CHAPTER 4

A/N – Hello my dear readers! It is finally time for a new update – I know I've been slow with my stories lately, but work is piling up on me and I'm experiencing a bit of a burn-out which is affecting my progress. But fear not, I am not planning to abandon either of my stories ;)) Going back on the story, there are two things I'd like to say:

1. You know Blair has (at least) nine lives, don't you? ;)

2. No one noticed Kid's tattoos. Seriously? It's THE MOST IMPORTANT THING I came up with! LOL

3. In this chapter none other than the mighty Black Star will bring light into your mundane lives with his magnanimous presence ;)

Traveling in a palanquin should have been only for sick people or something, Kid though glancing through the pale saffron colored silk curtains which were drawn to shield Master Gur Kylee from the scorching sun of the Citadel. The thin cloth merely blurred the chaos which was the city at noon, people wandering about their business always in a hurry, merchants advertising loudly, children running around, playing and laughing with the carelessness of youth. The young shinigami could not remember a time when he had been so carefree, unburdened by any trouble or task. Maybe such a time had simply been too long back, or maybe it had never been at all.

"The young prince, Black Star, is quite a troublesome character, I'm afraid," the fat priest spoke, interrupting his musings. "You are to be his guard and companion during the day, especially when he leaves the palace and the magic harlequins cannot go with him. They only guard the royal family at night, but of course, they cannot leave the palace. No need to strike more terror among the people of this city… "Master Gur Kylee paused to catch his breath and lifted his white skull shinigami mask to wipe his brow with a large handkerchief. "But let us return to the prince now… The High Priest and all of us, well, we need the Stars to rule as a dynasty if we don't want things to go completely amok. So far the Star kings, including White Star, have all been reasonably docile… which is exactly what we wanted. But prince Black Star is, to put it bluntly, a pain in the ass. He is rebellious, impulsive, loud mouthed, short fused, unpredictable, uncontrollable-"the older shinigami waved his hand in irritation, shaking his head. "The High Priest chose for him an appropriate wife – Lady Tsubaki from the House of Nakatsukasa - a lovely, sweet, educated girl from a distinguished old noble family and we were hoping that, aside from providing him with an heir, she would temper him, keep his outrageous behavior in check at least to some extent. Sadly, it did not happen"

Great! That is just fantastic news, more trouble! Kid blinked repeatedly to conceal his annoyance and shifted on the crammed pillows, trying to keep his legs from going numb. "Um… and what is that you want me to do exactly, Master, in the light of what you've just told me?"

"Nothing in particular just yet, young one. For now you will have to make the prince like you and accept you as his guard. Until now, my ward Asura was in charge of guarding both the king and the other members of his family, but it is quite overwhelming and besides, Black Star dislikes Asura, for which reason it appears that he has caused some problems for my ward on purpose… So, it is crucial that he likes you. I mean, if he doesn't like Asura and he doesn't like his wife – not that I could ever understand a man's taste in women, but I suspect he finds her rather dull – well, we must get an upper hand somehow…"

"Of course, Master," Kid nodded, rolling his eyes inwardly. At least his superior wasn't bothering to sugarcoat anything and it was better this way. Well, if better was a way of putting it…

The royal palace stood on a hill, away from the buzz of the Citadel, surrounded by exotic gardens placed in suspended layers. Unlike the Ourouboros' Temple, which displayed an almost somber black and white simplicity in comparison, the King's palace was built entirely out of red sandstone, lavishly sculpted and decorated, giving off a vibe of extreme opulence. But just like the Temple, there were Clowns posted at the doors, with the same bright red, gruesome grins in place.

Master Gur Kylee removed himself from the palanquin with some difficulty and wrapped the black cloak tighter around his form, also adjusting his mask. Kid followed him closely, noticing that the priest seemed to feel at home within the palace premises. And he probably is… he pondered, having had an additional confirmation that the Stars were nothing more than puppets on strings for the all-powerful Ourouboros and his shinigami elite. Which was by no means good news, if indeed the young prince was bothered by the current situation –and the shinigami suspected he was – he would take all his anger out on the Ourouboros' representatives whom he was allowed to strike, namely himself. What do you know - a grim task for a grim reaper, Kid concluded shaking his head inconspicuously.

They were led by a servant into a large room, with stone walls painted simply in shades of gold and black and with no other furniture than a small sofa laden with soft-looking cushions, placed in front of a big bronze statue of Anubis in full jackal form. There was a mystery why the Stars seemed to keep references of this ancient god in their residence and why they'd even named some of their magic creatures after him.

