Chapter Four

The Lost and Shared Memories of My Soul

Recovering from that soul resonance that I performed with Blade hasn't been easy. I visited Doctor Stein the day I had woken up from my coma induced by that soul resonance. Apparently, another rip in my soul is forming, and I've been spending more time in the school infirmary than I do at the manor.

As October progresses, I've noticed a startlingly large increase in the frequency and magnitude of the pain waves caused by my torn soul. They've been getting so horribly unbearable that I've been passing out for days, one time for a week. I'm becoming very fearful recently, my hands shaking whenever I feel the first dull wave of pain signaling the arrival of a fresh pain attack. Kid has been trying to help me whenever he can, sitting by my bedside while I'm in my unconscious state after an attack and twice he's held me when I've been in the middle of one.

Blade also shows up every once and a while, each time the concern on his face increasing in intensity. Kid told me Blade barely sleeps at night whenever I spend the night at the DWMA's hospital. He sits on his windowsill staring up at the academy, probably worrying himself sick.

Aside from the problems with my soul, the time I spend at the infirmary has given me lots of free time to think. In a way, it is nice, almost liberating, to be able to sit in a hospital bed all day thinking. I've been thinking about what I saw happen to those girls from the academy. Thinking back to the incident, I realized that before the miester touched whatever the hell that black goo was, she seemed fine. What if the goop was some form of kishin? That could pose a bit of a threat. Whatever it was was capable of traveling through walls, barely even perceptible. Not only that, but it could take on a solid form, and pretty quickly too, if I recall correctly. I talked to Kid about my theory, and I also told Stein. They both said it was possible, but it would need more looking into.

Another thing that has been troubling me is the appearance of the mysterious witch. She hadn't done anything at all except observe, and that made me nervous. If she was watching us, maybe she was able to tell that my soul was in pieces by the way I was fighting and what happened after the soul resonance. Maybe she was after one of us that were there that night. What if she was responsible for the corruption of the two academy girls?

The last thing that had all of us searching for an answer was why the black dog-like kishin egg that had taken Blade stayed alive after Kid shot it so many times and I stabbed it through the chest. Usually kishins will dematerialize after acquiring injuries like that but it still managed to cling to being alive for a short while after. The other miesters and weapons have also been having similar experiences with kishin eggs that they fought. Lord Death is becoming increasingly worried, though sometimes it's hard to tell given his light, happy nature.

One thing I'm glad about is my dad was arrested this morning. Once the court finds him guilty, which they obviously will, I won't have to worry about him hurting anyone, especially me.

Anyways, today is one of the days where I've just woken up from being unconscious, Kid and Blade sitting beside my bed.

"How long was I out this time?" I asked as I sat up slowly and Blade handed me a cup of water.

"About five days." Kid answered as I took a sip of water.

Nygus suddenly entered the room and saw me awake, "Ah, I see you've woken up. Won't be needing this anymore then..."

Nygus came over to the bed and gently removed the IV from my arm that had been giving me nutrients for the past five days.

"Any luck on finding out how to repair her soul?" Kid asked, looking up at Nygus.

At that moment, Stein entered the room, "I'm afraid not. I've tried several theories while she was asleep, but her soul is still broken."

I lowered my gaze to my cup of water and sighed.

Blade leaned over in his chair, his head in his hands. I knew he was trying not to cry.

Kid looked grim (small joke there) as he heard the news from Stein and shook his head.

"For now, all we can do is let Kukuru rest. She'll need her strength to go about and do stuff." Stein said, somewhat ominously.

Kid looked at him suspiciously but got up and with a final glance at me, walked out the door. Blade got up and reached out and held my hand and squeezed it gently. I tried to smile reassuringly at him, and he smiled slightly back and then let go of my hand and left. Nygus nodded in my direction and followed suit. Stein soon left too and I was alone again. Alone with my thoughts.

Drinking the rest of my water, I realized I was sleepy even though I'd been unconscious for five days, so I set my cup on the bedside table, pulled the covers of the bed over my shoulder and fell asleep.

Some time later, I opened my eyes. It was dark in the hospital room; probably nighttime, I thought. I was just going to close my eyes again when I saw something move out of the corner of my eye. My eyes bolted open again and I scoured the room from the safe covers of the infirmary bed. I saw shadows moving on the walls and I began to quiver with fear. They looked somewhat like Trilobites.

My skin crawled as I watched them part from the wall and stretch across the infirmary like the ones I saw stretch between the alleyways in Vegas. I shrieked and I heard loud and fast footsteps coming from the hallway. Suddenly, Stein burst through the doors. He was going to run straight into the gooey stuff but I screamed, "No! Don't touch them!"

Stein stopped abruptly, inches from the nearest... thing, "Why?"

"Those are the things Kid, Blade, Liz, Patty and I saw at Las Vegas! Where all that weird stuff happened!" I said nervously.

