A/N: Hey guys! I'm back from my week long trip to NYC. And no, hurricane Irene didn't do anything to where I was. Iz fine:D
But while I was away, I thought of this little one shot. I was reading Eat My Soul by Tatsu-Ah-Rei and I wanted to try a Kid fic. (btw, you should read that story, super good!) I couldn't bring myself to pair him with Maka (SOMA FOREVER), so I put him with an OC. I hope you come to love her as I have =D
This is for my newfound friend NikolaiEvans115, who gave me the thumbs up for this story:3 I hope this makes your day. YOU ROCK!
Enjoy!
The cell was dark and dank. water dripped from broken pipes. Unseen rats scurried along the walls, looking for any morsel of food. Dirt and trash littered the floor.
Moonlight streamed in through a stained glass window, illuminating the cell's prisoner. A young boy of maybe 17 hung from the stone. Shackles attached to the stone wall held his arms above his head; his feet were a foot off the ground. His clothes were a mess: his once pristine black slacks were now caked in dirt and blood, his fresh white button down shirt was missing its left sleeve and the top three buttons were somewhere on the floor. His black and white hair messily disheveled.
A truly pathetic state for a boy of such high stature. This was the only child and son of Lord Death himself.
This is Death the Kid.
I could feel the blood dripping down from my wrists. It slowly made its way down my arms, to my elbows, then to the floor.
I could feel the pain as the rusty handcuffs dug into the tender skin, tearing and contaminating it.
Despite the pain, I lurched away from the stone again. And again, the chains pulled me back. My chest heaved for air and the cuffs dug in even deeper.
I had been doing this for and hour and the only good that came of it were the cuts.
They were on both wrists instead of one.
Suddenly, the door directly in front of me slammed open, dust flying everywhere. The light filtered in and I had to squint my eyes from the sudden brightness. There was a figure standing in the doorway, but I could barely make it out.
It moved from the door to blend in with the darkness, revealing two more figured. By now, my eyes started to adjust, so I could see that it was a tall person and a shorter one. The more I looked, the more I could focus on the basic outline of the taller one. It was my personal torturer: Gopher.
"We've brought you a friend," the voice from the shadows said. I had yet to see his face, but I recognized his voice. It was Noah, my captor. I glowered in his general direction.
As if on cue, Gopher kicked the shorter person into the cell. Now I could see he wasn't short; he was hunched over.
He sprawled across the floor, then suddenly fell back towards the door as if pulled. I heard the unmistakable sound of links chinking coming from Gopher's hands as he pulled the person again.
The prisoner coughed loudly and spat on the floor. Although the gesture was disgusting, there was an awkward move to it. Like he was trying to hold it back. And it wasn't gruff. Adding the long hair covering his face, I could guess it was a woman.
Gopher pulled the chains slightly again and the woman wheezed. She threw her head back and her hair flowed out behind her. She looked behind her like that, at Gopher. He blushed, seeing her definite body shape.
"Gopher!," Noah barked. Gopher whimpered and stiffened immediately. Heh, whipped filth.
"I want my newest treasure unharmed."
The scrawny boy frowned slightly but complied. I could see his eyes glisten with oncoming tears. For some odd reason, I felt as if it was my fault he was scolded. I guess I'll be getting a little visit tonight.
Gentler this time, he pulled the woman across the floor to his feet. I watched silently as he dragged her flaccid body to my right. I hadn't noticed, seeing as I was trying to get off the wall, that there was a barred wall next to me.
The metal door groaned as Gopher opened it. He picked the woman up bridal style, grunting and struggling under her non existent weight, and carried her inside. "How pathetic. You can't even carry a woman as petite as her," I taunted him. Gopher growled and scowled at me but continued with his writhing.
He unfettered the chains around her tiny waist and moved them to her feet. Those shackles were then hung on the wall. She wasn't hanging up like I was, which would have been quite uncomfortable considering she'd be upside down.
As Gopher worked around her cell, Noah moved towards me. I stared at him head on as he moved his face into my own. He smiled at my clothing, courtesy of his bothersome henchman.
"This is Ivy," he breathed in my face. It smelled of heavy alcohol. "She's a little feisty so play nice."
At that moment, Gopher slammed into the bars. He slid to the floor and looked around him dazed. Quickly, he jumped to his feet and spun around to Noah with that always present pouting face. On his face I could see a red foot print. He sniveled and wiped his nose.
