CHAPTER 2

Still don't own anything! So this is the second chapter and I hope everyone will continue to read it. I've still a few more chapters to go so please review. Even critical or harsh reviews can help so by all means I would like to here your feedback. It's the first story I've ever published so I hope you like it :)

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"I doubt Stein's even there yet" said Liz irritably.

"Rules are rules Liz" said Kid as he walked briskly towards the classroom.

"Rules are made to be broken. Let's get ice-cream instead" offered Patty hopefully.

"No, now come on. We're here" he said.

It hadn't escaped his sensitive hearing that an argument of some sort was taking place in the crescent-moon class. That kind of disruption just would not do. As he walked into the room, closely followed by Liz and Patty, he spied Black Star and another student, Gary was the name that came to his mind, engaged in some sort of dispute. Both had Weapons in hand and Gary was now charging at Black Star. He stopped suddenly and threw the axe taking everyone by surprise including Kid. With no time to react he was suddenly smacked in the chest by something heavy making him stumble with the force but managed to remain upright. His mind was wiped clean as the shock of such an impact reverberated through his body. Subconsciously he could hear a loud voice whooping for joy somewhere in front of him but his brain failed to recognise the reason for such elation. He felt his legs wobble like jelly, making him loose his balance. He experienced no pain, only numbness as he hit the hard wooden floor beneath him.

A cold sensation seeped out slowly from his chest trickling unpleasantly down into his limbs. His ears detected the sounds of people speaking loudly and yelling but he could not make sense of them nor did he care to. The frightened voices soon melted into a soft monotonous buzzing. An acute and overwhelming tiredness forced his dull, heavy eyes closed. The feeling of being imersed in freezing water soon faded into the agony of fire engulfed his chest. He wanted to breathe, the need for oxygen overriding everything else. He sucked at the surrounding air but none was forthcoming. His brain was starting to shut down but still he struggled to inhale. The burning inferno morphed into the most excruciating pain he had ever suffered through when more weight bore down on him with aggravated force. Breathing now an impossibility, he gave up trying and instead gave into the lulling sleep that was tugging on his exhausted mind. He wanted to give up and surrender to the inky blackness and he did so without further thought.

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The shock of seeing an axe embedded in their friend's chest lifted with a snap when he hit the floor. Several shouts of "Kid!" and "Shit!" rang out from the small group that was suddenly scrambling to get to their fallen classmate. Black Star remained motionless, replaying the last few seconds in his head over and over again. Tsubaki had changed back into her human form and was running to Kid. Gary was struggling to stand after his last impact with the tables as he rubbed his head in pain. Liz and Patty had sunk to the floor, screaming and clutching at Kid's hands, begging him to stay awake. Soul and Maka raced to their fallen friend's side. Maka was beyond shaken but her mind, which had been praised in the past for staying cool in a fight, was already trying to administer first aid to the young Shinigami.

"Soul," she said, "go get Professor Stein. Hurry!" she ordered, tearing Kid's ripped and bloodied black jacket and once pristine white shirt open to reveal the full devestation of the Weapon.

Soul nodded dumbly with shock and scrambled out the door like a bullet.

"Whatever you do Riu don't change back, you're stopping most of the blood" she said to the axe that was Gary's partner.

"O-okay, if your sure" he said timidly with a slightly hollow tone to his voice.

"Please Kid, keep your eyes open" she begged him. She knew he was only moments away from losing consciousness; either from lack of air, judging by the rattling wheezes, or from shock going by his freezing cold hands. His open but unseeing yellow eyes were fixed onto the ceiling above. The flickering of his eyelids as they tried to stay open, were the only indication he was still awake. Makka's heart ached in sympathy at the thought of the pain her friend was enduring.

"I need a cloth or bandages, anything to stop this bleeding!" she yelled out at the forming group. Immediately several items of clothing were dumped in front of her. Picking up a green shirt that had been bunged into the pile she began wrapping it around the wound and Weapon and pressing down to staunch the heavy flow of scarlet fluid leaking from his chest. The coppery substance had pooled around her knees covering her as well but paid it no heed. He twitched and struggled faintly against her administrations but she never relented on her hold. This was for his own good so she refused to think of the agony she was putting him through. Although Shinigami's healed quicker than humans, often instantly in some cases, she knew from her father that they were not impervious to things like blood loss and death just like anyone else. Keeping her own panic at bay she turned to Kid's face, knowing that there was nothing more she could do for him other than offer comfort. His eyes had now closed and only the wailing of Liz and Patty could be heard over his rasping breaths.

