CHAPTER ONE

"And so you see son, it will be YOUR job as the next Grim Reaper to show our guests around." Lord Death tilted his head.

"Yes, of course Father. They will see nothing but the finest hospitality from Death Weapon Meister Academy." Kid affirmed willingly—however, he cared more about having something to do then the son of a famous Death Scythe needing a good place to stay. Patty and Liz had left for 'girl time', or something like that, and Kid had been bored.

At first the alone time was nice—he made sure his house was symmetrical, then was able to read in peace, then he could measure every angle of the schools exterior and confirmed that it was perfectly symmetrical.

But then he ran out of things to do. He went to his friends, but they had all been busy with work he had already finished (With the exception of Black Star, who was out working out).

"Kid?" Lord Death asked, making Kid snap back into reality. "Try not to scare them."

Kid looked up with big eyes. "Scare them?"

"Oh, nothingggg." Lord Death tilted in the other direction, before pointing a huge finger at the exit of his other worldly room. "They will be here any minute. Be waiting!"

Nodding, Kid hurried off, thinking 'He's acting like this guy is a celebrity or something!'

~Later~

As Kid finally reached the entrance of Death Weapon Meister Academy, he found himself staring at a sea of students, as far as the eye could see. They had pooled around the steps, looking at the street as if some kind of King had just arrived.

"Excuse me, pardon me, PARDON ME!" He finally snapped at someone as they refused to let him up to the front. As soon as he snapped, they jumped out of his path. However, that was only about three feet into the crowd.

His fiercely golden eyes searched the sea, before he noticed a flash of white hair, and sharp teeth. "Ah, Soul!"

Soul turned, hands in his pockets before he nodded to Kid. Snickering at Kid having to struggle past students to get over, he muttered "Sup?"

Kid huffed, brushing off his black coat and straightening himself. "Hello Soul," his tone was had an all-business official-ness that meant Lord Death must have put Kid on a mission. "Why is everyone so excited?"

Soul sighed, turning back to where everyone was looking. "You mean you haven't heard? That Death Scythes son is coming."

Kid was not impressed, "So?"

Soul just chuckled. "So? Dude, he's practically famous. He's come here from Russia to help out Death City. It's like an honor or something."

"So these people are worshiping him?"

"No—He's famous for being the strongest weapon out there." Soul noted, and Kid seemed to stiffen.

"PLUS," Soul's face twisted. "He apparently has a band—all of the girls are fawning over him. It's making it hard for us to get any chicks… not cool, man. Not cool at all"

"Alright then," Kid sighed the words. "I should make sure that this crowd doesn't bother him as he arrives."

Nodding a goodbye to Soul, Kid turned and pushed past endless groups of people to the street.

There was the sound of tires squealing in protest against pavement, and the entire crowd went silent, alarming Kid.

He was able to look over the heads of students, watching with agitated eyes as a sleek black limo slowly pulled onto the street. It was like silence was choking everyone—not one person could utter a word as the vehicle approached.

However, as it approached, you could hear something coming from the inside.

/Lollipop, Lollipop, Ohhh, Lolli, Lolli, Lolli, Lollipop! Bum-dum-dum-dum!/

That old song? It was easy to hear from feet away—it must be blaring from inside. Suddenly the window rolled down and sound exploded from the car. Some people jumped.

There was a boy with sleek hair, one side black and one side red, and dark, dark eyes inside, hunched over another figure angrily. "Turn the music OFF! You've been listening to it for HOURS!"

The voice that came from the other side of him was female. "But RIDA, I LOVE the classics!"

"THE CLASSICS ARE GIVING ME A HEADACHE!" The boy hissed, beating on the shiny, smooth leather seat with his fist.

As there was silence outside of the car, an old looking chauffeur with a tuxedo got out of the front seat. He had thin hair and impassive features—not a fun-loving-looking-guy.

Kid surveyed the man, before having an impression that he was going to enjoy opening the door and embarrassing the boy inside.

As he had predicted, the man opened up the door silently, to reveal the same black and red haired boy still screaming at the hidden figure behind him. "What do you mean, 'We've stopped?' THE MUSIC IS STILL PLAYING!"

It was then the old chauffeur spoke, his voice shook with age and he seemed to carry each word with a sigh. "Master Rida? We have arrived."

Still turned away from the door, the boy froze over the huddled up figure in front of him, before very, very slowly swiveling his head to see a crowd of shocked looking people staring right back at him.

And he was screaming and making a fool of himself.

Recovering a cool attitude, Rida slipped from the car, and grinned at the people awaiting his arrival. "Hello! You will be happy to know that was just an act for your own amusement!"

There was another deafening silence, before suddenly everyone broke into cheer around him.

Girls where almost hysterical with happiness that a celebrity was there.

Everyone, except, Soul and Kid.