"The prince will be here shortly," the servant informed. "But he will want to see his new companion alone"

"Very well," Master Gur Kylee replied with a smile, but grumbling some inaudible swear under his breath as the servant retired without another word. "Now, listen to me, whatever the prince says, do not answer him in any way which could make him mad, do you understand?" he instructed Kid.

"Yes"

"Oh…" the shinigami priest suddenly said, his ring laden hand rising to remove Kid's mask and pull back his hood. "You are a very beautiful boy, Death the Kid. I hope the prince will see that, if nothing else. And if he's interested at least that way, I strongly suggest you don't refuse him"

Kid froze and his stomach cringed at the priest's words. "You can't be serious…" he whispered, momentarily ignoring the fact that he probably should have concealed his reaction.

"I beg your pardon?" Master Gur Kylee hissed in reply, his golden gaze narrowing dangerously all the sudden.

"I mean… you couldn't possibly think that the prince would… um… consider someone like me…" the younger shinigami stuttered, taking a step back. "After all, I'd only be a mere servant to him"

The fat priest waved his hand in dismissal, but his expression fortunately softened. "Oh, there is no problem with that. I think you'll find that 'serving' is quite a comprehensive notion," he said. "Anyway, I'll leave you now. And by the Gods, don't look so grim, we don't appreciate that here in the Citadel. Just smile a little!"

Saying that, Master Gur Kylee finally walked away, leaving Kid all alone to wait for the young prince's arrival. But the young reaper was in no mood to smile, not in the slightest and especially not after what he'd just heard. Was there really no limit to how bad this mission was going to get? He inwardly cursed his luck, Great Wizard Eibon's ambitions and his father's lack of scruples. The time for introspection was however short, as the prince was shortly announced.

Black Star hardly looked 'royal' in any way, Kid observed – he wore a simple black leather vest with metal ornaments, matched with a pair of fingerless gloves, baggy white slacks and black boots. His bright blue hair, naturally spiked, looked like it hadn't been combed in ages. He wore no jewelry and no piercings, but his scarce upper garments complimented his tanned, muscular body. A fighter, then, the shinigami guessed. The prince's turquoise eyes had a mischievous glint and the corners of his mouth were turned into a foreboding grin.

"So," he began, plopping down on the small sofa without any ceremony. "You're to be Asura's replacement in my service," he said, motioning to one of the two servants accompanying him. The man brought him a cup and promptly poured him some red wine. "What is your name? Oh, right – you shinigamis don't have any names, only nicknames if you earn yourselves any. Do you have a nickname?"

"I am called Death the Kid, milord," the reaper – who had remained stiffly wrapped in his cloak by the statue of Anubis – said with a brief bow.

Black Star took a sip, thoughtfully. "Hmm… and I have heard you are very skilled. How does that related to your nickname? What are you good at, Death the Kid?"

"Well…at death, milord." And he was. Kid had been indeed trained to be a mercenary and that was what he was good at. Not at making himself pleasant to others or playing seductive with anyone. This whole thing appeared to be quite undignified and complicated as far as he was concerned.

The prince laughed, downing his cup and then motioning for the servant to pour him some more. "Clearly, as expected of you," he observed, giving the other boy an assessing once-over. "Guess what, I am in dire need of some entertainment right now, therefore I'll put you to a little test. I think it's only reasonable if you are to be my guard"

Great. More tests. I can only hope there'll be no more stupid questions…Grinning, Black Star wriggled two fingers for Kid to come closer and the young shinigami noticed that the other servant held a long box in his hands. The prince opened it, revealing two twin long swords. "I understood you usually wield two weapons," he said. "Couldn't let you have pistols though, we wouldn't want to make this too easy. Or at least I wouldn't," he added and laughed again. "Get ready"

Black Star then snapped his fingers and a pair of Clowns walked into the room, waiting for their master's command. "Be very careful, Death the Kid," the prince clarified, "If you lose, I'll let them eat you"

Looks like one way or another I'll end up eaten by fucking Clowns… Is this supposed to be amusing or something? Kid observed the two identical magic creatures morosely, pondering on his odds. He hadn't taken the time to study the Clowns before, all they wore were colorful striped garments and no armor, but they probably weren't vulnerable. Their pale white skin appeared to be quite tough and the young shinigami doubted that even pistols could do much against them. He weighted the two swords in his hands – it would probably take very accurate hits to bring the two monsters down, to their necks most likely, but that was difficult seeing how tall they were. But well, they are big and heavy – Kid thought – I'll have to make them trip on their own feet...

