maka yet?"
"WH-WHAT!?" Soul's face turned as red as his eyes, "WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!?"
Rivin giggled, pushed Soul away and tackled Maka to the floor, "I could ask the same of you. I know you like him. I SEE YOUR SOOOOUUUUUUL~"
"Oh goodness Rivin!" Leila laughed. "Leave them alone. They'll kiss when they're ready..."
"BUT I WANT THEM TO KISS NOW."
It was Maka's turn to stumble over an incomprehensible response. Rivin changed the broad sword to the usual wrecking ball and threw it over her shoulder. She managed to catch Soul around the middle and sat Maka up. Rivin was laughing hysterically by the time she had them both by the back of the head.
"RIVIN"
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING"
"THIS IS SO UNCOOL"
"BUT YOU TWO ARE SO CUTE!" She forced their faces together. Rivin held them there for a few seconds, and then jumped away, giggling madly.
Soul and Maka pushed each other away, both blushing profusely and stuttering incoherently.
"LEILA THEY KISSED! ARE YOU GONNA KISS NII-CHAN NOW!?"
Leila stopped laughing abruptly. Her face darkened. "First of all, they did not kiss. You pressed their faces together. They are people, not dolls. Second, if everyone's supposed to be kissing..." her scowl disappeared as her face split into a mischievous grin, "...then shouldn't you be kissing Kid?"
Rivin's laughter cut off just as suddenly, "They did too kiss." The rest of the statement registered about a second later, "Nope. If THAT was gonna happen he'd have kissed me last night." She pouted. It was probably better that he hadn't, just in case Bacchus had been watching. Everything else she could have explained or apologized away, but a kiss...
Kid turned red again and sunk down in his seat, attempting to hide under the smashed portion of the table in front of him.
Rivin tilted her head with an awkward grin, "Leila? Did I say that out loud?"
"Yes dear. Everything you say is loud."
"Oh." She blushed, "I'm just gonna... Go now..." She walked stiffly out the door.
Leila stood up. "Professor, I'm gonna go too, if that's ok."
Stein smiled, looking bored. "That's fine, but don't make a habit of it."
She nodded and walked toward the door. As she passed Professor Stein, he muttered something, loudly enough for only her to hear. "After all, how will I teach class properly without my weapon?"
Leila blushed hard and ran out the door, her head down.
Rivin was still walking when Leila caught up with her, "Why did you let me say that!?" she whined when she realized Leila was following her.
Leila smirked. "I can't read your mind, dear. No one knows what you're going to say until you say it. And sometimes even then it's still unclear."
"That's not fair! How are you supposed to stop me from embarrassing myself if you can't read my mind?"
"Oh calm down," she said, giggling. "Did you see his face when you said that? He obviously wanted to." She placed an arm around Rivin's shoulders. "Anyway, let's go shopping."
"I don't believe you. This is some sort of double trick question. Besides, I'm all asymmetrical now..." she stopped in her tracks, taking the moment to be as dramatic as possible. "NOW HE'LL NEVER KISS ME!"
"Oh Rivin!" Leila doubled over with laughter. She was happy, and not just for Rivin. She straightened up and patted her friend on the head. "For once, I don't think he cares."
Rivin sniffled, "I need a haircut..." Or not. What if he does kiss me and then I hurt him? Or what if he hurts me? Or Bacchus sees? Damnit, why is life so complicated! She marched outside, "LETS GO TRY ON DRESSES THAT WE CAN'T AFFORD AND MAKE FUN OF FAT RICH PEOPLE!"
Leila giggled. "That's what I like to hear! TO THE FANCY DRESS STORE!"
/-/-/-/
Rivin twirled out of the stall in a pink dress with frilly shoulder straps "I'm a fairy princess!"
Leila came out of her stall at the same time, in a long, shiny gold dress. She giggled at Rivin. "And I..." she struck a dramatic pose, "...am a movie star!"
"And I-" Tsubaki stepped out of the last stall dressed in a somewhat ridiculously feminine version of her Meister, surprising both Leila and Rivin. "Am Black Star!"
Rivin laughed so hard that Tweed, the shopkeeper, had to come over and make sure she wasn't going to destroy anything. He hovered nervously around them, adjusting his octagonal glasses frequently.
"Tsubaki!" Leila exclaimed with a grin. "You look fabulous. So you escaped from class too? How's Black Star?"
She smiled, "He's just fine... Except for his ego..."
"Good," Rivin wiped the tears from her eyes, "Will he stop challenging me now?"
"Probably not," Tsubaki sighed, still smiling, "He really admires your speed, Rivin."
"Then why don't we race? At least then I won't be afraid of eating him." The fact that Tsubaki was here, smiling and laughing with them, created a warm glow deep in her soul. It was a strange feeling, but not unwelcome. It was comforting. It kept the foxes quiet.
Leila laughed. "I wouldn't let you eat Black Star. Tsubaki wouldn't let you. Professor Stein wouldn't let you." She poked Rivin's arm. "Your boyfriend wouldn't let you."
Rivin, expression uncharacteristically dark, mumbled something that sounded like "not" and "my" and "Boyfriend". Just as the other women were starting to worry, her face brightened, "Let's make THEMES. WE SHOULD ALL DRESS UP AS SOUL!"
And before they could respond, Rivin had picked out a strapless dress with eye-like jewels around the bottom and red and black swirls on it and ran into the dressing room.
Tsubaki laughed lightly and found herself a dress, "Come on, Leila. This could be fun. You can even pick the next theme."
Leila looked around the store thoughtfully. "Hmmmm..." She spotted a loose black dress with long yellow sleeves. She grabbed a white headband to complete the look and dashed into the dressing room.
Rivin danced out of her stall, Tsubaki glided out of hers. Her dress was pure white with blood red feathers on the straps. When they saw Leila, they both clapped. Rivin giggled, "Leila wins! Your turn to pick the theme!"
Leila glared dramatically at Rivin. "Geez Rivin," she said in her most monotone voice. "Why do you keep trying to eat my Meister? You're so uncool."
Rivin's eyes got wide and watery, "I DIDN'T KNOW MAKA WAS YOUR MEISTER TOO!"
Tsubaki laughed and patted Rivin's shoulder, "I think she's mocking Soul."
"Oh." she grinned, "I knew that~"
"Oh my dear goodness Rivin..." Leila said, both amused and exasperated. "Ok, the next theme is...we have to dress like...LORD DEATH!"
"YAAAAY!" Rivin skipped through the store, alarming several of the customers.
"Aha..." Tsubaki watched the hyperactive weapon before going to find her own dress.
Leila went a different direction than the both of them. She found an intentionally tattered black cape and a pair of white gloves. She brought them gleefully to her dressing room.
Tsubaki came out in a slender black dress with a plunging neckline connected between her breasts with a skull. The dress was completed with long white gloves.
Rivin's dress was also black, but the skirt was a tutu. There was a thin white ribbon around her waist with a black skull in the center. Its one strap sat over her right shoulder.
Leila came out confidently, but gasped when she saw Tsubaki's outfit. "I think Tsubaki wins..."
"Me too..." Rivin smiled, "She's so pretty!"
Tsubaki blushed, "Thank you, Rivin."
"You get to pick out the theme now~!"
"oh, um..." she looked thoughtful, "I know, we should pick out dresses we would like to wear to Kid's party this weekend!"
"I'M NOT GOING"
".... Why not?"
"I'M NOT SYMMETRICAL"
Leila smiled sadly. "Not to mention that we would have nothing to wear, and no money to buy them...but sure, Rivin, let's go with that."
Tsubaki laughed, "Still, it would be fun just to see, right?"
"Sure. As long as I win this time."
"Okay, Rivin, you can win."
"But I haven't tried anything on yet..."
Several minutes later, Tsubaki came out in a fitted blue dress with a Chinese styled collar. It had a subtle silver floral pattern and flared slightly around her calves.
Rivin's dress was completely black. The top was a simple strapless bodice with a sweet-heart neckline. There was a huge bow tied around the natural waist and flowed down the back of the gathered skirt that trailed on the ground.
Leila's dress was black, with a normal, rounded neckline, and straps approximately two inches wide. It was fitted above the hips, and hung straight down from them. There was a high slit on the right side that went all the way up to her upper thigh. The back of the dress was open, cut all the way down to her lower back, with bright purple leather straps criss-crossing all the way up.
"ohhh...." Rivin pouted, "I thought you said I could win this time..."
"What are you talking about?" Leila said, looking confused. "Your dress is amazing. You look gorgeous in it. Kid would faint from blood loss."
Rivin stuck her tongue out at her, "You must have the situation confused. Nii-chan will be the one fainting...."
Tsubaki giggled, "You both look lovely."
"Nah," Leila said, somewhat embarrassed by the compliments. "Besides, it's not like we can get them." She glanced at the price tag under her arm. It made her feel nauseous. "Yeeeeeaaahhh...I'd have to sell my internal organs."
"Ohhh...." Rivin sighed, "But.... If you did that, you would be dead.... AND I WOULDN'T GET DINNER!" She fell on Leila and buried her face in Leila's chest, "I LIKE DINNER DON'T DO IT!"
Tsubaki laughed, a scheme forming in her mind.
Leila had a giggle fit. "You could live off of my remains for a while or something. Or I'm sure Tsubaki could make you dinner." She patted Rivin's head fondly. "But I won't be selling any organs...I'm rather attached to most of them."
"Just most of them?" Rivin looked up at her with wide eyes, "What about the rest of them? I don't like this! You're not allowed to die. I FORBID IT."
"Okay dear. Now let's get off the floor before we ruin the pretty dresses and have to work here for the rest of our lives to pay for them."
" 'kay!" Rivin got to her feet and the three of them changed back into their street clothes. Meanwhile, an idea had formed the weapon's deranged mind.
Rivin skipped up to the shopkeeper with a sweet smile, "Mr. Dress Maker man?"
His eye twitched and he faced her slowly, "C-can I help you?" His suit was old and brown today, making his watery blue eyes look more pale than normal.
"Yes!" she nodded enthusiastically, "Can I have a job, please? I like stuff and I can't afford it on the missions I take at the DWMA."
"Uh, I don't think I'm hiring right now..."
"oh," she hung her head, "But I wanted a job..."
"Urk..." He sighed, scratching the back of his neck, "Well... I guess... I could take you on... Just for a few days and see how things work out..."
"YAY!" Rivin hopped around in a circle, "I HAVE A NORMAL PERSON JOB!"
".........." He sighed again, "Yes, now please be a little more quiet. We don't want to disturb our customers."
She stopped, "Right! When do I start?"
"Well, things will be slow for another week or two... Come back tomorrow for a fitting so we can make your uniform... And we'll go from there. Just please, no more destroying my store."
"Okay!"
"Come in tomorrow after class. Don't forget!"
"I won't~" she waved over her shoulder as she skipped back to Leila and Tsubaki, "Did you hear that?! I have a job!" Her face nearly split in half with happiness.
"Well done!" Leila smiled at her proudly. "Now you can buy me better ingredients to make better food!"
/*/*/
Tsubaki walked back into the dress shop right before closing time. Tweed, the dressmaker, greeted her with a smile, "What can I do for you?"
"I'd like to buy the last three dresses Leila, Rivin and I tried on earlier, if that's okay?"
He nodded vigorously , "Of course it is! You are my favorite customer, after all."
"I know," she smiled, "Thank you for giving Rivin a chance. It means a lot to her."
Tweed returned the smile kindly, "She means well, I think."
Chapter 9: Punch it in the face! : Madness bites?
Summary:
Hello, hello! Hiya! Yo, yo, yo! Lord Death here! Unfortunately, due to the high number of adult responsibilities going around lately, updates on Death City might come a little less frequently. I'm doing my best to get everything sorted out, but in the mean time, be patient with our Meisters. They are working diligently to continue slaying Kishin Eggs and protecting the world from chaos. Thanks for understanding, and happy reading!
Chapter Text
Rivin skipped into class the next morning ahead of Leila. She hugged Crona and patted Ragnarok on the head. "SHE DOES LOVE ME" Ragnarok proclaimed to the class.
"Ow! What did I do?"
"I DON'T KNOW"
"Then you shouldn't hit me... OW TSUBAKI SAVE ME!"
Tsubaki sighed, then gave Ragnarok a stern look, "You already don't get candy until the dance for hitting Crona. Do you want to go without candy until the next dance?"
"WHY ARE YOU SO MEAN TO ME!?"
"OW STOP Ragnarok OW DON'T HIT ME"
"EVEN MEDUSA WAS NEVER THIS MEAN! MEDUSA LOVED ME!"
"No she OW didn't... OW!"
Soul stepped up next to Crona, "Don't worry about it. Why don't you just punch him like you did that one time? That was pretty cool."
"b-but... I don't think I could OW STOP IT!" Crona's fist flew straight up. He punched Ragnarok square in the jaw, knocking the sword out cold.
Soul smirked, "I knew you could do it."
"y-yeah," Crona nodded once, looking pleased with himself.
Maka led the two to their customary seats. Tsubaki and Black Star weren't far behind them. Leila strolled in and took a seat beside Tsubaki. Kid came in next with Liz and Patti. He smiled at Rivin as he passed by her to sit down.
"Alright, let's sit down everyone..." Stein said, entering the classroom with a twist of his screw. His chair squeaked and groaned as it rolled into place.
Rivin wriggled in her seat, but couldn't contain herself. She bounded up to the front of the room and pounced him, "Nii-chaaan! Nii-chan, guess what!?"
He looked at her with annoyed amusement. "Yes...?" She really was too much like Ginko for her own good. Regardless of Diomedes mental state, Stein almost wished Rivin were a bit more like him. A bit of quiet never hurt anyone, after all.
"I got a job," she whisper-yelled as she smushed her cheek against his, "A normal person job! I'm so excited!"
Maka laughed awkwardly. What exactly was Rivin doing?
Soul sighed. Hugging the teacher. That wasn't cool at all.
Stein gently shoved her off of him. "Congratulations. I'd like to start class now, if you don't mind terribly..."
"Oh Rivin..." Leila mumbled, shaking her head. "So silly."
"Oh, okay Nii-chan." She giggled, "If you say so." Rivin skipped up to Leila and poked her nose, "I hugged Nii-chan before you did!"
Leila stuck her tongue out at Rivin. "Yes, but he pushed you off of him." She leaned close and dropped her voice to an ominous whisper. "Now go sit down, or I'll go hug Kid for you."
"But," Rivin blinked at her, "Buuuuuuut! Fine. I won't make you dessert tonight. I'LL EAT IT ALL MYSELF"
"That's fine. After all, what would be the point of making dessert if you don't get any dinner first?" Leila emphasized the last six words and raised her eyebrows.
Rivin crossed her arms as she plopped down next to Leila, "Then I'll just go have dinner with Tsubaki. She likes me."
"Riiiiviiin!" Black Star charged her, "I chall—"
"Actually," Stein interrupted, "Black Star. Rivin. You two will be partners for today's lesson. Come here please."
"But Dr. Stabby!"
"No way!"
"But Rivin and Black Star hate each other!" Patti gasped with wide eyes, "What if they get hurt? Who's gonna play dinosaur with me?!"
Leila's eyes widened. What was he doing? Rivin and Black Star? Did Stein want to destroy the whole classroom?
The look on Stein's face allowed no argument. The two joined him at the front of the class. "Leila, I will need you as well."
"Oh, right." She walked down to where the others were and stood beside Stein. She was still a bit wary of resonating with him, but she was more concerned about what would happen when Black Star tried to wield Rivin.
"Gimme yur hand." Black Star articulated.
Rivin glared at him. He was annoying and stubborn, and she hated how much he made Tsubaki worry about him. And she did not like being bossed around.
"Well?"
"Fine," she grumbled, grabbing Black Star's hand and transforming in a shower of glitter. Her face hit the ground merely a second later. "BITCH!"
Kid coughed quietly. He couldn't remember ever hearing her curse before, but it didn't surprise him that Black Star brought out the worst in her... This was probably not the best idea that the professor had ever come up with. He scooted to the edge of his seat, ready to spring into action should anything go... Wrong.
"You need to lose some weight, Rivin." Black Star complained, hefting her over his shoulder. "Even Soul weighs less!"
"I WILL EAT YOU"
"Now, now, play nice you two."
"EAT HIM!" Patti cheered from the sidelines.
The young reaper coughed again. "Patti, perhaps that isn't behaviour you should be encouraging..."
"Professor..." Leila groaned. "This isn't going to be fair. I don't want to hurt him..."
"YOU CAN'T HURT ME I'M BLACK STAR"
Leila raised an eyebrow at him. "Never mind Professor, I'm fine with this." She clasped Stein's hand and transformed.
"Leila will mess you up, little boy," Rivin taunted.
"NOT IF I USE YOU AS A SHEILD!"
"DO I LOOK LIKE A SHIELD TO YOU?! I AM A WRECKING BALL AND A BROADSWORD FOR SHIT'S SAKE!"
"EAT HIM!" Patti roared again, trying to elicit a chant from the students. "EAT HIM, EAT HIM!" Fortunately, no one seemed to want to encourage the Weapon they were all afraid of to eat another student in front of them.
Liz patted her sister's shoulder, "Calm down, Patti. You can fight Black Star yourself when they're done with the lesson."
"KAY"
"Whatever," Black Star grinned and hefted Rivin's broadsword in both hands, "Let's kick their asses!"
"I don't think you can."
He scoffed. "Not with that attitude! Okay, just follow my lead and we'll win this no problem!"
"Oh goodness, Rivin is gonna love that," Leila snickered. "Maybe you should go easy on them after all."
Stein chuckled. "You're right. We might be too strong a team for them, but I'm sure they'll manage."
Even in her weapon form, Leila seemed to squirm uncomfortably at the subtle compliment.
The younger students murmured and giggled behind their hands. They were amazed by and embarrassed for their elder students.
"Why are you the leader?" Rivin whined. "What if I wanted to be in charge?"
"Too bad, princess!" He laughed as he widened his stance to accommodate her weight. "I might be the big star today, but even big stars like me need someone to support them all the way to the top! Think you can handle it, doggy?"
"I AM A FOX!" Rivin yelled. "DR. STABBY I HATE HIM CAN I JUST EAT HIM PLEASE?"
Stein cocked his head, glasses glinting under the white lights. "Only if I can dissect you to see exactly the effect of Black Star's soul."
"YOU'RE GROSS AND YOU PROMISED NO MORE STABBIES!"
"That's true. But I didn't say no scalpels."
"I HATE YOU TOO I'M GONNA KICK YOUR ASS!"
"YEA, RIVIN THAT'S THE SPIRIT!"
"Did they just agree on something?" Soul was both impressed and somewhat concerned, "Or am I going crazy?"
"Not today," Maka assured him with a smile. She stealthily claimed his hand.
He looked over at her from the corner of his eye, grinned, and gave her hand a gentle squeeze.
Kid, on the other hand, frowned slightly. He had hardly seen Rivin and Stein interact outside of class, not counting the day they all had lunch together. 'Dr. Stabby' was a very specific name, and they seemed to be referencing shared experiences that Kid wasn't aware of. Is... Stein one of the 'funny men'?
Black Star's grip tightened on Rivin's hilt, "Let's go- SOUL RESONANCE!" Two very different soul wavelengths visably grew around them. Even the younger Meisters had no trouble seeing them with their soul perception. Black Star's was louder; bright blue and pristine. But Rivin's was scarier. It was mainly orange, with red cracks showing through, oozing corruption like blood. A yellow haze clung to the wounds, occasionally drifting off like a solar flare.
Black Star blinked, "Where am I?"
The place was dark. Objects floated around the Zero Gravity at random: a chair, an end table, a broken picture frame... He seemed to be the source of light. Black Star swam down, thinking that's where he might find the ground.
"Go away," said someone to his upper-left.
He swung around to face the voice, but it wasn't directed at him. "Rivin?"
She was talking to a large, ornate mirror that floated with them in the darkness. Instead of her reflection, the surface showed nothing but a fuzzy black circle. "Leave me alone! I'm busy!"
"But he's here, Luceria," the fuzzy circle in the mirror echoed back, in a surprisingly deep, stoic voice. "Your 'friend' is here to offer his soul. He wants you to be warm."
"For the millionth time today! Just leave me alone!"
"HEY!" Black Star called, waving excitedly, "RIVIN!"
She turned wide eyes on him. It took the assassin a few seconds to realize that she was afraid. "Black Star! Why are you here!?"
"I DON'T KNOW!" He responded roughly, flailing his way toward Rivin. "WHERE IS HERE?"
"He is here to help you come home to me, Luceria." The black fluff-ball swirled around the surface of the mirror impatiently. "His soul is erratic and arrogant, but strong. It will make you strong."
Now that Black Star was closer, he could see that the ball of fluff was not as featureless as it had seemed. Its eyes were the same yellow as Rivin's, but its teeth were much sharper. From a distance, the thick fur hid most of the details. Upon closer inspection, the demon was almost puppy-like, and quite cute.
Black Star grinned, resting a hand on the glass and leaning against it arrogantly. "Rivin! Don't tell me you're afraid of this thing?"
"You don't understand!" She appeared frozen in place, unsure what to do or which side to take. "Don't touch that! Get out of here!"
He laughed at her, "Wow, you really are weak. I'm definitely gonna destroy you in our next fight!"
"Black Star, now is not the ti-NO DON'T!" Her voice raised three octaves in her panic. She wasn't sure what effect the tiny manifestation of madness would have on Black Star, but she was sure no one would want to find out.
Her warning came too late. The black fur flattened as the kit matured into an adult fox with three eyes and five tails. It grinned and opened its mouth impossibly wide. Its sharp teeth seemed to emerge from the mirror in the form of glass shards around Black Star's hand. With an unsettling gekker that was simultaneously low and high in pitch, it bit down.
He stared down at it, startled, but numb. "I'm bleeding." His voice seemed to drift away. The world began to spin. The cute fox-demon in the mirror was drinking his blood.
No, not his blood, he realized vaguely. His soul wavelength.
His instincts kicked in abruptly; several seconds later than he would ever admit, but quickly enough to keep him conscious. He pulled back his available fist and launched it at the image of the fox-demon.
There was a CRASH that seemed impossibly loud, as if echoing from a thousand shattered shards. Rivin was screaming, some human, some fox, adding to the cacophony. He couldn't understand her. Something about wanting his autograph, he was sure. But damn, his hands hurt. Why was that? Oh yeah. The madness had bitten him. He had punched it in the face.
The fox went flying into the abyss where the mirror had been with a pitiful gekker.
"HAHAHA I AM BLACK STAR. YOU CAN'T DEFEAT ME!"
Rivin stared at him. "You punched it."
"IN THE FACE!" he agreed with a huge grin, "So, what is this place again?"
Rivin laughed. She laughed so hard that Black Star laughed too, so hard that gravity returned and laughed with them as they fell.
They fell, surrounded by meaningless, broken furniture, until they touched down weightlessly onto a grassy hill. A picnic blanket, complete with a basket of sandwiches, landed between them. The space was open and bright and peaceful, an atmosphere that hadn't been present in her soul in longer than the madness would let her remember.
Black Star stopped laughing abruptly, looking confused. "A picnic...?" He shook his head to clear the remaining dizziness. "HELL YEAH RIVIN THIS IS A GREAT SPOT FOR A REMATCH!" He got to his feet excitedly. "WE'VE GOT VICTORY SNACKS AND EVERYTHING!"
"I never even thought to do that..." Her laughter had faded to awestruck reverence. "How did you..." Will they be angry when they find out? Will they find out? Will they be angry at Black Star, or at me, or both?
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, HOW? You just..." He started to punch the air in front of him, as if practicing his form. "WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? STAND UP AND TRAIN WITH ME! I CAN'T FIGHT AN OPPONENT WHO DOESN'T EVEN KNOW HOW TO THROW A PUNCH!"
Rivin didn't know the answers to her questions or how to feel about them, so she just nodded, wiping the tears of laughter and everything else from her eyes.
"THAT'S WHAT I THOUGHT! BUT TRAINING CAN WAIT FOR NOW, WE GOT A FIGHT TO WIN FIRST!" Black Star extended his hand.
Riven accepted, allowing him to pull her to her feet. As she did so, the sun's rays seemed to intensify around them, until everything was as warm as the desert. The light became brighter and brighter until it hurt her eyes, so she closed them.
The classroom started to materialize slowly, and with it, a room full of young souls watching them in awe. In awe of her! And Black Star! Of all people!
"Whoa, Rivin, you just lost like... Twenty pounds!"
The entire class snickered.
"Damnit, Black Star!" Rivin raged halfheartedly, "We just had a moment. Don't ruin it."
"Alright, alright." He grinned, "Let's do this!" Black Star was able to twirl the wrecking ball beside him and hold the broad sword in one hand.
The Meisters could only stare at the two souls, which had just been battling feverishly, as they melded into a perfect harmony. The blue apex was joined by the red, yellow and orange, resembling a, somewhat deranged, sunrise.
"Very good." Stein acknowledged. He wasn't particularly surprised. Rivin had been designed with a piece of his own soul; theoretically, she should be able to resonate with any Meister. It was more surprising that it took so long... Then again, it was Black Star.
"Did...did they actually do it?" Leila was shocked to see Rivin cooperating with someone so well, and even more shocked that it was Black Star.
"It seems that they have. Now it's our turn. Are you ready?"
"Yes..." she said tentatively. He hadn't actually resonated with her last time...but she hadn't been very open to it. He'd probably tried. She suddenly felt guilty. It wasn't as if he'd done anything wrong...he'd been respectful and kind to her, both as a meister and as a friend. He'd even been able to patiently tolerate how weak she was as a weapon without complaint... unlike him. He had never treated her so well. It isn't fair, a tiny, audacious part of her brain whined. Please just let me forget you...
"Soul Resonance," they said in unison. Stein sent out his wavelength to her soul, wondering if it would accept him this time. It seemed reluctant, but it was responsive. He grinned. There you are.
She smiled nervously. Sorry...
No need to apologize. It's common for even the strongest teams to have trouble resonating on occasion.
But... She struggled with his kind words. It was still my fault that--
Leila, he interrupted. We're a team. There's no need to place blame over a small issue. He raised her weapon form and adopted a battle stance. Now let's win.
Her soul felt suddenly many pounds lighter. R-right!
He charged at Black Star and Rivin, flicking Leila dangerously close to Black Star's nose.
Black Star used Rivin's broad sword to block the whip. His wavelength was already dancing across the blade - being so close to the whip that it was able to spark into Leila. It electrocuted the weapon and made its way down to Stein.
"BWAHAHAHA!" Black Star cackled. If Rivin hadn't known better, she'd think he was going mad. But Black Star was immune to madness. It comforted her.
It's our turn!
"Right!" He charged the electrified teacher. Rivin's wrecking ball flew towards Stein's face.
Stein dodged to the right with only a few inches between him and Rivin's sparks. He crouched low and flicked Leila, wrapping her around Black Star's ankle.
"Wra!" he yelled.
Drop me.
What?!
DO IT
Black Star dropped the wrecking ball. It landed an inch from Leila and Black Star's wave length took hold of her once again, "BWAHAHAHAAAACK!" Before the electric energy reached Stein, he pulled the whip straight up. Black Star landed hard on his butt. He dropped Rivin, who landed point down in the floor.
You okay, Black Star?
THIS IS NOTHING! He hopped back to his feet and reclaimed his temporary weapon, "Had enough yet, Stein?"
"Oh, we've started fighting? I hadn't realized," he said mockingly. He held Leila at the ready above his head. His eyes dared Black Star to come closer.
Black Star twirled the wrecking ball with a grin, "I can't wait to defeat you!"
Let's not get ahead of ourselves...
He threw the ball straight at Stein's face. The ball and chain glittered with his soul energy.
Stein ducked and cracked Leila with great force, aiming her spiked tip at Black Star's stomach.
Black Star grinned, jerking Rivin back and down. The wrecking ball smashed into Stein's back.
He fell to the ground, a few drops of blood splattering out of his mouth. Leila's soul cried out. Stein! He wiped his mouth with his sleeve. Get behind him...go for his arms? She cringed at her own instinctive attempt at strategy.
Stein nodded. He kept low and rushed toward Black Star's left side, then rolled right at the last second, dodging Black Star's strike. He ran behind Black Star and wrapped the whip around him, binding his arms to his torso. Rivin went crashing to the ground. Get ready, he told Leila. He sent a powerful shockwave through Leila. Her wavelength joined his, and the powerful wave rippled through Black Star's body. Stein uncoiled Leila from Black Star. He fell to the ground, unconscious.
"Hmm. Interesting," Stein said curiously. "It seems that our combined wavelengths hurt him a bit more than I intended."
"Oh. Oops..." Leila winced. To be fair, I didn't even know I could do that.
He'll be fine. You've impressed me yet again, Leila.
Her soul glowed gently.
Rivin transformed back with a sigh, "I suppose I expected too much of him..." And yet she couldn't help but smile. She grabbed Leila from Stein with a firm "My Leila." And skipped up to sit beside Kid. She moved Liz out of the way without thinking. "Hiiiiiiiii did you hear that I have a normal person job?"
"Rivin..." Leila whispered. "I wasn't done..."
"Yes, I heard. Congratulations!" Kid smiled warmly at her. "That's one more thing we can celebrate on Saturday."
Liz glared up at Rivin from the floor where Rivin had pushed her. It seemed she was being shoved aside a lot lately.
"But... But!" Rivin pouted slightly, pushing the long part of her hair behind her ear, "Leila and I can't go. We has nothing to wear... And you said I can't go nekkid."
Patti giggled until she fell out of her seat.
Kid frowned. "Well we'll work something out. If necessary, you could borrow something, I suppose...I'm sure Patti has something small enough for you." He didn't like the idea of Rivin not going, particularly to a party for her.
Leila transformed back to human form and leaned against the table beside Rivin. "Well I don't know about Rivin, but I probably won't go."
"But Kid didn't say YOU couldn't go nekkid~" Rivin sang with a very sincere smile.
"I would prefer that my weapon be a bit more formal than that at a social event," Stein commented from behind them.
Leila blushed. He'd said it again-he'd called her his weapon. But I thought no one else would want me as their weapon...because I'm so weak...isn't that what you said? She fought the urge to curl up on the floor.
Rivin's eyes narrowed. Leila was thinking about it. The it that used to make her cry in her sleep. When she found this it, she was going to eat it, no matter what. She didn't care if it made her a Kishin as long as it was for Leila's sake. "I'll eat it," she growled to Leila, "Whatever it is, I will find it and I will kill it."
Leila blinked and looked over at Rivin. "What? Are you talking about food again?" She forced a smile. "I was joking about not making you dinner tonight, I promise."
"No," she said a little softer, "Whatever makes your soul falter like that. I'll eat it, and then you won't be sad."
Leila's eyes widened and nearly filled with tears. She put an arm around Rivin. "Thank you...but you can't. It's already dead...and what's left, you can't get to."
"Oh," Rivin twisted her mouth to the side of her face, "That's not helpful."
"what's not helpful?" Patti jumped up. If she had a tail, it would have been wagging expectantly, "Can I help?"
"YUSH!" Rivin jumped to her feet and pumped her fist, "YOU CAN HELP ME BUILD A GIANT SAND CASTLE!"
"A SAND CASTLE!? THAT SOUNDS AMAZING!"
The two hopped up on the desk, clasped hands and began jumping around in a circle chanting, "We're gonna build a castle! We're gonna build a castle!"
"Wonderful..." Liz complained, leaning on the desk behind her.
"Class dismissed," Stein announced. He watched Leila as she left. Something was definitely still wrong. She'd shown off some of the remarkable progress she'd made in their training, allowing them to knock Black Star unconscious...and yet, anyone looking at her soul would assume she'd just suffered an embarrassing failure. He sat at his desk, worrying, twisting his screw.
"Excuse me, Professor Stein."
He looked up with a start. The whole class had gone except for Tsubaki, who was standing in front of his desk, smiling brightly.
"Yes, Tsubaki? Can I help you?"
"It's a real shame about Leila not being able to come to the party, isn't it?"
"Indeed..." He twisted his screw again thoughtfully.
"If only she had a dress..."
"Hmm. Are you going somewhere with this, Tsubaki?" He leaned back in his chair lazily, attempting to disguise some of his interest in the topic.
She giggled and pulled a black dress from her shoulder bag. "Give her this before the dance on Saturday."
His attempt at disinterest fizzled as he took the dress, somewhat surprised. "Thank you."
"Of course," she smiled. "See you tomorrow, Professor!"
Chapter 10: I'm not Jealous: Kisses can be nice?
Summary:
Hey, guys! This time, it's just God_Pigeon talking. Things have been really stressful here at home, and I got the dreaded Big C. I actually feel okay. I mean, I am vaccinated, so I'm at less risk of being hospitalized. You would think that being sick and not being at work would give me some time to write, but.... I've basically been asleep for the last week. Ah, well. Thanks for being patient with me, and I hope you continue to enjoy the story as I'm able to publish it! <3 ALSO! I just have to say... This is one of my all time favorite chapters in all four books!
Chapter Text
Rivin and Patti skipped out of the school, hand in hand. They left Kid and Liz behind them in their quest to find the perfect sand for their castle. As they passed the dress store Rivin stopped with a pout. Patti didn't notice until she was accidentally jerked back around "Ack! What's wrong? Why are you so mad at the store? Did it eat your favorite dessert?"
Rivin couldn't help but giggle, "No, Patti. I have to go in and get fitted for my uniform real quick."
"Oooooohhhh," she looked thoughtful, "CAN I GET FITTED TOO!?"
Kid looked over at the store. "Oh, so this is where you're working now. Wait..." he looked slightly confused. "Isn't this the store that was destroyed when you fought with Black Star?"
"Yup!" Rivin grinned, "But Mr. Dress Maker Man was really nice and he said that as long as I don't destroy stuff or scare people I can work there. And then I'll have money and Leila will be able to buy nice things!" she giggled, feeling pleased with herself.
Kid smiled and nodded. "Well you do seem like a difficult person to stay angry with, Rivin." She wanted to work to buy Leila nice things? He couldn't help but feel that, under all the madness and social awkwardness, Rivin was actually quite sweet. He remembered the night before, and how tenderly she had treated the small child she saved.
"I don't understand, why would Leila be angry with me?" Her eyes got round, "did I do something wrong?" Her soul faltered and waned in intensity, practically vibrating with anxiety.
Kid felt a moment of sonder and something like the color of flat slate-blue, pulling at the heartstrings with all the knowledge that something was wrong, but without the insight to name it. Then it was gone, replaced with determination. He would never have a 'pedestal' for her; never make her feel as though she could exist in the wrong way. This feeling, too, was replaced by the realization that she hadn't fully followed what he had said to begin with. "Erm...Rivin, I meant the dress shop owner."
"Oh," she blinked, then giggled, "I guess so. Well, I gotta go in... You could come with me, but I dunno what you'd be doing."
Liz made herself smile. She resented Rivin for a number of reasons, but the one that hurt the most was how easily Rivin had replaced her... Except that wasn't exactly it. Liz had never occupied the space that Rivin took up, and maybe what hurt was realizing that she hadn't had the relationship with Kid that she thought, and seeing him develop feelings for Rivin was like rubbing salt in the wounds.
But she couldn't hold onto that kind of negativity: it had already impacted her resonance with Kid and gotten Rivin hurt. Even though Rivin was immortal, their usual team members were not.
"We can go in with you. Patti and I can try on things for the dance while you take care of business."
"Am I getting fitted, too?" Patti asked Kid hopefully.
"I don't think so, Patti. Unless you have a new job at the dress shop that I wasn't aware of."
"Nooo...." She looked disappointed.
Rivin patted her shoulder, "You could try on dresses whi—"
Patti ran through the doors before Rivin could finish.
"I guess we're going," said Liz, following her sister with an amused smile.
Rivin nodded with a grin. Tweed greeted her with a kindly smile, "You're here earlier than expected."
"Yeah..." Rivin's expression became pained, "I got paired with Black Star and the lesson was over quickly."
"Oh. I see. Well, come back this way and we'll start your fitting." He waved a greeting to Kid and led Rivin to the back of the store. They passed several mirrors on the way. The first made Rivin uncomfortable, but she thought it was her imagination-or the fact that she was with Kid and her hair wasn't symmetrical.
When they passed the second, Rivin thought she saw three blue stripes on her right cheek. She stopped for a second to stare at her unmarked face before hurrying after Tweed. After that, every image of herself began to look more and more like him.
Thankfully, when they reached the full sized mirrors it was only her reflected. She smiled. It was just her imagination, right? Right? Of course it was. It was that little demon getting back at her for Black Star punching it during class.
And yet, when she wasn't looking directly at the mirror...
/*-+-*/
"OHMIGOSH SIS THAT DRESS LOOKS AMAZING!"
"Thanks!" Liz grinned. "I love yours too."
"They would look better if you were both wearing the same one..." Kid muttered, looking slightly bored.
"Well we didn't ask you, Kid."
Patti giggled.
The bell tinkled. A tall man, apparently in his mid thirties, with short, wavy brown hair entered the shop. He glanced around quickly, dark blue eyes landing on Kid. His expression was just bordering on the cold side of neutral.
Something about the man put Kid slightly on edge. "Can I help you?"
Patti pulled out the front of her dress, looking down her chest. Liz sighed and rolled her eyes. She helped Patti look more respectable, maneuvering both of them closer to their Meister.
"I haven't decided yet." His voice was smooth. "I suppose I will have to see what my Erastis is going to do." His neutral expression tipped more towards anger, "She seems to be fostering a new relationship, one which I distrust immensely."
Liz glared at him, still attempting to keep Patti from ogling herself. "Sorry your girlfriend isn't faithful, but I don't see how that's any of our business."
"I agree." Kid's eyes narrowed. He recognized the greek word for 'lover', knew it to be a title and not a name. "If that is all, then I can assure you I have nothing to do with your 'erastis', and I have no intention of having anything to do with her. Now, if you would kindly-"
"Is that so?" His face shifted back to neutral. He almost smiled, "Excellent. I will be taking my leave, and I may be gone for a considerable amount of time- business, you understand- but I will be back for my little Luceria..." He gave Kid a pointed look. "Good day!"
"Well." Liz said as the door closed.
"Yes." Kid agreed thoughtfully. Luceria was a Witch's name, and the man appeared to be human. It was quite likely he'd been taken on a joy ride and left behind. "I have no idea what he wanted."
"He was a crazy," Patti giggled, half laying on Liz, "But he said to have a good day so we should do that! Because we get to wear pretty dresses and build princess castles in the sand!"
"Right..." Liz sighed, "I agree. Some crazy human shouldn't ruin a good day."
Only a few minutes later, Rivin came out from the back room looking both excited and half mad. She sat at Kid's feet without a word.
He bent over her and looked at her upside down. "Is something wrong?"
She jumped, "What? Uh, no." Rivin giggled nervously. Wrong? No, no. not really. Just in my head, Kid. Just where I can't fix it.
He pet her hair. "Good."
She tried to smile, but the result was more like a grimace, "I... want to go somewhere. Outside." Where there are no mirrors.
"Outside!?" Patti pounced her. The weapon's boobs nearly popped out of her extremely low cut dress, "Are we going to build the castle now?"
"Yes, Patti." Rivin managed an actual smile for her hyper friend, "We can go make a castle just as soon as you put your clothes back on."
"okay!" she rushed back into the stall.
Liz wasn't in as much of a hurry to change out of her slender red satin dress. It had a black and white patterned corset with red trimming.
"You look nice," Rivin commented, "That style really suits you."
"Oh, thank you Rivin," she smiled brightly, "It's pretty, huh?"
"I think you should wear it to the party," Kid suggested. "It's elegant and even. Whoever designed it has a good sense of symmetry."
"Really?" Liz's smile widened, "Okay!"
With both of Kid's weapons in a good mood, and Kid in a good mood, the day should have had a better vibe to it than it did. Rivin felt as though someone was watching her from everywhere. She was nervous, constantly looking over her shoulder when she thought Kid wasn't paying attention. She had felt something while she was with Tweed. Diomedes? Argus? Bacchus?
He said he was leaving, but Rivin wasn't sure... He always seemed to be.... Just there. Just out of sight. A soul with fuzzy outlines, humanoid if taken at a glance. She could usually yell for things she wanted or needed, and have them show up at the door, or be presented to her later in the day by a stranger claiming that a gentleman or a lady bought them for her. And, if he hadn't really left, did that mean that Kid or Leila were in danger?
But she had more to worry about than just Bacchus now. Diomedes wanted her back. He said so. He even came to get her... He was in the mirrors. Calling her home. He seemed to be worried about her. But he also wanted her to never leave the mountain again, and that couldn't be good, right?
"Rivin!" Patti took hold of her hand, "I'm trying to talk to you! Are you listening!?"
She blinked, "I am now." Rivin tried to smile, but she knew it wasn't fooling anyone, least of all Patti the Dinosaur.
"That looks painful. Are we in a good place for a castle now?"
Rivin glanced around. When had they left Death City? "Of course. Let's start building."
"WE SHOULD MAKE IT A PRINCESS CASTLE AND TRAP LIZ IN THE TOWER!"
"YUSH!" She put all thoughts of Diomedes and even Bacchus out of her mind.
Rivin and Patti spent several hours constructing a rather large castle in the sand. They made extra effort to make it symmetrical for Kid's sake, but only when they were finished did they realize how monumental their task really was. The castle was enormous - it would easily house fifteen people comfortably. Only the two hyperactive and very dedicated weapons could have formed such a large structure in four hours.
Rivin grinned down at Kid from the tallest tower, "HIIII! You look small from up here."
He waved at her, smiling. Watching Rivin and Patti so carefree had cleared his mind of negative and intrusive thoughts, and they had asked him for his opinion on the architecture, which helped. They had even taken Liz inside a few times to use her to measure the height of their ceilings (which was probably a good thing, since neither of them were very tall).
Kid looked over to Liz, who was grinning and waving at Patti. He wasn't sure why she had been anxious lately, but she seemed to be feeling better. He felt a surge of brotherly affection for the twin pistols. They had been through so much together: he couldn't imagine life without them.
They heard a voice calling to them from the direction of Death City. "GUYYYYYYYS!" Leila stomped out of the simmering heat waves and through the sand towards them.
"LEILA COME PLAY WITH ME!"
Patti giggled evilly. A twinkle appeared in her eye as she grinned down at Liz.
"Uh, Patti, what are you planning...?"
"FLYING GLOMP OF DOOOOOOOOOM!"
"AAAA!"
Patti landed on Liz and the two collapsed. A large cloud of stirred up sand briefly shrouded them.
"uhhh...." Rivin giggled, "Are they alive?"
Leila walked up to the pile of Thompson sisters on the sand. "I'm sure they're fine." She nudged them with the toe of her boot.
"Good. That means you'll survive!" Rivin giggled madly as she jumped out the window, aiming at Leila, "CATCH ME LEILA!"
Leila had a sudden streak of inspiration. "Nah." She grabbed Kid by the shoulders and used him as a shield. "Kid will catch you!" she grinned.
"Eep!" Rivin didn't know what to do. It wasn't like she could fly back up to the tower. Her face was nearly as red as her hair when she landed neatly in Kid's arms, "Hiya~"
"H-Hello Ri-Rivin..." Kid stammered. He tried to hide his embarrassment, but his red face and loss of his normal eloquent speech capabilities betrayed him.
Rivin grinned and poked his nose. "Why are you all stutter-y?"
"I-I'm not," he said unconvincingly. He blushed harder. I could have kissed her last night. The thought blocked all others, and with it came the feeling of surprise that she may have wanted him to do so.
