AN: Hey, internet friends! How ya doin? I'm good.

Anywhore, I can't really think of anything to say right now, so I'll just let y'all read. ^^

Chapter 2: Read it and Weep

Sorry. -M

"Yo." I greet, leaning against the piano. Soul looks up from the keys and nods.

"Hey. How'd it go?"

"Okay. Killed two. Tsubaki handled the third."

"You're still on about that?"

"How can I not be?" I say, turning to lean against the wall. "It's my fault she's dead." I mumble, banging the back of my head softly against the painted brick.

"We don't know that." He counters, sighing heavily. "She could still be-"

"Don't give me that crap. You saw what happened. It's been two months. If she was still alive she would have come back now." I cut him off forcefully. He closes his eyes and turns away. "You're wrong."

"Look, I don't wanna talk about this now. Where's Kid?" I say, changing the subject.

He jabs his thumb over his shoulder and towards the bathroom. "In there."

I follow his gesture over to the door to the bathroom and knock.

"Yo. Kiddo."

"Don't call me that."

"Oh great. You're in that mood."

"Shut up."

"Are you on your period again?"

"Shut UP."

"You and I both know that's not gonna happen. Did your daddy confiscate your tape measure again?"

The door opens suddenly and Kid stands there, scathed and scarred like he just emerged from an intense battle. A long, open cut runs from just above his left eye to his chin, crossing over the bridge of his nose to the right and curling under his jaw.

"I said shut up!" He says sternly. I hold my tongue as he walks out of the bathroom and paces the hallway.

"What happened, man?" I ask, leaning back against the wall. He shakes his head.

"A rogue witch. Nothing to be worried about." But I know he's lying.

"It was Donapide, wasn't it?"

He stops dead in his tracks and slowly turns towards me. "Maybe it was. It's still none of your concern."

"Look, you've been sending me after their goons ever since she died-"

"Disappeared." Soul chimes in.

"-so excuse me for wanting to know why." I finish, ignoring his remark. Kid places a hand on his forehead and sighs heavily.

"It's classified information. You're an assassin, alright? Your job is to kill whoever my father tells you to kill. Nothing more, nothing less. So if you want to lose your job, then we will be more than happy to find someone else who can do it better." He runs his fingers through his triple-striped hair and begins pacing again.

I say nothing. Instead I glare at him and cross my arms. Surprised my my lack of a snappy comeback, he swallows deeply and walks back into the bathroom, swiping a wash cloth off the sink and lightly dabbing at the cut.

"Ugh, disgusting, isn't it?" He mumbles, obviously to Soul rather than me. Recently the two have become fairly good friends, thanks to my frequent absence.

"Very." Soul agrees, a hint of sarcasm in his voice. "How long do you think it's gonna last?"

"Stein says a couple months. I don't think I can last that long, though..." He shivers. "The asymmetry is atrocious."

"Oh, can it, you pussy." I roll my eyes and use my shoulder blades to push myself off the wall. He narrows his eyes at me in a scowl. "You don't understand. My coronation is in three weeks. I can't have this... abomination staining my face with shame as my father bestows me with the responsibility of an entire country." He monologues. I laugh.

"Oh, no!" I'm about to give a sarcastic reply when Soul appears behind me, a hand on my shoulder. "Come on, man. Let him be." He says in a low voice, stern enough to tell me he means it, but soft enough so I know he means no offense.

"Tch. Whatever." I scoff, shrugging him off me and exiting the hallway. "I don't need to be lectured by a princess with a father complex and a concert queen."

"Black Star, wait-"

SLAM.

"Idiots..." I mumble, heading towards my room. I collapse on my bed and sigh.

"Maybe you should stop being so harsh." The voice in my head advises. Don't take that the wrong way, it's not like a crazy kinda voice in my head. More like a second judgement, or a conscience or something.

I ignore it, though, and close my eyes. Why should I stop being so harsh? I'm not being harsh. They're the ones who won't tell me anything.

Donapide.

I turn to my left and see my laptop sitting on my bedside table, so I take it and flip it open.

When it doubt, Google.

"Donapide" I type in. Not quite sure what it is, so I don't know what I'm searching for. Luckily, it's a fairly unusual word, so I get what ik searching for right away.

"DWMA Struggles with Threats from Arthur Donapide" is one of the first. I click on it an immediately an image of Lord Death and Kid appears, beside another of a man with curly blonde half-shaved hair and a confident smirk. He's waving, I'm guessing to some crowd or something.

As I skim through the article, one thing is obvious: the public isn't on our side.

He's apparently been sabotaging DWMA, by staging accidents and causing havoc that all lead to the eventual downfall of Shinigami rule.

Why wouldn't they tell me about this? This doesn't concern me, my ass!

I slam my laptop shut and jump off the bed. What an ass. I need to know these sorts of things!

And I'm about to go tell him exactly that, but as I turn the corner out of my room, a moist cloth is slammed over my mouth. I struggle to fight back against my attacker, but my vision gets hazy and I feel myself crumple to the floor.

Fuck.

AN: Ooooohhhh suspense. If you wanna find out what happen, you'll have to tune in next time! Heheheheheheheh.

News time! One of my besties, MintyMintMints, and I are planning to cowrite a story! YAY! Not quite sure exactly what it's gonna be about yet, because I've only just begun writing the first chapter. Wanna preview? Here:

Hmm.

PREVIEW OVER! Read and review, please!

Later, losers!

-TRG