Chapter 3: A Guilty Distraction

"Work is hard. Distractions are plentiful. Time is short." -Adam Hochschild

Kid felt quite empty as he roamed the hallways of Shibusen. His shoulders felt numb as an unfamiliar feeling came through them. Usually they would've been pressed by a pair of elbows, making him feel uncomfortable because of his claustrophobia, but now it was just empty space.

Sure, those elbows made Kid shiver in disgust, but now Kid longed for those elbows beside him because he just felt empty like a void that needed to be filled. Liz and Patty were those elbows. They were his companions, the people who would stay by his side. They made him feel comfortable and satisfied because of his longing for symmetry and their feeling of friendship and trust towards each other.

Kid paused as he felt a dark thought creep into his mind. The doubt and sadness clouded over his mind making his eyes turn wet. He shook his head ignoring his up incoming thoughts and concentrated on his search.

Finding the lockers in Shibusen was quite hard, thanks to the countless hallways and many crossroads. Kid sighed slightly tired as he felt an ache in his ankles. Earlier, it was physical education and Kid had to do countless splits and sprints. Luckily he managed to get through those brutal trainings. Wiping the sweat on his bangs, he gave a disappointed groan; later he was going to have a physical test.

He raised his eyes away from the chessboard-like floor and glanced at the image in front of him. The peach coloured walls enclosed the long path, as blocks of silver were lined up across those walls. Kid's eyes widened realising those blocks of silver were the lockers.

Quickly, he sprinted forward, passing in between the silver lockers. His eyes narrowed at his surrounding; trying to find his locker. He really needed to find his math textbook for the next period. The last time he forgot it, Stein tried to dissect him.

Shivers came in his spine when that memory flashed in his thoughts. The sharp scalpel gliding over his skin and the marker marks so asymmetrical and disorganised. He almost cried when the blade started to draw blood. Luckily, his father interrupted Stein's 'punishment' and tried to kill his professor. Unfortunately, Stein survived because he stated 'It was a punishment because he was so forgetful. This was only a reminder for him to never forget his textbook.'

In the end, Kid never forgot anything. He paused his feet; once he saw a locket with a skull imprint. It was the cleanest and most organised-looking locker. His fingers came around the silver compass-like knob. He twisted the lock till he heard a click and opened the small metal door.

The small room behind the locker door contained his books and things. They were very organised in multiple built-in shelves. He scanned his eyes through the books and notes trying to find the thick red textbook.

'A….B…C…' Kid thought as he analysed the shelves.

He always kept his books in an alphabetical order. From the upper left to the bottom right of the shelves, it was the alphabet of titles. His thoughts finally came in the letter 'M' as his finger touched the spine of the textbook. He pulled the book leaving a wide space in his shelf.

The book was very heavy on his palm making his fingers shake. Usually the book would've only made a slight sting in his bones, but now it made a painful wound with small drops of blood. His skin must've reopened from his healing scars…..the scars from….last night..

Immediately his nails dug in the book's surface, so hard the he felt his blood start to dropped out of his inner nail. His eyes were wide and his mouth gaped ,slightly open. The pain in his limbs started to ache again; he could feel the glass still pricking his skin. The memory of that night was a blur but he could still remember the pain, guilt, and tears. The next morning after that painful night was worse when he saw Liz and Patty's eyes.

They looked terrified…..of him.

Kid decided to ignore the emotions rushing in him and analysed his bleeding finger. The blood looked bright over his pale skin as it left a trail of fading crimson. The ruby drop flowed from his palm and to his wrist till the liquid fell on his textbook like it was parachute that gave a burst when it crashes a hard surface.

The bloody stain wasn't clear on his book, in fact, it almost seemed invisible. Only a smudge, a shade darker than the red of the book, was soiled on the book's cover. His eyes squinted on that stain; he analysed it very carefully. The stained seemed wet and crumpled; that was strange, the book's surface was dry and made out of thick cardboard, impossible to dry. Unless….

His finger touched that crumpled wet texture….it felt soft and soiled. It was slightly slimy making Kid shiver, but then he realised it was the same feeling as touching wet paper. His fingers wrapped around that soiled stain, and saw a crumpled wet ball of red in his palm. He uncrumpled it and the ball turned into a slightly flat piece of red paper. It read in inky black writing:

'You're smart but not smart enough to avoid me forever. We will meet!'

Even if this was the seventh message this week, the note still gave him shivers. His fingers were shaking on his grip making the paper rougher. The fears coming into his mind almost made him cry and break down, but he shook his head, ignoring his fears, and tore the note half, leaving him with two red strips.

"Kid!" A rather familiar voice interrupted his emotions.

Kid turned, and saw a familiar mop of blue in a distant. The figure was hopping and jumping in his direction. Kid sighed in an irritated voice. It was BlackStar….again. This was the tenth time he saw that annoying ninja demanding a fight. BlackStar's face seemed excited but his eyes gave a serious and determined fire.

And yet even if the shinigami felt annoyed with the boy, he still felt guilt. Kid would always avert his eyes away from BlackStar because of his growing shame and guilt. His gaze stayed on the ground as BlackStar leaped in front of him. Perhaps this is why he was avoiding the other meister, he felt guilty and annoyed; emotions that could really make one's mind break.

"I DEMAND A FIGHT!" BlackStar pointed a finger at him, as he started to feel small drops of water on his cheek.

Kid raised his head and tried to give a strong face. "You're not worth fighting with."

"Oh really!" BlackStar grumbled in an angry voice. His fist came flying to Kid's face, but Kid dodged his fist by tilting to his right.

BlackStar proceeded to give another punch, but Kid gave a kick in between his legs. Kid smirked as BlackStar gave a whine and lunged at him again. In an instant, Kid dodged his tackle making BlackStar fall on the wall beside him creating a large crack as dust started to cloud over the hallway.

Their battle was quite a mocking one with BlackStar throwing attacks and Kid dodging and playing with the ninja's mind.

"Give up, yet." Kid said in a bored voice. BlackStar kept breathing tiredly as he sunk to his knees.

BlackStar gave a growl at Kid's mocking attitude. "SHUT UP!"

Kid gave a fake yawn making BlackStar furious. "Perhaps-"

The shinigami gave a yelp of surprise as the other meister managed to tackle his body. Kid's back hit the cold marble group as he felt BlackStar's hand around his wrists binding his arms on the ground. The ninja sat on his chest as he gave a groan of pain because of the other meister's heaviness. BlackStar had a grin of satisfaction as he raised his free fist, ready to punch the shinigami's face.

A loud cough interrupted BlackStar's move.

The two meisters turned and saw Soul standing awkwardly avoiding his eyes on them. "Ummmmm…." Soul said in an awkward voice. "Stein sent me to get you….guys…..but I see….you're…ummmm…busy…"

Kid took advantage of BlackStar's unfocused state and quickly pushed the boy off him. He brushed the dust off his clothes, while BlackStar stood up from the ground with a proud smile.

"HAHAHAHA….." BlackStar laughed as he puts his hands on his hips. "I beat Kid!"

The shinigami ignored the boy's pride as he dusted his sleeves. The fight had been a good distraction from his emotions. It gave him a rush of excitement and adrenaline. It almost made him forget his guilt and fear.

Almost, because distractions are temporary breaks from reality.

Disclaimer: I do not own Soul Eater

Author's note: I'm sorry that this chapter might seem draggy and short. It was suppose to be longer but I didn't want to give you guys a long wait. Thank you for reading and please review on what I have to improve.