Commissioned by Orcatea ( ryuucha on tumblr)
Timeline: Post-manga
Word Count: 9.8k
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Chapter 2: To Be Fooled
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Excalibur hummed his own song as they strolled through one of the Academy's many hallways. Though they did have a destination in mind and they could reach said destination immediately, they had decided to go for a little walk first. Not only would they grace the various youngsters' here with their presence, but Excalibur could also see what had become of the DWMA, one of Death's final and most ambitious creations.
Well, the latter part was debatable. Not on the 'final and 'ambitious' front; Excalibur had to begrudgingly admit that the creation and continued existence of a place designed to educate and train Arachne's failed experiments was a rather cunning and impressive feat. However, Death had taken another concurrent… 'project' -though everyone involved may object to such a term- for the last one and a half decades, one whose culmination ended with their demise.
Kid's creation.
During their first meeting in the Eternal Cave, Excalibur had thought it had been a mere case of shape-shifting. They had sensed a Grim Reaper's presence, so they had emerged, only to see two humanoid figures, with the Grim Reaper calling himself… -he had a very specific nickname that Excalibur couldn't quite nail down; Guy? Child? Junior? Ah, no, it was Kid!
In any case, before Excalibur had the time to say anything, this 'Kid' and that other human boy said they had come to found them. Excalibur had thought it had been about time, the disbandment of the Eight Warlords notwithstanding.
Then Kid had acted rather confused about who and what Excalibur was, and that had thrown him for a loop. They had thought that retelling his many achievements or name would clear things up, but the two had simply left.
So, Excalibur, feeling rather insulted, had left their very comfortable abode -the faeries there had been crying, surely mourning the loss of their shining presence- in search of Death, hoping to teach them some manners about the treatment of old acquaintances, especially ones of such high prestige like themselves. They had marched right into Death City, eager to meet this new Death and have some words about how rude it was to ignore old acquaintances like that, only to stumble upon the actual Death that Excalibur had known.
It had all been rather… confusing for lack of a better term, and the ensuing talk between him and Death felt like it had lasted a century; a talk that consisted of occasional gossip, reminiscing old victories and finally, catching up on Death's latest scheme, and not just the one about running the Academy. The creation of a new Grim Reaper, but unlike any of them before. A blank canvas left to grow on their own instead of a predetermined existence and purpose as it had been with Asura or Death themselves. A process that invited chaos and sabotage at every turn. At the time, Excalibur had thought this was the most foolish plan they had heard.
But then it'd worked and before Excalibur realised it, they were standing by Death, who, in their final moments, cheered on the fragment and made Excalibur commit to a most inconvenient promise. Excalibur, honourable person that they were, had kept up that promise; they had been there to provide valuable insight when the new Grim Reaper realised Death's demise, explanations that were rudely interrupted by said Grim Reaper going on his own rant about responsibility and duty like the old Death used to do.
Honestly, the more things changed, the more they stayed the same.
In any case, Excalibur was still keeping their promise; they had been keeping close tabs on Kid and so far no major catastrophes had happened. In fact, they were due to their usual daily check on the Grim Reaper.
Excalibur stopped on a deserted hallway. They tapped their cane and waited. Moments later, the Death Room's door appeared before them in a convenient distance as always.
Excalibur happily sauntered through the door and the ensuing guillotine hallway, until they reached the centre of the structure, an elevated area of smooth rock. A typical human office had been set up on it, with paperwork strewn all over the place. In the centre of it was Kid, who instead of busying himself with the paperwork as always, was instead collapsed on the desk, head buried in paperwork.
Excalibur announced their presence with a polite hem. Honestly, anyone who couldn't detect their arrival was a fool and should be called such, but as always, Excalibur exercised restraint.
The Grim Reaper slightly raised his head and gave Excalibur a narrow-eyed look. "Oh, it's you. Great."
Excalibur couldn't tell if Kid was being honest or if he was employing this mysterious 'sarcasm' dialect so common to human languages. Well, since everyone was happier after meeting Excalibur, their educated -aka accurate-guess would be that the Grim Reaper was genuinely happy to meet them.
