AN: I'm finally out of my writing slump!! This is all thanks to me cleaning my room yesterday. Man, did it need it. And now my back hurts like a bitch, but I don't regret it.

Anyway, this is Black Star/Death the Kid. I got a great idea for them at about 2:00 this morning and started writing it. Who needs sleep anyway? XD

For the sake of argument, everyone is 17 in this story. I don't know their real ages, but it has to be around that age. No way can Tsubaki have such huge boobs and be only 13 or some crap like that. That would just be bad character design.

This story is based off the anime and not the manga. No flamers please

Disclaimer: I don't own this wonderful anime, and I never will :(

The one thing that Kid prided himself on most was his ability to remain calm and emotionless in nearly any situation. Fear was usually not an emotion he coincided with; hatred was something he had yet to experience and love; well, love was just a dumb emotion anyway and a complete waste of time.

A man a woman weren't symmetrical together. It sickened him to even think about it, let alone even contemplate participating in the act. It wasn't just sex that freaked him out about love; the way girls and guys looked next to each other…it almost made him want to just tear them apart from each other and pair them up with someone of their own sex. It was maddening to have to see such asymmetry every day. Often, Liz would have to drag him off to a quiet secluded place, a giggling Patty trailing behind, until he had calmed down.

Annoyance at anything that was asymmetrical was so common in his everyday life that he barely considered it an emotion anymore; merely a reflexive response, like shutting your eyes when something comes at them quickly.

He had thought everyone thought the way he did when he was younger. He lived a sheltered lifestyle and was often left alone safe for private tutors since his father thought a God of Death didn't require any company in his education and training. But when he obtained Patty and Liz as his battle partners, the older sister had informed him that no, not everyone was "as much of a freak" as he was. Not that the words of the blonde had discouraged him in any way. It only helped confirm that he would be an amazing God of Death with his ultra-perception.

Besides his obsession, there were only two things he had yet to be truly annoyed with. One was the sword Excalibur. Its symmetrical beauty and phenomenal power had lured him to it, but upon actually meeting the penguin-esque(1) sword, he had found its personality to be insufferable. He could barely stand the minute he spent in the weapon's presence, let alone the eternity it promised. Liz and Patty may not have been perfect, but they were leagues ahead of that twit.

The other person who annoyed him, frankly, was the infamous loudmouth meister Black Star. He was always yelling and running around, proclaiming his "godhood" to the willing and unwilling alike with not so much as a glimmer of shame or humility. The boy was much too hyper and unfocused to deserve Kid's patience.

That wasn't to say he overly disliked the guy; if he were ever in a jamb and needed help, Kid would be there as quick as possible to lend a helping hand. The same went for Maka, and her partner Soul, though he would never admit it to their faces.

He felt a sort of connection to the four-Black Star, Tsubaki, Maka, and Soul-that might be construed as friendship by some. But Kid didn't think there was anything more than an acquaintanceship between them. It was just his natural desire to help that drew him to them; they were so danger-prone after all. Besides, being a God of Death was a nearly solitary lifestyle. He knew that even Liz and Patty would have to leave someday, and it would do to start making attachments he couldn't keep.

--

When he left that morning for school, flanked by Patty and Liz, the two sisters could tell Kid was encased in his own thoughts once more. If they weren't careful, soon he would be ranting about toilet paper and making a dive for the door. Liz laid a hand on the shorter boy's shoulder, in case he should make a run for it.

"Hey, Kid," she said, trying to snap him out of his reverie. "What do you say we do something after school today? You, me, and Patty. And maybe Maka; I like her. I hear there's this awesome movie playing downtown…" Kid brushed her hand from his shoulder.

"Did I write out eight lines(2) in my essay yesterday?" He asked distractedly. "I think one of them was half an inch from being an actual line." He gasped. "Oh, no. What if I wrote seven lines instead?" Liz grabbed his arm to keep him from sinking to the ground in despair.

"Kid, trust me, I was sitting next to you and I saw you write exactly eight lines, down to the very smallest fraction." She sighed. Sometimes her master was so annoying with his obsession. Actually, that was a lie; he was annoying all the time.

"But what if I didn't?" He wailed. "The Professor will be so disappointed in me and fail me! And then how will I ever explain it to Father?" Patty giggled loudly.

"He's at it again," she squealed gleefully. Unlike her sister, she found Kid's fits to be an endless source of amusement. Liz shushed her and turned back to the childlike Kid.

"Come on," she said soothingly. "He won't fail you for something like that." She could tell Kid didn't believe her, so she switched tacks. "You always write out your essays so meticulously; there's no way you messed one up. And even if you didn't, Professor Stein will probably let you redo it." Kid's head snapped up at that.

"Yes," he said thoughtfully. "I may have a chance to redeem myself yet. In that case, we should get there quickly." He began walking so fast that Liz and Patty had to practically jog to keep up. It wasn't as if the school was far away; it was practically next door to his father's estate. But Kid walked with all the determination of a pack mule ready for a long trip. It was maddening, but the two could do nothing but follow and accept it.

Students hanging around outside gave them strange looks as they rushed into the building, but Kid didn't seem to notice any of them. That was just like him; so absorbed in himself that others just faded into the background.

