Chapter 7: The Right Choice

A/N: SL here! I'm back! :3 So sorry for the wait, guys! I went on a trip and had no writing time! :( Also, school's starting pretty soon, so I will have even less writing time...Oh well. Also sorry that this chapter is also a little shorter than others. In this chapter, Kid contemplates life and love and makes his decision. Enjoy! :3 R & R!

Death the Kid stood there, contemplating. He would have to make an impossible choice. It seemed simple. Refuse to collect Liz's soul and have her return to life, or collect her soul and let her go. The first option seemed better at first glance, but there were deep consequences either way, making this an incredibly tough decision. Why was he forced to do this? But, more importantly, why was this so hard? Kid sat down, the light blue soul still floating before him, and began to really think.

He was a Shinigami. A grim reaper. A harbinger of death. He had known this for what seemed like his whole life. When his father had first told him about collecting souls, he had never really stopped to think that there might be a time he would actually want to refuse a soul. He had never thought this sort of thing could happen. It was stupid, really. He should have seen this coming.

"It is essential that you never refuse to collect a soul, even if the person was a friend of yours. Understand? This will throw off the balance of life and death because of something selfish you refused to do. You must always collect the soul if the person has died. ALWAYS. Do you understand me, Kid?"

"Yes, Dad." Kid answered solemnly.

He was so carefree back then, never actually stopping to think what he would feel if a situation came to this. Kid sighed, and then thought, 'What exactly am I feeling?' Kid locked his gazed onto the tiny orb floating in front of him. It was Liz. Or, everything that had made Liz, Liz, if that made sense. It was her mind, feelings, and personality all wrapped up in one tiny sphere which floated in front of him.

Liz was his weapon. No. Liz was his partner. No. He felt like there was a better term, but he just couldn't come up with it. Gazing at her soul he felt something new, an emotion he hadn't really felt before and had trouble naming.

Love? Was it really love? But Shinigamis can't love. Not in that way, anyway. Sure, Shinigamis can love in the way you might love a family member, or a friend, but not in the romantic way. This is because a Shingami's soul is created from a fragment of another Shinigami, so there is no need for them to be capable of love in the romantic way. But, the longer Kid stared at the soul, the more he became sure that this was what he was feeling. It figures that the first and only girl he loved would die. This thought brought him back on track. He still had a choice to make.

Say he chose to collect her soul, like a good Shinigami would. She would be dead, gone for good this time. But life would go on; it was just one more death in the world. Even if the person who died was someone he loved. Death kept life in balance. It was needed in the world.

But what would happen if he refused to collect her soul? First of all, his father had highly advised against it. Could he really disobey an order from his now dead father? Also, it was very selfish of him. The balance of life and death in the world would be completely screwed up all because of him. However, Liz would be brought back to life, which was a huge benefit. But wait…

He stopped and went over that last thought. Would that really bring her back to life? It was possible, but there was no way to know for sure. Then an even worse possibility struck him. What if, it failed to bring her back to life, and it took away Patty's soul too? That was one possibility he just could not risk. Patty was also very important to him, and that was something he could not overlook.

It seemed obvious now. There was only one thing for him to do. He had to make the right choice. Though it pained him, he had to let her go. He closed his eyes once more and recalled his father's words of how to collect a soul. He had never really collected one all by himself before.

"Now this part is important, Kiddo, and I need you to pay close attention. This is how you collect souls. First, time will freeze for everyone but you, and you should be able to see the soul you need to collect clearly. Next, you walk towards it. Soon, you shouldn't be conscious of anything but you and the soul. Then, you take it and put it in your cloak. The soul should be absorbed directly into the cloak at first contact with it."

Slowly, he stood up and walked towards the soul he had to collect. He looked at the beautiful aqua orb one last time before taking it in his hands. He tilted his head down, and a single tear rolled down his cheek.

"I' m sorry…" He whispered, as he held the soul over his heart and it absorbed into his cloak, gone from the world once and for all. He knew he had done the right thing, but he still felt an agonizing pain in his heart as the soul seemingly disappeared into thin air.

Slowly, his surroundings came back into focus and he was no longer stuck in his own personal world. He glanced around, seeing the ruins of buildings and dead bodies. The air was still thick the scent of madness as well, and darkness was everywhere. All because of that damned Kishin's Shadow. That monster would pay; he would make sure of it.

He didn't want to see her body again, but it was still there. It was hard to believe no time had passed when it felt like he had spent an eternity trying to make his choice. Liz's body was still sprawled awkwardly on the hard ground, her blood spilled all around her. Upon seeing it, Kid felt the finality of it all. His father was dead, the girl he loved was dead, and there was absolutely nothing he could do about it. He had collected her soul and now she was really gone forever. But he would never forget her or the fact that she had saved his life.

"We will always be here for you, Kid. Patty and I will always be here to help you out and fight with you or defend you, or whatever is needed…Never forget that, 'kay?"

The grief he felt in that moment completely overwhelmed Kid. He fell to his knees and sobbed uncontrollably.

A/N: Oh, the angst. :3 Btw, this story is not over yet! There are still a couple more chapters, so please, stick with me to the end! Kid still has to beat the Kishin's Shadow and you get to see the impact of his choice! :3 Interesting fact: (if anyone cares) this story was originally going to be just a oneshot with this chapter being the oneshot! :3 Oh and btw if there are any Dangan Ronpa fans out there, I'm writing a Dangan Ronpa/Soul Eater Crossover! It will be called Dangan Ronpa: Despairing Souls, so keep an eye out for it, I'll post it sometime soon! :3 Bye! Review please! Thank you everyone! :3