Chapter 4: An Angered Kishin

Kid didn't sleep much that night. Whenever he did fall asleep he had short dreams about Asura going mad again and he woke up ready to fight. Every time, though, the Kishin was asleep next to him. Asura seemed to sleep rather soundly considering he was in an unknown place. Perhaps it was because he trusted Kid, or more likely because he knew nothing here could hurt him. Still, he didn't seem like such a vicious enemy while he was asleep. More like a cute, perfectly symmetrical, child. It looked like Asura had stopped his aging process when he was in his early twenties. Kid wished he was as lucky. Instead he was stuck looking like a young teenager who has barely entered the realm of puberty.

Finally Kid decided it wasn't worth trying to get any sleep. It was already five in the morning and he hadn't slept more than an hour all together. He got out of bed quietly, trying not to wake his bedmate. As he made his way to the bathroom a board creaked under the carpet and Kid froze. He didn't hear Asura stir, so he continued moving carefully. Most people would be grumpy at being woken unexpectedly this early, and Asura would no doubt become confused and start worrying. That only leads to disaster when someone so powerful get's scared.

Once in the bathroom Kid shut the door quietly before turning on the light. He would never ask his father directly for help, but he could still ask some questions to be prepared, right?

42-42-564

As soon as the numbers were written in the mirror the image of Shinigami-sama appeared in the glass. "Oh hiya Kiddo!" he greeted loudly. "How are things?"

Kid sighed. "Father please keep your voice down," he pleaded. "Asura is asleep and I wanted to ask you some questions." his father nodded silently so Kid continued. "Before Asura went mad, he was always afraid. That much you've told me. What about his temper? Was he easily angered?"

"Hmm…" Lord Death thought for a moment, recalling the times before Asura had become a Kishin. "Well, he never really had problems with anger before, but his fear makes him like an animal. If he gets too afraid of something he'll lash out. Hmm… but then again, he may have changed since spending 800 years in complete madness. I really have no clue. Lemme know if you find out!" The image in the mirror blinked out and Kid was once again alone in the bathroom. 'That wasn't very helpful,' Kid thought to himself.

He sighed and proceeded to brush his teeth and wash his face. The first of many days of babysitting was about to start. Kid would have to try hard to balance his daily activities with trying to keep Asura from overreacting to anything. Kid finished in the bathroom and returned to the bedroom. as soon as he opened the door Asura sat up in the bed and looked at him wearily. He seemed more tired than Kid was, and at least he had been able to sleep.

"Are you going to make breakfast?" Asura asked. He yawned and stretched his long arms. "If so make lots of meat. I'm hungry." Kid nodded and left the room. He went into the kitchen to see what he could find to cook with, only coming up with some flour and three eggs.

"Asura!" he yelled up the stairs. "I'm going to the store to get food. I'll be back in ten minutes." Normally he would have just taken the time to walk up the stairs, but he yelled so that the others would know that he was leaving the house. Soon after his announcement Kid could feel Maka's soul moving out of the bedroom and down the hall towards the guest bathroom. As long as one of them was awake things should be alright.

Kid walked out the front door and summoned Beezlebub quickly. He hopped on and flew to the grocery store just down the street. He never really kept the house stocked with breakfast food. Breakfast was Liz's responsibility, lunch was Patti's, and supper was his. Regardless he wasn't going to make Liz cook and risk upsetting their fragile guest if things weren't how he wanted them. By no means would Asura be running the household, but there were some things that weren't worth causing trouble over.

Kid walked quickly through the store and grabbed every breakfast food he could find. Eggs, bacon, three different types of sausage, ham steaks, and a variety of fruits. Asura might only have asked for meat, but Kid had to at least have a balanced diet for himself. On his way out he grabbed some peppers, onions, and tomatoes as well. The store wasn't very busy at this time of the morning so he checked out and paid quickly before taking off on Beezlebub.

He had only been gone for a little over ten minutes, but the sight when he opened the door made him drop the food on the floor. The eggs broke, but he didn't notice. The living room was torn apart and the furniture was stacked against the wall in an uneven fort. Soul was leaning against the wall, trying to look cool as always, and Maka was standing just outside the mass of furniture with her fists clenched. "My… my house…" Kid stuttered.

Maka turned her attention to Kid and shied back a bit when she saw his expression. "I'm sorry Kid," she said, "I told him you would be angry, but he wouldn't listen." Kid stepped toward the hideous fort and grabbed one of the cushions on top, throwing it behind him to slam into the opposite wall. "Asura!" he yelled. He could now see the Kishin sitting inside, blinking in confusion at the opening in his fort. "Clean up this mess now or I swear to Death I will-" his sentence was cut off by Asura's hand crushing his throat.

"Don't yell at me!" he screamed back. "I hate it when people yell at me!" His grip on Kid's throat tightened for a brief second before he threw his younger brother across the room. Kid hit the wall with a loud smack and slumped to the ground. He felt warm blood drip down his neck from the back of his head. When he stood up he saw that Maka was standing between him and Asura with Soul in her hands. She had a Genie Hunter prepared to strike.

"STOP!" Kid yelled. His voice echoed off the walls and Maka instantly halted her resonance, Soul immediately leaving his scythe form. "I will deal with my brother. You two go get Liz and Patti and go to school. Do not mention this to my father." Maka opened her mouth to argue but a sharp look from Kid halted her attempt. She went out to the Kitchen and returned with Liz and Patti. Kid figured since he wasn't there they had been hiding. He waited as the four walked past him quietly and exited the house, presumably on their way to the DWMA.

"Now then," Kid said to Asura, wiping the blood from the back of his neck, "do you really want to do this?" The Kishin laughed.

"I could squash you like a bug, little brother," he said. "You sent your weapons away, so you're defenseless! I suggest you run back to the store to get some new eggs and cook my food. Now." Kid didn't budge. He smiled slightly.

"You know," he said, "you probably could beat me pretty easily, but don't make the mistake of treating me like I'm not a threat. By the time you'd be done with me father would be here with Death Scythe in hand. You couldn't run anywhere. I'm sure you've learned that father was able to unbind his soul from Death City. After all, there was no Kishin to keep sealed any longer, and once you were gone he had nothing else to do but figure out how to unbind his soul. What would you do, Asura?" Kid hoped his bluff worked. Shinigami-sama had begun trying to free his soul right away after the Kishin's defeat, but so far he'd had no luck. Joe Buttataki thought he could use Brew's power to help, but so far nothing had worked.

Asura had been gone for a long time, though. Even though he hadn't heard the rumors that were spreading, there was no way he could be sure that Lord Death was still bound to the city. Kid held his smirk as Asura gritted his teeth, trying to reason through what had just been presented to him. "I… don't want to kill you," he said finally. "Just don't yell at me. I hate being yelled at." Asura slumped to his knees in defeat. Kid sighed and leaned against the wall, sliding down to sit on the ground. That hit against the wall had done more damage than he thought.

His eyes fluttered as he tried to keep them open. Darkness was intruding the sides of his vision. He saw Asura walking toward him from across the room. "Kid?" Asura said his name. It was muffled and he could barely hear anything, but he could still make out the words. "Kiddo-kun? Are you okay?" As consciousness slipped away and the black curtain of his eyelids slammed shut Kid only heard one more thing. "Little brother… I'm sorry."