YAY! ^3^ I don't know why I'm happy, BUT I AM! Just go with it. -.-
So anyways. First of all, I guess I'm not being very clear - a fault on my part, apologies - on the whole 'suggestions?' thing I've started putting in my end A/N. It means I WANT SUGGESTIONS. -.o Got it? XD If you want a certain one-shot to be written (if you want a fluffy pairing chapter, I'm afraid I'm going to have to decline... :/ I just don't do romance. Kay~?), then review or PM me with your idea. :D
Also, what would you want to see as a story cover for this? Now that the new Image Manager thing is out, I'm definitely going to be using it... o_O
shiskanae242: Thank you! Hope you keep reading!
themaskedmeister13: Wow... ^.^; I'm flattered! *blush* I hope you continue reading the other one-shots as well...
8fangirl8: Aww, I don't know. I keep staring at it with an eye twitch because it's fandom-specific and I've started writing for so many other things. Sigh. Don't worry, I definitely won't change it too much (I mean, I'll keep the 'Kat' part...) so it shouldn't be THAT hard to memorize... ^.^; and I have to say, Bruce is adorable, but I am THOR ALL THE WAY~ *squee* NOT because of his actor. His CHARACTER. -3-
Cyanide 6: Yeah, well, I'll read it, I just won't write it. Whatever. And glad you like them! Kid is so huggle-able sometimes I want to break my screen and dive in... sigh. *pout* Here's more!
Mina888: Oh, sorry I didn't really cover that! I don't know, that was kind of up to your imagination, although I suppose the way I pictured it is because he doesn't like to take his shirt off... XD poor innocent Kid.
Riku Ashwood: Here, I PMed you with the name cuz IT'S A SECRET (le gasp) XD Glad you liked it, Image Manager is confusing I suppose but I'm pretty quick with complicated computer-thingymabobbers so I have it pretty much figured out. ^.^ What do you think should be on the cover?
PooperScooper000: I don't know... XD I don't actually play Resident Evil, it was based off of whatever version my best friend dragged me into playing while I was over at her house. Thank you! (and I love your name lol)
Vampireninja101: Glad to hear it helped you laugh! I know, I was a little depressed and stressed and FREAKING OUT over ensemble auditions (I didn't actually get in, T^T) so I just had to write some OCD stuffs to calm me down. Anything you'd actually want to see on the cover?
Just-Me-and-My-Brain: See my PM. *winkwink nudgenudge*
VilaDeath: Heyyy, old friend! Long time no see! XD "Must... fix... seashell..." btw, I finished the cover you wanted for Shattered: Mirrors... PM me!
Annerizu-san: How so, eh?
Kaoru97: Well, you save an image and then upload it... then when you edit your story upload the picture from your images queue to there. It's complicated... XP
BLAH. I forgot what I was going to say -3- ... OH RIGHT! Some of you may have noticed that my pen name has changed. Sorry, but I was twitching every time I saw my old fandom-specific name, so I changed it to a more broad one... :3
AND DID YOU SEE THE NEW MANGA CHAPTER? KID AGREED TO WEAR AN ARMBAND! A SINGLE ARMBAND! HE'S GROWING UP, OVER THAT DAMN OCD! *huggles so tight he suffocates* cacklez...
Anyways, enjoy!
Don't Cry, My Child
"It's the only way to win! We're outnumbered!"
"No, Kid! If you do, then-"
"NO!"
THRUMMM.
...
"KID!"
"What the-"
"Isn't that Spartoi?"
"Hey, who is BlackStar carrying-"
"Oh no, it can't be!"
"What in the name of Lord Death happened?"
"Is he really-"
"It can't be true-"
"How?"
"Why?"
Maka ignored the voices of her friends, her classmates, and choked back a sob at the last one. Why indeed. Why? Because Kid was a stupid, stubborn, self-sacrificing bastard. And a damn good friend. Too good.
BlackStar practically snarled at the students crowding around the courtyard in front of the DWMA, making them instantly cringe and separate back until there was enough room for him to pass, Liz and Patty on either side. The sisters' faces were blank, and while tears passed silently down their cheeks, their eyes were vacant and faraway. Tsubaki was almost hysterical, Soul was biting his lip and drawing blood thanks to his shark teeth, and Maka was also sobbing, just quietly, with her head clutched in her hands.
