Disclaimer: I do not own Soul Eater.

His stance buckled; he was just about to lower Liz and Patti until I stopped him.

'No.' I mouthed. He made no indication that I was trying to communicate, he just stared at me, trying to understand what I couldn't clarify with Crona right behind me. 'Soul resonance.'

I had a plan, a crazy plan, but judging by my luck so far it was worth a shot. I needed a distraction, and I knew Kid was the only one who could do that. I pleaded him with my eyes and he gritted his teeth, taking a glance at Crona.

"Hm?" Crona turned around to face Kid, making sure to keep me in Kid's way. My nails dug into Crona's arm at his swaying, pulling the hair at my scalp painfully. "What's the matter? Afraid I'm going to hurt her?" The swords in his free hands were then pointed at my neck, the cold blades resting on my skin.

'Soul resonance.'

After a moment the pistols lowered, and Kid jumped into the air, landing a yard or so away.

"Kid?" Liz inquired.

"Liz, Patti," Kid said, "Soul resonance."

"Are you crazy?" I heard Liz, "No!"

Patti voice shook, "But Kuro and-"

"Do it!" he interjected, his jaw set roughly, his head lowered.

"Kuro?" Char whispered, still strapped to my back.

"Char," I whispered back, "I need you to-"

"What are you saying?" Crona brought me closer, to where I could hear him breathing over my shoulder. I stared straight ahead as the pistols extended to Kid's upper arms, creating slim silver and black cannons, black electricity sparking at the long spikes on the sides. Kid's eyes never wavered from mine and I gave him a reassuring nod.

"Execution mode, ready." Said Kid, and Crona began to laugh.

"I was wrong! I was wrong!" his unstable laughter lowering to disturbed giggles, "But that's okay."

Liz's reluctance was evident, "Resonance stable, noise at 0.3 percent."

Patti sniffled, "Wavelength fully charged."

"Looks like you're going to die." Crona said, and I knew he would flee and leave us in front of the cannons' fire.

It seemed as if Crona might've forgotten about Char, and I had to prolong that carelessness, "Let me go!" I punched and hit at his arm, trying to distract him from what I really needed to do. The movement eventually caused Char to snap off the strap on my back and fall to the ground. I don't know what she's going to do, but I hoped whatever she came up with would get him to let go.

"Stop it!" Crona shouted, covering the small sound the bow made when it hit the ground, "Stop it, stop it, stop it, STOP IT!" He shook me, "I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!"

"KURO!" Kid shouted.

"It's too late! We can't stop it!" Patti cried.

Before the blades could rip into my throat, Char turned human and tackled Crona from the side. His grip on me loosened, and my hair slid out of his hand, making me land on my feet.

"Four seconds to feedback!" Liz exclaimed, warning us that whatever we were doing, we had to finish fast.

Crona caught himself, and tried for a low strike. "Jump!" I exclaimed, and we jumped over the one sword. Before he could make another attempt, I kicked the side of his face while he was bent over, and Char kicked his back, sending him straight towards Kid.

Ragnarok cried out, "Crona!"

"Kuro!" Char grabbed my arm and pulled me into a run.

Patti sang nervously, "F-Firing now!"

We barely got out of the way in time, and the blast sent us off our feet and onto the ground. I must have passed out for a few seconds, because when I opened my eyes Kid was holding me. I started coughing out the dust from the blast. Char, Liz, and Patti were around me, and relieved smiles flew on their faces.

"Is everyone okay?" I asked, Kid helping me sit up.

"You and Kid look a lot worse than we do," Char said, "Don't worry about us." She was covered in cuts and scrapes, some deeper than others, which I figured were from Crona's blades eating into her weapon form.

"Where's Crona?" I asked, looking around but seeing no body.

"He disappeared," Kid said, "It's going to take a lot more than that to kill him off."

"Was he the one who did this?" Char asked, referring to the town's disappearance.

"Most likely." Kid answered, and then addressed me, "Let's get you to a hospital."

"But…" Patti muttered, gesturing to Dmytro, who was clutching her pant leg.

"We can take him home after." Kid said.

"Wrapping it will be enough, Kid," I said, "He's seen and been through a lot."

Kid glanced at the boy and sighed, giving up, "Okay."

We all somehow managed to fit on Beelzebub. Dmytro had to be between us, and our partners had to be in weapon form. Dmytro guided Kid to his home and when he was safely inside, we left.

"Now we're taking you to a hospital," Kid said. "We took him home."

I shook my head. "No, I can just wrap it up at the hotel. There's a first aid kit there. Besides, how would we explain my wounds? I look like I got attacked by a wild animal." I tried to keep my ripped shirt from falling over my shoulder as I held onto him.

Kid thought about it, "True."

"And what about you? You didn't get away spotless either."

"Already healed."

I blinked. "Really?" I did notice how quickly his wounds were healing during battle.

"One of the perks of being a shinigami."

