Insanity is set about a month or two after the last episode "The Word Is Bravery!"

Okay, hi everyone. Or anyone who will read this. It has been a long time since I've been on. Life really just seemed to take over and I was taken away from all writing that I had been doing. For some strange reason I wasn't motivated to write anything anymore. But, here I am ready for the task of picking this story back up. Before I continue on I need to edit the crap outa this story, so it might be a week or so (depending on my time, I am taking all AP and Honors classes. Plus I'm going to a concert tuesday!). All I ask from you guys- no I beg- can you guys help me with the story? Maybe tell me what you didn't like, what could be fixed, and what little errors have been made? Thanks Loves! c:

PS: This is the only chapter that has been edited. The rest haven't even been touched. They will remain up for your enjoyment and when they have actual titles beyond Chapter 1, chapter 2, etc. then you will know they have been updated.

Enjoy!

I lay silently in my little twin bed paralyzed by fear. I could hear faint whispers in my ear taunting me, almost laughing at me with their raspy voices echoing inside my head. I look over at my partner, my other half, his long snow-white hair covered most of his face, his blood-red eyes that sometimes mirrored the likes a Kishins, but with his mouth lazily open I couldn't fear him. This brought me some sort of peace in my mind that was currently going on a rampage. I took great comfort in knowing that if I needed anything he would be there for me at the slightest sound of protest. I would never admit it to him for fear of ridicule, but things like this have happened a lot here lately. After I killed Asura I have heard whispers, feeling things run their grime covered fingers up my legs and down my arms, and even some times I think I see things dancing within my vision. The first week I had thought it was just a temporary side effect from defeating the madness that was suffocating, but it has been a tremendously stressful few months and the madness has yet to subside.

The sounds of scratching at the front door to our apartment danced through the halls and to my ears where my body tensed up making the ancient bed below me creek. Soul stirred beside me, but didn't wake up. I let out the shallow breath I had held. After looking around the room as a safety precaution, I genitally swayed my body over and off the bed, landing silently just like a ballerina. My choppy golden blonde bangs fell in my face as a result of my movements, blocking my precious view. My heart raced, pounding inside of my chest, as my piercing green eyes darted wildly around the room. Though it was unimportant right now, my mind jumped to why I had grown my hair out for a reason that I couldn't remember now. The only bad part was it often was knotted up and my bangs grew stringy after skipping a few showers.

I tip toed my way across the room, by Soul who was snoring slightly, and reached my destination safely without jarring him from his much needed sleep. He could tell something was wrong, but he just couldn't put his fingers on it and that was what drove him wild. He stayed up late pondering why I had taken a change in appearance while waiting for me to drift off into a sleep. He was the ultimate protector, don't get me wrong, but some times it felt better to deal with things on my own. Mustering all my inner strength and using my feather light weight to my advantage, I made my way quickly down the hall way. As my body travels closer to the door I can hear them calling my name. No, calling was putting it lightly.

The ones inhabiting the outside of my house were screaming for me. Their shrill voices taunting me in every single way I could be taunted. It was in their cheep promises of peace that I found my will to resist giving in to the comfort of what they had to offer. Shutting my eyes tight I screamed at my self, Maka you are stronger than this. For a good measure I raked my long nails against my pale skin, one cracking at the side from the eminence pressure placed on them while in their frail state. I scouted the room once more, taking in the familiar scene. Our house was coated in vibrant paint that seemed dull in the moonlight, books spread out everywhere, the gaming console still buzzing with life, and even the steady tick from the clock that hung above me. Nothing was out of the ordinary in here.

Giving in, I pressed my petite body up against the closed front door. From behind I could hear a unhuman growling sound coming from behind it accompanied by the screams that pleaded for relief of their consistent pain. I jumped back instantly and stumbled back, nearly coming crashing down to the ground, but I reached out for the wall for support to steady my uneasy legs. My heart was beating so hard that I could practically fill it beating on my rib cage, nearly feeling like it was trying to escape my chest. I'm going to die, oh my God I'm gonna die. Soul. Mom. BlackStar. God, Please anyone. I wanted to scream out for them, but I felt muted by some other force. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't dig up my own voice. I was frozen in place with the hairs on my neck standing up.

