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"Kuro, this isn't normal," Char had just shut the door of our apartment, jiggling the doorknob to make sure it was locked before following me down the steps. I stared ahead, avoiding her concerned eyes that bore into the side of my head, "I think you should stay home, or at least spend the day in the infirmary."
"No. Don't we have a test coming up? I can't miss class."
"They'll cut you slack. Your health is way more important-"
"I'm fine." I interjected.
"No, you're not."
"I'm fine." I said curtly, and she accepted that no matter what she said I wouldn't miss class. Still, I couldn't help feeling guilty about the way I spoke to her. I didn't mean to sound so sharp but I was exhausted and had way too much on my mind. When the pain came it sucked out a lot of my energy with it. I knew she was worried, and I was actually pretty worried myself. They're getting more frequent and the pain increases after each one. Would it ever stop?
"Looks like we beat Soul and Maka," Char said after a long walk of silence. The top of the academy steps were empty, making us the first ones to arrive. Soul must've overslept again. Suddenly I smiled at the thought of the two, unable to help it after last night; it was nice to see them together.
We sauntered up the steps, and once at the top Char sat down on one of them, waiting for everyone else like we usually did before class. Everyone would be coming shortly, but forcing myself to ignore Kid was something I really wasn't up for this morning. It was getting increasingly harder to do so, not because he was always around, but because I'm tired of forcing myself to avoid him. I never wanted too, the reason why I'm doing it is still the same reason why I started; I don't want to put him in any unnecessary danger. I've caused enough trouble to my friends.
"I'm going," I said, heading into the academy. She didn't say anything, but I could feel her eyes on me as I went in. I didn't want to leave her, but not only did I not want to encounter Kid, I also wanted to take a trip to the library. There had to be something in there that could explain what I was going through. If not, I'd have to ask Shinigami-sama; this was just too weird to have anything to do with my health. The fire with Char's Weapon form, then the incident in the field while we were battling Crona, and now these pains? It couldn't just be a coincidence.
"Good morning," I heard, and I blinked, so zoned out it took me way too long to realize it was directed at me. I turned to the librarian and nodded in greeting, "How can I help you?" he asked.
"Ah," I looked around, realizing just how big this library was and having no idea where to start, "Um, do you have any books that have anything to do with the soul? Specifically the differences of souls depending on the being; how it acts, how it looks, the developmental stages?"
"Can I see your ID?"
I blinked, then smiled sheepishly, "I don't have one."
"You must've enrolled when the year already started," he nodded, understanding, "That's okay, just tell me your rank. That's all I really needed it for."
"One-star," I said, wondering why he would need my rank. Security purposes? Who knows.
"You can check out all the books here on the left side. If you want, I could make you a list of books to quicken your search."
"Thanks, that would help," I said, walking up to the main desk as he got started. I glanced at the clock, keeping track of the time. I had 45 minutes until class started, which should be enough time to get something down. In the meantime, I watched the librarian write down all the books and locations of them by memory, the sight fascinating me. He must've been working here for years.
Once receiving it, I went to the left, going down the rows of bookshelves, picking out each book on the list. There wasn't that many; ten or fifteen books were stacked on a round table once I found them all. With half an hour left I began reading, but most of the time was left disappointed. No Meister, apparently, has gone through what I'm going through. Not one soul type written about in these books experiences pain caused by the soul. Could it be my health? I dragged my fingers through my hair, leaning back into the chair, frustrated and anxious. I just wanted it to stop.
I heard someone else's voice in the direction of the main desk, but was more fixated on the clock, "Shit," I whispered, realizing I only had five minutes until class started. I picked up a random book to read later, and hurried toward the exit, really not up for Dr. Stein's wrath.
"Kuro," I skidded to a stop, the name coming with an all too familiar voice. I turned my head to look in the direction of the voice, greeted by a pair of gold eyes, looking at me like they hadn't seen me in years. To be honest, it felt like years to me, too.
"Oh," I blinked, not expecting to find him here at this time, "Uh, hi. I really can't talk, class is about to start."
"Oh," he nodded, "Well..."
I furrowed my brows wondering why he didn't finish his sentence when suddenly I was on my knees, cringing in pain. It was like my chest was on fire. I bent over my legs, hoping any compression would ease the pain, but it did nothing. I could barely pay attention to what Kid was asking me.
"It-It'll pass," I stuttered, trying to breathe, "It just hurts and..." I trailed off, a wave suddenly hitting me, keeping me from focusing on anything but getting through the fire.
