[RL with Death the Kid] [Backdated]

[screwloose]

As promised, Stein headed for Washington. Since he was travelling by plane, he expected to get there after Kid, but that didn't bother him. Kid might try to ambush him, but Stein was confident that he would be able to deal with his student.

Hopefully he wouldn't have to break too much of him before he could get him to listen.

Security was a pain in the ass, but no one could figure out a reason to deny the man just because the metal detectors were going crazy about the bolt in his head. Stein just patiently showed doctor's credentials and explained that the bolt was there for medical reasons. Finally, they let him through.

At the other end, he made a single stop before heading to the monument. At a martial arts supply store, he purchased a wooden bo staff, which he carried on his shoulder as he walked through the desolate remains of the nation's capital towards the location of his meeting with Death the Kid.

Comments

[eightofdeath.livejournal.com]

Kid did in fact get there long before Stein managed to get on his flight. Which gave him plenty of time to look through the city. 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue had turned into a pile of rubble surrounded by dozens of armed guards wearing biohazard suits. Protesters abounded, demanding the truth of what happened while others preached in the streets about the end of days approaching and repentance. Shell-shocked police officers trying to reestablish their usefulness pulled people aside and told them that skateboarding was not permitted on the sidewalks. None of this was helping Kid's irritable mood in the slightest.

The Washington Monument managed to stay in fairly decent condition, if one were to ignore the various blotches of blood on the lower part of it and the corpses of god only knows what surrounding the base. Members of some military organization pulled cameras out of people's hands if they tried to take pictures of the display. Kid scoffed. You could only hide the truth for so long, as he well knew.

He stood in front of the monument, keeping his eye on the souls of the people nearby. Though there was a small, especially distrusting part of him that wondered if Stein had since learned how to use Soul Protect.

[screwloose]

Stein didn't know how to use soul protect, and even if he had, he wouldn't have bothered today. He walked brazonly down the street towards the Shinigami, holding the stick in one hand and smoking his cigarette with the other.

The bo was wrapped, so passers by would think it might have been a broom handle or fishing rod, but he could undo the wrappings easily if he were attacked. He'd checked.

He saw Kid from a distance and walked towards him, relaxing slightly. "Hello, Kid," he said when he was close enough that the Shinigami boy would hear him. "It's good to see a familiar face."

There was no malice, nor insane eagerness in his tone. He sounded perfectly normal, albeit strangely unaffected by the gory scenes of carnage around them.

[eightofdeath.livejournal.com]

Kid felt Stein coming long before he heard his greeting, but he wasn't about to immediately turn and attack either. "Hello, professor." Kid's voice show off some of the irritation he felt. "Interesting work you've been doing since you've been gone."

He scowled as he looked over his shoulder at Stein, eyes wandering down to the parcel in his hands. Almost immediately, Kid regretted not thinking to bring any sort of weapon. Well, he always had Beelzebub at least, though with one of the guards staring at them, Kid decided to wait on summoning it.

"Perhaps you'd like to explain what the point of all this was?" Kid said, turning around to face Stein.

[screwloose]

"I didn't do this," Stein said, glancing around himself and then down at one of the stinking corpses at the base of the monument. "I just tagged along and made sure Birkin and I got out alive. Hmm, I would have thought they'd have tidied up a bit by now."

He gave a shrug, took a drag on his cigarette and let out a cloud of smoke. "Wesker wants to take over the world. I guess he figured the White House was a good place to start. I told him it was a dumb idea, but he didn't listen."

He gestured towards the park, away from the crowds. "Would you like to walk while we talk? I doubt either of us wants too many people around, and it's pretty crowded here."

[eightofdeath.livejournal.com]

Kid simply walked towards the park, body tensing as he passed in front of Stein, already anticipating an attack. "Why didn't you try to stop him? You supposedly don't believe in his ideals and if what you just said is true, you didn't want any part in this."

Once they'd gotten a reasonable distance away from anyone else, Kid stopped suddenly and turned around. "You could have prevented all this. You disobeyed my Father's laws, and not even for a worthy cause." He got into his stance, avoiding thinking too hard about how asymmetrical he must look.

Right about now, Liz would have started screaming, warning Kid that this was a terrible idea while Patti would be cheerfully giggling before Liz sighed and complained that she was the only one taking this seriously and- Kid shook the thought from his head. He'd fought on his own before; he could handle this even without them.