Noah ignored him and just chuckled in my face. "I can trust you two alone in here, right? Not that you'd try anything. As you can see, she likes it rough. I doubt your pampered Shinigami body could handle it." It floored me how he could be so disrespectful to the woman when she was right there(not to mention my own strength). It was disgusting. I mustered up some saliva and spit in his eye before he turned away.
He froze when it hit his eye. I could see he had stopped breathing and was staring at Gopher. Apparently he had seen what I did and was avidly waiting to see what his master would do.
Before I could react, Noah spun around and punched my stomach. Hard.
My back slammed into the concrete and I swear it was blood I spit up. My eyes watered and I rasped for several moments. I hung my head and kept my eyes closed, trying to stop the room from spinning. Noah grunted satisfied once and I heard his footsteps retreating. Gopher's soon followed after locking the barred cell door.
The room was enveloped in darkness as the main entrance door slowly creaked shut behind the two men. The only sound heard in the room was my ragged breathing. For several minutes, nothing was said.
Then, finally, the woman whispered from her cell. "I'd like to kill that little one." I knew she meant Gopher. Although killing Noah would be just as good, killing Gopher would be much more enjoyable.
I huffed a small laugh. "I know exactly what you mean."
Again, silence filled the room. Now that the room was still, I lifted my head and looked over to her cell. She was sitting with her back against the wall, so I could only see the right side of her body. The light streaming through the window lit half her face. She was beautiful.
I couldn't help but stare at her face as she looked at her surroundings. She made off hand comments about the state of the room, but I barely heard. Her flaming orange hair surged around her like water as she moved. She laid her head back against the wall, closed her eyes, and sighed heavily. On her cheekbone, I could see the slight blue tint of a forming bruise. Her lips were covered in cuts and blood. Despite looking like she'd been beat, she was still quite attractive.
She opened her eyes again and looked at me from the corner of her eye. I was somewhat disappointed to find that they were a plain brown. She smiled slightly.
"So, what brings a good lookin' guy like you to a run down place like this," she laughed, trying to lighten the mood.
I blushed. "Please don't. My current condition is anything but 'good looking.' My sleeves don't even match," I whined the last part to myself, but I guess she heard because she chuckled. My face got even hotter as her laughing bounced off the walls and filled my ears. It was high and cheerful, like nothing could ever go wrong in the world. For a moment, it reminded me of my weapon: Patti.
Patti…Liz…My weapons.
Precipitously, I was reminded of how alone I was. My two best friends were somewhere, very far away, hopefully safer than I was. I missed their amusing larks. Patti's incessant need for anything cute and Liz's beauty complex.
I guess the inner sadness I suddenly felt was showing on my face because she stopped laughing and stared at me. Honestly, I was too tired to try and hide my feelings. This woman is the only company I have, might as well get comfy.
"My partners," I whispered, "We got separated a while back. I have no idea where they are, or if they even know where I am…"
The woman said nothing and allowed me to my thoughts again. I looked at her sadly to see that she had a small smile.
"They must be pretty special," she mused aloud. "I can see it in your face, you really care about them."
"I have to!," I said quickly. "They're my best friends…"
She got quiet again and I thought she had gotten tired of listening to me sulk. She probably had family and friends of her own to worry about and all I can do is talk about my own troubles. I opened my mouth to ask her about who was waiting outside this hole for her, but she spoke first.
"What're they like? You're friends."
She waited quietly as I tried to think. I wrinkled my forehead in thought. I had never really been asked outright before to describe Liz and Patti; everyone knew them and what they were like, so there was no need. But now…this woman, who had never met them before, wants to know. How do I explain them?
"Well," I started, closed my mouth, then tried again.
"They're sisters. Liz is the older one and she cares deeply for her younger sister, Patti. I think that's what I admire about her most: her motherly attitude. You see, they grew up on the streets, having been abandoned, and Liz had to take control. She protected Patti with everything she had, not even caring about her own safety. She would give her life up for Patti." I stopped talking and just thought of Liz. In my mind, I could see her face when she looks at her sister. Her eyes milk over and she glows. Like she really is a mother.
"I take it she's pretty independent then, huh," the woman guessed.
