Author's Note: Well um it's been like 80 years since I last updated this. I think that deserves an apology. I truly am sorry. ^^;
As a week and a half passed, Kidd avoided everyone, forcing Maka to watch him from a distance. He certainly wasn't getting any better, but he didn't seem to be getting too much worse.
That was why Liz, Patty, and Maka were sitting in meister's room after school had ended, discussing the situation.
"How much longer do you think it'll take for him to get better?" Patty asked. Her hands were folded in her lap and her gaze was fixed downward. Maka couldn't recall ever seeing the blond white this solemn before. "He's been throwing up more and more lately. He can't even shoot straight anymore..."
Liz let out a heavy sigh and looked over at the meister. "You going to tell her or should I?"
"You're her sister, so..." In actuality, she probably just didn't want to be the one to tell the usually-bubbly girl that what Kidd had wasn't going to go away like a cold or flu would.
The blond looked at the other two with her large blue eyes threatening to tear up, looking almost horrified. "Tell me...what?"
"Kidd isn't sick, exactly," Liz began, sounding unsure of what she was saying. "He—Well, there's this thing that makes people paranoid of how they look, that no matter how much they weigh, it's always too much. And it makes people think that if they eat very much, they'll gain weight. That's what Kidd has. It...it doesn't go away on its own."
"Th-then what's going to happen to him?!"
Liz looked at a loss for words, like she didn't have the slightest clue what else to say. It made sense—she was probably taking into consideration how Patty would react, and how to say it to make it the least painful. Though there was the question in Maka's mind—was she trying to make it as painless as possible more for her little sister's sake, or for her own? Come to think of it, she'd never seen Patty cry, and with that in mind, she didn't want today of all days to be the first time she did.
Deciding it was probably best for her to answer Patty's question, she responded before Liz did. It was probably also best that she didn't let the brunette put her answer forth first, since she was sure to sugarcoat it. That wasn't what the situation called for—not the way Maka looked at it, anyway.
"If we can't figure out how to help him through this, then it's going to mean his life. We can't tell Lord Death, either, because that's only going to make things worse. Professor Stein knows, too, though, so we can go to him if we need help. As of right now, we have to be very careful with him. I checked out a few books on eating disorders and psychology to help with this, so leave it to me to talk to him about this."
Patty gasped, both her hands clapped over her mouth, her eyes wide, a few tears managing to spill from her eyes. "Kidd's going to die...?!"
"No, it's going to be okay," Liz assured her, though her voice cracked as if it was all she could do to keep from crying. "Maka knows what she's talking about. We just have to do what she says and it'll be fine." Despite the confidence in her words, she looked at the meister and mouthed to her At least pretend it's going to be okay.
She gave a curt nod. Suddenly, she had a lack of confidence, but she refused to let her doubts get the best of her. Kidd was her good friend, and to the Thompson sisters, he was infinitely more than that. Whether she was good enough to help the grim reaper through his problem or not, she was going to succeed. After all, she didn't know the meaning of defeat, and she wasn't planning on learning it anytime soon.
She coiled one of her ponytails around her finger and pulled on it lightly, trying to destroy the anxiety that her newest idea was causing. "I need you guys to make sure Kidd is home tomorrow evening. I'll be there to talk to him at six o'clock. No one else is allowed to know that, especially not Soul, and under no circumstances can Kidd know. Okay?"
"Yeah, of course," Liz replied. "That's easy compared to what you're going to be doing."
Patty gave a silent nod, for once not having a single thing to say.
"Good. I'll see you tomorrow. I'll call Tsubaki and tell her what part she's going to play in this. None of our battles have ever been over until we won them, and this isn't going to be any different."
Once Liz and Patty had left, Maka dialed Tsubaki's number. She was beginning to feel horrible about the entire plan. She wasn't a liar and she wasn't underhanded—so what was she doing coming up with and going through something so underhanded and having to lie to stay according to plan? It didn't feel right at all. It was almost sickening, but if this was what had to happen to fix the situation, then she knew she would have to wait a while longer to come clean.
"Oh, hello, Maka," Tsubaki said when she picked up.
"Hey. Um, there's something I need you to do. I'm just as happy as you are about having to lie, but I need you to do something," she explained. "I've figured out how to talk to Kidd, and I'll do that tomorrow. Soul doesn't want me taking matters into my own hands because he's afraid of me getting hurt, but I can't have him getting in my way. You need to drag Blackstar around tomorrow evening."
"I-I don't think he would ever let me do that..."
"Exactly. Tell him to force Soul to come along. He's going to say yes. I'm going to be forcing Kidd to my apartment, so between six and six-thirty, I want you guys to be somewhere that you won't be able to see us. Try to stay out until nine, if you can. I'll call you half an hour in advance if I need more time. If there are any complications, you have to contact me immediately or else it's all going to be over."
"Yes, of course!" Rarely did Tsubaki sound genuinely determined, but now was one of the few occasions in which she did. That gave Maka some confidence.
"Good. I think Soul is bringing something home for dinner tonight, so I'm going to go. He should get here any minute now."
"All right. Good luck tomorrow, and I'll do my best."
"Good luck to you, too. I think we're both going to need it. Bye!"
She ended the call and tossed the phone on her bed. Taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly, she left her bedroom and headed to the main room of the apartment. Just as she sat down, Soul walked through the door, carrying two small boxes of food.
"What's for dinner?" Maka questioned.
"Chinese. That okay?"
"Yeah, fine."
He sighed as he took a seat as well, handing his partner her food along with a flimsy plastic fork and spoon that came wrapped up in a napkin with it. "Still depressed?"
It was clearly a rhetorical question, but Maka answered with a nod anyway. "Yeah. I'm still trying to figure out what to do."
Soul shrugged, trying to appear nonchalant, but the meister could tell this issue was getting to her partner as well. It might not have been terribly obvious, but she could tell. "Whatever you come up with, I'll be here to support you all the way."
That hurt to hear and it was nearly impossible not to wince or flinch away. Soul supported her wholeheartedly, trusted her completely, and there she was lying to him.
"I hope I'll think of something soon."
Another lie, one of the countless ones she had told over the past week and a half. It was enough to make her begin feeling a little bit sick to her stomach.
Another lie, just like all the agonizing others.
She wasn't going to be able to do this much longer.
Author's Note: I should have this finished within...two (maybe three?) more chapters. ^^ It'll have a very happy ending, don't worry. I'll try to have a chapter or two a week, but um...well, it's not easy, deciding how precisely everyone would act in such a scenario.
But anyway~ Please review~ ^^