Declaration of War

Noire's p.o.v.

I left Fade's room as she passed out with a cookie in her hand and the jar on her nightstand. I went to my room and changed for school grabbing my bag. I went downstairs and grabbed my motorcycle keys and went outside. Kid was sitting on the porch with his head in his hands. Damn Kid. Why is he always in my way? And I said I wouldn't talk to him anyways. I walked past him and was almost to my bike when I felt him looking at me. Don't say anything! He'll go away eventually....

"Hey Noire off to school so soon?" I got on my bike and started it looking after I did it then feigned interest in the gauges. "See you there!"

"He's an idiot." I mumbled where he couldn't hear me and drove off to school. I did the daily routine and climbed the ridiculously long staircase and made my way to class sitting down before Stein entered. So far I'm the only student here which means I'm alone with whack job down there. At least he's reading a book.... I think.

"Good morning Noire. You are here early! Why so early...well since you are here early would you mind helping me out and write this stuff that is on the paper down on the board?' He held up a piece of paper.

"Yes sir." I got up from my spot and closed my journal and started copying the lesson on the board.

"Thank you Noire. So Fade won't be coming to class today I am guessing. She's falling behind..." I looked over at him.

"Actually about that. I was wondering if I could take home her assignments she needs to do. She hit her head really hard yesterday, so I had her stay home today to get some rest. It's swelling, and she said she felt like she got hit by a truck or something like that."

"Well of course, I had thought about bringing them by the house after classes today but I will just hand them over to you. It is much better that way since I will be busy later on today. You won't see me at the manor but Spirit will be there." I sighed. Poor Spirit. He's gonna be in the House of Loonies by himself. But then Stein probably would look at my silent treatment to Kid as something a baby would do. Well.... It kind of is....

"Thank you Stein. I'll make sure Fade does them correctly. Um, Stein? I was wondering... Did you tell Kid about James, or did Kid actually tell the truth about James asking permission from him?" I finished the assignment Stein had given me and walked back to my seat.

"That evening a knock came from the kitchen's outside door and James stood there and came in. Kid, Liz and I were surprised seeing him then he asked Kid permission and of course he asked for mine as well. So Kid told you the truth. Does it help your troubles over him?" Stein held up a stack of papers. "This is for Fade." I walked over to him and took them putting them away in my bag.

"How'd you know Kid was troubling me Stein? I didn't say anything about it...." I sat down.

"Then why did you ask me if he was telling you the truth or not, seems like your troubled or you wouldn't have asked me that."

"I'm mad at him right now. He pissed me off this morning. I would be worried slightly about Spirit's sanity Stein. Why did you ask me what I was doing last night then? And why did he ask YOUR permission. You're not my dad." I looked at him.

"I was babysitting. So he needed my permission."

"I thought Spirit was technically babysitting." I evened out my books making them match up in a straight stack.

"He is the babysitter and I tagged along making me one also. I figured he should just ask me and not Spirit. He don't need to freak out. He would have asked me to watch you two and that would have ruined the date. So I told James that he just needed to ask Kid and I and he would be ok. So then we sat up him going to the front door when we heard you sneaking down the stairs and Kid and Liz hid while I made my presence known and well you remember the rest."

"Waaaaiiit.... You guys could hear me? I thought I was being quiet. I need to work on that or start using the window." I looked up at him again.

"If you start using the window I will personally put bars on them." He smirked and turned to the board and read over what I put on the board.

"Fine, no window..... Was Kid mad about me trying to sneak out or me going out with James for the night? I'm confused about it because of his reaction this morning. That poor wall...."

"Why don't you ask him? I heard about the wall...Lord Death gave Spirit and I a long speech about- well. Spirit had got a mouth full of lectures let's just put it at that." He laughed.

"The wall is slightly my fault. Sorry about that...." I rubbed the back of my neck. "Anyways, I can't ask Kid."

"Why not?"

"He'd dodge it, and I kind of said I wasn't going to talk to him anymore....." I studied my hands in my lap.

"Well I hope you find your voice to talk to him again." He turned towards me. "I do not feel like asking him your questions myself or answering them if they are going to continue to be about him. I have more important things to do then that."

"Hell no. I'm not speaking to him. I'll just ask the third person Liz when Kid isn't around. Anyways, is there anything else I can do?"

"You can take these papers to the front office for me." He held them up for me to see.

"Ok.... Which way is the front office again?" I took them from Stein and went over to the door.

"There is a map on the top of that stack. Keep it."

"Y-yeah. A map. Thanks Stein!" I ran out of the room looking at it. Wait a minute, where am I on this map? Anyways, I think this room is Stein's class, so I should go this way. I ran down the hallway and eventually reached the front office. I looked around for someone. "Hello? Anyone here?"

