A/N: Chapter 3 is here! So, things are going to start getting darker from this point onwards. Although I'm trying to lighten it up with some humor. . I hope that you're all enjoying the escalation in the Kid/Soul relationship. I'm worried that it's moving too fast, but they have known each other for years now and, as you know from the last chapter, have been spending some one-on-one time together without any of the others knowing.
Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Soul Eater but I wish I did. I also do not own Clue and if you've never played it go buy it now.
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Clue
Kid could feel Soul's breath on his cheek and he suddenly realized how close they were. With a feeling of reluctance he stepped back, his hand brushing Soul's side as he did so. They looked at each other for a moment.
"We should go tell the others." Soul said quietly, stepping out from behind the curtain.
"...Sure."
Why did it feel like he'd missed an opportunity?
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"What is the Professor going to do?" Maka asked quietly. The Shibusen group decided to meet that evening in the study, all seven of them squished together in squashy armchairs and a couch. The fireplace in the hearth was ablaze, the flames flickering merrily.
"I have no idea." Soul replied, running his hand through his white hair. "I don't know if this counts the Professor out or if he's just trying to give himself cover."
"He was suspicious the night of the dinner." Kid supplied, sitting in a chair by one of the desks in the room. "He kept watching his pocket watch."
"We're just going in circles here." Liz huffed, crossing her arms. "These people are being killed off and we have no idea who really did it."
"I overheard someone asking Mr. Green to join them in the conservatory the night the Colonel died." Tsubaki said quietly.
Black Star jumped up. "When did this happen?"
"Just after our meeting here last night." Tsubaki replied. "I was just grabbing a glass of water when I heard a female voice talking to him."
"Could you tell who it was?" Patti asked, leaning forwards.
The female ninja sighed. "No, only that it was female. It was muffled by the kitchen door. I didn't think anything of it. I...it's my fault he's dead."
"Don't say that!" Black Star yelled, shaking her a little too forcefully. "You didn't know that this person was going to kill more people!"
"It is an interesting clue though." Kid interjected as Soul and Maka attempted to get the male ninja to release his partner. "It could mean that the murderer is female, unless the murder happened after their meeting..."
"There are too many variables, too many 'what ifs'." Maka replied once they'd settled Black Star down. "I guess we'll just have to keep an eye out. We should split ourselves up tonight to patrol the house in turns."
"That's a good idea. Patti and I will team up first, then Kid, Maka and Tsubaki and finally Black Star and Soul." Liz nodded, pointing to each person in turn.
They all nodded before saying good night and splitting up, Patti and Liz agreeing to wake up the next group in about three hours.
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Kid and Soul returned to their room, the weapon yawning widely as he grabbed his pajamas and automatically headed to the en suite bathroom to change. The shinigami's eyes followed him, blinking slightly when he realized that Soul hadn't fully closed the door. Kid could see the weapon's reflection in the mirror as he pulled off his suit jacket and began to unbutton his shirt.
Kid tried to look away but found his eyes traitorously returning to the slit in the door.
Well, it was quite a sight. He wouldn't want to waste it after all.
The shinigami watched Soul take off his shirt and rub his hand along the scar on his chest, almost as though it was bothering him. Kid blushed as the weapon sighed to himself and unbuckled his belt, sliding out of his pants and folding them carefully. If one were to ask the shinigami what color Soul's underwear was later that night, he wouldn't have been able to tell you.
He was, understandably, too busy taking in everything else.
(For those of you who might be curious, they were red.)
Kid finally tore his eyes away from Soul, turning his whole body around so he wouldn't be tempted to look again. Ever since the incident this afternoon in the billiards room, Kid had been unable to keep his mind off the weapon in the next room. Admittedly, he always did enjoy Soul's sarcastic company and though he was about the most unsymmetrical person in existence, Kid found that he didn't really mind all that much. Liz would call it a miracle.
And now he was purposefully...peeping at his fellow colleague! What would his father say!
"Go for it!" Shinigami-sama's voice echoed in his head, giving him a thumbs up.
Kid sighed.
"I think you'd be a little uncomfortable sleeping in that outfit, but I've always known you were weird." Soul's voice cut into Kid's hallucination, making the shinigami turn around. "Whatever floats your boat, man."