Soul's voice came from behind Kid very suddenly. "I don't buy that for a minute. You?" Kid jumped; Soul must have slipped past shocked groups of people while it was silent

Kid shook his head in silent agreement. "No—Not at all. We might need crowd control soon—I see what you mean by the girls are 'fawning for him'." In fact, their fan-girlish screams where hurting his ears. He wanted to help this boy get situated then retreat back into his quiet home.

Finally pushing past everyone without hesitation, he reached the front and stiffened, throwing out his arms and bellowing in a voice jam packed with authority. "EVERY STUDENT TO DEATH WEAPON MEISTER ACADEMY, PLEASE RETURN TO YOUR CLASSROOMS UNDER THE ORDERS OF LORD DEATH HIMSELF! I REPEAT, PLEASE RETURN TO YOUR CLASSROOMS!"

Almost immediately, disappointed fan-girls began to whine and spill out of the entrance, filing back inside. Soul followed them, hands in his pockets and slightly hunched over. Soon it was just Kid, and the new arrivals.

"So then, Stripes, what's with the temper?" the smooth, almost hypnotic voice that belonged to Rida sighed.

Kid turned, not appreciating the nickname. "They should have been in class." Trying to push away his slight annoyance, he sighed and held out his hand in a formal manner. "My name is Death the Kid. And I'm showing you around today-"

It was then that Kid realized.

Rida's jacket… one side was black, and on the other side of the zipper was scarlet.

Of course, the fact that just one thing was asymmetrical made him notice other things. At first the hair wouldn't have bothered him because it would have made him a hypocrite, but because something else was wrong he couldn't help but judge.

So, Kid found himself with a disgusted look twisted into his featured, glaring at the boy in silence.

Rida, immediately noting the icy glare coming from Kid, looked over his shoulder and found no-one, then turned back with narrowed eyes. "What's your problem?"

Before Kid could gather himself enough to answer, a sweet female voice came from behind Rida. His attention was immediately brought to the source.

There was a slim girl with super fine looking silver hair, and big purple eyes. Her smile reminded him slightly of Tsubaki, and in her arms was a tower of endless suitcases. The weight was making her legs shake, but she was smiling happily. "Master Rida, that's Death the Kid—he has a peculiar obsession with symmetry, and you're… Less than symmetrical!"

Kid blinked—how did a girl from Russia know about his love of symmetry? Unlike her partner, everything about her was symmetrical… except for the purple Lord Death barrette in her hair. But barrettes can be removed. Other than that she was very symmetrical indeed. He liked her immediately.

Rida looked back at the obviously struggling girl, before turning back to Kid. "Really? Oh, then… Sorry I think."

Kid struggled to nod, before looking over his shoulder at the girl once more. "Do you need help?"

She swayed as the suitcases wobbled, brows furrowed with concentration and her arms aching. "Oh? No, I'm fine! I can do this!"

Kid muttered a quick "Are you sure?" and she stumbled in their direction, giggling.

"Oh yeah. This is all Master Rida's most favorite stuff; I wouldn't drop it for the world!"

Rida was already stalking ahead of them, and Kid made sure to stay close to her so he could catch a suitcase if one dropped. However, he was still wondering why she was carrying all ten of HIS suitcases, and why she didn't have ONE?

"If you don't mind me asking-"he had to break off the sentence as one of the suitcases nearly fell, and he steadied them. "-Who ARE you?"

The girl paused, before she smiled sweetly again. "Oh—my name is Koji. I'm Master Rida's Meister."

Kid tilted his head, hands behind his back. "I didn't know he had one."

She giggled at him—it was almost like a Patty giggle. "Well, who did you think wielded him? He's only a weapon."

Kid hadn't even thought about that. With all the hype, he hadn't bothered to ask about the second person who had come with Rida.

Rida suddenly turned, making them have to halt quickly. Koji almost dropped all of the cases trying not to run into him. "Are you two about done flirting? I have some questions about the campus."

Kid made a 'Well!' face, and thought about just not answering, but his Father's request to make them feel at home floated around his skull for a moment. "…Yes?"

"Where do I stay? I didn't get a hotel."

Kid looked up, incredulous. "You didn't find a place to STAY?"

Rida just shook his head, an arrogant expression on his face.

It was not Rida who made Kid do what he did next—it was Koji.

A horrible, guilty and sad expression ever so lightly touched the girl's features. "M-Master… I'm so sorry I didn't remind you… I hate the streets…"

Kid growled under his breath, remembering his father's request before finally muttering, "Fine… If you wish, you may stay at my home for ONE night, until you find a place to stay permanently."

Rida just looked at him skeptically—he didn't like this 'Death the Kid' guy much at all.

"Master Rida, can we please?"

He turned to glare at Koji for a split second, and she squeaked before he grumbled "Fine."