"Greetings!" Excalibur began with a suitably enthusiastic voice that would strike cheer into any person's heart.
The Grim Reaper buried his head right back into the paperwork.
"What are you doing?"
"…Thinking," came Kid's muffled voice eventually, making no motion to look up at Excalibur.
"Of what?"
"None of your business."
Excalibur blinked. That was rather rude. "Fool! Nothing is anyone's business and isolating yourself is no way to face a challenge!"
This time Kid did eventually look up at Excalibur with a grimace. "The worst part is that you occasionally make sense," they heard Kid grumble.
Hah! Excalibur's words were always filled with overflowing wisdom, but unfortunately, other beings were simply too dull to comprehend them. As such, since Excalibur had no plans to dumb themselves down, they were always willing to explain said wise words.
"I don't suppose you have any information of a rogue Witch Coven allied with Kishin Eggs, do you?" Kid spoke up before Excalibur could begin an extensive monologue of the time they had turned an old beggar's life around by telling her to 'seize the day', which had resulted on the old woman becoming the proud owner of a luxurious mansion. Sure there were some hiccups such as accidental blackmail and smuggling of illicit substances, but Excalibur's wisdom of never letting any chances in life pass you by had paid off.
In any case, Excalibur walked by Kid to see a long list of crossed out names unrolled on their desk, its end reaching the floor. So it was a Witches coven he was after?
"Fool! Aren't you allied with the Witches?"
Kid flinched as soon as Excalibur spoke and they were filled with pride. As always their words rang true and resonated deeply with anyone that heard them. "Yes, but this particular Coven has been going after their fellows. The Witches Council suspects they're feeding Witch souls to the Kishin Eggs and any forces they've sent so far have been killed. So, the Grand Witch has requested the DWMA's discreet assistance in the matter." Kid eyed the long list with barely-hidden distaste. "To make matters worse, the Coven calls itself 'Arachne's Disciples'."
Ah, that Witch. Even in death she still caused trouble.
"Their hideout seems to be somewhere in Central Europe," Kid continued, "so I'm thinking of sending a Deathscythe to investigate-"
"Fool!" That would only get them killed!"
"Spirit is quite capable…" Kid paused in consideration. "But he is bogged down with negotiations with the Witches Council's Eastern European branch and I'll need to find him a suitable Meister since Stein is busy with his new-born and the team I've been looking to pair him up is rather inexperienced…"
Well, Excalibur had been primarily thinking about how sending a Meister-less Deathscythe would be silly, but even then that was because that was the most prominent flaw in the Grim Reaper's inadequate summary of their plan. In any case, Excalibur had been certain that what they said had also accounted for all the little details that Kid was mumbling to himself. Yes, their thought process was so far-reaching and comprehensive that even Excalibur's wise consciousness had trouble catching up sometimes.
"I suppose the safest option would be to investigate on my own," Kid kept muttering, his voice a constant droning sound that was beginning to irritate Excalibur, "but I'll need a Weapon and I don't think any Deathscythes are available, so I may have to use Liz and Patty-"
Excalibur was about to let out another scathing 'Fool!' and lecture Kid on the virtues of being concise, but paused when they took in the Grim Reaper's body language.
A slumping posture, an inclination of the head towards the torso, a twitching of the fingers, and a general shrinking of the overall frame. Put together, these formed a very specific set of gestures, ones Excalibur had seen a long time ago. It had been on someone with a very different physical form, but Excalibur paid no attention to such trivialities. Their souls were the same, though the present one was still lacking the fragment that had caused such gestures to emerge in the past.
Doubt. Worry.
Fear.
Before they realised what they were doing, Excalibur stood on their tiptoes, reached out and gave Kid a reassuring pat on the back. Apparently, a pat on the back was a sure-fire way to get Kid to relax, as had been pointed to Excalibur years ago when they had reunited with Death. Excalibur had never realised until now how much of that time had been spent about Death gushing over their fragment- their son, going over minute details that even Excalibur, experienced in dealing with children as they were, had never paid attention to.
