Hey everyone! I had Thursday off, so I decided to spend my free time getting chapter 2 all rewritten for you!
Disclaimer: I do not own Soul Eater!
The remaining guards sped past me, the wheels spewing dirt at me. I only hoped I didn't go through this completely in vain and Kid managed to get to the cave to hide. I was shaking horribly, both from adrenaline and fear. This was not good.
"What a surprise." Sarcasm dripped from Justin's tone, but his next statement was meant to be serious, "Your persistence will be the death of you."
"Ha, stupid girl. You never learn." Giriko grinned. I stared silently at my feet, being pulled limply across the ground, wondering what exactly there was left to do.
I'm going to die...
There was no chance of fighting back. It would only piss them off, and they could take me out in a heartbeat... They weren't just a couple of guards. Tears pricked my eyes as the gravity of the situation set in, but I quickly blinked them away. Whatever I was going to have to face, I was going to face it with what little dignity I had left.
Maybe in death I'd get to see Kaori again.
"Is this what we're here for? A stupid sword?" I stared at the antique thing in front of me. The room was dull and stuffy, a storage room deep within a mansion we infiltrated.
"Apparently, the sword was wielded once by a human who became a pre-Kishin some years ago. He was killed before getting too strong, of course, but the sword has been sold and re-sold over the years." Kaori said, coming to my side as I hooked the sword to my belt.
"Whatever. It doesn't seem very important to the guy who owns this place. Noah will collect anything." I mumbled, and Kaori nudged me, though he was smirking.
"Okay, enough chatter. Get it back to headquarters. Now." Justin nagged through the receiver in my ear.
I rolled my eyes, tempted to yank the damn thing out of my ear, "Why don't you mind your own business and let us do our job?"
"Trust me, I'd rather not be the one stuck babysitting you and your Weapon."
"Let's go, Rose," Kaori spoke, prompting me to ignore Justin and follow him towards the door.
Because my full name, Kuro Bara, meant "black rose" (don't ask - I don't know what they were thinking either) Kaori decided to nickname me "Rose". I've always considered my name to be odd, but just by something so simple he helped me appreciate it a little more. We were partners from that day on, and the memory gave me a smile.
Then came the day my parents told me we were moving to a commune led by great man named Noah; told me it would "do the family good" and that "I would understand once I got older". When I relayed the information to Kaori he insisted on coming with me despite my concerns. No matter what I did or what trouble I got myself into he was always there. As much as it embarrasses me to admit it, I've developed feelings for him.
He cracked open the door and looked out, eventually giving me the signal for us to leave. We were given a hand drawn map of the estate, but I had already memorized it. Shrieking alarms burst through my eardrums as I tried making an escape route in my head. I must've missed something, but it wasn't too big of a deal. I usually could get us out of tough jams. Besides, I had Kaori.
We were at an intersection and we heard heavy, fast footsteps coming from each hallway. It seems they split up into small groups to cover more ground.
"We can sneak through the vents!" Kaori pointed out and beckoned me forward.
"Boost me?" He nodded and I placed my foot on his knotted fingers, hoisting myself to the vent. I grabbed the grate and yanked it off the wall before climbing in.
"Kaori, come on!" I grabbed a hold of his hand and pulled him inside. As soon as he hidden, the guards ran into view and didn't even notice the vent grate was ripped off.
"Idiots." We said in sync, which had us holding in a laugh.
"So now that we aren't being chased," I could hear the smirk on his lips, "What's the plan?"
I took a moment before answering, "Well we don't have the upper hand in this situation, so let's just try to get out in one piece."
"Oh," he pouted, "That's boring."
I rolled my eyes with a smile, continuing down the vent until we reached a dead end. After making sure there was no guard in sight, I kicked the grate open and jumped out, landing quietly on my feet. I took in my surroundings, and realized we were close to the exit.
"Okay Kaori, coast is clear!" I whispered.
There was a moment of silence, then quiet shuffling, then even more silence.
"Uh…Rose?"
"What?"
"I'm stuck."
"What? How could you…?" I sighed, "Give me your hand."
"For Death's sake..." Justin grumbled exasperatedly into the mic, his voice making me jump after him not speaking for so long. I couldn't help but giggle, and took his hand to try pulling him.
"Ow!"
"Sorry. You're not even that big, how the hell did you get stuck?" I asked as I pulled his arm again.