However, the head of their little train had only let one tear - just one - escape, and his tanned face was set in stone. The God he'd been so eager to surpass lay dead in his arms, and not even by his hands. Of course he'd never wanted to actually kill Kid before, but still, it was enough to fill him with rage that could level a city block in an instant.
He dreaded that Lord Death's rage would level the entire city in less.
But the father deserved to know, so he continued his trek up the steps and through the halls, knowing and registering but not caring that more students (and teachers) had tagged along onto the end of their little train. Soon they reached the Death Room door.
"What- what now?" Maka hiccuped.
BlackStar didn't answer, just glanced at Liz and Patty. Robotically, the two wiped away their tears (this did nothing - they kept on coming) and pushed open the door. A tiny, chilly breeze twirled out to meet them, ruffling Kid's limp hair and making him look like he was smiling again.
Ridiculous, the assassin reprimanded himself. That's not going to happen. He's dead.
Slowly, the group poured into the guillotine hallway and advanced down the path. At the end, Spirit and Stein rushed up, jaws dropping in shock when they saw the limp and lifeless body in BlackStar's arms. Beyond them... Lord Death waited, facing his mirror (blank) and silent as the grave.
"Lord Death," Maka started with another hiccup and a broken voice. "We're so... we're so... sorry."
He turned, in the time that seemed to take an eon but in reality was but seconds. "... Who?"
"I'm sorry?" the scythe meister asked tremulously.
"Who?" The Reaper's tone was cold as ice. "Who has dared to take my son from me?"
BlackStar spoke up in a growl. "Renegade Kishin souls, aided by a witch. There were hundreds- no, thousands. Far too many for us to take on and we had no time to call for backup. So Kid... sacrificed himself instead with a move that obliterated both the Kishin eggs and all the energy in his soul. We were too exhausted to face the witch, so we came back here."
"Kill her."
There was no remorse, no expression in the words. Without him saying anything, shadow tendrils snaked up from the ground and lifted Kid out of the assassin's grip, carrying him slowly over to Lord Death, who gathered his only son in huge white hands.
"Kill her for what she has done. Stein, Spirit, everyone. Anyone who can fight, obliterate her. Show no mercy."
And then with a bang they were all thrown out of the Death Room. The door slammed shut, then disappeared completely, leaving a blank wall. Maka launched herself at the space, pounding against the plaster with broken sobs. Soul drew her away, still crying himself. "Let's go home, Maka." Slowly the pair walked away, while the rest of the students stared at each other with shocked looks. Whispers broke out, rumors flying already. BlackStar just gritted his teeth and narrowed his eyes at Stein. The stitch-faced meister nodded sharply and moved throughout the crowd.
"Come on, you heard Lord Death! We're going to kill that witch and any and all accomplices. Bring back her soul at any cost."
Cheers rang out, as well over a third of the gathered group took their partners and followed. BlackStar didn't even have to glance at Tsubaki to know she would follow, and he ran along the hallways, reaching a balcony and jumping down to land right next to Stein as he led the charge out of the school. Tsubaki landed lightly beside him, and they kept an even pace with their teacher. "How are we going to get there?"
Stein grimaced. "That's arranged easily."
As if on cue, helicopters flew overhead, summoned by a quick call from Spirit. Sid waved from inside the cockpit of one. Students cheered and began scaling the ropes easily - the DWMA was not a place for weaklings. BlackStar climbed one himself, crouching by the door of one and glaring out at the scenery of the desert with cold eyes. Tsubaki placed a hand on his shoulder and they sat in silence, tuning out the excited, nervous, and angry chatter around them.
"We can do it, BlackStar," she whispered. "Kid deserves it."
"Damn right he does," he snarled back. "But he certainly didn't deserve to die."
She sighed. "He was saving us. He knew what he was doing."
Her meister didn't reply.
Many hours later, they assembled back at school, beaten and weary but triumphant. In Stein's hands were cupped the soul of the witch. He and Spirit gathered before a mirror, Soul and Maka back at their side, and tried calling Lord Death. Nothing appeared in the mirror, until a large white hand snaked out, snatched the soul, and returned with a small ripple. They tried calling again and again, talking to nothing, never getting any answers.
