Chapter Nine: Live to Snoop Another Day

Things had been crazy at the DWMA since the Exchange Program had begun. Out of all the students who had been swapped around, it seemed that the Japanese branch had done the most sending of students, and the least gaining of students. Many of the meister and weapon partners that Kid had competed against since his arrival at school had been split up, sent to different places around the world. Team Maka had been talking less and less as the time went on and now Kid only heard regularly from Liz and Patty. The two girls were having a fantastic time in Australia, though their meister suspected it had more to do with the two boys who were wielding them than the scenery.

As for Kid, the last six months – why six? Why couldn't it have been eight? – had been bearable at least. Nikolai and Bastian, the brother weapons, were twins, identical twins. For once in his life, Kid found himself being completely symmetrical - excluding the lines in his hair - as he fought with his two identical spiked flails. They did take quite a bit more energy to swing around, but he found himself enjoying the dark satisfaction he got from smashing things. The three boys had since adapted to each other's fighting styles. Out of the program, Lord Death had informed Kid that the trio had only been behind one other team when it came to soul resonance. His father hadn't told him who it was but Kid suspected Maka – the meister had always been very adaptable.

Currently Kid was facing a fight that not even symmetry could defeat. Sitting at the dinner table with his father across from him, his gold eyes staring into the darkness behind the mask that hid most emotion. The table had a lack of symmetry that bothered Kid, and the lack of symmetry wasn't even the major problem. The problem at the forefront of Kid's mind was the woman sitting next to his father, at his right hand.

Nikolai and Bastian had always evened out the table by sitting on either side of Kid, square in the middle of the table one seat away from him and his father. Now, with this mystery woman, there were three seats empty. Symmetry seemed like a trifle matter when it came to issues such as this. With a single father Kid might have suspected that it would happen someday. With a father like Lord Death stranger things had definetly happened. A concept such a dating, however, Kid could not picture Lord Shinigami ever wooing the magnificent specimen next to him.

So far, Kid didn't care for her. Her laugh was shrill and off-kilter, her words twisting and purred in a way that reminded him of a cat who's just cornered a mouse. Her hair was tied back in a bun, thick tentacle-like groups of hairs sprouting from beneath and wrapping around her skull, making it look as if there was a squid attached up there. If it wasn't her lack of symmetry, though, it was the way she already acted like she owned everything she touched. The second she placed her hand on Kid's shoulder the young Shinigami knew there was something wrong with the woman who called herself Calypso. Whether it be simply that she was a gold-digger after his father's wealth, which had been acquired over the centuries, or that she was after his power. Kid didn't care. He couldn't help but feel unsettled by the sea green eyes and the eggshell white skin that seemed to stretch over her bones as if it didn't fit quite right. As if a she-devil had stolen it and stretched in over herself to masquerade as an angel.

"So Kid, have you made these two boy Death Weapons yet?" Lord Death asked in his cartoon-y, bubbly voice.

"Of course not, father," Kid replied coolly, attempting to keep up appearances as his usual calm and collected self. "There's been too much to do around the DWMA lately. Professor Stein has us doing more dissections than usual."

It wasn't a lie, either. The DWMA's most talented Professor seemed to be digressing again. His eyes were beginning to flare with a bit of his own madness, so much so that the entire academy felt tainted with it. Crona had been gluing himself to Kid's side lately, his nervousness amplified. All the progress the boy had made with Maka seemed to be dissipating with time though Kid had a feeling he would get better as soon as the female meister had returned. The two of them had a particularly strong bond, much like the one between siblings. It was a known fact that Kid had taken over care of the sword meister, gathering him and Ragnarok – as well as their belongings - and letting them stay at Gallows Manor.

Still, Kid couldn't help but feel a bit chilled. The pink-haired boy had been having nightmares, so many that Kid had taken to sitting with him most nights. What he spoke of in his sleep made Kid's skin crawl: whisperings of witches, death, and destruction. Most recently, Crona had even uttered a full sentence. Though it gave away almost nothing, the way that poor little Crona had broken out into a cold sweat, his heart beating loud and hard enough to be heard across the room had Death the Kid taking the night-terror to heart.