"Just hold on a bit longer. Help is on the way" she said stroking his cold cheek gently. He was pale, paler than she had ever seen him. Dark rings circled eyes. His lips were blue and cracked and he was shivering ever so slightly. His breaths had become shallow and strained now which worried her greatly. If Stein didn't arrive within the next five minutes she knew Kid would die on this floor.

"Get out of the way!" yelled a stern voice from somewhere over her shoulder. She looked up quickly and turned to see Professor Stein and Soul ram their way through the parting students.

"Move" he said harshly to Maka and she complied rapidly at the tone. Once she stood up she felt warm hands wrap around her shoulders and gently lead her away from the scene. Finally allowing her panic and shock to overwhelm her, she nearly collapsed with the sensation. She grabbed the first thing that she could for support which happened to be the comforting body of her Weapon, Soul. He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her fiercely, allowing her to bury her face in his hoodie. She would not cry, not yet. She was Maka Albarn, wielder of a future Death Scythe and she would not crumble.

Liz and Patty clutched at Kid's cold hand desperate to bring warmth to his still body. Fat salty tears leaked from their eyes as they watched their best friend and brother lying in a pool of his own blood. The sight had been permanently burned into the back of their eyelids, never to be forgotten. Uncontrollable sobs were spilling from Patty's throat. Liz knew she should be shielding Patty from such a horrific sight but she could not find the strength to move from her spot on the floor beside Kid's head. After all her big talk and hard man act, in the end she was useless. All she could do was depend on Maka and the others to know what to do and hope for the best.

She watched as Stein shoved Maka out of the way and replaced the pressure on his chest with large hands, using his body as leverage.

"Liz, contact Lord Death and tell him what's happened. Tell him to open a mirror portal to the hospital quickly" he barked at her, never raising his head to look at her. She nodded and stood on wobbly legs. Taking a breath she lifted Patty to her feet and the two darted out and down the hall towards the Death Room.

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Lord Death was calmly drinking tea with his Death Scythe Spirit. The two were engaged in a friendly banter of sorts over who was more proud of their child. It was a rare day in Death City when nothing of the utmost importance needed his attention so he was relaxing with a nice hot beverage. His relaxing break was suddenly and quiet rudely interrupted with a bang when the door to his sanctuary was kicked open to reveal a distraught looking Liz and Patty.

Lord Death stood quickly in slight panic, not caring for the tea he had just spilled. The two blonde sisters were tough as nails in any situation. To see them as upset as they were sent a foreboding shiver down his spine. He ignored the cry of outrage from Spirit as hot liquid spilled onto his crotch and quickly moved to meet them.

"What's happened?" he asked in a demanding but calm tone. He didn't want to scare them anymore than they were.

"Lord Death, ya gotta come quickly. I-It's Kid" squeaked Liz, her throat and eyes swollen from crying.

"What happened?" repeated the Shinigami. He could feel his patience wearing thin. Without meaning to, he loomed over the two girls in trepidation.

"There was a fight in class, Black Star and some other guy and-and an axe hit him in the chest and he looks dead and I didn't know what to do and Maka and Stein helped but it's not doing any good and we need a portal to the hospital and Kid needs you and just please help" she said in rapid succession, not wanting the Lord of Death to reap her where she stood.

It was a hurried explanation but Lord Death had gotten the picture. Beneath his eerie mask and jagged cloak he had turned white with fear. Without another word he flew towards the mirror and muttered an incantation. The mirror in the boy's bathroom would do for his needs and he quickly stepped through. He ran from the toilets, forgetting his Shinigami magic as a deep-seated parental urge pushed him to get to his son as fast as possible.

Seconds later he spotted the large crowd outside the Elite Miesters' classroom. Maka was clutching to Soul in despair off to the side of the hall and it didn't escape his notice the amount of blood that had saturated her hands and clothes. He felt faint just looking at her. He pushed forward, the crowd easily parting in front of him. His mind froze once he gazed upon the small, blood covered body that was his son. Without meaning to he gazed at his son's soul for a second. It was growing brighter. Not a good thing at all. His soul was detaching from his mortal body, leaving it behind to be collected. That was not going to happen. He refused to collect his son's soul.

"Lord Death, we're losing him" said Stein coolly. Death appreciated his calm demeanour, steeling himself against the tone. Now was not the time for emotions rather actions.

"It's been ten minutes; we need a portal to the hospital. An ambulance would take too long" informed Stein.

Lord Death nodded and bent over to pick up his son. He was pale and fragile looking, just like a baby, his baby in fact, lying broken and bleeding on the cold wooden floor.

"Be careful not to jostle him" warned Stein.

Lord Death slipped his two large hands underneath Kid's limp body making a wayward stretcher of sorts to keep his torso lying flat. As quickly as he came he retreated with his charge towards the bathroom he had just come from and again uttered an incantation under his breath. It suddenly connected to the hospital mirror that had been set up for emergencies such as these and silently glided through.