"Please just leave me alone." I cried out quietly and slowly willed my wobbly legs to walk away from the door with my back towards our room. I never let my hand drag away from the wall, for fear of losing everything I held dear to me. But, it sunk in further away from me and I couldn't do anything but let my body fall to the hard wood floor with a thud. My head was spinning and I couldn't think straight, jumbled up thoughts were flying around in my mind. I wheezed out, attempting to breathe in but without any luck. I panicked as I began to fan my self, thinking I was overheated and that cooling myself off would be some type of vindication that I was okay and that I could start breathing again. I felt like my stomach was up in my stomach as the shadows creeped out from the door, walzing their way over to me in a maddening dance that haunted my bones and spirit. Though every part of me wanted to scream, I just couldn't muster up a scream that would crawl up my throat.

"Maka?" A deep sleepy voice asked, throwing my eyes off of the door. Finally a scream ripped through my lungs and I quickly turned around, bawled my fist, and threw a jab at the person who called my name. My fist connected with the gut, causing the person to double over in pain with air rushing out of their lungs. Once I made my blow I pushed myself away from the body, sliding across the floor with my skin dragging across it making a god awful noise, and looked up to see who it was. Oh no. What have I just done. Realization flowed over me as my face heated up with embarrassment that practically lit up the whole room with a deep red hue.

"Jesus Soul! Did you real have to sneak up on me like that?" I yelled out at him with my high pitched voice that carried throughout the halls. Somehow, I pulled myself off the floor alone and stormed off to the kitchen hoping that he would just sigh like normally and make his way to our room and go back to sleep. Placing my hands against the stove door and leaning up against it for support I glanced up reading the time as three in the morning. Typical for me to wake up hearing things at what the typical mortals liked to dub dead time. My mind traveled to moments ago, I couldn't shake the feeling of sheer terror that I had just experience a moment ago. It still had its claws gripped on me but fighting its grip was easier with the steady conversation that Soul provided. Everything's okay everything will be okay. Just breathe Maka, breathe.

I turned on my heals to face him, to see what decision he had made. I felt the weight of the would roll of my shoulders and took great comfort in the fact that he was here only feet away from me. I practically melted like chocolate on a hot summers day. Even though he stood in front of me with his eyebrows knitted together with frustration I could still see hints of worry in his deep eyes. His muscular body was caved inwards with exhaustion and looking at his bare chest right now, it was easy to tell that my lapses were taking a toll on his own body as well. As always he had a scar that ran down his chest and it was nothing but a painful memory that ran through my mind. Inside I knew he would risk his life for me, hell he had done it before standing bravely as his towering body was slashed down. It wasn't just the scar that hurt me to the core it was how he too had dark circles brushing across his under eye.

"Well your soul was practically screaming in my head so I had to check on you." He rolled his eyes and scoffed, sounding purely annoyed at the inconvenience that I was causing him. Even though he sounded upset with me, I couldn't help but to melt at his husky voice. It was something I hadn't noticed before, how good he sounded sleepy. These were new feelings that I never have ever had in my life that have bloomed up within me. The were the sweet delicate hands that caressed me in times like this, calming my racing heart and mind. I tilted my head down slightly, noticing we were standing here in our pajamas, and smiled softly.

That was until I could hear light whispers in the back of the room causing my body to tense up once more. It seemed that my mind just couldn't escape the grip of the madness anymore. Before, it was easier to shove all of these nerve racking feelings down and continue on with a stable life. Hell, it even was escapeable through intense studying sessions that not only drove it away, but improved my mental knowledge. I thrived the first few months back in Death Valley, but my time had come. I no longer looked in the mirror for fear of seeing something that I couldn't handle.

"Sorry, just a nightmare." I said using my usual excuse, brushing off his response like it was nothing. Normally, I could control the emotions my soul gave off to him but here lately the noises and such became louder and closer, they were actually touching me now, and I could see those black hands reaching out for me. I couldn't help being scared out of my mind. A couple of times I thought about talking to someone who could possibly help me with all of this about it but it seemed like just as I did the stuff started to get worse. So my mind was quickly made up that no shrink could help me anymore than I could help myself.