"Sweet," I smiled, and for the hundredth time, lifted my ripped shirt sleeve onto my shoulder. "Hurry please; I'd like to get another shirt on before this one decides to come off completely."

I heard him clear his throat, "Right."

I lifted my brow then leaned to the side to see his face, the skateboard tilted to the left, almost into a building.

"Kuro!" our partners cried out.

"Whoa, whoa!" Kid exclaimed and I straightened myself out, putting the skateboard on the right track.

"Were you blushing?" I asked him, completely disregarding the fact that I almost caused us to crash.

"What? No!"

"You were!" I smacked the back of his head, "Were you imagining it? Pervert!"

"No I wasn't!" he insisted while our partners snickered.

"I can't believe you." I smirked, enjoying the sight of him flustered.

Kid grumbled, "It was your word choice."

Once we were about a block away from the hotel, we stopped in front of a store window and summoned Shinigami-sama.

"Hello, hello~" Shinigami-sama waved. It was late, so no one was on the streets, "My, you two look like you went through hell and back."

"Father, we may have found the culprit to the disappearance of that town." Kid said.

"Already?"

I nodded, "We met a little boy who claimed this other boy named Crona caused it. We're not sure how, sir, but he was identified as the culprit."

"He was bound to show up again after the fight between BlackStar and him," Shinigami-sama paused, "I'll be sure to look into it. For now, you guys can stay in Ukraine a bit longer and unwind from the battle. Enjoy yourselves!" He waved once more before disappearing.

"What was Crona like?" I asked as Liz, Patti, and Char hurried forward down the hall to reach our shared room, "I mean, when he was your ally?"

"He was very shy," Kid answered softly, "Maka adored him; he was like a brother to her. When he disappeared, she was devastated."

"Do you plan on telling her about today?"

"No." I was about to ask him why when he added, "She'd go out looking for him again, and with what's going on, that's extremely dangerous to do."

I didn't know what to say. Was Medusa's influence that strong? Crona's emotions were highly unstable, how long did we have before he was gone completely?

Our room and Kid's room were across from each other, and once we reached them, I turned towards him and smiled, "Night, Kid."

"Goodnight."

When I first got here, we were in such hurry that we just dropped our bags and left; I didn't really get a chance to look at the room. It was what I expected of a five-star hotel; the room had fancy creme colored wallpaper with oak crown molding, carpet flooring and crimson red sheets and curtains. A large television was set up in front of us, and two mini fridges at either ends of the room. Shinigami-sama must've picked this place just for Kid; there was nothing that would set him off too much about asymmetry. Liz and Char were sitting on one of the beds chatting about the guys they've seen so far. We all decided to share a room so we can have "girl time", as Liz and Patti called it. Patti emerged from one of the bathrooms and handed me a big roll of gauze.

"Here yah go!" she smiled.

"Thanks." I smiled back, setting them on the second bed and finding another set of clothes to wear. I walked into one of the bathrooms and after I showered, began bandaging myself. I heard a series of giggles from outside the bathroom, which caused me to crack a smile. So silly. I thought.

I was about halfway done with my waist when I realized I finished the roll of gauze. I cursed under my breath and gingerly put my undergarments, tank top, and sweat pants on. I wondered if I should go to Kid looking like this, then shrugged and at least fixed my hair before coming out of the bathroom.

I rubbed the towel through my hair, soaking up the water from my recent shower. The water felt nice; washing away the dirt and blood from wounds that have long since been healed. Kuro wasn't so lucky; she had numerous wounds all over her, it'd be awhile until they fully heal-

I caught a glimpse of my reflection then groaned at the mirror. I picked up a comb and started straightening out my hair, trying extremely hard not to pay too much attention to the three white lines.

I almost killed them; how could she tell me to do something like that? She does know her partner's life was in her hands too, right? No, but I agreed to do it, so it was in my hands too. What if they hadn't gotten away in time? That guilt would've been on my shoulders, and then I'd have to go day by day without her, and I couldn't handle that, not when she's grown on me this much.

At some point I realized I wasn't even fixing my hair anymore. My hands were clenching the bathroom sink and I was staring at myself in the mirror, drowning in my thoughts, only to be saved by a reluctant knock at the door.

I breathed a curse. "I'll be there in a second!" I called out, throwing on a black t-shirt with my sweat pants. I looked over myself in the full body mirror to make sure at least no article of clothing was sticking out asymmetrically before going to the door.

"Oh, Kuro," I said, the initial thoughts I was saved from flooding back into me like a tidal wave. I smiled in an effort to hide how I felt, "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, I was just wondering if you had an extra roll of gauze."

"I should," I stepped back and held the door open for her to come in so she didn't have to stand out in the hall. Once inside, I took out the large first aid kit from under the bathroom sink.

I walked out, holding the roll in my hand, and she smiled, "Ah, perfect. Thank you!"

"Are your wounds bad?" I asked, handing it to her.