"Yes I remember you telling me. But, why mustn't I touch them?" Stein asked inquisitively, taking something from his lab coat pocket.

"I... I'm not entirely sure, but I think that's what caused that miester and her weapon to turn on us." I tried to explain.

Stein nodded thoughtfully, "It could well be."

He moved his hand with whatever he had grabbed out of his pocket towards the nearest creature and poked it with the item. As the thing in Stein's hand began to squirm in his hands, I realized it was an animal; a mouse.

"I think you're right Kukuru." Stein said before the mouse bit his finger, "Ouch!"

Stein dropped the mouse in a container close by and then looked back at me, "It's not safe in here. C'mon. You need to get out of here so I can get this room quarantined."

I nodded and slipped out of the bed cautiously. It was then that I saw something black move across one of the windows for a split second. I blinked. Must've been a trick of the light, I thought.

Carefully moving through the maze of blackish green creatures, I took note of their appearances. Even with the low light, I realized they sort of looked like really long centipedes smothered with the gross gooey stuff.

As I reached Stein's side, his glasses flashed and he started turning his screw, "Hmm. It appears these things are all kishin eggs capable of sending Soul Snares into the souls of others like Medusa did with Crona."

Looking back at the kishin egg infested room, I remembered what Kid had told me about Crona and his evil witch mother, Medusa. Medusa had used a black snake thing that wrapped itself around Crona's soul, causing Crona to bend to his mother's will. So that must've happened to the other DWMA students only these new kishin eggs are transferring them to people.

"I'll inform Lord Death and tell him to send Kid to come and help you back to his mansion. You warn your friends not to use weapons such as swords, scythes, or anything that will make physical contact with these things. Use long ranged weapons." Stein said as he turned and started walking down the hallway.

I nodded and waited for Stein and Kid to return, all the while studying the dripping kishin eggs on the walls; from a distance of course. One mystery solved, but there was a myriad of others to be figured out. What did that witch have to do with all this? When and where did these kishin eggs start springing up? How come kishin eggs around Death City seemed to be becoming stronger?

Trying to piece the information together in my mind, I came up with some ideas, some totally wild and others relatively plausible. What if the witch was creating and controlling the kishin eggs and somehow was leaking madness into the city while doing so? What if the witch wasn't the source of the new kishin breed but was under their influence, the combined strength of the witches presence and the eggs stirring up madness waves?

"Kukuru?" Kid said softly and he gently shook my shoulder.

I nearly jumped ten feet, "Gah! Don't sneak up on me like that!"

Kid smiled a little then looked into the infirmary and back at me, "I'm glad you got out of there ok."

"Me too. I don't want to go all kishin egg on anyone." I replied letting out a sigh of relief.

"Well, let's get back to the mansion. It's two in the morning and I want a symmetrical eight hours of sleep." Kid replied as he started walking down the hall.

I rolled my eyes as I sped walk to catch up with him. I thought about pointing out that the stripes on his hair were asymmetrical, but thought better of it when I remembered when I did that once before. Kid went a little crazy, as in he fell to the floor and was hitting it with his fist and rattling on about not being symmetrical and that he was damned to hell for it. It took Liz a couple of minutes to calm him down. I definitely didn't want to deal with that at the moment.

I just wanted to settle somewhere safe.

The next day at the academy, Doctor Stein seemed like he was trying to approach Kid and I, but whenever he got the chance he'd just stare at us, as if deciding whether or not to tell us something. Just when we thought he'd given up on trying to talk to us and we had about ten minutes till school was out for the day, Stein appeared in the library and walked towards us.

"Hello Kid, Kukuru," Stein said, addressing us both, Liz watching closely nearby while Patty was reading a fantasy book, "Lord Death ordered me to, erm, recruit you two as test subjects for a little, ah, experiment."

I shivered a little at the word "experiment".

"What kind of experiment?" Kid asked protectively.

"One that he thinks you'll both benefit from," Stein replied, then, fast as lightning, he moved behind us and put a hand on our shoulders farthest from where he was standing in between us, "I'll explain on the way back to my laboratory."

"What about us?" Liz piped up as she stood and gestured to herself and Patty.

"You two should stay here." Stein said simply as he ushered Kid and I forward.

I looked back at Liz and saw that her expression screamed agitated. Thinking deeply, I wondered if it was because of Stein performing an experiment on her miester or that I was going with Kid and not her.

Blade suddenly came into view and we locked gazes. He seemed a little worried but I nodded slightly at him to tell him it was ok. At least, I hope it'll be ok.

Blade nodded back and walked over to Liz and Patty, talking with them both. However, we soon turned the corner and I lost sight of my weapon.

"I'll ask again; what type of experiment is this?" Kid asked Stein again.