Kid stared at him in annoyance. The weapon was wearing a pair of loose-fitting sweatpants and a white t-shirt that was, to Kid's horror, slightly see-through. He had a toothbrush dangling out of his mouth causing his speech to be garbled. "I was...distracted." The shinigami managed to reply.
"By what?" Soul asked between brush strokes, scratching his belly and giving Kid another glimpse of his toned stomach.
"Nothing." Kid muttered, grabbing his pajamas and rushing into the bathroom.
"Oi! I need to shpit dish out!" Soul's garbled voice called out.
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Sharing a bed with Soul was a lot like sharing a bed with a Weeble Wobble. He weebles and wobbles but he doesn't fall down. In fact, he hits you back with twice the force.
And then whine's about it the next day.
Of course, he wouldn't retaliate if Kid didn't hit him first, but the shinigami couldn't help himself. Sometime in the middle of the night Kid found a solution to his problem. He realized that, if he was holding something, he tended not to kick and punch so much.
This epiphany was reached when he woke up with his arms wrapped around Soul and no bruises in sight. The weapon seemed content to cuddle up to the shinigami, one of his arms draped across Kid's chest. He smiled slightly and closed his eyes to fall back asleep.
Now if only he could get Soul to stop drooling.
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Soul slouched through the halls, his eyes half closed. He had been having such a nice sleep...
"Soul! Which rooms do you want to keep an eye on?" Black Star asked cheerfully, slapping the red-eyed weapon on the back.
"Sleep." Soul grunted, annoyed that his partner was so goddamn cheerful at four o'clock in the freaking morning.
"Nya ha!" Black Star yelled, pointing his finger in the air. "The Great Black Star doesn't need sleep!"
Soul just sent him a half-hearted glare, half his mind still asleep in his bed. Soul agreed to take the upper floors, leaving Black Star alone to do, well, whatever Black Star does.
He'd been patrolling around the mansion for about fifteen minutes, yawning intermittently and rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He took a moment to stop and stretch his tired muscles.
Patrol duty was so boring.
With a sigh he started forward again, his hands shoved in his pockets when he felt a sharp pain in the bottom of his foot. With a curse he stepped back, looking down at his foot.
It was bleeding.
With a frown he glanced at the floor, noticing a shattered vase with a few wilted flowers laying forlornly on the floor. He vowed revenge on the idiot that didn't clean this mess up.
Soul bent down, carefully keeping his weight off his injured foot, and began to shift the broken glass to the side so no one else would stab their damn foot. There was a creak of floorboards behind him and he paused, glancing over his shoulder to see who was coming.
The hall was empty.
Soul blinked, squinting in the darkness. With a shrug he turned back to his task, carefully picking up a large piece and moving it up against the wall. A sudden thought occurred to him and he stiffened, thinking.
'What if this vase was knocked over while someone was being attacked?'
The floor creaked behind him again and he stood up, turning around.
"...Black Star?" He called softly, taking a small step forward.
All he had time to register was a whooshing sound behind him, pain, and then darkness.
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Kid woke up when he heard the screaming.
Sitting up straight in his bed, eyes wide, the shinigami looked to his side, his heart skipping a beat when he realized Soul wasn't there. Then he remembered that the weapon was on patrol and he jumped out of the bed, rushing out the bedroom door.
He met up with Maka and Patti in the hallway, both of them wide awake and pale.
"It came from downstairs." Liz's voice called out to them from down the hall and the group of four rushed down the stairs. The despairing howl sounded again and they moved faster.
Professor Plum, Mrs. Peacock and Mrs. White met them at the door to the swimming pool, all three of them still in their nightclothes and looking terrified.
"Move." Kid demanded, shoving the Professor out of his way as he burst through the door.
The swimming pool was one long rectangle in the middle of the room, the constant jets of water causing it to ripple and sparkle from the lights overhead. The tiles in the pool were a pale blue and the floor surrounding it was a miasma of different shades of blue. The walls were an off-white color with various sea-side portraits adorning them. There was a hot tub off to the right and what appeared to be the door to a sauna on the left.