Kid momentarily relaxed. Immediately after though, he reeled back as if electrocuted. "What was that?!"
Excalibur couldn't remember the last time they had taken more than a second to answer such a trivial question "...Nothing."
Kid grimaced. "That wasn't nothing, that spot-!"
Excalibur hmphed. "Fool! A simple pat is nothing to raise such a fuss about-"
"As if it was just that!" Kid cut them off. "You've been stalking me for the past year like a vengeful ghost and I can't for the life of me," Excalibur held back a snicker at that phrase, "figure out why!"
"Fool!" Excalibur cut him off, feeling rather annoyed as, like always, people demanded explanations of them. "All you need to know is that my motivation has been nothing but selfless-"
Kid scoffed. "Very convincing as always-"
"But of course," Excalibur said in stride, glad Kid had been satisfied by his vague explanation-
"I was being sarcastic!"
Excalibur blinked. "…Rude. And ungrateful. You've had my support for the past year-"
"Support?!" Kid cut himself off -that was also a habit Excalibur disliked, since though they paid attention to only cut people off when they were being idiotic, other people tended to cut Excalibur off at their most poignant. "You've been nothing but that-!"
"Fool! You simply cannot comprehend-!"
"You know what, I don't care," Kid muttered to himself before turning to Excalibur. "Get out of my life!"
Excalibur tilted his head at the Grim Reaper, suppressing the urge to laugh at the unintentional joke. "A life you say?"
Kid stood up, picked Excalibur up by the collar and walked to the guillotine hallway. "You know what I mean!"
Had any other being grabbed Excalibur like that, they would have cut them in half. However, this was Kid and Excalibur had made a promise that had turned out to be quite grating, to say the least.
Well, at least the gesture was more amusing than insulting. Yes, in fact, it was rather cute too, like a puppy getting mad at you and letting out tiny uncoordinated barks.
Light poured through the Death Room as its door swung open on an empty hallway.
Kid threw Excalibur as if they were a ragdoll. "Out!"
Excalibur landed on their feet like a gliding cat as the Death Room's door shut close with a resounding thud. They brushed themselves off -Kid, baby Grim Reaper or not, better not have wrinkled their clothes- tapped their cane and waited.
Moments later, dark shadows formed a rectangle as the Death Room's door swung open, revealing the guillotine hallway.
"WHY?!" came a distant yell from Kid that grew increasingly loud as he rushed back to the Death Room's door, glaring daggers at it.
Excalibur brushed the last speck of dust from their jacket.
"Why does it-?" Kid looked from the door to Excalibur. "Have you done something to it?!"
"Fool! I have permission-!"
"I never gave you-!"
"Fool! Not you!"
"Then by who-" Kid cut himself off and his eyes widened.
Excalibur held back a triumphant laugh. Ah, he must have realised by now. "It was your predecessor, for the purposes of a duty appointed to me which I have been diligently fulfilling. Foo-!"
Excalibur cut himself off.
Like the gestures from before, the expression before him was also hauntingly familiar.
An utter blankness that had turned into a rather overwhelming force of nature when Excalibur may or may not have tried something rather ill-thought when it came to picking opponents.
Well, if anything, Excalibur could now see the family resemblance.
"He's gone." Kid's blank voice also was rather disquieting, but honestly, any dread Excalibur may or may not have felt at that moment had probably been because of that dubious mussel he had eaten a couple of days ago. Yes, that must be the reason for the pit in their non-existent stomach. "I don't know why you're here, but if you're chasing ghosts I suggest you leave."
Kid turned and, walked back into Death Room. The door closed silently, leaving behind an empty hallway.
Excalibur blinked.
…Chasing ghosts. Hah! Excalibur was doing no such thing. They were just keeping a promise, that was all. And they were just being very thorough about it.
Excalibur tapped their cane and waited.
Nothing happened.
Excalibur tapped their cane again and waited.