"I'm taking you to the infirmary," I heard him say, completely missing anything he said before that.
"I said I'm fine." I knew I didn't say that but right now I didn't want to move; everything burned. He ignored me, lifting me into his arms anyway causing me to wince audibly. I clenched his coat tightly, trying to channel what pain was left through that. It was slowly starting to pass, but the fit left me weak, leaving me to rest against him. I stared at the textbook in my hands, thinking about how comfy his arms were, and just how much I missed being around him. I knew he was trying to help, but this wasn't how it was supposed to be. I would've rather gone through that by myself.
That's not true. I thought, knowing it wasn't, but this wasn't about me.
"Can you put me down? I can walk." he set me down after a moment, and it took a lot out of me just to stand up straight. I smoothed my blouse, taking a deep breath, "It went away. I told you it would pass."
"I don't care," he said gently, "We're still going."
"No. I have to get to class." I shifted the book under my right arm and started to leave, knowing if I stayed any longer I'd cave. His hand found my arm and stopped me.
"Kuro, please."
I closed my eyes, using what little willpower I had left so that I wouldn't look at him. Just his voice was killing me. It took all I had to pull my arm back, "I said no. I don't need to go."
"If your avoiding me has anything to do about the hug I gave you a couple of days ago, I'm sorry. I know it was completely random and uncalled for. I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable or freak you out, but right now I'm concerned about your well-being. Can you please just go to the infirmary so that if this happens again I know you're in good hands?"
No... No, it wasn't because of that. Why would he think that? I may have left the room in shock, but it was because I was happy. When he told me he didn't want to lose me that night it made me realize just how important he was to me; that I didn't want to lose him, either. The last person I felt like this for was killed, and even though Kid is a Shinigami, it didn't mean he needed to get into any danger because of me. Besides, there were other ways to hurt someone, and it didn't have to be physically; that much Noah taught me.
"Why don't you take a hint and realize I don't want you around?" I uttered, not daring to turn around and look at the possibly pain stricken face that went with the awful silence. I walked forward, getting no hand on my arm, hearing no footsteps follow behind. I stepped down the stairs alone, going right back to where I started.
I couldn't go to class like this; I was an emotional mess. Even if I went, I wouldn't pay attention to anything. I was failing that test whether I liked it or not. Instead, I went into the direction of the target area. It'd keep my mind off things and more practice wouldn't hurt. I wasn't a complete pro yet; I could at least aim, but my firing speed could be faster. I walked out into the breezy day, the trees swaying softly from behind the targets. I took a deep breath, but my chest still felt heavy and he plagued my mind. I picked up a practice bow, then some arrows and shot until my fingers stared to hurt from pulling the cord back so much. Most hit a bullseye, but some hit the outer rings, others into the ground. I practiced shooting with one arrow, then two, then three at the same time. Three was pushing it, only one would actually hit the target. I still had a long way to go. I sat down on a bench while my fingers throbbed softly, watching the trees dance with the wind. It was a particularly warm day for being winter, but at least the breeze was nice. Eventually I dozed off, already tired even before practicing, so I couldn't keep myself awake any longer.
I don't know how long I had been asleep for, but a strange sound woke me up. My eyes were still closed as I concentrated on the noise, it sounded like something moving across the dirt, but as another breeze went by I let it go, half asleep and still too tired to really think much of it. That is, until the wind stopped, and it sounded like it was right at my feet. My eyes flew open, startled that it wasn't my imagination, and had absolutely no time to react before it wrapped itself around my ankle and roughly pulled me off the bench. I fell on my back, and quickly reached for it to try and tear at whatever it was. My hands got covered in dirt as I dug my nails into the coil around my ankle. Was this a... root?
It continued to take me out of the shade of the canopy, closer to the trees, and it was wound so tightly around my ankle my skin started to turn purple. I clawed at the ground, unable to get a firm hold. It dragged me past the school gardens and deeper into the woods, eventually going so far that I couldn't see the academy anymore. I was pulled between two bushes, my face and arms and jeans tearing up, but I took any chance I could get and grabbed a handful of branches, hoping they could hold me. I bit my lip, the thorns tearing into my palm, but grabbed more and more branches, almost until it looked like I was hugging the bush. I could hear the branches snapping one by one as I was being pulled harder and harder. I kicked at the root on my ankle, not knowing what else to do.
