"Kid!" The young reaper heard Maka yell not far from the camp. He was on his feet immediately. Were the Rotters back? Before even forming a complete thought, he was already blindly rushing to the sound of the blonde.

"Maka-" He called back, not caring about the volume of his voice, but was cut short due to the fact that he had just run into something head on, or something running into him, causing it in return to fall over. That something happened to be Maka, who jumped right back up again as if she was a Weeble.

"Kid! Did you sense tha-"

"Are you alright? What's wrong? Where's Liz and Patty? Are they ok?" Kid questioned a hundred miles an hour, adrenaline already infiltrating his veins.

"No they're fine. We're all fine- but that's not the point!" Maka said shaking her head in frustration. "Did you feel that?" She said, now gripping both of his shoulders tightly is if to make him focus on the question at hand.

Kid let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding. So Maka was ok. The sisters were ok… No danger… "Feel what? And where are Liz and Patty?" He asked, somewhat calmer, very aware of the footsteps rushing up behind him. He figured it was Staz; or maybe Robin. A quick soul perception confirmed it was both.

"The soul! I felt a soul while I was with Liz and Patty! Kid, it was so strong… You felt it too, right?" The reaper knew where this was going; even in the moonlight, Kid could see the girl's wide green eyes glittering with hope.

Kid's throat tightened in guilt, knowing his negative answer wasn't the one she was hoping for; he absolutely hated himself knowing He would be the one to destroy such a beautiful, hope-filled gaze.

Wait. What?

Kid shook his head to answer, shaking away his previous thoughts away along with not particularly wanting to voice his negative answer. "Oh…" was Maka's only reply. "Maybe you where just too far away, you know, with it being dulled and all-" Maka's conclusion was cut short as Staz entered the scene, slightly panicked and Robin stumbling behind him, brandish a decent sized blade.

"Oi! What's going- AH!" Staz screamed as Kid turned to face and inform him that everything was ok. "Your eyes, mate! Th-they're glowing!"

"Yes, yes. It comes with being a shinigami." Kid retorted, his luminescent orbs giving an exaggerated roll. Staz continued to gawk at him.

"Y-You're a shinigami?!" Staz stuttered, backing away from Kid eyes wide; but the reaper wasn't able to answer before he heard his weapons rushing up behind the blonde meister in front of him.

"Maka! What's going on?!" Liz called, Patty giggling behind her.

"Maka felt a soul and-" Kid began, only to be cut off by multiple voices.

"Maka found Soul?!" Liz gasped.

"He's a Shinigami!" Staz yelled, trying to inform the sisters.

After that little bit of excitement, they decided to go back to the camp and explain everything. After a brief reassurance that Kid was, in fact, not going to drag Staz's soul down to the fiery pits of hell, he agreed to come semi closer to the cam fire, though his eyes still gave him paranoid glances. Maka spoke up, obviously eager to investigate.

"We've got to go check it out! I could've sworn it was Soul's, Kid. I just know it was..." She said, almost pleading.

Kid sighed, unsure of what to do. That soul could've been anyone's, and he wasn't particularly sure of what they would run into if it wasn't someone they knew. Robin's voice echoed in his head as he recalled the young boy mentioning seeing a large group of men traveling together. True, there was a chance they could be harmless and were just trying to get by as they were, but there was also the alternative, and Kid didn't particularly want himself or anyone else in that situation. Catastrophes tend to skewer people's minds; and morality. There was also the chance that it really was Soul; Maka is his partner after all, and should be able to pin point him in a crowd. Was it really Soul that she sensed? Or was she just desperate to have her partner back? That also brought around another question; did she really even sense a soul? Desperation does make people do crazy things… Before Kid could give his final answer, Staz finally spoke.

"Soul..? Spiky white hair, sharp teeth? The bloke who fell into the alley, right?"

"Yes, that's him!" Maka said, eyes wide and filled with hope. Did he know something that they didn't? Had he seen Soul? Maka's expression fell as Staz looked down with a face that only someone with bad new could hold.

"Miss… I'm sorry… But I don't think he made it…"

"W-What?" Maka said, her voice almost a laugh of disbelief. "What do you mean he didn't make it? Of course he did." Kid noted that her voice was extremely thick and her eyes were becoming far too bright. He winced internally and looked away, unable to see the strong willed Maka in so much pain.

"After I saw the blue haired guy take you off, I figured you all might've needed a bit of help. I turned back, but when I looked over I didn't see anyone… I just saw…" Staz looked as though every word he spoke was a sword to the stomach. "I just saw Rotters, piled up on top of each other, thrashing and pulling at… something. All I could do was watch in horror as they tore into it…" He paused. "I-I figure my brother went down then too." He looked over at the girl who studied his face, her expression absolutely pained. "I can understand how you feel…" He finished.

Kid ran a hand through his hair. So that was it? Soul was gone… Just like that, a friend was killed for no other reason than he simply misplaced his foot and fell; was it really that simple? Was fate really that cruel? Kid cringed again as he heard Maka's soft sobs and Liz's attempts at comforting her. From the sound of it, Staz had kept this news from the girls as well; not even Patty dare speak and interrupt such a thick atmosphere. A random, unrelated thought occurred to him and he looked up at the moon over head, discovering it was now in the early hours of a new day. He counted down the days from which the infection had broken out and shook his head. She had to hear this toady of all days… He thought bitterly.

"No…" Maka's small whisper was just barely heard over her sobs. "No." She said again, this time more firm. "I felt a soul. It's him. He's still alive. He has to be, and I'm going to be the one to find him." She said, her tone making it clear that it was not up for discussion.

"Maka, I don't-"

"No, Kid. I'm going and you're not stopping me. Don't even try." She said, her voice icy towards the reaper.

"I'm not going to stop you. I'm going with you."

Don't kill me… Please don't… I'm not a Soul hater, I swear! I know some KiMa fans are, but I, for one, am not! Just… Things have to happen. Keep this in mind if it means anything, everything happens for a reason.

Anyways, on a lighter note, I expect (don't hold me to this) the next chapter to be up soon. And the chapter after that… Well, let's just say I'll have a warning for it.

Replies~!

Checkered Brooke- Gaaaaah! I dunnooooo! Well… Actually I do… But I no tell you… haha :) you shalt find out… soon-ish enough.

Art n' Music- Maybe both? I dunno, she just seems like a match maker XD And good, suspense is good for the soul! (no pun intended) :D

Mikaela- Yeah, she doesn't exactly get to deal with the high school gossip anymore, so she settles with what she has :) but that's good for us, because it helps the KiMa relationship move forward! And… Can't say much about the rest of you're review except you, and all my other readers, are far awesomer than I'll ever be! I'd never be able to have the drive to finish this without you guys!

DeathTheKidsDinosaurRawr- It's ok, we all have our moments XD