"I...can't...breathe..." Leila gasped, rolling around on the sand. She was pretty sure that she was getting more sand than oxygen in her lungs, but the giggles wouldn't stop.
"Yeah-huh," Rivin wrapped one arm around his neck in order to sit up a bit, bringing her face closer to his, "And your cheeks are all red and stuff." There was an intense heat coming from his soul, one she recognized as want. Normally, she would have been terrified. But normally the feeling came from Bacchus.
She bit her lip, watching Kid watch her. He's waiting. She realized with relief and awe. He's waiting for my choice. No one's ever done that before. The heat from Kid's soul spread into hers, warming her from the inside. What do I want?
"I want..." she closed her eyes losely, so that she could still see his lips. Her soul nearly trilled when he smiled. And then she couldn't see anything, because he was kissing her. She didn't know that kisses could be calm and gentle and kind.
Kid slid his fingers up the back of her neck, supporting her head and keeping her close. For a moment, he had worried that she would reject him; either out of fear or disinterest. He wasn't sure which would have been worse, but it didn't matter now. What mattered now was the feeling of her lips on his, her arms around his neck, her soul gently resonating with his, and how easy it all felt.
"Wow," Leila said, her eyes wide. "If only Maka and Soul had had that kind of follow-through in class yesterday..."
Patti jumped up and gawked at them, "Why are they eating each other's faces?"
"Uh, You'll understand when you're older." Liz patted her on the head. She felt a pang of jealousy and loss, but pushed it away. She had three years with Kid; if she couldn't make him love her like that, then maybe it just wasn't meant to be. It would hurt for now, but at least she could move on.
After a good thirty more seconds of that, Leila cleared her throat. "Yeah, so, anyway, nice sand castle you guys!"
They both laughed awkwardly, but Kid wasn't inclined to put Rivin down so soon. He'd never seen her eyes so bright or soft before, or really appreciated how perfectly she fit in his arms.
Rivin had never felt so warm, or so content. She basked in the glow of Kid's soul, in the still fresh memory of their subtle resonance. And the way he smiled at her; she could almost imagine the feeling people referred to as 'butterflies'.
Leila cleared her throat again.
Kid reluctantly placed Rivin back on her feet. Her arms lingered around his neck. She turned abruptly and tackled Leila into the sand. "MAYBE YOU SHOULD BRING NII-CHAN OUT HERE AND LAND ON HIM!"
The whip yelped in surprise. It took her several seconds to get her bearings while Patti pointed and laughed. "No, dear, I don't see that happening." She smiled sadly.
"But why?" Rivin tilted her head, "I don't understand. Your souls make such a pretty color..."
Patti turned to Kid, "Is MY soul a pretty color?"
He smiled at his weapon, still feeling elated. "Of course it is, Patti."
"I don't think he feels that way, Rivin." Of course not. No one could.
Rivin giggled, "But I know he does. I see souls, 'member?"
It made sense. It did. But something inside her-him-he-told her that it was impossible. You're weak. He wouldn't wield you if he had any choice. And he could never, ever love you.
"LEILAAAAAAA!" Rivin cried, shaking her shoulders, "I'M GONNA EEEAAAAAT IT IF I HAVE TO TEAR IT OUT OF YOUR SOUL!"
"Eep!" Leila's eyes were wide as Rivin shook her.
"I'm not sure exactly what your powers are, but perhaps testing them on Leila isn't the best idea." Kid raised an eyebrow at her.
Rivin pouted, "But I don't like it when Leila has the sads. THINK ABOUT OX. HIS SOUL IS SO FLACCID!"
Leila couldn't help but laugh. She was relieved that the laughter made his voice shut up, and she hugged the deranged weapon trying to cheer her up. "Thank you."
"You're welcome!" Rivin licked her cheek, "I love you Leila."
"LIZ I LOVE YOU!" Patti fell on her older sister.
Liz patted her on the head, "I love you too, Patti."
"Alright," Leila said. "Now that everyone has fully expressed their love for one another, we should head back. It's getting late." She wasn't wrong. The sun was drooling, eyes half closed. He was getting very close to the horizon, taking the light with him.
Rivin pulled Leila to her feet, "Do I get dinner tonight?"
"Of course." She smiled.
Kid stepped up beside Rivin, offering his hand. "May I?"
She blinked at him, then giggled as she twined their fingers together and held him tight. "Thank you." for giving me a choice.
"Of course."
Chapter 11: Don't open that door! : Diomedes wants Rivin home?
Summary:
Bacchus warning!
Chapter Text
Rivin kissed Kid on the cheek before they went their separate ways. She could feel the lingering warmth of his soul in hers, and wondered about how gentle it was. It wasn't the all consuming, possessive rage of Bacchus, or tainted with regret and resentment like Diomedes, or muted behind layers of apathy and static like Stein. Kid was soft and sincere, and she was suddenly very aware of what she would be missing when Bacchus came home.
She smiled ruefully at herself in the mirror. I should never have done that. It would have been better to never know. But she was determined to enjoy the feeling while she could. While Bacchus was not here to impose his rules and restrictions. They had such a good day, afterall, and dwelling on events that hadn't yet come to pass was a waste of time.
Instead, she could focus on what was here, now. Leila was in a good place, finally. She didn't want to admit that she had feelings for Stein, or that he could possibly reciprocate them, but she might in time. She had friends here; Stein and Maka and Tsubaki. They always had enough food, nothing fancy or gourmet, but enough, and that wasn't something either of them were used to yet. but Her soul was feeling better, and that made Rivin feel better.
On the inside, at least. She watched the water stream over her hands, wondering what it felt like. She shook her head, determined to put it out of her mind. When she looked up from washing her hands, her father's face stared back at her. Her chest seized.
"Luceria. Please." His usually monotonous voice was shaking. "Come home."
She tried to step backwards, but found she was rooted in place. "I-I am home. Please. Just let me stay here. I'm happy here, I-"
He reached out, fingers pushing the surface tension of the mirror and distorting this image. The tension broke, and he gently tucked her hair behind her ears. "You can't be safe outside, Luceria. There are so many monsters, all waiting for a chance to eat you."
"Okay, yeah, I guess that's probably true." She mumbled. "But there are good people, too. Leila and Stein an-"
Diomedes snarled. His fingers curled into her skin, forcing her face closer to the mirror. "Stein? STEIN! That rat! That traitor!"
"Daddy, what-"
"He betrayed me, Luceria! Betrayed us!" His other hand shot out and grabbed her upper arm. He pulled her up onto the sink. His voice was a low, dangerous growl. "That man is nothing but a liar and a cheat. You would do well to keep him at arm's length. Better yet, let's put a mountain between you!"
"No! Stop!" Rivin leaned away from him, but the older fox was too strong. She was being pulled into the mirror. Her face touched the glass, then slipped through. There was a bathroom on the other side. One she had never seen before. White and grey tiles and light blue accents. A standing shower with bright lights.
"Stop!" she yelled again. Her voice echoed off the tiles, out a door to the right. Her torso was through the mirror now. "I don't want to leave Leila!" She planted her knees on either side of the mirror on her end, anchoring herself half in her own home.
Half in the crumbling ruins of a house no one cared for.
Half in the newly built home, kept tidy and clean.
Diomedes wrapped one arm around her, holding her with a desperation she didn't know how to process. "Luceria, come home. My wife wants to meet you. You have a little sister now, and a brother on the way. Come home."
"What?" She was struck dumb. She shook her head. "But... You..."
The image of her unmovable, unsmiling father from her childhood could not be reconciled with this stranger. This man who had a family and a home. This man who had concern for her as a person, not an experiment. This man who could feel more than contempt.
But a wife? What had happened to the broken man? Where was Ginko?
He took a shuddering breath, using her lapse of concentration to pull her further into his new life. "Luceria, I've missed you. I'm so sorry I never came to look for you before. You must have been so afraid."
"I... Was..." she managed. "But Leila has been there for me..."
"Not Ilikia?" He mused. "I shouldn't be surprised. Like oil and fire." Diomedes stroked her hair. "It doesn't matter now. Olivia has been a gift. Her powers... Are similar to yours, Luceria. She can teach you to use them."
Rivin shook her head. "But... I want to stay with Leila." The smell of fresh baked cookies suddenly hit her nose, bringing tears to her eyes. "That's mom's recipe."
"Yeah." Diomedes reached back and pulled one of her knees off the wall. He kissed the top of her head. "My little girl. My little Luceria."
"DON'T CALL ME THAT!" Rivin shrieked. Her soul pulsed with anger and disgust. "DON'T EVER CALL ME THAT!" she buried her teeth in his shoulder. Noxious blue gasses poured out of the wound, filling her mouth and trailing out her nose. She screamed into his skin even as he howled and tried to pull her off of him. Her nails, always filed to sharp points, dug into his face and chest, tearing flesh away.
"Luceria!" He lodged his fingers in the corner of her mouth and pried her teeth out of his skin. He growled, pushing her backwards. She was screaming without words, a horrifying mixture of human and fox, with yellow clouds of toxic haze.
"Honey? Is everything okay?" A woman called down the hallway. She had a light voice, a soft voice. It was the opposite of what she could remember of her mother. Rivin hated it.
She shrieked with rage and fresh grief. She shoved Diomedes away and flung herself backwards in the same motion. Rivin crashed into the wall, still shrieking like a wounded animal. She heard Leila sprint to the door. The handle jiggled.
Diomedes reached towards the mirror.
"Go away!"
Like the mirror in the school bathroom, Rivin shattered it. It splintered around her, reflecting vague memories of what passed for her childhood, her teenage years, and the life she was currently leading. It crashed to her feet like the static in her soul, like foxes screaming in the night, like madness overcoming her.
/*-*/
"Rivin?" Leila pounded on the door. "Rivin! Are you ok?" the handle was locked, but Rivin was howling on the other side. She had to get in. "Rivin, let me in!"
The only answer was another scream. This one devolved into a fit of crazed laughter. "Damnit, Rivin!" She punched the door, then sprinted to Rivin's room. She found several mismatched bobby pins laying haphazardly on the dresser. It wasn't the first time she had needed to pick a lock to get to the deranged weapon, but she sincerely hoped it would be the last time. "I'm coming in, like it or not!"
Rivin was laying on the floor, rolling in shards of glass. The floor was already slick with blood. For every cut that healed, her erratic movements caused three more. Despite her experience with Rivin's madness, Leila was scared. She had never heard her howl with such sincerity before, let alone seen tears devolve into madness.
She entered the bathroom, heedless of the glass, and grabbed her little sister's shoulders, hoping to steady her, to ground her in reality. "Come on, Rivin...remember your friends...and how much you like it here... you don't want to have to leave again, do you? And Kid! Think of Kid..."
Rivin shoved her away, "Don't touch me!" she managed between gasps and fits of laughter. "I'LL EAT YOU! Don't touch me!"
"Excuse you!" Leila snapped. She put on a brave face, but Rivin had never threatened to eat her before. Yes, Rivin had hurt her accidentally, but never... "Do you want dinner tonight?"
For a moment, she thought the smaller weapon was going to come to her senses. The laughter stopped abruptly and Rivin sat up. But her mouth split into a grin too wide for her face, and her eyes held a strange shine. Her voice didn't match the maniacal expression. "Go away. You have to go away."
"But..." Leila took a step back. Rivin's warnings scared her. As much as she hated to admit it, there was nothing she could to help, but...could she really leave Rivin here like this?
"GO AWAY!" Rivin slammed the door in her face. Instead of that being the end, she began laughing again. "Let's play! I'll count... and you hide!"
"Rivin..." She reached for the door, but the voice on the other side no longer seemed to belong to her sister. It was high pitched and childish. Counting.
"One.. Two... Three..."
She shook her head slowly. Turned to the door. She only had 94 seconds left. If Rivin even remembered to count that high. Leila darted out the door, leaving it hanging open despite the time. She ran until her legs refused to keep pace with her racing thoughts, and walked as fast as they would allow.
Finally, she stopped and sat on the ground against the black, rustic metal fence that surrounded the graveyard just outside of town. She was panting, crying, shaking. With no idea where to go for help, she had found herself heading in the direction of Hook Cemetery. To Stein. The closest person she had to a Meister.
Now that the silhouette of the stitched gray house loomed in front of her, she felt herself growing hesitant. Was he even the right person to ask? How would he react to being disturbed so late at night? She buried her face in her hands. Useless.
"Leila?" A familiar voice pulled her from her thoughts. She looked up to see Professor Stein standing in front of her, on the other side of the fence.
She stood, wiping her eyes as her soul did a flip at his sudden appearance. "I'm not sure what to do..." she said weakly. "Rivin was in the bathroom, and all of a sudden she just started laughing and going crazy..." Her eyes welled up again. "It doesn't usually happen so fast..."
He nodded. "Let's go." He followed Leila back to Rivin.
The door was still hanging open when they arrived, but Rivin was still in the house. She had filled up the bathtub with steaming water and allowed it to spill out onto the floor. The cheap brown carpet would likely never recover. She had also managed to throw the shards of the broken mirror throughout the house, sticking out of walls and into the couch. They seemed to be haphazard, but the professor's theory was that Rivin could most likely see the entryway from the bathroom, using the shards of mirror to reflect them back to her. She was singing nursery rhymes to herself.
Stein sighed as he tilted his head, trying to see Rivin's reflection. He managed to catch a glimpse of her staring vacantly into the frame of the mirror, attempting to put her hair back in the childish pigtails she had worn for so long. He lit a cigarette. "Leila."
"Yeah?" The whip's voice cracked. She wiped at her face and sniffled. She hated to imagine what Stein thought of her in that moment, helpless and covered in tears and snot. Had she known in advance that her most recent casual interest-casual, nothing more-would be at her house at such a late hour, she would have been better prepared. She at least had more flattering pajamas than the oversized tee shirt and tattered shorts she wore in that moment.
She scolded herself silently. Rivin is in there going crazy and I'm worried about that. I'm a horrible person. No wonder he's not interested.
"Leila, I want you to block this door in some way, if you can." He stepped into the bathroom. It was like he walked through a veil of swirling air. Rivin didn't seem to notice him at all. He turned to face the whip with one hand on the door. "Do not open it. No matter what you hear, or what I say. Do not open this door until morning."
Leila stared at him incredulously, but she nodded slowly.
Stein closed the door with a click. He then faced Rivin. Her head twisted so she could get a good look at the poor soul that had stepped into her madness. She giggled. Stein twisted his screw. This was not going to be pleasant.
Click, click, click... Click, click...
Rivin smiled. Her voice was childlike and sing-song. "Onii-chan! You have to help me. My piggy tails are broken." she reached out to hand him the tattered ribbons.
Stein grabbed that wrist, then the other. He placed his forehead against hers, "Hello, Rivin."
The soul he was in was dark. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust. While he waited, he focused on the sound behind the static. A child was singing nursery rhymes. So many, all at once. Discordant and irritating. Too quiet to hear the words. Too loud to ignore.
When his eyes finally adjusted, he realized that there was a faint light, above and in front of him. It appeared to be a decrepit old tree, with peeling bark and bare branches. It was withered and decaying, with cracks which glowed with an internal, blood red light and occasionally hissed while releasing a noxious yellow haze. It seemed to have stripes of black in front of it, like a pinstripe suit... Or a cage.
Childhood eater
Had a girl but couldn't keep her
Something was moving inside the cage. It was small, and human shaped.
And there he kept her
forever
He twisted his screw. There was nowhere else to go. The hill felt impossibly steep: more like the side of a mountain. The closer he got to the top, the farther away it seemed to be. The unpleasant singing grew louder and quieter again, yet the words were still incomprehensible.
He tried to call out to her, but his words were replaced by crumbling static. It dripped from his tongue, singeing the ground. He giggled. This had not been his best idea for an experiment. Of course, the goal was to bring Rivin down from her madness.
But the side effects and other
Unintended consequences of
Their shared madness
Could get
Tricky
He had a feeling about Rivin and Bacchus, deep seated and dreadful. He refused to give it a name for years, refused to acknowledge it. The nursery rhymes made it hard to ignore. He tried again. Instead of her name, instead of words for the sane that would make too much sense for this world dripping static from the sky, he used her language. "Bos-Taurus, Shadowed the light, kissed the girls and made them cry, When Doctor Stabby came to play, Bos-Taurus ran away."
The world flattened. He staggered. Tripped. He caught himself on the cage. The metal was cold to the touch. His flesh stung. If he didn't let go, he would be frozen there forever. His breath formed crystals in the air.
Rivin sat at the base of the tree. She looked to be about five, with her hair done up in pigtails and wearing a light blue, ruffled dress. Her bare feet were dirty. She sat on the corner of a blanket with an open basket in the center. There were several dolls seated near her, and others positioned farther away.
He recognized Black Star's doll first. Although he couldn't see its face, the spiked blue hair was unmistakable. Black Star was facing her directly, with Tsubaki beside him. From there, it wasn't hard to notice the similarities the other dolls had with certain people in Rivin's life. A doll with long, braided purple yarn for hair sat on her right. Another in a suit with semi-parallel white lines in its black hair was on her left. On either side of them were two dolls with pale felt hair. One seemed to have a trail of smoke coming from it, as well as a rather familiar screw.
Stein turned his absently, looking over the rest of the dolls at the picnic. Rivin was serving Maka several small sweets while the mutated doll of Crona and Ragnarok lounged nearby. Soul was situated behind Maka, present in Rivin's life but not a part of it.
Strange he thought, Ginko was placed so close to her, yet I haven't seen him in years. However, he realized that his doll had been placed next to Leila, while Ginko was beside Kid. He clicked his screw once. Twice. Smiled slightly.
The smile faded, however, when he saw the dolls on the outside of the blanket. There was one, pushed or thrown away, that he couldn't see the details of. Off behind her, several feet away, was a doll with black felt hair and glittering amber beads sewn on for eyes.
Diomedes is much closer to the blanket than I like. Stein's eyes narrowed. While he wasn't necessarily a danger to the public at large, he harbored a personal resentment towards Stein and Spirit... Which would be unfortunate if it were brought to the academy.
But it was the last doll that unnerved him the most. It had no features of its own; only a simple brown suit. And it never seemed to be in the same place when he blinked. It was currently sitting at the base of the tree, behind Rivin. Stein stared at it until his eyes watered.
He blinked.
It was gone.
Rivin finally seemed to notice him. She looked up and smiled. Her front tooth was missing. "Doctor Stabby!" She laughed and picked up his doll, holding it in her lap. "Look what I made! Aren't they so cute?"
"Quite." He looked over the cage. It seemed to be a circular birdcage, with no door. "Perhaps I could replace it at the picnic?"
Rivin giggled and shook her head. "Don't be silly! I'm not supposed to play with boys without supervision."
"I see." He lit a cigarette and took a long drag. He blew the smoke into the darkness and grinned as it turned into static. Somewhere behind her, a fox began to snuffle and gekker. He chuckled. "And what about all of your unsupervised time with Kid?"
The sky dripped down on him; black, oozing sludge that boiled and blistered and screamed. It fell like molasses, slow but thick and sticky. It was disgusting and fascinating.
"We don't talk about that here!"
The foxes began to howl.
He made her life a living hell
And there he kept her
Very well
"Is that so? Well, I'll make you a deal, then. I won't talk about how much time you spend with Kid, and you let me come sit at your picnic."
She shook her head again. "I can't do that."
"Who, exactly, made that rule?" He blew more smoke up into the sky. The solid static formed a lazy umbrella, keeping the molasses from completely covering him.
Rivin fidgeted, turning his counterpart's screw with an unsettling click.
"I'm certain it wasn't Ginko."
She shook her head.
Click
"Diomedes, then?"
Click
"No? Then, perhaps, it was Bacchus?"
The world flashed white.
He took another long drag on his impossibly long lasting cigarette. "Not that I care terribly who imposed that rule. I think it's is rather stupid. Don't you?" Stein could feel her eyes on him, though he himself was searching the darkness for the doll that didn't move when it could be seen.
"What?" Her voice was a squeak. The foxes groaned and whined. They paced the confines of the cage. The five of them went around and around and around.
And there he kept her
Forever
"How old are you, Rivin?"
"I-I don't count."
"Perhaps you should." He found the doll up in the branches of the tree. It seemed harmless enough, at a glance. But the longer he stared at it, the less light permeated the inside of the cage; the heavier the molasses seemed to be; the more agitated the foxes became.
Around and around and around and around and around
Childhood Eater
Stein scowled. "Rivin?"
"I don't know!" she cringed. "I'm sorry. I don't know. I don't care."
"Rivin," he tried a softer voice, but he was suddenly so sure of something he had put off examining for years. It had never been relevant before now. Now it was a piece to the madness that he needed to be sure of. "Do you have a doll?"
He made her life a living hell
And there he kept her
She swallowed. Shook her head. The foxes whined and howled, tails lashing. They began shouldering the cage, looking for a way out. They quickly became more and more frantic, panicked, as the tree began to pulse with the pounding of her heart.
Bacchus, Bacchus
Childhood eater
"It's really not good to lie to adults, you know."
Had a girl but couldn't keep her
He made her life a living hell
She put his doll down next to Leila's. Her voice was barely audible above the static. "But mine is ugly."
And there he kept her
"It doesn't matter." He coaxed gently. "Just let me see."
Forever
Rivin stood. She turned to the tree and opened a door to the inside. From there, she pulled out a doll. Even at a distance, Stein could see that it was in ill repair. She put it behind her back as she slowly trudged towards him, head hung, eyes fixed on her dirty toes. The foxes froze in place, growling and cooing. Their glowing yellow eyes were trained on him.
Stein held out his hand, careful not to pass entirely between the bars. "Just for a moment. And then you can have her back."
"Can you..." she cleared her throat as she produced her doll. "Can you fix her?"
He brought the doll out of the cage. Her hair had been chopped off roughly, and someone had taken black marker to her face and scribbled it out. Its dress was torn, and stuffing hung out of the shoulder of her left arm. The doll was dirty and damp, and smelled slightly of mildew, as though it had been soaked and not allowed to dry properly.
"I'm afraid dolls aren't my expertise." He murmured. He discovered a tag on her back, so worn from handling that it was almost illegible.
Little Luceria, age five
"Didn't you make all the dolls in there?"
She nodded. "Yeah. But I don't like looking at that one."
"I see." He sighed. "Unfortunately, the only way to fix her is to look at her. Decide where to start. And what you need to change."
Rivin shook her head. "I don't think she can be fixed. Even if I did, nothing is going to change. She'll just get gross again, anyway."
His eyes narrowed again. "Why do you say that? Rivin. Is Bacchus still alive?"
"He really hates you." she mumbled, reaching for her doll back. "I don't know why, though. He's so mad all the time." Rivin hugged herself, then looked up with a large, watery smile. "But it's my fault for being bad! I have rules because he loves me, and he gets mad wh-"
Stein reached through the bars and grabbed her hands. His cigarette fell to the ground and burned out. "Rivin, listen very closely to me. Bacchus does not love you."
"But he-"
"Bacchus is not capable of love." He talked over her, over the suddenly screaming foxes. "Bacchus is a Shadow, nothing more than a hollow shell. He is an obsessive monster. And he will tear you apart."
Rivin shook her head. "That can't be right. Or else why did you work with him?"
Regret was not something Stein understood how to feel, however, he assumed it was the appropriate emotion here. "That was a mistake. One I had hoped was rectified years ago. Where is he now?"
"I don't know." she pulled weakly at her hands, trying without trying to get away from the contact. "He left."
"He's not currently in Death City?"
She shook her head.
Stein sighed. His grip loosened, and Rivin's hands fell to her sides.
"Please don't tattle."
"Excuse me?"
"Leila will worry. I don't want Leila to worry."
He thought about that for a moment. Yes, he could see Leila trying to fix something that couldn't be mended, or stalking off after an enemy that, though she had improved dramatically, she simply was not ready to face. Were any of them ready to face Bacchus?
"I won't tell a soul. As long as you make me a promise." Her eyes were so wide and trusting, it was almost comical. "If Bacchus contacts you in any way, you tell me as soon as you can. Can you do that?"
She nodded. "I promise."
"Good. Now, are you ready to come out and rejoin Leila? She's worried about you."
"That's dumb. I'm immortal."
"True, but you're quite frightening when you're mad." He grinned.
"So are you."
"Yes, that's true."
They were still standing in the middle of the bathroom. Stein's forehead was pressed against hers. She swayed on her feet. "Nii-chan? You didn't come back with me." She could hardly keep her eyes open. Baring her soul to him had been so exhausting.
Now he was laughing, eyes glazed with madness. She could almost hear the static of his soul. "Nii... Chan..." She fell limp, praying to anything that could hear her that Leila would be safe.
Of all the things to learn in Rivin's head, the fact that Bacchus was alive was the most maddening. He had thought he and Ginko found out what made him tick. Fire usually cleansed things. Heat and light were often good at banishing the cold and the dark. Where had they gone wrong? Everything was wrong! He needed something to take apart. Maybe he'd even put it back together. Anything to make the static.
Stop.
Stein stumbled to his feet, barely controlling his laughter, "Open the door, Leila," he called sweetly. "Let me out."
Leila leaned against the bathroom door, uncertainly. She hadn't been prepared for the tone his voice held. "You told me...not to..." she stammered weakly.
"It's safe now, Leila, let me out. I can't fight without my weapon..."
His voice, his words, put a knot in her stomach. The doorknob twisted in her fingers as Stein tried to leave, but she clenched her hands around it desperately. "It's not morning yet, Stein...where's Rivin? I don't hear her."
"Rivin is fine," Stein assured her with a soft laugh that seemed to go on for too long. "She wants to see you. I want to see you."
She hated herself for blushing. She knew he didn't mean any of what he said, but he seemed to know exactly how to make it difficult for her to focus. "I don't know if..."
"Can't you trust me, Leila? Your own Meister?" He burst into a fit of giggles. "So warm and shiny...so quiet...how does it work..."
She could tell that it wasn't safe, that Stein, at the very least, was unpredictable and unstable...but she couldn't bring herself to leave them there. Stein was clearly mad, but at least she knew he was alive. She didn't know if she would be able to simply smack him back to his senses like she had on their first day in class...but would she forgive herself if she didn't try?
Even more than Stein's apparent mental state, the fact that she could no longer hear any giggles or shouting or anything from Rivin terrified her. She had to know.
She opened the door slowly, just a crack, just to check...and regretted it immediately. The look in the hazel eye that peeked out at her was pure madness.
She didn't have time to be afraid. He was on her in an instant. They rolled across the floor. He had her braid wrapped twice around his fist so she couldn't transform. All she could do was stare up at him, at her friend, her meister, who had been so calm and helpful only hours before...
Stein straddled her, holding her hands above her head in the same hand that held her hair. The other held a small, sharp scalpel. It twinkled threateningly as he used the blade to gently lift the bottom of her shirt. He dragged the tip of the blade over her skin carefully, as if planning an incision. His normally soft hazel eyes were hungry and primal, scanning every inch of her face, her body, her soul. "I've been wondering what makes you tick...and now I'm going to find out!" His voice was anything but soothing, and his breathing was ragged. He grinned at her, wide and terrifying.
"P-please don't..." Her throat was tight with fear. Her body felt weak, paralyzed by his intense gaze. Even while she was in danger, she couldn't look away from his eyes. Her heart ached with confusion. She had always so badly wanted to be close to him, but not quite like this...
"So quiet now..." Stein whispered. He looked troubled for a moment, twisting his screw unsteadily, before his crazed smile returned. "How does it work?" With an insidious giggle, he brought the shiny scalpel in his hand down toward her stomach.
The pain snapped her out of her trance. "STEIN NO!" Leila screamed as the small blade sank into her flesh.
He froze, his scalpel still in hand. His wild gaze drifted slowly downward. His eyes cleared, all traces of hunger and madness fading away. His unsettling grin became an intensely confused frown, followed by a look of horror. The wound from the small blade wasn't a serious injury in any way, but in his current position, he was only a careless twitch away from disemboweling his weapon.
Carefully, he pulled the scalpel out of the wound and tossed it away from himself and the terrified whip. "Leila, I'm sorry," he whispered, his breathing still heavy and ragged. "I got carried away..." With a groan, he collapsed on top of her, unconscious.
Leila blinked, realizing her eyes were filled with tears again. She wiped them away and crawled out from under the mad scientist. After watching him for several seconds to be sure he was breathing, she put his arm around her shoulders and helped him to their couch.
She stared at him for another moment as he slept. She couldn't help but wonder how he felt when he went insane. She'd had similar conversations with Rivin in the past, but she and Rivin were best friends, like sisters. She couldn't imagine Stein opening up to her in the same way. She found herself wishing he would. Did he have nightmares afterward, like Rivin did?
His shaggy silver hair clung to his forehead with perspiration. She was struck by a sudden silly, tender urge to brush out of his face with her fingers, like she always had with Rivin. As she reached out her hand instinctively, a fresh wave of fear arose in her soul, causing her to retract it immediately.
She didn't understand it. Rivin had frightened her during bouts of madness before, and she had already known that Stein shared a similar affliction. She had dealt with them both on the first day of class to the best of her ability. She had been afraid, of course, for herself as well as Rivin and Stein, but the fear had been replaced by concern once the madness had cleared. Stein had attacked her then too, but even through her fear, she remembered having to force her ridiculous imagination to behave. Even though her most recent encounter with Stein's madness had been terrifying and heart-wrenching, it wouldn't surprise her to find that her unruly mind had prepared her a few new strangely pleasant dreams.
But if it wasn't because of the sleeping mad scientist who had nearly killed her, why then, in the quiet little house, did she still feel afraid?
With a sigh she returned to the bright bathroom. She picked up Rivin's limp body. After a brief inspection for broken glass, Leila carried her to her bed. "I hope you're alright now, at least," she whispered.
After she made sure Rivin was resting comfortably, she returned to the living room. Aside from Stein's unconscious form on her couch, the room showed no evidence of what had taken place.
She shivered as she stared at him. Her chest still felt cold with a worry that she couldn't identify. She knew she wasn't afraid of Rivin. She knew it wasn't Stein that scared her, either, even while she examined and bandaged the wound from the scalpel blade. He seemed to generally have control over his madness, especially considering how badly it seemed to affect him. She felt a flicker of familiar admiration for the professor, but it was quickly drowned out by the anxiety in her soul.
As she watched him sleep, looking oddly peaceful, she started to realize why. She lowered her eyes to the worn carpet, her heart pounding. If she had been able to help Rivin on her own, Stein would likely have been at home, enjoying a peaceful night of his work. If she hadn't opened the bathroom door, Stein would have never attacked her. If she had just tried harder...
She shivered again. So much of the traumatic night had felt like her fault. "Just in case you didn't already think I was useless," she muttered sadly to the sleeping meister. "Now you probably think I can't even follow basic instructions. I'm sure that's not a good trait in a weapon partner."
Does it matter? the hateful voice taunted her, deep in her soul. He would have found out how weak you are eventually...
She walked to the wall and flicked the light switch down. The bright, harsh, judging glare disappeared, and the soft, warm darkness welcomed her. She could barely make out Stein's sleeping silhouette in the gloom. She'd always felt safer in the dark.
Ignoring the empty second couch, she chose a corner of the room and sat on the floor, hugging her knees to her chest and shaking. The absence of light was comforting, but it couldn't always stop the whispers if he had something awful to say.
Everyone makes mistakes, it hissed. He hissed. The simpering sweet voice was unmistakable, even as a whisper. She rested her head against the wall, hoping it would go away, but the volume of the voice only increased.
Stop making a fool of yourself... I told you he couldn't love a useless weapon. But I'll always forgive you, no matter how many times you fail...you can't replace me...you can't love him...you were supposed to love me...
She shook her head aggressively and closed her eyes. She could feel a fresh batch of tears welling within them. He, that rude, jealous little voice, seemed particularly vocal and vindictive lately. She had tried to deny it, but she knew why.
Lately, something about the time she spent with Stein had felt...different. Peaceful. Special. Their resonance had gotten stronger. Even she had gotten stronger, if Stein was to be believed. His compliments made her heart race, even if she knew he was likely just trying to encourage her. She caught herself staring at him more often than usual, admiring him, his intelligence, his strength, with a stupid grin.
"You know what? If he can never love me anyway, that means I might as well feel however I want about him," she argued softly into the silence as her tears started to fall. "I can love whoever I want. He doesn't need to love me."
He didn't reply, but she knew the whispering voice would have more to say to her eventually.
She opened her eyes and glanced up at the window. The black sky had started to fade to a pleasant shade of blue as the sun prepared to awaken. "Time for breakfast, I guess," she muttered to herself as she stood. The scalpel wound throbbed slightly, reminding her of her failures. She wondered how long it would be before Stein requested to work with a different weapon. The idea of it hurt worse than any incision. "I hope I can make enough for everyone this time..."
Everyone makes mistakes.
Chapter 12: He could never love you: Who is the Funny Man?
Chapter Text
Rivin felt groggy and sick. The digital time read 7:30. She blinked. Someone was at the door and it was almost ten... She tried to call out, but her voice was broken. Her body didn't seem to belong to her. She didn't quite remember what she had been dreaming about, only that it had been scary, and then Stein had been there. It was still scary, though his presence made it more manageable.
The knocking became more insistent. "Rivin? Leila? Are you in there?"
"Kid?" she croaked.
"Come in!" Leila called. Ever since the sun had started to come up, she'd been cleaning up shards of glass and then in the kitchen, preparing an elaborate breakfast. There was french toast, bacon, eggs, donuts, and fresh orange juice. "Good morning Kid! You hungry?"
"Why aren't you and Rivin in class? Not that it matters terribly, Professor Stein didn't show up eith..." He caught sight of the sleeping professor on the couch. His eyes narrowed. "Actually, I will have some breakfast. Then perhaps you can explain what's going on?"
Leila scratched the back of her head awkwardly. "Yeah...it's kind of a funny story...that isn't really funny at all...I don't think I'll be able to tell it properly without Rivin and Stein's help, so until they wake up..." she handed him a glass. "Juice?"
Rivin forced herself to sit up. Her head throbbed. She grumbled something unintelligible with her eyes still tightly shut. She was still trying to remember her dream, but the last thing she could really visualize was a bathroom. White and grey tiles and light blue accents. A standing shower with bright lights.
"Rivin?" Leila said softly, peeking through the door.
She opened one eye, "neh?"
"Would you like some breakfast? I made french toast and bacon and donuts."
"Donut..." Rivin repeated dully, "I possihaps heard Kid? I dunno... brain hurts..." she plopped down on the floor, "Gonget dressed... be out in minutes..."
Leila giggled at her. "Yes, Kid is here. I'll make you a plate for when you come out." She walked back to the kitchen. On the way, she glanced over at Stein, who was still unconscious on the couch. She wondered if she should get some food ready for him as well, or if she should wait for him to wake.
Does it matter? He'll never be your meister. He can never love you.
She closed her eyes with a sigh. Briefly touching the bandage on her stomach with a hand that still trembled slightly, she decided to concern herself with plates of food for Kid and Rivin first.
Rivin pulled on comfortable pajama pants and a black mesh jacket over a white bikini top with a black flower on the left breast. She stumbled out into the living room and absentmindedly curled up in the corner of the couch Kid occupied.
He smiled happily. "Good morning, Rivin. How are you?" He took a foot into his lap and rubbed gently. It seemed to help before, so it stood to reason it could be welcome now.
"Better-ish," she mumbled, unaware that she was even talking, "I didn't eat anyone and I think I'm an adult again, so that's a thing I need to count, I guess."
".... What?"
Leila grimaced. It looked like Rivin wasn't going to be able to help her explain after all. "She went mad." She brought out two plates of breakfast, and a glass of juice for Rivin. "Stein helped her out of it...but he kind of went mad too..." She rubbed her stomach again subconsciously, feeling a fresh surge of guilt. "They're ok now though...I think."
"Mostly," Rivin agreed, "I think I hurt Daddy though. He'll probably want to yell at me."
"I hope not," Stein muttered, putting his hand over his eyes, "I'm not sure I'll be able to face a God anytime soon."
"Stein..." Leila muttered softly. She wanted to bring him a plate, to sit down with him and make sure he was feeling better, just like she always did with Rivin. He had saved Rivin, and by that action, probably many others. She wanted to thank him. He deserved more appreciation than she could offer.
He deserves a decent weapon, for a start. Her chest ached at the thought.
Kid scowled. "Rivin, did Diomedes attempt to visit you again?"
"Kidnap is a better word." She yawned. "But I bit him, I think. It's hard to remember."
Leila walked slowly to the couch Stein occupied and knelt down next to him. Her voice was soft and low when she asked, "Want some breakfast?"
He groaned. "Not yet." He looked over at her through a space between his fingers. "But thank you."
She smiled slightly at him.. "I could make some coffee?" He didn't seem too disappointed in her, so far.
He will be.
He nodded, still partially covering his eyes. Leila stood up straight, rubbing her stomach.
"Are you ok?" he asked her quietly. "I'm sorry if I scared you."
She hesitated. "It...was my fault. I shouldn't have opened the door." Before he could say another word, she quickly returned to the kitchen.
Stein frowned as he turned his head to watch her walk away, studying her soul. He had expected to see fear, anger, or at least suspicion directed towards him, but he saw none. Instead he saw compassion...and guilt. It was as though she were blaming herself for the previous night's events. He didn't yet have enough experience with the emotion to be able to fathom why.
The remorse he was feeling from nearly dissecting her for no reason other than his own lapse of sanity made sense to him. In his current state, he had no desire to see her hurt in any way, and it worried him slightly how aggressively his madness had presented itself around her. Leila's guilt, however, seemed to have no valid source that he could discern. He found himself satisfied, at least, that she wasn't afraid of him.
Kid resumed rubbing Rivin's feet. He really wasn't entirely certain what had happened last night, but he had a fairly good idea. Rivin hummed quietly, and Kid felt her soul starting to relax. He thought he could even feel some warmth from her.
There was another knock at the door.
"I'm glad I made too much breakfast," Leila muttered, barely audible from the kitchen. "Come in!"
It was surprising to see Black Star before hearing him. He looked... Serious. Even thoughtful. There were black circles under his eyes. He walked up to the couch and stared down at Kid and Rivin, "I can't believe you!" he yelled, knocking Rivin in the head, "I didn't sleep at all thanks to you!"
She gekkered angrily. "It's too early in the morning for you!"
"It's never too early for the biggest star to make an appearance!" He widened his stance with his hands on his shoulders. "Really, Rivin, you should be thanking me for being here, since I've decided that you're going to be my sister now."
Rivin, Kid, and Stein snorted and laughed. Rivin shook her head. "That's not something you get to just decide, baka."
"Well, too bad. I just did." He flashed them a bright grin.
Leila snickered from the kitchen. "Well, that makes you my little brother, then. Do you want breakfast, little brother?"
"HAHAHA! I'M TOO AWESOME TO BE A LITTLE BROTHER!" He guffawed with his head back. "Rivin! Do you know what big brothers do? They protect their little sisters from... What did you call him? Right!" His eyes darkened as he met Rivin's confused and suspicious gaze. "The funny man won't ever touch you again."
"Just answer Leila's question," she snapped. Her nails dug into her hand with enough strength to break the skin. Her soul tensed. How did Black Star know about Bacchus? How? How much trouble am I going to be in?
"Yes. I do want breakfast! AND I WANT YOU TO RELY ON ME LIKE THE MOST AWESOME BIG BROTHER YOU COULD EVER IMAGINE!"
"Okay, Black Star, that's enough..." Stein rubbed his forehead with a pained look on his face. The yelling was completely uncalled for, and Black Star had information there was no way he could have possibly found out on his own. Unless he was somehow connected to her madness...?
"Here," Leila grumbled, thrusting a plate of food into Black Star's hands. "Eat. Stop yelling." She set Stein's cup of coffee gently on the table in front of him, and returned to the kitchen.
"FOOD!" Black Star shoveled too many doughnuts into his mouth.
"Excuse me," Kid spoke up, scowling lightly at the assassin. "I would like an explanation, if you don't mind. Who exactly is this funny man?"
Black Star shrugged "amf nuft fufofsed fa folk wiff muff fuff."
Rivin covered her face with both hands, "That's gross."
"Indeed..." Kid sighed. It seemed no one was inclined to answer his question. "Perhaps as gross as being suspected of being one of three 'funny men' in someone's past?"
Stein quirked an eyebrow. "Not as gross as being identified as 'Dr. Stabby', I'm sure."
"So, who are the other-"
"Nope." Rivin covered his mouth with her hand, "There's no funny man. Shhhh!" She held one finger in front of her mouth with an obnoxiously bright smile.
Kid sighed, prying her hand away from his face. For now he would allow the question to go unanswered. He would, of course, be setting aside time to question Stein further. However, Ragnarok had implied that asking about a particular funny man could bring Rivin harm. He wasn't inclined to push that line of questioning with her around.
"Oh goodness," Leila muttered softly from the kitchen. She had made herself a tiny plate of food and gotten herself a cup of coffee, but she stayed in the kitchen rather than joining the others.
"Leila, come sit down," Stein suggested, eyeing her with a small smile. "We can't hear you."
"I have to make breakfast," she mumbled back.
"Breakfast seems to be done."
"I have to serve breakfast," she insisted. "Especially if the whole class shows up wondering where you are."
Rivin sighed, "I wanna go back to bed."
"I don't think so!" Black Star put his hands on his hips.
"But, I-"
"Your damn foxes screamed all night long, and I didn't get any sleep!"
"THEY'RE IN MY HEAD!" Rivin yelled back. The only thing keeping her from attacking Black Star was Kid's arm around her shoulder. "AND I WILL GO TO SLEEP AND TALK TO THEM IF I WANNA AND YOU CAN'T TELL ME OTHERWISE!"
"WELL ONE OF YOUR CREEPY PETS BIT ME AND NOW I SEE THEM TOO!"
"DAMNIT, BLACK STAR!" She threw an empty plate at his head. She missed, and it shattered against the door.
Stein sighed and twisted his screw. That seemed to be the answer to one of his questions. "This happened while the two of you were resonating in class, correct?"
"It was his fault," Rivin pouted. I'm so tired of this. Things were so much simpler when it was just me and Leila...
"My fault? You're the one who-"
"YOU TRIED TO PET IT!"
"IT WAS CUTE!"
"IT WAS THE LITERAL MANIFESTATION OF MY MADNESS!"
"IT SHOULDN'T BE SO CUTE THEN!"
"WHY ARE YOU SO ANNOYING?"
Both Kid and Stein winced at the shouting. Leila retrieved Stein's mug and filled it with fresh coffee. The conversation between the younger three continued despite the calmer tone of the older adults.
"You should sit down, Leila," he said softly. "I can tell you didn't sleep well. "
Leila hesitated. His voice had regained its smooth and comforting tone, no trace of the disdain she found herself expecting. His soft hazel eyes held the same concern for her that they always had. No madness. No disappointment. She found herself staring into them for longer than she meant to.
He feels sorry for you, the whispers spat. You can't resonate, but he can resonate with anyone so he's stuck with you.
Finally, she retrieved her breakfast and coffee from the kitchen and sat down beside him, hoping it would at least help her ignore his voice.
Stein smiled at her and lit a cigarette as she relented. He could tell that something was still bothering her immensely, but the fact that she was no longer hiding was a clear sign of progress.
He also noticed that the residual static from the previous night had begun to fade slightly, from the moment she sat down beside him. He gave his screw a subtle twist. He hoped there was a way to study Leila's effect on him properly without cutting her open.