We were approaching the door to Stein's laboratory, the building looking very oddly out of place with all the crazy stitches and stuff.

"Well, you both know what soul resonance is," Stein began as he pulled out a set of keys and unlocked the door with one, "and of course you know it is used to make your attacks stronger."

Kid and I both nodded and we followed Stein into the depths of his laboratory.

"I have a theory that soul resonance can also be used to access each other's memories, maybe even memories people have forgotten," Stein explained as he lead us into a room filled with white candles that were all lit, "and as soon as Lord Death got word of it, he strongly suggested that the two of you be my first human test subjects."

Kid and I exchanged glances. Why would Lord Death want that all of a sudden? And how would the experiment turn out? Could it really be possible to share memories with soul resonance? Even if the two aren't miester and weapon?

"However, there is one thing I am extremely concerned about that may inflict severe damage on both of you," Stein said, creasing his eyebrows as I gulped, "Kukuru's soul isn't stable at the moment. It could collapse if we attempt this and she would die and her soul would die with her. And not only that, but the rebound could inflict severe damage on Kid's soul and his might shatter as well."

"Then why are you even thinking of going through with this? You could firstly lose this lovely girl who still has a future ahead of her to live but you could also lose me, the next ruling Grim Reaper!" Kid said in a raised voice, clearly frustrated and concerned.

My skin was crawling and I shivered with fear, but looked up and blushed a little when Kid described me as "lovely". I wondered why I did and just shook my head and went back to the conversation at hand.

"Listen Kid, Kukuru; do you think Lord Death would ask me to have you two perform something this dangerous if he knew you'd both die?" Stein said, but despite his valid point, I still sensed some uncertainty in his tone of voice.

Kid sighed and furrowed his eyebrows, thinking.

Even though I was terrified to even think about what would happen if this failed, I felt something inside me telling me to do this. After a few seconds I felt compelled to agree to Stein's experiment.

I breathed out nervously, "I want to try."

Kid looked up at me with an expression that asked, "Are you sure?"

I nodded back to him and he looked up at Stein, "Ok Stein. We'll risk it."

Stein nodded at us both, "You're very brave; both of you."

Smiling a little, I felt somewhat braver.

"Now, the two of you must kneel and face each other." Stein said.

Kid and I obeyed.

Suddenly, a question entered my mind, "What if our souls aren't compatible?"

Stein frowned, "Then nothing will happen."

Ok, I thought, better than my soul and body dying.

"Next, put your heads together." Stein instructed.

Slowly, Kid and I touched the top of our foreheads together.

"Now look into the other's eyes and think of how you perform soul resonance with your weapon partners and attempt doing that with each other." Stein said simply.

Staring into Kid's golden eyes, I imagined our souls touching, furrowing my eyebrows in concentration.

"It's working..." I heard Stein whisper, then he said a little louder, "close your eyes now."

I closed my eyes and was surrounded by a void of darkness. Still trying to resonate my soul with Kid's, I started to see colors on the edges of the blackness. The colors started to slowly take over the darkness and soon there was color all around. I suddenly felt in my soul that mine and Kid's soul were in resonance.

It was a strange, different kind of resonance, like a type of mind resonance. I felt myself move from my own body and start walking through the colors. There were flat, rectangular surfaces that looked like televisions everywhere, each displaying different places, people and situations. At first, I didn't notice anything strange about the things being played on the screens, when suddenly I glimpsed a TV that made me want to cry out of sadness. I ran quickly to the right television and watched my mom and my dad holding hands with a small child, all three silhouetted against the sunset. The little child was me. Without noticing, tears streamed down my cheeks and I had to get away from that memory. I ran the opposite direction as fast as my feet could carry me.

Out of the blue, I heard someone yell, "Kukuru!"

I turned and saw another TV screen, this one displaying the day my dad forced my mom to leave. I stood, frozen with terror as I watched my dad pick up a huge butcher's knife and then grab little me around the waist and holding the knife to my throat, my mother's face contorted with fear.

"Get out or she dies!" My father yelled, his cold blue eyes relentless and his black hair enhancing the sinister look on his face.

"Kukuru! No! My baby!" My mother yelled, her tan skin and blonde hair quivering. Her soft blue eyes filled with tears.

"I said get out!" My dad snarled as he made a small cut on my collarbone and little me screamed.

"Mommy! Don't go mommy!" Little Kukuru shrieked as her eyes streamed with tears.

"I have to go sweetie..." My mom said brokenheartedly, "I love you, little darling."

With that, my mom turned, opened the door and left. Forever.

"No!" I screamed and I ran yet again as far away from that screen as I could. I couldn't stand it all.

Collapsing on the ground, I burst into tears and moaned in agony. I pulled my knees up under my chin and hugged them close. I felt so alone. Desolate. Destroyed.

