A/N: Chapter 2 is here! I'm so glad you all are enjoying this so far!
I just have to say that, as a Canadian, it's strangely hard to write stories without the extra "u's" that I'm used to. Such as "favourite" or "colour". It's not something I ever really thought about before, but it is damn annoying! And honestly, I don't know how many times I tried to write "washroom" instead of "bathroom". I'd heard that in America they say bathroom instead.
I find the little differences like that fascinating, for some reason.
I'll shut up now.
Disclaimer: I do not own Soul Eater but I wish I did. I also do not own Clue and if you've never played it go buy it now.
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Clue
The Colonel suddenly stopped seizing and became still, red-tinged vomit dribbling down his chin and blood trickling out of his eyes and nose. Tsubaki tentatively grabbed his wrist, feeling for a pulse.
"He's dead."
The room erupted.
"QUIET!" Mrs. Peacock suddenly yelled, causing everyone to stop talking and look at her. She had her arm around Mrs. White, who was quietly sobbing into the other woman's shoulder.
"We need to get out of here." Soul muttered to Kid, his eyes scanning the room for the others.
"No one is going anywhere." Mr. Green's gravely voice announced, blocking the doors out of the dining room. "There is a huge snowstorm going on outside, it isn't safe to leave. Besides, it's obvious what happened here. This was a murder."
Mrs. Peacock gasped, her hands raising to cover her mouth in horror. Soul frowned. 'Snow storm? Since when?'
"Someone poisoned the Colonel's drink." Mr. Green continued.
Silence reigned.
Ms. Scarlet groaned from the corner, sitting up from her prone position on the floor. She took one glance at the corpse on the floor and almost swooned again but she managed to control it and stand up with some help from Maka. The meister led her to a chair and sat her down.
"That's quite the accusation to make, Mr. Green." Professor Plum said slowly, pulling his glasses off his face and wiping them down with a handkerchief.
"Nothing but poison could have caused that." The old man growled, gesturing at the Colonel on the floor. "No, the question isn't how but who."
Everyone's eyes nervously glanced at the others.
"Well it must have been the maid!" Ms. Scarlet proclaimed, dramatically pointing her finger at Patti, who looked like she was about to cry. "She was the only one dealing with the food!"
"That's not true." Kid denied, crossing his arms over his chest. "Mrs. White kept coming in and out from the kitchen as well. Professor Plum also went into the kitchen."
"Are you suggesting that I killed my husband?" Mrs. White gasped, her face pale.
"Not as such. I am merely suggesting that the maid is not the only one who could have pulled this off."
"If that's the case then Ms. Liz also left the room at some point, she could have poisoned his drink at that time." Professor Plum pointed out, causing Liz to frown.
"It could have been anyone." Soul growled, scowling. This is exactly why he wanted to kill everyone before something like this could have happened. People should listen to him more often. "Just because he consumed the poison during dinner does not necessarily mean that the poison was placed during dinner."
Everyone was silent once again.
"Well, be that as it may, no one is leaving until we determine who the culprit is." Mr. Green announced, scanning everyone's faces in the room. "Let's all head to bed and think this through. We'll meet again in the morning."
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After the lights went out the meister's and their weapon's convened in Soul and Kid's room.
"We need to get out of here." Tsubaki whispered, holding onto Black Star's hand.
"There's no getting out, I tried all the doors and windows but there seems to be some sort of barrier." Maka replied, sitting at the desk chair next to the king-sized bed.
Liz cried at this news, hugging her sister tightly. "We tried to contact Shinigami-sama through the mirrors but it didn't work either!" She added morosely.
They all glanced out the window, noting the crazy snow storm going on outside.
"This is definitely a trap set up by the witches." Soul grunted from his position on the bed staring at the ceiling. "I told you we should have killed everyone." He added, glaring at Kid.
"We still don't know that. You know the number one rule is not to kill innocents." The shinigami replied, pacing back and forth at the foot of the bed. "The barriers make things difficult though."
"If we don't get out of here soon they could finish their ritual." Black Star pointed out, his hand on his chin. "Maybe we should just bust our way out. Tsubaki, transform!"
Tsubaki nodded, closing her eyes in concentration.
Nothing happened.
"I...I can't transform."
The other's stared at the female ninja in shock. Soul and the Thompson sister's quickly attempted to change into their weapon forms but after a few excruciating seconds, they realized it was hopeless.
"Ahe hehehehe! This is not good." Patti laughed, nervously.
"So, how are we supposed to get out of here?" Maka asked the question on everyone's minds.