Still nothing.
Once again, Excalibur tapped their cane. And waited.
No door appeared.
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Excalibur casually strolled by a pile of pebbles that had been a proud rock hours before. They nonchalantly jumped over a pool of blood and walked over a dismembered hand, careful not to get any dirt, dust or blood over them.
With a low whistle, Excalibur inspected the ravaged battlefield before them; a small area that formed a sharp outcrop barely tall enough to be classified as a cliff.
They had arrived here after some rumours in the village they had spent the last month in; rumours about Witches going missing, or people being kidnapped, of inhuman howls coming from caves in a nearby mountain.
Honestly, it all began when Excalibur had decided they deserved a vacation after all their hard work at keeping their promise and had picked a small village in Central Europe as their destination. Now if Excalibur had come across that place by spying from that long list that also contained dates and coordinates… Well, they would never resort to such underhanded tactics. They were welcome everywhere after all!
In any case, Excalibur had chosen to stay at that village completely at random, but as always, adventure beckoned them. Of course, Excalibur had been eager to answer her call, as always, which is why they found themselves in this ravaged battlefield, eager to put to rest such ghastly rumours about rogue Witch Covens and soul eaters.
As it turned out though, apparently someone else had got to them first. Or rather, was in the process of getting them.
Strange. From what Excalibur had spied in Kid's office during their many visits, this was supposed to be a quick and undercover mission-
Ahem. Not that this was why Excalibur was here of course. It was simply a fortunate coincidence.
In any case, Excalibur followed the trail of blood and strewn limbs, reaching a wide cave opening. A grunt came from it as a disfigured bloody creature used all of its remaining limbs to crawl out. Behind it, the darkness shifted until several skull-shaped shadows emerged towards it, digging their sharp claws at its flesh and dragging it back into the depths, where its infernal screeching came to an abrupt halt.
Well.
Well, well, well.
Excalibur adjusted their top hat, tapped their cane, and strolled into the cave. Their whistling echoed in walls wet from blood and viscera. The area was completely lightless and at times even Excalibur struggled to see, despite their superior vision. The less that could be said about the smell the better. Honestly, they would never get used to the smell of corpses.
Excalibur passed by a diverse array of bodies, some resembling humans as if created by an over imaginative-child with Play-Doh, while others appeared like malevolent Witches from old folklore. Occasionally, a scream would ring out from deeper within the cave.
Excalibur made a sharp turn and saw light. Or rather, three tiny pinpricks of it coming from deeper in the cave, reflected across smooth stone, shattered glass and pools of blood.
As Excalibur ventured further into the cave, they came across the mutilated corpse of the Kishin Egg they had seen at the entrance. The light was stronger here, casting long shadows in its ripped-open chest cavity.
Their whistling dying down, Excalibur strolled past the corpse and made a final turn into the very heart of the cave. There, the light coming from the three floating halo-like Lines of Sanzu illuminated every nook and cranny, glinting off stalactite-clinging water droplets, piercing through the still flesh of corpses strewn in a cyclical arrangement from the epicentre of the chamber where… 'Kid' sat.
Chains lined with nails had been fastened to his limbs, the ends torn off from whatever destroyed contraption they had originally belonged to. The shadows, the only thing the lights couldn't pierce, coalesced on his frame, though none of them dared come in contact with the two human figures he was desperately clutching.
The two Thompsons, Excalibur recognised moments later. The younger one was lying still, her breathing laboured, her arms and fingers bent at unnatural angles and her face feverish. The older one looked livelier, though their only movements were an occasional twitch of her arms to the direction of a deep gash on the back of her head.
Ah, so that explained a few things. Excalibur was beginning to get an idea of what had happened here.
In any case, their presence had gone unnoticed. Again.
Excalibur taped their cane, a rather unpleasant gesture as it sent a small amount of blood and viscera flying, staining their legs.
"Greetings."
No response. Rude as always. Well, at least that meant Excalibur didn't have to be as polite either.
