Controlling that Head-case: Part One

      They were everywhere. All over the room, crawling up his legs, flying around his head… Shouting at him. Whispering to him. Stroking him with soft tendrils and stinging him with needles. No matter where he went, they followed. So he stopped trying. But they couldn't sneak up on him if his back faced a wall.

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      "Stein. Hey, what the hell's wrong with you?" Spirit asked. His meister was huddled in the corner with his hands over his ears, his eyes wide; he clearly wasn't looking at anything, though.

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      "I know you've been having a hard time picking a meister," said Lord Death, only the week before. "All of your choices thus far seem to have been women… and I've heard they've all been avoiding you… So I picked a meister for you. His name is Franken Stein."

      "His??" He practically broke down into tears.

      "Yep. He is clearly very powerful already, and he has a lot of potential."

      "He…"

      "Are you even listening?" Lord Death frowned at him. Spirit's shoulders fell.

      "Yeah."

      "Good. Now, I'm certain you and he will be compatible—he needs someone to balance him out. Your sense of justice and loyalty will do him some good."

      Spirit looked up at him curiously. "What's THAT mean?"

      "Mmmm…" He cocked his head to the side. "Stein is… A very different boy."

      "Different how?" Spirit was getting more and more uneasy with this assignment.

      "He sees the world differently than most people." Spirit had pressed for more information, but Lord Death only shrugged it off.

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      "Stein! Can you hear me?" Sees the world differently, my ass. Spirit knelt down in front of Stein and waved his hand in front of his eyes. Were those tears? "Steeein? Hellooooo? Can you hea—AAH!"

      Stein grabbed his wrist with one hand and his throat with the other. "JUST STOP IT!"

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      The tinkling of bells. The cackling of a jackal. The crackling, whispering, grainy sound of a broken radio. Shut up, shut up, shut up…

      A shadow, a silhouette, a monster, an angel… and it was calling for him. Shut up, shut up, shut up… It called him. Beckoned him. Stop it… Stop that… go away… It reached for him.

      "JUST STOP IT!"

      It gurgled and coughed. It twisted and fought back.

      Wouldn't you like to cut him open? He would shut up then. I wonder what this one looks like on the inside. Would he squeal like the last one?

      "S-Stein…!"

      Would he build up an immunity to poison quickly or slowly? Would it kill him right away?

      "Shhhhhh…" Stein said as Spirit tried to get out from under him. "Shhhh."

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      Spirit's vision was blurring. What the hell was wrong with this kid? Spirit didn't want to hurt him—he was his meister, after all—but he also didn't want to die. He changed his arm into a blade, nicking Stein's arm. He let go and looked at his arm, where blood was just starting to ooze onto his shirt. He didn't look scared. He didn't even look like it had hurt. And he certainly didn't look like he had just nearly choked his weapon do death. This guy isn't human…

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      A flash of light. A slash of pain. He let go and watched the line of red ants march across the mark on his skin. They all gathered on his white shirt. They looked so funny that he had to laugh. Red on white.

      He looked up and there was more red. Red like a faucet, dripping down a pale face. Red on white. It was all just so funny.

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      "Hey, snap out of it! Y-you're scaring me!" Spirit stumbled over himself to get away. Stein cocked his head, looked at his arm, then looked back at Spirit. His eyes looked different, now. Whatever had possessed him moments before was gone, replaced by cold indifference. The silver-haired boy looked at his watch.

      "We're going to miss first period." Without another word, he got up, grabbed his backpack, and slung it over his shoulder.

      "What the hell was all that?!" Spirit jumped to his feet.

      "What?"

      "What do you mean, 'what'? You tried to choke me!"

      "Hm. Did I? Sorry."

      Spirit was completely at a loss for words. Sorry? Sorry didn't even cut it. This boy was completely insane.

      "Are you ready for school?" He looked down at his watch again and noticed the scratch. "Huh. Weird."

      "Y-you… I…" Spirit sputtered.

      "I guess I'll go without you." Stein shrugged and headed toward the door. Spirit watched him go, heard the latch click shut. His heart was still racing. Stein seemed to have no idea what had just happened. This wasn't fair; how could Lord Death assign him someone like this? After a moment, he came back to his senses, grabbed his backpack, and with a deep breath, headed after his meister.

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      "You wanted to see me?" Lord Death cocked his head to the side. Spirit had asked his teacher to let him talk with Lord Death in the Death Room. Even through his nervousness at talking to Lord Death in person, he was still fuming about being assigned to Stein.

      "Why'd you pick ME to be that guy's weapon?" Spirit asked, drawing his shoulders together.

      "Stein is a very talented meister. I'm sure you will find that he is more than he seems."

      "Oh you don't say?" Spirit had forgotten his fear at this point. "This morning he was huddled in a corner muttering to himself and then he tried to choke me to death!"

      "Ah. Yes. Think of it as a learning experience."

      "Learning experience?!"

      "Yep! Being his weapon will not only teach you patience, it will also give you the opportunity to become a death scythe in record time."

      Spirit crossed his arms. "Who cares about becoming a death scythe quickly if I die first…?" he grumbled.

      "As I've said, I believe you two will balance each other out. Not to be offensive, but you're kind of lazy without a motivated meister, and Stein is motivated. But he needs someone who will calm him down, and your laid-back attitude will have a positive effect on him."

      Spirit tried to protest, but he wasn't sure which point to start with. Before he could even get his thoughts straightened out, Lord Death interrupted him.

      "If that's all you needed, then I think you should return to your classes. The bell is about to ring."

      "Bu-but—!"

      Lord Death raised his hand and waved at him congenially. "Bye~"

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      This was totally unfair. Stein had been acting all day like nothing had happened that morning. He'd put a bandage on his arm, though.

      "Really, Spirit. What's gotten into you?"

      "Gee, I don't know. You really can't think of anything I might be upset about?"

      "Hm." He thought about it for a few seconds. "Oh. Sorry." He shrugged. "I meant to get up earlier to make breakfast, but I slept all the way through—"

      "That is not. What I am talking about... Wait, did you just say you slept through the morning?"

      "Yeah. You woke me up. I get a little jumpy when someone wakes me up, so don't do it again or I may end up choking you again."

      "Stein, you weren't asleep." Spirit was getting a bad feeling about this. A thought occurred to Spirit, then, even though it was pretty far-fetched. Maybe he really DIDN'T know what had happened that morning… He had seemed to be in a world of his own. A very disturbing world of his own.

      Stein blinked a few times, then shrugged. "Oh."

      "You weren't asleep," Spirit repeated, hoping to get more of a response than just 'oh'.

      "Okay."

      "What, that's it?!"

      "What do you want me to say?"

      "How about an explanation?!"

      "Okay, if you want." He shrugged. "That happens sometimes."

      Spirit was aghast and more than a little exasperated. Stein was already walking down the hall, though. He jogged to catch up.

      "You're completely insane! Wh—"

      Stein whirled on him faster than a snake and shoved him against the wall. "Don't. Say that. Again." And then he kept walking.

      Still shaken, Spirit hesitantly followed his meister. This was going to be a long year. He prayed that Lord Death would assign him to a different meister before he graduated. Maybe if he really DID become a Death Scythe in record time, they wouldn't have to be together anymore. That's it. I'm gonna work my ass off until I don't have to be his weapon anymore. He was settled on that.