Silence.
"You know, this place reminds me of something." Kid suddenly said, crossing his arms as he thought.
"Like what?" Soul asked, sitting up on the bed.
Kid didn't reply right away. He stood staring at the wall, frowning in concentration.
Seconds ticked by.
The shinigami suddenly stepped forward, grabbing a picture frame hanging on the wall and moving it a millimeter to the right. "There."
Everyone sweatdropped.
"That was it!" Liz yelled, her fist clenched in anger.
"No, it was bothering me though." Kid replied, a satisfied look on his face. "As I was saying, chichiue used to like to play this board game when I was younger. He claimed that it would teach me problem solving skills that would help me in the future."
"Something tells me he just wanted to play a game." Soul deadpanned, propping his arm up on one knee.
"Perhaps." The shinigami conceded, sitting down on the edge of the bed. "But it was a mystery game and you had to deduce who the murderer was. It was called 'Clue'."
"I remember that game!" Maka gasped, standing up suddenly. "And the characters that you played...they had the same names as the ones we're meeting right now!"
"Are you serious?" Liz asked, looking between the two technicians. "We're stuck in a real-life murder mystery game?"
"It appears so." Kid said grimly, looking up.
"Maybe the only way out is to find out whodunit?" Black Star asked.
"Seems to be the only thing that we can think of right now." Tsubaki answered, yawning. "I think we should all head to bed and get some rest. We can tackle this tomorrow."
"Sounds good." Soul grunted, flopping back down onto the bed.
They all said their good nights and left, leaving Kid and Soul alone in their room.
Together.
Soul opened the wardrobe, pulling out some pajamas and throwing them at the shinigami. They smacked him in the face and fell to the ground, leaving Kid's glaring yellow eyes shooting daggers at the scythe weapon.
"Put some pj's on sweetheart." Soul said, his voice dripping with sarcastic honey. "I'm not sharing a bed with you naked."
Kid blushed slightly, picking up the pajamas. Soul nearly had a heart attack when he turned around to find the shinigami taking his shirt off right there. All slow and sensual-like, his muscles rippling as he pulled off his button up shirt and tossed it into the laundry chute.
And was he smirking?
Soul opened his mouth to say something. Closed it, opened it, closed it. He was gaping like a fish out of water. When Kid started to unbuckle his belt Soul pulled himself together and, with an irritated growl, he turned around and headed to the en suite bathroom to change. He was pretty sure he heard Kid's soft laughter follow him inside.
'Jackass.'
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Sharing a bed was not something Soul was used to. Sure, his bed at home wasn't quite this big, but he didn't have to share it with anyone and he liked it that way. Not only that, but Kid was not the greatest person to be stuck sharing a bed with. The man was violent. He hogged the blankets, sprawled out all over the damn bed and at some point in the middle of the night he somehow managed to elbow Soul in the face and kick him in the groin.
Unfortunately for Kid, Soul kicked back.
After he recovered of course.
And so, the morning after their first night sharing a bed together, the two young men awoke with a few small bruises and a large helping of grumpy on the side.
On the bright side, neither of them snored.
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"You two look horrible." Black Star said cheerfully, clapping them both on the back. Hard.
"If my bedmate wasn't so violent..." Soul muttered petulantly.
"You kicked me back." Kid pointed out, nursing his bruised elbow.
"I'm not putting up with you beating me in my sleep. It's domestic abuse." Soul retaliated, rubbing the side of his face where a bruise was appearing.
"They're fighting like a married couple already." Liz teased, giving them a sly look.
"Married couple, married couple!" Patti parroted, handing them each a steaming cup of coffee to wake them up.
"Mrs. White says we're all meeting in the lounge." Maka interrupted as she entered the kitchen. Colonel Mustard's corpse had been moved some time in the night. None of them knew where. "What happened to your face?" She asked, looking at Soul.
The weapon mumbled something about violent shinigami's.
Patti led them to the lounge. This room was also quite large, though it was nothing compared to the ballroom. There were several squashy armchairs as well as a couch and love seat. There was a mini-kitchenette to the side and a large fireplace at the back wall. The room was clearly designed with comfort in mind.
"Wonderful fireplace isn't it?" Mrs. Peacock asked, watching Soul. "They're those new electric ones, you know. Turn themselves on at certain times of the day. This one usually starts around 12:00 in the afternoon."
"...Fascinating."
Almost everyone was there, the only one's missing being Mr. Green, Ms. Scarlet and Black Star who had gone back to his room to grab a sweater for Mrs. Peacock. Patti was filtering in and out of the room with trays of pastries and other finger foods.