"I have no other choice but to force you to come back."

[screwloose]

Stein had no intention of attacking first, and though he took note of Kid's tension as they moved close, he himself didn't tense in return.

At Kid's question, he gave a soft sigh. "This isn't my world, Kid. It's not my business what happens here. I'm no superhero running around policing other worlds, regardless of the fact that I'm living here right now. If Wesker wants to do this, it's these people who live here who are supposed to stop him, and I wouldn't ask them to help us with our problems, either."

He watched Kid turn to face him, his expression slack and all but expressionless. "I don't want to fight you, Kid," he said, his tone almost bored. "But I will, if you make me."

[eightofdeath.livejournal.com]

Kid's expression immediately turned darker. "Stop pretending that you care."

In an instant, Kid was was kneeling next to Stein, sweeping a leg at his ankles. "If you cared, you wouldn't have left in the first place!"

[screwloose]

Despite his affect, Stein was ready for the attack. He swung the pole down from his shoulder as Kid launched himself forward, using it like a pole vault as he jumped into the air to avoid the leg sweep - and hopefully causing Kid's shin to crack painfully into the solid (if still wrapped in plastic) wooden shaft.

"If I don't care, what do you want me back for?" he asked, landing two feet further back and then raising the staff as he settled into an attacking stance. "Wouldn't it be better just to forget about me, like everyone else did?"

Still his eyes failed to burn. This wasn't an interesting battle to him. He wasn't curious about Kid, nor did he want to defeat and dissect the boy. He knew the attitude would give him a disadvantage, but he couldn't quite bring himself to care.

[eightofdeath.livejournal.com]

Kid's fingers clawed into the pavement trying to counteract the momentum of his leg. He sill hit the staff, but not as hard as he could have. Besides, bruises could heal far easier than his pride could.

"Marie can help you with the insanity." Kid launched himself into the air, flipping and aiming a hammer kick at Stein's head, though he was already mentally preparing to counter whatever his teacher threw at him next.

He couldn't help but notice how... Bored Stein seemed. Even during Maka and Black Star's fight with him, he seemed to have some sort of passion for what he was doing. This calmness was strangely unnerving. Almost eerier than the insanity. Almost.

[screwloose]

At least during his fight with Maka and Black*Star, he'd been curious about the kids, curious to see what they could do. But he didn't want this battle, and he knew Kid - knew what he could do, knew his abilities and weaknesses.

Stein grabbed the bo with his other hand and brought it up, bracing himself to take the blow on the stick. Hopefully Kid wouldn't break right through the wood.

He did.

Stein grunted as the bo staff cracked in two and the kick grazed his chest as he desperately threw himself backwards. He staggered and slammed into a tree hard enough to knock some of the wind out of him.

"Marie wasn't enough before," he said in a growl, raising both halves of the stick like a pair of clubs. The wrappings fell, baring the splintered ends of the wood and the polished surfaces. "What makes you think it'll make a difference now? You don't know what it's like! I nearly committed suicide to get away from the hallucinations!"

[eightofdeath.livejournal.com]

Kid allowed himself a quick, satisfied smirk as the staff broke. Some glorified twig was hardly going to hinder him for very long.

"And what makes you think it wouldn't make a difference?" Stein's admission gave him pause, but he pushed the pity to the back of his mind struck out at his chest with a pointed hand, feeling the muscles in his pinky finger twitch slightly. "If that's the truth, you're nothing but a coward."

[screwloose]

Okay, now Stein was starting to get angry. He glowered at the boy, firming his grip on his two pitiful weapons. What he wouldn't give to have Spirit in his hands now, and he wondered if there were some way he could get a hold of a Witch soul and imbue Birkin with Weapon abilities.

"That's easy for you to say," he snapped, his eyes narrowing. "I'm a coward for not wanting to come back with you and live in a nightmare for the next several months for absolutely no gain to you or myself? That's not cowardice, that's logic!"

He pointed the right hand stick at Kid. "Use me, damnit. Ask me for advice or help, and I'll give it. But I'm not going back to house arrest. Beat me and drag me back, and I'll only be rescued. Again."

[eightofdeath.livejournal.com]

"You honestly believe that he'll rescue you again?" Kid relaxed his posture slightly, but was still prepared to back up if need be. "What if I told him someone was constantly guarding you? Would he try to rescue you even then?"

