Chapter 3: A Shadow of Madness
A/N: Sorry for the late update! I've been really busy lately. :( Anyway, I tried to make this chapter a little bit longer for you guys! Please enjoy! :3
"Are you two ready to go?" Death the Kid stood by the front door of his house, slightly agitated, waiting for his weapon partners, Liz and Patty.
"Well, I'm ready to head out." Liz stretched her arms, walked over to the door, and stood by Kid. "I don't know what's taking Patty so long though. She's usually the first person out the door, because she's so eager to leave." She rolled her eyes.
As soon as Liz finished talking, a young girl came barreling towards them, screaming, "Kiddo! Kid-kun! I have a present for you! I just finished!" Patty came running towards them at a break-neck speed and Liz braced for the imminent impact, but luckily the girl came to a quick halt right before them. She held something behind her back.
"This is for you, Kid-kun!" Patty showed Kid what she was hiding. It was a huge giraffe made out of cardboard which had been painted yellow and brown.
"I've been working on this all night! And there are 8 spots, see?" Patty jabbed her figure at the spots that had been painted onto the giraffe. "4 on each side, so it's symmetrical, you see?" She smiled.
Liz face palmed. Kid took the giraffe and examined it. "That was…very nice of you, Patty. Thanks." Kid had a genuine smile on his face and Patty grinned back at him.
Well, that's not exactly what I had in mind when I said to make something for Kid. Liz thought to herself. But I guess it did the trick if it made him smile. Nice job, Patty.
"However, we should probably leave this in the house today. So it doesn't get ruined." Kid handed the giraffe back to Patty.
"Okay!" The girl cheerfully returned the giraffe back into the house.
"Can we go yet?" Liz complained.
"Sure." Kid said and began to walk with Liz.
"Wait for me!" Patty cried, running to catch up with the two.
After walking for awhile, Liz asked, "So, where are we going anyway?"
"We are going to the Shibusen to see if there are any important missions that we need to take on today. I'm also supposed to check in on the residents of Death City." Kid replied.
"Hey look, we're here!" Patty exclaimed. The trio glanced up and saw the huge and elaborately designed school known as the Shibusen looming over their heads. They also spotted two kids chatting by the front of the school, one had spiky blue hair, and the other was a very tall girl with her dark hair swept up into a high ponytail.
"Black Star! Tsubaki!" Patty shouted to them as her form of a greeting. Tsubaki waved and Black Star crossed his arms with a big scowl on his face. The three walked over to them. Black Star just stood there looking permanently pissed off, while the girl, Tsubaki, greeted them politely.
"Hello Liz, Patty, and Kid-sama." She said quietly.
Death the Kid frowned slightly, then explained, "You can still call me Kid. I'd rather you did, actually. I'm not quite used to this whole Shinigami thing anyway." He shrugged.
Tsubaki corrected herself immediately. "Oh, I'm so sorry, Kid! I just thought that since… you know...Shinigami-sama…" She trailed off.
"Don't worry about it." Kid reassured her.
"Hey Kid there's one thing I want you to get through your tiny head." Black Star, still frustrated, marched over to Kid and stood a few inches away from him. "If you think that now you're a Shinigami or whatever the heck you are, it means you're more powerful than ME, then you're dead wrong!"
So that's why he's so frustrated. Liz thought to herself. Black Star's voice grew louder and louder. He pointed to himself with his thumb.
"I'm still number one around here! And you know why? BECAUSE I AM THE MIGHTY BLACK STAR AND I HAVE SURPASSED THE POWERS OF EVEN SHINIGAMIS LIKE YOU! NO ONE CAN BEAT ME! HAHAHAHA!" Black Star broke off into loud, obnoxious laughter. At least he was back to normal now.
Tsubaki sighed, muttering, "Oh Black Star…"
"I had no intent of challenging you, Black Star. Don't worry; I have no intent of stealing your so called 'glory'." Kid replied coolly.
"But he is a very powerful Shinigami now; certainly more powerful than you. " Liz said to Black Star, grinning and wanting to see his reaction. He turned to Liz.