"I'll go look for them." Tsubaki declared before exiting the room.
Everyone was still tense and silent, looking anywhere but at each other. Ms. Scarlet filtered in a few minutes later, but the tension still remained. Black Star returned with the sweater and Mrs. Peacock cooed and giggled over him, thanking him for being such a gentleman. The male ninja looked like he was going to be sick.
"Well, while we wait I guess I will fill you all in on my findings regarding the Colonel." Professor Plum said, breaking the silence. Everyone's eyes turned to him and he pulled out his handkerchief, nervously cleaning his glasses again. "It looks like it wasn't poison, but an extreme allergic reaction."
"You mean he may not have been murdered? It might have been an accident?" Maka asked, a look of relief on her face.
"It's starting to look that way." Professor Plum nodded and the tension in the room deteriorated slightly.
"I'm so glad." Mrs. White said breathlessly. "I didn't want to accuse someone of murder."
Soul was silent. He wasn't so sure. The fact that Colonel Mustard was about to announce his successor to a large sum of money and a profitable business seemed too coincidental to him. The timing was just too perfect.
As though proving his thoughts right, a scream echoed throughout the mansion, causing a few people to jump in their chairs.
"What was that?" Mrs. Peacock whispered, her hand clutching her chest.
Black Star was up and out of the room before she had even finished speaking, the rest of the group on his heels. That scream had definitely belonged to Tsubaki.
They found the female ninja in the conservatory. She was shaking by the entryway, her hands clasped in front of her and her face pale.
Black Star was about to grab for her when Professor Plum shoved him to the side and grabbed Tsubaki's hands. "My love, what happened?"
"Over there." She pointed a shaky finger towards the stairs. The conservatory was two floors, the second floor being a loft with a seating area. At the foot of the stairs lay the crumpled body of Mr. Green, his arms and legs sticking out at awkward angles and his head twisted one hundred and eighty degrees.
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"This is crazy, someone is killing us all off, one by one!" Mrs. White said shrilly.
They were back in the lounge after Soul, Kid and Black Star had dumped Mr. Green's corpse with the Colonel's in one of the unused bedrooms at the far end of the mansion.
"But why, why would someone do this?" Mrs. Peacock asked, clutching her feathered boa in her hands.
"It's obvious, isn't it? Someone is after the inheritance." Liz announced, standing next to Patti by the fireplace.
"So what, they're going to kill all of us off because we're all competition?" Ms. Scarlet asked, nibbling on a biscuit.
"I don't see how you're competition." Mrs. White said scathingly, glaring at Ms. Scarlet. "You're not connected to the family at all. You were just my husband's secretary."
"With benefits on the side." Kid heard Mrs. Peacock mutter next to him. He filed this piece of information away with a significant glance at Soul who nodded almost imperceptibly.
"Okay, we need to figure out who the most likely suspects are." Maka sighed, tapping her chin. "Who was the most likely to receive the inheritance?"
"I would say either of our sons." Mrs. White said after a moment, her gaze switching between Soul and Professor Plum.
"I didn't do it." Soul grunted, crossing his arms.
"Nor I." Professor Plum added, shaking his head.
"Well of course you wouldn't admit it." Mrs. Peacock said, sipping her coffee.
"But it might not be them at all, maybe it's their significant other's wanting to make sure that they got a portion of the inheritance." Mrs. White added.
All eyes turned to Kid and Tsubaki.
"Or maybe the Colonel's wife is greedy and doesn't want to share." Black Star pointed out, glaring at the older woman.
"We can sit here pointing fingers all day. The fact of the matter is that we don't have any significant clues." Tsubaki cut in, sensing the tension escalating in the room.
"All we know is that whoever killed the Colonel knew what he was allergic to. We can also note that whoever killed Mr. Green had to of been rather strong to do so. The man might have been old, but he was not small by any means." Kid pointed out, his voice quiet.
Everyone pondered this information.
"That still doesn't help much." Black Star muttered with a sigh.
"All we can do right now is try to be more vigilant. Anything suspicious should be investigated." Maka said, looking around at the others.
It wasn't a very comforting plan.
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Soul lightly ran his finger's along the piano top. He finally got a moment to himself and he gratefully took the opportunity to escape to a quiet area of the house. He was currently in the L-shaped billiards room where one end had a pool table and around the corner was a piano along with various other instruments such as a cello, violin and saxophone.