"Fool!" Excalibur began again, their voice echoing as they pointed their cane at Kid. "What is this mess?"
"…They predicted," Kid eventually spoke; a hissing voice in what Excalibur was pretty sure wasn't in English. Or any other human language for that matter. "They had rituals. Arachne's research on the Great Old Ones."
Tch. Her again.
"Momentary immobilisation and sustained confusion by induced ego-death-"
"Fool! No need to reminisce! It's all over now-"
"No," Kid cut them off, as one of the Lines twitched, its light flickering before burning brighter than ever. Next to Excalibur, a corpse sizzled. "It will never be over, will it?" Small sparks came from the Lines, coalescing into filaments of light barely thicker than a puppeteer's strings and Excalibur's grip on their cane faltered. "No matter how much time passes, no matter what we do, how much we change, our past will haunt us. Revenge after revenge…"
Excalibur had heard these words come out of a Grim Reaper before, though not from Kid.
"Fool! This type of old man attitude never led to anything good." Excalibur knew that better than anyone. They had fallen prey to that.
"I don't appreciate your tone."
Excalibur tensed. Would they have to fight? Excalibur had no issues about that, as they would surely, positively triumph over an inexperienced Grim Reaper. It would be an unpleasant experience for both of them though.
But not because Excalibur would lose. No, they just hated having to wash the stains off, such a chore that was...
Yes, if it came down to a fight, Excalibur would win. Definitely. They were sure of it, like they had been with so many other things. But in any case…
"Fool!" Excalibur let out again. "You are not trying to break through a glass pane but thick layers of rock-!"
"Shut up," came a laboured voice from Liz and Excalibur went silent.
The change in Kid was instantaneous; his gaze became focused, his blank expression switched to one of worry as he fussed over the barely conscious human. "Liz?" His voice was soft.
"Trying… focus…" Liz's hand twitched and gestured vaguely in Excalibur's direction. "Annoying."
"You…" Kid began, making several false starts. "You shouldn't move, we…" Kid trailed off lost, before blinking and gesturing to an empty area before him. "Contact, need to…"
The ground where Kid was pointing lit up with fluorescent purple shadows. A portal. Help should arrive any moment now, Excalibur supposed.
Faces appeared through the portal and Kid hurriedly talked to them. Excalibur ignored the conversation, as it seemed rather dull. Liz briefly opened her eyes, moaned and closed them again. Patty's breaths were steady.
"Help is coming," Kid spoke up, glancing between the portal and the Thompsons. "They need time to get the stretches and prepare, we- I, should…" Kid looked over Liz and Patty with a lost look.
"First aid," Excalibur spoke up.
"Yes, that," Kid quickly said, looking between Excalibur and the Thompsons, still distraught. "I… I can't remember."
"Let me," Excalibur spoke up. Among their many talents, they were also skilled in the art of first aid. It had been a rather recent talent, acquired after a great personal failing on their part.
…Well, Excalibur should let bygones be bygones. Arthur would have died either way.
"Please," came the Grim Reaper's voice, tiny and timid and very wrong to Excalibur ears.
"Very well," Excalibur responded with a polite nod. Though the please was unnecessary, they appreciated the politeness. "Sit her down and put pressure on the bleeding," they began, pleased that just this once, they were actually being listened to.
When Kid followed his instruction to the letter, Excalibur gestured to Patty. "Immobilise the fractures but don't try to realign the bones. Elevate the legs…"
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"Fool! There is no point in you standing like that. Go get a shower."
Kid disregarded them, standing upright centimetres away from the door where the surgery was taking place. He had been standing there for some time. Any blood that hadn't dried up on him now lay in a small puddle under him.
Excalibur huffed. So, it was back to not being listened to. Or talked to. Well, at Excalibur had said so and would enjoy when the door hit Kid's face when it would eventually open.
Honestly, Excalibur saw no point in the Grim Reaper's gesture. It wasn't as if any of them could assist with the humans' surgeries. Despite their nature, they were powerless in such matters. Mostly.