I laughed once incredulously. "Liz is without a doubt the most spoiled person you will ever meet! Any time she can get someone to do her work, she will use whatever means necessary. She is obsessed with how she looks, her nails, her hair, her clothes, everything! Incredibly self absorbed!"
"Except when it comes to Patti," the woman guessed again smiling.
I stopped my negative rant and smiled back at her. "Yes, except then. Needless to say, I give Liz whatever she wants…"
Everything she wanted, she got. Her attitude got to me a lot, but I didn't exactly help it by giving her and her sister free reign with my Death Express.
"Well, she deserves it!," the woman said hotly, "After such a hard life putting her sister first, she deserves to sit back and take care of herself. Let her be pampered, Lord Death knows she's worked for it."
"Yes…she does," I smiled.
She looked away from me and smiled out the window. "And what about Patti?," she asked lightly.
I sighed heavily. "Oh Patti!"
The woman laughed heartily. "I take it she's one of those?"
I laughed with her. "Oh, the very best. If she had her way, it'd be candy for dinner and we'd all wear giraffe suits."
"Aw, that's cute! You know, I used to-"
The steel door slammed open then and we both jumped, she let out a little yelp. There was no bright light this time, just the dim flickering of outside candles. In the doorway stood a person. Not very tall, not very strong looking. He looked more average height and scrawny.
"Who's there?," the woman demanded.
"Just me," replied the figure, in an infuriatingly high pitched voice. I internally groaned: Gopher.
"I've just come to talk with him for a minute. May I steal his attention?," Gopher asked her sweetly.
She didn't answer, just narrowed her eyes at him as he walked over to me. Before he did, however, he made sure that the door was closed nice and tight. He wouldn't want Noah to catch him abusing his treasure.
Much like his master, Gopher came up really close to my face. He had again that stupid asymmetrical pout. It took everything I had to look at his eyes rather than his mouth. Blood gushing out my eyes and mouth and staining my clothes would not be good right now.
"I didn't like the way you made Noah-sama mad at me earlier," he hissed heatedly.
I sighed tiredly, already bored with the conversation. "I hardly believe it's my fault. You are just weak asymmetrical trash and you deserve every admonishment that bastard gives you."
With a tiny sound in the back of his throat of rage, Gopher raised his arm and formed a fist, ready to punch my face. I braced myself, closed my eyes and turned my face so that it my cheek was against the wall. I only vaguely registered the woman demanding that Gopher leave me alone, but he ignored her.
He pulled his fist back and I shut my eyes, waiting for the coming pain. All the while the woman kicked and thrashed and yelled at Gopher.
A few seconds passed by and I still had my eyes closed, still waiting.
But the pain never came.
I opened my eyes cautiously to see Gophers grimy knuckles inches from my nose. Confused, I sneaked a glance up at him, but his face wasn't turned towards me. It was looking at the door. His breathing was heavy and labored. I moved my head slightly to look around him.
Someone had opened the door on Gopher and was shyly peeking their head through. Faint music blasted from his ears.
Justin Law.
Immediately, my eyes narrowed at him and my chest swelled with anger. That traitorous bastard.
"Oh, Gopher, I thought you'd be here," Justin said as he pushed the door open fully. Behind him I could see yet another man, this one much taller and muscular than Law. Judging by the spiky hair and big coat, I guessed it was Giriko.
"Sorry to interrupt," Giriko sneered at us. Something in his eyes showed that he really was sorry that he had to delay my beating.
"Well, what is it?," Gopher spat at them.
"Ah, Noah needs to see you," Justin cut in smoothly. I looked back at Gopher and watched, half amused, as his shoulders straightened with obvious delight, then slumped again. Which to choose: see what his honorable had called him specifically for or beat up a Shinigami. Decisions decisions.
Obviously not deciding on the latter, Gopher looked back to me, eyes aflame. I just smirked at him pretentiously. He viciously slammed me into the wall once, whispered a meek "I'll be back," and then stomped between the two men out the door.
Justin and Giriko laughed jeeringly as he left. Justin soon followed without so much as a sideways glance at me. Just as Giriko entered the doorway, the woman suddenly made her presence known.
"What a bastard," she spat on the ground, obviously talking about Gopher. Well, not obvious to Giriko.
He stopped short having heard the insult and spun around to me. "What did you call me, punk?," he yelled.
