"Stein, stop."
The younger boy looked up, his hand still clenching another boy's shirt. There was a fleck of blood on his cheek, and it stained his knuckles.
"Go away, Spirit. This doesn't concern you." Stein drew back his fist and punched the boy he was holding hard.
Spirit grabbed the back of Stein's stitched shirt, pulling him to his feet. "That's enough Stein." He looked down at the other boy. "Get out of here, now, and don't mess with Stein again." The other boy was quick to oblige.
Stein hung limply in his clothes, but his posture didn't fool Spirit. As soon as he let go he knew what Stein would do. He'd attack, angered that Spirit had interrupted him yet again, lost in the madness that only he could understand. Normally Spirit would take the hit, let Stein feel like he had won, and Stein would come back to normal.
Today was not one of those days; Spirit wasn't going to let Stein hit him this time.
Spirit released Stein, stepping back quickly as Stein swung.
"You interrupted my experiment!" Stein screamed and lunged towards Spirit, his wavelength crackling around his hands.
"Another student is not an experiment!" Spirit dodged the blow aimed at his torso. "Stein, stop this!"
"You'll pay for interrupting!"
There was no trace of the Stein that he knew in those eyes this time. There was no hesitation in the attacks. There was only blood, anger, and madness. Spirit almost didn't dodge the next attack, Stein's hand brushing just past his side as he desperately twisted out of the way.
"Stein!" Spirit yelled desperately, dodging yet another attack. "Get ahold of yourself!"
Stein launched himself at Spirit, and this time Spirit couldn't dodge the attack. Stein's hand hit him straight in the stomach, knocking the breath out of him. However, instead of the pain he was imaging, Spirit felt something cold and sharp prick against his neck.
"I wonder how the blood would look gushing from your throat…" Stein said calmly, though the look in his eyes betrayed that. He fiercely wanted to know. Spirit held his chin up high, unable to see the scalpel but certain of its existence.
Spirit gambled. "About the same as the blood from your stomach, Stein. You go to slit my throat and my blade will impale you."
Stein threw back his head and laughed. It was eerie, high pitched, and insane. "Let's see who's faster then!" Stein's arm drew back the scalpel and then thrust it right at Spirit's throat.
Not the reaction that Spirit had been hoping for. He did the only thing he could think to do, transforming his arm and blocking the attack. He then swung, catching Stein in the stomach with the flat of the blade. Stein went flying back, the wind knocked out of his lungs. He landed in heap on his side, the scalpel flying from his grasp.
Spirit thought that it was over, but then Stein started laughing. He lay curled up on his side, his chest heaving with the exertion of the laugh, dirt covering his normally white clothing. In a flash he was on his feet, charging Spirit. The air crackled around him, and this time, Spirit stood his ground, taking the hit.
It hurt worse than he had imagined, especially when he slammed into the tree that was twenty feet away.
"Stein!" Spirit yelled through the haze of pain. "That's enough!"
"I'm going to take you apart piece by piece!" Stein's voice was emotionless, but what was missing from it was playing across the boy's face. "I'll gouge your eyes out first!" The frantic grin turned into a hysterical laugh, Stein's head thrown back.
Spirit tackled him, feeling what had to be broken ribs grinding together. They landed hard, the younger boy taking most of the force.
Which suited Spirit just fine. 'Let Stein feel the pain for once.' He thought as he felt Stein shift and shove his feet into his stomach, propelling Spirit off of him.
Stein stood, chest heaving, blood coming from a cut above his eye. He seemed to be searching for something. Spirit almost missed the glint of metal on the ground a few feet from the younger boy, and both of them dashed for it. Stein got their first, grabbing it from the ground and then stood transfixed, staring into the reflective metal.
"It's incomplete…" Spirit heard him whisper before he lifted the blade to his own face and continued the cut that he had just received, circling it under his eye and to the side of his head. Spirit watched in shock as Stein collapsed, his head thrown back and blood flowing down his face and soaking into his clothing as he laughed.
"Stein!" Spirit shook off the shock and darted to the younger boy, grabbing and hurling the bloody scalpel away. He grabbed both of Stein's shoulders, shaking him. "Damn it, Stein! Shut the hell up and get it together!"
The younger boy blinked, then reached up and gingerly touched his face, wincing. "Senpai?"
Spirit hung his head, breathing hard.
"Senpai, you're injured."
"You're the one whose face is cut open. I have to get you to the nurse."
"Take me home."
Spirit looked up at the bloody face that was staring back at him. "You have to have that fixed, Stein. It's not something that you can just sleep off, damn it."
"I'll stitch it myself. Take me home, Spirit. I can see to both of our wounds there. It's closer, too." Stein's voice was pained, but he was doing a good job of hiding it.
Spirit stood slowly, hitting his knees before he managed to stand all the way up. Leaning on each other the two individuals made the long trek back to Stein's lab.
A/N: Clearing my head, again. I hope you enjoyed it! Love you all.
I don't own Soul Eater.