When they reached the mission board in the foyer, Kid rushed right past the small group of students gathered at it, trying to find any good missions to take. Liz and Patty stopped when they spotted Tsubaki and Black Star, letting Kid go on his own. He would be fine. They waved when the pair spotted them and joined them in front of the board.

"Good morning Liz-san; Patty-chan(3)," Tsubaki said politely, bowing. "Where is Kid-san this morning?"

"He was the black blur heading that way," Patty said excitedly, pointing down the hallway. Liz sighed.

"We tried to stop him," she said dejectedly. "But you know how he gets. He gains the strength of ten men. We figure its just best to let him do what he wants." She peered behind them at the board. "Have you two found a mission to go on yet?"

"Nah, all these missions are first-rates," Black Star said, scoffing. "They're not worth the time of someone as big as me."

"Actually," Tsubaki said, holding up a wooden block, "We did take this one from the wall. A bunch of dark pixies got loose. You know how they always pull those invisible pranks and terrorize the humans." She smiled. "It sounds like a good mission, sure to get us at least a few souls."

"Aw, I told you not to grab that one!" Black Star exclaimed, pouting. "It's such a kiddy mission. It'll be so easy I could do it with my eyes closed."

"But we can't keep doing remedial stuff forever," Tsubaki explained. "We need to get some souls if we ever want to get ahead here. Let's just do it for that, please?" Black Start glanced at her and groaned.

"Fine, but don't let Soul know I took that dumb mission. He'll never let me live it down."

"Where are Soul and Maka anyway?" Liz said, looking around for the only other sane person in that place besides Tsubaki and herself. "We didn't see them outside either, though it would be hard to see anything the way we rushed. Are they in the classroom?"

"Oh, they're on a mission. They left yesterday, and I guess they haven't come back yet. It must be a pretty hard one." Tsubaki sighed. "It's really a shame, because I was going to ask them to double-team with us on his mission. It's not hard, but it'll be troublesome to do this whole thing by ourselves. Dark pixies are quick."

"If you want, I can convince Kid to help. We're quick enough to catch dark pixies." Liz grinned. Really, she just wanted to do something. Kid was so preoccupied with school that he seemed to forget he could still go on missions. And he was better when he was fighting; not quite so obsessive.

"Oh, would you?" Tsubaki asked excitedly. "That would be great. I don't think we'd be able to do a very good job at all." She glanced nervously at Black Star, but he had mysteriously disappeared. They spotted him through the door when a student opened it, sitting on the steps and screaming at the people. Tsubaki sighed.

"I take my eyes off him for two seconds," she muttered under her breath. Liz and Patty followed her outside. "Uhm, Black Star?" She said, tapping him on the shoulder.

"Eh? What is it Tsubaki?" He said, turning around, annoyance etched on his face.

"Liz-san and Patty-chan are going to convince Kid-san to accompany us on our mission, okay? I thought it would be nice to have some company."

"What?! I don't want that ninny anywhere around me. He'll just hold me back."

"Delusional little thing, isn't he?" Liz whispered to Patty. Her sister laughed behind a hand.

"Please, Black Star. It's a lot less lonely with others there."

"What about Soul and Maka? I would much rather have them around." He pouted again, crossing his arms.

"They're still on their mission, and Liz-san offered." She clasped her hands together. "Please, I know you don't really like him, but I think they would be a great asset and would help out a lot." Liz felt a hand on her elbow and turned around to find Kid standing behind her, the usual bored look on his face.

"What's all the ruckus about?" He asked her, staring at Black Star and Tsubaki arguing back and forth.

"Oh, welcome back. Your essay was fine?"

"It was perfect, as usual." Liz didn't miss the smugness with which he said those words. "What's with those two?"

"I volunteered us to accompany them on a mission, and Black Star doesn't want you there." Liz shrugged. "I think he's just being immature."

"Indeed…" Kid said boredly. "What's the mission?"

"Destroying a bunch of dark pixies. Tsubaki has the mission block." She gestured to the block of wood still clutched in the other girl's right hand. "Are you up for it?"

"Sure," Kid said, shrugging. "Why not? Professor Stein just wants to do another dissection today anyway."

Tsubaki and Black Star finally rejoined them, Black Star looking sulky.

"Fine," he said. "You can come with us. But remember which of us is number one here. If you try to steal my spotlight, you're gone." Kid just stared at him before shrugging.

"I wouldn't dream of it," he said sincerely. Black Star 'humph-ed' and sat down on the steps again.

"I'm going to go turn this in to Professor Stein and then we can leave," Tsubaki said before going back inside. Kid just shrugged again and leaned against the wall. This was probably going to be a boring mission. But he had time to kill.

(1) Did anyone else think he looked like a penguin? Seriously, with that weird suit-thing, all I could think was "penguin, penguin, penguin."

(2) In my mind, they write in the japanese style, and so Kid would be writing his lines from the top of the page to the bottom. It's not very relevent, I just thought I should explain that.

(3) Since Tsubaki is so polite and was raised in a japanese-like household, I'm making her the only one to use honorifics. Usually, I hate using those when writing a story because it makes me look retarded. But it's part of her personality, and so it's added