He pointed an accusing finger at Stein. "You're choosing one person who's just as disturbed as you are over a world of people who want you to get through this." Kid scowled. "And you're doing it because it's easier." He swung his leg upwards aiming at his teacher's head. "Because you're a coward!"

[screwloose]

"Yes, I do believe that," Stein said, and he did. He had no doubt at all that Birkin would move heaven and earth to get him back, just as Stein himself would.

Stein swung one of the halves of his staff towards Kid's leg, hoping to knock it off to one side. Then he lunged forward instead of dodging away, into Kid's reach, the other half swinging towards Kid's head in a vicious attack. His first.

"I'm doing it because it's my damn life!" he snapped. "Not his. And for once I'm making the selfish choice, yes I am. For once I have someone to share my life with!"

After the blow, he danced back, then stopped abruptly and dropped the two sticks to the ground, reaching up to brush a lock of hair out of his face, then slipped his glasses off and put them in his pocket. "Who else could I do that with, than someone as disturbed as I am?"

[eightofdeath.livejournal.com]

Kid was beyond stunned. He was expecting Stein to counter the kick, but he hadn't anticipated his attack. The Shinigami raised his arm to keep the blow from reaching his head, but without anything to absorb the attack on his arm, there was a damn good chance he'd need to explain away a fracture when he got home. Kid stumbled backwards, clutching his arm to his chest.

He stared as Stein took off those glasses, debating if this was giving him an advantage or a cause to worry. Kid knew better than to keep randomly striking out now. He'd need a plan. An opening. He maneuvered into a more defensive stance, feeling extraordinarily small. He couldn't help but think just how many witches had been in this same position, feeling this same utter dread, wondering what could possibly happen now.

But unlike most of those who'd been in this position, Kid knew what could possibly happen now. Avoid his hands he kept telling himself. "No one like you knows how to care about anyone. Look around you. This is no better than anything Medusa has done."

[screwloose]

Stein made no move to pick up the dropped halves of his weapon. In fact, he made no other move. He stood there, cigarette burned down to the filter and smouldering, his hands at his sides and his face tilted slightly upwards towards the sun.

He wasn't even looking at Kid.

"You're right," he said softly, unsmiling. "But Birkin is in love with me. I can't love him back, and maybe he only thinks it's love. Maybe it's infatuation, or possession, or obsession. But he calls it love, and I'm in no position to second guess him."

[eightofdeath.livejournal.com]

Kid suddenly felt very, very out of place. Something in that look on his teacher's face made him think what he was doing was wrong; just as wrong as Stein had been by leaving. He had nothing more than baseless accusation as to what the other man's been up to and in a sense, it wasn't really his business anymore. His father trusted the scientist, and the very least Kid could do was the same. He was in no position to second guess anyone either.

"I understand." His voice was embarrassed almost. He'd been too quick to judge. And unfairly unbalanced in it as well. "You believe you would be a better asset to us here, where at least you have your mind."

His arm still throbbed painfully though and Kid half-thought he should go over and kick Stein in the head just for the sake of revenge, but he withheld the urge. For now.

[screwloose]

The strike had been a lesson, and hopefully one Kid had taken to heart. Stein hadn't had his heart in the battle, and while perhaps Kid would have won if he'd persevered, that was by no means certain.

The change in Kid's voice took Stein by surprise, though, and he lowered his chin, looking to the young Shinigami.

"That's right," he said, and dropped his cigarette on the ground, where he stepped on it and ground it into the loam under his feet. "Do you really understand?"

[eightofdeath.livejournal.com]

Kid was silent for a long moment. "No, not in the slightest," he said honestly. "But I want to trust you." The fight wasn't going to accomplish anything at all honestly. It was nothing more than a painful waste of time.

If he'd kept it up he'd only need to worry about getting himself even more probably asymmetrical bruises. Though he pushed the thought out of his mind as best he could by promising himself that they would fade very soon.

[screwloose]

"I want you to trust me," Stein said honestly, glad to see the dawning frustration and discouragement in Kid's expression. It meant that - hopefully - the battle was over, that Kid was accepting that it was doomed from the start.

Stein took a step towards the boy Shinigami. "We're not enemies," he said firmly. "And I want to be able to work with you, if I can. I want to do what I can to help stop the Kishin, Medusa, and Arachnophobia."

