He raised a finger up to his his neck and hissed at the touch. His hand immediately jerked back, both from the intense heat and the- more predominant- sudden and blistering pain that now pulsed from his neck.

"Kid?"

His eyes snapped open, and he was met with Liz, mere inches from his face. While her face portrayed a sense of annoyance, there was an obvious concern concealed largely underneath it.

"Stop messing with it, you'll only make it worse."

She turned silent once more as she sat back down across from him. He was left to stare at the ceiling of the train and all the nuts and bolts that ran along the metal pieces, what with the rather dull sight being the first thing he saw from his rather uncomfortable laying-down position. He could hear giggling from the seat behind him after a moment.

"Kid got in trouble." Half-sing-songed, and Patty's head appeared in the corner of his sight. A sigh escaped him, and his eyes closed once more.

Unconsciously his hand reached for his neck again. He avoided the spot on the right side that brought him pain and instead searched around it, finding the radiating heat an odd sensation. Before he could make it closer to his chin, his wrist was snatched.

"Stop it."

A pause; a search for a better word than what was produced: "Sorry."

The grip was released, and more giggling greeted his ears.

"Why don't you just go to sleep?"

"Why don't you?"

"Because then nobody would stop you from touching your neck."

The volume of laughter increased dramatically. The train bumped, and his legs jumped momentarily from the position over the arm rest at the end of the seat.

There were just a few moments of utter silence, save for the constant noise of the train grinding along the track. "Are either of you girls hot?"

"Nope," from behind.

"Nu-uh," from in front.

"Oh."

A lapse occurred in the rather obscure conversation the trio held.

"It's from your neck and your stomach, which I'm surprised you haven't been messing with." Now that she had brought it up, the intense heat coming from his abdomen began bothering him, demanding attention just as much as his neck. "You know, Kid, I don't know what you tell your dad when you get back from missions like this." He heard a sigh escape the elder sister. "You bring both of us, but you don't actually use us."

"I already told you the witch could capture your energy." He sighed himself, as if the repeat were an immense trouble for him. "And what if the witch had used that same kind of power to actually capture you and Patty yourselves?"

A scoff rudely popped from her mouth. "Whatever. It's that kind of arrogance that got you injured like that."

"Well, it was this 'arrogance' that prevented this from happening to either one of you."

"How do you know any of us would have gotten hurt if you had just brought us with you to battle the witch?"

"How do you know you wouldn't have gotten injured?"

"I asked first, Kid."

"Well, I'm injured."

"And you wouldn't be injured if you had just brought us along." A pause, as she grabbed for Kid's hand, gently probing at his neck. "Stop it."

His words were put to a halt at that. "Look, I'm sorry." Both hands reached for his face, and he rubbed his hands over his eyes. "But I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I knew I had unnecessarily caused... this upon either one of you. How would you have felt if Patty had come out of that battle with a burned stomach or a cut on her arm or any kind of semi-serious injury?"

"I would have had to knock some sense into you afterwards."

"So why are you berating me now?"

"Because you were injured. So I have to knock some sense into you."

She spoke as if it were obvious, yet Kid uncovered his face. The exhaustion played out as his hands dragged across his skin before coming away. He could only partially see Liz from the corner of his eye, refusing to turn his neck and jar the pain further than from his poking. He could vaguely make out another shape above him, and his sight turned to Patty, leaning over the back of the train seat.

A good five minutes passed before another word was spoken.

"Kid, I don't understand what dictates whether you bring us into battle or not, but you don't seem to understand the concept that you're always supposed to bring your weapons with you."

The elder was staring out the window, Patty having sat down herself. When nothing greeted her ears, Liz turned back towards Kid.

His hands remained away from his neck, which surprised her with the intent to remove them already ingrained in her actions. Instead, his eyes wandered aimlessly around the ceiling of the train once more to follow the metal rods and small nails that held the transportation together.

He cleared his throat; and while it originally appeared to be nothing more than that, hesitant words followed. "I'll admit meisters are supposed to bring their weapons into battle."

"I just said that, Kid." She was quick to jump the gun but only due to her rather agitated state, which both Kid and Patty could feel through the wavelength.

"However... The missions we are sent on exceed the normal capacity of other students. With that being said, the only reason Father trusts me to accomplish these missions is because of my ability to sustain injuries outweighing what would normally incapacitate or kill other weapons." Two confused sets of eyes stared at him, which he seemingly expected by his further line of explanation. "I say weapons because it is common knowledge that weapons are the ones who usually take the hit in battle. I believe it's... clear why I can't risk bringing you two into the actual battle-"

"That's stupid. Just don't get hurt next time. And to do that, you'll bring us along."

He had no response to Liz's logic. It made sense to him, but he was still on the edge of bringing them to confront such dangers.

Silence engulfed them for a good five minutes, the grinding and chugging of the train lulling them into an otherwise silent ride. The three returned to their own solidarity: Patty facing the correct way to mess with an array of coloring books and miscellaneous items, Liz flipping through an already-read magazine, and Kid prodding at his neck.

"Stop it, Kid!"

End