The morning that followed, Maka slowly opened her eyes and squinted them against the sunlight that shone through her window and cascaded the whole room with it's pure vibrancy.
Sitting up, she stretched her arms above her head, feeling the tears from last night dried up on her face.
She licked her dry lips and looked around the room as Patty walked in with books behind her back.
"Maka~" She sang slightly, sitting next to her gently, hoping the bright tone in her voice would cheer Maka up.
Maka blinked and looked at Patty. To Patty's disappointment, Maka didn't even smile... Not even a small smirk.
"Yes, Patty? Are we late for school?"
Patty shook her head, struggling to keep the smile on her face.
"Nope. We aren't late. I've just got you something from there."
Maka raised an eyebrow slightly.
"Wow, Patty. You're on a roll. First, the necklace... Oh jeez, please don't spend all of your money on me..."
Patty giggled and set a book bag on Maka's lap.
"Wrongo! I got you books!" She pulled out one and pointed at the cover, reading the title printed on it. "'The Beauty and the Beast'! I know how you like old stories!" She looked back up at Maka, hope tugging her insides back and forth like an uncontrollable wave in an ocean. Maka could only stare at the cover and pat Patty's back, sighing relief.
"Good... This didn't cost anything..." She gently took the book into her hands and flipped through the pages, loving the smell of paper. Maka smiled a bit, which caused fireworks to flare up within Patty's heart. Maka looked back up at her and hugged her.
"Thank you." Her smile grew and she got out of bed, carrying the book with her. "Let's get ready to go, or we really will be late."
Patty nodded and ran to her room, rethinking over the events of the early hours before Maka woke up...
Patty ran up to the school as the sun rose, panting for she hadn't even stopped to take a second to breathe. Once she had reached the top of the stairs, she walked around where she ran into Sid and the strange janitor the night before. Sid waited there, as he had promised he would.
She smiled and bowed in respect.
"Haii Sensei~!"
Sid jumped, startled. He was tired and had dozed off. He looked over to see Patty and yawned.
"Hello, Patricia... I was never really the man to be scared easily, but... You can sweep the bravest off their feet."
Patty could only giggle.
"Thanks! Are we going now?"
"Yes. Right this way." He turned and led her inside, the two of them walking through the corridors.
Silence was over them for a moment until Patty broke it.
"What's that maintenance guy's name? He seemed really nice. But grumpy too."
Sid nodded, feeling overwhelming want to tell Patty and everyone else the Dwma's secret, but kept his mouth shut, knowing it wasn't like the man he once was.
"His name is... Adam. And he was just confused as to how dirty this place can be. He hates the idea of cleaning it. But he had no choice but to take the job. Has a family to feed, y'know."
Patty thought for a moment, a curled finger over her chin.
"Adam...? What a weird name for Janitor people. As I recall, their names are always 'Bob' or 'Jeff' or something like that..." She chewed her lower lip and then giggled, once again, startling Sid. "So what kind of book would you think Maka would like?"
Now it was Sid's turn to think.
"Hmm...Well, you know how she could be a book worm, right? She's read every single book in the library..."
Patty and Sid passed the door that led to the basement. While Patty remained her neutral, bubbly self, Sid felt something within him tugging him towards it, knowing there was someone down there that everyone else thought was dead.
"Well... She really liked the book 'The Beauty and the Beast'..."
Patty gasped and clapped her hands together, similarly to Lord Death.
"Yes! Let's get her that one! She couldn't put it down for hours!"
As they walked farther from the door, Sid felt that something wasn't quite right... He sensed Kid's soul, but it was healthy and not in harm's way... What could it be?
Sid nodded quickly and looked at the door over his shoulder.
"Yeah... Get her that one... She should smile by then..." He froze and Patty stopped walking beside him, looking at him with confused eyes.
"Sensei Sid...? You okay?"
Sid nodded again, slowly.
"Yes." He looked back at her. "Patty, you'll have to go get the book by yourself. I have matters I need to take care of." He turned and ran as fast as he could, running through the basement door.
Patty blinked and then shrugged, walking on to the library.
Sid had ran to Kid's cell, sliding the door open to see Kid's eyes wide and his pale skin covered with goosebumps. Kid slowly looked up at him and breathed heavily.
"My grave... It's been disturbed."
Sid grit his teeth together, knowing he had felt something.
"Shit..."
Kid shuddered and held his head, feeling ultimately disrespected and uncomfortable. "What is this feeling... that is itching across my skin...?"
"Sid..." He breathed, feeling faint. "Make it stop..."
Sid's eyes widened and he inched away.
"I'm going to tell Lord Death quick, Kid. I'll be back soon, I promise."
Kid nodded weakly and Sid slid the door shut, running down the dark corridors and up the steps to the bright ones. He ended up running straight into Spirit, who he successfully knocked over to the ground. Spirit stared up at him in surprise.
"Sid! What the heck-?"
Sid sighed exasperatedly, throwing his hands up into the air slightly.
"Spirit, Kid's in trouble."
Spirit's eyes widened and Sid quickly helped him to his feet.
"Tell Stein and Marie. Quickly. Before Kid get's hurt or worse."
Spirit didn't have to ask what Sid meant by worse. Or else Kid would go back to dead. He nodded and ran down the opposite end of the hall as Sid. Spirit ran into Stein's classroom, slamming the door open. It was still early in the morning, so there were no students yet.
"Stein!"
Stein jerked, startled. He sat in his rolly chair with a beaker filled with tea and was now looking at Spirit.
"What is it, Sempai?"
Spirit acted the same as Sid did, running a shaking hand through his hair.
"It's about Kid... He's... He's gonna..." He bit his lower lip, looking at Stein with worried eyes. Stein instantly got it and stood up, dropping his beaker of tea on the ground, causing it to shatter.