"UHG!" Rivin dropped her forehead on Kid's shoulder. "Make him stop."
"COME ON, RIVIN!" The assassin practically shrieked. "LET'S GO TRAIN TO BEAT THE SHIT OUT OF THE FUNNY MAN!"
Rivin's soul stuttered. Her heart rate increased. She seemed to forget how to breathe. Kid stroked her hair and stared Black Star down. "I don't think it's your business, Black Star."
"I'm the one who can resonate with her," Black Star reminded him, putting his hands behind his head, "So, Rivin, when are we gonna talk about that creepy doll-"
She shuddered. "Can you just sto-"
"Black star?" Tsubaki called softly into the apartment, poking her head in shyly, "Black Star, are you in there?"
Rivin sighed with relief, "Tsubaki! Come in. Please."
"Are you feeling okay, Rivin?" Tsubaki looked worried for an instant before she punched her Meister in the stomach, then smiled again. Black Star doubled over with an "Ooof!" and fell to the floor.
"Yeah," Rivin couldn't help but smile back at her fellow weapon, "Thanks, Tsubaki. You just saved Black Star's face and my sanity. Am sleeping now." She relaxed against Kid's chest, head nestled between his neck and shoulder, and promptly fell asleep.
Kid sighed and pet her hair. He didn't like how much information Black Star seemed to have on the men from Rivin's past, either. Perhaps he should schedule time for both the loud mouthed assassin and Stein. The question then became; did he talk to both of them at the same time, or did he try to talk to them separately?
"Tsubaki..." Black Star groaned, "Why did you do that?"
"Hi, Tsubaki..." Leila sighed, massaging her temples. "Would you like some breakfast?"
"No, thank you Leila." She smiled gently, "Black Star and I ate before we left our house... Besides, it looks like you just need to relax a little. Are you feeling alright?"
"Yeah, I'm fine."
Useless...weak...he'll never love you...
Leila forced a small smile and sipped her coffee.
Stein sighed. Leila was definitely not alright, but he still couldn't determine a logical cause. It was likely that something within her soul had been causing her to react so strangely to certain situations and phrases throughout their partnership. Rivin's bold and exaggerated declaration of their love had been understandably alarming, but Leila's drastic shifts in mood seemed to be triggered by several simple, innocent phrases as well. He decided to test one of them.
"My weapon has decided that food for others takes precedence over her own rest." He chuckled. "Admirable, but not advisable."
Stein's theory was proven correct immediately. Leila's soul glowed fiercely for a few moments before becoming suddenly weak and pale. Even referring to their partnership seemed to have a profound effect on the whip. He wondered once again what type of Meisters she could have had in the past to breed such uncertainty in her soul.
"Sorry," Leila muttered. "I couldn't sleep."
Tsubaki knew there was more to what Leila was saying, but she didn't want to be pushy. Instead she turned to Kid, "You look comfortable."
"But I'm not..." Black Star grumbled from his spot on the floor.
Kid smiled and petted Rivin, blushing slightly.
Chapter 13: THE BLOOD OF YOUR ENEMIES ; Why Red?
Chapter Text
Friday's class held no interest for inquisitive, energetic minds, and had been largely walked out on. He didn't expect Leila to be willing to resonate with him so soon after being exposed to his madness, and resonating with Rivin was out of the question. He wasn't overly fond of the idea of having Black Star do demonstrations after his exposure to Rivin's madness, and none of the other students were willing to assist. With no battle demonstrations or dissections prepared, Stein had resorted to bookwork. Older students, having completed the course, filed out. One particular student, with no interest for reading, had stolen another weapon to play with.
Rivin hung upside down from the monkey bars, suspended by her knees. Her newly shortened hair refused to stay out of her face, but that was okay. She had her eyes closed, taking in the emotions around her. Standing blatantly out against everything else was Patti. The hyperactive weapon was spinning wildly on the round-a-bout, squealing with delight. Her vibrant pink soul shone with glee, echoing her laughter.
The less manic Weapon smiled. She moved her focus outwards, feeling the sunlight against the other living things in the park. A squirrel chittered in the shade, seeking respite from the rippling heat. A cat lounged at the edges of a patch of sun, warming her round belly and the six tiny cat souls inside her. Through them, Rivin could feel the rough bark of the tree beneath her paws, the toasty concrete on her back and the warming rays of the dozing sun. It touched her soul, drawing a low hum of satisfaction from her.
Patti grabbed her cheeks in both hands. They were almost nose to nose. Rivin blinked, "Jeez, give a person some warning!"
"What's your favorite color?" Patti asked. Her tone was urgent, as if it was the most important question in the world. "Mine is yellow, like giraffes!"
Rivin's grin faded. Like counting birthdays, apparently colors were important. "Is it a bad thing if I don't have one?"
"THAT'S AWFUL!" Patti ripped her off the bars. Rivin landed on her back, all the air slammed out of her lungs. The pistol jumped, turning ninety degrees, and landed on Rivin's hips. Now that Rivin was straddled and sufficiently pinned, Patti grabbed her shoulders and shook her a little. "HOW DO YOU KNOW WHAT CLOTHES TO WEAR OR WHAT ANIMALS YOU LIKE OR WHAT COLOR MAKES YOU HAPPY?"
"Oh," Rivin shrugged, "I never thought about it. Colors are just an aspect of souls, and they don't really tell you how strong one is..."
"NO NOT FOR EATING!" Patti wailed, flopping limp over her friend, "Just to see it and go 'yup, that one is my favorite!' and it makes you happy just to look at it!"
Rivin stayed still. She hadn't ever given it a thought. What color made her happy just by seeing it? She really liked the color of Leila's soul. It meant there would be food! But Patti said it wasn't for eating, so her favorite color couldn't be purple. It was against the rules. So what else made her happy?
She pet the sniffling Patti absently. Her hair was thick and somewhat coarse, as if she used way too much shampoo and little to no conditioner. Giraffes made Patti happy (and angry, depending on how she used the word). Besides food, what made Rivin happy?
Across the playground, the cat was purring. Warm, she decided. I like to be warm... So, what makes me warm?
Resonating with Black Star was warm, but she couldn't pick teal. Black Star was Tsubaki's favorite soul, it would be weird if Rivin picked him. And even though she liked Stein, he was Leila's favorite. Maybe she could pick pink? Patti was her best friend, after all.
But that wasn't quite right, either. Liz's soul was also wrong, and so was Maka's. Soul didn't even like her, so that was out of the question, and she would feel bad for eating Tsubaki... She snorted at herself.
"What?" Patti gasped, "did you pick? What is it? I GOTTA KNOW!"
Rivin shook her head, "No, I got distracted by thinking about eating things."
"NO DON'T EAT PEOPLE!" Patti's scream drew the attention of the people at the other end of the park. "THIS IS FAVORITE COLOR THINGS NOT FAVORITE FLAVOR THINGS!"
Rivin giggled. "You're scaring people." Should they be scared i'm scary so scary i scare myself! But the foxes are sleeping so maybe i'm not that scary right now...
"GOOD I'M SCARY RAWR!"
"It's just Death the Kid's weapon," they heard one person reassure the other, "nothing to worry about."
"I wish they weren't so loud," complained his partner.
"So scary!" Rivin agreed, "Patti the dinosaur!"
"So, what is it?"
"What?"
"YOUR FAVORITE COLOR!"
"I don't know. I'm still thinking about it."
Patti pouted. "You'll tell me when you know?"
"Of course." Rivin smiled as Patti clambered off her, taking a running start at the round-a-bout. She nearly flew off as the thing began turning at warp speed.
My favorite color... Not my favorite flavor... Something that makes me happy, and warm, and it's not Black Star or Nii-chan or Leila... Or Crona or Ragnarok. She whimpered, flipping from her back to her stomach. The funny man wasn't warm, and Ginko didn't have a soul - which is why he was broken, so he couldn't be her favorite.
What else was warm?
She looked at her hands. Her fingers curled in, leaving just enough room for another hand... A hand she had held a few times... Rivin smiled. "Red." she whispered slowly, "My favorite color is red."
"LIKE THE BLOOD OF YOUR ENEMIES!" Patti crowed, standing triumphantly on top of the monkey bars. "KILL THEM ALL!"
"I hope you're playing make believe." A smooth voice cut in. Kid glanced at Patti, then offered his hand to Rivin. He gave her a quick hug as she regained her feet. "You are just pretending?"
She grinned mischievously. "Maaayyyyybe~" she swung his hand and arm.
He frowned, holding her hand tighter. "Rivin, I know Patti is playing..." His soul faltered. He wanted to believe that Rivin wouldn't lose control, but he was scared for her if she did. "Although I can't say I approve of her playing in such a way."
"Don't be such a party pooper," Rivin giggled. "Patti asked what my favorite color is, that's all. I promise." She felt the word have an impact on his soul. It warmed considerably. She didn't make promises lightly, because she always kept them, and Kid knew it.
"I trust you." he squeezed her hand. "Did you have a good day?"
Rivin looked up. She had hardly noticed the darkening sky. She and Patti had been there for hours! "Yup~"
"I KNOW RIVIN'S FAVORITE COLOR!" Patti cackled manically, jumping down beside them. "It's red! But I don't know why." she peered suspiciously at Rivin. "If it's not blood, is it apples? Orrr...."
"Red?" Kid asked, somewhat taken aback. He stared down at the small woman beside him. "I would have thought yellow, like Patti. It seems to suit you."
Rivin shrugged, grinning slyly.
"I think I agree with Patti. I need to know why it's red."
"I'll never tell!" She broke free of them, racing down the pathway.
"TAG YOU'RE IT!" Patti roared, nearly knocking Kid off his feet before setting off after Rivin. "RUN, RIVIN, KID'S IT!"
Kid sighed, unable to stop himself from smiling. He walked behind them, stopping only when he came across Patti sitting on top of Rivin at the base of a tree, in a small pile of red, gold and orange leaves.
"Is it because of fall?" Patti asked, trying to tickle the answer out of the other Weapon.
Rivin shook her head. "Nope! And I'm not sure what you're doing."
"I'M TICKLING YOU!"
"I'LL TICKLE YOU BACK!"
Patti let out a nearly inhuman cry as Rivin reversed their positions and began effectively tickling her. Soon the pistol's eyes were filled with tears as she tried to beg for an end of the torment.
Kid smirked and shook his head. When he finally reached them, he drew Rivin up beside him. "Why red?" he pressed. It didn't fit his idea of this person, and he needed to know why.
She grinned, cuddling against his chest. "You're so warm." her voice was almost a purr.
"That isn't exactly an answer to my question." He rested his chin on the top of her head.
"Yes, it is."
Earlier in the day, across town...
Kid sat on the broken down couch pushed to the side of the small apartment which Black Star shared with Tsubaki. The Meister had agreed to meet with him, but only if he could train while they talked. Black Star himself was doing one handed push ups while Tsubaki sat on his back, engrossed in a thick, hardback about ancient Japan.
The young shinigami cleared his throat. "I'll cut right to the chase, then. Black Star, what, and why do you know about 'the funny man'?"
"Like I said! We resonated and her freaky fox pet bit me!" Black Star didn't look up from the floor as he scoffed. "It's like you weren't even listening, Kid! When your girlfriend and her number one big brother are talking it's gotta be important, you should pay attention!"
He scowled slightly. "I don't think Rivin agreed to those new relationship titles."
"I bet you didn't even ask her!" He grinned as he paused his workout to switch arms. "She'll be your girlfriend if you stop being such a wimp about it!"
"That's not..." Kid's cheeks turned pink. He cleared his throat. "Let's stay on topic, shall we? You know about him because of your strange experience resonating with Rivin. But who is the funny man?"
"How should I know?! You saw her, she didn't wanna tell me!" Black Star grumbled. He steadily continued his one-handed pushups, not bothering to try to keep count. When one arm was sore, he would switch.
He wasn't lying; he didn't know much about the funny man, and Rivin seemed scared to tell anyone about him. Rivin, the undefeatable weapon who laughed when he punched her, was scared.
He remembered the dolls he had seen in Rivin's soul. The sneaky, blank doll that defied physics. The broken, battered Rivin doll.
He shuddered. He couldn't blame her for being scared of something like that, but that fact only pissed him off further. He couldn't let the funny man hurt her like that again, especially now that he had decided to be her big brother.
Tsubaki turned a page in her book. The sound was magnified by the frustrated silence.
"Fine. If you don't have a name, what else can you tell me about him?" Kid was having trouble masking his frustration. Ragnarok was, at the very least, cautious of the funny man, and Rivin... He didn't like anything about the situation, least of all the not knowing. "How does Rivin know him? Why is she afraid of him?"
With a slight grunt of exertion, he switched arms again, but used only the tips of his fingers to support his and Tsubaki's weight. The disturbing images from Rivin's soul, as well as her terrified face at the mention of the funny man, rippled through his mind. Whoever he was, Kid didn't need to know until Rivin didn't have to be afraid to tell him.
"All I know is that he's not very funny at all, and he needs his ass kicked by somebody bigger than him," he muttered angrily, scowling at the carpet.
Kid sighed. "Alright. Thank you for your time, Black Star." He left without further goodbyes, leaving the Weapon and Meister alone in the apartment. He determined to go find Rivin and Patti, and potentially get Liz to help him convince Rivin to get a haircut. Even if she decided to keep the horrible asymmetrical look, she could at least get the rough edges cleaned up.
Tsubaki pulled the plastic coating off her book and tossed it to the couch. It had been annoying to hold it in place while she was trying to read. Being untruthful to Kid wasn't her first choice, but sometimes an assassin had to keep far underground in order to properly stalk their prey. If she found anything useful, they would tell the young Reaper. But until then, there wasn't any need for him to worry more than he already was.
"So far, I've found a few writings about Diomedes. The Witches consider him the victor of something called... The Reaper War." She turned back several pages. "I never really thought about Lord Death having a father, but... His grandfather was the instigator in the war. The Witches were considered Gods, and they couldn't be killed except by other gods... The book was written by a Witch, for other Witches, so it skips over a lot."
She frowned, resting her head on her fist. "Black Star. If he's connected to Diomedes at all, he's probably a god, too. We'll need to work extra hard."
"We will!" He switched to his other set of fingertips and continued his steady pushups. The carpet below was becoming damp with sweat. He grinned. He would protect his sister and defeat a god at the same time. "Come on, Tsubaki. Did you forget who you're talking to?"
Chapter 14: We aren't going nekkid! : Did He Get This For Me?
Chapter Text
Rivin glared at the dress in the full length mirror. The enormous bow in the back faded into the satin pick-ups. The bust had been enlarged to better fit her, and the natural waist sat nicely on her hips. It was perfect, to be sure.... Right up until the three pristine, horizontal white stripes on the left breast. "Not.... symmetrical...." she grumbled, "Tsubaaaakkiiiiiiiiiiiii..... whyyyyyyyyy..... I like it, but KID WON'T DANCE WITH ME IF AM NOT SYMMETRICAL!"
Leila came up behind her and giggled. "But you two will match. He has to appreciate that..."
"No he doesn't! He's Kid, he doesn't HAVE to appreciate anything but symmetry..." Rivin pouted, "And why aren't you getting dressed? Kid and Nii-chan BOTH said you can't go nekkid..."
Leila sighed. "I still don't have a dress, dear. You know that."
"Oh..." Rivin turned to face Leila, "I could change into stealth mode and go ste-uh, get you one." She smiled innocently.
"No!" Leila laughed. "You work there, remember?"
Her shoulders sagged, "Oh yeah. Working a normal person job might be harder than I thought... BUT GUESS WHAT I START THERE OFFICIALLY ON MONDAY!" Rivin grabbed Leila by the hand and spun out to the living room, giggling like a mad person. Even in her three inch heels, Rivin was still several inches shorter than Leila. Whether it was a testament to Rivin's height or Leila's was unclear.
"Oh goodness!" Leila exclaimed, giggling along with her. "I'm very happy for you dear, but I'm also dizzy."
Their dance was interrupted by a knock on the door. "Come in," Leila called, but no one answered. "Huh, I'll get it then."
Stein wasn't sure how to approach the situation of giving Tsubaki's gift to his weapon. He almost wished she had simply delivered it herself, as she had with Rivin.
He lit a cigarette and twisted his screw a few times. Tsubaki and Maka were often fond of playing 'matchmaker' in their free time. Between Maka's impressive soul perception and Tsubaki's knack for empathy, they established connections between other students often before the students themselves even knew what they were feeling. He and Leila were so often the focal point of the class, he should have guessed that some of his interactions with her would have been noticed by the observant older students. Tsubaki was undoubtedly thinking that the gift would influence his partnership with the whip in some interesting way.
With a fascinated chuckle, he caught himself hoping for a similar outcome. Unfortunately, it was unlikely that the simple gesture would be enough to ease the conflict in his weapon's soul. Her mood had improved substantially since the strange morning after he and Rivin had gone mad; she had even resumed her amusing habit of flirting on occasion...but no matter what, there was always a dark tint of guilt to her soul.
In any case, he appreciated Tsubaki's generosity. The thought of Rivin and Leila excluding themselves from a social function due only to limited clothing choices was as sad as it was absurd.
He wondered again how to execute the delivery. Handing it to her directly would require some sort of statement that was appropriate to the circumstances, and he couldn't quite think of what that might be. He also didn't want to risk making Leila uncomfortable again.
He settled on leaving it outside her door. As long as he could make it to the corner before she or Rivin answered, they wouldn't see him. He approached the door, set the box down, knocked, and promptly left.
As he walked, he couldn't help but imagine how her soul would glow when she found it, how she would feel about being able to attend the formal event, how the dress might look...
He puffed his cigarette, twisting his screw slowly with a slight smile.
"It's a box," Leila said, looking confused. She had expected to see someone at the door, but there was no one there. She'd started to walk out the door to look down the sidewalk, but nearly tripped on the flat, white box in her way. Something about the box made her soul glow...while somehow also being slightly unsettling. As her brain finally registered what it was, her stomach lurched. "It's...a stitch-y box." It was now slightly crushed from her foot. "I hope it wasn't glass in there..."
"Only one way to find out," Rivin giggled, "OPEN IT~!"
"Makes sense," Leila shrugged. She picked up the box and brought it inside. When she removed the lid, her eyes widened. It was the dress from the store that she had loved so much.
"YAY!" Rivin twirled. She had removed her cumbersome shoes, making the dress too long, and nearly tripped, "Tsubaki bought you one, tew~!"
Leila smiled. "I guess she did." But she had not wrapped it, or left it at their door. "So apparently I have to get ready too now..." she stared at the gift. She was glad to be able to go to the party with Rivin, but slightly uncomfortable with the idea of anyone giving her something so expensive. On top of that, even if Tsubaki had purchased it, it was clearly Stein who had wrapped and given it to her. But why? She blushed and smiled, shaking her head to clear her guilt. "Well, let's see if this still looks as good as it did at the store."
Rivin giggled happily, "Can I do your hair, Leila? please? You haven't let me play with your hair since I nearly ripped your throat out.... Can I plleeeaaase?"
"What a comforting memory," Leila smirked. "Yeah, I guess you can, but if my throat gets ripped out this time, you'll be in trouble. You'll never get dinner again. Tsubaki won't make it for you either...because she paid a lot of money for these dresses, so she won't be too happy if you get my blood all over them."
"Oh, Leeiiila," Rivin sighed dramatically and rolled her eyes, "You're so pessimistic~ Okay, okay go put your dress on!"
The dress looked better than it had in the store - Tsubaki had apparently asked Tweed to tailor it to the whip's body. Being a witch whose ability was simply to know the exact size of... well, anything, happened to be a big plus to his business. It also helped that he liked making dresses more than chaos.
Rivin managed to leave Leila's throat where it belonged, and did up her hair in several criss-crossing braids close to her scalp leading to the base of her neck. From there she fish tailed it and closed with a sparkling black tie.
As for her own hair, now properly cut (though still longer on the right than the left), Rivin brushed it smooth and found one of her mother's old hair pieces. She remembered her mother had once been a showgirl. Bacchus gave her one of the hairpieces her mother had worn. It was a black headband sporting white dahlia with black detailing, and black feathers with white streaks. She smiled at it a bit sadly before putting the band in her hair.
"Oh that looks so cute!" Leila nodded approvingly at Rivin's addition to her outfit. "Where did you get it?"
Rivin scrunched up her face. "It was my mom's. A long time ago."
Leila smiled. "That's awesome." She vaguely wished that she had some sort of keepsake from her childhood, something to hold a better memory than the ones that typically plagued her. Even Rivin, who dodged most questions about her past, had valuable gifts from happier times. All Leila had was him.
"Yeah." She couldn't quite return Leila's happy expression. "It's okay. It's pretty, I guess. But more importantly!" her expression brightened considerably, "It matches my dress!"
"It does!" Leila laughed, feeling warm. As long as she and Rivin could continue to make ridiculous memories, she didn't need anything from her past. Maybe not even him. She twirled in her dress once in front of the mirror, examining her reflection proudly. "Are we ready?"
Rivin nodded. "Yeah, I think so. I'm really glad my dress covers my feet. Now no one will know that I'm not wearing shoes~!"
"I don't have any nice shoes..." Leila paused at the door, looking down at her usual combat boots. They were black, and the laces were the same shade of purple as the supple leather that laced up the back of her dress. "Close enough," she mumbled, and started to put them on.
Rivin smiled in her general direction, "I think they're pretty and still look like new~!" There was a strange overtone in Rivin's voice, similar to when she went completely mad. Fortunately it was quite obvious that Rivin was merely happy.
The boots, however, appeared to have gone quite mad. The material glowed faintly and began to swirl strange shades of purple and grey before settling again. Just as Rivin stated, the boots suddenly looked as if they had just come off the shelf. Even the laces were in mint condition.
Rivin, in her infinite wisdom and fearsome powers of observation, failed to notice.
Leila, however, stared at her boots, her mouth hanging slightly open. "Well, yeah, they do now," she said finally. "What did you do?"
"What do you mean?" Rivin tilted her head as she opened the door. "I don't think I did anything wrong yet today... Did I?"
Leila shook her head, still astonished. "Absolutely not." She smiled at her. "Let's go."
"YAY!"
Chapter 15: Let's dance : Argus Cyprus, the god of Hades?
Chapter Text
She threw the door to the ballroom open and charged right into the crowd. Her soul felt light for the first time that she could remember. She had chattered to Leila the whole way to the academy about how she felt like a princess in her big puffy dress, and how they should go to the sand castle afterwards, and about the children's movies about the magical princesses, and everything she could think of.
"CRONA!" Rivin yelled, "CRONA ARE YOU HERE YET!? I WANNA SHOW RAGGY MY PRINCESS DRESS!"
The music wasn't loud, but it did permeate the entire room. A slow waltz was currently being played, and more than half of the guests were engaged in moonstruck stares. The center of the floor was cleared for the dance, there were several long tables of food and drink, and a few small round tables for people to sit and chat. The light was low and intimate on the outside, and gradually brightened as it went towards the center. Of course, the band on the stage had their own spotlights.
A pink head bobbed towards them from the dimly lit table nearby. He smiled nervously, "H-hi, Rivin... Hi, L-lei-la..." Crona didn't seem to be as comfortable in the crowd as was Rivin, "Maka isn't here, yet..." He plucked at his lacey tuxedo, nearly pulling off a button in the process.
"Don't worry," Rivin grinned and clasped his shoulder, "we'll keep ya company until she gets here."
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU'LL KEEP HIM COMPANY HE HAS ME!"
"OW stop ow ragno-OW stop hitting me!"
Leila giggled at Ragnarok. "Well, we weren't planning to give him a concussion, so there's that."
Rivin grabbed his cheeks and stretched him away from Crona. "Raggy! I'm a real princess tonight!"
"NICE! NOW GO KISS KID AND TURN HIM INTO A FROG. OR A DOGGY!"
"RAGGY YOU'RE GROSS!" Rivin giggled. "And I'm a fox." She patted his head and laughed when he snapped back to Crona. "Why aren't you two dressed up?"
Crona laughed nervously. "I just... Didn't know how to deal with it."
"I see." She nodded with her arms crossed.
"LEILA! You look marvelous! Would you like to dance?" Ox charged at her from nowhere. His bald head seemed extra shiny tonight, and his horns were sharper than normal.
"Uh?" Startled, she sidestepped him, causing him to run into a wall. "No thank you." She snickered mischievously.
"HAHAHAHAHAAA OX FAILED!" giggled Rivin and Ragnarok simultaneously, then stared at each other for several seconds before Crona started to laugh.
"Sounds like the fun has started," said an amused voice behind them, accompanied by a soft clicking noise. "But why is Ox on the floor?"
Leila blushed. "H-hey Stein," she greeted him shyly. "He uh...he tried to dance with me and...he missed."
Stein grinned. "That makes sense. I doubt he's learned his lesson though." He glanced at her. Her long, purple-black hair was styled more intricately than usual. The long black dress was a perfect fit, hugging her tall, slender form. A high slit up the side occasionally revealed the strong, lithe legs she normally concealed beneath loose cargo pants. "Not that I can blame him." His voice grew softer. "You look quite nice, Leila."
She glared down at her feet, cursing her sudden inability to act casual. She felt like she might fall over. "Th--thank you..."
Stein laughed. Her face was barely visible, but her soul betrayed her happiness at the compliment. Still an undertone of guilt.
"Ehee~!" Rivin giggled, "Leila, you're happy!" She felt her soul swelling. It's so warm... Warm and nice. I feel like... I'm home.
Ox began to glow faintly orange and grey. He climbed to his feet with a confused expression and removed his glasses. The freshly broken glass began to knit back together, and the dirt and scuffs on his shoes faded.
Crona stared at Ox, back to Rivin and finally at Leila. He pointed with a slightly shaky hand at Rivin with a questioning look. He focused his eyes on a different spectrum. Rivin's soul, deep orange with bloody cracks of lava and sparks of sunlight, vibrated with magic power. She is half Witch, he reminded himself, I guess she can do that...
Kid approached the group from the side, watching Ox curiously. He noticed Crona pointing at Rivin with wide eyes, and nodded to him. They were in agreement that Rivin had somehow affected Ox in a positive way. Rivin, however, seemed to have no idea what she was doing. Kid wondered again exactly what her powers as a Witch were. She had stated that she couldn't fix Maka's soul even though her 'Witch ability is that...'
What is that? A time based ability? Or something connected to her insane regenerative abilities?
Rivin was finally able to stop giggling when she caught sight of Kid. She darted over to him cheerfully. "Hey there you are!" She poked his cheek, grinning breathlessly. "Kiiiid look at Leila and Nii-chan I toooold youuu!" She lowered her voice to a whisper, so Leila wouldn't get embarrassed again.
Kid smiled back at Rivin. He was about to tell her that she looked beautiful, but then he caught sight of the stripes on her dress. She was wearing something that matched his hair again. He blushed and looked away. "You look nice..." he managed finally. He meant it. He did...
"I look like a princess!" she squealed with delight, spun around, and curtsied.
He laughed fondly, his thoughts of symmetry pushed temporarily to the back of his mind. "I agree. I may decide to trouble you for a dance later, if you'll have me, your highness." He felt his face turn even more red as he teased her.
She giggled and poked his cheeks again. "Only 'cause you're so cute~"
"Oh, goodness, Rivin!" Maka exclaimed as she strode up beside them. She held Soul's hand loosely in hers. "You know, I think that if you're a princess, doesn't that make Kid a prince?"
Rivin gasped, yellow eyes wide and bright. "You're right! AND YOU'RE HOLDING SOUL'S HAND HAVE YOU KISSED YET?"
Soul dropped Maka's hand as if it shocked him and shoved his hands in his pockets.
Maka crossed her arms and pouted, unable to come up with anything clever. The answer was yes, but not enough. Her soul didn't hurt anymore, exactly, but the absence of pain is not comfort. And what was Soul's problem, anyway? Why couldn't he just be happy that they were finally, finally starting to move forward in their relationship?
"Oh goodness..." Leila giggled. "Hey guys! Good to see you!"
Kid smirked. "Well, if you all will excuse me, I need to make a little speech." He reclaimed his hand from Rivin and gave her a spontaneous kiss on the cheek. Without letting himself think about it too much, he walked over to the stage. "If I could have all of your attention on me please," he began. "We're here to welcome two new students who, over the past few months, have successfully intig-"
A light fixture from the ceiling crashed down beside him, nearly crushing the piano. "ALRIGHT KID YOU'VE HAD YOUR FUN BUT IT'S TIME TO GIVE THE SPOTLIGHT BACK!" Black Star shouted as he scampered out from under the broken light and joined Kid. He put an arm around his friend casually. "Everybody knows Leila and Rivin by now! WE KNOW WHY WE'RE HERE SO LET'S PARTY!"
The other students cheered. The band behind Kid shrugged at him apologetically and resumed playing.
Rivin turned to her long time companion with a wide grin. "Leila, dance with me!" She didn't wait for an answer, grabbing Leila's hands and dragging her onto the dance floor.
"Huh? O-ok!" Leila gave Stein a quick smile and wave before allowing herself to be brought to the center of the room.
"That was decidedly unhelpful." Kid grumbled as he removed Black Star's arm from his shoulders. "Now, since my speech has been ruined, I'm going to find someone who might be willing to answer a few of my questions."
"Whatever, Kid." Black Star put his hands behind his head with his elbows pointed up, and turned away. "Your speeches are boring and people just wanna dance."
"Thank you, Black Star." He coughed and stalked off the stage. He passed by a disturbingly asymmetrical student seated several tables away. They exchanged unpleasant and suspicious looks. Kid didn't recognize him at a glance; he had pale, almost blue skin, with a greek nose and mismatched cyan and lavender eyes.
Neither of them spoke a word, and Kid continued on his way. He assumed the student was a weapon of some sort; one with metallic properties which reflected in his human appearance. It didn't matter anyway. He found Professor Stein near the punch bowl, watching Leila curiously and twisting his screw slowly.
"Excellent speech, Kid, as always," Stein commented as he approached, not taking his eyes off of his weapon as she laughed and danced awkwardly with her little sister.
He cleared his throat. "Yes, well, I had more to say, but..." Kid sighed. He had almost begun complaining about the blue haired assassin. There wasn't any point in that, though, and he had known for years exactly who Black Star was, and had accepted it. Besides, that wasn't what he wanted to talk about. "Well, you saw. Actually, I'm glad he interrupted when he did; it gives me an opportunity to speak with you."
Finally, the scientist shifted his gaze. He raised a curious eyebrow. "Oh?"
"I have heard 'the funny man' mentioned in three different situations in the last few weeks, twice last week." Kid explained slowly. He didn't want to come off as accusatory towards the professor. "I know that there were three funny men in Rivin's past, and you have already implied that you were one of them." He took a moment to take stock of Stein's reaction, but the professor had kept his body language and expression completely neutral. He cleared his throat and pressed on. "However, Rivin isn't scared of you the way she is of the other, at least, one of them. So. Who are they, and why is she scared of them?"
Stein chuckled darkly and twisted his screw. "Always one of my most observant students." He should have guessed that Kid's interest in Rivin would lead him to be curious about her past. Rivin made no attempt to hide her recognition of him, so he couldn't blame Kid for having questions.
The fact that Bacchus was still alive and in contact with Rivin still set him on edge. The Shadow was a presence that no one in Death City would benefit from knowing, particularly while he wanted his presence to remain a secret. Until he knew more about Bacchus' methods of controlling Rivin, he thought it unwise to do anything that might cause him to act drastically.
A hint of the newly recurring feeling of remorse returned, and he twisted his screw again to clear it. It was becoming annoying. He briefly wondered how Leila seemed to tolerate the feeling so constantly.
He lit a cigarette and gave Kid another glance. "Unfortunately, you seem to already know more than he'd like...based on Rivin's attempts to conceal the information, at least."
"I don't really care what he'd like." Kid growled. "I want to know who my g-Rivin is so afraid of, and why."
Stein nodded. "It's a rational fear. I can tell you that he was, without question, one of the most dangerous and unbalanced witches I've met." He took a brief drag of his cigarette and exhaled thoughtfully. "As far as what he's capable of...I suggest you take your research to the Shadows." He grinned, somewhat wildly, and returned his gaze to his weapon..
"Shadows?" Kid muttered. The professor was clearly finished with the conversation, so, although he had so many more questions, he turned to leave. Perhaps Maka had information on the subject, seeing as how studying was one of her favorite pastimes.
He found her and Soul as she was dragging the less enthusiastic Scythe out onto the floor.
"Come on, Maka, I'm not really feeling it right now." Soul complained, dragging his feet.
"Uhg! Soul, that's so not cool. I asked you to come dance with me!"
Kid smiled to himself. Although Soul was pretending to be put out by the request, he was rather enjoying having Maka pursue him, and the meister seemed to be quite aware of it. He decided to leave the couple alone. He would see Maka again tomorrow, after all, and... His smile widened considerably. He'd promised his princess a dance.
He looked through the crowd of bodies. He noticed the unfortunately a-symmetric student first, twirling around with Kim while Ox looked on in discomfort. Rivin was currently dancing with Crona and laughing, while the usually shy Meister was actually smiling for a change. Kid himself couldn't help but smile. She was, amongst other things, quite a delight.
He approached them in time with the music, right on cue for the song to fade out. "May I cut in?"
Rivin's eyes lit up. "Yes!"
Crona laughed weakly and stepped aside. "Th-thanks for dancing with me."
"That's what cousins are for~" she sang as she took Kid's hand. "He's a lot nicer than his mother." She confided quietly.
Kid snorted. "Yes, well, I feel as though there are plenty of people who fit that description. More importantly, it looks like you two were having fun." The next song finally picked up, and he placed his hand on the small of her back.
She beamed, falling into step with him. "I never had family that wasn't trying to hurt me before. It's really nice!"
"Yes..." He felt a twinge at her words, but she didn't seem terribly upset by the memories. In fact, she seemed genuinely happy tonight, a feeling he got from her more and more recently, and tended to grow when they were together. Black Star's unsolicited advice intruded on his thoughts.
"I bet you didn't even ask her! She'll be your girlfriend if you stop being such a wimp about it!"
He cleared his throat, feeling somewhat nervous. "Rivin?"
"Yeah?" Her face was so bright, it almost hurt to look at. Her soul was warm, and the warmth was directed at him.
He found it hard to find the words as they stepped slowly in time with the waltz. "Rivin." He tried again. "Would you... What do you think of..."
There was a tap on his shoulder and someone cut in without asking. It was the strange student with disgusting eyes.
Rivin's happiness turned to terror in an instant. "RUN!"
"Dead-Soul Wavelength." He released his soul-protect. The wavelength that rolled off of him felt like the icy grip of Death itself. A shower of black sand marked Rivin's forced transformation into her Weapon form. Ice spread from his hands, burning Rivin's handle.
He's a Witch. Kid felt numb. The soul that was suddenly in front of him felt ancient. Almost... Godlike. The students around them were frozen with both fear and curiosity. The Meisters who had never encountered a Witch regarded him with open mouthed awe.
Witch's cold wavelength shuddered through Rivin's Weapon form, changing her broadsword into an elongated black scythe as he spun her through the air. Kid stood, frozen with shock, as Rivin's blade came straight for his head.
"WITCH HUNTER!" Maka screamed. She blocked Rivin with the glowing, white crescent of Soul's special ability. It crackled on impact, sending shockwaves through the room. A handful of unprepared students were knocked to the ground. "Don't just stand there!" she snapped. Sweat beaded on her forehead from the effort of resonating with Soul and keeping the Witch from using Rivin to take Kid's head off. "Get your Weapons!"
The command seemed to spur at least some of them into action. Weapons and Meisters began to reach for each other and resonate, while others attempted to leave, to find Lord Death. Those who tried the exits found themselves propelled backwards several feet away. They were trapped.
The Witch's expression was sorrowful and pained. His eyes were full of grief. "I missed." His voice was slow and thick, and oozed something dark. It made the Reaper's stomach churn.
Kid shook himself out of his stupor. "Sorry." He muttered, ducking away from the fight. "Liz! Patti!"
The dance floor cleared out around the Witch and the scythe Meister. Maka glared. She was barely holding on to Soul's power. He was even leading the resonance, but every ounce of her own strength was being used to keep her soul from splitting in half. "Who are you?"
"I am Death." The witch answered sadly. He pressed Rivin forward.
Pull back, Maka! This is dangerous. We saved Kid, our job is done!
Maka shook her head and bared her teeth. But Rivin is still in danger! She couldn't see any trace of the Weapon's soul, as though it were hidden... Or being repressed. "No, you're not. Lord Death is-"
"A farce." He cut her off. He abruptly lifted Rivin, causing Maka to stagger forward. He swung the now fist-sized iron ball low to the ground, catching Maka in the ankles while she was already off balance, and swept the Meister off her feet.
Soul went flying over the Witch's head and over the crowd. He regained human form and skidded to his feet. "MAKA!"
"RIVIN!" Leila screamed, sprinting toward the scene across the ballroom as the unknown student used her to attack their friends. It had happened so abruptly; Leila had barely had time to process her delight at seeing Rivin and Kid dancing before the stranger had grabbed Rivin and forced her transformation. It occurred to her that she should have waited for Stein. She knew she had no chance of victory without a Meister. She knew running in blindly would only get her injured or killed, but she had never been able to stand by while Rivin was in trouble. Even if she ended up being little more than a distraction, she had to try. She transformed her hair as she ran.
"PUT HER DOWN YOU SA-oof--" She felt an arm catch her around the waist abruptly. She looked up to see Stein, looking serious. "Please, we have to help her!"
"Were you planning on fighting alone?"
She looked away. "I mean, no..."
Stein spared her a slight smirk as he reached out his hand. "Let's go."
She took it without hesitation and fully transformed as Stein quickly crossed the ballroom.
They arrived in time to see Maka lose her footing, disarming her. The melancholy witch with mismatched eyes raised the small wrecking ball over her as it started to grow slightly. Before he could strike, a whip coiled around the chain, yanking the ball backwards.
"Oh." His response was lackluster at best. He rested Rivin over his shoulder as he turned to face the new Weapon and Meister pair. "It's you."
Stein examined the cold, black soul in front of him as he pulled Leila back to his hands. The witch seemed to know him, yet there was nothing familiar about his face or his soul. There was something deeply unsettling there, however; beneath the cracked, icy surface, an ancient, powerful wavelength radiated from the black soul.
Stein, you know this jerk?
"Can't say I do," Stein said with a shrug. He held her at the ready once again. "I usually remember when I meet a god." Before the cold witch could attack them, Stein flicked the whip forward again, this time toward their opponent's legs.
The Witch lazily swept Rivin's blade down, knocking Leila away. He didn't appear to move fast, but with a languid confidence that became sudden action. "Frank N. Stein." His melancholy voice sent waves of depression through students standing too close. "I am Argus Cyprus of Hades."
Argus twirled the fist sized ball and chain in slow circles in one hand. The other held Rivin in a loose, open position. "The Weapon seems satisfactory."
"th-That Weapon is my cousin!" Crona shouted from several feet to Stein's left. His eyes were white with fear, but he held Ragnarok in front of him with a wide stance. "Let her go!"
"AND SHE'S MY LITTLE SISTER YOU ASS!" Black Star fell from the ceiling and landed behind Argus. Tsubaki was already in enchanted sword mode, and his dark teal eyes burned.
Maka struggled to her feet, taking a wide stance to support herself. Soul sprinted up next to her and took her hand. "Okay, guys. We haven't practiced this in a while... But I think I can make it work."
"Maka, no-"
"Maka's right, Soul." Black Star growled. "None of us can do this alone, and Maka's the only one who can connect us."
Stein was too far from the group to hear Maka's dangerous plan. He continued to strike unpredictably, taking advantage of Leila's range to look for weak points in Argus' defenses. The Old Witch wielded Rivin expertly, blocking the whip at every angle.
Eight consecutive shots rang out as bullets of compressed soul energy riddled Argus' back. It didn't do lasting damage, but it was enough to catch his attention. "YOU MAKE ME SICK, YOU A-SYMMETRICAL PIECE OF TRASH!" Kid stormed through the crowd with Liz and Patti still aimed.
Tears formed in the Old Witch's eyes. "And now we see if the God Slayer can slay a god."
The title stirred Stein's memory. He twisted his screw with his free hand. He had never met or even seen the anonymous contact who had requested they create a perfect weapon: a God Slayer. The fact that this ancient witch had recognized him was starting to make sense, as well as his skill with Rivin's versatile weapon form. He continued to force Argus to block his sporadic attacks, almost enjoying himself by this point.
Argus abruptly stopped blocking the whip, allowing it to coil around his ankle. The braided leather began to steam as it froze.
Leila's grip loosened as she screamed. Stein retracted her abruptly and coiled her up to inspect the damage. The last several inches of the leather were dry and frayed, but it would heal.
*Are you alright?* he asked.
*Yeah, sorry,* she replied tightly, as if through gritted teeth. *If I had held on longer you could have gotten an attack in...*
Argus turned on the spot to face the younger Weapon/Meister pairs, but locked eyes with Kid. "You are an abomination." His voice seemed to carry the weight of an old church bell, ringing in the meister's ears and worming into his thoughts. "You are nothing; The stripes you bear are proof."
He raised Rivin to swing, but the arc ended without contact: Kid was already on the ground. "Garbage!" he wailed, curled up in a ball. "I'm nothing but garbage!"
"Damnit, Kid..." Liz growled. She was afraid to take her human form. What if she was killed? What would happen to Patti? But if she didn't, would Kid be okay? She transformed, taking Patti from Kid's other hand, and aimed her squarely at Argus face. She couldn't quite pull the trigger. Something was lingering in her soul.
You are nothing.
Patti laughed maniacally. "KID YOU'RE SO FUNNY NOW ISN'T THE TIME FOR CRYING NOW IS THE TIME FOR EATING WITCHES!"
"Yeah, Kid," Black Star shifted his stance, feeling Maka growing their soul Resonance little by little. "Now isn't the time to feel sorry for yourself. Your girlfriend needs you!"
"I can't... I can't help anyone!" he sobbed uncontrollably. "I must have forgotten the toilet paper this morning, it's the only explanation!"
"Kid, what the hell? We need your help!" Leila yelled in frustration. "Can't you think about that later?"
"Sometimes, he can't, actually," Stein said simply. He subtly adjusted his stance and gripped her handle. "Try to avoid any more physical contact with him. We'll focus on disarming him and let the others attack."
"Okay!"
Argus sighed as he surveyed the powerful weapons and meisters standing against him. His eyes lingered on Crona and Ragnarok momentarily before sliding back to Liz, who was between him and Kid. "I'm not here to kill all of you. Just the mistake behind you."
"I should never have been born!" Kid wailed.
Liz stood her ground, holding Patti in two hands. "You're not going to touch my Meister."
"YEAH SIS YOU TELL HIM!"
Maka used Soul to keep upright as her soul began to fracture. Resonating with Black Star to increase his soul wavelength was like grabbing on to a hot iron. One she couldn't afford to let go of.
Maka, Soul's voice came through gently, It's okay. You don't have to do this. Stein could probably-
This is my team, Soul! I have to support them!
Black Star gritted his teeth. "Is this the best you can do, Maka?" He could see her out of the corner of his eye. Her complexion had lost all color, and her eyes were hazy and unfocused. He could feel her soul wavelength, strengthening his, but... "If that's all you've got, don't even bother. I don't need such a weak resonance to take out this clown!"
"Shut up, Black Star!" she snapped. "I'm doing the best I can!"