"Oh! Are those from Stein? Just set them on the desk sweetie." I heard from another room coming off of the office.

"Ok." I sat them down and headed back to class with the map. When I got back, Stein was sitting in his chair with his feet up on the desk. "I'm back Stein! Anything else?" I walked over to him.

"That is all. Thank you Noire." I smiled.

"Anytime Stein!" I went and sat down looking over Fade's assignments when the door opened. Kid, Liz, and Patti walked in and sat down next to me with Kid on my right.

"Hey Noire!" Patti and Liz cheered and Kid smirked at me.

"Didn't think you were a early riser Kid." Stein said as he leaned back farther in his chair.

"I'm not, didn't get much sleep, these DAMN knuckles were killing me."

"That happened AFTER you woke up idiot." I glared at him and then realized I talked to him. Damn it! I clamped my hand over my mouth.

"Thought you were not talking to me Noire. Anyway. Fade told me to tell you to have fun for the day at school. She's not staying in bed either. She went- actually I don't remember what she-"

"She went to go get a new phone." Liz cut in on Kid as she painted her nails.

"Thanks Liz." I opened my notebook and started reading my notes from Maka that I had missed.

"Yahoo, Black Star is here for class!" Black Star entered with Tsubaki following him. I smiled.

"Morning Black Star and Tsubaki! You guys are here earlier than usual from what I've heard." I closed my notes. I'll read that later. I have someone to talk to now.

"Hey it is only because we made it into a race to get here first, Maka and Soul are still trying to get up the stairs!" Black Star laughed as Tsubaki narrowed her eyes.

"It was not kind of you to cheat though, poor Soul."

"Did you push him down the stairs Black Star?" I stood up getting ready to leave to check on the two outside.

"Worse, he kicked him where a foot shouldn't go." Tsubaki mumbled and went over to sit by me.

"Black Star! I am going to kick you in th-" Soul ran in and tackled Black Star to the ground.

"BOYS! Knock it off. Apparently guys are stupid." I sat back down after I said my piece as Maka walked in.

"Hey! Make sure to give him a nosebleed while your at it Soul." Maka said as she crossed her arms walking over them and came over to me and sat down.

"You are going to encourage a fight while Stein is in the room. What if he tries to break them up by hitting them with his soul wavelength? You aren't worried about your partner? Just get Black Star after school if you must." I sighed and rested my head on my hand.

"Nah, fights can be occurring as long as there is a teacher there to watch." Patti cheered and stood up. "YEAH KICK HIS BUTT!"

"Patti..." Liz muttered.

"Let her." Kid whispered and got up. "HOW ABOUT I JOIN YOU STEIN?" He ran down to them and pulled one away as Stein got the other.

"Where is Fade?" Tsubaki asked.

"Hit her head." I narrowed my eyes at all of the boys.

"So she is laying out again?" Tsubaki got up and crossed her arms. "BLACK STAR."

"SOUL!" Maka joined as the two boys settled down and started laughing and hugged it out.

"Bleh. Jeez, those two need to make up their damn minds already. Stein, is class going to start soon?" I crossed my arms and stared at him.

"Soon." He sat back down in his chair and students started to pour into the classroom.

"Hey Liz, can I ask you something after class alone?" I looked over at her as Kid started to sit back down. Class was about to start.

"Sure Noire." She smiled at me as she waved her hands around to dry the nail polish.

"Thank you." I looked at Stein as he called the class to order. After our classes, I stood up putting my notes in my bag along with Fade's assignments I had kept out to occasionally look at.

"What's up Noire, what did you want to ask?" Liz asked as she scooted over to me. Sitting back down to talk quietly to her, I sighed.

"I need to know. Stein refuses to tell me. Did Kid get mad when James asked for permission? Or about the fact that I was trying to sneak out? I know you know." I whispered to her.

"Not that I could tell he kept pretty...well blank. He was just so blank about it with what I could tell, very tense. Why do you ask?"

"He would dodge if I asked him, and then I won't talk to him because I'm pissed. Normally I probably would have asked him instead. He just seemed a little upset about it after if he would be alright with me seeing James today or sometime. Thank you Liz. I need to go before something happens." I stood up and walked out of the room only to see James leaning against the wall as people left to go home.

"Hey there Noire." He smiled at me.

"Hi James. What are you doing out here? Shouldn't you have gone home already?" I smiled sweetly.

"I came to see if you were alright or wanted to do something this afternoon." He tilted his head.

"Actually, I need to take Fade's homework to her. Sorry, maybe another time James?" I started to walk away, but James grabbed my hand stopping me.

"Can't you drop it off and hang with me?" He looked a little upset.