Lord Death had effectively cut himself off from everyone.
"Oh, my son," Lord Death whispered to Kid. "I'm so sorry. I was never a good enough father... you didn't have to die for the humans."
"No, chichiue," Kid's ghostly soul replied mournfully. He wavered in the dim light of the Grim World. "They were worth it. Is not every human soul of equal value to ours, if not in power in spirit? I did my duty as a Reaper. There was never any doubt in my heart."
His father hung his head. Mask and cloak removed, he and his son were equals. In the Grim World, Order ruled. "I'm sorry for not having been there more often. You grew up alone until you met Liz and Patty. I am truly sorry. Your childhood was not a very happy one."
"But still, I found friendship, I found happiness," Kid replied with a small smile. "I never blamed you. I knew your job was much more important. True, sometimes I wished for a father, but then I remembered how good and kind you were to all, the best Grim Reaper that ever lived, and I was comforted. You've had children before, and you will again. I was an anomaly anyways."
"No, you were my favorite son," Lord Death corrected harshly. "Never think of yourself as an 'anomaly.' You were a little... obsessive, but by far you seemed to be the one most likely to assume my position. You'd connected a Sanzu line already! None of my other children have achieved that more than once without dying, and you did so several times*1*!"
Kid laughed, and it echoed in their dark grim space. The Grim World was empty save for them, in this corner that Lord Death had easily cordoned off. "Chichiue, that was an easy feat compared to what I've heard some of your other children attempted. I was truly glad for my time among Earth. Now let me go, so I can be in peace. You must restore Order and find another Reaper child to train. I'm sure they will make you proud." With that, he dissolved into a small shower of golden dust that gathered itself in Lord Death's hands. He nearly cried when he realized it's color.
Gold. The purest color of love and bravery.
So he returned to the Death Room, and from his mirror drew a wooden chest, clasping the golden dust tightly in the other hand, his cloak and mask returned. Opening the chest, a single black tear fell as he glanced over the seven glass jars of different colors of dust - blue, black, red, green, that laughing cyan one of the girl he'd cherished once, and created in his other palm a new glass jar. Carefully pouring every speck of golden essence in, he sealed it tight and placed it in the middle.
Eight jars. Eight children.
And still, only one was gold.
Kid... oh, Kid. His beloved son.
I'm so sorry.
He left the chest open, caressing the tops of the jars, knowing it had been eight days since the Death Room had vanished. Slowly he allowed the door to reappear, hearing the excited shouts as the humans realized he'd returned and rushed in, BlackStar and Maka at their head.
Instead of finding a broken Lord Death, they found a happy one laughing quietly to himself as he gazed into a wooden chest filled with strange glass jars of all colors. Eight jars.
And the one in the middle was gold.
Lord Death waited eight years, exactly eight years, before splitting a piece of his soul off and creating another essence. A tiny baby squirmed in his large white hands, giggling and sucking on a huge white finger, gumming it with a toothless mouth. A girl.
He could see, deep within her, there was a glimmer of gold, shining brightly in her eyes. He'd only ever seen such bright golden eyes in Kid- well, the Kid before this one. He knew he would love her immediately. He knew he'd be a better father than he'd ever been for any of his children.
He owed it to the last Kid.
So over the years, as she grew, he did something he'd never done before. On her birthday (the former Kid's death date), he'd draw out the chest of jars, and show her each one, telling her stories about her siblings. Every time she'd point at the gold one, giggle, and ask "Chichiue, what about that one?" And every time he'd shake his head with an amused air and promise her "You will see, one day."
And that day, almost fifteen years after she came into his life, she succeeded in being the youngest Reaper by far to ever have connected all of her lines.
As Lord Death fades away, he wipes away her tears and slowly whispers everything about the Kid that came before her. His bravery, OCD, all the funny moments, angry ones, how he sacrificed everything for what he loved. Then he gives her the wooden chest and says, right before he fades away completely,
"Don't cry, my child... for your heart is as pure as gold."
*1*I don't know, this is kind of manga verse and kind of anime verse... just go with it XD
GAH all these depressing fics are getting to me... XD well, hope you enjoyed. ^.^
-Kat-
(Thanks to Just-Me-and-My-Brain for the prompt! Remember to PM/review with any suggestions and/or requests/prompts!)