The Old Witch sighed again. He gripped the hilt of his scythe towards the middle and held it out beside him, parallel to the ground. "Dead-Soul Wavelength." Argus swept the blade through the air, as if harvesting invisible grains. An arc of shimmering ice crystals trailed behind it, glittering a sinister deep blue and gold. The ground froze in a crescent shape around him. The dark cloud of ice seemed to drift outward toward the teams of weapons and Meisters.
"Watch out!" Stein cried, just a second too late.
Liz was the first to feel the effects of the strange wavelength. Her breath clouded the air as she hit her knees. Her hands fell limply to the ground, and Patti clattered away. She stared up at the ceiling, unmoving; unblinking. The only evidence that she was even still alive were the small, steady puffs of steam coming from her open mouth.
Patti had no outward reaction, remaining uncharacteristically silent in Weapon form.
Crona stabbed Ragnarok's blade deep into the floor and held on with both hands. He doubled over, resting his forehead on the hilt, and gave the floor an unsettling, white eyed grin.
The Scythe Meister and Weapon crumpled to the ground. Soul managed to revert to human form, but he lay helplessly beside his Meister. Maka stared straight ahead. Her green eyes, usually so full of light and life, were dull and empty. Soul couldn't find her soul wavelength, or the will to stand without her.
Black Star stumbled forward, landing on one knee. He held his head in one hand, clutching Tsubaki in the other. He groaned, fighting the aching chill that had settled in his soul. It felt similar to when Rivin's creepy pet bit him and drank his soul wavelength. That, however, had been very mild, especially compared to what he was feeling now. He tried to stand, but found he had no strength in his knees. He fell to his side, still clinging to Tsubaki and consciousness. "What... The hell?"
Argus used the flat of Rivin's blade to push Liz to the side. She fell like a doll, with no resistance.
Stein leapt backward, keeping himself and his weapon out of the harmful miasma of ice. He watched with a grimace as the other teams started to fall.
*What...is that?* Leila asked apprehensively.
Stein examined the souls of their allies carefully. They appeared drained and lifeless, but he could see no damage that was likely to persist. *It seems to be a wavelength that drains soul energy,* he replied. *They'll recover, but I think they're out of this fight.*
*Damn it...* she whispered.
Maka's eyes drifted down to the floor. She could see herself in the reflection. Kid was still wailing. Argus' footsteps seemed so loud. Her breath fogged up the ice. Slowly, shakilly, she lifted a finger. Forty two, forty two, five, six, four, when you want to knock on Death's Door.
Lord Death's cheerful face became fraught with worry in an instant. "Maka? Hey, Maka! Can you hear me?"
She had no strength to explain what was going on. She managed three words: "Witch... Kid... Help."
Lord Death grabbed Spirit by the face and transformed him as he rose from the reflection in the ice. Black Star forced himself to his feet at the same time, breathing raggedly and unable to stand upright.
Argus' face was twisted in misery and grief. He raised Rivin, perfectly poised to remove Kid's head from his shoulders, and swung.
"Kiddo!" Lord Death teleported between them, using Spirit's body to block the strike. "You're not going to lay a finger on my Kiddo, Witch!"
The Old Witch let out an ursine howl that could have passed for a sob or laughter. "So I get to reap both reapers in one night. And then I can rest." He locked Rivin's blade around Spirit's handle, and sent a rush of his soul wavelength through her. The scythe blade melted around him, trapping him inside a solid iron bar.
Lord Death frowned, addressing Stein from around Argus. "Is that... Rivin?"
"Yes," Stein growled, darting behind the witch. "He's forced her to transform. She doesn't seem to be conscious." Now that the soul-draining cloud of ice had started to dissipate, he continued to search for an opening he could exploit in order to disarm the witch.
*Just attack him, I'll be fine!* Leila grumbled impatiently, but Stein didn't respond or comply.
"That's not good." The Reaper sighed. He returned his glare to the Old Witch in front of him. "And you. What are you doing here? Why are you attacking us? I thought all the nonsense was settled with the Witches."
Argus rocked side to side slowly. His mismatched eyes never left Lord Death's mask. "With the little ones, perhaps. I outdate all the Witches you've ever killed."
Stein shifted his weight, allowing him to see Lord Death. "He calls himself Argus Cyprus, of Hades. He claims to be 'the god of the dead'. He's clearly an Old Witch. I'd take him seriously."
Kid was still sniffling in the background, mumbling about toilet paper and the painting in his foyer. The constant sound became the background for the tense setting, mingling with the murmurs and scared, infrequent sobs of the students and the young Meisters who could see the soul of their attacker.
Black Star took one, heavy step forward. He was doubled over, unable to pull himself up straight. He knew that if it hadn't been for Maka resonating with him, that he wouldn't even have the strength to stand.
* Tsubaki, are you there? *
Her voice was faint and weak. *I'm here... I don't... feel well...*
* Yeah, me either. But Rivin is right there, and Kid's in danger. *
* Right. *
He planted his feet. No one was paying attention to him. He would only have one shot to take Rivin back. He focused his breathing, aimed, and lunged. He flew past Argus' defense; barely missing being caught in Rivin's swinging chain; Tsubaki's blade was poised to remove Argus' hand....
The Old Witch blew his soul wavelength on him, like blowing out a candle.
Tsubaki hit the ground at his feet.
Black Star tumbled several feet away. His vision was hazy. "Damn..."
"You know, they might stop attacking you if you were to put that student down." Lord Death kept a tight hold on Spirit. The Death Scythe was full of worry and fear for his daughter, lying motionless on the cold, icy floor.
"Student? This is Luceria, God Slayer. She was designed and created for me, for this purpose."
Lord Death briefly flickered his glare to the Meister across from him. He would admonish Stein later, but for now he had more important things to deal with. The God in front of him was theoretically more powerful than Asura, but hadn't even attempted to use his powers fully. The students could all have been dead, had he decided to use magic instead of Rivin. And if the two of them fought seriously... The images of Death City after he fought Asura came to mind. There wasn't time to evacuate. This needed to be settled quickly and decisively.
Five skeletal arms made of darkness and magic erupted from his cloak. They each ended in an angry replica of his mask. He expected them to dig into the Witch, tearing him apart. At this short distance, he couldn't miss. But Argus didn't react in any satisfying way. A tear slid down his cheek as the teeth of Lord Death's magic bounced harmlessly off him.
"That's just... Sad. He never told you. I can see it in your soul. You don't remember me."
"Nnrrrr....." Lord Death pulled back, testing Argus' hold on Spirit. He couldn't slide the handle at all, either up or down.
Argus yanked Rivin in response to the test. He ripped Spirit from Lord Death's hands and threw him to the ground. He put his foot at the base of the blade, effectively pinning the scythe by the throat. The prolonged contact cause crystals of ice to form on the Weapon. "Please stay there. I'd hate to take a father from his daughter."
Spirit gulped audibly. His teeth seemed to chatter with cold. "L-lord Death?"
"Don't move, Spirit. There's still a way to settle this without anyone getting hurt."
Stein gave his screw a single twist. "Argus, why do you want to kill Lord Death and Kid?"
"Oh, I forgot about you." Argus hummed in disappointment. "This isn't your business, so please stay there. I'm not really a fan of violence."
"This seems pretty violent to me." Lord death scoffed, throwing his hands out to gesture to the room. "All these children, and their teachers, are terrified. So if you don't like violence, you could just leave, instead of hurting them."
"I'm not here for them." Argus confirmed Lord Death's suspicions. "And I have no intention of killing them. I just want to end..." He shuddered and sobbed. "I just want to end the macabre farce that is what is left of my child!"
Lord Death flinched: the amount of sincere pain and grief was almost too much to take. Argus used that as an opening. He launched himself forward, spinning with Rivin like a deadly top. Her chain caught the elder Reaper first; wrapping him in cold iron and pinning his arms to his sides. Lord Death could feel the Witch's wavelength coursing through her; sapping his strength. He could suddenly feel Kid's eyes on his back. "Look away!"
Rivin's blade sank into his upper arm. Bit into his flesh. Time seemed to move so slow in that instant. Even though he should have used the time to fight, to struggle, to do anything, he found himself unable to do much more than think, think about Kid watching him be torn apart, again; think about the muted, horrified, screaming soul trapped in a weapon struggling desperately to return to her human form to stop the Witch from achieving his goals. It burned like acid and left crystalized, golden ice in its wake, ripping into his ribs, his lung, his heart.
But there was a stutter near his solar plexus. A small spot of warmth.
*Please don't die.* A terrified child begged him in his mind. *Please don't make me the God Slayer.*
* Rivin...? *
But the voice was gone. Her blade had sliced him cleanly in half. As he fell in two pieces, he saw Stein already in motion. Leila wrapped around Rivin's handle and pulled back. Just a moment too late. He didn't feel the impact. He rolled on the ground. Kid's face was slack, wide eyes full of tears.
"Dad?"
He couldn't answer. He had no air. He closed his eyes, holding on to that small spot of warmth left in his chest. *Please don't die.*
"Dad?"
Kid could hardly breathe. He stared at the unmoving mask. Spirit transformed, crawling over. There were black, frost bitten marks around his throat. He didn't know what to do; how to help. "Kid..."
He shook his head. "This isn't real. It's just because... I forgot... The painting."
"Oh, Kid." Spirit's expression was twisted with grief for this poor child. There was no way Lord Death, not even Lord Death could survive that. He reached for Kid, but the young Reaper pushed him away in favor of holding his father's torso. Spirit shook his head and crawled to Maka.
After what seemed like an eternity, he looked up to the monster who had cut his father in half. The abomination with different colored eyes. Argus.
He had Stein by the throat. Leila was curled around Rivin's handle still. He could hear her yelling. Yelling at Stein. Yelling at Rivin. Some were just wordless cries of rage and frustration and helplessness.
Kid gave his father one final, tight squeeze. He stood, unsteady, grief stricken and numb, and held his hands out. "Liz. Patti." His wavelength became physical. Eight tendrils of black lightning with a white glow, ending in clawed hands. They grabbed his weapons and brought them to him.
Patti was still in her Weapon form. Liz was barely conscious enough to transform.
* We're... Here, Kid... *
* Yeah... *
Argus tossed Stein aside. There was a hand shaped patch of ice left on the professor's throat, which he grabbed at, still choking. Leila took her human form, trying to help him rip it off. "I'm sorry..." she sobbed. "I'm trying but I can't... I'm so..."
Kid ignored the spiraling commentary spewing from the whip. There was no one left to support him. Maka had saved his life twice tonight, and now lay unconscious in Spirit's lap. Soul was limp nearby. Crona giggled softly into Ragnarok's hilt, and the Demon Weapon was unresponsive. Tsubaki wasn't even in her human form, and even Black Star was down.
And Rivin... Rivin was in the hands of the monster. He had used her to slay his father.
Argus faced him, holding Rivin's handle loosely while twirling her wrecking ball with his other hand. "And then there was one."
The feeling of unbridled terror emanating from every student in the room created a low buzz in the air. I am the Shinigami now. I cannot fail them.
"Soul resonance."
* Okay, we can try. *
"Black Needle 'Soul Wavelength' charging."
Argus blinked at him. "You think you're going to fight me?"
"I'm going to kill you." Kid growled. "You make me sick."
The Old Witch's face twitched, but whether to a grimace or a smile was uncertain. He gripped Rivin tighter. Her iron ball shot out towards Kid's feet. The Shinigami jumped over it, but was blown sideways as Argus' soul wavelength exploded from the weapon. Kid crashed into students packed by the wall, desperately trying to open the doors. None of them offered to help him; instead, they scattered.
He couldn't blame them. Kid wiped blood out of his eye with the back of his hand. His forehead had caught on something sharp. "You'll have to do better than that."
"I only want you dead, you see." Argus explained sadly. "The rest are not expendable."
*Keep him talking, Kid.* Liz's voice was regaining some strength. *It's taking longer to charge our resonance than normal.*
"Witches aren't usually concerned with collateral damage." Kid commented. "What makes you so interested in their safety?"
"They are innocent." Argus' statement was so simple, and so infuriating. "You and your progenitor are not." He stood his ground, returning Rivin's tail to slow spins beside him.
Kid's eye twitched. "My father was-"
"An abomination." The old Witch interrupted smoothly. "He was dead, like his progenitor, like you. And, as badly as it hurts sometimes, dead things should stay dead."
* Almost ready! *
* We'll blow him away in one shot! *
Both of his weapons seemed to be regaining strength rapidly as they resonated. Kid smirked. "I'm very much alive right now, thank you. Why is it you think that I'm not?"
"You died thousands of years ago, Demos." Argus replied wistfully. There was a heavy note of sonder in his voice. "It's okay that you don't remember. I'm here to make it right. I spent almost two years raising this weapon for this very moment. And now, I'll finally know peace."
Kid scowled. The Witch was clearly mad, but... He had 'raised this weapon'? Was he the reason Rivin was afraid to be touched when they first met?
* We're almost ready! *
He widened his stance, changing Liz and Patti from twin pistols to twin cannons. Ice cracked and splintered as they crashed into the ground in front of him. "Are you the funny man?"
Argus blinked. "You think... I'm a Shadow? Child, you won't live long enough to meet that man."
*Black Needle soul wavelength charge complete!* Patti shouted gleefully
*Sympathy rate: manageable. Noise level at 4.3 percent.* Liz sounded less sure. *Kid, this might not be a good idea.*
*Do you have a better one?* He asked dryly.
* Feedback in five... *
* Four... *
* Three... *
Argus didn't seem to move, yet he was in front of them, standing between the cannons.
* Two... *
Rivin's blade bit into his shoulder on the downswing.
Two black needles of compressed soul energy fired with a deafening roar. They tore through the ballroom, kicking up a trail of ice in their wake.
Kid's body went numb with shock. Argus looked him straight in the eyes while continuing to rend him from left shoulder to right hip. The blade stuttered near his soul. Time seemed to stop.
There was a scream in the back of his mind. A truly heart stopping, shuddering, fox scream. He could feel Rivin's howling of horror and denial as her blade cut into his soul.
Had his father heard her, too?
* Stop, stop stop! Don't die, please, don't die! *
He had the vague notion to pat her on the head, to assure her that he would be fine.
But she was the God Slayer; created for this purpose.
Even so, instead of fear, he felt a peaceful wave wash over him, like a warm breeze on a sunny day. He could almost imagine sitting on a blanket on a hill, under a large shade tree.
*I'm trying, I'm trying!* Rivin's frantic voice echoed through the illusion. *Please, please, please, don't die... Don't die...*
Even though my Witch power is that...
* Please don't die. *
Two others joined him on the blanket. Patti and Liz both fell on him, crying and screaming. He smiled gently. "Hello. What's wrong? Did you see a ghost again?"
He couldn't hear their words. He could see that they were talking, but somehow, there was no sound. "Everything is fine." He tried to assure them. "We're the strongest team. You're almost Death Weapons. Everything is fine..."
But they were shaking their heads, clinging to him. Clinging to him as if their lives depended on it. As if his life depended on it.
Please don't die.
Leila watched in helpless shock as Argus finished his attack. Both Grim Reapers lay in two pieces. Liz and Patti were human, screaming and clutching their lifeless Meister. Her own Meister, no longer choking, lay unconscious in front of her.
She gritted her teeth, her eyes filling with tears as she watched the witch, the god, nod with satisfaction, his face never changing from the stoic expression of despair. He turned to leave decisively, striding toward the door, Rivin poised over his shoulder.
A part of her willed herself to go after him, to try again, but fear held her in place. He killed them. Lord Death...and his son. And he has Rivin. She clenched her fists, cringing at the patches of frostbitten skin. She would die if she went after him alone.
Argus paused at the door. The students around him were stunned. Too scared to flee. He turned, just slightly, and his mismatched eyes slid over to the whip. "Ah, you're still awake. Everyone else will survive. Their wavelengths will restore in time. Thank you for keeping my weapon alive and bringing it here. It was most convenient." With that, he left the DWMA.
A familiar voice echoed softly beneath her own thoughts as the Old Witch disappeared through the now-functioning door. Useless... such a worthless weapon... but everyone makes mistakes...
Chapter 16: I love you: Life goes on?
Chapter Text
Dear Leila
I'm sorry for leaving you. But you're not alone. You have Professor Stein and Maka and Black Star... And you can play dinosaurs with Patti and dress up with Liz. So don't be lonely, 'kay?
Thanks for taking care of me. Keep cooking.
Rivin
Leila had found the note in the kitchen the night before, in Rivin's personal drawer, while looking for bandages for her hands. She'd kept the living room just bright enough to read, and she had sat there, all night long, reading the note over and over again. Every word felt like a razor blade to her soul.
Rivin was gone. Leila's companion, her best friend, her little sister...gone...and she had done nothing to save her. She hadn't even been able to protect Stein.
She clutched the tear-stained note tightly in her hand. The sun was starting to come up. Leila glared at it. Go away... She buried her face.
A knock on the door pulled her briefly from her misery.
"Come in," came Leila's muffled reply.
She was sitting on one of the sofas in her small, rundown living room, her face buried in her knees. She hadn't changed out of her dress.
"Are you alright?" he asked as he sat beside her. He looked her over. He was relieved to see that staying in weapon form had kept her from being injured too severely. Despite the severity of the ice attack, the only evidence of damage was a series of bandages on her hands.
She looked up at him. It was clear that she hadn't slept. "She's gone...he took her...what if we never find her?"
"We will look for her, but at present, it appears that none of us are ready to fight a god. Not after what happened to Lord Death and Kid. They aren't dead, but they're in critical condition."
He twisted his screw and stared absently at a potted plant in the corner. "But perhaps, while you have no one to look after, you could relax and focus on our training. Think about yourself, for once." An abrupt change in her soul told him that it had been the wrong thing to say. He saw movement out of the corner of his eye. He reached over and caught her wrist just in time to prevent her from slapping him.
"That's not funny!" she shouted. "She could be hurt...or becoming a Kishin...or dead!" Her eyes filled up with tears. "You don't understand...I need her to come back..."
"Why?" Stein kept a hold of her wrist, eyeing the distraught whip curiously. "Why is she so important to you?"
Leila hesitated, but then she spoke. "I found her...on the night that my Meister died." The tears spilled over.
Stein was surprised at the heavy response. Leila had never mentioned her previous meisters. Although Stein had always been curious and slightly suspicious of them, he hadn't pressed the topic. "Go on," he said simply, but Leila shook her head and closed her eyes, dislodging another surge of tears. With a sigh, he pulled her closer to him. He swiped his thumb across each of her cheeks, drying the tears, but more fell to take their place immediately.
Her breathing was heavy and labored, and her shoulders shook as she continued to sob. A dark indigo streaked her soul, the usual violet glow becoming dim and pale. He closed his eyes and pressed his forehead to hers. He expected her to block his wavelength again, but instead, something in her soul seemed to be calling for help. He pressed further, hoping she would allow them to resonate.
It was pitch black. He walked a few steps in the direction he was facing. He couldn't see anything but darkness in any direction. It was a heavy darkness that seemed to bind and suffocate, like being buried alive. He couldn't even tell what kind of surface he was walking on. A faint whispering came from everywhere, but no matter how much he strained his ears to listen, he couldn't make out what it said.
"Why are you here?" a familiar voice inquired from the ground to his right. It was Leila's voice; higher-pitched, younger, perhaps, and timid, but definitely Leila's voice. He heard her sigh. "No one should be here..."
He faced the direction of her voice and sat down with his legs crossed. Judging by the volume, she was about two feet from him. "Why can't I be here?"
"Because..." She hesitated. "I'm not supposed to have guests."
Stein leaned on one of his hands. Touching the ground told him that there was dirt and a thin layer of smooth rocks and soft sand beneath them. "Why not?" he asked into the darkness.
"It's not my house, that would be rude."
He narrowed his eyes. "Leila, this is your soul."
"No, it's his house, I just live here..." she muttered. She sounded increasingly nervous.
Stein felt a growing hatred for the unknown tyrant over Leila's soul. He had no doubt that this was the previous Meister he had suspected, the one who had blinded his weapon to her own strength.
He pulled a cigarette from the pack in his pocket and put it between his lips. When he flicked his lighter, the flame was visible, but the light didn't permeate the darkness at all. Even his cigarette was invisible to him until the tip was ignited.
Leila gasped suddenly. "He's coming back! You have to leave now!"
He caught sight of something behind her. It was red, and it glowed, but like the lighter flame, it illuminated nothing around it. He couldn't tell how far away or how big it was, but it was coming closer. From his current perspective, it was only slightly larger than the tip of his cigarette.
"Please...just leave..." She seemed to be crying now. As the red thing steadily approached, the whispering grew louder. Stein could pick out random words and phrases.
Useless...
Never love you...
Only me...
And then the red thing was upon her. "Too late...he's home."
It was about seven feet tall, painfully red and pulsing. It opened a pair of glowing eyes and focused them on Leila. They illuminated her, and only her, in an angry crimson light. She was curled up in a ball, tears streaming from her wide, terrified eyes. The whispering was now nearly deafening, and much more like a hiss. So this is him? it asked mockingly. Pathetic. He'd never want to wield you. You're so weak, it's embarrassing.
Stein glared up at it, twisting his screw. "There's no need to listen, Leila. You are my weapon."
You think he could love you? I'm the only one who could love someone like you.
He puffed his cigarette. There was plenty he could have said to the creature, but it needed no acknowledgement. It wasn't a manifestation of madness, merely a residual wavelength, a memory, a disturbance in the peace that was Leila's soul. Even now, with the memory bearing down on them, the darkened soulscape was quiet and still. "You know none of that is true, Leila." He kept his voice as calm as he knew his surroundings should be.
Even if he could love you, you would probably just abandon him, wouldn't you?
She closed her eyes and covered her ears in a futile attempt to ignore both of them. "Please just stop...I'm sorry..." She began to rock back and forth.
The whispering got louder, becoming a deep screech. Just like you abandoned me!
"Leila." He hoped she could still hear him over the cacophony of whispers surrounding them. "Tell it to leave."
I told you I would die if you left me! I told you! And you STILL left!
"I didn't..."
It's all your fault!
"This is your soul, Leila." A truly unique soul. Even as the whispers around them grew to a static-y buzz, his own soul had never felt more quiet. Calm.
You always abandon everyone you care about. Your mother. Your brother. Your partner. You'll always be alone.
"That's terrible. None of it was your fault, Leila."
You abandoned me...
"These are your own thoughts, Leila. He's not real."
You abandoned Rivin...
Leila's eyes opened wide, not with fear this time, but with anger and hatred. "Don't you dare..." She stood, shaking, and faced the red glowing thing. "Don't you EVER say her name, DAMN YOU!"
She roared the last two words at it. It seemed to falter slightly, as if confused by her sudden courage. Leila...sit down...don't hurt me again...
"NO! I'm DONE with you!" The red glow illuminating her faded, but she seemed to emit a soft light of her own. "I have a Meister and I am NOT USELESS AND I WILL BRING RIVIN HOME!"
Why...Leila... I love you...only me...
"I DON'T CARE! YOU'RE DEAD LEAVE ME ALONE!"
The whispering seemed to fade, and the red thing shrank and dimmed, smaller and smaller, until it was no bigger or brighter than a dying ember. At the same time, the moon appeared above them. Despite being high in the night sky, the moon's usual wicked grin had been replaced by a face of peaceful slumber. Individual stars blinked to life, one by one, peppering the black sky.
Unlike the fire, the light from the moon and stars cascaded through the inky darkness, revealing their surroundings. Stein could now see that they were in a forest clearing. They were on the shore of a still pond, as smooth as a mirror, with no wind to disturb the surface.
The tiny red ember was, in fact, the remnants of a lifeless campfire. As he stared at it, the ember was snuffed out completely. A single wisp of smoke trailed up peacefully and disappeared, like a departed soul. The whispering was gone too. All was silent.
So quiet.
Calm.
Leila stared up at the sleeping moon, her violet eyes reflecting the glowing surface. She looked taller now, more mature. Much more like her physical self. Elegant. She hugged herself and shivered, tears streaming down her face. "He..." Her voice shook. "He always said...he was the only one...who could love me...and now he's gone...what do I do if he was right?"
Stein stood and slowly walked to her. He wrapped his arms around her waist from behind. In the dim light of her peaceful soul, he felt a certain vulnerability, an emotional clarity he couldn't remember feeling before. The words spilled from him easily, as if he had always known them.
"But I love you, Leila..."
She opened her eyes. Her tears had dried on her face. Her soul felt empty and quiet. Lonely. She stared numbly at Stein, who smiled back at her adoringly. "Well, that seemed to be easier for you than I thought," he mused.
There was so much she wanted to say, to feel, now that her own soul would allow it, but she was too overwhelmed. She pressed her face against his chest and sobbed into the stitched fabric until she couldn't anymore. She could feel his warm hands holding her and stroking her hair. No...not lonely. Peaceful.
"Thank you..." she muttered sleepily, once she had calmed down. "I love you..."
"I didn't do anything." He chuckled. "Other than remind my partner to take care of herself once in a while."
She smiled, too exhausted to respond. She slept in his arms, just like that...her first sleep in years without bad dreams.
/*-+-*/
A couple hours later, the door flew open. "WHERE IS SHE? SHE OWES ME A FIGHT FOR THAT! I THOUGHT THE WORLD WAS GOING TO END HOW DARE SHE NOT TELL ME WE WERE GOING TO HAVE A HUGE FIGHT LAST NIGHT!? I WASN'T READY BUT I AM NOW SO BRING 'EM ON!"
Leila awoke from her nap with a start, still laying against Stein's chest. She glared at Black Star. He seemed to be physically okay, but she couldn't vouch for his mental capabilities, like usual. "Why are you in my living room?"
Stein sighed, twisting his screw. "I suppose I ought to let him know what happened after he was knocked unconscious..."
"You do that," Leila yawned. "I'll make coffee."
"What are you talking about?" Black Star began looking under couch cushions and inside the decorative vases, "RIVIN I KNOW YOU'RE HERE COME OUT AND FIGHT ME!"
"Rivin's gone, Black Star," Leila heard Stein say from the living room. It made her eyes sting with fresh tears. She continued to make coffee. They would need cookies as well.
"No she's not," Black Star glared at him, hands behind his head, "It's not like she'd leave without Leila."
"BLACK STAR," Leila shouted from the kitchen. "WOULD YOU LIKE SOME COFFEE."
He stared at her for a second. His hands dropped, "She's really gone? I can't believe it. SHE LEFT WITHOUT FIGHTING ME DAMN HER! HOW DARE SHE WALK AWAY FROM HER BIG BRO-"
"She didn't walk anywhere." Stein lit a cigarette and took a long drag. "According to Leila, Argus kidnapped her as he left."
The assassin gaped at him. Then he punched his fists together. "Even more reason to track her down. I wasn't prepared last night, but this time, I'll kick his ass."
"Black star..." Tsubaki walked in the open door and put her hand on his shoulder. She shook her head, "We should leave Leila with Stein."
"Fine," Black Star sulked, "Let's go track down Rivin!"
Tsubaki shook her head, "We should go see Kid."
"Oh goodness..." Leila whispered, mixing cookie dough distractedly. Kid was probably doing much worse than she was. He'd cared about Rivin too...and he was injured.
Stein twisted his screw. "Death the Kid is still unconscious. While I'm certain he will make a full recovery, that is only possible as long as he is allowed to rest."
"Uh, whatever. He should be training!"
/*+-+*/
Even though my Witch ability is that...
I'm trying, I'm trying
Please, please, please
Rivin's voice swam through his thoughts. Begging, pleading.
Don't die
The warm breeze increased intensity. It made a mess of his hair, blowing the blanket into his lap. Liz and Patti clutched his arms, anchoring them in place. A light yellow steam rose from between their fingers. It had a strange, somewhat unpleasant scent and seemed to be causing them pain. He tried to ask if they were alright, but was distracted as the breeze became a wind, hot and uncomfortable even for him. It made his soul itch and burn.
Quietly at first, then with increased volume, the twin pistols' voices carried on the wind.
"Kid, stay with us! We don't want to lose you!"
"Hold on, we're not done playing yet!"
"We're supposed to be the best team! You're going to make us Death Weapons, and be the greatest shinigami!"
"Don't leave us!"
"You can't go now, we haven't gotten to our goal yet!"
He scowled. The burning was getting worse. The itch turned into a searing, blinding pain. He grabbed his chest. "Liz, Patti, What's... Happening?"
"Hold on, Kid!"
"Hold my hand!"
He began panting, curling into his lap. The pain was unbearable. The girls hugged him from both sides. He couldn't even appreciate the symmetry. He grunted, groaned. His body jerked and shuddered and he couldn't control it. He was going to be blown away.
"No, no no," Liz wailed, "You can't! Don't let go!"
"We need you!" Patti sobbed viciously into his shoulder.
They didn't need him. He knew that. He needed them. He couldn't do anything without them. He barely functioned without their patience and kindness. Their... Warmth.
Patti shook him. "It doesn't matter who needs who, we want you! We want you to be our Meister!"
"We love you, Kid." Liz buried her face in his shoulder. "We don't want to lose you."
He managed to let go of the searing pain in his soul to hold both of their hands. The yellow steam burned terribly, resonating with the agony in his soul. He smiled weakly. "I'm not going anywhere. I have to keep my promise."
The wind stopped. The pain ebbed. He tried to look up, but the sun was suddenly too bright. And then, there was nothing.
Don't die.
He blinked. He was staring straight up at the ceiling in his bedroom. Liz and Patti were laying on either side of him in the bed, like when they used to have nightmares. He exhaled slowly. His chest felt numb. His eyes were the only part of him that seemed to want to respond. He could see, from the bottom of his vision, bandages wrapped around his chest and stomach. They appeared to be fresh.
"Liz? Patti?" His voice only came out in a harsh whisper.
Patti was fast asleep, but Liz sat upright. Her smile was watery, and her eyes were red and swollen. "Hey, sleepy head." her voice trembled. "We were starting to wonder if you were gonna... Wake up at all."
"Ah." He looked back up at the ceiling. "What happened?"
Liz cleared her throat. "Where do I start?"
"After."
She opened and closed her mouth. Shook her head. Started again. "I think... I think Rivin saved you. We thought. He cut your soul in half. But we never stopped Resonating. And then, we heard Rivin. She said you needed us to control her wavelength, or we would lose. You." She covered her mouth, fresh tears springing to her eyes. "She. She brought us all... Into her soul. And then... We just held you until the resonance faded. But you didn't wake up. That was... Almost a week ago."
"I see."
"Stein's come by a couple times, to check on you." She continued after a moment. "He kept saying that your soul was probably going to be okay. Y-your dad is okay, too."
Kid couldn't describe the feeling that flowed through him. It was just too much. Tears leaked out the corners of his eyes and down the sides of his face.
"He recovered a lot faster than you did. Stein said it's because Argus couldn't attack his soul directly."
"That's... Logical."
Liz took his hand and pressed his knuckles against her cheek. "I was so worried."
"I know." He remembered her soul clinging to his, screaming for him to survive. "I'm sorry. I should have realized that we all need each other."
She shook her head. "I'm just glad you're okay."
"Is... Rivin...?"
Her chest seized. Her heart skipped a beat. "Argus took her."
He closed his eyes. "I think I need more sleep."
Chapter 17: The laws of Gods : We're forbidden from rescuing Rivin?
Chapter Text
Argus left Death City with the God Slayer over his shoulder and its chain wrapped loosely around his wrist. He felt calm and free for the first time since Demos was born. The desert night was clear and chill, and the stars seemed to reflect his mind. He could feel and hear the animals teaming under and around him.
Life had never seemed so... Wonderful and terrible.
His whole mission had been to end the disgusting cycle of the Shinigami, and now that he had... What was left for him? Perhaps he should find his little sister and tell her that it was over, finally over...
A cold wind brought a fox's mournful cries to his ears. He ran his finger along the edge of his weapon's blade. "I need to find a way to store you. I can't have you found again. I would hate for you to be used against me."
He would simply take her back to Greece with him. Down the river Styx. Keeping her in Hades seemed like the best idea. No mortal could go there, and the only immortals he had worried about were now dead.
He walked for several days, unaware of the blistering heat during the day, and unaffected by the subfreezing temperatures of the night. The grief stricken foxes howled at the bloody moon. It was dawn when he reached another town. After the peace of the desert, the volume of noise in the mecha was nearly overwhelming. Cars, airplanes, people.
All living their lives.
Most talking about the tragedy of the DWMA.
Argus smiled for the first time in millennia.
With his soul-protect on, he strode into town. He selected a comfortable hotel for himself for the night. He rested the God Slayer on one of the twin beds and took the other for himself. It was unusual that it hadn't reverted to its natural form, but he reasoned that it had grown fond of Demos and was mourning his death.
The God laid himself down to sleep.
And he never woke up again.
/*-+-*/
Diomedes quietly burned out the soul of the God that had tormented his daughter. Killing Argus in his sleep was too good for him in some ways, but a mercy kill in others. The New God of Hades had no idea what Luceria's true powers as a Witch were. Yes, she could physically unravel and destroy a soul on contact if she wished, but her strength was to heal them. To take something broken and mend it.
If Argus were to find out that he had failed...
He pitied the man, really. Despite his actions against Luceria, Argus had been quite mad for the last several thousand years. And Diomedes couldn't blame him. To lose a child and have them returned to a semblance of life at the expense of innocent souls he had been charged to protect... It would have been too much for any father to bear.
The Old Witch left them both on their respective beds for the moment and went to the bathroom. He turned on the light, and faced himself in the mirror. "Vul-pes, Volpes, Lo-gu-pus, Lo-ga-lo-ga-pus." He chanted, bringing swimming images dancing across the mirror's surface. Reflections of children, brushing their teeth or playing pranks on their siblings, reflections of houses on the surface of still lakes, fishermen reflected in the polished metal of their crafts, even other witches engrossed in studies reflected by their own glasses or windows. A glimpse of a black cloak and white skull mask, tightly embracing a child whose face was the same as all the faces who had come before him. He searched until he found the reflection of a particular witch, tatting lace made of her own icy magic.
She was nearly as plump as Olivia, with eyes the color of ice and skin sallow and pale lavender. Her hair was deep purple, with two black braids hanging in front of her ears. Her face was traditionally handsome for a Greek woman, and her thick lips moved in time with the counting of her stitches.
"Pluto Frozenlaw." He called her out of her concentration.
She scowled at him. "I believe there must be some rule about interrupting my tatting somewhere. And if there isn't, I shall write one."
"I have simply elected to inform you that you are now God of Hades."
"Excuse me?" Her frown deepened, and something dark moved behind her eyes. "While he is demented, Argus is the current-"
"I have killed him. He is no more. There is not even a soul to return to you." Diomedes stated the facts as bluntly as he could, recounting the news of the potential deaths of the Shinigami, searching for and finding Luceria, and, of course, burning out Argus' soul.
Pluto was quiet for a complete minute, tatting her lace absently. "Yes. That logic was sound. I shall make arrangements amongst the Coven and alert the other Noble Witches. Thank you for your services, as always, Diomedes."
"Before I take my leave, King Pluto," there was a light but unmistakable note of playfulness in the otherwise stoic and serious voice of the Gorgon, "I must ask if my son has resurfaced. Is he planning on ever taking his proper role?"
"That yellow bellied skink is nothing if not a coward." Pluto snapped, eyes flashing dangerously. Her lace melted back into the air, forming black crystals of anger around her head. "No, he's out, hunting Shadows, he says! Shadows will always exist; yet he thinks to rid the world of them! As if that is a better use of his time than taking command of the Coven left to him!"
Diomedes fought to keep a straight face. Riling up the small penguin was much too easy in certain regards. "Thus you are still arguing with the Fates to allo-"
"I have disposed of those useless hags."
He blinked. "You... Did what?"
"I killed them. Nearly half a century ago." She replied languidly, returning to her lace. "I'm certain they've been reborn by now. No doubt they have crossed my cousin's path."
"The rebirth of Fate isn't something you should trifle with!" It was his turn to rage. "What if their powers manifest into a human? What do you do then, my King?"
"Then I will simply wait out their miserable and unfortunate life."
"In that case, you are little better than your brother, and hardly better than you Shadow."
"Do not speak to me of-"
"I have always been the Olympian's best advisor!" He roared. The bathroom filled with a noxious blue haze. A high pitched ring began sounding throughout the building. "And if you chose to ignore me, my King, you will suffer the same fate as Athena and her Traitors."
Pluto paused, regarding the God of Rage and the Path to Victory with cold eyes. Finally, she spoke again. "My sincere apologies, Diomedes. I am weary from my duty to Hades in my brother's absence, and in keeping my Shadow complacent. I fear I may have spent too long outside the world and have lost much of my compassion for it."
"I fear you are correct."
"Is my only recourse, then, to rejoin it?" She smiled bitterly.
"I give you my sincerest and most humble advice," He returned the expression, but with much more warmth, "I believe it is time for you to leave Hades, and at the least visit the world of the living."
The new King sighed heavily. "Yes, I believe you are correct. Once my authority has been recognized here, I shall go."
"Pluto..." Diomedes hesitated. "You are aware of Argus'... Extramarital dallyings with the humans?"
"Yes."
"I advise you to put an end to his line completely, lest the power be divided between his bastard heirs and yourself."
"The Ursa of the Cyprus lineage have gone quite mad, haven't they?"
"Quite."
He ended communication with the new King of Hades, and returned to the main room. He realized that several humans were attempting to enter the room, but his soul wavelength was stopping them. It wouldn't be long before a Meister arrived to battle him. Diomedes picked up Luceria in her current state, returned to the mirror, and disappeared through it.
He stepped out into the bedroom he shared with his new wife. She wasn't home currently, and for that he was grateful. Diomedes soothed his daughter out of her Weapon form. She was hysterical. Mad. She screamed, both human and fox, sending waves of untrained and anxious magic through the house. Glass and wood and even metal fragmented and restored, over and over again. He was afraid the house would lose its structural integrity.
He was afraid he would go mad with her.
He did the only thing he could think to do: he took her deep into the mountain, to the room she used to sleep in. Olivia had cleaned it and made it more comfortable, but it was still just a cave. Still just a prison for a daughter he could neither save or destroy.
Olivia put her hand on his shoulder. He jumped. How long had he been watching her through the bars? Watching her rip open her own skin to draw stick figures on the wall?
"Honey, come inside. I brought her something to eat, but you need to come in."
He looked up at her. Her cheeks were plump and rosy, and her cute button nose was slightly red. Her eyes were swollen. "Baby, were you crying?"
She chuckled. "Diomedes, you've been sitting here for two weeks. Of course I was crying."
"Oh." He blinked. "It didn't..."
"You were talking to her, you know. You called her Julie."
He shook his head. "I'm sorry, Olivia. I..."
"I know, baby, I know. We're going to do everything we can, but..."
He stood, taking her in his arms. Her belly prevented him from holding her too tightly. "There isn't anything to do." He explained sadly. "It's just a waiting game. Either she'll recover... Or..."
-*/*-
News of Death the Kid's recovery spread through the DWMA like wildfire. Nothing had returned to normal since the dance. The school, though open as a safe haven, was not holding formal lectures or classes. Meisters and Weapons were welcomed to practice on their own, but a great many of the two and three star Meisters of Shibusen were absent. Lord Death's recovery had prompted several small parties, none of which were hosted at the school, and Kid being awake for the first time in a week prompted several slightly larger gatherings.
Leila finally baked the cookies she mentioned the day after the dance, and she called up the Resonance Group Kid was a part of. It didn't take them long to reach Kid's place. It was a U-shaped building with two stories. The outside was black with white trim, and glinted with large windows. The large double doors were perfectly centered in the dip of the U.
Black Star threw open the front doors. They slammed into the walls and knocked the nearest painting to the floor. They walked in, framed by the steep stairs leading to the second floor. The inside was surprisingly light and open, with pale grey walls and bone white trim. There was a skylight encompassing the entryway, and the sunlight shone down unobstructed past the second floor balcony. The floors were a wood look porcelain tile, a delicate grey color.
"BLACK STAR HAS ARRIVED!" Black Star shouted as he rounded the corner into the family room.
Tsubaki sighed. Of all times, did he have to pick now to be... Himself? The whole room stared at them. It looked as though Crona at least had been crying. Even Ragnarok and Soul looked sad. Maka had her head on Soul's shoulder and the Weapon held her hand tenderly.
Liz and Patti sat in tall armchairs on either side of the makeshift bed in the center of the room. Kid was conscious, and his eyes were open, but they seemed blank and lifeless. His head was turned to his right, staring at the wall. He blinked when Black Star entered, and winced at the crash of the fallen painting, but was unresponsive otherwise.
"Feels like a funeral in here," Black Star grumbled, "Why is everyone so upset, jeez? It's not like anyone died."
"Black Star!" Tsubaki gasped.
"You're so lame," Soul commented blandly, "Don't you have something better to do?"
Black Star tackled him, "WHY ARE YOU BEING SO STUPID WHY DON'T WE JUST GO BRING HER BACK!?"
"SHUT UP!" Patti yelled, looking murderous, "Kid is sad. We are quiet when Kid is sad. If you aren't quiet, I will shoot you. 'Kay?" She held up one hand, aiming it like she would aim her sister.
Black Star grumbled, but sat on the floor with his head on the back of the couch. Tsubaki sat beside him.
Patti grinned at her sister, "I'm scary!"
"Yes, Patti." Liz sighed.
Kid turned to his weapons. "Thank you Patti, but I'm fine." His golden eyes still gazed blankly through them. No one believed him. The silence stretched on until the door opened.
Stein and Leila peeped around the corner. "Wow, everyone's here, aren't they?" Leila smiled slightly. "Well I have cookies. Ragnarok, don't eat them all." She brandished a pretty lavender box with a gold ribbon, almost as if she'd rather be hitting people with it than gifting.
She walked over to Kid. "Are you alright?" She tried to keep her voice light hearted.
He nodded without looking at her. Physically, yes. Or at least he would be. Even attacks from Weapons usually didn't phase him for long, but the attack from Rivin's blade would leave a permanent scar. He could have smirked. His was a mirror image of Soul's chest to hip scar.
"Tch," Black Star was still sulking, "if you're alright, then why don't you get your lazy butt out of bed?"
"Stop it, Black Star!" Tsubaki whisper yelled, "You're not helping!"
"Because I'm still injured and my weapons won't allow me to leave yet." Kid responded evenly. Argus had called Rivin his Weapon... The God Slayer. Was this proof of Rivin's title?
"Our souls were all attacked, too." Black Star motioned around the room, jumping to his feet, "But we still all came here, even Maka, just to see you. This is so boring. You're all just going to sit here and mope. I'M GOING TO GO FIND RIVIN AND IF YOU WANNA COME WITH ME FINE, OTHERWISE JUST SIT HERE AND BE DEPRESSED AND USELESS."
Tsubaki sighed again. Black Star had really gotten attached to Rivin, almost like she was his little sister. She knew that all he wanted was a family; a mother and father who loved him and walked a better path; maybe a younger sibling or cousins to teach and protect... And Rivin had given him that.
Leila kicked Black Star in his kneecap and handed him a cookie, looking angry. "Eat a freaking cookie and shut your face."
He took the cookie with round eyes, not even registering the pain in his knee. He was speechless. Tsubaki pulled him back to the ground. He stared at his cookie.
"Black Star?" Tsubaki put her hand on his shoulder, "Are you okay?"
The foxes the foxes were still there in his head he could hear them but they had nothing to say, howling and howling and screaming. Back in the mountain back home in the mountain, safe with Diomedes where she couldn't hurt - where she couldn't - where she - where-
He blinked and knocked his head with the palm of his hand twice. "Who the hell is this Diomedes guy?"
