Claire

The Announcement

Kira's POV

I woke up with tear-filled eyes. Today was the day everyone got to prepare for the huge battle in three days.

There was a knock at my door, and I glared at it. I pulled my hair up into a ponytail. I stood from my bed and opened the door groggily.

It was Soul. Had they stayed the night? I didn't remember. "Ah. Hey." I greeted, brushing a few strands of hair from my face. Soul looked as if he'd been up for a little while, and I suddenly had a bad feeling in my stomach. "Kid went to go talk to Lord Death. He told me to tell you." I blinked. That couldn't be it.

"And Justin Law is here. He asked for you."

Bingo.

I started downstairs and outside. Justin was leaning against the porch railing when I got out there, but he turned to me as soon as the door opened. He stared at me for a moment, then averted his gaze.

Justin didn't say anything. I took a breath to say something, anything, but Justin beat me. "I want to apologize for yesterday. That kiss didn't mean anything."

I cringed, feeling as if he'd stabbed my heart several hundred times. My eyes filled with tears. What was wrong with me! I have a boyfriend! Why was I being so sensitive about this!

Again, things were quiet. "Well. If you just came here to break my heart and step on it," I spat, my voice hoarse, "you've accomplished your objective. Now go." I clenched my fists and turned my back on him.

Justin grabbed my shoulder. "Wait! Kira, I'm sorry. That isn't what I meant!" He apologized. I clenched my jaw. "But that's what you said!" I replied. He grunted, surprised.

"I meant that I didn't want this to interfere with your and Kid's relationship." He explained softly.

My mind fluttered with snarky remarks and ill-tempered replies. But I asked, "You couldn't have thought about that before you kissed me?"

There was no reply for some time. "Are you saying you regret it?" He asked quietly.

I thought about that. Did I regret it? "To be honest. No. I didn't regret it and I don't." I told him, my back still turned. "But it would be nice if you took my feelings into consideration." I murmured.

Justin sighed and released my shoulder. "I came to make sure you were prepared for the announcement today." He mumbled. I sighed. "I'm not. I never will be, I don't think." I replied quietly. He didn't say anything for a while.

"I'm sorry, Kira. I'll be on my way."

***

The morning dragged by as my anxiousness increased. When we got to the Academy, everyone was gathered under the balcony. Lord Death and every Death Scythe were standing on the balcony, waiting for everyone to get there.

"Good morning, students of DWMA!" Lord Death started cheerfully. "This morning, there is a rather important announcement!" The students murmured everywhere, like a tsunami without warning. "Now, now! Listen up!" Lord Death continued. "In three days' time, there will be a large battle for DWMA against Arachnophobia and Asura the Kishin."

An eery silence fell over the crowd. Two or three sobs could be heard from around the crowd. What cowards. "This is horribly bad news, and I wish I did not have to give it to you all. However, Asura and Arachnophobia together is too strong, so we need eery student."

Maka scoffed. "Yeah. We need Crona, too."

I'd completely forgotten about Crona's being exiled. And Ms. Marie had resigned as a teacher and left DWMA. Something wasn't right with the picture, but I'd never gotten all the details. I truly didn't care right now anyway.

Lord Death went on to explain that school would be dismissed for three days so the Meisters and Weapons could get in as much training as possible. I glanced at Ryuu, who'd grown considerably pale since the beginning of the speech. I forgot how sensitive he was. To reassure him, I put a hand on his shoulder. He smiled weakly at me, then looked back up at Lord Death and listened.

Death grabbed my hand beside me. "We need to talk." He whispered sadly in my ear. I nodded once, but didn't look at him. I needed to talk to him, too.

The speech finished, everyone began to depart for their homes. Death and I, however, stayed behind to talk.

"This battle," Death began, "is going to be extremely dangerous." I blinked a few times. I knew that, and he knew I knew that. "So, I think we should break this off for the time being." I hesitated. He definitely didn't want to say that. But this was exactly what I needed to talk to him about. "This is completely temporary?" I asked for confirmation. Death nodded, "Completely." I nodded and kissed him deeply, ruefully. "I'm going to miss that." I told him before we separated to go find our Partners to train.

***

Ryuu and I panted as we tried our newest trick; He would throw me and I would take back my human form and wield myself so Ryuu could fight others by himself for a moment. It was working.

We also practiced Arch Angel, Halo Light, Lucid Lucifer, and Demon King continuously. Eventually, though, we had to take a break.

While I made us dinner, Ryuu took a shower. I determined it'd be easier if I took a shower after dinner. Ryuu finished quickly, hurrying to the table. I made a homemade pizza with meats and vegetables to make it healthier.

Our dinner was comfortably quiet, the only noise being our chewing. Which, honestly, I didn't mind. I wanted the peace and quiet. Ryuu still looked anxious and surprised from the announcement tonight, but I didn't say anything about it. i didn't want him to know that his emtions were obvious.

Ryuu finally spoke up while I was washng the dishes. "You're not scared, are you?" His question was quiet and, therefore, weak. I shrugged. "Not really. Either we lose and we all die or we win and most of us survive. Either way, some of us are going to die."

Silence fell over the kitchen.

"Wow. Nice visual. Thanks for the potential nightmares." He scoffed. I chuckled. "Well, I'd rather be informed with the truth than informed with a lie." I replied. Ryuu hummed his agreement.

I sighed, putting the dried dishes away. "I'm going to get a shower." I said, tired and sore. "Kira," Ryuu called. I turned obediently, and gasped when Ryuu's lips met the corner of my lip. "I guess I should do that before we die then, huh?" He whispered. I blinked in shock, and he scurried up to his bedroom.

I really hope this won't come from the other boys.