Maka had saved up all her money and bought him a piano for at home. She knew he didn't like to play in front of others (too many bad memories), but at least with one at home he could have some privacy. When he had shed his previous background, he couldn't quite discard the piano. It was such a large part of him and it had helped shape who he was now.
Maka thought that he only played for her. She was like a sister to him, family, and he had eventually grown accustomed to her sitting on the couch and listening to him play while she sipped some tea. What Maka didn't know was that she wasn't the only one who enjoyed listening to his melodies.
Soul sat down on the bench, running his fingers along the keys. He looked around the room, his eyes scanning to make sure no one else was around. With a small smile, he began to slowly play, a mournful and haunting ballad that pulled at the heart. As he played, Soul remembered the first time Kid had heard him play...
Soul slammed his hand down on the keyboard in frustration before putting his head in his hand. He'd been working on this composition for awhile now, and for some reason it just wasn't coming together. It was missing something, but he couldn't for the life of him figure out what.
Maka had gone out shopping with the girls and he had decided to work on his composition for the few hours that she would be gone. With a sigh Soul scanned his handwritten sheet music, crossing out notes here, adding some more there. He got up and grabbed a new cup of coffee, taking a few sips before starting in on it again.
He was so absorbed in his music, he didn't hear the quiet knock on the front door, nor the sound of it opening and closing.
He finished playing his song (dammit, it still didn't sound right) and Soul rubbed the tiredness from his eyes.
"That sounds amazing." A voice said from behind him, causing him to give an undignified jump.
"Kid. What are you doing here?" Soul asked, suddenly nervous. Did he hear him play?
"I thought I'd come to warn you that Black Star is planning on putting aphrodisiac in the drinks tonight." Kid replied softly, reminding Soul of Tsubaki's birthday party that night.
Soul smirked. "I wasn't planning on drinking anything he gave me anyway. I always bring my own booze."
Kid nodded, sitting down carefully on Soul's couch. There was a moment of awkward silence.
"Uh...is there anything else I can do for you?"
Kid was staring at the coffee table with that look in his eyes again. Sure enough, he sat forward and began to shove it more to the left. Soul rolled his eyes.
"You can continue playing, you know." The shinigami said, frowning down at the coffee table. "I already heard most of it, it really was beautiful."
Soul blushed, looking away from Kid. "I'm not happy with it." He finally admitted, glancing at the shinigami out of the corner of his eye.
"Oh really?" Kid replied, looking up from the coffee table. "I've had some training in music myself, I play the cello. I'm not a prodigy like you, but I know the basics. Go ahead and play me the whole thing, maybe you just need another point-of-view."
Soul hesitated. He hadn't played (purposefully) for anyone else in years. But this composition was really bugging him and for some reason playing for Kid didn't seem so bad. With a stiff nod Soul turned back to the piano and began to play. The shinigami finished nudging the coffee table a few inches up and moved to stand behind Soul, leaning over him to stare at the sheet music. The weapon suppressed a sudden shudder, the warmth radiating off the shinigami making him hold his breath.
Kid nodded as the song came to an end. Soul looked up at him, waiting.
"I see." The shinigami said before turning on his heel and marching out of the apartment.
Soul blinked after him.
Kid returned about fifteen minutes later, lugging a large case behind him. Soul guessed it was his cello and he wondered how he managed to get the damn thing up the stairs.
"Play." The shinigami demanded once he set up his instrument.
"Uh...yes master?" Soul said uncertainly, turning back to the piano.
He began to play once again only this time Kid joined in on his cello. The shinigami's instrument was more of a background melody to Soul's main one, but they complemented each other perfectly. There were some mistakes here and there, where Kid wasn't prepared for the change in tempo, but once they wrote out some sheet music Soul knew it would be perfect.
When the song came to an end they both looked at each other.
It was the start of something, Soul just didn't know what.
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Kid walked down the hall, pondering. Whoever it was that was murdering people was doing a damn good job of it. There just weren't very many clues to go on. With a sigh, he turned down the hall stopping when he heard a familiar melody. Someone was playing the piano in the billiards room. Kid didn't need to guess who.
With a small smile he headed towards the room. He liked watching Soul play the piano. His music always came from the heart and he just seemed so relaxed whenever he played. Kid entered the room quietly, so as not to disturb the weapon. He rounded the corner and stood back to watch Soul play. The light from the lamps were shining on the piano, lighting up the scythe's face. The sleeves of his suit were rolled up to the elbow, his tie slightly loose and the jacket unbuttoned. His eyes were closed, playing the song from memory.
