AUTHORS NOTE!
I'm sorry if this chapter seems short or slightly rushed!
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It couldn't be called a kiss...not really. There was a faint moment of contact that could be compared to a light breeze that lasted no longer than 7 milliseconds (Kid had a very acute sense of time and the fact that it wasn't 8 infuriated him). The Grim Reaper angrily shoved Black*Star's boot off his face and stood upon the rubble that used to be the door. The door. THE DOOR. Shattered beyond repair and scattered across the floor, Kid viewed the remains of what separated his closet from the rest of his room. His eyes, that moments ago were soft and loving, issued a glare that could vaporize whomever he stared at. That certain person was Black*Star, the arrogant, loud, and conceited meister from the Star clan.
"Liz," His voice was cold, the exact same tone he used when blood would be shed. "Weapon form."
Liz, still confused about the odd turn of events, just nodded her head instead of attempting to use words. At one point, Kid would have been absolutely repulsed at the idea of using one gun, however, considering the circumstances, holding Liz with both hands would have to suffice. Liz stood and a bright white glowing filled the space where her body was. With a quick flash her body transformed into a pistol that spun in the air and was caught by Kid. As soon as the two made contact a vibrant pulsing shot through their bodies and for a few seconds, the two were momentarily paralyzed.
Black*Star looked at them confused, completely oblivious to what was going on. "So are we going to fight, or what?" He said with a cocky smirk, although he really wasn't looking forward to be hit with one of Kid's soul wavelengths condensed in bullet form again. But then again... two could play at that game. With Kid completely defenseless the smug young assassin took the liberty of hitting the Grim Reaper with the full force of his soul's wavelength. That was all it took to knock them from their trance.
Kid released Liz immediately and threw her across the room to prevent Black*Star's wavelength from affecting her. However, being concerned more with her well being than his cost him dearly, as he took Black*Star's attack head on - with no deflection tactics softening the blow. The force of the attack caused Kid to grunt in pain before dropping to his knees.
"Kid!" Liz yelled in concern before transforming back to flesh and bones and rushing over to her fallen meister. "Are you alright?"
He groaned through his clenched teeth but not wanting to worry her he managed a pathetic smile. "I'm fine." She gave him a disapproving look at his lame attempts to hide his pain. Remembering the dealer of said pain in the first place, her eyes narrowed and she turned and kicked Black*Star's thick skull in.
"Was that really necessary you IDIOT?! And why are you even here in the first place?!" Liz growled.
Black*Star cocked his head to the side and tried to rub the pain from his head, "Of course it was, he challenged me to a fight. I just used my great assassin skills to kick your asses. You're just upset that you didn't win. But its okay, I am the most powerful meister here. You should be glad you even had the chance to fight me."
He threw his head back and laughed, completely oblivious to Liz's quickly approaching signature right hook that smacked him in the face. One could only handle so much of Black*Star's antics before they exploded and bashed his head in. It was a wonder that Tsubaki could handle such an arrogant and ignorant person.
Kid, his mind elsewhere, managed to stand and make his way around the bickering pair and into his room where a web of unprecedented horror awaited him. In his absence a certain part of his room had literally taken a turn for the worse. The assortment of perfectly aligned picture frames were askew, in fact several were hanging from their sides or even dangled upside down. The culprit looked up from where she stood with slight fear in her eyes. Patti dropped the frame that she was currently working on and dashed towards the bathroom with the hopes of escaping. Thanks to the smooth bottoms of her animal print socks and her acceleration she slid straight into the wall right next to the bathroom door before falling on her back.
"Ow..." She rubbed her head and looked up to see one furious Kid looking down at her. "Hehe, heya Kiddo..." she smiled in what she hoped was an innocent manner. His eyes seemed to widen at her reply and his face turned impossibly red.
"Heya? HEYA? That's ALL you can say right now?! Do you see the abomination you have created to my perfectly structured room?!"
Patti opened her mouth and released the only excuse she could create, "I-I...uh...I was framed!"
His eyes narrowed and after a long period of time, which he spent staring his weapon down, he placed his hands against his face and began to massage the stress out of his forehead.
"Out of all the frame related humor you had to go with 'framed'? You're absolutely hopeless."
Patti tilted her head, confused, and for the second time that day, a Thompson sister decided that Kid really needed to get his priorities straight. With another opportunity for freedom offered to her, Patti used the socks that once secured her downfall to instead to provide the glorious escape that she dearly desired. She placed her left foot firmly on the edge of the bathtub and propelled herself promptly towards the door. Kid sighed and he effortlessly shot his hand outwards and seized Patti's upper arm, causing her to skid to a halt. Glancing up at Kid with an apologetic look, she lifted her knee and jabbed him in the nuts. Kid crumpled to the floor, his face contorted in pain as Patti screamed in his face:
"Right in the balls!"
A high pitched squeal was emitted from somewhere in the guttural region of Kid's subconscious and he clutched his crotch desperately. Patti giggled; his face was all squished and tiny, not at all like normal! She tiptoed around the wounded Shinigami and nudged the door shut behind her to hide him from sight. She thought of telling her sister about the funny look Kid made, but decided against it since she was really mad at her and was still arguing with Black*Star.
"How the heck did you get in here anyway?" She growled as she placed her hands on her hips.
"It's unlocked." He rubbed his sore face, slightly annoyed with himself that he didn't use his great assassin skills to dodge her punches. "What are the three of you still doing here? Don't you have class? Stein sent me to come find you guys."
Liz laughed slightly, "You're one to talk. Since when have you ever cared about classes? Like seriously, how many souls do you and Tsubaki have?"
