FIERY
Chapter 4: Mysteries
I do not own DCMK and SE.
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"Evans…"
He wondered who was calling him by his family name.
Maka would not do that.
Not even his friends.
His family was a sore subject.
But at that time…
"Or would you prefer me to call you Eater? Soul Eater?"
He grumbled weakly.
He was still dizzy as he was almost strangled by…
By Maka…
The voice continued to bug him.
And the bad thing was, he was hearing it from the inside, too, as strange as it sounded.
Maybe it was an illusion.
He had stars in his eyes before he lost consciousness.
Or was he dead?
"Soul, wake up now. Wake up now," the voice said in a sing-song manner.
He stood up.
And found out that he was inside a beautiful room.
Red curtains covered the room.
There were lines of candles that provided effective light.
And in the center of the room was a big black piano.
"Where am I?"
He wasn't surprised that his voice was hoarse.
His neck still hurt.
"You're in your mind…"
He turned around to see a very unusual creature, standing beside the piano.
He was sure it could just be a small demon.
But the demon was peculiar, dancing and swaying, snapping fingers at a regular rhythm.
He was quite confused.
"What do you mean?"
"You do know what a mind is, right?" the demon said sarcastically. "You're inside yours right now. Isn't that cool?"
The demon apparently knew a lot about him, even mentioning his favorite word.
And he asked, "How is this possible?"
"I saved you. It's like a coma, really. But I can easily release you now."
"How come you are here? What are you doing here?"
The demon spread its arms. "Let's say I'm your consciousness. There. I am a big part of you."
"I am not a loud and ugly demon."
The demon smiled and remained patient.
"Just like how red and blue are different. But if you mix them, they're one as violet."
"Stop it with the riddles. I want to get out of here."
"Then play."
He grunted in question, not sure that he had heard it right.
The demon continued, "Play the piano."
He shook his head.
"I am a shame in the art of music."
The demon raised its eyebrows. "But you're a natural in the piano. It's your soul."
He never liked deep matters.
They were so uncool.
But now, he was interested.
"Are you saying that if I don't play the piano? I wouldn't get out of here?"
"Tell me. If you don't eat food, would your body function properly?"
His interest wavered a little.
Questions like that bore his mind out.
"Obviously, no."
The demon hummed in agreement. "Same principle, Soul."
Then it offered the piano seat. "I think you're ready now."
And he was surprised again.
For he was now wearing a dark suit and pants.
He absently adjusted the collar then he nodded at the demon.
He sat and made himself comfortable, his eyes gazing at the piano keys.
"What do you expect me to play?"
The demon whispered to his ear, "Anything that suits you."
Soul made himself ready then a question popped to him.
"Do you have a name, little demon?"
"I go with Pandora."
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"Soul!"
A queen of spades zoomed to Black Star.
He quickly pulled out a knife from his belt and deflected it.
"Why do you carry a knife?" The thief asked. "That's a murderer's weapon."
Another card followed his words.
Black Star faced his knife forward and it caught the card.
Making it look like a…
"Barbeque."
Black Star grinned.
"Why are you doing this?"
"Why are you doing this?" Black Star retorted.
The next words from the thief barely came above a whisper.
"Kaito KID is doing it for Otou-san."
He threw a rose.
Black Star didn't dodge.
He let the rose bruise his cheek with its thorns.
"Everyone has their own father to defend. Except for me, of course. So I protect my friends is all."
Black Star melted in the dark.
Kaito KID hummed.
He threw a metal ball before him and smoke came out, instantly hiding him.
"I can see your shadow!" Black Star yelled.
And he stroke from the smoke and out the knife around the thief's neck.
The dummy's neck.
"Tch."
Black Star ducked instinctively.
Something whistled above him.
"Just in time…" a voice mused aloud from somewhere.
From everywhere.
The voice was somehow echoing in the smoke.
"How about this?"
Three shots were rapidly made.
Black Star breathed as he stood up.
Then he took something on his belt again and he laid it around him.
Chains.
He held the chains firmly then he felt it.
Three cards got stuck among the chains.
"I still have tricks on my sleeves, Black Star."
"A god like me doesn't go for trickery. It's what you call skills!"
Black Star stuck a knife on one edge of the chain.
Then he threw the chain forward, one hand holding the other end.
It hit no one and it dropped somewhere in the smoke.
But it was there.
"Are you trying to kill me?"
A rose struck Black Star's hand.
He reflexively knelt and grunted with the little pain.
"Seems like you can't dodge my roses."
Then Black Star felt it.
A tug that he was waiting for.
Kaito KID was getting his cards from the chains.
It was Black Star's trap.
And he pulled the chains quickly.
The knife on the edge touched something as it slithered dangerously back to him.
Black Star was sure it was one of the thief's legs.
"Impressive," the thief said.
