Kid paced back and forth in his and Black-Star's room. Black-Star was sitting on the bed, his head following his partner's movements.
"I'm not crazy." Kid stated a moment later, continuing his pacing.
"Of course not." Black-Star responded.
"There has to be an explanation for that voice, it was the same one that distracted me the day of our first run." Kid said, not really directing the statement to Black-Star.
"What is the 'voice' saying anyway?" The star asked. Kid didn't answer and continued walking, muttering several words under his breath. "Kid?" The shinigami crossed his arms in anger and annoyance. "Kid." The other man said more words that didn't make any sense to Black-Star. "Kid!"
"What!?" Kid snapped.
"You need to calm down. You're going to drive yourself crazy if you keep this up." Black-Star stated and stood up.
"There has to be a reason." Kid said. Black-Star was about to say something but their door was knocked on. The star held up a finger, telling Kid to wait while he answered the door.
"What's up Kilik?" He asked the man at the door.
"Tsubaki wants to talk to you guys, she's in the main room." Kilik stated and left without another word.
"What do you think she wants?" Black-Star asked.
"What do you think?" Kid responded and walked away. The star sighed before going after his partner.
"Hey guys." Tsubaki greeted the men. The woman sat on a bench and had her footless leg up next to her.
"How are you Tsubaki?" Kid asked as he was handed a bowl by a man whose name he didn't know.
"I'm good. My foot...the end of my leg, doesn't hurt anymore. It just itches when it grows." Tsubaki reached down and scratched the nub that was now her ankle.
"I give her another ten minutes until her foots completely back." Free stated and gave Tsubaki a bowl.
"Thanks for getting us Black-Star." Kenna said, entering the room with the basketball tucked under his arm.
"You had one job bro, one job." Ryver said and went over to the large pot that sat in the middle of the room.
"Tsubaki has an ankle now." Cylas commented as he limped in with Tyler and Miriah next to him.
"Speaking of ankles, how's yours?" Tsubaki asked the boy as he sat down on the ground beside her.
"Still has a foot attached to it." Cylas laughed and everyone tensed up, waiting for Tsubaki's response to the inappropriate joke.
"I can change that." Tsubaki chuckled and the two laughed together.
"We can be twinsies."
"What the hell is twinsies?" Giriko asked.
"It's a phrase that expresses when two people are wearing the same thing and they are friends." Justin responded and took a sip from his bowl. Giriko just stared at the man beside him with his mouth open.
"So who's going to have an injured foot next?" Kenna asked as she sat down with the large group. "Ten bucks on Ox."
"Why do you think it's going to be me?" Ox asked the girl.
"You haven't gone out on a run in a while." Kenna explained.
"That doesn't mean jack sh-"
"Can we calm down with the cursing while Lance is in the room?" Maka requested while bouncing the baby in her arms.
"Is Giriko going to shave?" Kenna asked and looked at the saw.
"I'll shave when you cut your hair as short as Justin's." Giriko stated.
"Alright, get me some scissors." Kenna said and stood right back up.
"You are not cutting off your hair." Miriah said, trying to pull her girlfriend back down.
"I'll still have some." Kenna stepped over an eating Ryver and went over to a large shelf.
"She isn't going to cut her hair off." Tyler said with the roll of his eyes.
"I will seriously shave if you chop off your ponytail." Giriko stated as he watched Kenna go through the items high up on the shelf.
"You better not be lying, or I'm shaving your face for you." Kenna pulled a pair of scissors from the shelf.
"Kenna, no!" Miriah snapped and started to get up. Before Miriah could stop the girl, Kenna grabbed the ponytail and with a simple snip of the scissors, a large chunk of hair fell to the floor.
"She...actually did it." Giriko said in shock.
"Damn it Kenna." Miriah grumbled.
"Guess I was wrong." Tyler looked like as if he hated to admit it.
"Her hair is shorter than Ryver's now." Cylas commented.
"Looks like you're shaving, finally." Justin added the last word under his breath.
"Told you he didn't like it." Kenna stated as she handed the scissors to a pissed off Miriah and the other girl started to even out Kenna's poor haircut
"You chopped off your hair to prove a point?" Giriko asked.
