The moment Liz decided to protect her meister was one of the biggest mistakes she could have made.
Rounding a corner, Kid leaned against the wall, taking in a deep gulp of air, nearly choking on it. He couldn't hold back the slight panic growing in the pit of his stomach. The grip on the guns in his hands tightened, and the metal dug into his palms. His breath caught in his throat at the sound of a trashcan being tipped over.
"Come out, little boy! There's no where you can go from here!"
His soul was wavering, and his heart was pounding. His chest burned, and he could honestly say he was frightened.
"Relax!" Liz called out from his right hand.
He wished he could oblige, but it was impossible. There was a normal girl whose life depended on him finding a way to fight off her captor. Then there were Liz and Patty, who he wouldn't dare put in the middle of this type of fighting.
Willing his previously unknown shaking to calm, he peered around the corner. A rather robust man remained planted in the middle of the alleyway, a girl hugged roughly to his chest. A gun was held at his side.
"Kid, look out!" He vaguely felt the sudden loss of weight in one of his hands, and his immediate reaction was to spin around. He never would have expected to see Liz between him and another man- a knife positioned above her head. It took no thought, and a second later he was pushing Liz out of the way, throwing Patty's gun-form at her. The elder sister could only look on as the knife plunged into his back, sending him crashing to the ground.
He let out a grunt and then a hiss of pain as the metal was removed. Blood was already beginning to pool beneath him, but he scrambled to his feet, one hand pressed to his stomach.
"Liz, take Patty and run!" It was beyond harsh, and she had never heard him speak so... so rude? callous? She couldn't even find the right word.
"But-"
"Just go!"
She hesitated, just long enough for Kid to rush at the man, restraining his hands- and the knife- above his head. "Hurry up!" It was a ghastly sight, and she cringed as she sped around the corner, catching just a glimpse of Kid being tossed at the back wall.
"Little punk- just who do you think you are? You can't just go around these streets, doin' whatever the heck you want."
He was met with silence. A sound left his lips, like the click of his tongue, before he spit to the side and stepped over towards Kid.
A moment later his feet were being ripped off the ground. His grip loosened on the knife, and it clanged to the cement a few feet away. As his head made impact below, he could only guess the 'little punk' had tripped him clean off his own two feet.
"Don't move or I will." His eyes opened, and a gasp left his mouth- his body stiffening. Kid leaned over his body, with the knife dangerously close to his throat. "Is his gun really loaded?"
Silence passed over them, aside from the continuous honking of horns throughout the city. A second, dulled noise met the man's ear, and he glanced downward. Kid's blood was gently dripping onto his stomach, turning his grimy shirt a pale red. "I don't think you'll last long enough to find out."
He found his face inches from Kid's, and he pulled back in sudden shock. "Okay, okay!" The knife had gotten considerably closer, even touching his skin. "It's empty, I promise. He-he had four when he left, but you saw- he shot three at you while you were running, and the fourth was used on an innocent lady. The one, you know, you saw- she witnessed the chase. He had no choice but to shoot her!"
The weight was lifted from his chest, and he stared on, frozen in fear, as Kid stood up. "It's too late for you, anyway."
"Huh?" He was pulled from his fear-induced haze, and the sound of sirens could be heard in the distance.
He stumbled through the streets, having left the final leg up to the real cops. His body had since begun healing itself, tho it was a rather slow process. A few streets down, he heard a soft noise, accompanied by what he thought was his name.
His head perked up, and he searched around him for the voice. To his left, two figures appeared from a side alley, and it took a few seconds for the streetlights to fill in their features, revealing Liz and Patty. A moment of hesitation passed before gasps escaped the two sisters' mouths.
"Kid, you're bleeding; we need to get you home."
Liz spoke with such a calm voice, it almost lulled him into a sense of security. It enveloped his body, and that, coupled with the pain and blood-lose, dropped him into the realm of unconsciousness.
He woke to a dark world, soft cushions covering his body. The faint smell of blood lingered, and he became aware of extra pressure on his stomach, the result of tightly placed bandages. The door creaked open, and light filled what he realized to be his room.
Liz stepped in, holding a cup of water in her hands. "Liz?" he asked, pushing himself up to sit.
"How are you feeling, Kid?" She handed him the glass, and it wasn't until he grasped it did he realize that he was shaking.
He took a sip and intended to stop to answer, but his throat ached for more, and he downed the entire glass in seconds. He handed the empty glass back to Liz and then sighed. "I feel like I should punch some sense into you..."
"Excuse me?" She felt offended, no matter how weak Kid's answer came out. "You were the one who spotted the guy after the Kishin hunt and wanted to help. What did I do wrong?"
A pause. "Do you really have no idea?" She only stared back, as if his question didn't deserve an answer. "You changed back. What if you had gotten hurt? What if... What if you had gotten stabbed?"
She scoffed, and it was obvious her temper had flared. "Well, excuse me for being concerned about your safety."
"Liz, it's not-"
"No, it is, Kid. You act like your safety doesn't matter, and you just let yourself get thrown here or cut there. I mean, have you seen how many times Soul has gotten hurt protecting Maka? Isn't that technically what the weapon is supposed to do?" It vaguely crossed her mind that Kid could heal his wounds, but she refused to back down.
"Not when there's a chance of loosing you two!"
The breath caught in her throat, having already assumed he would assert his healing powers instantly.
"Before... Before you two came into my life," his breathing was slightly haggard, but Liz thought better of addressing his need for rest. "I had no reason to get injured. Now... Now the only reason I let myself get hurt is because I'm too scared of letting you two get hurt. I... I can't think too fast or else it might put you or Patty in the way. I can't turn on a guy and hope the bullets hit before he knocks one of you away."
The flare in Liz had been drenched, and her eyes became glossy.
"I-I don't mean to blame you; the only person I blame for this is myself." He back stepped, obviously noticing his words- if interpreted wrong- would place fault on the sisters. "I only mean to say that..." A sigh, his eyes turning downcast. "I care about you and Patty too much to just allow stuff to happen. So if that means I get a scratch here, or... a knife through the stomach, I couldn't care less."
He refused to meet Liz's gaze, his eyes remaining planted on the sheets covering him. It wasn't until he felt incredible warmth and an enveloping sensation did he look up. He found Liz leaning over the bed, encompassing him in a steadily tightening hug.
"You idiot..." Her speech was impeded by sobs rising out of her throat. "Don't you think Patty and I feel the same?"
End
I may update this in the future; but for now, "Memento" is complete. Thank you all for the support and reviews!