No one took any notice of these features. Everyone's eyes were on the two figures beside the pool.
Black Star was clutching Tsubaki's prone form, tears streaming down his face and mingling with the water dripping off Tsubaki's black hair. He howled in despair again, the sound echoing in the vast room.
"No..." Kid heard Maka whimper as she stumbled forward towards Black Star and knelt beside him, placing a hand on his shoulder.
Kid stepped forward with Liz and Patti, carefully lifting Tsubaki's pale wrist and checking for a pulse he already knew wasn't there. The Thompson sisters were crouched next to Black Star and Maka, rubbing soothing circles on his back, tears threatening to slide down their cheeks.
Mrs. White and the others shuffled into the room, Mrs. Peacock sobbing into the Professor's shoulder. Ms. Scarlet seemed to have made an appearance at some point, Kid noted, as she was standing next to Mrs. White.
"I tried...I tried CPR." Black Star moaned, holding tightly to his weapon. "I was too late...too late."
"Black Star." Kid said, kneeling in front of him and grabbing his shoulders. "What happened?"
"I don't know!" The male ninja sobbed, looking directly at the shinigami. "I was patrolling. I came in here and she was just...just there, in the water." He whimpered.
Kid's eyes widened. "Black Star." He said urgently, shaking his shoulders slightly. "Where is Soul?"
Black Star looked around, his eyes wide. "I don't know, he was upstairs."
The shinigami was up and moving before the ninja had finished speaking, Maka hot on his heels. He trusted the sisters to stay with Black Star to keep him company as he bounded up the stairs two at a time.
The hallways were still dark this early in the morning so he almost missed the dark lump laying on the floor in a shadowed corner of the house.
"Maka, can you find a light?" Kid asked.
"Already on it." The meister replied, flicking on a light on the nearby shelf.
Soul was laying crumpled on the floor and Kid felt his heart stop at the blood pooled around him, dyeing the edges of his white hair crimson. There was a broken vase laying nearby, pieces of it shoved up against the wall. Kid stepped over the glass, reaching a shaking hand for the weapon's neck to check for a pulse he prayed was there.
"Kid?" Maka whimpered, waiting for his confirmation. She was pale and her eyes were red rimmed from holding back tears.
"He's alive." The shinigami replied, relief obvious in he tone.
Maka sank to her knees in relief, placing her hand on her weapon's leg. "Thank God."
"Looks like he took a bad hit to the head." Kid observed, examining Soul. There was a big gash near his left temple.
"They say head wounds bleed profusely." Maka supplied, checking Soul over for any other injuries. "Looks like he has a cut on his foot too. That's all though."
Kid cradled Soul's head in his lap carefully. "Go ahead and head back to Black Star. He's going to need all the comfort we can give him. I'll watch Soul."
Maka nodded, tears welling in her eyes at the mention of the male ninja. "I just...I can't believe she's gone."
"...I know." Kid replied, looking away.
Maka got up and headed down the hall, returning with a first aid kit before heading back to the swimming pool.
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The first thing Soul registered was his gargantuan headache. The next thing he noticed was a pair of gentle hands wrapping something around his head. The weapon attempted to open his eyes, but the bright light that greeted him caused him to groan in pain and squeeze his eyes shut again.
"Soul?" Came Kid's voice.
"Did you get the license plate of that truck?" Soul mumbled, raising his hand to his head. He could feel a bandage there and he tried to remember why he would need one.
"I need you to open your eyes so I can check for a concussion." Kid demanded, shielding Soul's eyes from the glare of the light with his body.
The weapon groaned, letting the other man help him into a sitting position and prop him up against the wall. He slowly opened his eyes and let Kid shine a flashlight into them, causing them to water slightly.
"Looks like you may have a mild concussion, but nothing too bad." The shinigami smiled slightly, his hand on Soul's thigh. "Do you remember what happened?"
"I was on patrol...Black Star was downstairs." Soul frowned, sifting through his memories. "There was a broken vase and I was cleaning it up. I thought someone was behind me but after I turned around I was attacked from behind."
Kid pondered this information. "You mean there might have been more than one person in this hallway with you?"
"Possibly." Soul agreed, running his hand through his hair and grimacing at the dried blood he found there. "Where is everyone?"