Kid felt his heart rate speed up slightly at the sight and his face flushed. Soul looked strangely angelic considering the melancholy music he was playing. Kid pulled himself together as the song came to an end and the weapon slowly opened his red eyes. He blinked as he looked at the shinigami, frowning.
"Why do you always sneak up on me like that?" He asked, trying to look angry but the small quirk at the side of his mouth spoke volumes.
"I didn't want to interrupt you." The shinigami shrugged, stepping forward to stand behind the weapon. "Was that a new song you wrote?"
Soul moved over so Kid could sit next to him on the bench. "...Yeah." He grunted, looking away.
Kid placed his hand on the keyboard, pressing a few keys here and there. They were sitting so close, shoulders and thighs pressed together. The shinigami's hand brushed Soul's briefly as he pressed the keys, causing the weapon to stiffen slightly.
"I wrote it for someone." Soul admitted, breaking the silence and looking away, pulling his hands off the keyboard.
"For who?"
The weapon turned back to stare at Kid's eyes, the contrast between the red and yellow startling in the light from the lamp. Soul's eyes were flickering with so many different emotions Kid couldn't discern between them.
And when did he get even closer?
"What did you want to meet me here for?" a voice suddenly demanded, causing Kid and Soul to jump apart, the weapon almost falling off the bench.
The two young men looked around the room but they couldn't see anyone else. Kid gestured around the corner and put a finger to his lips, warning the weapon to be quiet.
His heart was still pounding.
He attributed it to being surprised.
Yeah.
"Because I don't want to be overheard." Another voice replied, footsteps getting louder as they neared the corner.
Kid's eyes widened and he grabbed Soul's arm, pulling him behind one of the curtains and shoving him up against the wall, one hand covering his mouth. The weapon glared at him and Kid removed his hand.
"What's the problem?" Ms. Scarlet's voice demanded from nearby. Kid guessed she was sitting on the armchair near the piano.
"I think I know who the killer is." Professor Plum replied, his voice was so close that Kid pushed Soul up against the wall even more in an attempt to stay out of reach, their bodies pressed together. "My kid brother always believed that he deserved the inheritance instead of me."
"You mean Soul-kun?" Ms. Scarlet gasped. "Do you really think he did it?"
"If not him then his stupid boyfriend." Professor Plum scoffed, his voice dangerous. "Father did not approve of their...relationship. I'm sure Soul wants to guarantee that he receives what father would have denied him."
"So what are you going to do about it?" Ms. Scarlet asked, her voice suddenly seductive. Soul rolled his eyes. 'How many people was this woman with?'
"Don't worry, my love." Plum replied, his voice further away. He must have walked over to his companion. "I will turn the others against him."
"Ohhh I love an intelligent man." Ms. Scarlet cooed, followed by noises that Kid and Soul would rather not think about.
The two young men were stuck behind the curtain until the Professor and Ms. Scarlet took their leave. The waited with baited breath as the door closed and they were engulfed in silence.
"Damn." Soul muttered, summing up the situation perfectly.
Kid could feel Soul's breath on his cheek and he suddenly realized how close they were. With a feeling of reluctance he stepped back, his hand brushing Soul's side as he did so. They looked at each other for a moment.
"We should go tell the others." Soul said quietly, stepping out from behind the curtain.
"...Sure."
Why did it feel like he'd missed an opportunity?
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A/N: And here's the end of chapter two! I hope you all enjoyed all the tension between Kid and Soul! :)
For those of you who may be interested, these two songs below are the ones that inspired the piano and cello moments in this chapter. Take a moment to listen to them, they really are beautiful. Just paste these last bits after the regular Youtube URL.
Soul's Song:
/watch?v=nTgK4bNjZxg
Soul and Kid's Duet:
/watch?v=5wkogdMsCKI&feature=related
And to answer your question Rawr, when I was writing this fic I hadn't read far enough in the manga to know who Noah was. Now that I have, I will probably end up writing another fic after this one and if I do he will most definitely be in it!
Please review if you have a moment, it would really make my day!
Stay tuned for chapter three!
Chapter Three Sneak Preview:
"Maka, can you find a light?" Kid asked.
"Already on it." The meister replied, flicking on a light on the nearby shelf.
Soul was laying crumpled on the floor and Kid felt his heart stop at the blood pooled around him, dyeing the edges of his white hair crimson. There was a broken vase laying nearby, pieces of it shoved up against the wall. Kid stepped over the glass, reaching a shaking hand for the weapon's neck to check for a pulse he prayed was there.
I know, I'm evil. Sorry!