A/N: Hi all! I am terribly sorry for my absence, please let me explain. First off, if you'll keep reading, then I can't thank you enough. Because I've broken my hand... Which, as you can imagine, makes typing a painful and slow process, with only one hand to do so with. That's why writing this took so long, because I had to keep up with rp as well.
Please forgive me and the relatively short chapter. I wasn't completely happy with it, but I got a bit sick of looking at it! So let's just dive straight in!

Chapter Fourteen

Chivalry

Kid's chest heaved, lungs stinging as he gulped dry, dusty air. Every part of his body burned, muscles clenched tight and bones pushed to breaking point. He was bloody, bruised, and dirty... but he was alive.

That was what mattered. All three of them were alive.

The fight had been tough and beating the time limit even tougher. Kid had given up trying to even speak at the most heated point of the battle through the prison, his adrenaline and sheer will to survive carrying him through, quite miraculously. There had been some close calls, a few times when mere inches or nanoseconds had meant the difference between life and death. And Kid couldn't recall a time where he'd had to use such an intense amount of energy in such a short burst. Or, when the muscles in his body had wound so tensely every move he made stung.

Three minutes.

They were finished, he was sure of it. He had collected the damaged souls, worked his way through the winding twists and turns of crippled cells and collapsed halls. Perhaps it had been his imagination, or a sign that the madness in the kishin souls was getting to him, but he could have sworn he heard Nisha cackling the whole time. And it was no wonder, he supposed. It must have been one hell of a thing to watch. Not so much when you're in the thick of it.

Kid's tongue darted out over his lips, the familiar tang of blood in his mouth. It was a while before he could gain his breath, for him to find the strength to move forward. Just standing was enough to exhaust him.

"Did... did we do it?" Liz asked quietly. She was cautious. Over the hour, both of the sisters had fallen silent. Out of awe, respect, fear, or some other emotion, their lips had been sealed and their eyes wide. Hell, he'd never heard them so quiet, right down to their souls.

Which were still awkwardly trying to flex to each other, but that was irrelevant now.

Only partially answering Liz's question, Kid gave in to the ache running through his body, collapsing to his knees in utter exhaustion. "You hear that?" Throwing his head back, the reaper yelled upwards, as loud as his spent lungs could muster.

His own voice raked against his throat. Wheezing slightly, he resisted the way his stomach churned, threatening to spill. "We've beaten your game, Nisha. We've won."

As he spoke, the area darkened. Kid had lost track of where he was somewhere around the half hour mark, but this had to have been the very heart of the prison. It was obvious. Rusted and twisted iron was thicker than stone or brick now, piling up in heaps of wreckage. The cells were destroyed beyond comprehension, but being surrounded by such destruction for what felt like years now, he felt as if he could figure enough out. These were high security cells. Some help they turned out to be...

Now they were destroyed. Asymmetrical, disorderly, unbalanced...

"Well done, little reaper, I'm impressed."

The familiar, venomous voice snapped him from his thoughts, and his eyes darted desperately to find the source. Sure enough, Nisha stepped from the shadows, a sway in her step and a smile on her face. The confidences, the slyness, it made Kid feel sick. She was a truly despicable and narcissistic being. One that now wore a sharp grin, baring her teeth like a predator would. And it seemed she had caught the scent of blood in the water.

"Not a bad effort." She continued, another figure walking close behind her. It only took Kid's fuzzy head a second to recognize it was Urban. "Not bad at all. But, as the son of the grim reaper, I shouldn't expect any less."

That was all he had to hear.

Oh yes, he'd never dealt with an enemy quite like Nisha. But he had encountered those who loved to bargain, to play games, to break rules.

"You said..." A chill ran through Kid, a terrible feeling of apprehension and dread. Oh no. Not good, at all. "You said you would give up your soul, Nisha. But you won't, will you?"

Even though he had just met her, there were a few obvious traits he could see she had. As clear as day and plain as snow, he could see where she was going with this. More games, more tricks, more twists and turns to bind his soul further.

If Kid didn't despise her so much, he would have been impressed.

Liz squeaked. "What? No! Liar!" He couldn't tell who she was talking to. Either way she was livid. After all, the whole event was stressful for her too. He couldn't forget that fact. Hell, for a first mission, everything that could have gone wrong, did. What a disaster. Even more so if this last obstacle proved too much.

Patty chose this moment to make her voice heard. Even in the reflecting silver of a pistol, he could clearly see her rosy cheeks reddening in anger, and it was as if her soft blonde hair ruffled. "Hey! You can't do that. It's cheating!" Even though her voice was like the huff of a child, she understood the situation well. And she was not happy. If the physical signs weren't enough, her soul told all.

Nisha flicked her hair over her shoulder, a tinge of seriousness betraying the mask she wore and causing her stare to burn. It was almost as if she was starting to... doubt herself, as impossible as it seemed. Maybe that wasn't the right word to describe the flare in her kishin wavelength, but all that mattered was that she was ready to move into real business. "That's cute." Her voice was graver. A snap of her fingers, and the device holding both Kid's blood and her own was in her hands. Urban seemed to be well disciplined. More proof that Nisha was running a bigger picture. "What a clever little deduction. Explain it."