"We need to get Kid out of the cell he's in as soon as possible and get him to his burial ground."
He walked quickly, heading past Spirit, who stopped him.
"What about Marie? Sid said we needed to get her too."
Stein grit his teeth and glared at Spirit.
"Spirit, there's no time for that now. It's either waste time, or kill another student." He pushed Spirit to the side, slightly violently, and ran out of the classroom. Spirit didn't have time to feel hurt by his friend, so he followed after him.
At that exact moment, Sid ran through the door to the Death Room and Lord Death turned to him, wearing his usual robe and mask.
"What is it, Sid?"
Sid breathed in and out heavily from running, his hands resting on his knees.
"Kid's grave has been disturbed. He's so weak..."
Death was silent and behind his mask, his face was filled with complete fear.
"Where are Stein, Spirit, and Marie?"
"I told Spirit to get them both."
Death became slightly angry, clenching his large hands into fists.
"And Kid is...?"
Sid felt regret.
"He's... He's still down there..."
As he said those words, Stein was running down the basement corridors, his white lab coat flowing behind him as he did so.
Spirit tried to keep up, feeling like he was about to have a heart attack if he ran any farther, but knew he couldn't, for it was for the sake of the Dwma's secret.
Stein kicked down the door of Kid's cell, thinking it was quicker than unlocking the door and sliding it open.
Kid was close to unconsciousness on the floor, his skin slick with sweat. His body was shaking.
Stein quickly took off his lab coat and lifted Kid up into his arms, covering him with it. He looked at Spirit over his shoulder, who nodded and took out his compact mirror to contact Lord Death as Stein ran back through the maze of dark hallways.
Spirit breathed on the mirror and traced Death's number on it's surface with a shaky finger.
The surface rang a few times before Death picked up. Spirit can see Sid clutching his cheek in the background, having a feeling that Death had slapped him. On Death's mask was an expression of anger.
"Where are you? Where is my son?" His voice was deep and dangerous.
"Stein is on his way to the cemetery right now, Lord Death. There is no time to get Marie right now, so she isn't aware of this happening."
Death nodded and looked at Sid over his shoulder.
"Go to the cemetery and meet Stein, Sid." Sid nodded and ran out, Death looked back at Spirit. "You go find Marie. I have school to cancel."
Spirit nodded and closed the mirror, putting it into his pocket as he ran out of Kid's cell and down the same hallways Stein had.
Death turned to his length mirror and swiped his fingers across the surface, his masked face appearing on all of the glass and mirror wear all over Death City.
"Shibusen students of Death City, May I please have your full attention please."
Maka and Patty had been walking together down the sidewalk and both had stopped in front of a mirror store, both of them looking at Lord Death.
Patty put a finger to her lips, raising a curious eyebrow.
"I wonder what 'dis is about..."
Maka focused on the large mirror set in the middle on display, holding her books to her chest.
Death took a deep breath.
"Class is canceled for today due to technical difficulties within the school. It may be canceled tomorrow as well, we'll never know for sure until then. These technical difficulties consist of the lighting buzzing within the classrooms, computer's screens are crackling along the surface, and the heat keeps going up without purpose. All need to be fixed."
Patty giggled and Maka looked at her questionably.
"I wonder if Adam is gonna fix all this...Poor Adam..."
Maka raised an eyebrow.
"Adam? Who's-"
And at that moment, lightning flashed and the mirrors and glass shattered around all of Death City, catching Death in mid sentence.
Back at the Dwma, Lord Death flinched in surprise when the surface of his mirror cracked violently along the surface.
"Damn..."
It began to rain as Stein ran across Death City so he pulled his lab coat tighter over Kid's body. His glassed shattered and he hissed through his teeth when some of the larger glass shards cut his cheek as they fell from the frame.
"Shit." He flipped the glasses off his face with the swift movement of twitching his head to the side.
He blinked as his eyes adjusted to the lighting as the once brilliant golden sunlight was replaced by gray clouds filled with rain. Kid stirred slightly in his arms and he felt warm yet chilled because of the sweat dripping down his pale face.
"Hakase..." He muttered weakly.
"We're almost there, Kid. Calm down and breathe."
Kid felt light headed and groaned a little, his throat feeling raw to the point where he can taste blood.
Sid saw them running in the distance, breathing heavily.
He was tempted to say 'Stein, wait up!', but knew better, since the dull pain in the side of his face screamed at him not to.
He grit his teeth and pushed himself to run farther. He gasped in surprise when he sensed the soul of a kishin in the cemetery ahead. And a new kishin, of all the hate in the Death community...
Stein sensed it too and his heart nearly skipped a beat, his eyes going wide for a moment.
It felt exactly like when a witch took off soul protect. Overwhelming evil and madness.
Kid's red eyes snapped open, flashing black for a split second. He suddenly felt... hungry.
"Professor... What is..."
Stein looked down at Kid.
"It's just a kishin... Nothing that Sid and I can't take down."
Stein ran through the gates of the cemetery and froze, looking up at all of the grave markers that faced him. Sid caught up to them and stood beside Stein, breathing heavily despite that Stein's breathing was flawless.
"Where is the bugger...?" He panted.
Stein squinted his eyes, looking around.
"It's..." He sensed the soul and can see a faint red outline of a body hiding behind a grave marker in the shape of a praying angel. His eyes snapped open and nodded his head towards the gravestone. "Behind there."
Sid sighed and took out a pocket knife out from his pants pocket.
"I doubt this will kill it quick enough... but it's worth a try."
He darted from the place he had stood, his once heavily breathing switching dramatically to that of a silent assassin.
I listened to Rosenrot by Rammstein as I typed this . Sets the moment pretty nice ^^ The next chapter will be a thrill, trust me :D