Chapter 26 – Harbinger of Horrors, Part 2

Death the Kid

"What was that?" I heard Liz ask, her Weapon form's voice in my right ear.

The sound of the gunshots perplexed me. "That…sounds like us, actually." I muttered.

Patty giggled. "But that's not possible. We're right here!"

"Well I know that, but…" It was kind of hard to know anything here, but I was starting to feel uneasy. "Sai! Where are you?!" I yelled.

There was nothing but silence. Any sound would have been welcomed at this point.

"Do you think she found a way inside?" Liz questioned.

I ran my eyes over the inner wall of debris. "Hmm. Maybe, but looking at this, I'm doubting it. The mess is even more compact on this wall." I paused. "And we only got this far by accident."

Patty giggled, apparently at the idea of her curiosity being an "accident."

The sisters and I covered about half the circle when I noticed a broken crate in the pathway. I knelt down and examined it.

"What's the matter, Kid?" Liz questioned.

I turned part of it over using Liz's Weapon form. "This crate…looks like it's been shot; it sort of…exploded from the force."

There was concern in her voice. "That doesn't sound good, Kid. Someone's got a gun, and it's besides us."

"Hmm." Was Patty's response, her voice serious. "That sounds bad."

"It might be." Muttered Liz, more to her sister than to I.

I kicked the blown-apart crate against the inner wall, and continued walking. We covered another arc of the circle before anything else garnered my attention.

At one point, the ground was a muddy brown, and my boot sunk in slightly. "Ah, that's gross…" I started, picking up my foot. It was then I realized the ground was soaked with blood; it bubbled up when I squished in it.

My voice caught in my throat; I turned and my eyes followed the trail of blood behind me, and to the right.

A black ribbon fluttered from the ground. The ground was stained a muddy brown and there was a pile of black and white clothing.

All I could do was stand and stare.

My hands warmed and the sisters returned to their human forms. My hands were still cupped in trigger position out of shock.

"Sai!" Yelled Liz, running over to her. She flipped Sai over and I could see the damage. There were two major impact wounds on her abdomen, and her blood was running out and over the ground.

I sunk to my knees in what dry dirt was available in the area. I couldn't help by stare at the damage; I couldn't bring myself to look away.

Sai was a bloody mess; and I hadn't been there to try and prevent it.

My thoughts were harsh: She's like this because of me. I let her go alone. What do I do now?

Liz shook my shoulder. "Kid! Pull it together. We've got to get her back to the school."

"She's dead." I responded robotically.

She was trying to reach me, but the fog of shock was thick. "What? No, she's not dead. Come on, get your head together." Liz patted me roughly on the right arm.

I thought I nodded, but I wasn't sure I was actually responding.

Those noises…the gun shots…did I shoot her? Was that me? I wondered.

I grabbed my hair, doubling over. "It was me…those gun shots…it was me."

Liz grabbed my shoulder, and shook me harshly. "You and I know that's impossible, so shut up and help me." She pushed me. "Turn around and carry her piggy-back, you're the only one strong enough to do so."

I nodded absentmindedly. I wasn't sure what I was volunteering for at this point.

The walk back had been worse than expected. It was not that she was heavy, or that I was disturbed by the blood, but that I constantly feared she had stopped breathing. I finally reached the point of having Liz and Patty keep tabs on her vitals every few minutes.

I tried to play down the situation at Shibusen, but I was seen by at least a dozen curious students when we arrived. It was hard to not notice me – as well liked as I was – carrying a bloody student on my back. We were met at the infirmary by the nurse that had cared for me several weeks ago, and she remembered Sai.

"Poor thing." She told me. "I hope Professor Stein can sew up those wounds in time." She nodded, calling Stein at his lab. "She's probably lost a lot of blood."

Blood. I remembered the squishing sound of the ground, and I grabbed my mouth in nausea. I wasn't going to view mud the same way, again.

***

The nurse contacted Sai's family – which was just Soul – and our friends gathered quickly. And he was the one I was dreading to face.

The look in Soul's eyes was obvious. I was in for a number of angry words from him. Even though he was shorter than me, in his dark shirt and jeans, he was intimidating. Anyone else would have been afraid to be confronted by him. He stormed down the hall as soon as I was in his sights.

And even I at this moment was a bit fearful of his actions.

He grabbed the front of my jacket, wrinkling it and my starched white tie. "How could you let her get hurt? How? Answer me!" He demanded of me.

"I didn't mean for her to…" I whispered. I had no recourse in this.

Soul shouted at me. "I don't care what you meant! How are you going to fix this?!"

I hung my head, and lowered my eyes. "I don't know…" I mumbled.

He inhaled and he let lose a sob. I could see tears wheal up in his ruby eyes. They reminded me of Sai, and it made my own heart hurt. "She's like my sister…why did you let her get hurt?!"

"Soul…" I heard from behind me. It was Spirit. "Go rest. It might be a long night."

Soul sniffed and released my coat. He shot me a look of hatred, and I watched him walk down the hall to join Maka. I also got a dirty look from her, but it had less impact on my emotions than Soul's outburst had.

"Soul…" I started, but was cut off.

"Kid. We need to talk." Spirit's voice was deadly serious.

I turned and looked at him. "What…?" I asked my mind in a fog.

Spirit left his hands in his pants' pockets, but he did not appear relaxed. "Stein says the wounds…are from a Weapon…actually, a Weapon pair – very much like the Thompson sisters, in fact."

My mind attempted to wander away. Then I did shoot her…did I? I don't remember… I didn't! I know I wouldn't do that!

I attempted to act nonchalant. "What are you saying?"

He sighed, and looked disappointed. "Anyone else would have already been escorted to confinement, but because your Shinigami-sama's son, we're giving you the benefit of the doubt." He paused, and bit his lip. "And because Liz and Patty have legally stated that you three were not involved."

I grew agitated at the idea of people asking them questions behind my back. "Legally? What did you ask them?" I paused, starting to see the problem. "What are you saying, Spirit-san?"

Spirit's face was hard, as was his voice. "Unless Sai can corroborate your story, the Security Committee has stated you are going to be put under confinement for attacking her." His voice trailed off. "And if…"

My voice cracked. "And if, what?"

His eyes were unfriendly. "And if she dies, you will be held over for trial."

I ran over the issues in my head: my girlfriend's been sshot, my friends hate me, and I'm in trouble with the law. I was pretty sure it wasn't going to get much worse.

One should never think that, I then remembered.

"Spirit-kun!" I heard from the hall behind me. "What happened?!" The voice cracked.

That voice. I know that voice. And…I hate it…

I turned and saw it was Justin. He walked up to Spirit and me, and ignored my presence for once. I then noticed he was sobbing like a child.

Like when I was little; his actions evoked the memory in me.

But what was worse, was that I was so confused. I was having trouble fitting the pieces together. Doesn't this guy hate Sai? Am I still at the insanity factory, because I'm pretty sure most of the world's gone mad at the moment.

Spirit's attitude changed completely, and he stepped around me to comfort Justin. "I'm sure everything will be okay, isn't that right, Kid-kun?" He addressed me, but his words felt like a farce.

I started at Spirit, and nodded automatically. I couldn't figure out what else to do.

It was then that I realized he expected her to die.