Kid winced, looking away. "There...was another murder."
"What?" Soul gasped, sitting up straighter against the wall. "Who was it?"
"...Tsubaki."
Kid watched as Soul closed his eyes in despair before attempting to stand up, using the wall as support. He wobbled dangerously and the shinigami quickly stood up, putting the other man's arm over his shoulder.
"Damn." Soul muttered as they stopped in the doorway and he took in the sight there. "Dammit!" He suddenly cried out, slamming his foot into the wall, creating a hole in the plaster. Kid jumped back, not expecting the sudden outburst. Soul kicked the wall again, chunks of plaster crumbling to the floor. He started to slide down the wall but Kid caught him, pulling him upright. "Tsubaki..." The weapon whispered.
"Soul, pull it together." Kid warned, turning the weapon to look at him. "Black Star needs your help and you can't do anything if you're as messed up as he is. I don't care what you might be telling yourself but it was not your fault. You can't be everywhere at once."
Soul stared at Kid, an unspoken conversation passing between them. The weapon finally nodded, taking a deep breath and allowing the shinigami to help him into the room.
"Soul-kun what happened to you?" Ms. Scarlet crooned, latching onto his arm the moment he stepped past the threshold.
Soul ignored her and made a beeline for his distressed comrade. Kid purposefully stomped on Ms. Scarlet's foot, causing her to yelp and let go of Soul's arm.
"Black Star." The weapon called softly, kneeling in front of the distraught meister.
"Soul...she's...I..." Black Star stuttered, unable to even string a sentence together.
"I know." Soul replied and they looked at each other in unspoken understanding. "I swear, we will kill the asshole who did this to her."
"How do we know you didn't do it?" Professor Plum demanded, his arms crossed. "You two were prowling the halls. We get here, someone is dead, and the only one who wasn't here was you, Soul."
"He was attacked." Kid growled, glaring at the Professor.
"So he says." Plum scoffed and Mrs. Peacock nodded beside him. "A likely excuse."
"Considering it was your date that was murdered, you don't seem too upset about it." Soul replied scathingly, turning his red eyes on the Professor.
Professor Plum looked decidedly contrite.
"Why were you sneaking around last night?" Mrs. White asked, looking worried.
"Some of us are trying to catch whoever is doing this to all of us." Liz replied, sneering at them. "We thought we could patrol the halls and catch the killer."
"A whole lot of help that was." Mrs. Peacock muttered loud enough for everyone to hear.
"That's enough!" Soul yelled out, standing up. "In case you all haven't noticed, three people are now dead and we're all trapped in here with the killer. If you all could just pull your heads out of your asses and stop pointing fingers at everyone else, we can all work together to find out who is doing this."
"Every time you point a finger, three are pointing back at you!" Patti chimed in behind him.
Ms. Scarlet scowled. "How are we supposed to figure out who is doing this? We can't plan anything without them finding out."
"Let's split everyone up into groups of two, that way someone is always watching someone else." Maka suggested.
"Fine. Mrs. White you go with Mrs. Peacock. I'll go with Ms. Scarlet. Liz and Patti can team up, Maka and Black Star and Kid and Soul." Professor Plum decided.
"Fine." Soul glared, turning back to Black Star as the Clue characters left the room. "I know it's hard but you're going to have to let her go." He said quietly, putting his hand on the other man's shoulder. "We'll give her a proper burial when we get out of here, I promise."
Black Star nodded slowly, looking away. "I just need a few more moments."
"No problem, meet us in the library when you're ready, okay?" Maka forced a smile, nodding to the others as they left the meister to his grief.
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The mood in the library where the Shibusen group gathered was nothing short of somber. Tsubaki's absence was like a gaping chasm in the room, sucking out all thoughts of happiness. Black Star was uncharacteristically silent, staring out the window at the continuous snow storm outside.
Kid had forced Soul to sit down when he almost collapsed on the way to the library. He was still recovering from the nasty blow to the head. The shinigami was smart enough not to listen to the weapon's continuous insistences that he was fine.
"Let's go over the clues again." Soul sighed, feeling another headache returning.