"You say-" He stared but he didn't finish. His expression softened in his red eyes as he walked over to me, quickly closing the gap between us. He placed his cool, pale hands onto my shoulder and gave them a little squeeze. He knew that if I didn't want to talk about it, something so simple, well what he thought was simple, that he knew that he shouldn't push me. We always worked this good. Sometimes it was hard to get through to him that I was often more comfortable being introverted, but in times like this when his eyes begged for answers his lips remained sealed.

Somehow, I was yanked out of reality and plunged into a distant memory. As the scene grew clearer it was easy to see that this was one of my fonder days, the very first day we met….

I stood quietly with my hands tucked into the pockets of my long trench coat, letting my gloved hands twirl pieces of fabric in the holes my hands now resided in. I had a dorky sticker placed on my shirt that said Maka in big black letters to help better identify me. Today was opening day at the academy, Death Weapon Meister Academy to be exact and everyone was picking their partners who they would one day go into missions and work together to fight the evil that corrupted this world. Friends picked friends, guys picked guys, and girls picked girls, well for the most part. Some of the soon to be partners were opposite genders, causing their parents to stand apprehensively aside. Though it was always the children's choice, a very important choice I might add, the parents would fuss for years to come if they were ever to fall for each other, little did they think the same could come from children who paired with the same sex.

Though this rarely happened, falling in love with your partner wasn't really that hard to grasp. It was the person who you had grown up with, the person you shared your deepest thoughts with; the person who you had to trust with your entire soul. Falling in love, my mother told me was the most beautiful thing she had ever felt, it was pure joy knowing that she had my father by her side. But, people weren't always as lucky as my mother and father. Some had lost life long partners and were scarred mentally for life. Some keeping to their selves in eternal silence, others screaming out like maniacs for their lost loves. When we come together as partners our souls interlink forever, and when one fades from the earth it is a painful process the other must endure as they are literately ripped apart by the seams. The only time partners could be separated without death being a factor was when they had no longer resonated together well or one committed a great crime. This was rare to say the least.

Humorously, I was more worried about the fact that when my eyes glanced through the crowd I finally realized I didn't know anyone here at all. Most kids get to stay grounded in one place and go to schools together. People around me already have bonded with certain individuals and planned on graduate with. Where as I was a drifting body, seeing a new school every time I had grown comfortable with the place I was in. Even though my little family had called Death Valley home, we were always on the move, always looking for the next mission to complete. Both of my parents were dedicated to their lives work.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw a group of girls squirming in a circle yelling pick me, pick me obnoxiously. I rolled my eyes and glanced over at all of he ruckus, thinking that it was some super famous person who would get the pick of the litter. Disappointingly I was granted a little boy with fair hair that decided to make his way through the chaotic crowd. Most people were in pair already talking and he must have seen that I was all alone and he walked over here to me. Maybe this was his way of trying to be nice to the new girl either way I was grateful for someone at least trying to converse with me. God knows I was even more awkward then.

"Hey um…" He trailed off, glancing down at the tag on my shirt for vindication of what my name was. "Maka."

"What a crowd you have over there." I replied giggling as the girls came over and stood behind the boy swooning at his every move. I rolled my eyes, not understanding what these girls saw. I quickly looked down to read the card stuck to his shirt that gave me the answers to what felt like the universe at the time. Soul was this boys name. Well that's not an oddball name. Up close I noticed he had red eyes, they reminded me of demons, but a boy like this couldn't even stand on these grounds if he was. Even if each of his teeth came to a point it was impossible for someone of a evil soul to stand here in a group of people.