Suddenly, I felt someone touch my shoulder gently. I looked up and saw Kid standing above me. I don't think I was ever more glad to see him other than the first time I met him. He sat down next to me and put an around me. I let go of my knees and turned and hugged him and cried. He hugged me back and we just stayed like that for a while.

After I finished crying, I let go of him and sat down across from him. He wiped the tears from my face.

"You ok?" He asked.

"Ya, I-I just saw some n-not to p-pleasant memories is all..." I stuttered quietly.

Kid nodded at me and then stood up and offered me a hand. I reached up and took it and he helped me to my feet.

"So, should we head back to Stein?" I asked.

Kid shook his head, "There's something I think you need to see..."

I looked at him inquisitively but he just turned and started walking through the TV's and colors. I followed him curiously, wondering what he wanted to show me.

"Here we are," he said a little later as he gestured to a very small screen, "watch this memory."

Taking a seat in front of the screen, I watched as a small, pale, black haired, golden eyed child appeared on the screen. I smiled as I recognized Kid.

"Hey! Hurry up! I see another one!" Little Kid shouted as his gaze fell upon a small blue butterfly that had landed on a bush.

"Ok ok, sorry."

That voice. My voice.

Suddenly, little ME appeared out of some bushes carrying a butterfly net.

My jaw dropped as I watched Little Kid and Little Me attempt to catch the butterfly together.

"Kid, did you see this?" I asked him, still shocked.

"Yup. I think this is what my father wanted us to find," Kid replied, "but keep watching. It gets better."

I watched the screen as a few other moments with Kid and I in it appeared. One time we went to the beach. Another we were walking through the halls of the DWMA, our future school. Another we were drawing pictures. Yet another we were running from an angry hive of bees. And one more where we were lying on a hill looking up at the starry night sky. I guessed we were about fourish-fiveish at the time.

Then the last memory appeared on the screen. Kid and I were in the forest again, searching for butterflies like before, when we spotted a little girl in a white dress in the distance. Thinking she was lost, we ran over to her. That was when my mind totally imploded.

The girl we found was that witch I saw in the alleyway in Vegas.

"Holy shit!" I exclaimed.

"Keep watching." Kid said.

"Who are you?" Little Me said.

The witch looked at Little Me and Little Kid angrily, but with a strange fear in her eyes as well.

"Mird Bird Mird Bird Mird..." the witch chanted quietly.

Both Little Me and Little Kid suddenly looked as if we had no idea where we were or what we were doing there.

The witch grinned and then said innocently, "Excuse me? I said are you two friends?"

Little Me and Little Kid looked startled by the question and they looked at each other then back at the witch, "No. I don't know him," was Little Me's reply.

"I don't know her either..." Little Kid replied.

Suddenly everything came rushing back to me. I had been Kid's friend since I was three until that witch came along and erased out memories of each other. But why would she do that?

On the screen, Little Kid and Little Me walked off in opposite directions and the witch summoned the same broomstick she had been riding when I saw her in Las Vegas and she flew off into the daytime sky. Then the screen went back to the first time Kid and I were chasing butterflies.

I stood up and turned to Kid, a huge smile on my face.

He nodded at me and suddenly we were back in the candle filled room in Stein's laboratory.

I grinned at him and said, "Oh God I missed you!"

He smiled too, "Me too."

We stood up and hugged warmly, not as the newly found friends we had been, but long time buddies. Even though it had been a long time since we'd last done all that stuff together, all the feelings we had had for each other from that time resurfaced after we had watched the memory. It felt like those two years were fresh in my mind.

Stein looked delighted but also a little confused, "It worked! And you're not dead!"

Kid and I both smiled and we let go of each other.

"Nope!" I replied.

"Thank God." Kid added.

"So, I've got to know; what happened?" Stein asked.

After giving four, seven, a lot of full accounts of what happened while in our resonated state, Stein started doing more research on Mind Resonation.

When Lord Death heard the news he was quite happy and told me that he had thought I looked familiar but couldn't figure out why and that's why he asked Stein to use us as test subjects.

If anything, I feel like this experience has not only brought Kid and I closer, but I feel strangely more confident in myself than before.

More good news; Stein did an examination on my soul after the Mind Resonation with Kid and told me that the fourth crack that had been forming in my soul was repaired. He didn't know how or why and neither did I, but I was so glad about that. The repaired crack meant there was hope yet that my broken soul could be mended.

I felt great, having the memories of my childhood friendship with Kid again was fantastic and the new discovery that was sparking people's interest was awesome.

However, there is one bit of bad news. I overheard Stein talking to Miss Marie and it seems he's feeling more madness waves than usual. He says he feels like it's increasing with every day and every hour. I'm worried. What did that mean? Were there more of those kishin eggs than we thought there were, or is it something else that we don't know about yet?

We may have a little more pieces of the puzzle put together, but we still don't have the big picture just yet.