Bravely, I opened my mouth to reply, ready to let him think I had said that rather than the woman. Lord Death knows what he'd do to her. But before I could answer, his eyes shifted. To my left. To her.
His eyes widened at the sight of her, being quite beautiful. His shock wore off too soon, however, and was replaced with a disgusting leer. He arrogantly strode over to her cell and leaned against the bars, looking down on her. She looked at his feet refusing to meet his eyes.
"Who's your friend, punk? She's knew. Never seen you before, little lady," he said snidely.
"Leave her alone," I growled.
"You shut up!," he yelled again, doing 180 in moods. He looked back at the woman and instantly became the disgusted pervert again.
"What's your name, sweetheart?," he purred.
Still, she refused to look at him. Instead, she indignantly looked at the window, nose up turned. Upset with her lack of response, Giriko angrily kicked the cell door, making her jump.
"LOOK AT ME WHEN I'M TALKING TO YOU!," he bellowed furiously.
I knew she was scared now and I wished that I could help her somehow so badly that it hurt my stomach. She was shaking slightly, but kept her grimace as she slowly met his eyes.
"My name is Ivy," she gritted through her teeth tightly. Her answer seemed to please Giriko, because suddenly he opened her cell door. Her eyes, and my own, widened in fear as he strutted inside, closing the door behind him.
"Ivy, huh?," he hummed, kneeling down in front of her. She froze as he raised his hand to gently swiped her hair to the side. He winced slightly. The part of her face he touched was facing away from me, so I couldn't see why.
"Nice scar you got there, hun. Does is hurt? Let me take your mind off the pain."
I was dumbfounded as he placed his hand on her chest and brashly gave her breast a squeeze. She yelped in surprise and distress and tried to scoot as far into the wall as possible, but Giriko advanced on her. My anger got the best of me then as he tried to denigrate her body before my eyes. Something bubbled in my stomach, something I didn't recognize. My face heated with fury as he continued to touch and she cried out. It wasn't that he was touching a woman so disgustingly:
He was touching Ivy.
"LEAVE HER ALONE!"
I thrashed and kicked against the wall, desperate to get free. I didn't really have an idea how to stop him, I just had to make him stop. I had to save Ivy.
He ignored me though as I struggled to break free and continued with his mission. Ivy's shouts for help filled the room.
"STOP THIS! LEAVE HER ALONE!"
"SHUT UP, SHINIGAMI!"
"PLEASE, NO! LEAVE ME ALONE! PLEASE!"
Water dripped from pipes. Rats scurried around the walls for food. The only light filtered in through the man made window, more like just a hole in the stone. The moonlight crept along the floor and found her body. It illuminated it. She was beautiful in the moonlight. But I couldn't look at her. It felt wrong.
Ivy laid there on the cold floor, shivering. She hiccupped every few minutes, but had stopped crying hours ago. She had no more energy to cry. She didn't have the energy to do anything.
Just lie on the floor.
And wait to die.
I waited to die.
I deserved to die.
Because I am a Shinigami, I protect the innocent.
But I couldn't protect her…
She's so beautiful in the moonlight.
"What's your name?," she whispered hoarsely.
It had been hours since Giriko came and I couldn't bring myself to speak with her. I wanted to console her, but it would feel wrong coming from my lips. I was the only one who could have saved her…
"Kid," I whispered back soundlessly.
She was silent for several moments, sniffing a few times.
"Kid…That's…different," she said, impassively.
I hung flaccidly from the wall, my own energy drained. I don't think I ever hated myself more than when I heard her whimper in pain as she shifted, sliding into to her original position.
I couldn't look at her as she spoke to me.
"I was wandering around a forest somewhere when Noah captured me," she said sadly. "I didn't see it coming really…I guess my mind was elsewhere. I should have heard him coming…"
"I ran away, you know? I ran away from home. I was mad at my father, so I ran away. He wanted me to marry a boy I barely knew…didn't even know his name…"
I couldn't see the floor anymore and I couldn't stop the tears. How could she still trust me? How could she not hate me? Giriko raped her while I just watched and she was telling me her past? How can she be so forgiving?
"My father was a man named Eibon. You know him? You probably do. He's very powerful and well known. He had had a secret meeting with an old friend of his, the Lord of Death. They had agreed that I, the only child of Eibon, would marry the only child of Lord Death."