"S-" I felt like something was wrong. Is it just me or did this hallway just drop 50 degrees?

"Hey Noire, can I talk with yo- Hi James."

"Not tonight James. Go do your homework. I'll call you later." I took my hand back and pleaded with him using my eyes trying to tell him that we were in danger. His eyes widened, and I could tell he was starting to realized what I was trying to tell him.

"Ok sweetie. I'll talk to you later then." He smiled at me. I smiled back and waved goodbye hoping that he could get out of here.

"Hey James, I'll see you later." I felt the room get ice cold.

"DON'T EVER CALL ME SWEETIE AGAIN! I mean it James! You know what? I'm done with you. Don't call me. Don't visit me at all. Just stay away from me." I said trying to save James's skin. I looked at him trying to express that I didn't mean it. He nodded slightly to where Kid couldn't see it.

"Fine Noire! Be that way! I won't come near you at all." He stormed off in the other direction towards the school exit. I turned around to look at Kid.

"So Noire, how about we have that talk now." He smirked and put his hands in his pockets. "Should I go kick his butt? Was he bothering you just now? I can go teach him a lesson if you want me to." He started to walk past me. I grabbed his hand. I REALLY don't want to do this. James will owe me one.

"I can take care of myself Kid. I don't need someone else to deal with the idiots of my life." I yanked him back over to me.

"Well if you insist. What is your problem anyway? You can be really silly. Do you forgive me yet?"

"Nope." I smirked at him. "I'm only talking to you right now because I wanted you to leave him alone. He's upset that I yelled at him and that's enough for me."

"I wasn't talking about him." He pulled away and stepped back a few steps then looked me over. "So you have a problem with me right, about lying to you, well you lie to me to." He started to walk off. "See how it feels to be in my shoes for one day why don't you."

"First off, you can't walk in mine if that's what you are doing! You don't even know why I'm so mad at you for lying! If it was a normal situation, I wouldn't be pissed!" I shouted after him and ran to the school's exit. Damn him. Damn everyone! He can't walk in my shoes at all! I ran down the stairs and got on my bike starting it and drove home to give Fade her homework before I went on a little drive. When I got back, the house seemed normal besides all the noise. Good, she didn't destroy the house. "Fade! I'm back!" I walked upstairs and knocked on her door.

"Come in." Fade said softly from the other side. I opened the door and sat down on the edge of her bed.

"I got your assignments along with some notes for you. I've already copied them for you." I handed her a notebook and a stack of papers. "I think my fight with Kid is going to get out of control." I sighed.

"Thanks for the work, Noire...Lord Death wants to see us when he gets home."

"Great, what does he want?" I smiled at her. "Do you have any idea?"

"Your step dad is in town. He stopped by the manor today asking for you. I think it has something to do with him."

"H-he's here? Why is Nick he- No, please not that...." I stood up and looked down at her.

"We will have to see."

"You know that if I leave, you have to find another weapon right? He's going to take me overseas with him. When is your dad going to be home?" I sat back down next to her.

"He is coming home right away and you know I won't let him take you if you don't want to go, you don't want to go right? I don't want a new weapon! I want you as my weapon... I will go with you if I have to."

"If I have to go, you will need to stay here. You are a grim reaper Fade. It's your duty to fight for peace and maybe take your dad's spot when you grow up. Listen, you need to stay here in Death City. As a weapon, I can give up on it. There are countless other weapons out there, so it wouldn't really effect things if I went. If you left, there would be an uproar." I closed my eyes hating myself for saying it. I needed to say it to her though. It had to be said by someone.

"Well let's face it, I don't have a chance at that spot with Kid around. He will be taking over. It is destiny for him to. Your my weapon and my only one, there is nobody else I want but you and I am your meister. Like it or not I follow you wherever you go. I refuse to live without my wonderful weapon Noire. That's you. So if it comes down to it, let's run away together."

"Ok then. As your weapon, I refuse to let you talk like that. Screw destiny. You can have that spot if you try. Kid doesn't have to get everything Fade. Anyways, if you did run away with me, your dad would start a world wide search for you, and then when we get caught, he would kill me for not stopping you. Then you really would have to live without me. Fade, I don't think that you should come with me if it happens that way. I hate myself for saying it too. Fade, you will stay here and continue training. A weapon protects their meister, and this is me protecting you. If you stay here and train, you will get stronger and be able to do more things." I laid down by her trying not to cry as I said it. Why is it so hard to be a weapon? I could be selfish and take her, but then again, I'm not completely selfish to do that.

Fade's p.o.v.

