Flander stared at Kid's limp body. Stein had just finished with him, and she actually felt relieved that he was okay. Stein watched her from across the bed, confused. He'd never created the creature to feel emotion; that was the entire point of her soulless existence. However, the Diclonius surely felt now that she had acquired and created her own soul. But still… the look on her face shouldn't be there.

Stein tried to place the emotion written on Flander's face. He gasped, dropping his pencil. Could it really be… love?

Kid's Recovery; Will Flander Ever Feel Joy?

Stein walked out of his office. He wasn't surprised when he saw Liz and Patti curled up by his door, asleep. However, he was startled by the somewhat lengthy extension. Maka had her head on Soul's shoulder, Soul was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, Blackstar was in a similar pose beside him, and Tsubaki was collapsed in Blackstar's lap.

"Um… what are you all doing here?" Stein asked, startling Liz.

Liz sat upright, throwing Patti off of her, Patti bumped into Maka, who slid into Soul's lap, Soul retracted impulsively, accidently kicking Maka and punching Blackstar, who came to with a jerk, and Tsubaki fell to the floor rather hard.

"Owwww," they all chorused.

"How is he?" Liz demanded.

"The surgery was a complete success," Stein said. "He's resting now. I want to keep him here for the next couple of days, just in case. Why didn't you all just go home or something?"

"We could never leave Kid when we knew he was in that condition," Liz explained hastily.

"I knew it was partially my fault for leaving him to fight by himself," Maka added.

"I understand that, but where did Blackstar and Tsubaki come from?"

"Once I heard that one of my friends was in danger, I had to come," Blackstar said.

"Well go home," Stein grumbled. "Flander doesn't want anyone to watch him."

"She's being overprotective again, huh?" Maka guessed. Stein nodded grimly.

"You can see him in the morning when he wakes up. Right now, I have to speak with Lord Death."

"Kid," Flander sobbed. She was curled in the corner with her head on her knees. "It's all my fault."

A figure knelt beside her, making her jerk upright with a start. She was slightly disgusted to see the Death Scythe himself sitting a few feet in front of her. He held out a small white paper bag, and she gave him a skeptical look.

"It's alright," he murmured. "Take it."

Flander reached forward hesitantly and took the bag. Peering inside, she saw the delightful surprise of several strips of beef jerky—her favorite snack food. She cautiously took one strip out of the bag and took a bite. It was nice and fresh, and it tasted good. Flander began consuming the meat as greedily as she consumed anything. Spirit laughed, making her look up again.

"I forgot how cute you were," he said.

"Kid will be fine," Stein told Lord Death. "His internal injuries could have been a lot worse, had it not been for Flander."

"I'm glad," Lord Death cheered. "I hear Flander now has a soul of her own?" he guessed, tilting his head. "How is that coming?"

"You're going to be surprised," Stein warned.

"Oh?"

"I am able to say that the Diclonius Flander now feels love for your son."

Lord Death went rigid. "Summon Death Scythe."

"Okay," Stein said, turning around and walking out of the room. He found Spirit in the nurse's office kneeling next to Flander, watching her like a child would watch television. "Get away from that Diclonius."

Spirit squealed and obediently pulled away.

"Lord Death wants to see you for something," he explained plainly. Spirit nodded rapidly and went to the Death Room, more or less, in a good mood. His mood was spoiled, however, when he was greeted with a furious Reaper Chop.

"What was that for?" he asked.

"Why did you let Flander out of that room?"

"Are you making this my fault?!" Spirit whined.

"You were supposed to be watching her. What happened then?"

"She said she felt another Diclonius coming and said she had to protect Kid!" Spirit explained in a panicked rush. He kind of expected to be hit again, but the other digressed.

"So it is true," the Grim Reaper sighed. "I always feared for whomever protected Kid that they would instantly love him. While Flander didn't have to be without a soul, I never thought she would fall in love with him like this."

"Isn't that a good thing, though?" Spirit asked. "Flander now has a soul that is fully functional. She can live like a normal being now, can't she?"

"Not yet. She's only showed emotion that causes pain for herself and others; we need to know if she can feel more positive emotions before we can say that."

Soul Eater

When Kid awoke the next day, all of his friends were gathered around his bed.

"Kid, how are you feeling?" Maka asked.

"Fine, I guess," he replied, sitting up slowly. He was careful not to pull the stitches across his stomach. "Where's Flander?"

"Chii, I'm here, Kid," Flander replied in her high-pitched voice. She stepped up to his side faithfully, hanging her head in slight remorse. Kid gasped and straightened sharply, forgetting the stitches, and cupped Flander's head in his hands.

"Flander, you're horns!" he gasped.

"I'm sorry, Kid, I know!" she looked like she was about to cry. "I know I'm not symmetrical anymore."

"Who cares about that?! You're hurt!"

