Congrats to Hawkllama for being the 88th review! Kidd would be proud of such perfect symmetry.
After an awkward silence, both meisters changed into dry clothes and sat by the fire. Maka sat with her arms crossed around her legs and propped her head on the plush panda whose head was just barely visible above her knees as Kid poked at the fire, adding a final log to it for the night. It was only a matter of minutes before random thoughts of life before had popped into his head. He thought of how things would've stayed the same if the outbreak didn't happen, and how he never would've even looked at the beautiful bookworm twice as something other than a friend, if that. He frowned a bit as a certain memory protruded his thoughts. "Hey, Maka?"
"Hmm?" She hummed, looking up at the boy next to her.
"Did I ever say I was sorry?"
"For…?"
"The time I called you a control freak…" Kid said, his gaze becoming suddenly interested on his empty hands. "That was… Very uncalled for, and I apologize…"
Maka winced at the memory just before the outbreak, remembering Kid had a similar reaction to her harsh words as well. "No, I asked for it, and I should be the one who is sorry…" She blushed slightly, "As a matter of fact…" She let her vivid green eyes wander over to the reaper. He couldn't help but smile. The way the fire reflected off the bright emerald orbs seemed to capture her personality to the finest detail; unreasonably beautiful in every way, yet feisty and not to be underestimated. "I think your symmetry fits can be kind of… Cute sometimes." The words made the reaper blush a bright red.
"Now I wouldn't go as far as saying they're cute…" He mumbled for lack of a better response. "Bothersome. Irksome. Annoying, even; but cute?"
"Sure, why not?" The blonde giggled for the umpteenth time that night, scooting over to the young reaper, close enough that their shoulders touched; not that they were so far from each other to begin with. There was a small, comfortable silence before she spoke again. "Thanks, Kid." She murmured, laying a head on his shoulder.
"For what?" Hesitating at first, Kid reached an arm around the girl, luckily she was on his uninjured side, but when she leaned into the touch, her relaxed a bit and held her close.
They grew up in the same old town,
Never knowing the other was around.
Read from the same damn books;
But never caught each other's looks.
"Everything. Finding me, helping me with my ankle, cheering me up, believing in me, being there for me, giving me somewhere to put my trust… Just, everything. I hardly deserve it for the way I treated you at first…" She sighed, tiredness dripping in her tone.
"You've done just the same for me, and I don't even mean when all this happened. It wasn't even just me; you've helped the rest of the gang as well. In battles before, you've cheered us up. You've believed in us. You've been there for us. You've done so much; I can hardly hope to ever repay you. You deserve every ounce of thankfulness in my body and then some. Don't ever tell yourself otherwise."
"You give me too much credit." Maka replied, though he could hear a smile in her voice. She inhaled deeply, thoroughly enjoying the camp fire smell that entangled itself within Kid's hair and the fabric of his shirt.
"I don't think so." He chuckled, leaning his head on hers. "Hey Maka?"
"Mmm?" She hummed, obviously starting to drift off.
"I know it's kind of late, but would it mean anything to you if I said I had a thing for you?" He asked, praying to death he had used Liz's terminology in the right context.
Kid felt her snicker lightly. "So Liz got to you too, hmm?" She whispered, her voice almost a purr.
"Yeah." He said airily. "I guess she did…" Not long after, her breathing slowed as she slipped further and further into sleep. Kid propped his back up against the cave walls and closed his eyes as well.
He smiled, thinking this night couldn't have gone better, but as if to prove him wrong, his arm felt as if someone had taken a hot iron to it. He bit his tongue and clenched his fists to keep his mind off the pain emanating from his bicep; doing everything he could not to wake Maka. Fortunately, a minute later the pain dulled significantly and he let his body relax. With these spurts of pain as random as they were, Kid couldn't tell if they were a good thing or a bad thing; but more importantly, he was becoming skeptical of the amount of time he had left.
Rush together to find each other,
No, it's too late;
You can never wait on luck.
Rolls of thunder shook the cave walls and the rocks that dwelled inside. Maka's eyes shot open as she woke with a gasp. The bombardment of thunder was louder than she had ever heard, causing her to shake and force her eyes shut. It's ok. It's just stupid thunder. You know you're not usually afraid of storms, what's so different now? The blonde silently scold herself for being afraid of something so childish as thunder, but her mental rebuke was cut short by another crash followed by a bright flash. She finally opened her eyes and sighed, knowing she wouldn't be going to sleep anytime soon.
She attempted to sit up, but found she was being restrained by pale slender arms, much like she had been on that one cold night back at camp. She smiled at the sweet gesture and gently untangled his arms from each other to free herself. She stood up fully and rubbed her hands up and down her upper arms to try and gain the warmth she had just lost. The fire was low, so she decided to grab a log from the pile and add it to the slowly extinguishing ashes. She also added a few leaves to help it rekindle and once they caught, a bright blaze lit up Kids sleeping form. The scythe meister bit her lower lip to suppress a giggle.