He grinned at her, "It doesn't matter how many souls we have. A big star like me can get as many souls as I want when I want."
Liz sighed, only a true fool - and a fool was something that Liz Thompson was not - would argue with Black*Star and his ego. Just for extra measure, and for ruining the moment, she smacked him upside the head one last time before checking on the presumably locked door that started this entire situation. To her dismay, it still wouldn't budge from their side. She groaned before turning towards Black*Star .
"I don't suppose you have your phone so you could call Tsubaki?" She hoped. Black*Star smirked before shaking his head.
"Nah, Tsubaki said that all the flashing lights in a phone would cause my brain to implode."
Liz nodded understanding what Tsubaki meant, "Yeah, it's the same thing with Patti." She glanced over at her sister who was stuck in her childlike ways. The younger Thompson was humming to herself and playing with the toes on her foot. It was only then that she realized that Kid was missing.
"Hey, Patti, where's Kid?"
With a groan Kid pulled himself into a pathetic excuse of a standing position using the bathroom counter as support. He took a few seconds for the pain to become bearable so he could compose himself. He leaned forward and breathed on the mirror then wrote in the condensation. His father appeared moments later with the usual cheery voice.
"Hiya son! Still stuck in your room I see?" This puzzled Lord Death significantly. Why wasn't the door unlocking yet if it was only a few minor bugs? He shook his thoughts away and let his creased eyebrows relax, placing his attention back on Kid (who was standing with his arms crossed waiting).
"I have a question for you."
Lord Death frowned for a second time underneath his mask, concerned with the slight sense of urgency in Kid's voice. "Yes of course. What is it?"
He paused, not sure how to properly word the most recent turn of events. "Something happened when Liz and I tried to resonate." The skull mask bobbed up and down in what looked like an encouraging nod, so he continued. "When we made contact some type of…current passed through me. I couldn't move, my chest began to constrict and I couldn't breathe. After that passed a warm feeling slowly flooded over me. It took only a few seconds for it to heat up to scalding proportions….and that was it. Black*Star hit me with his soul wavelength before I could experience anything more."
Lord Death was quiet for a moment before he spoke. " Aren't you just adorable! I gotta say, this doesn't happen often to people your age…" He trailed off, letting his words become overtaken by his many flittering thoughts.
"Father…What are you talking about?"
"Well, Kiddo, I have heard of this happening between a meister and weapon before, so it's perfectly normal!" He assured, "This happens when a meister or a weapon develops strong romantic feelings for another." He clapped, "I expect grandchildren!" He yelled while giving a thumbs up.
Kid immediately ended the connection with his father, not only to escape the sudden awkwardness but to also have a moment to think and contemplate over the information he was given. He knew Liz better than anyone (other than Patti of course) and during the years they have spent together she has never taken any interest in anyone. In fact she seemed to go out of her way to avoid physical contact. She was beautiful no doubt, but he never truly cared for looks. He loved her laugh and her childish fear of ghosts and monsters. How she kept him sane when the nightmares came. The way she was always there for him and her stubbornness. Liz…her name brought a smile to his face…why was that?
A pause.
At that moment all the dots connected and everything seemed so simple:
Death The Kid liked Elizabeth Thompson, and he liked her a lot.
"Kid?" There was a soft knock on the bathroom door before Liz opened it and peeked inside. "Are you okay? Patti said you fell and hit your head."
He smirked slightly and avoided her eyes, "Yeah something of the sort." She came inside the bathroom and shut the door behind her.
"Well as long as you are okay." She walked up to him and ran her hand through his hair. To her surprise he seemed quite docile, despite the fact she was disturbing his masterpiece, "Well I don't feel any bumps…" She stop short, meeting his eyes which for some reason seemed pained, "Did I find it?"
"No not yet…a little to the right." Kid closed his eyes as she searched for his imaginary wound, savoring her touch.
"How did you hurt it in the first place?"
"The toilet paper wasn't in a proper triangle. I was bending over and I stood up too fast and I got a little dizzy and well…you know the rest." He grabbed her hand, feeling guilty for taking advantage of her, even if it was small and an almost innocent gesture. "Guess I didn't hit my head as hard as I thought." Liz remained quiet not sure how to wrap her head around this awkward tension in the air.
"Ya know….you never gave me that special kiss you promised." Liz mentioned, although she didn't have the slightest clue why it mattered now since they were no longer locked in the closet. His breath became caught in his throat. It was as if someone had dangled the key to perfect symmetry just out of his reach.
He swallowed, "Yes, I suppose you're right." It was too tempting to let this opportunity pass. Kid lifted her chin with one hand and leaned down making her cheeks flush with color. He paused before her lips and instead moved upwards and kissed her forehead. "But I think that special kiss should be from someone you like instead." He gave her his usual smile and headed for the bathroom door. "Would you mind helping me with the picture frames? Fixing Patti's mess is going to take a long time and a lot of work. I don't think I can sleep until symmetry is restored."
"Sure Kid. Just give me a minute."
She returned his smile, but the moment his back was turned her grin vanished. He shut the door behind him and that was when Liz felt it was safe to let her composure fall. Her body began to shake in short little bursts and she had to stuff her hand in her mouth to keep from crying out. She didn't want to worry the others. This couldn't be happening now, her last attack was over a year ago, she thought that she had finally had this under control. She tried to take slow, deep, breaths but all that came out was a squeaky hiccup. Then the memories came in periodical flashes, and all she could do now was to curl up on the floor and wait until it passed.