My heart sped up and I listened intently.
"It was said that together, our child would be a being powerful enough to defeat any and all evil. For the safety of strangers, my father disregarded my own wants. I didn't know this boy. His name, his age, what he looked like, nothing! And I was scared. I didn't know he was like and they expected me to spend my life with him? Have a child?"
She quieted, slipping into her own thoughts .
What was she talking about? My father knew about this? He arranged that? Why did he not tell me?
"Now that I'm here," she continued, "I think…I would have liked to meet him…At least once. I want to be out there…with him…rather than here."
I couldn't look at her, I couldn't see. The tears were streaming down my face and I didn't care that she might see it as weak. Because she couldn't. she could understand that I needed to cry.
That's just who Ivy is.
Determination slithered up my body and in an instant, without any thought, I made up my mind.
"Ivy," I growled through my teeth.
"I swear I will do whatever it takes to get you back to him."
"I still can't believe you didn't tell me."
Ivy complained halfheartedly as she and Kid walked down the snowy streets of Death City. The air was cold a biting. They intertwined their hands for warmth. Kid chuckled at her fake sour face.
"I hardly believe that was the right time to tell you that I was that boy."
Ivy huffed and started to swing their arms. "I still think you could have dropped hints."
A sudden gust of wind blew between their legs, the force of it pushing them forward. Snow swirled around their ankles and moved up their bodies. Kid pulled his coat tighter around him and Ivy shuddered violently.
When the wind died down, Kid pulled the young woman into his arms, trying to warm her up. He'd told her five times before leaving the mansion to put on a heavier jacket, but she was stubborn. Besides, Liz and Patti had told her this jacket was much cuter than an over sized winter coat.
"If I told you, would you have stayed?," he whispered into her ear. She shivered again, but not from the cold. Gently, he placed a single kiss on her scarred cheek. Just one scarred cheek. The other had perfect, creamy, silky skin. Completely asymmetrical. Completely worth it.
"Of course," she said firmly. "I loved you before I knew who you were." he watched, mesmerized, as a little wind picked up and her hair flew around her face. It looked like she was emitting fire. And her eyes, they weren't brown. They were the color of the Earth. A deep muddy red with flecks of green and blue.
Before she could drown in his sun golden orbs, she pulled away from him and grabbed his hand once more. "We better get there before everyone gets worried," she smiled as she pulled him towards the designated meeting place. "Hurry up, I wanna know what Maka and Soul's big news is!"
"I already know, Soul told me," Kid tried to say as he was dragged, but she couldn't hear him. Ivy was too busy giggling as they ran through the snow, flakes whizzing past our faces.
He spoke up, trying to reach her over the wind. "They're engaged!"
Kid had to skid to stop lest he slam into Ivy as she froze dead on the sidewalk, feet away from the restaurant. What did I say?, he wondered when she turned around slowly, anger on her face.
"Why did you ruin the surprise?"
He relaxed, relieved that she wasn't seriously mad at him. He chuckled warmly as he bent down to his knees. He brought his face close to her stomach and kissed it softly. "Sorry," he said when he lifted his head to look her in the eyes. "I'll let you tell them our surprise."
That look again. In her eyes. It was back.
He had seen it once, in the cell, and after they escaped. When he brought her to his father, his home, when she met Liz and Patti. Their first date. Their first kiss. His proposal. When she said 'yes'. Their wedding. That night. And now.
It ignited a feeling in his heart now, the same as all those times before. He didn't know what it was. He didn't know the name of the feeling in her eyes. But it didn't need a name. Because there was no name in the world that could properly explain it. And there never will be.
"I bet she'll be as strong as her Daddy," Ivy whispered fondly and Kid straightened himself. They held hands and continued towards their friends.
"I bet she'll be as beautiful as her Mommy.," he whispered back.
Asymetrical-ness and all.
A/N: So how you like? I'm not too happy with Kid's character, but I purposefully made him not so symmetry obssessed because there's more to him. The same with Black*Star; there's more than just I'm gonna be a God!
And if you guys wouldn't mind, *if* any of you guys review, could you maybe please let me know what chapter of which story I should shoot out next?
Geez, I don't even know if you lurvelies read my author's notes XD
Reviews make me happy =3