Right on cue, the door creaked open, but Kid took a step back and Excalibur began to think the whole concept of karma was a load of bullocks. Actually, they had been thinking that for some time -after all, despite all of Excalibur's selfless actions they had not been rewarded with even one decent Meister besides Arthur.
A disgruntled grey-haired pale man with a stitched-up face and dark circles under his eyes emerged. The head doctor here, Excalibur remembered, though his name escaped them. His name tag was obscured, though Excalibur was able to make out a few details. Frankenstein's monster? Something like that.
"Dr Stein," Kid quickly greeted the man while nervously playing with his fingers. Close enough, Excalibur supposed. "Are they-?"
"They're stable. They were hurt pretty badly so they'll need rest. And painkillers." A bandaged dreadlocked woman appeared from the room as well, handing Stein a clipboard. Her name tag read 'Mira Naigus, Registered Nurse'. "Patty will need rehab for her fingers. Liz will take longer to fully recover and may need closer monitoring." He looked over the clipboard. "However, they shouldn't have any permanent damage."
"It's good we got to them so fast," came Naigus' voice from inside the room. A strong smell of disinfectant emerged from it. "The first aid helped too."
The relief present in Kid's frame, the easing of his shoulders, the small furtive smile, frustrated Excalibur. They had told him the Thompsons would be fine, hadn't they? But no, as always, he hadn't listened…
Hmph.
"Thank you."
Stein stepped out and moments later a cigarette was on his lips. "I need to write up the report…" He paused, glancing between his cigarette and Kid. "Don't tell Marie."
It was brief, but there was a small smile on Kid's face. "You really should quit."
"I have," Stein said as he turned around and walked away. "Emergency midnight operations don't count."
Stein glanced at Excalibur as he passed by. Excalibur remained seated, hands on their cane as always. They had every reason to be here.
As Stein entered another room, Kid finally stepped away from the door and sat by one of the waiting chairs, close to Excalibur.
"Fool! This is no time to sit down. You must still shower-"
"Thank you too," Kid said and Excalibur went silent. "If you hadn't been there…"
Kid kept looking at them and Excalibur suppressed the urge to let out another 'Fool' as well as educate the young Grim Reaper on the etiquette of staring. Still, was there something he wanted to say?
Kid stayed silent.
Not having anything else to do, Excalibur thought back to the cave incident. About those words uttered to them, the concept of a never-ending cycle of tragedy. They had sounded alien, coming from Kid, the one who right now had come closest to ending that cycle, and Excalibur couldn't help but recall their previous words, about research and rituals and the Great Old Ones. The chains they had pried off after Liz and Patty had been taken off by the medical staff; horrible contraptions that they were, meant to dig deep into flesh and bone like hooks, and engraved with old forgotten runes about memories and loss.
…Had Excalibur been talking to Lord Death momentarily, or had it solely been Kid?
Ah, Excalibur was thinking too much. In the grand scheme of things, who cared about who Excalibur had been talking to? That time was gone now. Only fools worried about an immutable past.
…Excalibur was feeling rather foolish right now.
Besides, the two Thompsons would live. The Coven was eliminated. The alliance with the Witches would continue to prosper. There, this so-called cyle was now broken. Done and done.
"I am truly thankful," Kid spoke up again. Any relief he had from before had been replaced by newfound nervous energy as he played with his hands and looked solely on the floor. "I… What I tried to do, what I considered doing…" his voice cracked and Excalibur recalled the Line's bright light, string-like filaments eager to embed themselves in the soul of every living being, "I can't help but think what would have happened if-"
"Fool!" Excalibur cut him off. "There is no use in pondering what ifs."
Kid shook his head. "But if I acted like this when Liz and Patty got hurt, what will I do if this happens again, or if it's with someone else, or if something worse happens-?"
Excalibur suppressed a frustrated sigh. "Fool! You've learned from that and only fools repeat their mistakes."
Kid scoffed. "I beg to differ."
Right, that was it, time for the cane to come out.