"We know the killer knew what the Colonel was allergic to. We also know that he or she had to be strong enough to kill Mr. Green. ...Tsubaki told us she heard a female voice speaking to Mr. Green shortly before his murder." Kid supplied, ticking off the list in his head. "Soul and I believe that there is a possibility that two people are working together, based on his attack early this morning. This can be further corroborated by the fact that Tsubaki was drowned. She was, by no means, a weak person. We can assume that it may have taken two people to take her down."
Everyone was silent, the mention of their fellow comrade casting a dark shadow over them once again. The only thing keeping the group going was vengeance.
"I bet it is the Professor and that floozy of a secretary." Liz commented, frowning. "He would know what the Colonel was allergic to, the Professor is strong enough to kill Mr. Green after she lured him there, and the two of them together could have attacked Tsubaki. And to top it all off they're trying to pin it all on Soul."
"It does fit." Maka said slowly, nodding. "We should keep an eye on them."
"In the mean time, we need to see if there is a weak point in the barrier trapping us here. In the beginning it was random people that we didn't know being attacked. Now...now it is personal." Kid added, looking around at the others. "We are not immune. We must take precautions and watch out for each other."
The others nodded solemnly.
The game was on.
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"Lay down."
"Kid! I can't-"
"It'll make you feel better, I'll be gentle."
"Like hell you will! You're too big, there's no way you'll fit!"
"You're being stubborn, you know you want it."
"A-ah! It hurts!"
Maka blushed crimson as she listened to the conversation going on on the other side of the door. A small trickle of blood ran down her nose and she quickly wiped it away as she tried to get her mind out of the gutter. What were those two doing in there?
"Kid, slow down, you're going too fast!"
"I can't...help it...Soul..."
Maka choked as she suddenly heard a low, muffled moan that sounded a lot like Soul coming from the other side of the door. Unable to stand it any longer, the meister pushed the door open, expecting...
Well, expecting something completely different than what she walked in on.
The sight of Kid and Soul, both clad in only their boxers (or, in Kid's case, boxers and a shower cap), squished together in the tiny bathtub would stick with her forever. Kid was attempting to wash the blood out of Soul's hair while taking care not to get the bandage on his head too wet. The water in the tub was verging on overflowing, the bath bubbles almost all gone, a testament to how long they'd been in there.
And was that a rubber duck?
"Um..." Maka mumbled, staring.
"Maka!" Soul yelped, attempting to get out of the bathtub only to slip and fall, the rubber ducky flying and almost hitting the female meister in the face. Kid managed to get out of the tub more gracefully and even managed to catch the weapon before he face-planted into the marble tiling.
Only to slip himself and to fall to the ground, bringing Soul down with him.
The weapon moaned in pain (Maka's gutter brain interpreted it a different way) from the abrupt motion as he lay on the floor with Kid on top of him, his arms on either side of Soul and their chests flushed together, dripping water all over the damn floor. Kid could feel Soul's breath on his cheek, their faces inches apart.
"I'll leave you two alone, shall I?" Maka croaked, her hand covering her nose as she rushed out of the room.
"What's her problem?" Soul asked, looking up at Kid.
"No idea." Pause. "Your hair is lopsided. It's unsymmetrical."
"Shut up."
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A/N: And that is the end of chapter three. I'm sorry for killing you Tsubaki! Please don't hurt me! It needed to be done! I also apologize for the fact that my chapters are steadily getting shorter. I just write until I feel like it is a good spot to stop.
You know, I would pay good money to see Kid and Soul, barely clothed, squished in a bathtub together. And the rubber ducky too, don't forget that!
I like to think of Maka being a closet yaoi/shonen-ai/slash fangirl. It amuses me. I bet you Shinigami-sama is one too.
I'll shut up now.
Chapter Four Sneak Preview:
"Soul..." Kid began, nervously.
"Yeah?" Soul muttered, opening the fridge and rifling around for the salad. He placed it on the counter before searching the cupboards for something to serve it with. Kid's hand grabbed the weapon's wrist, stalling his movements. Soul turned towards the shinigami, a questioning look in his eyes.
"There's something I need to tell you." Kid said quietly, stepping closer to the weapon.