"I don't know!" he whispered, and it sounded like he was going to say something else, but before that, he fell with a loud thud. His thin, pale body landed face first onto the rug. I was about to burst out laughing when a guard came to see what the commotion was about.
The guard's eyes became wide. "H-Hey, they're over here!" he yelled, calling the others.
"This is so not my fault!" he turned towards the guards that were on their way.
"What now?" I looked around, but they were coming from everywhere.
"It's show time." He grinned, and cracked his knuckles.
In a flash of light Kaori transformed into his Weapon form. Seven inches in length, the claws fit perfectly on my wrist. The wrist guards were black with the blades being a copper shade. Catching them, I slid them on and got into my fighting stance.
It didn't take long to take out the guards that were there, but we knew more were coming. I didn't waste any time and started running for the exit. Kaori stayed in his weapon form as a precaution, but it didn't seem like I'd need it. I burst through the door before running out into the cold wilderness, and after I felt we were a good distance away, I stopped to catch my breath.
"Tired already?" he teased.
"Excuse me, but I'm carrying you around."
"I'm not even heavy!"
"Just shut up," As stern as I wanted my voice to sound, it just sounded forced and he knew it. "Anyway, good job tonight."
"Oh, Rose is praising me?" he gasped, feigning disbelief.
A retort was sharp on my tongue, but before I could say it he cried out my name. I didn't understand until the metal of the claws became his rough hand, and I was thrown onto the grass. It was so dark but I could still see a good distance in front of me. Kaori was standing, but something was wrong, he was leaning slightly forward. His hands were reaching for something at his abdomen. He wasn't talking, but there was a strange sound coming from him. It took me a moment to realize there was someone in front of him, and something was through him.
A choked cry left me at the sight of my best friend being skewered. The sword slid out with a nasty sound, and blood sprayed onto my face. Kaori collapsed onto his side.
I didn't run far enough. One guard still caught up.
"You're next."
He ran at me, and I reached for the sword at my hip. He plunged his weapon into the ground but I dodged it. He could barely see, I noticed, his eyes were not trained well enough for the dark. He was using his other senses. I threw dirt into his face, surprising him, and I took that moment to allow the blade to slice across his stomach. More blood spewed onto me, and I watched as he twitched before claiming the forest ground as his death bed.
Without a moment's hesitation, I rushed to Kaori's side, my hands hovering over him hesitantly. At that moment it hadn't hit me yet, but when it did, I couldn't stop the tears from welling up.
"Oh no." I whimpered, placing his head onto my lap, "K-Kaori. Kaori we're gonna get you out of here. Okay?"
I could tell he was trying to say something but it couldn't come out; he was choking on his blood. I began to hyperventilate, holding his hand tightly, trying to compose myself as I spoke to the last person I'd ever think of for help, "J-Justin! Justin!" I exclaimed into the mic. "Kaori is dying; I need help taking him back! Please! He's bleeding out-"
He moved his hand out of mine and cupped my cheek, making me unable to finish. I choked out a sob, knowing he was going to die even if Justin was willing to help. He attempted a smile; one of those smiles that he would flash at me in reassurance, but the smile was gone soon after and his hand fell to his side. He went limp, his eyes staring blankly at the sky.
My voice wavered and cracked horrendously, "No...No..."
"Kuro? Are you there? What happened?" I heard Justin's voice in my ear. I forced myself to say the words, to tell him Kaori was dead and as a response he said, "Great. Who're we going to have do these errands now? You can't do it without a Weapon..."
With an angry wail, I threw the device as far away from me as I could. Typical he would only think about how this would trouble Noah. This was a life. This was Kaori. He was my best friend, he was everything to me. He was perfect, selfless, and the only one who cared about his death was a girl who was the complete opposite. With that, the adrenaline and the anger melted into the most overwhelming grief I never thought I had the capacity to feel.
He was all I had left, and I couldn't protect him. It was all my fault.
Would Kaori have agreed to try to escape with me? Yeah, I think so. The thought made me smile.
"If we get caught - give them hell!" he would definitely say... and that's exactly what I was going to do.
End of Chapter II
I'm still going by the update schedule I set up for myself, I just had a little extra time on my hands. Every so often I may publish three chapters, but it really does depend. Thanks so much!
- Limiterlys