"Diomedes?! DIOMEDES?" Ragnarok began beating Crona's head frantically, "She can't go back there! I liked talking to her when she wasn't hitting me! SHE'S GONNA EAT ME IF SHE GETS BACK THERE CRONA I DON'T WANT TO BE EATEN!!"
"OW ST-RA-OW Ragnarok I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING!"
Kid's eyes widened, showing emotion for the first time that day. "She's back with her father?" He got to his feet quickly, ignoring the pulsing pain in his chest and abdomen. He didn't want to think about the kind of irreparable damage Diomedes might be able to do to Rivin's soul while she was in such a state.
Her father...the witch. "We have to go get her then!" Leila exclaimed.
"THAT'S WHAT I'VE BEEN TRYING TO TELL YOU!" He hit the floor and shoved the cookie in his mouth, "AIF FOLF YUFF FO!"
"Don't talk with your mouth full..." Tsubaki shook her head.
"Whoa, wait." Soul looked over the back of the couch, "What are you talking about?"
"Diomedes is her father, and he's a witch," Kid explained. "Medusa's brother in fact." He looked at Crona. "Medusa's research on the black blood originally belonged to him, but unlike Medusa's, Diomedes's experiment failed. His test subject..." Kid closed his eyes. It was hard for him to think of Rivin, alone and scared... Anything but the well of happiness and wonder that he had known.
Leila stared in disbelief. She felt tears springing to her eyes again. Rivin? A lab experiment? "Well that's even worse, then! She can't go back to him...what the hell is she thinking?"
"She's not," Black star answered, wiping the crumbs from his face, "She's totally mad. The foxes are everywhere." He shrugged, "So, let's go!"
"Go where?" asked the mummified nurse, popping out of the ground near the foot of the bed, "The only place you will be going is to the death room. Lord Death would like a word with all of you."
"THERE'S NOT TIME FOR THAT WE HAVE TO FIND RIVIN!"
"You have to speak to Lord Death. He has let you rest, and now he requires your presence. Follow me."
There was a collective sigh as the group re-collected their feet and accompanied Nygus to the Death Room. The streets of Death City were crowded, but the halls of the Death Weapon Meister Academy were, understandably, mostly empty. A lone student stood outside the guillotine hallway, hands folded in front of her as she waited patiently to be allowed inside.
Any person with soul perception, and any who were in any way sensitive, knew immediately that she was a Witch. Her primrose soul was practically swollen with unused power, but she kept her face averted from them as if she were shy. A closer look would have revealed guilt and frustration and a yawning chasm of loss. The group passed her without so much as a second glance.
The Death Room was inappropriately bright. Not a single cloud floated on the glowing nearly white blue walls.
"Yo!" Lord Death said in his usual joyful manner. "That sure was some party last week..."
"YOU'RE TELLING ME MAN THAT GUY WAS SUCH AN ASS!" Black Star pumped his fist. "SPEAKING OF HIM WE'VE SAT ON OUR BUTTS FOR LONG ENOUGH! Kid's awake now, so our group is put back together. We should go find Rivin."
Tsubaki put her hand on his shoulder, "I don't think this is the time..."
"Oh goodness," Leila rolled her eyes. "If we brought him with us we'd never find Rivin. He'd scare her off."
Lord Death's brow seemed to furrow. "Ah...ya, about that. That's why I called all of you here. I'm afraid I'll have to forbid you all from going on missions for the time being, least of all one to bring back Rivin."
"WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!?" Black Star raged.
For a change, Maka agreed with him, "Rivin needs us! We can't just stay around here while she's being held by her father! We need to do something!"
Kid's eyes narrowed. "Dad. The man she's being held by is a witch. A powerful one. How can you ask us to sit here and do nothing while this needs to be dealt with?"
"You all aren't the only skilled weapons and Meisters at this school," Lord Death reminded his son. "You don't have to worry. There are plenty enough here for a strong team. Rivin and this witch will be taken care of as soon as possible."
"Lord Death, what about us?" Leila spoke up. "Stein is definitely the strongest Meister here, and I'm his weapon. Wouldn't it make sense to send us after her?" She tried to keep her voice even. How dare he tell her that she couldn't look for Rivin?
"Professor Stein has classes to teach, just as all of you have classes to take. You're all going to stay here, go to class, relax!" He gave them a peace sign.
"Relax?" Soul scoffed, "Sure, all the cool kids relax when their friends run into danger."
Maka felt bittersweet irony tugging at her mouth. If they had been friends to Rivin, maybe she would have been able to trust them to help her, to tell them about her past...
"Rivin needs all of us!" Patti roared, hands by her mouth, "Patti the Dinosaur can help her!" She wiggled her butt as if moving a tail.
"If we go as a group, there isn't anything we can't handle." Liz declared, "Maka can resonate all of our souls and we'll take that Witch no problem!"
Lord Death squinted at them. "Ya, no. I don't think Maka can do that."
The Meister balled her fists. "No." she admitted acidly. "I... My soul is still damaged. Argus' Dead-Soul wavelength undid everything Rivin did to help me. I'm... Useless."
"So that settles it!" Lord Death clapped his hands, "Everyone go home, rest, relax~"
Every Weapon and Meister left the room, exiting the guillotine hallway in pairs. Only Kid stayed behind. He was too tired to form a coherent facial expression. "Dad. Do you know anything about Diomedes Gorgon?"
The elder Shinigami sighed. "I know a fair amount. He is a Gorgon, after all... And so is Rivin. Neither of them is going to be killed easily." He held his arms out. "Do you... want a hug?"
Kid put his hands in his pockets. "No. I want to go find my g- Rivin." He finished lamely. "I want to bring her home. I feel... Unbalanced without her." The admission was more than he had expected. The emotional strength drained out of him, leaving him hollow.
The Death Room responded instantly. Clouds rolled in, grey and listless, and the bright light faded to a sad, unsaturated blue. Lord Death wrapped him in a gentle, warm embrace. "I'm sorry, Kiddo."
"Dad? I'm... I love you." He returned Lord Death's hug fiercely.
"I know, Kiddo. I love you, too."
"Rivin... Saved me."
"Ah, yeah. I heard her, too." He held his son tighter. "She's a good egg, Kiddo. And we'll both be here to support her when she comes home, okay?"
He nodded, unwilling to let go of his dad just yet. Lord Death rubbed his head, grateful to the demi-God who had kept his son alive.
Chapter 18: Lord Death sanctions Death Coven : A Connection?
Chapter Text
The large group left the Death Room soon after they entered, with the exception of the one she assumed was Lord Death's son. They all looked disappointed, angry, or crestfallen, or some combination of the three. The tall blonde one gave her a disdainful look before stalking off with the shorter blonde one.
Being a Witch, she was used to such looks; it wasn't as though she dressed in a mundane manner. There were several different types of bags, ranging from a small coin purse to a document pouch attached to her heavy leather belt. They lay over a tan, knee length skirt with a white petticoat peeking out from under and gold embroidery, and had dangling chains with beads and baubles strung between them. Her corset was a simple cream underbust with white and gold lace, and pale pink ribbons lacing up the back. The top of the dress matched the skirt, with a high collar and long, flaring sleeves which hid her hands when her arms were at her side. She wore no jewelry, but there were three pink, chevron-like stripes on her right cheek. She had light beige skin and shoulder length dark brown hair. Her eyes were the same dark primrose as her cheek strips.
Besides, she wasn't here for people to like her personally; she was here to talk to Lord Death. The fact that he had agreed to meet with her at all was exciting for the young Witch, and even more so when she was allowed into Death City without a guard. All she had to do was promise not to hurt anyone and to keep her soul-protect on. Lord Death either didn't think of her as a threat, or thought very highly of his Meisters... Or he simply trusted that she had good intentions.
Death the Kid stepped out a few minutes later. He walked right past, as if he didn't notice her at all. She smiled. He had kind of a cute nose, and a nice face, even while it was shadowed with grief. She wanted to see it again.
She should have waited for the mummified Weapon to show her in, or for Spirit, but she was just too tempted to follow after the little Grim Reaper. She had to do something, or she might forget why she was here in the first place. Besides, if Lord Death agreed, then she would have ample opportunity to see Death the Kid.
The young Witch walked with purpose down the guillotine hallway. Lord Death was standing in the center of a room with windows but no walls, in front of a tall golden mirror.
"Ah, you must be Amy Chalkart. You're a bit earlier than expected, but it's nice ta see ya." His voice, though high pitched and clearly designed to be silly and comforting, was heavy.
Amy gave a shallow curtsey. "I'm sorry. I was just so excited. Oh, I brought some things I had written up!" She unlatched her document satchel and produced a thick stack of papers. "I wasn't sure if, um, you'd take me seriously, so I found a lawyer, and-"
Lord Death held up a hand. "Whoa, whoa, slow down, Miss Chalkart. I'm still not entirely certain I understand what you're asking for." He made a quick cupping gesture with his hand, and summoned a kotatsu with two cushions. "If you don't mind, lets have some tea."
"Oh, of course!" She waited for him to be seated, then sat across from him. Before she could ask if she was supposed to provide the drinks, a tea set appeared on the table, complete with two cups, ready to drink.
"Honey? Sugar?"
"O-oh, yes please!"
She was fascinated by the blips of black electricity that seemed to appear as Lord Death brought the items into existence: a cute little bowl with a tiny spoon for sugar, and a slightly larger jar of honey with a glass stirring rod.
Lord Death himself didn't add any sweeteners, but he didn't seem concerned with her liberal use of honey. Once she appeared satisfied with her tea, he spoke again. "Now. You mentioned something about creating a coven in Death City. I'm not exactly sure how that would work, seeing as we don't have the friendliest history with Witches."
Amy smiled. "I know, but that's kind of the point. I mean, to make the future better." Her expression saddened as she continued. "Personally, I've always been afraid of being eaten, just for being born... I didn't ask to be a Witch, you know? But that wasn't up to me. I tried not using my powers at all, but they just happen sometimes and I can't always control them." She didn't know if the Shinigami actually believed her or not, but all she could do was keep going. "And I can't be the only one. I'm not bad. I just want to live my life like everyone else."
He seemed to feel that sentiment deeper than she intended, but that was just fine with her. The last part of her explanation had been directly from the heart, and rang with sincerity.
"And I think... That if you opened a class for young Witches like me, and offered them protection in exchange for loyalty, that we could really make a difference."
"Hrrmmm..." Lord Death sipped his tea. "Assuming I was willing to do such a crazy thing, what makes you think that other witches would actually come to learn, and not try to betray us? You must know that the Witch Medusa pretended to be a nurse in order to get close to two of my students and experiment on them, and then used her own child to attack our Professor Frank. N Stein."
She nodded. "Yeah, that's a good question. I think that there are enough Witches who are good. There's a lot of stigma around us. We're treated pretty badly by mortals, and Meisters and Weapons are always bursting into our homes and attack us. Killing us. It's scary. Witches like Lady Medusa are bad, all the way around, but we're not all like her.
"And! I know that some Witches have a really good handle on their magic, but they still just want to live in peace, without fear of having their children killed or left to grow up alone."
Lord death frowned. "Miss Chalk-"
"Amy. Please just call me Amy." She cringed, surprised at herself for interrupting.
He cleared his throat. "Amy, what do you see both sides getting out of this arrangement? You must know that Witches won't exactly be welcomed with open arms. There will be problems, and there will be an adjustment period."
"I don't think that will matter, as long as we have your word that we won't be killed in our homes to make Death Weapons. Do you..." she hesitated and lowered her voice. "Do you know about the different Covens?"
"I can't say I do..."
She nodded. "Right. Well. There are a lot of them, actually. Lady Medusa and Lady Arachne were a part of The Grand Coven. It's pretty new, all things considered... But it gained traction because of having two Gorgons in it. But, there lots of smaller factions all vying for power, all the time. Some of them are just parts of larger covens. Its like... Gangs." she snapped her finger when she thought of the comparison. "And they're petty, and murderous, and hard to leave, even if you try really hard. Most Witches are born into them, and they don't get a say."
she sighed and shook her head. "So that makes things complicated... But then there are the two big Covens. The Olympians and the Liberty Coven. They've been at war since before the... Well, for a really long time." Amy shifted uncomfortably in her chair. If Lord Death didn't take her in, if he didn't agree to found Death Coven, then he would have enough information to implement real strategies into finding Witches. "And they're like the two big mafia who everyone else has to listen to. But Death Coven could be neutral ground."
"Oh?" He didn't really feel like he needed to encourage her; she seemed set on telling him much more than he needed to know. He certainly wasn't going to complain.
"R-right. A lot of Witches get discovered because they attack each other. To get revenge or whatever, for their coven. But Death Coven could be... Outside of that. For Witches like me. Who don't have a big coven to protect them. Or like so many of my friends who have died, who tried to leave the covens they were born into, or the witches just tired of fighting all the time. We aren't born bad. We just aren't given the chance to be good."
"And Death City gets a bunch of Witches who have to unlearn biases for each other and for mortals and meisters and weapons, who are all potential threats..."
"We're assets!" She insisted. "We can help defend Death City. And with less of us at war, less mortals get hurt. And... And... I don't know. Maybe we can save lives."
"I would like to take a look at those documents, if you don't mind."
Later that same day, Lord Death made the official announcement to the school, and then to the world. He would sanction the founding of a new Coven, Death Coven, devoted to peace and prosperity and knowledge, neutral and separate from any other coven. Any Witch, young or old, who came to the gates of Death City would be welcomed and sheltered so long as they pledged their loyalty to the new coven and its tenants.
As its founder, Amy Chalkart would be the High Witch on the Coven's first Council. She reached out through letters and magic to urge Witches with a lust for knowledge and longing for peace to join her.
It wasn't long before Witches began coming to the gates, throwing themselves at the mercy of Shibusen on the off chance that Death Coven was real.
One month later, Amy still knew very little about Death the Kid. She had seen him once in the library, with the pink haired meister-witch-sword, Crona, but that was really it. She knew he was obsessed with symmetry. She tested this obsession by changing the positions of the statues in the basement of the school one night and telling Pluto and Charon, very loudly in the vicinity of a meister, about it. The next day, all the statues were perfectly even. It had made her laugh, but she also felt bad about it. She determined not to tell him it was her.
She also decided that the library might be the best place to find him. Meisters and weapons rolled their eyes at her as she passed. Amy kept her head held high. She had plenty of experience being bullied for what she was, and these people at least were not nearly as creative as the Witches she knew. Even Pluto could be mean sometimes, reminding her that she wasn't fit to cast her own shadow.
Amy perused the shelves, searching for a book on alchemy. She smiled at the red-eyed weapon when he glared at her, showing her his sharp teeth. She waved at his Meister, who kindly - if awkwardly - waved back. She knew they were in a Resonance group with Medusa's child and a loud meister named Black Star, but she knew very little about the two.
The Witch tried not to stare at the Meister. Her soul was badly damaged, bearing a hand shaped imprint. Several places were healing and less indented, but the fingers and thumb were still raw and painful looking. Amy shook her head. She didn't know what could cause that kind of injury, but she never wanted to be on its bad side.
Maka forcibly turned Soul away from the Witch, "She's not hurting anyone, Soul."
"Not yet," he grumbled, glaring over his shoulder at the Witch, "I still don't think this is a good idea. We're giving them a free pass to study their powers."
"Yeah, and in return for their safety they swore to defend the DWMA." Maka shrugged, "I don't really like it, but Amy seems nice." She flipped the page of her large text. It was a collection of compiled theories on the types of Weapons to use against acidic Witches. She was rather disappointed to find that physical Weapons, like Soul or Tsubaki, wouldn't be the best choice to battle them.
"You sound like Patti. You can't be friends with a Witch." Soul sounded bitter, and his eyes were tight. His body language was close off, and it almost looked as though he was protecting himself.
Maka gave him a soft smile and put her hand on his arm. "Rivin really was our friend, Soul. She's just scared and alone, like Crona. So now we just need to make sure all her friends are waiting here for her to come home to."
The Weapon cringed. He clenched his teeth. "Rivin's a half Witch. Half of her is good. Any full Witch is full evil."
"You're impossible!" Maka stood up and turned on her heel. "We're going to make friends with Amy whether you want to or not!" She stomped over to Amy and grabbed her hand, ready to speak as the Witch jumped. "Hi, I'm Maka and that's Soul. Come sit with us!"
"Okay, but I-" Amy squeaked, fingers closing on the spine of a book just in time for Maka to drag her to the table and sit her down.
Kid walked down the hallway toward the library calmly. To someone who didn't know him, he looked like his normal, collected self, but his friends knew better. He hadn't smiled once since Rivin's disappearance. He spent more time in the library, and he preferred to be alone, refusing company even from his Weapons.
He didn't want to hear them mutter worriedly about him, and he didn't want to have to fend off questions about whether or not he was alright. Of course he wasn't. He sighed and shook his head, pushing open the library door and entering.
Soul saw the familiar black suit of his teammate and stuck his hand in the air. Maka glanced up and smiled a bit sadly.
Amy sighed. This was the moment she had been dreading - what was she supposed to say? She really hadn't thought that far ahead, and somehow she knew that "Hi, I saw you once and I'm pretty sure I fell in love." wouldn't really go over well.
Well, it was too late to think of anything now; Soul was summoning him. She put on her friendliest smile and gave a small wave as he sighed in their general direction.
Lovely, Kid thought, scowling to himself. Well, I can't just ignore them. He approached their table, looking as sociable as he could manage. "Hello, Maka, Soul." His eyes landed on Amy. He had avoided meeting her since she had convinced his father to sanction Death Coven. Something about her put him slightly on edge. Like the feeling he got when watching a movie and something was funny, but not laughable.
"H-hi..." Amy felt... Awkward. She could feel the heat in her cheeks as she looked at him. Perfect skin, maturing features, and the most beautiful golden eyes made her forget that she wasn't supposed to fall in love. She needed him. "I'm Amy... um... Y-your dad made the representative of Death Coven... N-nice to meet you..." She couldn't quite look him in the face.
Kid tried not to glare at the young witch. "Hello, It's nice to meet you as well." Why was she smiling like that? He instantly disliked her for her sunny disposition, and had to remind himself that it was most likely due to his own dour state of mind. Besides, he needed to set an example as to how to treat Death Coven.
Maka patted the space between her and Amy, "How's your project for Professor Stein, Kid? Do you want to help me and Soul?"
Amy could feel waves of disapproval from Kid. She wasn't sure what she had done wrong. She propped open the book and skimmed the first page. Well. This is.... Probably not going to look good... Great first impression. Reading a book on Kishin....
Soul shook his head at her, but said nothing to her. It seemed he had decided to act like she didn't exist. The Witch signed angrily to herself.
Kid saw the title of the witch's book and promptly looked away. "No. thank you, Maka. Liz, Patti and I have a ways to go on our own project." And by "a ways to go," he really meant that they had little more to do than to read through the paper again and transfer it onto a piece of paper that didn't have yellow crayon all over it. He felt a bit guilty for lying to his friend. "Perhaps if we finish early," he added. He forced a smile and walked away.
He went over to the desk where the librarian sat, scanning paperwork. "Excuse me," he interrupted. "I need to search for a book in the back room." He flipped his ID card over and showed the librarian his father's insignia on the back.
The librarian nodded. "You don't need to show me that every time, you know." He smiled warmly. "You're here every day, I know who you are by now."
Kid nodded and walked through the opening in the desk. "Thank you," he said stiffly.
"Anything I can help you find back there?"
"No thank you," Kid shook his head, walking toward the very back corner of the room. All he was looking for was peace and quiet.
Amy sighed. She was disappointed in her first impression on Kid, but she knew she could turn him around. Her disappointment was outweighed by the fluttering in her stomach and anticipation for their future. She carefully crafted a small, embarrassed smile for Maka. "I didn't mean to get this book.... I wanted the Alchemy book beside it..."
"What-oh!" the meister was surprised to see what she had caused, "I'm sorry! I should have waited for you to pick your book before dragging you over here..."
Soul rolled his eyes, "She's only saying that because she doesn't want to be in trouble for researching how to make a Kishin."
"Soul!"
"What? She's a witch. She'll try it eventually!"
"That's unfair-"
"It's the truth!" Soul slammed his fist on the table, "the only good witch is a dead one."
Amy smiled so hard that her eyes closed, "I'm sorry you feel that way, Soul. I'll be sure to allow you your space in the future." She stood and pushed her chair in, "I'm sorry for upsetting you. Have a nice day."
Maka glared. Soul shrugged and leaned back in the chair. She picked up the abandoned book. Soul opened one eye, flinched, but couldn't dodge. "MAKA CHOP!"
Soul fell to the floor, gripping his head for dear life. Maka put the book down, crossed her arms and sulked.
A short, curvy Witch with dark indigo hair, lavender skin and crisp cyan eyes watched them curiously. A small smile graced her plump blue lips, "Are you aware that you have wounded your partner with A Kishin?"
At Maka's confused and slightly startled expression, the witch gestured to the title of the book Maka had beaten Soul with. A Kishin - an analysis of the maddened mind. She wasn't really sure if it was funny or sad. She opened her mouth to possibly yell at the intruder, but was stopped short by a hand in her face.
"I'm Pluto. It's rude to stare at people's hands when they are trying to introduce themselves."
Maka shook her hand, feeling like she should know this witch for some reason. Her hand was ice cold to the touch and her soul was frosted over. It was very similar to...
"Your loud friend will be here shortly." She pulled her hand away, tucking it into the pockets of her loose fitting pants. "He seems to be resonating with someone quite a ways from here. Their connection must have been a strong one."
The Meister blinked. Her hand bore no sign of damage the way the ballroom had after... "Argus! That's who you remind me of." She tried to smile, but the likeness made her uneasy. Soul stood behind her, a snarl twitching on his lips.
Pluto stared at her for a hard minute. The air around them shimmered with malcontented crystals of ice. Maka felt her heart drop into her stomach. She instinctively reached for Soul's hand, but the Witch crisply turned her back on the pair, instead facing the blue haired Meister stumbling into the library. The ice dissipated into thin trails of steam.
Black Star's teal eyes were wild and filled with an unusual emotion: fear. The rest of the library stopped to watch him. Some with interest, others with concern. "Cold..." he mumbled, staggering towards Pluto, Maka and Soul. He giggled, mouth twitching into an odd sort of uncertain smile. His hands stretched, fingers trembling, reaching for Pluto's face.
"Are you... Real?"
Pluto stepped back, keeping herself just out of reach.
"Black Star, what's going on?" Maka tried to comfort him, but Pluto's outstretched arm stopped her cold. "Pluto! What is happening?"
"This situation isn't very cool at all." Soul ground his teeth.
"As I clearly stated previously, he is resonating with someone." She replied. "It seems the person is quite mad."
Black Star froze, staring blankly at the ceiling. His voice trembled to a scream. Most of his words were indiscernible from the shrieks of a wounded fox. Certain words, like "cold", "warm", and "red" were perfectly clear, while others could have been "lost", "alone" or "afraid." The Meister seemed to have no clear idea where he was, or who he was.
Maka gaped. Soul glared. Students whispered. Pluto watched.
Kid was having trouble focusing on any particular book. He'd pick one up, scan the first few pages, and put it back. Eventually he did find one, however. It was a book on architecture. He managed a slight smile as he flipped through to find the chapter on the period of history where symmetrical designs were the most highly valued.
The second his eyes skimmed the chapter's first line, a familiar voice began screaming. Kid's eyes narrowed. He sighed and stood, walking back to the main area. "Black Star, this is a lib--" He stopped abruptly when he heard Black Star's voice more clearly through the animalistic sounds. His words...his tone of voice...giggling...Kid's eyes widened.
"Okay," Maka took a deep breath, placing her hand on Black Star's shoulder. "Black Star, what are you talking about?"
His voice cracked, distorted with a squealing overtone. "I killed him!" The tirade of geckers and pleas for help continued.
Before he could stop himself, Kid was walking. His soul ached more and more with every word of the loud and disturbing monologue that was borrowing Black Star's voice. Every syllable was a painting that had slipped crooked. A book upside down on the shelf. A cracked statue. A hole in the wall. Everything ruined. He'd forgotten to fold the tip of the toilet paper and now everything was ruined. If only he'd remembered...
He couldn't bring himself to ask any questions or even wonder if it was possible. Not yet. He kept walking until he was in front of Black Star. His head was down, his eyes in shadow, but the gold of his irises almost seemed to glow with rage. Without hesitation, he pulled his fist back and punched the assassin in the face. "Shut your mouth Black Star," he said quietly, his voice shaking. "This is a library."
Black Star blinked stupidly. He opened and closed his mouth, thought better of anything he could tell Kid and settled for a mumbled apology. He gazed around the room, mouth half open.
Soul and Maka exchanged glances. They didn't have a chance to speak. Pluto patted Kid on the arm. "Fret not, young dead creature, whom-ever the idiot was speaking to is now long out of reach. It is my sincere hope that you did not want him to have that connection."
"Connection?" In his anger, Kid had ignored the potential in Black Star's condition. He had been inside Rivin's mind... he may have even been able to communicate with her... until he'd had his face smashed in. If Pluto was correct, that had most likely been his only chance. Kid turned and started to leave the library, rubbing his eyes regretfully.
Chapter 19: I never lied: What are we?
Chapter Text
"Class dismissed."
The dull roar of students gathering their belongings filled the room, and faded as they began to leave in their usual small groups. Leila and Stein were the last to leave.
"So, what are your plans for the rest of the day?"
"Hmm...food, first of all," Leila replied. "I think I'll make...wait, damn." She grimaced. "I promised myself I wouldn't make anything until all the leftovers were gone. I always make too much food, now that I only have one person to feed..." Her voice trailed off sadly. Two weeks had passed since Rivin had left, but Leila still made enough food for the both of them. Now she had a refrigerator full of leftovers that would most likely never be eaten. She hated leftovers.
Stein frowned. "A culinary genius like you, keeping delicious food all to herself, just to let it expire in the refrigerator and be thrown away?" He shook his head and smiled. "That doesn't seem fair."
Leila chuckled, blushing. "I don't know if I would use the word 'genius,' but it was pretty good food...when it was warm, at least."
Stein's smile became a grin. "Good, warm food. There's something I haven't had in my house for a while." He glanced at her. "It's a shame, really."
"You don't cook for yourself?"
He shook his head. "Cooking is a science that I never managed to master, unfortunately. I rarely remember to buy groceries, so I usually end up going to a restaurant for a quick meal, or, if I'm busy, forgetting to eat altogether."
"Well, that's no good..." Leila replied. She looked at her feet shyly. "I should come over and cook for you sometime."
"You're welcome to my home anytime," he smiled. He had been hoping she would say that.
So Leila went home with Stein, intending to make lunch, eat with him, and go back to her empty, rundown duplex. After lunch, however, they sat on his surprisingly comfortable stitch-y couch, talking and laughing. They eventually became hungry again, so they went out for more groceries, and Leila cooked a delicious dinner. The pleasant conversation continued. Her Meister had no shortage of fascinating and detailed stories about his various previous missions and experiments. When she finally looked at the clock on the wall, it was nearly midnight.
"I guess I should go home..." she sighed. "But I don't want to. It's dark." Leila loved the dark. The dark had nothing to do with it.
"You don't have to," Stein responded, then cleared his throat, looking slightly embarrassed. "If it's too dark, you could sleep here."
"I could..." Leila said distractedly. Her active imagination had been sparked by his offer, and she was struggling to make it behave. "Your couch is probably more comfortable than the beds that came with that old place." Her voice held a playful tone. "Any reason you'd want me to stay?" She couldn't help but giggle as he blushed and twisted his screw.
"Not particularly, it was just an offer." He managed to maintain his casual and detached demeanor.
Leila rolled her eyes. He'd more or less invited her to his house, but now that he had her there, he was suddenly acting like she was just a friend again. As funny as it was, it was also rather frustrating. She stood up with a sigh and shoved her hands into her pockets. "Alright, I guess I'll go home. I'll see you tomorrow, Professor." She walked toward the door.
"Leila, I-"
She turned and looked at him. "Hm?"
He couldn't finish the sentence, and he still didn't know why. When they'd resonated, the morning after the party, it had been effortless, and natural...and true. He definitely felt it, as far as he could tell. Why, then, under normal circumstances, couldn't he say it? "I...enjoyed lunch and dinner, thank you," he finished lamely. "If you have no plans for tomorrow, would you like to come over again?" Idiot, he thought. I'm an idiot.
"Sure!" She gave him a small smile and nodded. "Goodnight." She waved and walked through his front door, letting it swing shut behind her.
He sighed and lit a cigarette. This wasn't surprising, of course. Emotions had never been his strong point. He often doubted that he even had them. Wasn't that what Marie had said before she left? He was cold, emotionless, something like that. He couldn't really remember. Honestly, there was a part of him that had been relieved when Marie had decided to go back to her duties in Oceania.
She'd been a good weapon and companion, but she'd demanded feelings from him that he just hadn't had for her. Of course, he felt bad that she was hurt, and he missed her company on occasion, but overall, he didn't mind terribly that she'd left him. But this time it was different. This time, he found himself feeling plenty of strange but pleasant emotions he couldn't say he'd had in...
He twisted his screw. He'd never encountered this particular cocktail of emotions that was exhilarating and comforting all at once. It seemed he would need a bit more practice with them. He had wanted Leila to stay. She had clearly wanted to stay. There was no reason she shouldn't. With a sigh, he put out his cigarette and surveyed his empty house.
"E-excuse me?" The timid man approached the strange weapon cautiously. "U-um, Miss, is there something I can help you with?"
Leila spun around, her foot still in the air. The man squeaked and ducked as it sailed over his head. "Oh, was this your tree? I'm sorry..."
"Oh, no, not mine, but...well, is there any reason why you're...kicking it?"
She looked back at the tree. It had a large nail sticking out of the trunk at an angle. "No, not really," she muttered, crossing her arms and walking away. "Just needed to get a little frustration out."
Once she was sure there was no one around, she sat down on the sidewalk with a deep sigh. For the last two weeks, even through her sadness and frustration, she'd been taking advantage of the peace and solace in her soul. Now that she was truly able to feel however she wanted about anyone without having to feel guilty, she had been trying shamelessly to get his attention once again. It was a good way to keep herself distracted from how badly she wished she could look for Rivin.
Unfortunately, he hadn't been as responsive as she'd hoped. His shyness had been cute and funny at first, but she wanted more. She couldn't help but wonder if she'd already done something wrong, or if she was expecting too much from someone like him. On multiple occasions, she had even wondered if she had imagined his words...
Leila returned to Stein's house for lunch and dinner the next day, and the day after, and still, nothing happened. She was on the verge of giving up. Perhaps they were only friends after all. Just Weapon and Meister. How silly, that she'd been feeling guilty all that time for nothing.
Stein looked at her, his eyebrows raised. Her soul, which had been growing more and more agitated every time he saw her, had seemed to shift suddenly, as if it had been forced to accept something that it had previously been denying. "Leila, what's wrong?"
"Too much rosemary," she said distractedly, with a small frown. "Not too bad, but I can taste it..."
"Leila."
"Hmmm?" She looked up from her plate.
His eyes were full of concern. "Are you ok?"
She smiled at him. "I'm fine." He would have believed her if not for the fact that he could see how the color had drained out of her soul. She stood up, took their empty plates into the kitchen, and washed the dishes. "Well, kitchen's clean. I should probably go," she said casually. She waved, still smiling as she turned toward the door. "Bye!"
The word echoed in his head, worryingly symbolic. Unable to form the right words, he decided on action. As she started to walk through the open door into the night, he stood and took her wrist. She looked back at him, surprised. He watched as hope returned to her soul, watched as she tried to push it away.
"What's up?" she asked him, still smiling.
He ignored her question and pulled her into his arms. As he held her there, he felt her relax, and finally, wrap her arms around him, returning the hug. "Would you like to stay here tonight, Leila?" he asked quietly.
He felt her nod against his shoulder. Her soul began to regain its color and glow.
So Leila stayed that night. She slept on the couch, underneath a soft blanket that appeared to have been stitched together from pieces of several others. It was a twin-sized blanket, despite the fact that it had come from Stein's king-sized bed. It occurred to her that it was strange for a single man to sleep alone in such a large bed. The thought of offering to join him and keep him company brought a smirk to her lips, but she kept the offer to herself. She wasn't typically the shy type when it came to such interactions, and she could be rather aggressive when she wanted to, but she knew when to be patient. She didn't want to make him more uncomfortable than he already seemed. Maybe next week, she thought, grinning as she drifted off to sleep.
She awoke to the sun peeking through Stein's living room window. She didn't quite know where she was at first, but when she saw the stitches on the walls, she remembered the night before. Her soul filled with warmth and excitement. She sat up, stretched, and went to the kitchen to make breakfast.
She wasn't sure what she had been expecting to find. She'd had to bring or purchase nearly every ingredient for their lunches and dinners. His kitchen was virtually empty, save for a few ingredients and leftovers she'd left there.
She glanced at the clock on the wall. 6:24 am. She figured that she had plenty of time to buy groceries before Stein woke up. Grinning mischievously, she walked to the door and pulled on her boots. "This breakfast is going to be so damn delicious," she said to herself with a chuckle. "You'll beg me to stay every night!"
"Leila?" Stein looked into the kitchen, confused. Had she gone home already? He checked the time. It was barely 7:00 am. He frowned. It was Saturday, they didn't have class. He hoped he hadn't upset her in some way, because if he had, he had no idea how this time. He shrugged and lit a cigarette. "Time to get to work," he muttered, closing the door to his laboratory behind him.
"I'm ho--uh, back," Leila called. "Stein?" She set the groceries on the kitchen counter. "Are you still asleep?" She peeked into his bedroom, but it was empty. "Oh well," she sighed. "I'm hungry." She returned to the kitchen and set to work.
A half an hour later, breakfast was ready. French toast, sliced strawberries with homemade whipped cream, and freshly brewed coffee. She looked around the kitchen at her handiwork, beaming. "Not bad," she commented, pulling plates from the cupboard. She arranged the sliced strawberries prettily in a small bowl with the whipped cream on top, and placed the bowl neatly on a plate beside two pieces of hot French toast with butter and a dainty sprinkling of powdered sugar. Holding the plate in one hand and a mug of coffee in the other, she tapped tentatively on the door of Stein's laboratory with her elbow.
"Come in," he replied.
She set the coffee down on a small table and opened the door. After retrieving the coffee, she entered, looking around the room in awe. There were elaborate arrangements of glass containers, all currently empty, and the walls were papered with notes, sketches, and charts. Steel tables with belts attached rose from the floor at the far end of the room, displaying mysterious stains. To her right, at a much less unsettling wooden table, sat Stein. He was writing something down in a notebook.
"Um," Leila said carefully. "Stein, would you like some breakfast?"
He swiveled in his rolly chair and smiled at her. "Oh, hello, Leila."
She smiled back at him. "Morning," she replied, setting the meal down on the table beside his notes. "I'm gonna go clean up the kitchen and eat, and then I'll head home." She opened the door. "Enjoy!" she said with a grin.
He looked up at her from his coffee. "Do you have something planned for today?"
She shrugged. "Nah. I'll probably just go home and watch TV or something. I should clean, but I think that place is a lost cause..." She shrugged and gestured to his notes. "I just figured you'd want your house empty so you could work. You seem busy."
"Not particularly," he said, trying a bite of his French toast. "Just a recreational bit of experimentation."
"Oh fun," Leila commented, walking over to sit on the corner of his table. She crossed her legs casually and smirked. "I could definitely stay and hang out, if you'd like...this place is much nicer than mine..." She knew it wouldn't get her anywhere, but she still enjoyed teasing him, watching him blush.
He hesitated, taking a deep breath. "I would, actually," he said quietly.
"You w--huh?" Leila stared, caught off-guard by his unusually positive reaction to her flirtatious behavior.
A small smile crossed his lips as he inhaled deeply from his cigarette. "I would like it if you stayed, Leila," he exhaled. "You're welcome to stay as long as you'd like. There's no reason my weapon should have to stay alone in such a questionable residence." He hesitated, but continued. "I've also enjoyed your company."
Leila laughed. "I've stayed in worse places. But I can't turn down an offer like that!" She grinned, feeling surprised. Last night, and now this? Maybe she hadn't imagined it, after all.
They ate their breakfast together and spent the afternoon wandering around Death City. Several of the stores had special items displayed for the weekend. Leila spotted a display of tasty-looking food. She studied it for several seconds, then waved her hand dismissively and moseyed away. "I think I could do better," she said, her voice full of mock conceit. Stein couldn't help but laugh at her fondly.
As they walked, they passed the old, slightly decrepit neighborhood where Leila stayed. She stared at it with a frown, remembering the frayed, stained carpets and crumbling counters. "Hey Stein?" she muttered distractedly.
"Hm?"
"If... you're ok with me...staying with you for a while..." She blushed. "Do you think they could fix that place up? It needs quite a bit of work...I'll pay for it out of my share of our missions or whatever..."
"I'm sure Lord Death can work something out. Most of the residents of that neighborhood have lived there a long time and tend to keep to themselves, so renovations get overlooked." Stein smiled, although he didn't look at her. "But why would you need to pay for it if you'll be staying with me?"
She stared at him. "Wait, you mean...permanently?"
"If you'd like," he replied casually. "If you would prefer to move back here, that's fine as well."
Leila shook her head quickly, grinning. "No way! Even with a year of renovations, that old place will never be as cool as a graveyard full of hooks."
Stein chuckled. "I'm glad you like it."
"I might have to find a better place to sleep than your couch though." She giggled.
He twisted his screw slowly. "I'm...sure we can arrange something for you."
By the time they reached the park, Leila was in a terrific mood, but doubt still nagged at her. They sat upon a bench near the basketball blacktop and watched a group of young Meisters and weapons play. Neither team was any good, but they seemed to be having fun.
Eventually, Leila could no longer enjoy the silence. She was overwhelmed with curiosity. He had been more responsive than usual to her attempts to flirt, but otherwise acted no differently. Of the dozens of casual flings she'd had since escaping her old Meister, none had been as difficult to read as Stein was. Confused and emboldened by recent events, she finally spoke. "Stein?"
"Hmm?" he responded distractedly, glaring at the rogue ball that had sailed in their direction and missed his face by only a foot.
"Uhhh..." her voice trailed off. She was feeling less confident by the second, but she couldn't stop now. "I guess...I just...what are we?" she blurted.
He raised an eyebrow at her. "What do you mean?"
She felt suddenly embarrassed and stupid. It occurred to her that it was a conversation she had never had to have. He had convinced her so thoroughly that no one would fall in love with her again, so she had never thought to ask. "I don't know. This. What is this?" She gestured back and forth between the two of them. With a sigh, she rubbed her forehead. "I just want to be sure..."
Stein was silent, but not because he didn't know how to answer. He knew exactly what he wanted to say, but he still couldn't seem to make his mouth form the words. You idiot, he scolded himself. You complete coward. Just say it. "Leila..."
She looked at him expectantly, but he said nothing else. She sighed. "Fine, sorry."
His inability to communicate a simple sentiment frustrated him. "Leila... it's somewhat complicated."
"How?" she frowned at him. "I thought it was a pretty straightforward question..." Shut UP, she told herself harshly. You're gonna ruin it. "...but it's ok. Let's just hang out."
He closed his eyes and lit a new cigarette. He wished he could make her understand that it wasn't that easy for him. Perhaps it should have been, but it wasn't. "I'm trying, Leila."
She stood up to stretch with a sigh, looking annoyed. "It's honestly fine. I'm not expecting anything...I just wish you hadn't lied and gotten my hopes up like that," she muttered, before she could stop herself. She was being irrational and unfair, she knew it. She knew by now that his words had almost certainly been a dream, but she would apologize later. She needed to know why it had felt so real.
"When did I..."
"That morning!" she snapped, her patience fading. "You intruded into my soul and--WHAT?" she shouted, rounding on the group of students who had paused their basketball game to watch the argument. They squeaked in surprise and attempted to hide behind each other. "Go play," she ordered, and they scampered.
She sat back down on the bench, looking tired. "I'm sorry," she muttered. "Meister and weapon, that's all, that's fine. It really is. And of course, I appreciate what you did, more than I can say...but..." She rubbed her eyes with the palms of her hands briefly. "...you could have gotten rid of it without saying those stupid words." She glanced at him apprehensively. The more she spoke, the more she expected him to have no idea what words she was talking about.
Stein nodded. "If I recall, you didn't actually even need my presence, I was only there as moral support. The memory was gone by the time I said what I did."
"I guess so..." She looked embarrassed. "But then why? Why would you lie abo--"
"Meisters are typically discouraged from lying to their weapons," he interrupted her calmly. He gave his screw a few twists. His hand was unsteady.
"Yeah, obviously, but I thought you said you--"
"Everything I said to you that morning was the truth."
She stared. Her soul was filled with denial and disbelief. This was either the development she had been waiting for...or proof that her weak mind had added a cruel joke to her memory. "But what about at the end, when you said you lov--"
"Everything." He couldn't help but smirk as he looked into her eyes, into her soul, and watched her try to come to terms with what that meant. It was clear that she was struggling, that she didn't fully believe him. It saddened him, but he wasn't surprised. Marie...and now Leila...have I really always been that cold?
She leaned back against the back of the bench and rubbed her prickling eyes. "Why didn't you say it again? Or do anything? I wanted to say it but I thought it might have been a dream...that would have been awkward..."
He sighed. "It's not a situation or feeling I have experience with. To be perfectly honest, I wasn't even sure I could feel things like that until I met you."
She watched him closely, curiously. His warm, expressive hazel eyes were wistful, shining in a way she had never seen as he stared across the sunny field.
He took a drag from his cigarette and continued, his voice soft. "But, it seems that I can. I...love you." He smiled slightly, feeling warm. He'd managed to say it after all. The phrase felt strange and unfamiliar, but somehow completely natural in that moment, as though created especially and only for her. The way it made her soul beam with warm, purple light made him want to say it to her at every opportunity. He looked into her eyes, equally purple and bright. "I love you, Leila," he repeated, as if he were practicing.
She giggled at him, her heart pounding, as he toyed with the phrase she once thought she'd never allow herself to hear again. "I love you too, Stein," she whispered. She slipped her arms beneath his lab coat and around his waist to steal a hug. "But if this is a dream too, I'm gonna be so annoyed."
Chapter 20: You can't be the princess! : More nightmares?
Chapter Text
Amy smiled patiently as the blonde weapon dug in the dirt, "What are we looking for again, Patti?" Being invited out by one of Kid's Weapons was a huge deal to her, and she didn't want to mess this up. If Patti liked her, then that would give her an excuse to see Kid more often.
Not to mention that she was still the was currently considered the High Witch of Death Coven. Having a good relationship with Death the Kid, or at least with his Weapon, could go a long way to making bridges.
"I don't remember!" Patti grinned back, holding up a stick half covered in mud, "Let's go build a sandcastle and jump on people!"
"That sounds like fun," Amy admitted. She really did like this weapon. Maybe she should try to be her friend for real, instead of just using her to get close to Kid? "Let's go!"
The two locked arms and skipped to the outskirts of Death City. They found the remnants of a castle built before. Half of it had collapsed back into the sand from which it had been built and most of it was corroded and disfigured. The only thing that was still standing tall and intricately detailed was the tower. Amy assumed it had been the highest one. She wasn't sure why it out of everything was still intact.