"A little crazy I have to say. Not that I would ever complain," He had a smile plastered on his face, his young ego blooming like a cherry blossom. I couldn't help but fall prey to his contagious smile. Some how I was able to ignore his fan base and really let my eyes glance over him, giving in to the pulling feeling that tugged me towards him. I broke our eye contact and glanced around for my parents, craving their full attention to tell me if what I was feeling was valid. I needed to know if I was going to be with this person up until I took my final breath, needed to know if I was making a big mistake talking to the boy. But, as usual as of late they were off to the side wit my mother scolding my father. I felt my heart break and he brushed her off and quickly walked away from her, leaving my mother alone in the crowd with a look of horror and shock plastered on her face. Too young to understand what just happened I turned away from her and focused in on Soul.

"So you're a weapon? A scythe?" I said using my ability, which was quite underdeveloped and muted at the time, to see souls. It wasn't like at the time I fully understood any of this, I just could feel something inside of me to truly look at something beyond the facade the person in front of me could be playing on the outside. Yes I was a select few who could see souls, but even a smaller few who could tell things about the soul just by looking at them. I could feel how bless I was that I would end up developing my skills just like my own parents and be put to good use. Looking at this boy, I could see how his clothing didn't quite hug his body like mine did. He was a different than I was, not just physically speaking, but emotionally and mentally he was something different. Maybe that was what drew me to him.

"Actually I'm going to be a death scythe. But, how did you know?" His eyes dance with joy, his lips pulling into a smirk that didn't match his own blood eyes. I tossed my soft blonde hair over my shoulder and scoffed, not at his comment, but just because I felt like it was the right thing to do in this situation. Clearly I was handling this whole situation like a pro.

"Can't tell all of my secrets now can I?" Knowing me I sounded completely idiotic but I like having a little mystery about me. This was probably the only time I would ever in my life have anything mysterious about me. Later on I would be mocked countless times for being so easy to read. It was nice to see his dark red eyes light up with excitement. He tried to keep his emotions in check, knowing he wouldn't be too "cool" freaking out about a girl who he had just met. Between us, I could feel my soul stretching out further for him and his mimicking my own. My lips parted at the strength growing between our souls, and it was undeniable now. We could resonate well together if we had chose to work together.

"I like you, want be partners?" He said sticking his hand out for me to shake it. All the girls sucked in air, I grinned at this. In a way this was me winning my first battle. By the connection on our hands we would officially start the bond that would end up growing to dramatic lengths. I pulled my left hand out of the comfort of my pocket and shook his hand. We both sucked in air quickly at the fire that was burning inside of both of us now. Somehow before I was able to pull away my hand, I was able to mutter out two words.

"With pleasure."

That day seven years ago I met my partner. Someone who I have been through Hell and back with, literally, and somehow we were still together fighting the evil in our little world. Through all the yelling and fights we had over who was better or who messed up we always came together and saw the bigger picture. One I could never win and would never be settled strangely would be my cooking. He hated it and he didn't hide that fact that he did. Of course I would just take a huge book and smash it into his head for normalcy and what had felt like the right thing to do. I had great cooking and he was just too much of a wimp to admit that I really wasn't as bad as he made me out to be.

I looked up at Soul who was staring at me weirdly and I just looked down and blushed once more. He had one of his thin eyebrows arched high, nearly covered by his long white hair that was flying in every other direction. This Soul was who he really was inside. Pajamas, messy hair, and sleep ridden eyes were what he was at in one of his most vulnerable states. Everyone saw him with his hair swept over to one side and pulled together with his signature head band and black and yellow letter man jacket. He wanted to seem invincible to everyone, but he just couldn't hide something like that from me. We were connected.

"Well since you woke me up and I highly doubt I will be able to go to sleep you're going to entertain me. Let's go for a walk," He reached out for his favorite item, shrugging on his yellow and black puffy jacket that he got from the coat closet. Effortlessly he jammed his feet into his shoes, not even bothering to change out of the sweat pants he must have put on when he heard all of the commotion. He reached back in the closet and tossed me my long solid black outside and a deep red inside trench coat that has been with me forever. I slipped it on, feeling the cold of it smothering my feverish skin. It felt nice to wear something as familiar again. I shoved my dainty feet into the heavy combat boots and slipped my fingers around the brass door knob. Soul placed his hand lightly on my back, egging me on, and I turned it. Both of us exited the apartment and into the cold springs morning.