Cylas eventually gave up and fell to the ground, sobbing harshly. His small frame shook violently as he fought to keep some composure and losing horribly.
"We need to get back home, the others are probably starting to worry." Tsubaki said after listening to Cylas cry for a very long and painful minute.
"Are you okay Kenna?" Miriah asked her girlfriend.
"I'm fine." Kenna whispered and took off.
"Black-Star, get Ryver and Kid get...him." Tsubaki gestured towards Joey's before going after Kenna.
"Come on, Cylas." Lexi helped the boy stand up. "It's time to go home."
"I want Ryver to be here." Cylas said softly.
"Who doesn't?" Lexi responded ever softer and lead Cylas away from his spot. Cylas glared at Joey's body as they got closer to it.
"Murderer." He hissed hatefully. Cylas spat on the corpse and continued on with Lexi.
Tyler gathered the deceased boys' bags and emptied Joey's barely filled bag into the other two. He stared at Joey's bag for a minute and with a frustrated shout and chucked Joey's bag as far as he could.
"Worthless." He said to the thrown bag and joined the leaving group.
Liz and Patty returned to their human form. Liz took one of the bags from Tyler and held her sister's hand as they walked off with Tyler.
Black-Star threw Ryver over his shoulder without a sign of struggle and not caring about the large amount of blood that was soaking through his shirt. The star could easily change when they got back.
Kid pulled out the knife in Joey's face and cleaned it off with a cloth he pulled out of his pocket. He put the bloody cloth over the grotesque face.
"Idiot." The shinigami stated before grabbing the large boy's foot and dragging him across the ground. Joey wasn't worth getting blood all over him.
The long walk back was silent until they finally reached the fence and Kid had to throw Joey's body over it.
"We just buried Jose and now we have two more bodies." Kenna said as she watched the boy's body land on the ground with a loud 'thud'. "And I feel like a horrible person for being happy that one of them is dead."
"It wasn't worth it." Tyler stated and looked over at Black-Star walking with his deceased friend over his shoulder.
"Not at all." Miriah agreed.
"Look at Cylas." Tyler pointed at the other boy who was leaning, heavily, against Lexi. There was no color on Cylas' face and he looked like her could get sick at any moment.
"He looks like Talia did after Quinn died." Kenna commented.
"He feels like a part of him is missing." Kid stated, still dragging Joey's body behind him, leaving a thick blood trail that begun to slowly thin out. The shinigami got strange looks from the teens that were next to him. "When you're separated from your weapon either permitly or for a long period of time, you feel empty." Kid started explaining. "It's as if someone ripped out a large chunk of your heart and told you to live on..." Kid looked over at Liz and Patty, who walked in stunned silence. "It hurts a lot." He said softly as they entered the apartment.
"Two, three, four, fi-you've got to be kidding me!" Free snapped as he watched Black-Star gently putting Ryver down and Kid releaseing J oey's foot. "Everyone go to your room, I'll get you later." He ordered the crowd that gaped at the dead boys.
"Is Ryver sleeping?" Tommy asked.
"He looks like he's sleeping." Timmy added.
"Come on you two, let's go play." Talia herded the boys away with a giggling James in his hands.
"What happened?" Free asked when everyone was finally gone, leaving himself and the run group.
"Joey-"
"Was attacked by kishins. Ryver attempted to save him and ended up losing his life in the process." Tsubaki cut Tyler off. Tyler quickly decided to not ask Tsubaki why she did that and dropped his bag.
"How's everyone else?" Free asked.
"No one else is hurt."
"Physically." Tyler muttered and went over to Cylas and Lexi.
"Three people in one day. This is the highest death rate in one day since..." Free didn't bother finishing his statement.
"One by one." Cylas said with a sniff. "We're all going to die...one...by...one."
"I think you need a nap." Lexi rubbed the boy's back and took him away to his room. Kenna, Miriah and Tyler followed the two, not wanting to be without their main group with one of them gone.
"Me and Patty will sort through what we got." Liz stated, also no longer wanting to be a part of the conversation anymore.
"What's wrong with Cylas?" Free asked as he looked over Ryver's body, wondering why the boy only had a stab wound to his stomach.
"He's upset over Ryver's death. Ryver was his weapon and close friend." Tsubaki answered.
"That boy needs to toughen up." He stated and went over to Joey's corpse. "What the hell is this!?" The wolf snapped after removing the cloth from Joey's face.
"We had to put him out of his misery." Tsubaki quickly responded...maybe too quickly.
"I don't know why you're lying to me Tsubaki and I probably don't want to...just get the funerals ready."
"Thank you." Tsubaki said softly.
"I'm going to go help Liz and Patty." Free left without another word to the other immortal. Tsubaki attempted to walk away but was stopped by Kid grabbing her wrist.
"I want to know." The shinigami stated. "Why did you lie about their deaths?"
"Do you think it's honorable to say that Ryver was killed by one of us? The boy deserves to be remembered as a hero, not someone who was killed by some asshole."
