•Soul Eater•

•Chapter 3 - Quick, Before It Gets Worse•
•Ammi•

"Kai! Hurry up!" I called up the stairs of our little two-bedroom house in death city. It was just the two of us and Kai's scruffy little terrier dog, Nolan. He padded around my bare feet, giving me gentle yet cautious licks, aware of my surly mood. I looked down at the small animal and gave him a feeble smile, before turning my head back to look up the stairs.
"Kai! We're gonna be late!" I yelled again, getting impatient, just as two red Nike high tops and black jeans came thundering down the stairs at an insane speed.
Kai was sweaty and out of breath, his black v-neck sticking to him, his red baseball cap tilted up on his head so you could see the messy brown hair beneath, his facial features prominent, eyes filled with worry. He threw his rucksack over one shoulder and went to bolt for the door, when I stopped him.
"Wait!".
Ugh, I'm so embarrassed by this.
"Kai..." I mumbled, and stared down at my bare feet expectantly.
"Ah shit!" he cursed as he realised what he had forgotten.
I sat down on the stairs in routine, and slid on my grey flats, as Kai came to kneel in front of me.
You see, the problem is, I can't tie my laces.
Nobody was ever there to teach me, and whenever Kai has tried, I've always messed it up and tripped over them in public - embarrassing for both of us, I can assure you. So we had a silent agreement that Kai would do it, no need for a thank you. It always worked better like that anyway.
I watched intently as he tied each lace with ease, moving from my right foot to my left.
"There. All done" he babbled, before taking me roughly by the hand and pulling me up. I grabbed my messenger bag from the floor, gave Nolan a kiss goodbye, and shot out the door behind Kai.

Monday's lessons were always boring and tasteless. Six hours of staring out the window, into the icy grey morning, ignoring the teacher, and instead, waiting for the sun to come out in Death City. I scrawled down the lesson notes just quick enough before it came to a welcomed end. The bell rang, and the grating sound of scraping chairs and squeaking shoes met my ears. I shivered, and funnily enough, was the last to raise from my seat, calmly and collectively. Gathering my books, I saw Dr. Stein standing in the doorway, his white lab-coat patched and splattered with what I assumed to be crimson red blood.
Charming.
As I walked towards him, his shaggy grey hair caught the light, along with thick round spectacles concealing his eyes. He greeted me with a small smile and spoke.
"Ammi, are you ready for your lessons?" He said in a simple, questioning tone.
I pulled my grey beanie hat further down over my dark purple hair, before giving him nothing more than a nod. It was all I could manage.
Kai and me have to get this right. Without him as my weapon, I'm useless. I'm useless as it is. I need this.
I swallowed back the nervous lump in my throat, and gave Stein a head-strong, confident answer, accompanied by a firm nod.
"Yes Doctor, I'm ready".

"Okay, now that you're here, Kai-San, we may begin. Please sit" Dr. Stein's voice had already become impatient, and the lesson hadn't even started yet.
Kai was a half hour late.
I didn't bother to question why. The fact that he was here at all is a blessing from God. Half an hour is an achievement, really.
Kai sat down at the little square table. We sat facing one another, Stein at our either side.
Kai looked like he did not want to be here in the slightest. I gave him a subtle pleading look, one that Stein didn't notice. He returned my kind gesture with a quiet scoff, and roll of his eyes.
Even though his actions said no, his eyes said 'fine'.
That's good enough for me.
"Alright, for your first lesson with me, we will be discussing some of your partner's most irritating habits, actions or moods, and will be trying to resolve them as well as we can" Stein said cooly with a few calm hand gestures.
"What is this, some sort of therapy session?" Kai spat, slumped down in his chair with his arms folded moodily over his chest.
"Yes, Kai-San, in a sense" Stein smiled at the impatient teen.
I couldn't help but giggle at that. Kai just got served. By a teacher.
Immediately, Kai's head snapped my way, his eyes displaying the daggers that were his weapon form. He looked viscous, and cruel, a sight that was becoming more and more familiar to me.
I shied away, glancing around the sunny courtyard to get away from his ice cold gaze. Dr Stein took that as a queue to begin the lesson. Quick, before it gets worse.

"You're such a bitch!" Kai screamed at the top of his lungs, approaching me with his fists clenched together, eyes lit like the deepest fires of hell.
"Me? You always shout at me, and hurt me, and you don't even care!" I yelled back with all the courage and confidence I had as he got right up close to me, his hands white-knuckled as he held back the violence he clearly wanted to inflict on me.
"Students, calm!" Mrs. Angela's voice shook. We had been left in her care whilst Stein went to the bathroom. As you can see, all hell had broken loose with his disappearance.
Kai ignored her shrill, petrified voice, continuing to yell at me.
"Because you're pathetic. You can't do anything right Ammi! It's always me having to pick up the pieces! You can't do anything by yourself!" He yelled, but took a momentary pause, as if thinking whether he had gone too far. He seemed to be contemplating whether to say something or not.
But his contemplation didn't last long. He spat three words in my face, his eyes a black abyss of rage.
"You stupid whore!".
I took in a short, sharp breath that was loud and prominent in the now silent courtyard.
Miss Angela stood in shock.
Kai stared at me and my reaction emotionlessly.
Dr. Stein had appeared from nowhere, his jaw had dropped.
We all stood there.
Not knowing what to say.
Not knowing what to do.
I let a single tear roll down my cheek.
And another.
And another.
Kai stared at me, no particular expression on his face as he licked the dry salt from his lips.
Stein broke the silence with a serious tone.
"Kai-San. My office. Now".