"No," Excalibur insisted as they swung their cane and brought it between Kid's eyes with deadly precision. "It is as I said-"
"Then I'm a fool I guess! Oh, how foolish of me to worry," Excalibur was getting the distinct impression that he was subjected to this 'sarcasm' thing again. "It's not as if I'm a Great Old One or Order with a type of Madness which, if I used, if I just slip up just once, will unleash an unstoppable-!"
This time Excalibur did use the full power of his cane and swung it at Kid's face, though they were careful not enough to actually injure him, just stop them. The ensuing offended look was an unexpected benefit. "Fool, that's what I'm here for!"
Kid rubbed his cheek, more out of reflex than of any actual injury. Or at least Excalibur hoped so. "…What?"
"Among other things I suppose. That was why I was able to use the Death Room until you so rudely kicked me out." Kid tensed up but Excalibur had no time for a repeat of past nonsense, so they trudged on ahead. "I was given access by…" they briefly pondered which form of address was best until settling for the one Kid used, "your Father as they made me promise to keep an eye on you. I must say I'm doing an excellent job so far."
Kid looked down at his bloody form and raised an eyebrow.
Excalibur hmphed and turned up their nose. "I'm doing an excellent job, considering the circumstances."
"You're… looking after me? Because Father asked you to?"
"Fool! Don't make me repeat myself!"
Kid went silent as he looked between himself and Excalibur with… Gratitude? Yes, that was it, that must have been what that frown and tight-lipped grimace meant. Finally, Excalibur's selfless actions would be recognised-
"You're terrible at this," Kid muttered.
Excalibur may have resisted the urge to duke it out with the Grim Reaper again, but their endless patience was, like always, severely tested.
"Why are you doing that?" Kid seemed to reconsider. "What was your relationship to Father?"
Excalibur shrugged. "We were acquaintances during my stint in this Eight Warlords group."
Kid raised an eyebrow. "And you're kind enough to fulfil such a demanding promise to someone who was nothing more than an acquaintance."
Was that sarcasm again? Excalibur couldn't tell. Oh well, who cared?
"Of course I am."
Kid looked away with a new expression for Excalibur to decode. Another frown and slanted lips. Conviction? Yes, that must have been it.
In any case, this was another victory for Excalibur. Not only had they kept up the promise, mended the small rift which Excalibur was blameless in creating, they had also steered clear of the thorny past between them and Excalibur. Truly, they were a tactical genius when it came to conversation.
After all, there was no way to spin that part of the past in a positive manner…
Excalibur's first foray into conscience, a twisted result of the Witch Arachne's experiments that had confined them to a ridiculously small and unimpressive form. The resulting chaos when Excalibur, reasonably miffed at their unusual predicament, reacted the only way they knew at the time, unleashing heir Madness which led to a revolt and an escape. Their subsequent search for the ones responsible as the Witch had been a mere human; her research had a different originator, something much closer to what Excalibur was.
The discovery that the individual in question had been a being named Eibon.
How could Excalibur explain to Kid that the first time the Great Old Ones of Fury and Order met were as enemies? That Death had stood between Eibon and Excalibur? That Excalibur had been defeated in the fight that ensued? That, like rubbing salt in an open wound, Death had then invited Excalibur in a motley crew of fellow beings whose name at the time had been 'Work In Progress'?
Kid may have understood all that in a conceptual level, perhaps more intimately if Excalibur's sneaking suspicions about the identical nature of the Grim Reaper's souls held any weight, but that would only be Death's side of the story. Kid would never understand Excalibur's conundrum, nor the long hour of thinking that resulted in Excalibur join. A team-up that had not been the result of careful and objective consideration, but one born out of spite, where Excalibur had thought they could use to gain insight and finally take their revenge on Eibon, as well as Death for that humiliating defeat.
But then Excalibur had met Arthur.
And then Arthur died and Excalibur, understandably not quite right of mind at the time, had unleashed their fury and had tried to take another pot-shot at Death.