The smoke was starting to thin.
Black Star kept his senses alert.
Kaito KID chuckled.
"Seems like I should be going."
"Coward!"
"It's a magician's escape."
Black Star charged blindly, still affected by the smoke.
"See ya," KID continued.
It was that terrible timing when the smoke vanished.
And Black Star couldn't find…
"Soul!"
'Damn!'
He searched around for a clue where the thief had gone.
Then he remembered.
There should be blood flowing out of his leg!
He searched around once more.
Only to see just a single drop of blood.
The thief must have covered his wound, knowing that it wouldn't help in his escape.
Black Star yelled a line of curses.
Then he punched the ground hard.
The skin was damaged.
Blood came out of his hands from the force.
But he didn't care.
He had failed his friends.
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The two detectives weren't expecting a Shinigami-sama like the one that they were facing at the moment.
The leader looked more like a floating piece of fabric than a human.
Perhaps he wasn't a human.
"Thank you, Spirit-kun~ You may now go."
The red0haired man nodded at the skull-headed figure and he went out of the room.
That left three in the room.
Both detectives weren;t sure how to start.
The room itself was strange, with a lot of crosses and sticks.
Ironically, it looked like a comical graveyard.
"Hello!"
The figure raised two fingers in an unmistakable cheerful greeting.
"What brings you two here?"
They still didn't answer.
They didn't even know if the figure was just assessing them with those hollow eye sockets.
Shinigami bended close to the smaller detective.
"Hello, little kid! How do I look to you?"
Conan was a little nervous by those staring eyes, but he knew he had to act.
Like a child.
Conan poked the figure's eyes.
"FOOL!"
It was an instant change in the voice.
The jolly voice became deep and humongous.
Conan instinctively ducked as if expecting a smack.
"SHINIGAMI-CHOP!"
"OW! What did you-"
"You don't teach your son to hit someone else's eyes!"
"Do I look like a father to you?!"
Conan looked around ands aw the figure and Heiji facing each other.
Heiji was holding his head as if he had a headache.
The figure had an enlarged hand.
Conan didn't have time to wonder why he had a hand like that.
They had to talk.
"Shinigami-sama!" Conan said in his most childish voice.
The skull turned to him. "What is it?"
The voice had become jolly and playful again.
Conan resisted the urge to roll his eyes in frustration.
"Heiji-niichan has something to tell you."
The figure turned back to Heiji. "What is it?"
"Ahh… Eh," Heiji stuttered. "It's about Kaito-"
"He's an amusing lad, don't you think so?" Shinigami interrupted.
"Eh, not at all?" Heiji said uncertainly.
The figure was constantly having mood shifts.
"He's a clever magician," Shinigami mused.
"An annoying one at that," Heiji argued.
"So what is it about him?" Shinigami asked.
"He dressed as Maka Albarn."
"And he used it as a mean to escape, I take it?"
"No. He seems to have another plan."
Conan nudged his leg.
"Ah, that's right!" Heiji exclaimed as if he remembered something.
"Black Star-"
"You met Black Star?"
Heiji was a little startled by the question. "Yes. He was the one who told us to meet you."
"Did he ask for something?"
"No."
"Good." Shinigami sighed. "Sid-kun raised him right."
"Is he a bad boy?"
"Nevermind that."
Shinigami eyed Conan. "Continue your story."
"EH?!" The two were startled.
Heiji hurriedly said, "The… Conan-kun doesn't know. He's just a kid."
"He knows a lot," Shinigami stated.
"Uhmm…"
Conan cleared his throat. "Guess we can't hide it."
Heiji's eyes widened. "Does he-"
Conan looked up at the skull. "You must have met Oji-san! The great Kogorou Mouri?"
Shinigami nodded slowly.
Conan looked at Heiji as if asking for guidance. "Well, Black Star said that he could find the fake Maka more quickly. But KID-sama is great at trickery so I…"
It was Heiji's turn to nudge him.
Conan bit his lip. "We think that he should have help."
"Tell me…" Shinigami drawled. "Do you know what Kaito KID is after?"
"I think he's searching for a particular gem."
"I believe he does. This situation worries me. Kaito KID as Maka Albarn?"
The other two nodded.
Shinigami continued, "He may have noticed it. Maka-chan is very close with Soul-kun. But she doesn't know Soul-kun's secret. Even Soul himself."
"What-"
"You two, have you already seen Soul-kun?"
"Not yet."
"He is an unusual human with his shark teeth, albino skin, white hair and red eyes."
The two detectives took note of the usage of human."
"Have you two heard about the legendary Pandora?"
"Could it be what KID is after?" Heiji asked.
"Perhaps. But people say that Pandora is also a soul. In this case, Soul-kun has it in him."
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Please do tell me if I am going somewhere interesting! =)
Ja ne!