Patti ran right up to it and began reforming little swirl patterns in the wall, "This is my castle! Let's build up all around it!"
"That's gonna be a big castle," Amy told her, examining the tower more closely, "Hey, Patti, why doesn't it have a door?"
"Because, silly, there's a princess trapped at the top of the tower." Patti patted the wall firmly into place. She moved several feet away and started a new mound of sand, "She was a really pretty princess with super long red hair."
"I see." Amy helped her form something that started to become a 'wishing well'. "Is there more to the story?"
Patti nodded, carving out individual stones, "The princess had a prince, and they were happy. The prince loved the princess's long red hair. That made the Princess happy at first..."
"At first?" Amy prompted, beginning to sense that there was more to this castle and story than just what she could see. She formed the roof of the well carefully, and drew magic ruins into it to keep it from collapsing.
"The princess and the prince were both great fighters," Patti explained as she detailed the wood holding up the cone-shaped roof, "They lived in a kingdom constantly at war. One day, during a fight inside their city, the princess began to fear that her prince loved her hair more than he loved her. So she cut it all off!"
"All of it?" They moved on, beginning a small garden made of sand. Amy ran her fingers through the sand, wondering how much of Patti's story was true, and how much of it was her imagination...
Patti nodded enthusiastically, "ALL OF IT! Well, she still had some, but one side was longer than the other... NO THAT FLOWER IS TOO LITTLE YOU GOTTA MAKE IT BIGGER!" Patti flung her arms out to demonstrate the size the flower should be. The look on her face was so serious that Amy had to giggle.
"Okay. What happened then?"
"THEN THE PRINCE KILLIFIED THE DEMON IN THEIR CITY AND TOLD THE PRINCESS THAT HE LOVED HER EVEN IF HER HAIR WASN'T SYMMETRICAL!" Patti did a little dance, "And then they were happy again..."
"I feel like there's a but." Amy put the finishing touches on the giant flower and started forming a bench. Gentle runes coaxed the sand to run smoothly under her fingers.
"No! Ew!" Patti made a face, "butts are icky!"
Amy laughed, "that's not exactly what I meant. I like this story, though. Are you going to tell me why the tower doesn't have a door yet?"
"I'm getting there," Patti grinned, "Don't rush the story, it already stops too fast. SO! Then they had a HUGE ball to celebrate, but then a big Old Witch crashed the party and almost killed all their friends!"
"That sounds terrifying..." Garden finished, they started creating a fish pond, complete with half-outlines of fish. And also like what I heard about Argus coming to Death City...
Patti was quiet for some time. "Yeah," she said eventually, "It was pretty scary. The villain made the princess into a scary scythe and tried to use her to killify the prince and his daddy, but she was so super in love with the prince that she kept them alive. But the bad guy didn't know and he thought they were dead and she didn't see that they survived, and he tookeded her away. And now she thinks the prince is dead, so she's staying away. But the prince and all their friends were left to be sad... The prince most of all."
"Oh..." Amy felt all the happiness drained out of her as she realized exactly what the story was and why Patti wanted to re-make this little scene, "Do you think the prince will find a new princess?"
"NO SHE THE ONLY ONE FOR KID WHY CAN'T YOU SEE THAT!? I HEARD YOU TALKING TO YOURSELF AND I WON'T LET YOU I WON'T!" Patti burst into tears and collapsed into the sand. "YOU CAN'T BE THE PRINCESS IN THIS STORY!"
Amy sat next to her. She played with the hem of her dress. "Patti, things change. The princess doesn't want to come home. Maybe Kid would be happier if he found a new princess?"
"NO!" Patti kicked over a flower, showering them in sand, "GO AWAY GET OUT OF THE CASTLE DON'T TALK TO KID!"
"I'm sorry, Patti..." Amy stood slowly. She touched the tower and looked up at the one window, clear at the top. She realized that the window was filled in, and a face was drawn on it... But it seemed the artist had forgotten it was there... The features were fading, crumbling away...
The Witch made her way back into Death City. The fading lights prompted every third street lamp to flicker to life. Most people were wrapping up their days, chattering happily and going home. Those who were not were likely on their way to dinner or to Chupa Cabra's.
She went right to the heart of the shopping district. It didn't take her long to find the other pistol. Liz had numerous bags in all shades draped over her shoulders. She was obviously the type who shopped when she was depressed.
"H-hi!" Amy stepped up beside her, "I'm Amy."
Liz looked over at the smiling girl and raised an eyebrow. "Uh, hi." She noticed the hot pink stripes on her cheek and smirked. "Nice makeup."
"These?" Amy touched her cheek stripes and grinned sheepishly, "Oh, I was born with them. They show that I'm a witch whose ability is poison..."
Liz's eyes narrowed. "A witch, huh?" She looked away from the girl and glared determinedly straight ahead. "What are you doing here?" She was much too happy to be a bad Witch, but then, Shaula had been practically manic when she attacked the city. Between direct mind control and elixirs, she had wreaked havoc and killed and injured too many students. What kinds of powers did this one have? Could she stop her before things got out of hand again?
"Well... I was actually looking for you... You're Liz Thompson, right? Patti's sister?"
Liz looked at the witch again, and her glare intensified. "How do you know my sister?" she asked through gritted teeth. She shifted all her bags to one hand, regardless of the imbalance of weight. She needed one perfectly manicured hand free. Just in case.
"Uh, you might want to go get her. She's sort of.... Laying in the desert..."
"What?!" Her fist clenched. Her manicure would not stop her from defending her little sister. If need be, she had Kid on speed dial, and she was not afraid to get him involved. "What the hell did you do to Patti?"
Amy just smiled. "She doesn't want me around is all. We rebuilt her sand castle, and she says she can't let me be the princess."
"That sounds like Patti," she muttered, "So she's safe? Not that I trust you, but I'd rather avoid damaging my nails."
"Right... No, she's fine, but she won't come back into the city."
Liz sighed, shoved her shopping into Amy's hands, and stomped off.
"Patti!? PATTI!" Liz cried out as she ran through the desert. She saw the castle that they'd built so long ago on the horizon. As she got closer, she saw her sister lying on the sand beside it. Liz knelt beside her. "What happened?"
"I HATE HER SHE WANTS TO BE THE PRINCESS!" Patti wailed.
Liz exhaled with relief. Patti was ok, she was just having a moment. She patted her head. "Come on Patti, it's time to go home."
/*-+-*/
Dark dark dark and afraid through the red and black swirling soul. Sparks of yellow like thunder striking a glass box. Frozen blue bars guarding the center of her soul. He couldn't get through; could see but not reach. Fear was everywhere it was everything surrounding him he could feel it if he could only reach out far enough,
But no, just out of reach always just out of reach the foxes guarded the child, small scared child. Little dolls broken torn up destroyed at her feet a sewing kit to put them back together so many tiny pieces. She stood in the middle of them holding half a doll with blue hair.
*I'M SO COLD* she cried she cried, *COME BACK COME BACK!* Her voice echoed against the bars of her cage taunting them with nursery rhymes. *BLACK STAR!*
* I'm trying,* he wanted to scream but the foxes only laughed only laughed at him
You had your chance! the foxes hissed, You failed you failed and Rivin is ours!
*No! Rivin is my sister give her... give her back....* but the strength was draining, draining out of him... The small child faded into the glow of her soul and the foxes loomed ever closer
if he didn't leave now he would be swallowed but he was so close... THE FOXES CIRCLED HIM LAUGHING AT HIM MOCKING HIM SHARP TEETH AND GLOWING YELLOW EYES BLACK FUR THEY BLENDED WITH THE DARKNESS, EACH SHINING FROM THE LIGHT OF ANOTHER SOUL IF THEY CAUGHT HIM HE WOULD DIE BUT IF HE SISTER AND I WILL SURPASS GOD!
"Black Star? Black star!" Tsubaki shook him awake, "Are you okay?"
He stared at her. He couldn't remember what he'd been dreaming about.... "Rivin... Foxes.... Nerrrg...." He fell back into a dreamless sleep.
Chapter 21: My Demons: What am I doing?
Summary:
** Song Lyrics are "My Demons" by Starset
Chapter Text
The room seemed too large for the three young women. There were just so many unused seats. Empty. Forlorn. Uneven. Having Witches in the DWMA didn't feel quite right. It didn't feel quite real. Not when a Witch who should have been there...
He shook his head.
They sat in a rough circle near the only window. Two were identical, while the third was very different. She was taller, and had a nice, caramel skin tone. Her eyes were vibrant pink, and intensely focused on the less anxious twin. For a moment, he was just grateful that she didn't look like a corpse, like the other two. He wasn't sure he could ever get used to the twins looking the way they did. As always, however, his eyes were drawn to the three hideous primrose stripes shaped like chevrons on her right cheek. He shuddered.
Amy sat in the small patch of sunlight filtering through the window, while the Frozenlaw twins, Pluto and Charon, sat at its edges. Pluto's expression was hidden by the angle, but her hands were steadily tatting lace out of ice she seemed to be creating as she went. Charon's angry hand gestures were hard to miss. Kid didn't need to hear the conversation to know that she was berating the chastised looking Amy for speaking to Pluto.
He was curious to know what they were speaking about, since the twins tended to be cold and reclusive most of the time. He could assume it was about power structure, but Amy seemed to be taking the conversation very personally. It would be hard to argue that she should be in charge if they were going to base hierarchy on power; he could feel the difference in level without actively using his soul perception. Pluto and her... Shadow... Were so much more powerful. Older.
Instead of interrupting, the young Shinigami turned on his heel and strode out of the Academy. Shadows... He couldn't find any information on them in the library, but Pluto had, grudgingly, given him the basics. The funny man was a Shadow; he was dangerous.
Although several weeks had gone by and the rest of the group had begun to move on, Kid still felt as though something irreplaceable had been removed from his world, and he couldn't create any lasting symmetry or peace. He found himself in the middle of downtown, surrounded by crowds of chattering humans and weapons excited about the coming weekend.
He let his mind drift on the surface of shallow words, finding some comfort in the normalcy of the citizens' day to day lives. Death City was the most equalized city in the United States. It still had its problems, and there were still Kishin Eggs that incubated in the dark, but in all, most people lived fairly comfortably here. Of course, that didn't mean one personal or family disaster couldn't land one on the streets. It did, however, mean that there were more charities set up to help the less fortunate.
A drawn out, eerie cello, bass, and violin lead melody floated into his mind. He frowned. He recognized it, but couldn't place the ache it drew out from his soul. Kid quickened his pace, attempting to find the source of the mellody.
Just as it started, the mellody faded away. In its place was a haunting female voice singing in a high alto.
Mayday, mayday, the ship is slowly sinking...
He felt his heart drop.
They think I'm crazy, but they don't know the feeling... They're all around me, circling like vultures... They try to break me; wash away my colors... Wash away my colors...
He could see the bright, sharp toothed grin as she danced almost manically, singing along without a trace of irony. He remembered sharing a worried glance with Leila, and putting it out of his mind.
Take me high and I'll sing; Oh you make everything okay... okay, okay... We are one in the same, Oh you take all of the pain away... away, away... Save me if I become... My demons...
Isn't that what he tried to do? Kid felt as though the voice were specifically calling out to him. His mind revolved around her voice.
I cannot stop this sickness taking over... It takes control and drags me into nowhere... I need your help - I can't fight this forever... I know you're watching, I can feel you out there!
His soul twisted at the thought of Rivin, alone and cold and sick, waiting for someone to pull her from the madness.
As the acapela singer entered the second chorus, a nearby voice joined in. Kid jumped at the unexpected intrusion, and spun around. The man was strangely and unnervingly familiar. His knuckles were white around the handle of a briefcase, a sharp tan to compliment his crisp three piece suit. His brown hair was slightly wavy and his dark eyes were misty. They hardened as the chorus drew to an end. Kid felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. Something about this man put him slightly on edge.
They stood, locked in neutral gazes bordering on cold dislike, for the duration of the song. The more pleading the voice sounded, the more Kid was sure this was the man from the dress shop. As the final chorus came to a close, the Shinigami's eyes narrowed. "Can I help you?"
"It's rather poignant." His voice was smooth and bitter.
Kid didn't have a response to the man's observation. They lapsed into uncomfortable silence until he spoke again.
"I must bid you farewell." He didn't offer an answer to the question asked. "It seems I arrived in town too late to meet with my Erastis, and now she's out of my reach."
The Shinigami could feel the unspoken end of the man's pointed sentence, but had no reason to think that his feeling was correct. It was rather odd to run into him again, that much was true. However, the world wasn't as big of a place as people tended to think. It wasn't impossible that they just happened to both hear and have a connection with the song. "My condolences." He managed dryly. He couldn't muster any real sympathy for the stranger.
The man smirked and tipped his head. "Appreciated, I'm sure. Have a full life, Death the Kid. I sincerely wish you luck." Without further warning, he stalked passed.
Kid watched his back until he blended in with the crowd. It wasn't until it was too late that he thought to check the man's soul.
She's out of my reach - and yours.
/*-+-*/
Leila hummed as best as she could to the song playing on the radio as she prepared dinner. The large, stitchy kitchen was decently clean, but cluttered with ingredients and various dishes. Her brand new set of purple teflon cookware contrasted nicely against the black and white decor.
The set had been a housewarming gift from Tsubaki, whose response to Leila's news of moving into Stein's house had been almost as enthusiastic as her own. She had appeared at their door only three hours after the end of class, beaming with approval and brandishing an elegantly wrapped package. Leila had decided that the only appropriate expression of gratitude would be to bring her and Black Star various meals and desserts the cookware set had helped her to create. It was also a perfect way to prevent leftovers.
She sighed blissfully as she added butter to the frying pan on the stove. Even though she'd lived with Stein for nearly three weeks, the thought of it still made her giddy. She was home. Her home was Stein's home. It was their home. And now here she was in her own kitchen, preparing their dinner in her pajamas. She couldn't help but giggle at herself as she removed her pumpkin gnocchi from the pot of saltwater.
She had been wanting to attempt this recipe for years, but she had never been able to justify the risk of wasting expensive ingredients. It was said to be a challenging recipe, so she had no idea how her first batch might taste. Since she finally had a stable income, however, she had been emboldened to try the recipe. Stein encouraged experimentation in her hobby as much as his own, especially when he had the privilege of being the first to taste the resulting meals. His workload had been a bit heavier over the last few weeks, but he still hadn't failed to make time for a single dinner she cooked.
She grinned, feeling elated as she placed the gnocchi into a colander in the sink to drain and returned to the saucepan. The butter had just barely started turning brown and foamy, so she stirred it for a moment and then promptly added honey and chopped sage leaves. She mixed it for thirty more seconds, then brought the spoon to her lips to taste it. "Nice," she hissed to herself gleefully. The balance of flavors had turned out exactly how she'd hoped.
As she turned the burner from 'low' to 'off' with a click, the song she had been attempting to hum came to an end. She dumped the pumpkin gnocchi into the butter sauce while the speakers played a few obnoxious advertisements. It switched to the familiar announcement for KILZ-42, Death City's local music station, followed by a brief bit of dialogue between the two hosts of the evening radio show. When the music finally resumed, it was in the form of a high, clear female voice singing a capella.
"Mayday, mayday, the ship is slowly sinking...they think I'm crazy, but they don't know the feeling..."
With the lid on the pan, Leila tossed the gnocchi to fully and evenly coat them. The dark orange dough gradually adopted a golden shine as she watched through the clear glass lid. She stared intently, wishing the tiny dumplings were enough of a spectacle to distract her from the melody filling the kitchen.
"They're all around me, circling like vultures...they wanna break me and wash away my colors... wash away my colors..."
Leila hadn't heard the slow, melancholy cover of the popular rock song, but she remembered hearing the original at one of Kid's informal parties. Rivin had been unable to banish the song from her head, so she had tried to remedy the problem by barging off to harass the DJ at every opportunity, ensuring the song was played six more times over the course of the night. She remembered sharing pointed looks with Kid whenever Rivin sang certain lines. Hands shaking, she set down the pan.
A soft piano began playing as the voice launched into the chorus.
"Take me high and I'll sing...you make everything okay okay okay...
We are one in the same...you take all of the pain away away away...
Save me if I become...my demons..."
She looked down at her completed meal for a moment before her eyes clouded over with tears. Wiping at her eyes with her shirt sleeve, she turned away from the stove and sat down. Guilt pressed down upon her insistently, as if the floor wasn't low enough. She stared at the white tiles beneath her through blurred vision. She blinked to clear it, and a tiny tear puddle appeared on the spot where her gaze was locked. She had no more desire to survey her new residence. Her stomach ached with anger at herself. How could she be so content in a home without Rivin?
Stein closed the door to his laboratory behind him and wheeled his chair toward the kitchen lazily. A rich, buttery aroma greeted him warmly and urged him in the right direction. There was no shortage of reasons he had found to enjoy sharing his house with Leila, but having elaborate and perfectly cooked meals on a daily basis, he had to admit, had a high rank on the list.
As he opened his mouth to comment on the scent of dinner, another sensation silenced him. A miasma of guilt and sadness seemed to chill the warm, welcoming atmosphere. He stood up from the chair and extinguished his depleted cigarette in a nearby ashtray before entering the kitchen.
He was saddened to see his weapon crying and sitting cross-legged on the floor of the kitchen, but it didn't surprise him. He was often impressed with how often she was able to stay positive and energetic after everything she'd been through. He only wished he knew what to do for her when she wasn't.
He sat down on the floor beside her and leaned against the stove. "Are you alright, Leila?" he asked, although the question felt somewhat unnecessary.
After several more seconds of silence, she took a deep breath and spoke, her voice thick and miserable. "I don't know..." She wiped her eyes and sniffled. "Should I be?"
He frowned at the strange question. "Why not?"
"I'm sorry..." She shook her head and wiped her eyes again. The action proved consistently irrelevant against the torrent of tears. "I'm so..." She paused, then snorted and smiled slightly. "You can't really tell right now, but I'm so happy." Her smile faded into a grimace that unlocked a fresh cascade of sobs. "But...I shouldn't be...when she's not here..." She gasped and wiped her face with her shirt. "I should be finding her...not giving up on her...like some people want to..." Her voice gradually gained a bitter tone.
Stein sighed and pulled Leila into his lap. He had no trouble keeping it to himself, but he would have preferred to ignore Lord Death's orders as well. Luckily, he had research that could potentially help the situation to keep that part of his mind occupied. Leila's hobby could give her no such satisfaction. He held his sobbing weapon tightly with one arm. His other hand was busy trying to fully mute the soft radio static playing in his mind.
Click-click-click-click-click
The static seemed to take form as it struggled through the speakers.
Click-click-click-click-click
Almost like a scared voice, asking for help.
Click-click-click
Almost like
Click-click
"Nii-chan..."
"No one is giving up on her, Leila," he said firmly. He knew he had managed to keep his voice calm, but wasn't certain whether he'd managed to be reassuring until he noticed her soul gradually beginning to relax. "I don't know the exact reason for Lord Death's orders, but I know there are still search parties being sent out to find her."
He lit a cigarette and took a long drag before continuing. He could feel her sobs fading as she rested her head on his shoulder. "And, assuming they manage to bring her back in one piece, I can only assume that there are two things she'll immediately want from you. She's going to want to know that you're alright." He smiled at her as she looked up at him. "After you feed her, of course. So, in a way, being happy in your kitchen making dinner is the best thing you can do for her."
Leila laughed weakly and hugged him. She closed her eyes and took a few more steadying breaths before she spoke again. "Speaking of dinner, I should serve that..." she muttered sheepishly. She rolled off of his lap and got to her feet with a grimace. "As soon as I can feel my foot."
Stein laughed and guided her to the rolling computer chair he had left in the hallway. "Go relax. I think I can manage the easy part for once." She couldn't help but grin as he leaned down to kiss her.
Chapter 22: Surpassing god: She Popped?
Chapter Text
He ran through the darkness, the horrible glowing darkness that swirled around him, clinging to him like tar. the foxes giggled all around, circling circling closer and closer but never close enough. He was lost, he knew it. Didn't matter nothing mattered yellow flash and he slipped and fell,
Down
down
Down
Farther and farther until he hit something solid a wall a wall of glass just to prove how far away he was. So close yet he would never be close enough again. He could see the cage now but it looked so small so small so small like his little sister like * RIVIN
CAN YOU HEAR ME I'M HERE! THE BIG STAR HAS ARRIVED HEY STOP IGNORING ME DON'T YOU WANT MY AUTOGRAPH!? *
But she didn't react, she was crying screaming....
* I'M COLD SO COLD, PLEASE, SOMEONE SOMEONE LET ME FIX IT! I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I WANT TO GO HOME *
the large five tailed fox was with her, whispering. the words floated up to him, muffled by the glass, but he knew. he slammed his fist into the wall but nothing nothing happened! then the foxes were around him, biting tearing clawing he couldn't move, couldn't fight them, all he could do was laugh laugh because he failed he couldn't protect his friend how could he surpass god that way?
* Are you real? * The voice was suddenly so small and vulnerable
* I'm real! * he shrieked, * I'm real! *
* THEN DO IT THEN DO IT YOU HAVE TO SURPASS GOD I WILL BECOME GOD AND YOU HAVE TO YOU HAVE TO SURPASS I'M SCARED I'M SCARED AND COLD AND ALONE AND I DON'T WANT TO LIVE LIKE THIS PROMISE ME * but her words drifted away, away from him, away from her he knew she wouldn't remember remember this but he would, he would and he would surpass her if he had to because he was-
"BLACK STAR!" Tsubaki clung to him, her head on his chest, "Black Star, wake up..."
He groaned. His head throbbed. His whole body ached. Black Star felt as though he'd been punctured by a million large needles. And he was sad. He couldn't remember why... Something about wanting to be home?
Tsubaki was crying. He petted her head gently, "There there, Tsubaki. Don't be sad, Black Star, the big man, is here."
Tsubaki sniffled quietly and nuzzled closer.
/*-+-*/
"A mission?" Leila said excitedly, looking up from the cookbook she had been reading. "What kind of mission?"
"I'm not sure yet, but apparently it's fairly important." Stein lit a cigarette. "Lord Death wants to see us in the Death room immediately."
Leila stood up and stretched happily. "Well of course it's important!" she said. "Lord Death's not just gonna send a Meister like you to pick up his dry cleaning, now is he?" She smirked at him playfully.
He laughed. "Come on, let's go see what this mission's about."
"Well HIYA!" Death grinned as he waved them into the Death Room, "Nice ta see ya, good morning, buenos días, ohaio!"
Leila waved. Stein waited patiently for Death to finish his greeting. "Good morning. You have a mission for us?"
"Where're we going?" Leila grinned. "I've been in the house for too long..."
"The ocean!" Death bobbed his head excitedly, "Ever seen it? Yes, no?" He tilted one way, then the other, as he gave the options. "WELL YOU'RE SEEING IT TODAY!" He clapped his huge, cartoonish hands in excitement. The bright blue skies of the Death Room shone with all the happiness of summer, despite the cold winter chill settling around the rest of the country.
Spirit coughed pointedly into his fist, "A report came in this morning of a Witch invading a fishing village and completely taking over."
"SCARY!" Lord Death put his hands to either side of his mask in horror.
"Apparently she lured in a hundred people and fed them the souls of their loved ones, including their children," Spirit continued grimly.
"Sad...." A tear appeared in the corner of the right eye of the shinigami's mask.
"And they all became Kishin eggs, in the form of mutated sharks."
"ALL OF THEM!?" Lord Death gasped, hands in the air.
"Yes, all of them..." Spirit replied distractedly. "The witch is also a shark in form. I bet she's hot.... Like some kind of shark mermaid...." He began to drool slightly.
"Oh goodness." Leila rolled her eyes. "Maybe we'll bring whatever's left of her back for you. You know, after we kill her, Stein dissects her, and I make some delicious sushi." She laughed and turned to Stein. "So, shall we get going?"
"NOOOOO!" Spirit howled as he pounced Leila, knocking her into her partner. He then proceeded to shake them both while tears spilled out of his eyes, "DON'T EAT MY SHARK MAIDEN BRING HER BACK TO ME I LOVE HER!"
Leila sighed and kneed him in the stomach. "Idiot," she muttered as the red-haired weapon collapsed. "How could you handle being his Meister?"
"I'm a patient man when I need to be," Stein smirked.
/*-+-*/
Leila inhaled deeply, enjoying the sea air. Having lived in the desert her whole life, she'd never seen, or smelled, the ocean before. She stared at it, fascinated by how vast and blue and flat it was. Like the desert, but made of water.
"Ok, now that we live together, let's move here. We'll kill the witch, and then we'll start looking at beach graveyard houses. I'll need a big kitchen."
"One thing at a time," Stein reminded her with a grin. Fortunately, it was still a normal, sane one, at least for the moment. He could detect a distant song, too far for him to hear properly, but he could feel it. He began walking along the beach. "The madness wavelength is coming from this way."
Leila nodded and followed him. She was moderately concerned, but Stein appeared to be in control of himself for the moment. Still, the memory of his madness lingered, discontent, in the back of her mind.
It didn't take them long to find the source. They could hear the screaming long before they rounded the corner of the cliff and saw the village. Most of the buildings had broken windows, and a few of them were even on fire. Lifeless bodies littered the streets. Some of them were even children. Leila felt her stomach turn.
The screaming was mingled with the hysterical laughter of several crazed men and women who appeared to be at various stages of morphing into sharks. Some had only sharp teeth and greyish skin, others were running around with full shark heads on human bodies. Still others were in the water, having lost their ability to walk on land. They resorted to cheering from the sidelines, encouraging the chaos. A few of them were fighting in the water, needing an outlet for their fury.
"Holy crap," Leila muttered.
Stein nodded his agreement to her sentiment. "They must have woken up to this. Attacking them in their sleep would have made it easy to take control of them, but once they awoke, controlling a hundred people to such a degree must have been quite a task."
"A hundred..." Leila stared. She seemed to realize something suddenly. "A hundred kishin and a witch? Doesn't that mean..."
He smiled at her. "Ready to become a death weapon?" He reached for her hand.
She grinned. "Hell yeah!" She took his hand and transformed obligingly.
He took a few tentative steps forward. The shark people hadn't noticed them yet. Holding Leila at the ready, he crept closer to the village.
The shark people, although mad and bloodthirsty, didn't appear to be skilled fighters. Their lust for souls gave them brute strength, but Stein and Leila had speed and agility that the army of Kishin eggs couldn't match. He kept to the alleys between houses, snagging and strangling any Kishin that wandered by from the shadows. They rounded some of them up in groups, sending deadly wavelengths roaring through their bodies.
Despite the simple combat, Stein had never been more glad to be resonating with Leila. Throughout their journey through the village, the unsettling melody hadn't stopped. Every note echoed with static, making it louder and louder. He focused on Leila's wavelength, hoping it didn't get any worse.
Why is it so loud in here? her wavelength seemed to shout over the static.
He tried to explain the effect that the witch's madness wavelength had on him, but the static was becoming too distracting. All he could focus on was their mission, killing the kishin and the witch. After that... what was next? Cut them open, the static suggested, but that wasn't quite it...
Oh goodness, Leila sighed, although she was worried. The static was loud all around her, the witch's song echoing through underneath. It was nearly enough to drive her mad.
She looked around. All she saw was a cream-colored, simple room. An old radio sat on a small, ornate wooden table. The static seemed to come from the old speakers, although the radio didn't seem capable of such volume.
She approached it cautiously. There didn't appear to be a power cord, or an off switch, but there were a few dials on the front. She tested them, getting no conclusive results until one, to her relief, turned the volume down. The static seemed to hiss at her in disapproval. As soon as she let go of the dial, the volume started to increase again, but at a manageable pace. She turned it all the way down again for good measure before letting it be for the moment.
*Much better, now I can think,* Leila laughed.
Stein twisted his screw tentatively as the static cleared. He could feel it returning, but much more slowly than it had diminished. The distant melody still echoed through the speakers, but it was so quiet. *So can I,* he replied. *How do you do that?*
Leila's wavelength was confused. *It was just loud, so I turned it down.*
He chuckled. *Your soul seems to have a very strong suppression wavelength. Impressive.*
*Uh...* She seemed suddenly embarrassed. *I don't know what that means, but thank you!*
They fought their way through the village quietly and gradually, barely needing to fend off attacks. Eventually the irate army of sharks was replaced by one hundred deformed bodies, and one hundred red souls floating lazily above them.
"Looks like it's lunchtime," Leila grinned, as she approached one of the souls. As she plucked it out of the air, a flash of blue caught her eye. She examined it with a frown. A small orb, the size of a marble, clung to the side of the Kishin soul, like a settled soap bubble. It sparkled a deep sapphire blue in the sunlight. Despite the delicate appearance of the orb, it seemed to glow even more malignantly than the Kishin soul it was attached to. "What's this thing?" Leila asked Stein.
"Ah, I suspected that," Stein nodded as he inspected the soul in Leila's hand. "These villagers were completely under the witch's control. It appears that she somehow attached pieces of her own soul to theirs. Only a powerful soul could survive being divided into so many pieces."
Even as Stein spoke, the blue orb began to tremble, then it seemed to pop and vanish. Upon its disappearance, a small noise sounded, like the residual echo of a miniature, sinister choir. "Collect the souls quickly, Leila," Stein said, as the other ninety-nine pieces began to follow suit around them. "We need to find the witch before she collects the rest of her soul."
The wavering notes filled the air as she sang. A lamenting melody, unsettlingly minor in key, with flats and sharps placed in the most horridly beautiful of places, alternately making hearts sink and setting spines on edge. It echoed through the parasitic fragments of her soul and into their hosts like a chorus of bells, conveying her madness to each of the shark-like Kishin carrying her soul.
The song trailed off. She felt a sense of panic as the host souls were removed and devoured and the droplets of her soul released into the atmosphere. The echoes of the song faded as her scattered soul returned to her...
I'm sorry I failed I tried I failed I can't can't sing anymore it's over...
Her soul ached where the pieces had been carved away.
No I can't I can't sing can't sing I don't want to...
She felt the pieces of her soul trickling their way back to her into her limbs and warming her, but she was still so cold. So sick and sore and cold... I failed failed I know and I'm sorry worthless but I can't...
The pieces of her soul had all returned and seemed to ripple and slosh violently as they tried to become whole again...like the surface of a storming sea. The weapon and Meister were coming closer to her sanctuary, she could feel their strong souls. But they weren't there to cure the poison in her mind or stop her soul from burning. They were all there to kill her. She could tell.
No no go away I'm not ready I don't want to die I just want to go home I'm sorry I can't do it I can't...
Her soul was a tidal wave of guilt and fear. She knew she would die, her soul was still so unstable and she couldn't see, could only sense the powerful souls coming for her.
The Witch beside her began to gently resonate their souls together. It was an eerie feeling, too empty and silent for comfort, watching, waiting... Almost like a hug that lasted too long, too tight, too hard, suffocating....
Too much...I can't...
Desperate and afraid for her life, she tried to sing, but it was weak and powerless. She couldn't breathe. Make it stop stop the pain the witch the witch is here I don't want to I can't CAN'T CAN'T I CAN'T--
Leila narrowed her eyes at the shack in front of them. "This is where that music is coming from?"
Stein didn't reply. He tried to ignore the sorrowful song and focus on their target, but each vibrato note jostled the madness in his soul, causing a small surge of static. He didn't want to worry Leila, but he wasn't sure how long he'd be able to fight it.
Leila took his hand suddenly. "Are you alright?" she asked him, looking concerned.
He shook his head and took a deep breath to steady himself. His mind was already becoming clearer from her touch. He doubted he would still be in his right mind at all without her presence. He smiled at her. "Thank you."
She squeezed his hand and smiled back. "Now let's go shut her up."
As the words left Leila's lips, the singing stopped again. Rather than trailing off like it had before, it cut off abruptly, only lingering in the souls of its audience.
"Ummm..." Leila raised her eyebrows and glanced at Stein.
He blinked, looking slightly confused. "She's gone. Her soul was destroyed."
"What?!" Leila looked back at the witch's hideout angrily. "She can't be gone! I can't be a death weapon if she's gone!" She ran up to the shack and wrenched the door open.
Stein followed her inside hesitantly. "Leila, be careful. There's another witch here as well. We can't be sure of their intentions."
Leila scanned each of the destroyed rooms in turn as she searched the house. Random objects were strewn about: several books, a beheaded teddy bear, a toaster, the cushions from the couch. Many of the objects showed deep and numerous tooth marks, as if someone had tried to bite them in half. "What the hell?"
Stein began to help her look for a sign of the witch. He studied the debris curiously. There were books of all kinds lying open to reveal heavily highlighted pages with scribbled questions in the margins. The bedroom floor was scattered with a young woman's various beach attire, as well as a shark-print nightgown.
"It looks as though she had been living here for quite some time, possibly gathering power for an attack." He eyed the splattered kitchen. The spills and stains all seemed to be fresh. "The fits of madness seem to have been a newer development, however. Perhaps she hadn't originally been intending to attack the village at all."
Leila frowned. "I hope we don't meet whatever drove her crazy."
They approached the door to the bedroom. "This was where her soul was before it disappeared," Stein muttered. "Someone is still here, but we should try to be diplomatic at first. We don't want a fight we didn't prepare for." He opened the door cautiously.
Leila peered in over his shoulder. She narrowed her eyes at what she saw. The Witch in question was tall, with shoulder length brown hair, pink eyes, and pink stripes on her cheek. Her creamy lolita dress certainly wasn't beach attire. "Hello! You don't look like a shark. Who are you?"
"A-amy!" she smiled nervously at them from her cross legged position on the floor. "H-hi... Um... I really did try to save her... I promise! But then... She just kind of... Popped."
Stein nodded, twisting his screw. He still looked slightly suspicious. "Her soul was unstable. She'd been using fragments of it to control the villagers, although we've yet to find a motive for the attack." He paused, staring at her soul. "By the way, aren't you one of the new witch students at the DWMA?"
Behind him, Leila nudged the broken and bitten pieces of a chair with her foot, looking disappointed.
"W-well..." Amy stood, knocking some loose sand off her dress. She straightened her corset and squared her shoulders. "Yes. I am Amy Chalkart, the High Witch of Death Coven. Actually, I was trying to get Aeriel to join us... But I don't think I got here in time... I-is she... W-was she your target? I'm really sorry..." Her smile became apologetic but never faded.
"If you didn't do it, why are you sorry?" Leila grumbled.
"Anyway, let's go back to Death City," Stein said, making his way out of the shack.
Leila followed him outside. The sight and smell of the ocean mollified her slightly. "Well, at least we got all the Kishin souls, I guess...just gotta find another witch..." She knew she was being unfair, but she couldn't look at or talk to Amy the entire way back. The arrival back in Death City could not come soon enough.
Chapter 23: I'm just here for the tea! : Am I real?
Chapter Text
The little girl pouted. Big sister was being boring. Paisley flipped her short blonde hair behind her ear and poked Luceria's foot. The weapon was sitting cross legged, staring at the wall. Sometimes she would giggle, or crack a manic grin, but otherwise she was in her own world. Ignoring Paisley. Again.
The caves under the house were so boring! They were big, too, and it was easy to get lost. Daddy would always find her, but it was scary to be down there alone... Sometimes the lights stopped working, and she would be all alone in the dark. She missed her mommy.
"Nee-chan...." She whined, "Nee-chan, come play with me..."
Paisley hadn't expected an answer, or a reaction of any kind, but Luceria's head turned. Her eyes were blank, smile wild, "Are you real?"
"Yes, Nee-chan." It was going to be one of those days. One of the days where everything was suspect and nothing was real. Rivin might even tell her more about the teal soul, or the purple one that fed her, or maybe - maybe - she would talk about the red soul today!
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, Nee-chan." Paisley patted her on the arm, "I'm real."
"How do you know?"
"I just do."
"Am I real?" She sounded sad, and like maybe she wanted something. Her face was all pointed down, and her dirty cheeks had long stripes from crying.
"Sometimes..." Paisley huffed, thinking that sometimes her sister didn't really live in the real world. Sometimes she lived in the funny world, where people were dolls, but sometimes Luceria lived in a bad world. It was a place that she couldn't get out of very easily, and she was always really sad... It must have been hard not to live in the real world.
She looked back at the wall, "I thought so."
Paisley crawled into Luceria's lap. It was the only warm place in the whole tunnel system. It was worth the risk of Luceria attacking her, even when Daddy told her not to. She just didn't care. Luceria was her big sister and she wanted to help her. Except sometimes, she was scary. Today Paisley thought that Luceria was afraid. She didn't know why she thought that, though.
Paisley grabbed Luceria's hand, "Lucy..."
"Paisley," grated the monotone voice, "Get away from Luceria. She might hurt you. You don't want that. I don't want that." Daddy stood in the light, but he always seemed to be a dark presence. Ever since mommy left he had been as sad as Luceria.
She pouted, "But Nee-chan is warm..."
"I will turn on the heater," He sighed. He was always sighing these days. Always staring off into nowhere. Sometimes Paisley thought that maybe he wasn't real, like sometimes Lucy wasn't real.
The toddler scrambled to her feet and slipped through the cold metal bars that kept her sister locked away. She allowed Diomedes to pick her up and poke her nose. "Daddy, when will she be better? When will I get to play with her? Do you think she loves me?"
His face twisted with emotions Paisley didn't understand. "I'm sure she does, sweet heart. But you can't play with her for now. I don't have answers, and I'm sorry." Diomedes carried her back to the house that now felt so empty.
Olivia had gone out for groceries one morning and simply never returned. Had she left him? Considering all she had put up with recently, he wouldn't have been surprised, but she wouldn't have left Paisley. Had something... Tragic happened? He didn't want to believe it. He couldn't even leave the mountain to search for her. He couldn't leave Luceria alone. He couldn't risk losing her, ever again.
He set Paisley down in her room and fiddled with the temperature control on the wall. "Your room should heat up in a few minutes. I'm going to start dinner; do you want pasta or chicken?"
"No." Paisley crossed her arms and scowled. "I want souls!"
Diomedes gave her a blank stare, then snorted. "You don't know what that even means. If you don't tell me what you want, I'm just going to make spaghetti."
"Spaghetti and meatballs but with like steamed soul balls instead of meat and then like DRIPPING with so many cheese!" Paisley threw her arms out to the side and jumped up and down in her excitement. "So many!"
/*-+-*/
The day was warmer than normal for late October, and the sun grinned down on the inhabitants of Death City. Liz Thompson used the warm weather as an excuse to wear her new sundress out for a stroll; and to go buy stylish new clothes for the coming winter. She pulled the brim of her sun hat down against the wind.
She collided with a person who came from seemingly nowhere. Her vision was slightly obscured, but she was certain she hadn't missed them walking towards her. The woman was short, about five-two. Her iridescent green, teal, and royal purple hair was done in multitudes of tiny braids up her head, leading to two thick pigtails bouncing in kinky puffs. She had dark skin with a rosy undertone, and citrine eyes.
"Bleen." the woman cursed as she stepped back. Her face was small, and she had a slightly long nose. "Sorry!"
Liz's eyes narrowed. "Are you a Witch?"
"I am Vera." she tilted her entire body to the side. She spoke in a slight accent, but Liz couldn't place it. "And I am a Witch, but I run a lot faster than you can attack me, sooooooo Do you wanna play tag?" Her face lit up at the thought. "You can even be it, if you want!"
"Excuse me?" Liz quirked an eyebrow. "You want me to be it, when you think I'm going to try to kill you?" She adjusted her hat to fit properly again, now that the wind had stopped.
Vera nodded seriously. "Yes. I think that would be a fun game. If I win, I get to live and laugh more, and if you win, you'll probably go to jail. So I win both ways!" She grinned again.
Liz couldn't help but laugh. Something about the Witch's logic reminded her of Patti. "Well, in that case, I forfeit."
"You... HUH!?" Vera's jaw dropped nearly to the ground. She put her hands on her hips with a scowl. "No way! That's not how the game works, you silly poop! Oh my god." Her face became bright with wonder. "Do you think a prank store would do that? Sell cans of silly poop instead of silly string? Oh my gods that would be so stinky!" The terrible thought caused her to sit down, holding her sides with laughter.
Just like Patti. Liz sighed with a small smile. While she wasn't fond of Witches, this one, at least, seemed mostly harmless. "I don't think they could sell actual poop, Vera. It's not very hygienic and it could make people really sick. But I think that they could make some kind of squishy replica that smelled like poop."
"Oh wow, that's so smart!" Vera's eyes shone. "I like you. You're pretty okay for a Weapon. Can we be friends?"
"Uh, no." She responded without thinking. She cringed inwardly at the crestfallen look on the Witch's face. "Not right now, okay? I'm still adjusting. But I'm not going to hurt you, either."
Vera sniffled and looked away. "Yeah, okay. I guess that's fair. I gotta go to work, anyway. Bye, pretty lady." She stood up and vanished.
Liz blinked at the spot she had been. "That explains why I didn't see her..." she muttered. The only thing left to do was continue to the newly opened boutique.
The building was smaller than she thought it would be, only a single story and about the size of a regular department store. It had a crisp modern look, but hardly stood out in the neighborhood. Fresh Season boasted that they carried clothing specific to a particular region, which would rotate with each season. This winter, the heritage was 'African', though Liz found it slightly racist.
"Africa is a whole continent, not a single... Whatever." She sighed, scowling at the sign proclaiming the season. "Anyway, I came all the way out here..."
The inside of the shop was neat and orderly, and the clothes had large, loud prints on them. They all had a base of a shade of brown or burgundy, with pops of patterns. There were hair wraps, huge bags, and stylized gold bands. Everything was made to fit loosely, and nothing looked like something Liz would wear.
She shook her head and turned to leave, but an exchange happening at the counter made her pause. The cashier, a white woman wearing several items off the shelf, was scowling at another woman. She had skin that was so pale it was nearly silver, with white, hip length hair and eyes that were all black. Her dress was also white, loose and flowing in a perpetual breeze, and she wore a false corset as a belt for a golden embellishment.
"I'm sorry, your card was declined." The cashier sneered, looking the Witch up and down.
"You have not even attempted to take my card. You cannot possibly know if it has been declined as of yet." The Witch's accent was subtle, and similar to Vera's. Her voice was soft but firm. "If you please, I have several items-"
"Your card is being declined." the cashier repeated. "I don't serve your kind here."
Liz squared her shoulders and stomped up to them without a plan. "Excuse me? You're a nasty, mortalist bitch." she slammed her own card on the counter with a snarl. "I'm Liz Thompson, Death the Kid's Weapon. I dare you to decline my card."
Both other women stared at her. The cashier's lip curled. She hastily rang up the items on the counter; a colorful shawl and an assortment of jewelry; and slid Liz's card through the reader. "Now get out." she hissed.
"You don't have to ask me twice." Liz rolled her eyes. She threw the doors open and sighed with relief once they were closed again. "Wow, what a nasty person!"
The Witch regarded her with passive curiosity. Liz shrank slightly under her black gaze. "Please, allow me to thank you."
"Uhhh?"
"You spent three hundred dollars to show up the employee of the store." The Witch clarified, producing the receipt. "Buying you a cup of tea, or simply refunding you, is the least I can do, Liz Thompson."
"Oh." Liz chuckled nervously and put her hand behind her head. She disturbed her hat, and she scrambled to catch it again. She suddenly felt so clumsy around the mysterious, intimidating, Witch. "N-no, don't worry-"
"I insist."
"Oh."
The Witch's stoic face cracked, and a warm smile shone through. "I am most grateful and humbled for your kindness. Please allow me to show my gratitude."