That second defeat had been even more humiliating than the first. Not only had Excalibur had his second loss, a number that hadn't increased even to this day, Death had had the audacity to empathise. To offer up a hand to the defeated and weak Excalibur despite their own grievous injuries, when Excalibur had been so close to beating them. To look down on the Meister-less Holy Sword in concern and say "it gets easier over time" in a soft tone. The audacity of it all!
And that hadn't been the end of it. After their second battle Excalibur chose to stay, for some inane reason, in the group now named the 'Eight Warlords'. Excalibur chose to spend time with Death, to the point where the Grim Reaper jokingly admitted that their second fight had been a close one, and they had been scared for a couple of moments during it that they would finally lose.
Excalibur had been so proud of that confession at the time. It was a victory of his own, that they had made Death themselves tremble in fear. Excalibur would have gone as far to say that it had become an inside joke between them, finally something Eibon hadn't been privy to. It wasn't hard to come up with varying lines about it too. The irony of Death being scared to lose had been a goldmine of jokes and wordplay. It had been a point of pride for Excalibur.
Then that whole Asura business had happened and Excalibur lost any such pride. Old good-natured jokes now sounded like the corrupting whispers of a Witch. They left, all of them, and Excalibur hadn't seen any of them until he had ventured into Death City some years ago.
And now…
What a sorry conclusion to it all. What a sorry conclusion to them all. Arachne had been killed by a Meister-Weapon pair that, though strong, were still human and had no idea of the true carnage she had sown, the pain and betrayal she had orchestrated. Eibon had left and lived in self-exile; a coward's move in Excalibur's opinion. Power had disappeared. All their Weapons were dead. Excalibur's one true Meister also lay dead, with only bones remaining; Excalibur had checked, just in case.
And finally, Death…
The Death Excalibur knew was gone, for good. What was left of them now was Kid, a Grim Reaper supposed to take up all the responsibilities of that role while not even being an adult by the pathetically low human standards. A baby at the wheel, one that tried their best but was still a baby, case in point with what had happened earlier.
That must have been why Death had made Excalibur promise. That's why Excalibur had accepted. That is why it fell to Excalibur, as always, to see that this disaster of a Great Old One got everything in order, like a wise old uncle.
Uncle. Huh. Excalibur did like the concept of nibblings. And they were wise.
A sigh brought Excalibur back to the present, to see a very tired and very bloody Kid rub his temples. What that expression had been before, Excalibur didn't particularly care. Their reminiscing had lowered their standards. Excalibur would consider every instance of Kid not responding with a smart-ass remark as a victory, as Death always had a perchance for them.
…But that Death was gone now. Excalibur was reminiscing again, trying to dig up a past that had been long forgotten, voluntarily or not. As it should be. Only fools would wish to look back at a tragedy.
"It gets easier over time," Excalibur let out, not sure why.
Kid did not respond. Another victory for Excalibur?
"Kid!" came several voices and before Excalibur knew what was happening, a gaggle of humans had turned around the corner and launched themselves at the Grim Reaper. Excalibur had seen them before, they remembered the girl's blonde pigtails, the albino boy's sharp-toothed grimace, the other girl's long black ponytail, but they'd be damned if they remembered any of their names.
"Miss Marie told us- " the pigtailed human let out in a hurried gasp. "We came as fast as we could -is that blood?!"
"Everyone," Kid managed to let out before being overwhelmed, embraced and questioned.
As the humans chatted with Kid, Excalibur sat back on their seat. When the humans then began pushing Kid towards the showers, Excalibur scoffed. They had already told him to do that multiple times. Besides, Kid would never be able to clean all the blood out; it had the annoying habit of ending up in places one never thought to clean; between toes in Excalibur's case.
Finally, as Kid was escorted to the showers by the gaggle of humans, Excalibur was left in an empty hallway. A puddle of dried blood was the only indication that someone had been there with them.
Excalibur tapped their cane. "Fool."
What fools they all were.
-END-
Thank you for reading. If you enjoyed reading and want more stories like this, I recommend you check my other stuff (or maybe even commission me if you want sth in particular :P)