Crona had groaned, muttering his usual 'I can't deal with it' phrase, tossing and turning with increased fervor as the claws of whatever dream was infecting him with darkness grew stronger. As he tossed and turned, he finally became still, his eyes flicking back and forth as his jaws unconsciously cut through his lip. "She's coming."

Perhaps it wasn't Calypso's fault. It was possible that she had just coincidentally appeared in his life after the chilling sleep-message. Whatever the case, Kid couldn't help but feel somewhat wary of the new woman so soon afterwards. Even if she weren't coming at a time such as this, there was something off about her; Kid was sent on edge just by the way that she looked at his father as if he were her prey.

The way his father was acting wasn't any help either: like a drugged addict. He couldn't seem to get enough of this Calypso – going along with everything she said, inviting her to stay with him in his manor, even having her come with him to the DWMA. What they did all day, nearly always alone, Kid did not want to know. What Kid did know, however, was that something was definetly not right with Calypso.

"So, Kid, are you excited to see Patty and Liz again? I know you've missed them!" Lord Death asked, seeming eager to draw his son into the conversation.

The black-haired boy chew a bite of food slowly, considering the question before answering. "It will be nice to see how my weapons have progressed in the hands of two new meisters. I just hope these two boys have treated them respectfully."

"I'm sure the boys will have minded their manners," Calypso purred with a knowing tone in her voice, green eyes flashing while she smirked. "Though you never know with young men these days, they can be so disrespectful."

Her laugh gave Kid goose bumps and his eyes narrowed imperceptibly as he evaluated the woman's intent. There was nothing outwardly malicious about the way she had spoken, but something wasn't right about her words. He stored it in his mind for later.

"My generation is a bit rough around the edges," He grinned dryly, "But we do have our good points as well."

Calypso inclined her head slightly in agreement, stroking Lord Death's arm while she looked over at Kid cooly. A deep breath, Kid focused on his lungs, breathing his irritation with her possessive attitude out through his nostrils. In his mind's eyes he watch it evaporate from his skin like water from the earth. What did he care if she had romantic relations with his father? Hell, the Shinigami was plenty old enough to be looking for a spouse – it was far past the time that most bachelors began to settle down. Despite what his father might have thought, Kid was actually pleased that he had begun looking for women. Even though he didn't want to move back in Kid had always felt a little guilty for leaving his father all alone in the Land of Mirrors where Lord Death's mansion resided.

"So, Lord Death," Nikolai stepped in, talking delicately around the food that he had stuffed in his cheeks, "Are you excited vor de ball vis veekend?"

"You betcha!" Lord Death exclaimed, reacting ecstatically. "Stein sure came up with a good idea this time!"

Alarm bells went off in Kid's mind and it was getting harder by the second to remain calm as incongruences began arising, things not adding up. "Professor Stein suggested the idea of the ball?"

"Yeah! And of course, Stein knows best!"

Kid couldn't help but notice how Calypso was acting like a cat who'd just eaten a very large and very satisfying bird. His soul perception didn't reveal her to be a witch and it was unlikely that one could get this close to Lord Death, even when using soul protect. Stein, who was usually in charge of Lord Death's security, was crumbling to his own madness though. Was it possible that Calypso was a witch?

"Since when has Professor Stein been the one calling the shots, father?" Death the Kid inquired softly, a thinly veiled accusation on the tip of his tongue. Lord Death paused, his round eyes narrowing at his golden-eyed son as the two Shinigami stared each other down. Nikolai and Bastian, stuck in between the two deities with nowhere to go, attempted to scoot back in their chairs silently so as to clear themselves from the crossfire. If either of them thought it was odd that Calypso only drew herself closer to Lord Death – closer to the line of fire – they didn't comment.

"Professor Stein is one of my best meisters, I value his word over anyone else's." Lord Death replied, his voice serious. "Do not be mistaken, Kid, because I am the one in charge."