The usually serious and reserved death god simply looked so peaceful; she could have easily described him as an angel; an angel of death, of course. He seemed so still when he slept, and the way his lips ever so slightly… Maka squinted her eyes as she barely made out a small trickle of blood ran from the corner of his lips, down his cheek and to a small, steadily growing, puddle on the ground… And now that she looked closer, she couldn't see the light rise and fall of his chest…
Maka's breath caught in her throat and she froze, recognizing the scene. My dream… She felt tears welling up in her eyes as she gained control over her body. Almost tripping over her own feet in the process, Maka shuffled over to his side, rolling his body over so he was lying on his back. She watched him for a moment; hoping, waiting, for him to take a breath. For him to inhale. Exhale. Something. But it never came. "K-K-Kid…? She said, her voice hardly working. She reached her hands out, brushing black locks from his motionless face; it was almost cruel how serene his face looked despite the steadily flowing blood. "Kid!" She said louder, finding her voice. No, this wasn't happening, it couldn't. Dreams weren't real! She threw her hands to his shoulder, shaking him viciously, ignoring the tears that began to make trails down her face.
Maka let out a breath she didn't know she was holding when she felt his body stiffen then, finally, he inhaled a breath. The blond threw her arms around the stirring reaper in complete hysteria.
"Mmm… M-Maka?" He said, his voice filled with sleep as he inhaled deeply. Taking in her hysteric state, he wrapped his arms around her small trembling frame. "What's wrong?"
"I-I woke u-up... You were bleeding… And you weren't breathing.." She shivered through sobs, unsure of what she would do in the event that he really had left her for good.
When he didn't seem alarmed, she backed up enough so that she could see his face, an amused expression gracing his features. "A Shinigami's breath stops when he sleeps."
Maka frowned a bit, wiping tears from her cheeks and eyes. "What about the blood?"
"Blood…?" He asked, bringing a hand to his lip that he just realized had been stinging. He pulled it back and examined the shiny red liquid with a small laugh. "I bit my lip when I fell at the store. It must've re-opened when…" He laughed even harder at the look on her face, which earned him a playful hit on the arm. His bit arm.
Kid face contorted in pain as his good hand grasped at the wound. Wrong move. Kid hissed in further pain as Maka looked at him, eyes wide and afraid. She knew the shinigami had a high tolerance for pain, and his reaper body only strengthen that quality. Whatever it was that made him react in such a way couldn't be good news. "Kid…" She asked, her tone absolutely serious. "What's wrong with your arm?"
Name of the song: Rush Together by Quietdrive
Alright, so I'm holding a contest. A drawing contest. Basically what you have to do is draw a scene from Beyond Help. It doesn't have to be a KiMa moment, just any scene. The contest will be over the day I post the last chapter of Beyond Help (which won't be soon, you've probably go like a month. But early entries are VERY much appreciated.) In order to judge this contest I must have AT LEAST 5 entries. As for prizes, the first place winner either gets to create a reoccurring character (meaning it won't just show up once and be gone forever) for my next Soul Eater/ Harry Potter crossover fic. Second place winner get to create a character that will appear in my next KiMa oneshot. All entries will get honorable mentions. To enter, simply send me a link to wherever your picture is posted or message me and I will give you an email to send it to if it's not posted online anywhere. Good luck to all!
Now, for the monster Replies~!
Reviews from 18:
88EvilnBored88- I know how you feel TT-TT
Checkered Brooke- Sorta immune? I dunno. And as for the symptoms, he seems to only have the change in appetite; he now craves human flesh… Haha just kidding! It was the first thought that popped up in this weird twisted brain I have.
XxDeathTheKid4EverxX- Yeah, I'm generally really whiny about things so you guys will probably know when I have writers block XD hopefully I won't have it with this particular fic though because I've basically got the rest of it mapped out pretty good.
(88th review!) Hawkllama- They do need tanks! It would simply make life so much easier! Then they could hide under them… (The Walking Dead reference…)
PyschopathicXangel- He's not really dead I don't think… But I'm still not convinced he's immortal either, because when he was fighting Free he said he didn't like those who are immortal because it was like cheating… Though he might be, I could be wrong here.
Mikaela- Don't fall out of the seat~! The new chapter was up quick! Haha.
Reviews for 19:
Courage-Earthworm'8- I'm sorry, he's not really immune :( and I knoooow. The feels hit pretty hard in this one didn't they?
Art n' Music- I know right? Cute, but not entirely overdone. And thanks! I'll try!
Checkered Brooke- Yeah, it was a pretty bittersweet moment, even to write.
Deaththekids sis- Cool! I'm glad you think so :)
DeathTheKidsDinosaurRawr- I think I'll let Kidd respond to this one… Kidd: "Alright… I'll try not to… But if I do, sorry for your inconvenience..?"
Mikaela- Yeah, I know, there's just something about a guy giving a girl a teddy bear that just seems so adorable to me. Thank you so much for the compliments, I think at this rate I'll have an ego to match Blackstar's ^^' But really, thank you for such a kind review, it really made my day :)