"SHUT UP, I'M STILL NUMBER ONE!" While Black Star continued to rant about being the best, Kid talked to Liz.
"Really, Liz? Why provoke him?" Kid asked.
"Come on, Kid, boast a little!" She grinned and put a hand on his shoulder, and Kid's face reddened slightly at the sudden contact. "Plus his reactions are very amusing."
Their interesting conversation was interrupted, however, when a man with red hair, came running up to the group, panting. Everyone stopped their chatter and turned to look.
"Spirit? What are you doing here?" Death the Kid questioned.
"Kid…you are…needed right away…in the death room." Spirit panted, out of breath. "It's very urgent, please come with me!" Kid nodded grimly, taking in the seriousness of the situation.
"Liz! Patty! Let's go!" They briefly said their goodbyes to Black Star and Tsubaki and followed Spirit.
While they were running they could still hear Black Star shouting, "AND LIKE HELL WILL I EVER CALL YOU KID-SAMA!"
Spirit led the trio to the Death Room where the large mirror that could show anywhere in Death City was located. A grey-haired professor with a screw seemingly going through his head was standing, waiting for them.
"What is it?" They asked.
"Just look in the mirror." Spirit replied, still gasping for breath. Death the Kid and the two girls glanced hesitantly at the special mirror. A horrible sight awaited them.
The mirror showed a large pure black blob coating houses and people. Most people who had been touched by the blackness immediately fell to the ground. Others looked as if they have gone insane. Houses began to crumble and fall, all because of the strange black substance. It grew and spread and appeared to grow larger and larger, as if it would coat the world in darkness.
"Wh-What is that?" Liz asked shakily, visibly frightened. Even Patty looked horrified.
"It's called the Kishin's Shadow." The professor, Stein, explained. "Not much is known about it, but it is apparently the aftermath of defeating the Kishin. I suppose the best way to explain it is like a sort of leftover madness from the Kishin that seeks to infect or kill others while in the form of a black blood type substance. Like I said, we don't have very much info on it, so we don't know exactly what it is capable of. "
"What would you like me to do?" Kid asked.
"We want you to go after it. Since you are a Shinigami, we figure you have a higher chance of surviving than the other kids. Though you are supposed to be immortal, there is a very high chance this could severely injure you."
"What about us?" Patty said.
"As long as you girls stay in weapon form, you should be okay for the most part. Do you think you guys can handle this?" Stein said.
"Of course we can." Kid replied.
"Yep!" Patty replied, always the optimist.
"I…I guess so." Liz said, still very unsure.
"Oh and one more thing," Stein added, "Maka and Soul were out on a mission around that area, when the Kishin's Shadow showed up. You need to make sure they come back to the Shibusen before they get badly hurt."
"Please, please make sure my little Maka doesn't get hurt!" Spirit begged the kids like the overprotective father that he was.
"I will never let my friends get hurt." Kid said grimly. Liz looked at Kid in surprise because of his dead serious voice.
"Well, I suppose we should get a move on before anyone gets seriously hurt, right? Come on, I wanna get this over with." Liz sighed. "Why do we always get the creepy missions?" She muttered.
"Right, we should go." Kid nodded in agreement. "Liz. Patty." Right on cue, the two girls transformed into weapons, two matching guns, and Kid held one in each of his hands. "Let's do this."
Kid took out his flying skateboard, Beezlebub, and took off riding it.
"We're counting on you! Make sure Maka's safe!" Spirit shouted.
"Good luck you three." Stein called out as Kid left. "You'll need it." He added. However, it was going to take a lot more than luck to win this battle.
A/N: Please Read and Review! Oh and in Japan, adding -sama at the end of a name adds a lot more respect for those who didn't know! Quick shoutout to my reviewers: author-144, uuuu, Confetti108, and I'm Just a Girl. So whatAnime! You guys are the best! :D Big thanks to anyone who faved or followed as well! And, no flames please. Thank you! :3