"Um, do I really have a choice?"
"Well, you could choose to walk away." She raised her eyebrows slightly. "However, refusing to allow a King to treat you to tea is quite rude."
"So is not introducing yourself." Liz put her hand on her hip before processing the Witch's words. She blinked, then gaped. "Wait, run that by me again?"
She laughed lightly. It was a sound like the soft cooing of owls. "I am Moon, of the Athens line, Queen of Estonia and King of Liberty Coven. And I am humbled by the kindness you have shown me. Please allow me to repay you in whatever form you feel most comfortable with."
Liz cleared her throat. She was suddenly more nervous that she could remember being since becoming Kid's Weapon. She didn't know whether to bow or curtsy, or if doing either of those things would be rude. She just hoped she wasn't sweating as much as she thought she was. "Uh, yeah. Sure. Tea sounds great."
"Wonderful!" a warm breeze blew behind them, ruffling their dresses and nearly taking Liz's hat. "Come with me. I find myself quite excited to show you to the Witches' Brew!" Her voice picked up an almost musical quality to it; an excitement that was childlike in nature.
The Weapon followed her down the street, not sure how she should be feeling, or walking, or... She stopped at the sight of the luscious garden in the middle of the street. Roses the color of blood grew just behind wrought iron, Gothic fences, and the arbor in the center had beautiful wisteria growing over it. There was a cobbled stone pathway leading to a curved, dark stained wooden door with a speakeasy. Benches sat in the picturesque garden, and there was a small stone table in front of the stone cottage. Peeking out from the back were the branches of a large, old apple tree.
Liz looked around in awe, overwhelmed by the beauty and the sense of peace that came over her. She found herself wondering how many cups of tea she could have here; would she be allowed to come back? Would she be okay if she wasn't? Did the Witches tend the garden? She never knew they were capable of cultivating such... Beauty. Nor did she ever think she would feel so safe upon walking into a Witch's territory. "Whoa."
"Indeed." Moon smirked. "Welcome to the Witches' Brew."
Chapter 24: A top secret mission: Rivin's alive?
Chapter Text
Late into November, the group had finally begun to heal. Black Star no longer woke in cold sweats. Patti had allowed the sand castle to crumble completely. Liz found new Witches to protect. Even Kid seemed to be recovering from the loss, with the help of the High Witch of Death Coven.
Leila and Stein were widely recognized as Death City's cutest and strongest couple, a major source of gossip among the younger students. Most of them seemed shocked that the mad scientist was capable of such a wholesome partnership. Many young weapons shyly approached Leila for advice after demonstrations, to her delight and embarrassment. Stein's classroom suddenly started to feature hot coffee and trays of homemade baked goods most mornings.
Finally, an air of contentment could be felt at the DWMA... until Sid and Nygus returned from a very long mission.
Sid staggered through the doors of the DWMA just as class was out. The zombie was battered and beaten badly and his weapon was no better. Students pestered them with questions, which they hastily avoided answering. They finally made it into the Death Room, where they promptly collapsed on the floor.
Lord Death frowned, and summoned them plush chairs to relax in. Spirit stepped out from behind the mirror with a yawn. "Yo. You two were gone for a bit."
"Ah..." Nygus cringed.
"Well, I might have had more tact while I was alive, but now that I'm dead, I'm just going to say it. We found Robin."
Spirit straightened up. His face was long with shock, then brightened considerably. "You did? Where is she? How is she? Did she-"
"She's dead." Sid interrupted flatly. He watched as the Death Scythe seemed to shrink in on himself. His face fell and his eyes glazed over slightly. "I should have been more precise. We found Robin's body. Some sort of Witch seems to be using their soul wavelength to control it."
"Her." Spirit corrected. He was barely audible. "There's no way..."
Lord Death put his hand on Spirit's shoulder. "Hey, I'm sorry. But you already got the news months ago. Now you just know for sure." He looked back to Sid and Nygus, both having already died and been brought back to life by the experiments of Professor Stein. "Is there...?"
Nygus shook her head. "No. Her soul is gone; there would be nothing to bring back."
"That's..." Lord Death trailed off as a woman appeared in the mirror. She was tall, with long blonde hair, a trench coat and one light brown eye. The other was covered by an eye patch marked by a lightning bolt. She was doubled over when she knocked on the mirror behind them.
"DEATH!" she panted, "Lord Death! We have a pig problem!"
He tilted his head, "A pig problem? How so?"
"Pig? NO!" she shook her head frantically, "A BIG PROBLEM! There's a Kishin in my territory! Well, she's not a Kishin... Not yet! But she's eating souls like the world's ending! And there is a Witch with her. I tried, but they're too much for just me..."
Sid, Nygus, Spirit and Death shared a knowing look. "Well, it's settled then!" Death bobbed his head happily, "We go to the ocean and we take care of it! nifty, handy, cool~!"
"Iiii don't know if cool is the right word," Spirit sighed. Too much was happening all at once. He couldn't put Robin out of his mind completely. "But I guess it's time. What am I going to tell Maka?"
"Maka?" Death tilted to the side.
"Uh, yeah," He wanted to shout and rage. There was no target that had earned it. Not only had he still not told his daughter about her mother, but now there was a possibility that her friend was about to become a Kishin. "Maka was her friend... What are you going to tell Kid?"
Death tilted the other way, "Kid?"
".............." they all closed their eyes to Death's purposeful stupidity.
He smiled, "Marie, you will take Leila and Stein... What?"
"Leila? And Stein?" Spirit shook his head, "I can't agree to that. Leila won't be able to kill her, and the madness... I just don't think that's the best pair to send against her... Send me, and maybe Justin. With three death scythes, this mission will be no problem."
Death held up one finger and shook it, "ah-ah-ah...." and then he was distracted again. Death glanced down the guillotine hallway, "I thought I heard something..."
They sighed collectively, "It was nothing."
"Well, anyway..." Death regained his.... composure... "Spirit, if this is Rivin they're talking about, then that makes this a rescue mission. I think Rivin needs a chance to prove herself."
Spirit put his hands in his pockets, "And if she becomes a Kishin?"
A tear appeared in Death's eye, "Let's just stay positive, 'kay?"
"Right... Marie, help is on its way."
"Great!" She disappeared.
"I guess I'll go tell Leila and Stein..." Spirit put his hand over half his face, "what exactly am I supposed to tell them?"
"That there is a Kishin loose in Marie's territory, and they need to help her.... Handle it!" He gave Spirit the victory symbol.
"Right..."
Spirit picked his way through the foggy graveyard carefully. This late in November, Stein's territory seemed to be perpetually shrouded in mystery and horror. The fog wouldn't fully dissipate until mid February. He knocked on Stein's door with a shudder. Being here made him feel queasy, like he was about to be dissected. He wished Robin was there to protect him... He wished he had been there to protect her.
Stein answered the door with his customary scary smile. "Oh hey Spirit, come on in."
"Spirit?" Leila peeked out of the doorway to the kitchen. "You missed lunch, otherwise I'd offer you some."
"Yeah, I don't need to come in..." He said, putting his hand behind his head, "Lord Death sent me to give you a mission... So.... You're being sent to Marie's territory to kill a witch..."
"That doesn't sound like a terribly difficult mission," Stein said, twisting his screw. "What's wrong with you?"
Spirit cleared his throat. He refused to look at Leila, staring Stein in the eyes instead. "He controls a Kishin."
"And?" Stein asked. He could tell by Spirit's soul that he wasn't telling them everything.
"And... Well.... you know...." He shoved his hands in his pockets, "You're not supposed to tell anyone in that team."
"IN WHO'S TEAM!?" Black Star jumped out from nowhere, "IN MY TEAM!? SO I WAS RIGHT YOU ARE SENDING LEILA AND STEIN TO KILL RIVIN I KNEW IT! BUT I'M GOING TOO AND WE'LL BRING HER BACK!"
Spirit sighed.
Leila's heart nearly stopped. She ran outside barefoot, ignoring the painful jabbing of twigs and stones, and grabbed Black Star by the front of his shirt. "What the hell are you talking about?" she growled. A look of realization crossed her face. She turned to Spirit numbly. "This witch...the one we're being sent to kill...it's Rivin's dad, isn't it?"
"We don't know that for sure," he tried to calm her, "Plenty of witches try to create Kishin to control... That's why we didn't want to tell Black Star and his team. We didn't want to upset them..."
"UPSET!? WHO'S UPSET I'M NOT UPSET!"
"I'm pretty upset," Leila snapped.
"Black Star..." Tsubaki walked down the path carrying two packs, "You ran into the house screaming... Threw some things together and ran out again before telling me anything... Where are we going?"
"WE'RE GOING TO MAKE SURE LEILA AND STEIN DON'T KILL RIVIN!"
"No one is killing Rivin!" Leila shouted over him. "Stop saying that!"
"wh-what!?" She turned to Spirit, "You found her? Why isn't our group going?"
Spirit face palmed, "That's EXACTLY why we didn't want them to know..."
Stein sighed. "Leila, we should go see Lord Death and get more information." He put a hand on her shoulder. "If it really is her, I promise, killing her would be our very last resort."
Leila rubbed her temples. "I'm sure that was meant to be comforting..."
"What do you mean, last resort? We won't be killing anyone but Diomedes!" Black Star asserted.
"Riiight..." Spirit shrugged, "Well, follow me..."
Death tilted his head at them, "I meant for you to go as soon as possible.... BUT IT'S NICE TA SEE YA!"
Stein nodded. "Spirit's briefing was lacking information, partly because we were interrupted."
"HEY WHY WASN'T MY TEAM INVITED ON THIS MISSION!?"
"Because." Said Death sternly, "This is a rescue mission, it requires...a gentle touch!"
"IF ANYONE'S GONNA RESCUE MY LITTLE SISTER IT'S GONNA BE ME!"
"Black star... calm down..."
"HEY!" a voice came from the mirror behind Death. A crackly picture took the shape of a woman with long blue hair, light black eyes and black spots like dimples at either side of her mouth holding a bundle of pale blue blankets holding the edges of another mirror. She looked frightened and exhausted. There were dark rings under her eyes and her face was beaded with sweat. There was a man in a bloody white tee-shirt behind her, throwing ice at an unseen enemy.
"Lord Death! This is Eruka, ribbit, we need someone here RIGHT NOW."
"oh?" he examined the bundle, "ERUKA ARE YOU PREGNANT!?"
"what!? No! I JUST had a baby, ribbit! Why are you even asking me this!?"
"CONGRATULATIONS!" Death clapped while the room sighed impatiently. "What's her name?"
"HIS name, ribbit ribbit," Eruka said with less than infinite patience, "Has yet to be decided. JUST HAD HIM IN THE MIDDLE OF A BATTLE AND ALL!"
"Are they sending reinforcements?" Free yelled over his shoulder, "If they keep attacking like this, we might not last even HIS estimate!"
"TADPOLE BOMBS!" Eruka threw a handful of exploding tadpoles passed him..
"What are THESE!?" came a cackle from beyond their sight... The bombs exploded, leading to more mad giggling, "that tickles~"
"THAT'S HER THAT'S RIVIN WE NEED TO GET THERE!"
"THAT'S WHAT I'VE BEEN TELLING YOU!" Eruka screamed at him, "They attack the town, eat some souls, and leave again until the next day and it's time someone killed them! Ribbit!"
"WE'RE NOT GONNA KILL RIVIN!"
"THEN I WILL!"
"No you won't," Free was suddenly cuddling her, "You'll stay right here, nice and safe."
"Yeah, yeah, love you too..." she mumbled.
The mirror went dark. Death sighed, "Well, this does put a positive spin on things... That didn't sound like a Kishin to me.... Did that sound like a Kishin to you?" he directed his question at Stein.
"I'd say not," Stein said thoughtfully. While he wasn't sure exactly what was going on, he doubted that having Rivin attack the town had been Diomedes' intention. He took Leila's hand to try and comfort her. She was tilting her head back and rubbing her eyes vigorously, trying to keep them from filling with tears.
Death clapped with a gleeful expression, "Then this is indeed a rescue mission! Stein, Leila, I want you to kill the witch, contain Rivin and bring her home, safely!"
"WHAT ABOUT ME I'M GOING TOO!"
"Heeermmm.... Wellll..... About that, Black Star.... You need to stay here and train."
"If I can't go," Black Star's face was dark, "Then I'll tell Kid about the mission."
"Well..." The Grim Reaper seemed conflicted. "He'll find out eventually..."
"I'll tell him the mission is to kill Rivin, and then he won't talk to you EVER AGAIN!"
"THAT'S NOT FAIR!" A tear appeared in Death's eye, "WHY MUST YOU BE SO CRUEL?"
Spirit sighed, "Go on the damn mission. Just don't tell your team."
"Got it!" Black Star grinned as Lord Death whimpered gloomily.
Stein didn't like anything about this mission. He understood Lord Death's orders to kill Diomedes, even if it didn't seem fair. The God was never supposed to leave the mountain; it had been part of his agreement in ending the Reaper War. His mountain was his Sanctuary, and no one was to hunt him while he stayed there... But the second he left, he would be fair game for any Weapon and Meister pair stupid enough to try to kill a God.
However, Diomedes had given them information on Arachnophobia, even betraying his own sisters' interests. Of course, Stein hadn't been able to uphold his end of that deal, creating a bit of a... Rift between them. More so than their previous history.
If his daughter's disappearance hadn't brought him out of hiding twelve years ago, what prompted him to leave now?
Chapter 25: Madness with extra cheese: Luke is great?
Chapter Text
They arrived the next morning in Rotorua, a smallish town in New Zealand. It was nice and sunny, yet breezy--a beautiful day. Despite the weather, no one seemed to be outside. They're probably hiding from Rivin... Leila took a deep breath. She turned to Stein. "So where are we going?"
"Lord Death gave me the address where Marie is staying, we're heading there. It should be only a few more blocks."
"Alright." Leila smiled. "So, this Marie, she's one of Lord Death's death weapons, right? I can't wait to meet her."
Stein didn't respond.
"Oh yeah, Marie!" Black Star had his hands behind his head, "Hey Stein, why did you two break up? I can't remember..."
"Black Star...Is that an appropriate question?" Tsubaki sighed.
"Break--huh...?" Leila stuttered. Break up? They were together? "You two...were..." After awkwardly failing to speak for a few more moments, she fell silent. She walked behind Stein, her emotions suddenly confused. She wasn't sure she wanted to meet the death weapon anymore.
Stein still said nothing, pretending to ignore the situation. His face felt somewhat warm. He wished it were just because of the spring sun.
"Oh yeah," Black Star continued, oblivious to the couple's obvious discomfort, "Stein and Marie were together all the time. She was his weapon, too... Huh. Hey Stein, why didn't you ever accept her proposals?"
"I'm hungry," Leila interrupted, sounding grumpy. "I hope Miss Marie has a damn good kitchen. Are we there yet?"
"Um, yes, this is it," Stein said awkwardly.
Leila strode up to the front door and knocked a bit harder than was necessary.
A tall man with messy brown hair, a strong chin, and hazel-green eyes answered the door. He had a black trench coat on over a white shirt and ragged jeans. "Can I help you?" he asked gruffly.
"IT'S STEIN!" squealed a voice behind him. Marie pushed him out of the way, gave Stein a quick, tight hug, and held her hand out to Leila, "Hi! I'm Marie. You must be Stein's new partner~"
Leila shook Marie's hand a bit too tightly. "That's right. I'm Leila. Stein's weapon. It's nice to meet you." She fought to make her tone match her words.
"Hey, Marie!" Black Star grinned, "I don't think Leila likes you."
"O-oh...?" Marie blinked at Black Star, then at Leila, but she smiled, "That's okay. I don't mind."
Her overly innocent and accepting demeanor nearly infuriated Leila. "I have no idea what you're talking about Black Star. Why wouldn't I like her?" She took a subtle deep breath and, as if to prove her point, turned to address the death weapon with a polite smile. "This probably sounds weird, but do you mind if I use your kitchen to make coffee? Maybe even breakfast?"
Marie looked surprised. "Oh you don't have to do that! But if you really want to, I don't mind! Make yourself at home!" She smiled. "Stein and I have a lot of catching up to do anyway!"
Leila stomped off to find the kitchen, not bothering to return the smile this time. She found the living room first. The warm tan and red couches were set up to create a cozy square facing the large bay windows on the wall with the front door. The dining room was straight through, with the kitchen just to the right, behind a full wall. She paused to take in the surroundings, feeling suddenly tired.
The floors were a pale hardwood, shining from the mid-day sun. The walls were so bright of a blue that they were almost white, but compared to the white trim were definitely still blue. There were nail holes in the walls where pictures used to hang.
"Huh. She seems like a really nice person," drawled the trench coat man with one eyebrow raised. His voice was rough but not obnoxiously deep, and held a thick New Zealand accent.
"Oh!" Marie smiled and gestured to the man, "Stein, this is Luke, my husband."
Upon hearing the last word, Leila felt a wave of irrational relief wash over her. She turned and rejoined them. "Your husband!" The smile on her face was finally sincere. "Congratulations! You two are cute together."
Luke raised his eyebrow at her, "You sound rather happy to hear that."
Marie patted him on the arm with a smile, "Thank you, Leila. See, Luke? She is a nice person!"
"Uh-huh." He chuckled lightly. "Well, as long as she cooks better than you, I don't care."
Marie laughed, tightening her grip on Luke's arm until he cringed, "I'm sure she's a great cook. Let's go inside now, shall we?"
They followed Marie into the living square. "So how long have you guys been married?" Leila asked casually.
Stein grabbed Leila's hand and pulled her back. "Is something wrong?"
"What? No! Of course not!" She tried to grin, hoping it would be reassuring.
He sighed. She was lying, he didn't even need to see her soul to know it. Her soul was quite a sight, however; it was a darker purple than usual, and practically vibrating. He would need to talk to her later, although he had no idea what he might say.
"Free, Eruka?" Marie called into the house, "We have company~"
"OH BOY COMPANY!" a large dog-like man bounded out from a bedroom in the back and landed on the back of the couch. His tail was wagging furiously and his tongue lolled.
Eruka followed him out. She rolled her eyes, nursing the infant, "Ribbit, Free, stop being such an idiot..."
He grinned hugely at her over his shoulder, "Aaaawwwwww you're beautiful!"
"Love you too..." she sighed with a small smile.
"WHOA WAIT WHAT!?" Black Star gaped at them, "WEREN'T YOU WORKING FOR MEDUSA!? WHY ARE YOU HERE?!"
Marie sat Black Star down on the couch, overpowering his struggles easily, "Luke and I are protecting them. They left the witch society to start a family. Isn't that wonderful?"
Tsubaki nodded, perfectly happy with the situation.
"NO IT ISN'T THEY TRIED TO KILL US!" He yelled, still pointing at the couple.
"It's not like we had much of a choice, you know, ribbit," Eruka reminded him, "Medusa would have thought of some horrible way to kill us... But now that she's gone, ribbit, we don't have to be the bad guys."
Free bobbed his head, "Isn't my wife so smart?"
"If your wife was smart, she would have chosen a different husband." Luke shrugged.
"Heyyyy...." Free's eyes teared up, "that was mean...."
"It's okay, Free," Eruka assured him, "Luke is just a jerk, ribbit. And if he's not careful, he might find his shoes have become a potty training tool."
"I think Luke is great. He and Marie are a cute couple." Leila commented. She knew she was being irrational, but being in the same room with Stein and his previous partner was a horrible feeling. He'd never mentioned her; in fact, he'd implied that Leila was the first of his weapon partners he'd fallen for. The fact that she was beautiful, friendly, kind, and extremely powerful made it exponentially worse. Her insecurities mingled with the hope, fear, and sadness she already felt because of their mission. The torrent of emotions made her stomach hurt. She rested her head on her knees.
"I don't care for him much either, actually," Stein muttered. Something about him was off. His soul didn't come into sharp focus like it should have. Instead, it seemed as though he were viewing it through a foggy grey filter. Besides, Luke seemed to be keeping more of a distance from him than strictly necessary. While Stein was used to people being put off by his appearance, it was almost as though they were both the same side of a magnet, and were repelling each other.
Leila looked up at him with a pained expression.
Marie coughed, "Let's get on with the mission, shall we?" she made sure that everyone was comfortable before continuing, "You already know that there is a witch terrorizing our town. He controls a weapon that is very close to being a Kishin. For some reason, my attacks have no effect on her. She isn't affected by my Healing Wavelength at all, and I'm not able to repel her madness. She also has a little girl that follows her around."
"The little girl is a witch," Luke grumbled.
"She's too young to be a witch," Marie laughed, "You're so funny."
Eruka sighed and shook her head, "Marie, I told you, ribbit. The little girl is a witch. She has an enormous amount of magic, she just hasn't used it yet, ribbit ribbit."
Marie pouted, "But she's so cute..."
"Ribbit." Eruka's eyes darkened. "Are you saying I'm not cute?"
"Uhhhh..."
"ANYWAY" Luke interrupted, "Could you cats calm down? We have bigger problems today than your vanity contest."
"My wife is prettier."
"Shut up, dog. Marie has your Witch beat--"
"Nuh-huh! Eruka is the prettie-"
The wives hit their husbands in perfect timing, "Shut. Up."
"Okay..." they whimpered.
Black Star chuckled at the exchange, then frowned and held his head in one hand. His jaw was clenched and his eyes were tight. Tsubaki had seen that look before; he was being pulled into resonating with Rivin against his will. Before she could voice her concerns to the group, Marie continued, "The Weapon's weakness seems to be the little girl. She calls the weapon Nee-chan and the Weapon is very protective of her."
Luke picked up the trail of thought, "If we can get our hands on the little witch, we might be able to lure the Weapon into a trap and capture her. From there, we can figure out what to do with her."
Black Star shook his head, unable to speak. He growled deep in his chest. Tsubaki put her hand on his shoulder and opened her mouth to speak, but Leila was faster.
She sat up straight. "We'll be taking her back to the DWMA, fully intact, thank you." She glared harshly at Luke. Her petty reasons for liking him dissolved in an instant. If he so much as thought about harming her little sister... She'd kill him.
"Are you planning on keeping a Kishin as a pet?" he scoffed, "That's ridiculous."
"Pet?" asked a voice at the open window. A little girl had pulled herself up to the windowsill and tilted her head. Her dark pigtails looked like two bobbing black cloud puffs on either side of her head. One pink satin ribbon had come partly undone and fluttered by her shoulders while the other was stylistically lopsided. Her amber eyes glittered with excitement. "Lucy isn't a pet! She's Nee-chan!"
A terrible pressure descended on them. The house rocked. Glass shattered in the kitchen. The baby began to scream. Free growled and bounded back to Eruka. He pulled her close, keeping the baby safe between them.
Marie and Luke jumped to their feet, "They're here."
"I thought so..." Tsubaki sighed.
"Then why didn't you tell us?" Luke growled, "What kind of weapon are you?"
Sounds of destruction engulfed them, followed by the sounds of madness. "Come out, come out, whoever you are," sang a distorted voice.
The pressure shifted directions, sending the shingles of the roof flying. Tile shattered against their neighbor's windows and siding, smashing on the ground. The roof followed shortly after, blowing a hole in the next house over. Glass sprayed into the living room and kitchen as the windows gave up, leaving sparkling shards around their feet.
The small child was blown through the open hole, careening into Stein's back. She latched on, unharmed. "My sister is so silly. She could have knocked! I guess she's hungry!"
"So it seems." Stein set the girl aside and stood up. "Leila," he said, holding out his hand.
She grasped it and transformed, temporarily forgetting her jealousy.
"Marie," Luke took his wife's hand, transforming her into a hammer, "Free, take custody of the girl."
"BUT I'M ALREADY A FATHER I CAN'T CHEAT ON MY BABY BOY!" Tears streamed down his face.
Eruka sighed, handed Free their baby and took hold of Paisley's hand, "I'm Eruka, ribbit. What's your name?"
She smiled brightly and squeezed Eruka's hand. "I'm Paisley. Nee-chan is going to eat your soul with extra cheese!"
Screams of pain and fear and death and cackles of madness surrounded them. Rivin stood in the middle of it all. A ring of souls in all different colors floated around her shoulders. She ate them one by one, and then dove back into the masses of people looking for shelter.
"RIVIN!" Leila cried out. Her soul ached upon seeing her in such a state. Her little sister was covered in blood, old and new. Her beautiful dress had been replaced by a simple white gown. A surgical gown. She didn't know whether to laugh or cry when she realized Rivin's panties-that were blatantly exposed-were really the bottoms to a familiar bikini. The worst part was the look in her eyes. They were so bright, but so empty and cold... Like a thick layer of ice over a deep yellow lake.
"Leila, are you going to be able to handle this?" Stein asked, his eyes narrowed and focused on Rivin. Her soul was black with hunger and fear, marbled with red, orange and yellow like a macabre fire. Every human soul she consumed had the potential to cause her transformation into a full fledged Kishin.
Luke leapt into action. He was already resonating with Marie. Her healing wavelength glowed as her hammer form swung towards their target. Rivin turned a frightening smile on him, ducked under Marie and hugged Luke around the middle. "I'm feeling very difficult today, so I'm going to eat until I feel all better!" She cackled suddenly and sprang away from him as if burned. Without another word to the stunned Meister, she turned on her toes and dashed after a group of people trying to flee.
Tsubaki ran outside, helping Black Star along, "we have to do something!"
Leila forced herself to come to her senses. "I'll be fine. We need to help them!"
Stein nodded and ran towards Rivin. He swung Leila more like a lasso, hoping to be able to trap Rivin and force her to calm down using Leila's suppression wavelength. It wasn't much of a plan, but it was their best hope at getting her madness wavelength under control.
Rivin tilted her head at them. Her hand was in the chest of a wide eyed man. His mouth floundered, blood and drool leaking from his lips. It looked as though she had forgotten to reach into him, and had simply stuck her hand through his solar plexus instead.
Her hand slipped back to her side, allowing the man to fall to the ground. He wasn't quite dead, so she placed her foot on his neck. "Your souls..." Her voice was wistful as she crushed the man's throat. "So warm." she flashed behind Stein, grabbed Leila from him and threw her away. She touched Stein's back with the tips of her fingers and froze. Stein himself didn't feel that moving was the best course of action.
"What are you doing?" Another Witch appeared in the air above her. He had deep black rings under his eyes and his hair and clothes were disheveled. Typically proud shoulders were bent with stress and desperation. Diomedes sighed. "I was under the impression that you wanted to go home."
"I can't do that..." She shuffled away from the professor, prodding the dead man with her foot. "He'll be really mad. I'm not supposed to be there... I'm being so bad... I just... Need to eat... Until I feel better..." She continued to mumble to herself for a moment before drifting off through the town to find more things to eat.
Stein's eyes narrowed. Who was he? It certainly wasn't Stein, and he knew it wasn't Kid. Had Bacchus gotten to Rivin while she was with Diomedes? It seemed a likely situation. He wasn't sure what to do about Diomedes here, either. Although the Old Witch hadn't acknowledged him yet, he wasn't sure how friendly he would be when he did. He would need his Weapon to stand a chance against the God. He jogged back to Leila. "Are you alright?" he asked as he coiled her once more.
"I'm in weapon form," she reminded him, "I can't be hurt that easily. Are you okay?"
"Fine." He glanced around at the town. "I doubt Rivin actually meant me harm." Mostly the souls had all been eaten, except for the few that hovered over their bodies like sad clouds. The most disturbing thing was the bodies themselves. Usually when a Weapon or even a Kishin Egg killed, the bodies of their victims simply unraveled. That was clearly not the case here. He wondered if things went badly... Would he be able to dissect Rivin? What could he learn from her?
"Tsubaki!" Black Star was finally in control of himself. He even managed to whisper so that only his weapon could hear, "Rivin recognized Stein. She knows we're here.... but she doesn't know why she knows us. Let's fight her and MAKE her remember!"
Tsubaki nodded, "right!" She transformed into ninja-sword mode and Black Star sprinted through town until he found Rivin. He kept his mind focused on the mission at hand, not the bodies his little sister left in her wake.
She held a screaming child at arms length, staring at it with her head tilted slightly. "So little... So warm.... But You're not ripe yet!" She dropped the screaming child. He blinked blankly up at her for a moment, and then ran into the nearest house. After the small child was out of harm's way, Rivin turned to grin at Black Star. "The teal thing! I knew you'd come back~!"
Black Star's eyes narrowed. Teal thing. I'LL SHOW HER! "I AM BLACK STAR THE MAN WHO WILL SURPASS GOD!"
"Oh?" She giggled, twirling her tail beside her. "I think you're just a cute little teal thing~!" Rivin tossed the wrecking ball at him, almost playfully. "Catch~!"
He jumped to the left, easily avoiding the attack, and launched himself at Rivin. She didn't bother to move, letting Tsubaki slid up to the hilt in her stomach. Rivin grinned, grabbing Black Star's face with both hands. "You didn't catch it! You can't play that way."
Black Star ground his teeth. He reached out with his soul. He was expecting some resistance, but what he encountered was a wall of black, gnarled branches. There was no way through. *RIVIN IT'S ME! THE BIG STAR!*
"STAY OUT OF MY HEAD!" She let out a piercing scream and threw him away. She grabbed Tsubaki and sent her spinning to the concrete.
Black Star hopped back up and tackled her. He pinned her arms to her sides. She squirmed, geckering incessantly. His leg wrapped around her knee, dropping them both to the ground. As Rivin struggled to reclaim her breath, Black Star slammed his forehead into hers, knocking them both silly.
*I KNOW YOU DIDN'T FORGET ME, SINCE I'M BLACK STAR, THE GREATEST ASSASSIN IN THE WORLD! * He clawed at the branches, tearing away his fingernails but making no progress. * LET ME IN DAMMIT!*
*Go away go away go AWAY!* The wall of branches writhed, tightening their borders.
Aside from Rivin's crying, no other sounds came from the other side. No laughter, no static, no foxes. Just Rivin, alone. * YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE ALONE. WE'RE HERE FOR YOU, RIVIN!* His soul expanded, bright teal fire scorching through her defenses.
*No! No, go away! GO AWAY!* More branches tried to stand between him and his goal. He burned through them, too. Rivin continued to wail. *STOP YOU CAN'T BE HERE GO AWAY ! IT'S TOO HOT TOO HOT MAKE IT STOP! I HATE YOU LITTLE TEAL THING!*
"LITTLE HOW DARE YOU CALL ME LITTLE I AM OW"
Rivin sank sharp, vulpine teeth into his shoulder. She flipped over him, still holding firmly to his shoulder. Blood gushed out from around her lips, filling her mouth. She tore the chunk of flesh away, threw back her head and howled. She was stopped short when Tsubaki collided into her side.
The two tumbled through the sidewalk, leaving Rivin sitting on top. "I hate you!" she screamed at her.
Luke and Stein both bolted towards them as Rivin raised a clawed hand to rip off the assassin's face. Neither of them were fast enough. Her nails punctured Tsubaki's cheek, just below her left eye.
Diomedes teleported down beside her. He grabbed her by both shoulders and hauled her off the bleeding weapon. He summoned his broom and flew them up and out of reach. "Luceria! What are you doing?"
"DON'T CALL ME THAT PUT ME DOWN I HATE YOU!" Rivin screamed, struggling against her father's hold.
Stein couldn't help but note the look of profound sorrow on the man's face.
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. But we have to go back to the mountain. You can't be near humans, and I can't protect you here."
Rivin hissed. She squirmed until she could sink her teeth into Diomedes forearm. She had nearly ripped it off before he finally released her. She hit the ground and took off running farther into town.
Stein clicked his screw. While he wanted to be able to bring Rivin back to Death City, he would be hard pressed to argue with Diomedes that he would be able to 'protect' her any better than the God. His best option would be to help contain Rivin, and then attempt to find a diplomatic end with Diomedes without letting anyone else die, including Diomedes.
Black Star sat up, trying to staunch the blood flow with his hand. "Damn. I can't believe she really called me little."
"I think there are more important things to worry about." Tsubaki shook her head. She tore her dress into strips for bandages.
"Like WHAT!?"
"Did you really just ask that question?" Stein asked with a raised eyebrow. "We're going after her. Catch up when you can."
This part of the town was, surprisingly, mostly intact. There were very few living souls around, and fewer corpses. Houses were largely undisturbed, though toys and clothes were strewn on lawns from the families making their hasty escapes. They followed a thread of soul energy to the very heart of Rotorua. As the pressure from Rivin's soul intensified, Stein slowed to a walk. He peaked around the corner of a beige and white house.
The town square was circular, with neat stone rings extending from the central fountain. Standing in the middle was Rivin, entranced by the water flowing out of the hands of the statue of Lord Death. She rocked slightly back and forth, mouth open.
As soon as he was in range, he flicked the whip at Rivin, attempting to restrain her before she noticed them. It was not to be. Rivin caught it and grinned triumphantly, but Leila wrapped around her wrist. Rivin tilted her head at the other weapon. "Why hello. Care to donate your soul to a good cause?"
"Rivin, just hold still damn it!" Leila yelled, wishing her voice wouldn't tremble quite so much.
She cackled and ignored the words. With only a few fluid movements, she pulled Stein in using Leila. She stood on her tip-toes to face him and gave him her scariest smile, "Did you come to play with me?"
"Not quite." He wanted badly to light a cigarette.
"Are you real? Or are you a doll? What's the difference? Care to find out?" She shoved her hand through his chest to feel his heartbeat. Look at his face you hurt him how funny he feels pain pain he feels pain dr. stabby hurts why does he hurt is he real?
Is it because his heart beats? Am I real; do I have a heart?
*Of course you have a heart!* the teal thing raged *Everyone has a heart! You are real are real are real you are real And if you'd just snap out of this madness and fight me I'd show you you're real! Or come home! Kid will tell you that you're real!*
*DON'T SAY THAT NAME SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UUUUP!*
Rivin shook her head frantically, trying to clear her head. She dropped Stein and flung Leila away. Eyes wide, she held her head between her hands, "SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP!" They were still resonating. She couldn't get him out of her head.
"Luceria," Diomedes landed beside her, putting himself between her and the Meisters. He held his hands out, palms up. Paisley clung to his legs. "It is time for you to end this game. You've played enough for one day."
"STEIN!" Marie flew into her human form and fell to her knees beside the fallen Meister, "Oh, oh... um...." she tore pieces of her trench coat and tried to staunch the bleeding. Her voice was slightly higher pitched, "D-don't worry! You'll be okay!"
Leila landed on the ground a few hundred feet from her Meister. She transformed as quickly as she could and began running toward him. He was too far for her to tell how severely he had been injured. She started to call his name, but it caught in her throat when she saw Marie kneel beside him and bandage his wounds. She glared for a moment, her chest clenched tight, then walked mechanically over to them and sat on the ground. Her eyes filled with tears, and her chest felt sore, but she ignored them and took Stein's hand. I told you...I'm weak. She's a death weapon and I can't even protect you...
Marie smiled shakily at Leila, "Sorry... I know he's your Meister... I just can't sit back when someone needs help..."
Leila shook her head. With Stein injured, jealousy would have to wait. "It's just good that someone got to him right away...will he be ok?"
"I hope so." Marie responded truthfully.
Luke glared in Rivin's general direction, "Marie. The Witch is finally on the ground. We need to make him our priority." His trench coat was torn and damaged by some sort of steaming liquid. He shrugged it off, and it lay in a slowly disintegrating heap at his feet.
"But, Stein is..."
"Now." His voice was hard and hateful, just for that one syllable. He held out his hand, smiling, and tried to soften his tone. "He has his weapon."
"Right..." Marie didn't seem too sure, but she took Luke's hand and transformed.
With her in hand, Luke charged Diomedes. Marie took on a golden aura as she reached the pinnacle of her arch. Luke swung her at the back of the Witch's head, but found no target to connect with. Diomedes sighed from behind him. "I really wish you would stop doing that. You're getting annoying."
"DON'T HURT MY DADDY YOU PIECE OF SHIT!" Paisley screeched, still clinging to his leg. "I'LL EAT YOU WITH SO MANY CHEESE!"
Diomedes scooped up the tiny, screaming Witchling and pinched her face between his finger and thumb. "You're too young for that kind of language, and we don't eat people in this family."
"WELL LUCERIA GETS TO."
"Luceria is about to be grounded." Diomedes absently grabbed Luke's hand in the second before Marie burst against his temple. He gave the snarling Meister a dead look. "I'm holding a toddler. What kind of person are you?" His eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Who are you?"
*Luke! What are you doing? We could have hurt the baby!*
*She's just another Witch, Marie.* Luke's voice was colder than Marie had ever heard it. Although they were resonating, he sounded far away, as though they were speaking through the phone.
*She's a child! I don't care if she's a Witch or what. Don't you dare use me to hurt her!*
The grin she felt in Luke's soul was too dark, too angry, to belong to the man she married. It was like she was talking to someone else, someone who had borrowed her husband's voice, his face, his very soul.
Chapter 26: Rivin is gone again. : Did you pick the right Weapon?
Chapter Text
Leila watched the exchange numbly from her spot beside Stein. It was strange to see Diomedes so concerned about the tiny witch. From far away, the scene simply looked like a father protecting a pair of unruly daughters. She glanced down at Stein with a guilty sigh, wishing she could ask him the questions on her mind.
Luke's other hand snaked out and grabbed Paisley by the arm. He flung her behind him before Diomedes could respond. Paisley hit the ground and rolled to Leila's side with a pained yelp. The Old Witch's face darkened. Luke's captive hand began to sizzle as blue, acidic sludge began to ooze from Diomedes' skin. The Witch's face turned into a fearsome snarl with carnivorous teeth and slitted amber eyes.
Too late, Luke realized his mistake. He brought his other hand up to shield his face, but Diomedes grabbed his wrist. His voice was thick with teeth when he growled. "Don't touch my children!"
Luke could only stare in horror as Diomedes' teeth were suddenly very close to his face. The Witch's blue stripes filled his vision before it went white with pain. He couldn't even scream; most of his mouth was being dissolved by the Witch's acidic rage.
Black Star skidded to a stop. He could hardly process the scene unfolding before him. Stein, laying on the ground with a hole in his chest. Leila holding his hand and desperately applying pressure to try to stop the bleeding. Paisley, unconscious beside her. Luke, being destroyed as Diomedes bit into his face. Rivin was zoned out, staring at the statue of Lord Death, moving her lips in a silent prayer: Don't die. Don't make me the God Slayer.
"Enchanted sword mode." Black Star hadn't been taking the fight seriously. Even though Rivin had critically wounded him, she wasn't intending on killing him. She just wanted him out of the fight. Out of her head. He didn't want to hurt her if he didn't have to.
However, Rivin seemed to be completely mesmorized for the moment, What he needed to do now was to see what the other guy's problem was. He didn't need soul perception to see that Luke wasn't willing to talk to Diomedes. The fastest way to get the answers he wanted was to force Diomedes to resonate with him. And to do that, he needed a Weapon to amplify his wavelength.
Tsubaki transformed in his hand. Her shadow launched him into the air. He spun over Leila and Stein, holding Tsubaki over his head as he came down. Her pommel slammed into the back of his shoulder. The God spat out Luke in order to snarl at them. Black Star concentrated his soul wavelength.
He was suddenly standing on a mountain cliff, overlooking a sea of trees. There was a soft, sweet breeze blowing through. It smelled like...
"Cookies."
Black Star turned to face the voice. Diomedes sat next to him, one leg hanging off the edge of the cliff, the other tucked up next to him. The Witch didn't look at him. "Olivia made cookies the day she disappeared. I can't stop smelling them."
Nothing about what he was seeing fit with his impression of the Witch. Taken aback, the only thing he could do was go along with the suddenly calm conversation. "Uh...." He sat next to him. Something about Diomedes suddenly felt very, very old, and very, very tired. Tsubaki appeared on the Witch's other side. Seeing her Meister sitting, she joined them.
"Disappeared?" She asked, tentatively.
Diomedes sighed. "She left one day and never came back. But she left Paisley. I don't know why. It wouldn't be safe to leave Paisley with Luceria."
"Rivin." Black Star growled. The correction was automatic. The trees rippled with protective anger. "She hates that name. Don't use it."
Tsubaki nodded. "Right! You're... Her father, right? So you have to know that-"
"I don't know anything about her." Diomedes gazed mournfully out into the endless sea of trees. His voice was joined by the distant sound of wailing foxes. "She wasn't anything. She didn't want anything. I tried... We all tried. She couldn't ever hear us. But she can hear you." He turned his eyes to Black Star. "For some reason, my daughter can hear you."
"Of course she can!" He puffed out his chest and pointed his thumb at himself, "I'm Black Star, the greatest assassin ever! I'm even resonating with a Witch!" He laughed boldly, but the words somehow reminded him of the searing pain in his shoulder, a burning, corrosive feeling beginning in the depths of his soul.
"True." Diomedes sighed. "You'll want to be careful. You're taking the brunt of the resonance for yourself and your Weapon."
"I'M FINE HAHAHA!" But the longer he was there, the less fine he felt. His body felt... Blurry. As though someone had taken the fog tool and run it over the edges of his mind.
Tsubaki sighed and shook her head. "I'm sorry we're intruding. I guess we wanted to know... Why you're having Rivin attack the town?"
Diomedes blinked at her. "Excuse me?"
"YEAH WHAT'S THE BIG IDEA?" Black Star punched him in the shoulder. "RIVIN SHOULD BE AT HOME WITH US, NOT-"
"That was the goal." Diomedes' soft voice caused the assassin to quiet down, as well. The breeze turned cold. The cookies began to smell like they were ready to come out of the oven. "I found someone to pray to, you know. Olivia couldn't resonate safely with Lu - with Rivin." he sighed at the name. "She tried, but... Rivin couldn't hear her. I thought, given Marie's ability and that she had the strength to stand against my sister..." Diomedes shook his head. "I picked the wrong gods to pray to."
A soft whispering floated along the wind. A voice Black Star didn't recognize. "Pray... all you can do is pray... you can... pray... all you can..."
"The Old Gods are sealed, their powers broken." Diomedes responded, seemingly to the voice.
The cookies were burning.
"And I have only half a soul left. I am hardly a god."
"All you can do.... You can... Pray... All you can do is pray..."
"Who was I supposed to pray to?"
Black Star clutched his chest, wincing from the pain. The smell of burning cookies enhanced the sensation that his own soul was being burned away. "I-I'm going to surpass the Gods!" He declared through clenched teeth. Tsubaki gave him a concerned look, but he waved her down. "So put your faith. In me! I am Black Star, the man who will. Surpass..."
Diomedes put one hand on each of their shoulders. "I'll leave her to you, then. Rivin is my..." His eyes glazed over. The smell of fire and sulfur filled the air. The trees were burning. Smoke took over their field of vision. "Precious..."
"All you can do is pray..."
"God..."
"Daughter..."
/*-+-*/
"Dad?" Rivin's small, frightened voice was the first thing Black Star heard when he was ejected from the resonance. He was standing with Tsubaki in hand, no longer embedded in Diomedes' back. "Daddy?"
Luke gripped Marie tightly. His teeth were bared by default; he had no lips on one side of his face. The puncture wounds from Diomedes' teeth oozed and smoked. The Witch's body was gone, leaving nothing but a glistening black and blue soul with three dark blue stripes on the right side. Acid seemed to drip from it as it hovered between the Meisters.
"Oh no." Tsubaki gasped. "Diomedes..."
Black Star snapped his teeth and growled. "Luke!"
"Daddy?" Rivin stepped forward with her hand outstretched. "Daddy, where'd you go? I don't like this game. Come back!"