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Maka slid to the floor once Lord Death left with Kid. Her energy was completely spent. Exhausted, she looked down at her hands to study them. They were stained brown with the dried blood of her friend. They only friend she had that had understood her more than Soul could leave her life forever. The thought of loosing such a friend made her chest ache and her eyes sting but still she would not cry. Crying solved nothing. Soul was standing over her, silently for once. Daring anyone to come near her or suffer the consequences. She was grateful for his support. They were a team, a partnership and he would die for her, such is the relationship between Meister and Weapon. Slowly she raised her head to look up at him. He understood her silent plea instantly and he lifted her up into a standing position. She would never allow him to carry her if she could help it but was grateful to him for guiding her gently down the sconse-lined corridor to the exit, ready to catch her should she fall.

Soul led his partner down the street by the hand and into one of the many short-cuts that dotted the city, cutting ten minutes from their journey back to their apartment. Maka was covered in blood. Streaks of dull red and brown were smeared across her cheek and nose making Soul wince in sympathy for their reaper friend. Having experienced the pain of a chest wound himself he could honestly say he would not like to repeat the experience. He could hear the shaky breathes being exhaled in quick succession from his partner and hoped she would keep it together until they were in their apartment. He knew she was tired, having spent many nights cramming for Exam Week and suspected that this was adding to her current fragile state.

It wasn't long before the two of them had made it upstairs to their humble abode where Maka quickly excused herself to clean up. Soul nodded and sank into the comfy and worn sofa in the living area. He took a few deep breaths to steady his nerves. The sound of a shower running filtered through his mind, lulling him into the memory of this morning's events. He saw the axe whistling through the air towards Black Star, missing him by inches. He heard the revolting squelch as the sharp blade drove deeply into his Kid's chest, slicing through bone to reach the soft organs underneath. He smelt the coppery fluid as it sprayed out in an arc, splattering onto the dark floor and he felt rage fill his veins for both of his friend's carelessness. Not to mention the urge to kill Gary for his reckless and dangerous attack in such a small space. He knew Kid should have been able to dodge that attack. He was a Grim Reaper and as such his heightened and super human abilities made his reflexes ten times faster than that of a normal human. Soul was frustrated just thinking about it.

Something was wrong with Kid, now that he pondered it. For the last few weeks he had looked paler than the norm. He remembered all the times he refused to play basketball when usually he would have no problem joining in. He had become more nervous and withdrawn. His OCD attacks were manifesting out of the blue more frequently and with ever increasing intensity. The changes were subtle, he thought, he doubted anyone outside of their small group of friends would have noticed. He sighed in regret at the picture that now formed in his mind's eye. Kid was struggling and they had failed to recognise it. He only hoped they were not too late to rectify their mistake. The creek of a door opening broke Soul from his contemplation. He looked up to see Maka standing in the doorway, all traces of blood washed away and a steely expression on her face.

"You okay?" he asked her quietly from his seat.

"I'm fine Soul, thanks" she said with a weak smile, walking over to sit next to him.

"So what now?" he asked her. It was a simple question but the implications resonated deeply with Maka.

"I dunno. Head back to the school? We can find out about Kid's condition there" she shrugged nonchalantly.

Soul knew she was slipping on the mask of bravery again. It was true that Maka was a natural-born leader however she had the nasty habit of neglecting her emotions in favour of giving off the illusion of strength. It was how she dealt with things. She was strong, he had no doubt about that but she wanted to be invincible. The only problem was that when it came to the end, her emotions were buried so deeply that any chance of reconciling with them was totally lost. Soul saw this as her greatest weakness but also one of her greatest strengths.

"Let me change my top and then we'll go. We kinda skipped out of there without tellin' anybody so we should head back" he said standing up to walk over to his bedroom to change his soiled clothes.

Maka nodded and sank back into the sofa she plonked onto and rested her hands on her lap. She had taken the time in the shower to collect her thoughts, burying her emotions until the situation was resolved. Twice now, the people that were important to her were mortally wounded in front of her and she had done nothing to help. Old feelings of uselessness and lack of strength tinged her idle thoughts. She felt different about Kid than what she felt for her Weapons partner. Soul was her brother and comrade. Kid was something else entirely. She couldn't quite put her finger on what exactly made them so different. She certainly didn't feel the same way about Black Star who she cared for deeply like all her friends. Her reverie was broken suddenly by a squeeze of a warm hand on her shoulder. Jumping slightly in shock she looked around to meet the intense red eyes of her best friend.

"You ready?" he asked gently.

"Sure" she said in return an they both made their way back to the academy.

TBC...