Sighing, Kid hushed Liz before her mouth could even open, instead doing what was demanded of him. They had reached a stalemate anyway, and though things were moving too fast for him to fully understand, he knew enough. "You aren't going to offer your soul to me." A tinge of defeat was in his words. "I don't quite know why you would be so dishonest; you seemed the sort to stick to your own rules. You said so yourself. It seems you want the clock to wind down."

Liz could not bite her tongue anymore. This was all too much for her to keep up with. Even Patty was silenced, the insistent giggles neglecting to break the tension and leaving the air empty. "You..." The eldest Thompson quivered with anger. "I'll kill you. Kid will kill you. You're living on borrowed time now, and you know it." Something snapped, and her voice rose. "Why can't you just admit that you lost?"

The reaper was taken back by the outburst. Liz refused to keep silent now, refused to listen to his coaxing and spoke freely. And, in a confusing sort of way, he was proud of her. As much as it might be better if she would listen a bit more before speaking, she was standing up for something... good. It showed that she wasn't going to ever become anything like Nisha, never. This gave him hope. Hope, because, yes, she did have good in her and yes, she knew right from wrong. Maybe she was just too afraid to shed her bitterness because for so long it was all she had to keep herself alive...

Or, maybe Kid was getting a head of himself and all of that was nonsense. Perhaps he had lost one pint too many of blood.

Beside the point, now wasn't the time to focus on such things. The clock was winding down, the scales tipping, the sands dropping. He could hear his blood thumping in his ears. And his throat was like ice, the shudders running through him freezing his breath too.

There was nothing to do.

If neither of them died then they both would. And the panic welling in his chest at that thought was probably the most intense thing he had felt throughout this whole mission, including shocks and stabs.

"Tough luck, sweetheart," Nisha replied sharply. "This thing's got about a minute left on it. Then we both die. Kill yourself now, little death, and I let your girlies live." This wasn't as honeyed as she used to be. In fact, the soberness in her voice was almost terrifying.

And he had nothing to say to her.

Instead, he spoke to the sisters, the solemn edge in his voice almost as chilling as Nisha's. And his blood ran cold with every word forced past his lips. "Transform, girls." Giving them no chance to argue, he threw the pistols backwards, and a blinding flash of pink illuminated the area. Nisha's brow arched, but she said nothing, captivated by the bending and twisting of their forms into what was recognizably human. If she was impressed or surprised, she said nothing to show it.

All she whispered was a gentle "Forty five..."

Liz was the first to snap, reaching to grab Kid's shoulders. The panic in her blue eyes caused his chest to ache, and so he closed his own, only listening to the fear in her voice. "K-Kid, what are you doing?" Beginning to glow a gentle pink, she shook him lightly. She wanted him to wield her as a pistol – without words, that much was obvious – but he didn't move.

In a matter of moments, Patty, too, was back by his side – missing her usual jovial aura. "You could have killed her... Kid, you have to kill her. Otherwise..." Liz continued to plead. Tears of frustration began to stream down her cheeks, and she shook him harder, voice rising and breaking. "Kid, please! Why won't you talk to me! Do something..."

Nisha's voice again, quieter than before, a hiss to it. She was panicking too, even if it was clear she was desperate not to let it show. "Thirty..."

Biting his gum, hard, to distract himself from the sisters, he shook them off and stepped forward. "Trust me." It was all he spoke to them. It was all he could bare to say. Fists clenching at his sides, he only opened his eyes again to meet the intent stare Nisha wore, the sharp golden softening. Distantly, he heard both of the sisters yell, but the sound seemed far away. And as hard as it was, he didn't turn. No, he held his ground, and the world seemed to focus on the two of them, neither looking to try and end this. It was checkmate, but neither had won. Or rather, it was yet to be seen.

"I am not afraid of death," Nisha spat at him, her stare intense. "I am not afraid of you. If I have to die to bring you down, then so it shall be." Sucking in a breath, she seemed to become calmer as the count lowered, rolling her neck to crack to bone. But no other moves were made by either of them. "Fifteen..."

Liz was frantic, fallen to her knees, screaming at him until her throat was raw. Beating the ground with her fist, she ignored her sister's alarm at both her and Kid. "Bastard... you fucking bastard..." She spoke harshly to the cold, dusty ground. "How fucking could you!" Voice rising and falling, it was as if she refused to believe any of it was real, like if she shook her head enough she could wake up. Back on the streets of Brooklyn, a city glare in her eyes, and memories of a shinigami prince nothing but a nightmare.

But nothing changed, and she covered her eyes. Scrubbing desperately at her tears, she blocked her ears too. Not wanting to see, hear, or even believe in the inevitable.

"Five." The word was more still, even if the edge of insecurity was there.

"Four." Kid shuddered as the single word passed his lips. This was all he could do. The time he had left was not nearly enough to kill Nisha, and the agony his body was in would have meant challenging her was suicide. And there was no way he was rolling over and accepting his end. This was his only hope.

"Three..."

"Two."

"One."

A shrill scream filled the air.

A/N: Do you want weekly updates again? Do you want me to continue? Than I sincerely advise you leave a review and tell me so!