"No, I cut my hair off so Justin can be happier in his relationship." Kenna answered.
"What?"
"Justin really does not like kissing you with those whiskers on your face and it makes you look older than what you are and he feels weird enough as it is with your guys' age difference." Miriah stopped her snipping and looked at Kenna. Kid's jaw dropped, how could she know that? She's only talked to the men one other time in her life.
"You need to stop eavesdropping." Free stated.
"What? She hasn't been near their room at all." Miriah said.
"So you haven't told anyone? Smart girl." Free chuckled. "Kenna's a bow as we all know and she is able to hear very, very well. She has better hearing than a dog." Kid looked back and Black-Star, that's how the girl had heard them the first day they met her.
"I can't control it." Kenna admitted. "Sometimes I hear everything and sometimes I'm deaf." Miriah gave Kenna a quick peck on the cheek and continued fixing her now short hair.
"You just made my job easier." Someone chuckled.
"What is that!?" Giriko snapped when someone that looked exactly like him stepped into the room.
"Brandon, change back to normal." Free ordered. "You're scaring the twins." He gestured to Tommy and Timmy who were on the verge of crying in Talia's arms.
"But I like this form, except for the moustache." The Giriko look-a-like chuckled.
"Why does everyone hate my moustache?" The real Giriko asked Justin.
"Kenna already explained, it just doesn't fit you." Justin stated.
"Change back Brandon." Free repeated.
"You're no fun." Brandon pouted and slowly changed from Giriko to a short boy.
"Someone needs to explain this one." Kid said and grabbed a chunk of potato from his bowl and ate it.
"This is Brandon." Kenna started.
"His father was a meister." Miriah added.
"And his mother was a witch." Tyler said.
"He has enough magic in him to have the ability to mimic anyone's looks." Ryver said through a mouthful of meat.
"He likes getting me in trouble." Cylas pouted.
"And he's not supposed to use his power." Free finished with a glare at the short boy.
"I wanted to know what it would feel like to look like him." Brandon protested.
"Trust me, you don't want to look like him." Justin chuckled and winked at Giriko.
"You'll end up having to deal with this brat." Giriko pointed a finger at Justin.
"Alright, you're all straightened out." Miriah stated and brushed off some hairs from Kenna's shoulder.
"'Straight' isn't how I would put it." Ryver chuckled.
"I'm getting more girl than you ever will." Kenna said to the boy. Ryver stuck his tongue out at Kenna and she responded by doing the same thing.
"The maturity of five-year olds. I thought that was Cylas' job." Miriah said and put the scissors back on the shelf.
"I do not have the maturity of a five-year old." Cylas protested. Kenna and Miriah shared a look before Kenna reached into her pocket and tossed a candy bar at Cylas. "Candy!" The boy squealed and ripped open the wrapper.
"I want candy." Tommy cried.
"Me too." Timmy added. Kenna quickly pulled out two more bars out of her pockets and handed them to the twins.
"You should have seen that coming." Talia said with a smile.
"Sometimes I don't think things through." Kenna chuckled.
"Now I want candy." Miriah muttered and walked off to the kitchen.
"Tsubaki has a heel now." Cylas commented with his mouth covered in chocolate. He let out a yelp when someone grabbed his injured ankle.
"James, what are you doing?" Talia asked the little boy and pulled him away from Cylas. Cylas sniffed and held his now throbbing ankle, how had that small child hurt him?
"I have toes!" Tsubaki exclaimed and wiggled her new toes in the air. Kid and Black-Star joined the rest of the group in a laugh.
For the rest of the day Black-Star took Kenna, Miriah, Ryver, Tyler and Cylas back up to the roof, playing several games and teaching them a couple of fight moves to get Kenna to stop harassing him about it. Kid volunteered to help clean in the kitchen, getting all of the bowls washed and even helping a man named Gorden cook the dinner. After eating and teaching Kenna how to style her now short hair the gang went to bed.