Kid didn't say anything, ho only stared at his friend and wondered what she was becoming. Lying? Cursing? Insulting someone that was dead? That wasn't Tsubaki. That wasn't Tsubaki at all.
"I'm sorry Kid...I'm sorry." Tsubaki shook her head and walked away.
"We need to do something about this." Black-Star stated.
"Yes we do." Kid agreed and took off for the stairs.
"Kid?" Black-Star ran after his partner.
Kid dashed up the steps, taking two at a time and almost tripping at several points as he climbed to the roof. He reached the door that separated him from outside and he saw that there was a lock hanging from the handle attached to a chain that kept it shut. The shinigami grabbed the chain and yanked it off without any trouble and he kicked the door open. Kid ran out to the middle of the roof, shouting at the top of his lungs.
"Stein! Stein! Where are you!?" He screamed.
"Kid!?" Black-Star went over to Kid and wrapped his arms around him.
"Stein! Stein!" Kid continued shouting as the star hugged him. "We need you!"
"Stop it Kid, he's not here. He's dead!"
"Thanks for the support." Kid stopped his screaming and he and Black-Star looked over in unison at the scientist that sat on the small building that the door was attached too.
"Stein?" Kid and Black-Star said.
"Come find me." Stein winked at the men and jumped off to the other building's roof.
"Let go of me." Kid snapped and ran after the ex-professor.
"Great, now I'm seeing him." Black-Star muttered and followed the shinigami.
Black-Star did not enjoy the run. They leapt from building to building and several times going over large crowds of kishin demons that screamed after them as they continued on. The star hoped that Kid was paying attention to where they were going, he got lost after the fifth building and didn't recognize the part of town anymore and he's almost been to every small corner of Death City. Black-Star let out a small grunt as he jumped off a short ledge and landed on a gravel ground, he looked up and saw Kid go into a broken down shed. The star quickly followed, pulling out a knife from his back pocket as he entered the small building.
"Stein..." Kid's shocked voice made Black-Star put his knife away.
"Kid, are you okay...Stein?" Black-Star gasped when he saw Stein laying on the ground, eyes closed and chest barely moving as he breathed.
"Kid...Black-Star?" A woman asked and exposed herself from the shadows.
"Marie." The men said together. They both stared at the woman's face, the face that was once pure of any marks, was now covered in horrible and ugly scars.
"What are you doing here?" Marie asked.
"Stein brought us." Kid answered and looked away.
"That man, I swear." Marie sighed and knelt down next to the scientist. "Always asking for trouble."
"What happened?" Black-Star asked.
"After Stein snapped and I went after him. I found him being attacked by a large crowd of kishins and I tried to help, but I only ended up getting horribly hurt." Marie rubbed her scarred face. "He fixed me up and I refused to leave him while he battled with the madness...he's losing..." Marie sighed. "He's been out for weeks..."
"I think I can bring him back." Kid stated.
"Do you really?" Marie asked as Kid joined her on his knees.
"Truthfully, no. But it won't hurt to try."
"You have no idea what you're doing, do you?" Black-Star asked and sat down on his rear next to his partner.
"None at all." Kid responded and placed a hand over Stein's head and chest. The shinigami closed his eyes and was soon cut off from reality and could no longer hear or see Black-Star or Marie.
Kid slowly opened his eyes and found himself floating down as if in water, but he was not wet. He opened his mouth and took in a breath of air that felt thicker than normal and burned his throat as it went down. The shinigami ignored the pain and flipped himself right-side up, hanging in the air with no floor to land on below. He looked around and saw that everything was a dull gray, a horribly dull gray and he also looked down at himself and found his own skin and clothing gay.
"Stein!?" Kid called out into the emptiness. "Stein where are you!?" He tried to walk forward and only stayed in place. The shinigami swung his arms so he was laying flat and he moved his arms as if he was swimming.
"Kid...is that you?" Stein's voice asked weakly.
"Stein?" Kid stopped swimming and found Stein curled up in the air.
"Where am I?" The stitched-up man asked.
"I wish I knew, but let's get you out of here."
"Do you know the way?"
"Define...know."
"Damn it Kid."
"At least I'm here." Kid chuckled and grabbed the older man's wrist. "Let's just go back the way I came." He suggested and started swimming along with Stein.
"How could you possibly know where you came in at in this empty place?"
"I counted how long I swam."
"Looks like I tought you well."
"No one else could."
The two men swam in silence until Kid jerked them up and they begun swimming upwards. A loud roar made them freeze.
"What the hell was that!?" Kid asked.
"The monster that trapped me." Stein stated as a large worm-like monster raced towards them with a gaping mouth filled with thin and sharp teeth.
"Swim for it!" Kid cried and flailed his arms as fast as he could as he and Stein swam away. "There's a hole!" Kid shouted as the worm neared them.
"I don't think I can make it." Stein gasped, falling farther and farther behind the shinigami.
"Don't you dare say that!" Kid grabbed the ex-professor's arm and dragged the man behind him. Kid reached his other arm out for the black hole as the worm got closer and closer and Stein could feel it's warm breath on his feet.
I had to...I couldn't resist.