Kid made a small noise of affirmation, his mind whirring as things began to separate and attract his attention. There was something very wrong here, something that was just off enough that he could sense it but not tell what it was. Silent as a ghost he stood, sending a brief farewell to his father and his soon-to-be stepmother, beckoning for his weapons to follow him. There was probably just a painting askew in his house that he'd missed. Had he forgotten to fold the toilet paper? As his mind turned to the new issue, a drop of sweat slid down Kid's face and quickened his step. What if he hadn't folded it into a perfect triangle? He couldn't be defeated by such a simple thing as toilet paper! If he was defeated by a thing like that, what did it make him? Garbage! Asymmetrical garbage!

He was nearly to his Gallows Mansion when he fell to his knees, groaning softly and muttering to himself as he attempted to work through the moments before he had left the house this morning. His weapons, already used to his OCD breakdowns, each grabbed him underneath the arm and picked him up so that he was dragging between them.

"Vhat is it this time, Kid?" sighed Nikolai.

"Vould it be de toilet paper or de painting?" Bastian asked.

"The toilet paper!" Kid moaned, his gold eyes crossing. "I don't think I folded the toilet paper!"

They walked in silence until they got home, the two weapons having enough sense to take their meister directly into the bathroom so he could check the toilet paper. Next they had to wait for several hours as Death the Kid checked every painting, cupboard, and bed sheet in the house for any sign of asymmetry. As he did so, both of them were left to entertain themselves. Bastian opted to lock himself away in the gym and attempt to bench-press ten times his own body weight – a feat his brother had no doubt he could accomplish seven times over. Nikolai was the elder twin, the more practical twin, the smarter twin. Not to say that Bastian was stupid, but he was simple – definetly the brawns of the pair. Nikolai had thought extensively sense meeting Kid, working through his knowledge of OCD disorders, of what he knew of Kid and his past, and he had reached his own assumption.

When the boy with the white stripes returned to the room, assured that everything was as it should have been, Nikolai began to breach the discussion with Kid. After all, the Exchange Program was meant to help each meister and weapon grow, wasn't it? "Kid, have you ever considered vat your OCD may just be a coping mechanism?"

"A coping mechanism?" A pair of gold eyes narrowed as the Shinigami worked through what the spiked flail had said.

"Vor things you are not v'ready to deal vith. A vay for your mind to vocus on other things. Things that do not cause much stress?"

"My OCD often causes more stress than it shields me from." Was his answer, a frown settling onto his face as he settled into his fluffy armchair, sinking rather than sitting.

"Yes," Nikolai said slowly, studying the young meister – his relaxed position, the lazy way his eyes gazed around the room as if he had no cares. How far from the truth that was. "But it is something you can control. Vhere are things vhat you can v'ix, instead of d'em fixing you."

As Kid mulled it over, Nikolai started to build a fire – unfortunately, it had to be symmetrical – in the fireplace. They had been out for most of the day, first at school and then at the impromptu dinner party with Lord Death and the almost-stepmother from hell. That lady unnerved the German boy to a level that he did not really understand, nor could he describe. Something about the way her eyes had calculated and categorized him in a matter of seconds, deeming him unfit to pay her attention to. She didn't even have to say it out loud. Her body language shouted what she thought out him: worthless; inconsequential.

"It's been a long day," Nikolai turned to see Kid rubbing his forehead softly as he spoke, tension and weariness leaking into his features. One thing that he had learned of the young death god was that he put on formal and proper airs when he was in public, but at home it was a whole other story. The teenage boy was weary of all the mystery and secrecy that had infected his life. Couldn't it, just for once, be a straightforward fight? Wouldn't that just be easier for all parties involved?

The weapon nodded, coming out of his crouch and claiming his own chair. He and Kid often sat like this before bed, mulling over their day and sharing thoughts. The three teenage boys had been bonded by experience, though Bastian tended to be one of the non-emotional walking walls of testosterone – stereotypically – that didn't show much of himself unless it was a strategic move in a fight. Nikolai was much more open with his emotions.

"I agree," he sighed, keep one eye on his meister as he evaluated Kid's mood. The Shinigami seemed more stressed than usual, like something was bugging him. "Is something wrong, Kid?"

Staring into the distance, his finger tapping on his upper lip as he thought, Kid replied. "I don't know, Nikolai. But I intend to find out."