Kid woke with a start when a loud crack of thunder and a flash of lightning lite the room. He looked over at Black-Star, who was apparently was able to ignore the storm. This was the first time it had stormed since they've been here. The shinigami climbed out of bed and walked out of the room, deciding that a drink of water would make him feel better. Kid was walking through the main room when he heard something.
"Hello?" He said into the darkness, he waited a moment for his eyes to adjust. "Kenna?" Kid went over to the girl. Kenna was sitting in the corner of the room, hugging her knees and shaking with harsh sobs. "Kenna, are you okay?" The shinigami watched as Kenna flinched violently when another crack of thunder struck. "It's just a storm Kenna, it's alright." Kid wrapped his arms around the girl and hugged her.
"Make it stop." Kenna sobbed, leaning against Kid's chest.
"I'm not that powerful." Kid chuckled.
"There are voices Kid." Kenna looked up at Kid, her eyes were dull and wet with tears.
"Voices?" Kid moved his arms and grabbed Kenna's hands. "What voices?"
"They keep talking, they won't shut up." Kenna's grip tightened. "Goodbye Ryver, goodbye Miriah and goodbye..." She swallowed. "Kenna." The girl started shaking again.
"Calm down, it's okay. It'll go away." Kid didn't even know of that was true, he just needed to get the girl to stop shaking.
"It's not going away." Kenna snapped. "Make it stop." She yanked her hands away and pressed them against her ears. "Make it stop, make it stop, make it stop!" Kenna was starting to scream.
"What's going on?" Miriah asked as she entered the room, rubbing one of her eyes. Kenna had fear flash in her eyes and her lower lip started trembling. "Kenna?"
"No, no...No!" Kenna scrambled up to her feet and ran to the stairs.
"Kenna!" Kid and Miriah said together.
"Go get Black-Star, or someone." Kid ordered the girl as he went after Kenna.
Kid ran through the open door that lead to the roof, he had to close his eyes for a second as a harsh wind made his hair hit his face. He opened his eyes, looking for Kenna on the roof.
"Kenna!" He shouted over the wind. "Where are you!?" He took several steps, trying to see past the junk that flew in the air. "Kenna!"
"I'm going to make it stop!" Kenna cried, standing on the edge of the roof. A flash of lightning showed the desperation in the girl's eyes.
"What are you doing!?" Kid walked closer to the girl, but stopped when Kenna took her own step back.
"I want it to stop! It's driving me insane!"
"The voices aren't real!"
"Them why won't they shut up!?" Kenna demanded. She let out a scream and held her head again, almost losing her balance. "I want it to stop, I want it to stop." The girl moaned.
"Come over here, I can make it stop!"
"You said you weren't that powerful!"
"I was talking about the storm!" Kid snapped.
"I don't think you were..." Kenna had new tears streaming down her cheeks. "I'm so stupid."
"No you are not!" Kid clenched his hands, hating how powerless he was right now.
"Look at me Kid, I don't have any hair!"
"You did it for Justin! You were willing to cut off your own hair to make a man you just meet happy. Who else would do that?"
"An idiot." Kenna said and took another step back.
"Who is telling you this!?" Kid asked. Kenna hesitated for a moment before pointing at the DWMA.
"They're saying I'm worthless...that I'm not good enough and all I do is cause trouble!"
"Don't listen to them! They're the trouble, not you!"
"Kid...it's not just them..." Kenna looked down at the ground that was several stories below. "I've heard others...the other teens think I'm weird..."
"There is nothing wrong with being weird! Have you not looked at Black-Star!?" Kid smiled at the girl, maybe using humor would help get Kenna away from the edge.
"He's strong and he's brave. He's not worthless."
"Kenna, please don't do this!" Kid begged.
"Everything would be fine without me..." Kenna clawed at her head, showing that she was being attacked again.
"You can't do this!?"
"I have no other choice." Kenna wiped off her wet face. "Besides...no one would miss me."
"What about Miriah!?"
"She doesn't need me..." Kid heard the crack in Kenna's voice. "They say that she'd be better off without me."
"She needs you Kenna, we all need you! I need you!"
"Kid...we both know that's a lie..." Kenna closed her eyes before stepping off of the roof.
"Kenna!"
I'm crying right now...I can't believe I did this...