The room fell silent. Did Kid just dismiss his obsession of symmetry? And for what… his friend's injury? Well, he'd never complained about injuries not being symmetrical (not anyone else's, anyway), so it made sense.

"I…" Flander quietly broke the silence. She pulled Kid's hands down. "I'm fine, Kid. Flander's horns grow back."

Kid nodded and slid back into bed serenely. Everything was okay. Flander was back home now; Maka wasn't dead, and Liz and Patti were safe. The other Diclonius was dead, but has Flander honestly gotten over her laments?

"So, what happened?" Kid asked, turning to the others. "How long were you two out in the hallway?"

"Most of the night," Liz replied. "Soul, Maka, Blackstar, and Tsubaki stayed too."

"You didn't have to go through all that trouble," Kid complained, blushing and looking away.

"Yes, we did," Maka insisted. "We're your friends, Kid. Besides, Flander stayed by your side all night."

"She's not sleeping again," Kid thought to himself with horror.

"Hey, Kid, are you okay?" Liz asked, noticing his increasing paleness.

"Fine," he lied, waving it off. "I'm just tired."

"We should go," Maka advised quietly, pulling her partner out of the room. Blackstar followed. Liz, Patti, and, of course, Flander, lingered.

"We'll stop by after class with some books for you," Liz suggested.

"I want you two to take Flander home," Kid said. They all gasped.

"No!" Flander cried. Like a child, she clenched her fists and held them in front of her. "No, Kid! I can't leave you!"

"Flan, honey," Kid reasoned, reaching out to touch her cheek. "I think it's best if you go home and get some rest. It's been-"

"No," she whispered, tears welling up at the corner of her eyes. "Kid, you don't hate me, do you?! Please don't hate me! I'll do whatever you want, you'll see! I'm going to go home and everything will be symmetrical when you get back!"

She ran out of the room before giving Kid a chance to respond. Kid reached after her feebly, but Liz held him down.

"Oh, no, you don't," she hissed. "You will stay here in bed. We'll take good care of Flander, you don't have to worry."

"I'm worried," Kid said, trembling in panic. "I'm worried, I'm worried, I'm so worried."

"Don't be!" Liz sighed. "I told you we'd take care of her!"

"What was that about?" Soul asked Liz and Patti as they finally left class.

"What do you mean?" Liz asked. Behind her, Patti was overcome with laughing and talking to random people.

"You know, why did Flander go running off like that?" Soul asked. Noticing Liz's suddenly uncomfortable face, he tried to assume casualness as he leaned back and said, "I don't really care that much. It just looked like something was bothering her."

"Well, actually..." Liz glanced at the others, who had gathered around her. "Can we talk about this in a more private place?"

Soul was puzzled, but nodded cautiously.

"Whoa," Blackstar sighed after Liz and Patti told them.

"So it was Kid's mom?" Maka gasped.

"That's insane," Soul said in a believing tone of voice.

"Kid's kind of torn up about it," Patti informed them.

"Who wouldn't be?" Soul asked rhetorically.

"But he doesn't hate Flander," Liz said. "He's all she has, but when he told her to go home, she thought he wanted to get rid of her."

"Poor Flander," Maka thought. "You'll tell her we all understand, right?"

Flander stared at the picture she'd painted of Kid's mother. Why? She knew why. But it still wasn't fair; everyone hated her since she'd killed her, and Kid was the only one who'd given her a chance. Now he knew. She knew he had to figure it out some time, and now she was completely alone. She couldn't live with a soul if no one cared about her anymore. In fact, maybe she could become a Keshen. At least then they could kill her for good.

Flander didn't know how long she'd been lying there on the ground, but she too soon heard the footsteps of her other housemates.

"Flander? Are you in here?" Liz called, turning the corner. She knelt beside Flander and put a hand on her shoulder. "There you are. Hey, are you feeling alright?" Flander curled up, sobbing quietly. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"He hates me," she whispered. Liz softened considerably.

"Flander, I know what you did," Liz informed her. Flander flinched, but Liz merely began stroking her hair soothingly. "I know what happened Flander, and i understand. We all do. Even Lord Death."

Flander gasped and raised her head.

"Don't feel bad, okay?" Liz brought her forward in a hug. Flander was tense at first, but then she melted into Liz's embrace in a wave of sobs. Liz held her for a moment, rubbing soothing circles on her back. It was clear Flander had never had this kind of contact with anyone before. "I'm sure Kid will tell you the same thing when he comes home in the next few days."

Hmm. Is Liz right? Does Kid really not hate her? IDK, that seemed like a stupid question. Anyway, I'm sorry it's taking so long for me to upload; i've been planning for my Homeschool Prom (It's gonna be a Vocaloid Rave), so yeah.

IF you know of any good Vocaloid Rave songs, please let me know in a Personal Message, thanks! =^.^=