The Clowns focused their weird white eyes on him and began to chuckle sinisterly, readying their sharp tongs. They then jumped together, aiming for their prey, but Kid swiftly evaded their attack. Unfortunately, the magic monsters were incredibly fast despite their size and just avoiding their attempted blows was hard and, just as anticipated, the skin of their muscular legs and arms couldn't be as much as scraped by the blades.

Damn, they're so- but Kid didn't get to finish his thought before one of the Clowns managed to grab his leg with his 'human' hand and threw him into the farthest wall. The shinigami hit the wall upside down and dropped heavily to the floor, one of the swords flying from his hand.

"Chew time," the magic creature chuckled, while drool began to drip at the corner of his mouth.

Groaning, the reaper managed to somewhat collect himself from the floor and pick up the sword before the two pounced on him. The weight of their massive bodies was suffocating and they had him trapped this time, but their greed got the best of them as they pounded blindly with their tongs in the narrow space between themselves and the wall. It was close, but taking advantage of their momentary confusion as the Clowns now desperately groped under each other's bodies, Kid found an opening and jumped on top of both of them and thrust his blades simultaneously into the back of their necks, viciously pushing and twisting them until the spines cracked.

Stumbling slightly, the young shinigami got off the two enormous corpses, panting. He'd lost his cloak in the fight and he'd gotten several scratches on his arms, but it was nothing. There was a deeper gash right under his left cheekbone and it stung like hell, but that would heal too, perfectly. The young prince, looking thoroughly entertained - if nothing else – downed his cup and stood from the sofa, sauntering slowly to where Kid stood. With a grin, he reached out and wiped the blood off the reaper's cheek with his thumb.

"That was… acceptable, I suppose," Black Star concluded.

Green eyes blinked slowly, sleepily, focusing with some difficulty on the figure of doctor Franken Stein. The doctor leaned in some more, smiling gently, moving to adjust the small pillow placed under the blonde's head. "You're a fast healer," he said softly. "It was a bit of a tough wound to deal with, but most likely it won't leave any scars"

Maka let out a breath, closing her eyes again. The rather large area on the right side, just below her rib cage, still stung like hell. A tight bandage had been used to put back and keep her crushed left shoulder in place, but Stein was optimistic about that too. She would make a full recovery. "What… about… my… match?" she whispered. "Master… is… pleased?"

"The match was fine," Stein replied, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it. "More than fine, it was great actually. And you clearly seem to have an inclination towards the spectacular, I hadn't thought of it. The crowd likes that"

"Not to mention, you managed to fuck yourself up spectacularly from the first match too. You know, most people either win cleanly or die likewise," a familiar (and quite obnoxious) voice pointed out. "And now I feel like an ass, because to be honest I never found myself preoccupied in the slightest about whether Master was pleased with my victories or not. Oh, I have been so selfish!"

The blonde opened her eyes again and tilted her head a bit, to see Soul 'Eater' Evans leaning in the doorway of her cell. "You should… feel like… an ass because… you are one!" she croaked in reply. "Have you… nothing… better to… do than… bug me?"

"Um…no?"

"Listen to me, the only thing that matters now is that you survived your first match and that you'll be alright. As promised, I spoke to Ox and I'll be taking over your training as soon as you're up for it," the doctor intervened, blowing a soft cloud of smoke. "All you need to do now is get plenty of rest"

Maka could only manage a sad smile in reply. "I… can't stop thinking… about that girl. It was just…so… gruesome. The way she…died"

"Oh, by the Gods, you're not really worried about Blair, are you?" the scythe boy asked ironically. "Didn't you figure out that she's a magic creature? She cannot die, only kill others," he snorted laughing. "I had a match with her too, back when I was a beginner. It went badly, she almost got me fried. But later on, that night, she came to my cell and… it was fucking amazing! Hell, it still is every now and then"

Now that was the last thing I needed to hear! Maka was rather mortified by that statement. "Are you a c-complete idiot, troll eater?! How can you… even say that… you're having an… affair w-with someone from a rival House?" she tried to shout, but her voice only came out even more rasped and weak.

Soul rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Of course, my apologies," he said placing a hand on his chest. "I wasn't expecting tiny tits to appreciate the benefits of a good fuck." Even Stein chuckled at this and the blonde turned her head on the pillow, absolutely disgusted. Men were such a complete disappointment, all of them.

To be continued

A/N – Aaaand I have to warn you people that Kid will also have an affair with Black Star, while Maka might have one with Soul before the occurrence of their grand romance… depends on how you positive or negative you feel on the subject. And yes, explicitly so, hence the anticipated change in rating. Let me know ;)