Noire thinks that I would just let her go and get a new weapon but I wouldn't dare! I told Lord Death that if I ever got a weapon I would keep it and never replace him or her. I found my weapon and that is Noire. I don't plan to get a new replacement. I told Lord Death and I plan to keep it that way. He can't force me to get a new one and he is lucky I did get a weapon. It took a long time to find the perfect weapon for me and when Noire and I met I didn't need to say anything I just new, she is my weapon. Therefore I will keep her as my weapon no matter what. If Lord Death hates me for it then so be it. I won't part with her nor find a replacement. If she gets a new meister so be it, I wont get a new weapon though. I must sound childish but this is who I am. I want only one weapon and that is Noire.

"Fade, Noire! I'm home! May I see the both of you in my study?" Lord Death shouted. Noire sat up wiping at something on her cheeks and looked at me.

"COMING!" I yelled to him and sat up myself and smiled at her. "I think we will have a fair chance that you won't end up having to move." Now that I think about it...Lord Death wouldn't want me without a weapon so he definitely will try to fight to keep Noire here and stay as my weapon. He knows that I will retire as a meister if Noire left me. "Let's go see what he wants." I hopped out of bed and smiled. "Don't cry you are acting like we already went through the trial and lost." I held out my hand and she took it and I helped her up. "Let's be happy. We won't get split up I promise."

"Fade.... Why are you like this always?" She smiled at me and gave me a quick hug then went to the door. I followed her downstairs and to Lord Death's study where tons of books are put up on shelves and a desk is in the middle of the room along with two chairs in front of it and one behind it. A few sofas are placed against the walls. I took a seat at the desk where Lord Death stood behind it and Noire sat in the other chair.

"You w...wanted us."

"YA, I did. So Noire, your step dad is in town and his lawyer came by the death room and dropped off some papers and a long boring speech about how her client would win in court, quite boring. She thinks she has a chance in court here in Death City against me, Lord Death. I tell you some people are so... light headed."

"He came by the school with Diane? I thought that he would have just come by here instead.... Is he crazy? That staircase can kill somebody." Noire looked a little worried as she looked down at her lap then up at Lord Death. "Diane can be boring. I met her once before, and I really don't like her. She's so weird with the way she talks. So Nick and Diane are trying to take me then?"

"Yeah. Get this, they seemed pretty close if I do say so myself. On to business. They do want to take you back overseas with them. I believe you don't want to am I correct?" Noire nodded and looked over at me.

"Well then I will fight to keep you here which won't be too hard."

"I wouldn't underestimate Diane. She's won just about every case that has come her way." Noire looked a little sad as she said it and grabbed my hand.

"Well girls here in Death city we do what the child wants and if you want to stay here then they really already lost because they are not your real parents and therefore I have just as much rights to keep you in my care as they do the only difference is that you actually are wanting to be here and not with them so this case will be closed in less then ten minutes at court next week."

"Well, Nick did marry my mom before she died Lord Death. Won't they look at that along with everything that has happened with me here?"

"Nick is not your father now is he?"

"No, my daddy died in a car crash." She looked up at him.

"Then don't worry about it! I have just as much rights as he does but more." He sat down. "So I am positive you will not be forced to go back with him."

"Thank you Lord Death!" She looked like she wanted to jump up and give him a hug. In fact she was about to. She stood up and went behind the desk and gave my dad a hug and sat back down next to me.

"I have to ask, what happened to your head Fade?" He chuckled and I blushed.

"Nothing I swear!" I hopped to my feet and turned around grabbing Noire and pulled her out the room in a hurry to avoid the subject.

"Whoa! I'm sorry Lord Death! Bye!" She smiled apologetically to him as I dragged her out. "What's wrong Fade? You don't want to tell him that you ran into a statue?"

"You ran into a statue!" Lord Death asked from behind me and I stopped and bit my bottom lip.

"Yeah..."

"Kid's fault! He was there and didn't stop her." Noire said smirking.

"Apparently I have a sleepwalking disorder." I giggled and then turned around.

"Where is Kid I need to have- Hello Kid." I turned around seeing Kid poking his head out around a corner. SPY. Noire paled.

"I'm gonna leave.... If anyone needs me, I'll be in my room." She walked past Kid and stopped. "Kid,"

"Hey Noire." Kid mumbled and walked over to me and looked at his feet. "Their right. I should have been watching her but you know what! ITS NOT MY FAULT SHE KNOCKED ME-"

"NO I DIDNT!" I kicked him in the shin and turned around crossing my arms. "Da-"

"Don't listen to her she is a compulsive-" I turned back around and pushed him over seeing he was bent over in pain.

"Kid, Fade enough of this." Lord Death ordered. "Into my office now." DAMNNNN IT. Noire retreated upstairs screaming something about having to call someone.