Leila winced as Rivin's small, pleading voice seemed to confirm her suspicions about the Witch. He hadn't been the one to kidnap Rivin, so was there the possibility that he had simply been protecting her, maybe even trying to limit the scope of her destruction, as she had done so many times.
She glanced down at Stein. He still looked pale, but his breathing was steady. She squeezed his hand and stood, taking a few uncertain steps toward Rivin.
The mad Weapon swayed on her feet. She touched her father's soul with the tips of trembling fingers. "Give him back.... I'll be better. I'll be so good! I'll do... Daddy..."
"Luke...?" Marie took human form, helping her husband stay on his feet. She felt confused revulsion at his touch, as though her very soul could no longer stand the sight of him. "What did we do?"
He groaned, falling limp in her arms. His body was barely held together by the bits of dirty skin left to him.
Black Star suddenly held his arm out, stopping Leila from getting too close. Even without resonance, he could feel that Rivin was about to snap. He narrowed his eyes. Tsubaki's shadow twisted nervously at his feet.
He wanted to call out to her, but he didn't know what to say. He wasn't certain, but he wondered if the pain in his soul had been simply from the resonance, or if he had felt Diomedes dying. He couldn't be sure. What he did know was that the Witch was completely devoted to Rivin and their family. Rivin must have felt it, too.
"And all of Death's Meisters..." She whimpered. Her fingers curled into a tightly clenched fist as her soul expanded around her. Debris, blood, and acid scattered in the air, swirling in the turbulent energy of her soul. "And all the Death Weapons..." She grabbed Black Star by the face and sent her soul wavelength coursing through him. "COULDN'T PUT THEM BACK TOGETHER AGAIN!"
Rivin threw Black Star, twitching and groaning, to the ground. She kicked Tsubaki from his hand and flung her wrecking ball tail at Leila. It caught the whip in the stomach, knocking the air from her lungs. She dug in her heels, refusing to allow Rivin to knock her down. She coughed and saw blood on her hand.
"Rivin!" she choked weakly. She took another step forward, ignoring the pain in her abdomen. In all of her mad delusions, Rivin had never attacked Leila. Now she didn't know what her little sister would do, and her Meister was unconscious. She was scared, but she had never been able to leave Rivin alone like this. "Rivin, it'll be ok..." She coughed again, blood splattering her arm. "Just come home... I'll make dinner..."
The mad Weapon snarled, stomping up to her. She stood on her toes and shoved her finger in Leila's face. "I hate you." Her eyes were dark and angry. "I hate you I hate you!" Rivin was shaking from head to toe. Tears spilled down her cheeks. "Why don't you ever just leave me alone?" While Leila was contemplating the question, she pulled back her fist and jabbed Leila in the face.
She fell backward with a slight cry, landing painfully on her injured ribs. "Rivin..." she muttered thickly, clutching her face as her eyes and nose streamed. She didn't know what else to say. She didn't need to see souls to be able to tell that Rivin was grieving the death of her father. Leila knew that Rivin's anger toward her was likely a result of her grief, but it didn't make it any less hurtful. She sat up gingerly, watching her little sister cautiously.
Rivin dropped her wrecking ball next to Leila's thigh. It created a small crater in the ground. She dragged it behind her to where Paisley was still unconscious, and picked her up. She looked down at Stein and nudged him with her foot. "Dr. Stabby, are you dead? Well, I guess you weren't real. My Dr. Stabby wouldn't die so easily."
"Rivin!" Tsubaki crawled out of her Weapon form, half laying on her barely conscious meister. "Don't you dare walk away from us now! Not after everything we've done to find you! We're all waiting for you to come home. We're suffering because you're gone. Don't you dare leave us now."
She paused, then turned to face Tsubaki. "Why are you so warm?"
"We... We're warm because we care about you!" Tsubaki stood, trying not to cry. "We decided to be your friends and we love you! It's time to come home. Please. Leila came all the way out here just for you. Let's all go home, and see our friends, and see Kid-"
The air pressure flattened them all to the ground. Rivin shuddered. Her slitted yellow eyes glowed. A trail of toxic yellow haze whisped from the corner of her mouth. Her voice was a low, dangerous hiss. "Don't say that name. I can't take it. Don't say it."
Tsubaki groaned, forcing her head up. "You didn't know... Rivin, Kid is-"
Rivin was on her in an instant. She knelt beside her and grabbed her pony tail. "I said, don't say that!" She tried to slam Tsubaki's face into the concrete, but her hand was suddenly empty.
Black Star held the chain scythe in one hand. His breathing was ragged. He managed to pull himself up to a standing position. His makeshift bandages slipped, and blood began to pulse down his torso once more. "Okay, if you're... Ready to fight!"
Rivin stood. She looked him over. "You're falling apart. I can't play with dollies that are falling apart. Then they would break and be dead."
"I'm not a doll." He hissed. "I am Black Star, the man who will-"
Her tail curled around his leg and pulled his feet out from under him. "It looks like this dolly needs a nap. Goodnight, Mr. Cranky Teal Soul. Goodnight, Miss Chain Scythe." She turned to retrieve Paisley. She picked her up and walked away. She was well out of sight by the time her soul pressure faded.
Black Star crumpled to the ground, cross-legged. His chin hit his chest, and he seemed to pass out. Tsubaki sat down beside him, hastily adjusting his bandages again.
Leila stared at the witch soul. Her eyes were wide, and tears still streamed from them. She pulled herself gingerly to a sitting position, cringing as her ribs protested the motion. "Rivin..." Her voice was hoarse. She shook her head to clear it. She couldn't quite comprehend what had occurred, but she was thankful that everything had calmed down.
Wincing with pain, she crawled over to Stein and sat beside him. She stroked his face gently. His bleeding seemed to have slowed quite a bit. Marie had done a good job of bandaging him up. Leila was relieved, but at the same time it made her heart hurt. She'd failed him. He might be dead if not for Marie, his old partner...and Rivin was gone. They'd killed Diomedes, and she was gone again. Leila's head drooped. She'd failed Rivin too. So many emotions swirled around in Leila's mind that they made her dizzy. She clasped Stein's hand and held it close to her chest.
He stirred, and opened one eye. "Leila?"
"Stein!" She sighed with relief and hugged him tearfully. "You're alive!"
"Of course I am," he smiled at her. "Now, about that soul..."
Marie gently laid her Meister next to Stein. "Well, Luke and I killed him, so it's ours by default." She cringed at the thought of eating a soul she didn't feel as though she earned, and was having second thoughts about who she thought he had been when he was alive.
Leila grimaced at the presence of Stein's former partner. She couldn't help but remember the despair in Rivin's eyes when her father had been killed. Rivin had attacked them out of madness and grief, but all her father had done was defend her and the tiny witch.
Could they have approached the situation differently? Would they have been able to reason with Diomedes, or with Rivin?
She felt a sudden annoyance toward the death weapon and Meister behind her. Luke had been so quick to treat Rivin as a Kishin, so quick to attack them, even the toddler. Marie had been so quick to rush to Stein's side, as though they were still partners...
She looked back at the soul. It pulsed a pretty blue-ish purple color, with three blue stripes on the right side of it. It hovered about three feet from her.
Leila acted automatically, without thinking. She walked over to it and picked up. It felt smooth and cold in her hand. It almost seemed to be bleeding; a viscous indigo and black liquid welled from between her fingers and dripped, only to dissolve before hitting the ground. She couldn't quite feel the liquid; instead, it left a trail of tingling numbness. Of all the souls she had seen and eaten herself, none had bled in her hand. None had been literally dripping with power.
"Leila... be careful," Stein cautioned, but she didn't seem to hear him. He knew he should have been trying harder to warn her, to explain the incredible power of the soul in her hand, but his sense of curiosity was fighting him. There was no denying that his weapon was uniquely strong and resilient, especially considering her lack of proper training. A part of him, larger than he wanted to admit, wanted to know how her suppression wavelength would affect such a powerful soul. He twisted his screw steadily, hoping to resolve the internal struggle before it was too late.
Leila stared at the soul in her hand, her heart racing. She knew she was being disrespectful. She didn't deserve it. Regardless of his intentions, Luke and Marie had killed him, which earned them the soul. She'd done nothing to earn it. She was too weak to save Rivin, too weak to protect her Meister, too weak...
But she had gathered 99 kishin souls on their last mission...Would this one soul make her strong enough?
Without another moment of hesitation, she swallowed it, and gagged roughly. It felt just as smooth as any other going down her throat, but it had a sour flavor, like a chemical coating. She gasped as she felt the power of the witch's soul coursing through her veins, burning like acid. Her vision blurred as her limbs were set alight with pain. She dropped to her knees with a strangled cry, her throat tightening. Was this truly what it was like to become a death weapon? Had she done something wrong?
But even through the agony, she could feel strength returning to her battered body.
As the pain finally subsided, she found herself sitting with her head resting on her knees. Her stomach ached, and her throat burned. Slowly, she looked up at the others. Stein had propped himself up on one hand, as if crawling toward her. He was smoking a cigarette, and wearing a slightly wild expression she couldn't read.
Tsubaki clapped her hands, but couldn't quite smile. Remembering the Witch's soulscape, how lonely and sad he had been, knowing that all he wanted was to keep his family safe, left a hollow feeling in her heart. "Congratulations!"
She smiled back at them weakly and looked down at the ground. Just like that, she had become a Death weapon...on a mission where she'd been no help at all. She knew she would be happy about it later, but at the moment, she just felt empty and cold.
/*-+-*/
Marie looked around the house with one arm around Luke's shoulders. Marie was mostly uninjured, except for some bruises. Luke's face and hands were bandaged. His left eye was exposed, but the rest was covered.
Eruka cuddled the sleeping baby on her lap, and Free cuddled Eruka on his lap. Eruka had a black eye and her upper arms were bandaged. Free appeared to be in perfect condition, but that was only because he was immortal and healed very quickly. They had found him pinned to the earth with a large chunk of wood through his abdomen, doing his best to keep his son out of the blood.
Black Star was in a full body cast and his face was wrapped tightly. He didn't know it, but Tsubaki was holding his hand. She stared at her feet, feeling guilty. She had been useless in the fight to save Rivin. she didn't feel like she would ever be able to face her Meister again.... But holding his hand made her feel better - even if he didn't know it.
"That... Could have gone better..." Marie said after a time. The rain beat down on the tarp Free had hastily put up in place of a roof.
Leila agreed, but she didn't respond, or react in any way. She was hugging her knees as tightly as she could to her body without affecting her broken ribs. She could still taste blood from a cut on her lip, and her nose was swollen and bandaged from when Rivin had punched her. She stared at the wall with puffy eyes.
Stein was sitting beside her, somewhat weak from blood loss, but his wounds had been properly bandaged and he was determined to be a part of whatever conversation was going to take place.
When Leila finally spoke, her voice was raspy. "I'm sorry..." she muttered to Stein. "It's my fault you got hurt...I should have protected you..."
Stein glanced over at her and shook his head. "It's not your fault. I should have been paying more attention." He smirked. "Besides, I'm fine, I've dealt with much worse. I'm fairly certain I was nowhere near a fatal level of blood loss."
Leila stood up abruptly. "You can thank Marie for that," she said softly. She walked over to the blonde death weapon and addressed her as politely as she could. "Do you mind if I use your kitchen again, Miss Marie? I'd like to make us some lunch..."
"Hmm?" she answered distractedly, "Oh, yeah. Sure." she gave Leila a weak smile, "Go ahead."
"Thank you," she muttered, turning and hurrying to the kitchen.
Stein stared after her sadly, watching her soul shudder and shrink. He had assumed the encounter with Rivin would have had an effect like this, but he hadn't anticipated that Marie's presence would make it so much worse. Her violet soul seemed to radiate the whispers that he thought were gone forever. Useless...weak... He stood up slowly, fighting a spell of dizziness, and followed her.
"Stein," Marie cautioned, "You should sit down..."
He turned and looked at her fiercely, surprising them both with his intensity. His voice held the same measured calm as usual. "My weapon has been through more than even she realizes on this mission. I'll sit down when I know she's alright." He made his way to the kitchen, not waiting for a reply.
The kitchen was warm and already smelled fantastic. A pot of boiling water on the stove was cooking rice, and a small pan beside it held simmering vegetables. The coffee maker was halfway through making a fresh pot. Leila was leaning against a counter in the corner of the kitchen, sobbing quietly.
"Leila?" Stein said, concerned.
She jumped, then wiped her eyes. "You shouldn't be walking around!" She ran over to him and put his arm around her shoulder, trying to guide him back to the living room.
He grimaced. "You may have a point. Marie said the same thing."
Leila froze, then turned her attention to the food on the stove. "Well, she's right then."
"Leila," Stein sighed. "You should know that you can't pretend you're not upset when I'm around."
"I'm fine," she said quietly, stirring the vegetables.
Click-click-click. "This is about Marie." Leila said nothing and stared at her feet. "Leila, I've had plenty of weapon partners in the past. I could consider some of them friends, but as I said, this is the first time it's ever been...more than that." He smirked. "Unless you'd like to be jealous of Spirit as well? We were partnered for much longer than Marie and I were."
"Oh goodness," Leila couldn't help but giggle softly. She hesitated. "She stopped your bleeding though."
"I could have done that as well."
"While unconscious?"
His mind drifted to another time, one that, really, could have been any time. He smirked. "I've performed stranger operations."
"I don't think I wanna know about that actually." Leila laughed.
His smirk softened to a genuine smile. The color was beginning to return to her soul. He watched her patiently as she drained the rice and added the vegetables.
Finally she spoke again. "But...Black Star said she proposed to you? That must have been at least slightly serious."
"About eighteen times. Most of them were within the first two months of our partnership." He chuckled. "So no, not particularly."
Leila snorted. "Oh. That's less romantic than I thought."
He chuckled. "I'm no expert on the subject, but I'm inclined to agree." He pulled her closer to him and embraced her. So warm. So quiet. No static. "I love you Leila," he said softly into her ear. "I love you. Not Marie. Please believe that."
She nodded and buried her face into his chest. "I love you too..." she whispered. "But that's not enough. I can love you all I want but I'm still too weak to be your weapon." A fresh batch of bitter tears filled her eyes as she looked up at him. "I was supposed to protect you, and I didn't. I was supposed to bring Rivin back home, and I didn't. I did nothing. And I was rewarded for it." She grimaced, her voice full of disgust.
Stein twisted his screw and watched her curiously. She truly had no idea what kind of soul she had eaten, or what could have happened to her if her wavelength had been too weak to withstand it. His soul swelled with pride, along with a twinge of that new feeling of guilt he wasn't yet accustomed to. He didn't know how to tell her what he had failed to stop her from doing.
Instead, he peered around the corner to the living room. Everyone was still sitting in silence, still trying to process what had happened. "None of us made much progress with Rivin. We weren't fully prepared for how powerful she would be. Most of us sustained significant injuries, including you. But you're the only one I see doing anything helpful. I think that should count for something, at least."
He was relieved to see the small bubble of pride forming in her restless soul, despite how inadequate his compliment had been. She turned back to the stove with a slight smile. "Alright fine, go sit down and rest. Lunch is almost ready."
He grinned, sitting back down on the floor. "I'll wait here."
Chapter 27: Things Change: Maka, where are you going?
Chapter Text
Amy wriggled in her seat. She was trying very hard to be quiet so Kid could read, but she was just getting so bored.... And Miss Blair told them not to practice magic outside of class... But changing the color of Kid's stripes wouldn't hurt anything...
They were sitting on a bench right outside the DWMA, to the left of the huge double doors. It was late in the afternoon, and the sun was already sleeping.
She pointed at them decisively. Nothing happened. Amy glared and pointed at them again, mumbling, "Change color... Change color damn you..." She was surprised that, even trying, she wasn't able to affect the stripes. It should have been a simple task, yet it was suddenly consuming her concentration.
Saturdays could be so boring. Liz and Patti never invited her to their spa days, and Kid was always reading. Well, not always. He did pay attention to her sometimes, which was nice. Better than nice. She lived for their quiet conversations, and the moments when he smiled. But she didn't have anything else to do when he was busy...
"oops..." she giggled lightly as the stripes in Kid's hair turned bright pink. "I guess I know it works~"
There was a shift in the air. People with strong souls were coming up the steps to the DWMA. "Oh, Hi!" she waved at them excitedly. It was Leila, Stein, Tsubaki and Black... Star... She stared at the last member. His entire body was in a cast and his mouth was covered.
"Kid," she wrapped her arms around Kid's shoulders and pressed her cheek against his, "They're home~" Being so close to him made her soul glow.
He sighed. Having her so close could get irritating. "I see that, Amy." He then addressed Stein and Leila. "So, you all just came back from a mission, I assume?"
Black Star began trying to break out of his restraints. He couldn't stand seeing Amy clinging to Kid when he knew that Rivin was out there, sick and alone, thinking she had killed him. "WEMFRVNSHFALVRVNALV!!!"
"You should calm down," Tsubaki patted him on the head, "I'm sure Kid knows his hair is pink..."
Stein nodded in response to Kid, while Leila snickered at his hair.
"My what...is what?!" Kid glanced up at his hair that hung over his eyes. He rounded on Amy. "What did you do!? It's bad enough that they're asymmetrical but now they have to be PINK, TOO?!"
Amy hung her head and fiddled with her own hair. She hated it when he wasn't happy with her. It felt like dying. She looked up at Kid with an embarrassed smile, "I was trying to make them the same color... And I guess I oopsed... But at least they're the same color as my markings, now..." she pointed to the three dark horizontal pink lines on her right cheek.
"RVNIFALV!" Black Star raged.
Tsubaki patted his head, "Let's get you to the infirmary,"
Kid's expression softened. "Be that as it may..." he fiddled with his hair uncomfortably, "You can change it back, right?"
"I can try..."
Leila laughed harder. "Nah, come on, I think it's really your color! Patti and Liz will like them too...you should do all of your hair that color. Maybe get clothes to match..."
Kid glared at the whip, making her double over with giggles.
"Ummm..." Amy pointed at his hair and concentrated. She really wanted this to work. It would be so nice if she could do something that made Kid happy. Instead, the pink lines became lime green. She laughed nervously, but inside she was seething. "I oopsed again..."
Stein smirked. Leila fell over. "Ow!"
Kid sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose, looking irritated and rather tired. "How did the mission go? What happened to Black Star?" Being with Amy was nice occasionally, but she really was a nuisance with her powers.
"We succeeded, more or less," Stein shrugged, turning his screw. He knew that he shouldn't reveal the specific details of their mission to Kid, so he was trying to be as vague as possible. Eventually, however, Kid was going to ask how Leila and Black Star had been so badly injured.
"I see," Kid looked at them suspiciously. He rarely saw Black Star in such a state, and the last time Stein had been injured was... He couldn't remember. What sort of mission would even require both of them to go? "What exactly was your mission?"
"To kill a witch," Leila answered lightly, back on her feet now. "And I got his soul, and now I've got all I need to be a death weapon!" She grinned proudly, stifling her lingering guilt and unease. If Kid noticed her true feelings about the mission in her face or soul, he would ask for details, and she hated the idea of having to lie to him about something so important. Keeping their mission a secret was bad enough.
"Congratulations!" Kid said, smiling at her. He was still mildly suspicious, but Leila wouldn't have been happy about... He pushed it out of mind. "I suppose you're on your way to see my father then, so I won't keep you any longer." They waved at him as he walked away, Amy trailing behind him, still trying to fix his hair.
Leila took Stein's hand, her grin lingering. The fact hadn't fully sunk in before, but now that she had said it aloud, she was beginning to realize what it really meant. She was a death weapon. She thought about what her old Meister would say about it. Who's weak and pathetic now? she thought with a satisfied chuckle. She cheerfully made her way to the Death Room with Stein.
"Hiya!" Death greeted them cheerily, "How'd it gooooooo~? Well, I see that it wasn't a complete success, but the fact that you're alive means something.... Where are Black Star and Tsubaki?"
"In the infirmary," Stein responded with a twist of his screw. Kid had obviously noted the secrecy in their souls, and quite likely the anger in Black Star's.
"Yeah...Black Star got a bit messed up." Leila's grin faded slightly.
"A bit?" Death tilted to the left, "Goodness. More than usual?" He eyed her stitches and bandages. "And why aren't you in the infirmary?"
"Stein fixed me up already, I'll be alright," she laughed.
Spirit eyed Leila curiously, "Your wave length seems different." He grinned stupidly and walked up behind her with his hands on her shoulders, "Let's see if two weapons can... Resonate?"
Stein raised an eyebrow, but before he could respond, Leila transformed her hair, spun around and wrapped it around Spirit's neck. The spiked tip drew a small drop of blood. She pulled him forward and uncoiled the whip as he fell onto his face. "Seriously?" She rolled her eyes.
"Can't..... feel.... body...." he managed.
Death sighed and shrugged, "Well, that certainly seems new. Do you have something to tell me, Leila?"
Her grin returned. "I ate the witch's soul!" she beamed.
"that's wonderful!" Death clapped, clearly pleased, "You are now officially a death scythe! Death whip?" He tilted slightly, "You are now one of my weapons! But you will still be partnered with Stein. I already have a partner, you see.... Though he's not very bright..."
"NNNNNNRRRMMMMGG" Said Spirit.
Leila scratched the back of her head and looked down at Spirit. "Yeah...sorry. To be fair, I didn't know about the paralysis thing." She shrugged. "Maybe he learned a lesson?"
"Unlikely," said Stein with a smirk.
"I have to agree with Stein," Said Death with a small chuckle, "But now on to more important matters.... What has become of Rivin?"
Leila's grin disappeared again. "She ran away after Luke and Marie killed Diomedes...so I'm not sure." She sighed sadly. "She brought the little witch girl with her. They both seemed...really important to her."
Stein twisted his screw. It was unfortunately likely that, with Diomedes gone, other Witches would be after Rivin for a variety of reasons. She was the oldest living Gorgon, after all, and currently unaffiliated with any Coven. She would make any Coven immensely more powerful politically... And there was the worry that a particular God would be looking for her, now that she was alone. "She also recognized us, though as you can see, she wasn't friendly."
"Hmmmmm...." Death scratched his mask, "This is an interesting situation... But, I'm sure she'll come back, eventually! In the meantime, we should throw a party! Yes. A party to celebrate Leila being a Death whip. Tomorrow night is going to be so much fun!" Death began to do a little dance, already excited.
"Party sounds good!" Despite the confusion in her soul, Leila smiled.
/*-+-*/
Crona stepped cautiously into the infirmary, "Tsubaki? Black Star?"
"Oh, hi, Crona..." Tsubaki tried to smile at him, but failed. She was sitting with the chair against the wall next to Black Star's bed. "How are you?"
"I... I wanted to come see you. I heard Black Star yelling about a mission the other day.... H-how did it go?"
"RVNFALVAKFFDRRRRRRKDRVN!" Black Star flailed.
"wh-?"
Tsubaki shook her head, "I'm sorry, Crona. I can't tell you what the mission was..." she stared down at her hands, clenched in her lap, "We failed, anyway..."
Crona sat across the bed from her, ignoring Black Star's muffled yelling, "why are you so sad? Black Star fails all the time!"
"eheh..." Tsubaki knew he was trying to be comforting, but this time it hadn't been Black Star's fault by any means, "I failed, Crona. Black Star got beaten up because I wasn't strong enough..."
Crona blinked, the smile sliding off his face, "Ts-Tsubaki, you're really strong!"
"Thanks, Crona..."
Ragnarok slid onto his Meister's shoulders with a yawn. "Wow, you two are, like, really weak. Weaker than this weakling, even."
Crona rolled his eyes with a soft smile. Even though he was still rude, Ragnarok had started being just a little... Kinder. In his own, often violent, way. "Sometimes, it doesn't matter how strong you are, if the situation is really hard. Or sometimes, you just get unlucky."
"You're so sweet." Tsubaki could only accept the Meister's gesture. She wasn't sure how many people they should tell about Rivin's situation.
"UUFFGTTTFFFGEFFKDRVNEFFALV!"
"REALLY!?" Ragnarok's mouth dropped. He punched Crona's shoulder, "Didja hear that Crona!? Rivin is alive!"
Crona blinked, "r-really? That's great news! We should tell...."
Tsubaki's look caused him to trail off, "The mission is top secret! We can't tell anyone... No matter what."
"N... Not even Kid?"
"Especially Kid," Tsubaki sighed, "Right now, we don't know where Rivin is, or what she's thinking... She's eaten a lot of human souls, and she's... Not doing well." she finished lamely.
"Oh..." Crona hung his head.
"On the bright side," Tsubaki managed a smile, "Leila is a Death weapon now..."
"A DEATH WEAPON!? LEILA!? BEFORE ME!? THAT'S NOT FAIR CRONA CRONA CRONA"
"OW Ragnarok OW STOP IT!"
/*-+-*/
Leila and Stein made their way to the party. Leila was wearing her same black dress with the purple leather lacing up the back. She had forgotten once again to buy any shoes, so she was in her boots. Stein was wearing the same stitched grey and black clothes he always wore, underneath his same stitched lab coat.
Leila opened the doors excitedly and entered the room. Tonight the room was alive with glittering crystal lights, sparkling rainbows on the attendees below. Couples were already engaging in an energetic waltz. She saw Maka, Soul and Crona and ran over to join them, Stein trailing behind her. "Hey guys!"
"H-hi Leila," Crona smiled awkwardly, unable to stop thinking about the fact that Rivin had run away, yet again. Leila must have been itching to go find her...
Maka smiled warmly, "Congratulations on becoming a Death Whip! How does it feel?"
"Ya, how does it feel to know that you're now one of the eleven most powerful weapons? Including myself," Soul seemed to be rather full of himself. It was almost as if he was reminding Maka that they were still partners.
"Soul, shut up and let Leila answer!"
Leila laughed at him. "It feels pretty awesome. I paralyzed your dad by the way, Maka. You're welcome." She giggled.
"Lecher," Maka grumbled.
Soul grinned, "So, what kind of witch didja eat? Something with electricity? Man, an electric whip. Cool."
"Poison, actually," Leila answered. "This clear liquid comes out of the spikes at the end of my whip. It only took a drop to paralyze Spirit..." she grinned. "I think it could be a lot worse in larger quantities."
"Poison, huh?" Maka grinned evilly, "What kinds of poisons can you use?"
"You're not thinking about killing your dad again, are you?" Soul tried not to mirror her expression, but seeing her excited about something other than research was a huge relief.
"No!" Maka crossed her arms and turned away from him. She was eyeing the exit studiously. Her soul hurt when she thought about Rivin, as if the Weapon's fingers were digging in to rip it out.
"ARE YOU GOING TO KILL SOUL!?" Ragnarok seemed excited, "CRONA MAKA IS GOING TO KILL SOUL!"
"OW STOP"
"I AM NOT!"
Leila raised an eyebrow. "I wonder how well it works on demon swords..." she said thoughtfully. She transformed the tip of her hair menacingly and smiled sweetly at Ragnarok.
"NO DON'T KILL ME LEILA DON'T DO IT!"
"Maka come back!" Soul chased after his Meister, who had abruptly decided to vacate the building.
Ragnarok stopped hitting Crona and gave Leila a sly smile. Crona, recognizing all the signs of a disaster, bowed quickly, "Sorry I have to go!" He darted off in Maka's general direction with Ragnarok yelling about ruining his play time.
Stein turned to Leila. "You do realize that you couldn't poison Ragnarok without poisoning Crona too, right?"
"Of course," Leila said with an evil grin. "Don't tell him that."
He kissed her on the cheek with a smirk. "Your secret's safe here."
She smiled back at him and grabbed his hand. "We should go see what's going on with them."
Before they could go, however, a very uneasy looking Ox ran up to Leila, shouting. "LEILA PLEASE DANCE WITH ME!"
"Eep!" Leila's eyes widened. She transformed her hair instinctively and flicked it at him. The spiked tip tapped his forehead, poking a tiny hole in the flesh. He fell forward, unable to move.
"Leila...you're so....awesome..." he stuttered as he lay twitching.
"Attempting to steal the teacher's girlfriend may not be the best way to stay at the top of the class," said a calm voice. Kid walked up to them, staring at Ox. "What've you done to him?"
"Just a little paralysis..." Leila blushed. "Sorry!"
"Oh, that's what happened to Spirit then." Kid sighed at his father's weapon's behavior. "I wish I could say that you may have taught him a lesson..."
"Nope!" Patti giggled. Her dress, like Liz's, was deep crimson with dark brown lace around the low collar. Unlike Liz's long, elegant design, however, Patti's ended at the knees with a ruffled skirt.
Liz sighed, but smiled, "Well, aside from Ox taking lessons from Spirit... tonight's been a pretty good night. And we haven't seen Amy yet, either~"
"NO AMY!" Patti pumped her fist, "YAY!"
Leila grimaced. "Yeah...Amy...well...at least she fixed your hair, Kid."
Kid groaned. "All that trouble and it's STILL NOT SYMMETRICAL."
"But it's also not pink," Stein pointed out. Leila giggled.
/*-+-*/
Maka sat on the ground, knees to her forehead. "Damn you, Soul... I know you want to do missions... But I can't..."
Crona walked up to her awkwardly and put his hand on her shoulder, "Maka?"
"Go away..."
"Maka..." He almost changed his mind. Crona looked up at the DWMA, then back to his friend, "The mission that..." He wasn't supposed to. "That Stein and Leila and Black Star and Tsubaki went on..." Tsubaki made him promise. "Was..." He was really going to do it. "To rescue Rivin from Diomedes." there it was. In the open. Where anyone could have heard him.
Maka stared at him, "But... She didn't come back with them! Was she... A Kishin?"
Crona shook his head frantically, "No! No.... but she's mad... She ran away after Miss Marie killed Diomedes... It was his soul that Leila ate..." He shivered, looking around to make sure they were still alone. "No one knows where she went, but they think she came closer to the Arizona border..."
Maka nodded as she got to her feet. She brushed her dress off, "Come on, Crona. We're going to find her!"
"WH-WHAT?!" He took a step backwards, hands in the air as if he could guard himself from Maka's words, "B-But shouldn't we get S-soul...?"
"No." Her look was stone, "He doesn't need to know. I may not be much good in a fight right now, but I can still see souls. I can find her, and you can calm her down."
"m-ME!?" he squeaked, eyes turning white with fright.
She nodded again, "Come on, I need to change."
Crona followed, feeling somewhat mad at the thought of their frightening venture.
Chapter 28: Secrets, secrets! : Witches are color coded?
Chapter Text
Tsubaki had a hold of the back of Black Star's shirt. Even fully wrapped and cast, Black Star was able to tug her in Kid's general direction. When he reached the five of them, he began waving his arms and screeching, "KDRVNALVUFFGTTBLVMMMMMM!"
Tsubaki sighed. She just had to hope that Ragnarok wasn't going to show up and translate some more. She couldn't imagine Kid's reaction to the news. Then again, would it be so bad for him to know that Rivin was out there? That she was mourning him the way he was missing her?
"Black Star?" Kid raised an eyebrow. "Shouldn't you be taking it easy?"
Leila glared at Black Star. She couldn't understand his words any better than Kid could, but she didn't need to in order to know what he was trying to say. She turned to Tsubaki. "How are you guys?" She forced a smile.
Tsubaki sighed, "As well as can be expected..." She was trying to think of a way to tell Leila that Crona and Ragnarok had been able to understand Black Star, "How are you?"
"KDUFGTLSTMMMMRVN!"
Tsubaki reached over and slapped Black Star upside the head. Her expression didn't change as Black Star began ranting at her.
Patti giggled, "You sure say funny things, Black Star."
"You can understand that?" Liz asked with one eyebrow raised.
Tsubaki tried not to show any emotion. If Patti decided to translate aloud... The party could end quickly, and badly.
Patti nodded, "He says he wants a dinosaur!"
Leila sighed, feeling flustered. "Maybe you guys should go play dinosaur then."
"okay!" Patti giggled and took Black Star by the hand, leading him away. He was still trying to tell them something, but soon the noise faded out.
"Well they seem to be having fun," Leila commented, staring after them. She was suddenly feeling irritable. She had Rivin on her mind now.
"Leila," Stein said. "Let's go get some of the food before it's gone."
She nodded, giving Kid, Liz, and Tsubaki another forced smile as she followed Stein.
"What's wrong?" he asked her as they reached the table.
Leila sighed. "Black Star...screaming about our top secret mission at the top of his lungs...I assume that's what he was screaming about anyway."
"Most likely. I don't think Black Star knows what the phrase 'top secret' means."
Leila scowled and turned to the table to get a glass of punch.
"What else is the matter?"
Leila was silent for a moment. She sipped her punch, her eyes closed. "I'm an awful person," she said finally.
"What do you mean?"
Leila gripped her cup tightly. "Rivin is out there, somewhere, insane, alone except for some little kid. I couldn't do anything for her on the mission. I was useless, I couldn't even protect you. Then Rivin ran away...and did I go after her? Did I try to save her? Did I...do anything?" She slammed her glass on the table. "No, I stole the soul of a witch I didn't even help kill, and then I came home and celebrated!" She rubbed her eyes.
"None of us were able to capture her, it's not as if you did any less than any of us." Stein put a hand on her shoulder. "In fact, you did remarkably well, considering how emotional a situation it was for you. And you may not have killed Diomedes, but I believe that your presence may have played a role in preventing Rivin from killing us."
Leila stared at the punch bowl. "Why won't she come home? Why can't I just bring her back?" she asked softly.
He wrapped his arms around her. "Because it's up to her at this point."
Amy squealed with delight at the sight of them. She wore white dress with sleeves that billowed out around her elbows. Short cream-colored boots matched her corset. A light brown belt with plenty of pockets dipping at her hips completed the ensemble, "You two are so cute!" Her hands were up by her cheeks. If she had a tail, it would have been wagging.
"Oh...hello Amy," Leila smiled politely. Amy was nice enough, but it was sickening to see her hanging all over Kid all the time. Of course, she was biased, and it wasn't fair. Kid deserved to move on if he chose. It wasn't like he had any way of knowing that Rivin was still alive...at least, not until Black Star got his casts removed. She sighed. "How are you enjoying the party?"
"I'm having lots of fun!" She continued to smile brightly, "Even though Liz tried to kill me earlier, but that's okay. Can't expect everyone to just accept that sometimes witches aren't evil. Are you having fun?"
"Well of course," Leila responded. She was feeling better, for the moment at least. Stein was still holding her. "It is my party, after all."
Amy nodded happily, "Congratulations on becoming a Death Weapon! I can tell it was a poison witch. You'll have lots of fun with those powers~"
Leila looked over at Ox with a smirk. He was just barely regaining his motor functions. "I've already started."
"MMMhm~" Amy tilted her head, "But be careful, too! The more you use them, the more potent they become. You've gotta practice lots! Hey, can I ask a question?" She was still smiling, but it was very... Rivinesque in its mask-like appearance.
"Sure," Leila said, raising an eyebrow.
"Why don't Liz and Patti like me? They always call me names or ignore me whenever I'm around. Did I do something to upset them somehow?"
"Oh, um..." Leila wasn't sure how to respond. She thought for a moment. "I suppose... well, maybe...witches and weapons don't normally get along..." she finished lamely. Poor thing, Leila thought. You picked the wrong person to try and replace...
Amy nodded, "Oh. Well, as long as that's all, I think maybe I can still try to be their friend!" She hugged Leila- and Stein by default- quickly, "Thank you!" and skipped off to find Kid.
On the way, Amy found Patti posing Black Star like a dinosaur, "Oh hai! It looks like you're having fun!"
Patti continued on as if she hadn't heard.
"Can I play, too?" Amy asked, hands behind her back, "I know weapons and witches don't really get along usually... But I think we could still be friends." She received a death glare and nothing more. "Oh... Okay... Have fun!" She continued on her way. It only bothered her a little that Patti and Liz didn't like her. Sometimes she was glad they didn't, because they usually left when she was with Kid, and she got him all to herself.
When she found Kid, he was drinking punch with Tsubaki. The ninja tool looked somewhat uncomfortable, fiddling with the clasp on her slim, red dress. "Hi!" Amy waved, "Can I join you?"
Tsubaki nodded, relieved to have someone else there, "Of course, Amy!" She noticed the witch's bright pink cheek-stripes. For the first time, they actually meant something... but how to bring that up in a conversation that didn't involve Diomedes - and Rivin? "Your dress looks very nice."
"Thank you, Tsubaki!" Amy beamed. The ninja Weapon was usually polite and easy to be around. She imagined the two of them could become friends. "You look amazing!"
"Oh, well..." Tsubaki never got used to being complimented so often. Amy tried so hard to get along with everyone. The way the group treated her saddened the ninja weapon.
Amy nodded, "You do! And you look nice, too." she turned to Kid, beaming. He always looked good, but she tried to be selective with her compliments. Too many might be creepy or simpering, and she wanted him to enjoy them still. Currently, the balance seemed good.
He blushed slightly and cleared his throat. "Thank you, Amy. So do you."
Amy's cheeks turned as pink as her stripes and she ducked her head slightly, "Thank you, Kid. That means a lot~" He very rarely complimented her because of her stripes. The pink in his cheeks, though, set her heart on fire. She made him blush!
No matter how much she liked Amy, all Tsubaki could think in that moment was that Rivin was still alive, lost in the madness and desperately trying to come home. "Would you like punch?"
"Sure, Tsubaki," Amy beamed. "You're so nice!"
Tsubaki smiled tightly and handed the witch a glass, "It's the same color as your stripes!" she remarked with more energy than necessary. She would try anything to get information without specifically asking for it at this point. Hopefully Amy didn't mind talking about herself.
"Is it?" Amy blinked at it, then nodded, "It is! It's my favorite color!"
"really?"
"Yeah. It's also the color of my soul. Pretty cool, huh?"
Tsubaki could have hugged her. it was exactly the subject she wanted to discuss, "Really? Do you paint them on yourself?"
"Paint?" Amy laughed lightly, "Oh no, all witches of the acid type have markings that match their soul color. It also has something to do with their abilities... Mine's pink. my ability is corrosion!"
"Oh, so you're color coded." Liz remarked dryly as she walked over to them, "and here I thought you just had a bad fashion sense."
Amy smiled. Patti usually just ignored her, or wailed at her like a child. Liz, however, was one of the few people she just couldn't stand. The Weapon was always mean to her, saying rude things. It reminded her of the Witches who told her that she was worthless, awful, should never have been born. You're just a mistake. "It's okay if you don't like them. I do, and that's what's important to me. And that's good, since I can't get rid of them."
"Liz, you should be nicer to Amy..." Tsubaki sighed, "She's doing her best to fit in here, and she is the representative of Death Coven..."
The gun gave the ninja tool a withering look.
"It's okay, Tsubaki," Amy continued to smile her bright, happy smile, "Liz doesn't have to like me. You and Leila and Blair like me... And I think that Kid likes me at least a little. That's enough for me." She laughed lightly.
Tsubaki cringed inwardly. Part of her wished Rivin had never left, another part wished that she had died.... She hated herself for it. Rivin was her friend.... but Amy was sweet and tried so hard to fit in... It was too complicated. "I'm going to find Black Star." she said hurriedly as she rushed into the crowd.
Kid looked at Liz with his eyes narrowed. "Was that really necessary?"
"what? Pink is such an ugly color..."
Amy smiled and waved. As much as she wanted to stay near Kid, she had other things she needed to check on. She hadn't noticed Pluto, Charon, Moon or Vera yet, and she felt the need to be near her own kind. "Well, have fun, Liz... I'll see you tomorrow, Kid. Enjoy the party!" She disappeared into the crowd.
Kid sighed. "I don't think it's too much to ask for my weapons to get along with my friends..."
Stein and Leila joined them, holding plates of food and glasses of punch.
"I get along with your friends just fine." Liz said defensively, "It's not my fault if she can't take a joke."
Kid stormed off without another word.
Leila watched him, then looked over at Liz. "Another Amy situation, I'm guessing?" She sighed. Rivin, why can't you just come home?
/*-+-*/
Black Star finally stopped yelling at Patti. She couldn't understand him anyway... So he allowed her to maneuver his otherwise paralyzed body into dinosaur poses.
"WHY DID YOU STOP ROARING?!"
"BCSHMHHHF!" Black Star raged
Patti pouted, "You're not any fun." she teared up and sniffled.
"RVNALF!"
"NO SHE'S NOT SHUT UP!" Patti stuck her tongue out at his shocked expression, "Of COURSE I understand you, silly. We made up a garble language to annoy Liz and Leila. But we're never going to be able to, you stupid giraffe! I'm going to find someone who won't be a meanie pants!" She got to her feet and ran off in search of Liz. On the way she ran into Amy.
They fell to their butts, both surprised. Amy smiled, "I'm sorry, Patti. I'll be more careful from now on."
Patti teared up all over again, "You're not my friend because you don't speak garble and you're too sane and I hate you!" She got to her feet and sprinted another direction.
Amy scratched the back of her neck, still trying to smile. "That's okay, Patti..." she said quietly, "I think I like it better that you hate me..."
"Amy?" Kid came up behind her. "Are you alright?"
"Huh?" Amy turned, surprised. She found herself grinning again. Kid had left Liz, arguably his best friend, to come find her. Nothing could take that bright spot of shining happiness from her. All she wanted was to ask if he wanted to leave with her, and have him all to herself for the rest of the night. But she knew that it would look better to have him check on his Weapon. She needed to be seen as sweet and compassionate. "Yeah. I think you should find Patti, though... She's really upset..."
Kid looked confused. "What happened to Patti? I thought she was with Black Star?"
"I'm not sure... but she yelled at me because I'm not..." Amy looked thoughtful and then listed, "Because I don't speak her secret language, and I'm too sane, and she hates me. And then she cried and ran away."
Kid put a hand on Amy's shoulder as he scanned the crowd for Patti. He sighed. Of course that would be why Patti didn't like Amy. She simply wasn't... He shied away from the thought, determined to make this good night. "I should go find her...I'm sorry for Liz's behavior, by the way."
"That's okay," She smiled sincerely. She thought she would melt under his touch. "She doesn't like me because I'm a Witch, but I'm sure if I'm nice to her she'll forgive me some day."
"RVNALF!" Black Star crawled up to them, glaring at Amy, "RVNALFGWYKD!"
She laughed and returned her attention to Kid with a bright smile, "I'll watch Black Star, you go find Patti."
Kid nodded and went to look for her. He finally found her in front of the school. "What happened, Patti?" He asked.
Patti had her knees pulled up to her chest, forgetting she was in a dress, "Giraffe is a liar and Amy... AMY IS TOO NICE!" she yelled, "I DON'T KNOW HOW TO BE NICE TO HER!"
Kid sighed sadly. "Patti..." He didn't know how to comfort his weapon. Rivin wasn't coming back...he put an arm around her shoulders. She leaned against him, and they sat in comfortable silence.
"Come back inside." He smiled and stood, offering her his hand. "Ox hasn't regained all of his motor functions yet, so he falls over whenever he's startled. Let's go watch."
"Kid...." Patti got a serious look, "What if Giraffe is telling the truth? What if...." She trailed off, wide blue eyes searching Kid's face as though she were hunting for his soul. "Never mind, let's go inside and laugh at Ox!" Patti skipped back into the party.
Kid watched her run off, feeling confused and slightly uneasy. He had no idea who Giraffe was supposed to be...but it was Patti after all. But what could this person have told Patti to make her react in such a way? Patti was rarely so serious...he shook his head. It was probably nothing.