"Let go!" I shouted. Was this a pre-Kishin? Suddenly, two more roots emerged from the shadows, wrapping themselves tightly around my wrists. They pulled my arms away from the bush, making me hit the floor, all three roots dragging me. I started to kick and squirm, only stopping when I was suddenly in a clearing, surrounded by trees. The roots released me, and I was on my feet, blood seeping from the cuts on my hands and arms, "Come out!" I caught my breath, breathing loudly while I tried taking in my surroundings. I had no idea where I was. If whatever was behind those roots wanted to isolate me, they did a great job of it.
"Show us what you got," a male voice said, and when I turned around there he was, leaning against a tree. Brown hair, hazel eyes, light skin, arms crossed; he looked like a regular guy you'd find on the street. I backed away a step, then lifted my fists up in the stance I used when wielding Kaori. I may not have his claws anymore, but I knew close-quarters. This was no pre-Kishin; I could kick his ass.
"Who are you?" I asked, eyes not wavering from his. He smirked.
"If you impress us we might just tell you," a female this time; behind me. I spun around just as a gust of wind blew, and she appeared from thin air a yard or so away, swinging her arm diagonally, and the next thing I knew the air spun into discs and those discs flew towards me. I slid to the left to dodge one, then dove and rolled under the rest. I got as close as I could to her and was just about to dig my fist into her face when a root burst from the ground, wrapping around my wrist and throwing me into the trunk of a tree. I gasped for breath when my back slammed into it, and had to lean against the tree to pick myself back up.
"Are you sure it's her?" I heard, still dizzy from bumping my head as well. It was the girl.
"How many times are you going to ask?" he asked, giving the girl an agitated look. Suddenly he jerked his head another direction, something catching his attention, "Her friends are coming."
"What?" I breathed, panic rising in my chest.
"I'll take care of them," the girl said, her grey eyes glancing at me before turning.
"No!" I launched myself off the tree, running at her, "Leave them alone!" She rose her arm, probably about to attack again, but I was on the ground before I could even get half way to her. The root wrapped around my ankle and lifted me off the ground, suspending me in the air upside down. I kicked and grabbed at the thing at my ankle, "Let me go!"
"One of them is a Shinigami," he said, "Be careful."
"If you hurt them you'll regret it; I will find you!"I screamed at her.
"Figure out a way to quicken the awakening of her soul; we don't have a lot of time," and she disappeared, a breeze accompanying her. I didn't care what she meant, all I knew was that she was going after my friends. My breathing became unsteady as I swallowed the lump in my throat.
Danger magnet.
"You son of a bitch," I managed out without my voice cracking, "You'd be nothing without your magic."
He curled his fingers making the root move, bringing me just out of reach of him, but close enough to feel the intensity in his eyes, "If you're insinuating I'm some type of witch, you couldn't be anymore wrong. Besides, do male witches even exist?"
"Then what are you?" my head was beginning to feel the pressure of the blood rushing into it. Was he going to keep me like this until I passed out?
Instead of answering, I was launched into the air, the root throwing me above the trees and farther away from the academy and my friends. I fell back into the trees, hitting branches and twigs and leaves on the way down. Leaves and sticks fused below me, and when I fell in, it acted as a net keeping me from slamming into the ground. After catching me it fell apart from under me, turning back to leaves and sticks and I landed on my feet, stumbling slightly, my body aching.
"Where are you?" I yelled into the trees. Daylight was beginning to fade and pretty soon it would be pitch dark out. Suddenly, something erupted inside me and I collapsed, my whole body feeling the searing pain rather then just my chest. A scream shook out of me, a long, agonizing sound as it took hold of my whole being. I couldn't think, I couldn't move, not like last time when I just didn't want too.
Is this what it felt like to be set on fire?
"To think," I heard him after I couldn't scream anymore. I gasped for breath, just breathing setting my nerves on fire, and tears welled up in my eyes, "I actually wanted to have fire's soul," he came into view and bent down, putting a finger under my chin, and looking into my eyes as the tears started to roll down. I don't think he understood that just his touch felt like an open flame on my skin, but he probably wouldn't have cared either way. I noticed something flicker in his own eyes, and he let go, leaving me to burn alive from the inside. He bent down and punched the ground, it starting to rumble as a wall of stone, almost as tall as the trees, emerged from beneath the earth. It surrounded us, trapping us both inside.
He stood up, turning to me, "It's begun."
End of Chapter XX
Hope you enjoyed it!
- Limiterlys