A/N: Agh, 30 chapters? When did this happen?

I'm currently fiddling with Demons in this Mirror. I would like to have the next chapter up soon, but it's looking to be a busy week for myself, so we'll see what happens. In the meantime, if you enjoy A Couple Hundred Years and want to read a little more Black Star and Kid themed stories, feel free to check out my little 3-shot Vagus Haywire. I had a lot of fun writing that one.

Now without further ado, enjoy!

Chapter 30: Hate

When he'd first met him, it was that damn grin on his smug face Black Star hated most. Of course, the assassin had found many things about the young reaper disagreeable, like the praise he received and the way he commanded the presence of everyone before ever stepping into the room. Then there was the mission with Anubis, causing the boy's popularity to rise even more, plus being the son of Lord Death had its perks.

Getting right down to it, the new student was a god. A powerful, praised, and ambitious little God.

And Black Star hated that. He hated the idea of some stranger imposing on his territory, his own godly domain, and how they might outshine him.

He'd needed to put a stop to it. He grabbed Soul and vaguely explained the situation with key words such as 'assassinate' and 'u-soup', ignoring the scythe's raised eyebrow and offered correction of "usurper?" The assassin waved a hand in dismissal, not requiring an English lecture, and the two were off to await the arrival of Lord Death's son.

Black Star knew he despised him when the boy showed up late. He felt irrational disdain at the reaper's sophisticated appearance and calm way of speaking. And then when he dropped down to Kid's level, itching for a fight, he knew he hated that grin. As cold and contemptible as his eyes, the smirk on the other boy's face made Black Star want to punch him in the teeth. He was going to. He'd give it his all to erase that look from the young reaper's face, to make him less.

He'd get rid of that serious act of his. He'd beat him down. He'd surpass the little God.

Kid wasn't a big star. He was a name. He was a child.

So Black Star hated it even more when he beat him.

When he broke into the manor later that night for a duel only to find the reaper less than prepared, it'd served as another hit to himself. He was offered a warm meal and calm smile, but how much of that could the assassin truly believe? This new reaper, with his plain jeans and T-shirt, looked different than the one outside the academy. This one looked bewildered and weary, as if the fight from that morning had broken him down in some way.

A victory then? Black Star considered it such, accepted the offered meal, and spent the rest of the evening calculating the placid appearance of the reaper. He was less smug-looking, that was fine. The reaper cast exasperated looks to his younger weapon partner when she played with her food. When he finally bid farewell to the assassin, he still didn't smile.

Black Star hated it.

He must think he's so much better than others. That's what the assassin had thought, wandering home through Death City. He can't be bothered to smile or laugh? Where's the fun in that? What's his deal?

Most perturbing to the assassin, but what was he going to do about it? Nothing, because why should he? He'd made it clear to the reaper they were to be rivals, that he challenged his status as a god, and Kid had accepted the challenge with that odd smile and gloomy stare.

Fine. So he'd continue to challenge the reaper to fights, but constantly be turned down. The reaper was always away on missions or getting to class either ridiculously early or ridiculously late. He brushed off Black Star's challenges, maybe smirk a little as if it wasn't worth his time, and the assassin couldn't be more insulted.

He broke into Gallows Manor a few more times. Once he accidentally entered the room of the older sister, and remembered a cry of outrage, but that was all; he had no other recollections from that particular evening. Kid told him the next day Liz had used a baseball bat against him, which the assassin tried not to focus on very much. Talk about embarrassing.

Time and time again, his declarations of war went unnoticed. He'd been to Gallows Manor enough times that Tsubaki was beginning to worry. She asked her partner why he didn't leave the reaper alone, why he felt the need to fight the other student? They'd barely known Death the Kid that long, so what if Black Star simply tried talking to him?

The assassin promptly decided that was stupid, that he was a big man who didn't need to speak, and that his actions would speak for him. Specifically his fists, because he was gonna wipe that smug grin off that stripe-haired bastard's face.

He decided to break into Gallows Manor for the fifth time since meeting the son of their headmaster. It went the same as the others (minus the one time with the baseball bat), yet the assassin didn't feel victorious. The concept of creeping into the window had become less of a challenge and more habit. In fact, he'd begun to wonder if the window even had locks or if Kid left it open on purpose.

Ha. Like as if he needed to make it any easier for the assassin.

Again, Black Star's cries of fighting were met with a blank stare and exhausted sighs. The blue-haired meister couldn't believe his opponent, and he demanded to know why the other wouldn't take him seriously. He'd said he would, hadn't he? Did he take Black Star for a fool or think of him as no more than a pathetic waste of space, constantly getting in the way? What the hell was going through the reaper's head and what was up with his face? Why the hell didn't he smile?

At first, Black Star thought the other boy was annoyed by his accusations. The reaper's hand went to his mouth while his golden eyes widened, as if he was about to be sick. His narrow shoulders trembled and he turned his face from Black Star, refusing to look at the other boy.

That's when Black Star heard the softest breath and realized, quite astounded, that the young shinigami was laughing.

The assassin stared at the reaper, not bothering to conceal his own shock at the spectacle before him. It was clear the once stoic child wished to hide his outburst from Black Star, but he couldn't hold back the laughter. Cutting through the silence, the foreign sound filled the room until Black Star couldn't sit in suspense for any longer and requested answers. What could possibly be so amusing?

Death the Kid's laughter slowly died out, leaving only traces of a smile on the boy's face and he shook his head, apologizing for his behavior. He hadn't laughed like that in quite some time and couldn't entirely say what had come over him. It was just the fact Black Star's tenacity for arguing and ability to see through his sullen expression struck something in the reaper. He'd thought so when he'd first met the assassin, when the loudmouth had paid no mind to what his opponent was. The assassin had never hesitated to make his intentions clear, to see the reaper as no more than just another soul, and not a creature commonly avoided and feared.

All Kid could say, simply put, was Black Star saw him as a human. That alone was bizarre and amusing.

The short answer left the assassin speechless, one eyebrow raised as he registered the words. He saw the other boy as human? What the hell was that supposed to mean? Of course he did. Kid may be a god, but he refused to cower or address the other in any way that might inflate a powerful ego.

No, he knew he'd find a way to beat the reaper. He'd find something that would make the reaper less.

And he had.

As Kid began to fidget and complain over Black Star's single eyebrow raised one inch above the other, the assassin couldn't help but grin as the memory of the reaper's laughter returned. So unguarded and genuine, he'd witnessed a side of the other not many often saw. It was a sight that left the assassin confident this particular reaper wasn't all that powerful. Shit, he really was just a kid, and just as stupid as all the other laughing idiots the assassin knew.

So fine. Whatever.

He could hate him a little less for it.