[eightofdeath.livejournal.com]

Kid nodded slowly. He still wasn't sure if he entirely trusted Stein's motives for being here, but he knew that if nothing else, his desire to help was true.

He frowned slightly. "And what if we find a way to stop the madness? Will you come back and fight with us?" Kid already had a feeling the answer was yes, but it deserved to be asked anyway to put his suspicions at ease.

"I still don't like these people you're associating with."

[screwloose]

"Yes," Stein said, without hesitation. He keenly missed his own lab, the space he'd carved out that was his and his alone. Sharing it with Birkin would be even better than being there by himself, but either way, that was where he wanted to be.

His lips twisted wryly, and he reached into his pocket to stick a new cigarette between his lips. This one, he didn't light.

"Neither do I," he said frankly. "But they're my kind of people, so I'll be okay with them for now."

He sobered. "Can you tell me anything about what's happening? Is everyone all right since Lost Island?"

[eightofdeath.livejournal.com]

Kid sighed. He'd probably never convince Stein to leave based on his... Friends' loose morals.

He straightened a bit at the questions. "I'm slightly concerned about Black Star. After we got back he forced me to fight him and he seems weaker than he used to. Other than that, everyone seems fine, though slightly shaken about the whole ordeal still." Kid put a hand on his hip.

"Would you like me to keep you updated on what happens?"

[screwloose]

Likely that tack really wouldn't work with Stein. He didn't care that his friends had loose morals, really.

He frowned at Kid's words. "I had a feeling," he said, nodding. "Black*Star's had a few blows to his ego lately. He needs to regain his confidence, most likely. That ego of his is a large source of his power."

He nodded. "I would, yes. Please. It's been frustrating not knowing what's happening at home."

[eightofdeath.livejournal.com]

"If his ego's suffering, it's news to me." Kid shot Stein an incredulous look before realizing he might actually have a point. The fight did start because that teal-haired maniac learned Kid didn't need to worry about getting checked out. He rolled his eyes. Idiot.

He gave a curt nod back. "I'll try to keep tabs on what the Death Scythes are up to as well. Do you want me to pass any messages along to anyone? I'd be..." Kid paused. He was hardly happy about this situation and there was no point in trying to lie about it. "Willing to."

[screwloose]

Stein just looked back at Kid. No, Black*Star's ego was pretty big, but that didn't mean that he couldn't lose confidence in his own abilities. And the results, based on Stein's calculations, would be pretty much exactly what he was doing.

He opened his mouth to say 'yes', then closed it again. For a moment, his eyes flickered away, and he drew his glasses back on, pushing them back over his eyes.

"No," he said after a while. But even as he said the word, he realized that it sounded petty. "Wait... tell Marie, that I'm all right, and that I'll come back soon, and not to worry."

[eightofdeath.livejournal.com]

Kid smiled a bit. "I'm not sure how well she'll listen to the last part, but I'll certainly tell her." At least there was someone normal in Stein's life.

"Please be careful here, professor." Between the people he was living with being dangerous psychopaths, everyone on that community hating them more or less, and generally being in trouble with the law, there were plenty of things Stein had to be careful of. Kid sighed. Medusa certainly knew how to hit her enemies where it hurt.

[screwloose]

Stein smiled faintly in answer. He was pleased that he and Kid seemed to have come to some kind of understanding, even if the boy wasn't completely sanguine about the situation. "Thank you, and you be careful, too. I don't want anything to happen to my students while I'm away."

He turned away. "Oh, and you can tell Spirit that I'm out of cigarettes again," he said, raising a hand to wave as he began to walk off.

[eightofdeath.livejournal.com]

"I'll pass that along to the others as well," Kid said with a smile.

He frowned slightly at the comment about the cigarettes, but figured it was probably a code for something or a joke maybe. Either way, Kid was pretty sure he wasn't meant to understand it. "Alright," he mumbled. Kid summoned Beelzebub and hovered in place for a moment. "Do you want me to bring you some more?" he called after Stein.

[screwloose]

Stein glanced over his shoulder at the question, and nodded, flashing a wicked grin. "Yes, I would. That's be kind of you. But make sure Spirit pays for them. He knows what I like."

With a last smirk tossed towards Kid, he walked off through the trees.