"Not really," she said, then looked at my hair, giggling softly, "Jeez Kid, I've never seen you so messy."

"What?" I couldn't help the hint of panic from rising in my stomach, "I-I didn't have enough time. I was thinking about something and I couldn't fix my hair. I'm trash! Garbage! Please forgive me! I-I-!" I wanted to collapse, I felt so embarrassed, I probably looked awful and disgusting in her eyes.

"Wait, Kid, wait. Patti isn't here, I don't know how to calm you down!"

"I'm hideous!"

"Wait, wait, wait!"

"No, don't touch me!" I stepped away from her but she took my hand and gently pulled me closer; the simple action causing something else to stir in me.

"Just... just let me fix it," she said softly, smoothing down my hair and using her fingers as a comb. After a few seconds, she took me to the full body mirror and showed me her work. It needed to be a little bit flatter on one side, and I didn't dare look at the lines, but it was decent. My breathing regulated, but I wasn't free of my anxiety, "Now, what is it that you were thinking about?" she asked, "If it kept you from fixing your hair, it must've been pretty intense."

I hadn't collected myself entirely yet when I asked, "How could you tell me to do something like that?"

"What? The soul resonance?"

It angered me how light her tone was, "You had no idea what you were doing, did you?" She didn't answer. I didn't understand how she could risk herself and her partner so easily; does she really go by chance with everything? I sighed, "Kuro-"

"Kid, I had a plan! I just couldn't tell Char; Crona was too close, but we improvised, we figured it out."

"You can't just improvise everything! What if you didn't make it out in time? That blood would've been on my hands! Why don't you think things through before you go running out to fight?"

"Because that's what I've been doing since I learned I was a Meister! There was no time to think!" her voice started to rise to a shout, "I don't know why you're so damn mad at me! We're alive-!"

"I'm mad because I don't want to lose you, Kuro!" It slipped out, and she was left speechless. She was so impulsive and reckless, and I was terrified she'd make the wrong move and get herself killed. Maybe not now, maybe not anytime soon, but at some point it's going to get her killed. I don't know what came over me at that moment, whether it was my frayed emotions or the heat of the moment, but I grabbed her wrist and pulled her into my arms.

"Kid..." she mumbled after a few moments, "I-I'm sorry."

"You don't understand," I spoke softly, "I could have killed you; I could have killed both of you, and when I found you unconscious..." I sighed, hugging her closer, "Don't ever ask me to do that again."

I shut Kid's door behind me then leaned my stinging back against it.

"I'm mad because I don't want to lose you, Kuro!"

My heart was pounding, my face flushed red; I've never heard someone say that to me. I had no idea what to say; I felt such an intense mixture of happiness and shock, that even when he apologized and let me go all I could do was walk out. I took a deep breath, trying catch my bearings before heading towards our room.

"You both saw Kuro and Kid," Char said, making me stop just before turning the handle, "How they were on the plane." The blush that had went away came right back. He and I woke up before them, didn't we? Unless they woke up a little earlier at some point then went back to sleep...

"Oh, yeah!" Patti giggled.

"We still have to hook up Maka and Soul, you know," Liz pointed out, "Besides, I think that one is going smoothly all by itself. Maka and Soul have been beating around the bush with their feelings for so long it's almost ridicul-"

I opened the door, stopping her mid-sentence, but wanting to hurry to the bathroom so no one could see my face. "Hey everyone! I'm sorry for interrupting, just got the gauze!"

"Wait-" I heard Liz, but I had already closed the bathroom door.

Kid and I? No way!

I don't even like him. My face was still warm, but I sat down on the edge of the bathtub, took off my shirt, and began wrapping the gauze around myself.

...I don't even like him. My heart raced at the way I remembered him pulling me towards him. I half expected him to kiss me, I mean, you just don't go pulling a girl like that for no reason.

I don't even like him... The only other time I felt like this was with Kaori, when his hand brushed up against mine, the way his chest would rise and fall when he hugged me. Even though Kaori and I were always friends, the little things about him mattered the most to me. The warmth of his skin, the color of his eyes, the shape of his smile. But now, when I think of all those things, I see Kid.

I shook my head, unable to believe what I was admitting to myself right now. How could've I been so stupid as to grow feelings for him? If Noah comes after me again, he'd go after the most important people in my life to get to me. Not only that, but there's something weird about me. I don't know what it is yet, but the pre-Kishin that Maka saved me from mentioned it, Char has made several remarks, and Crona showed an acute interest in trying to kill me. I don't know if that meant anything, but what ever I was, it wasn't bringing me any good luck.

Kid was right... I'm a danger magnet. To protect him, I'll have to keep my distance; no matter how I may feel about him.

End of Chapter XVI

This was kind of hard to write. xD I was trying to keep Kid in character, majority of the time I was like "would he do this if he liked someone?" Hope I did okay!

Thanks for reading!

- Limiterlys