Author Notes: And here is the sequel to my earlier KidxMaleCrona oneshot, "Autumn Thoughts". I hope you enjoy and begin to discover the underlining plot hidden in it.

I do not own Soul Eater, Atsushi Okubo does. I do however; own a certain OC that shows up later in here.

"Would you like to go stargazing with me tomorrow?"

Kid had looked so uncomfortable as he asked this… almost like he had been asking Crona on a date. Maybe, that was what it had been? Crona hadn't expected the Shinigami to have walked up to him after class had finished asking him if they could do something together. His mind had swirled and turned, and he could have sworn that he felt marbles rolling around in his head, bouncing back and forth within his skull.

But despite that, Crona nodded. Going out to do something with Kid… it seemed almost surreal.

Too bad he had to screw it up.

As Crona grabbed another piece of tissue from nearby his bed, he sneezed again. Crona was sick. Frankly, that shouldn't have been possible thanks to his Black Blood, but Maka had explained that Crona was only sick because he had been outside in the cold too long.

And body temperature wasn't something that the Black Blood couldn't prevent.

Of course this was Crona's fault… he had been so excited to go stargazing with Kid, that he hadn't paid attention to how late he had stayed out that night, shopping for food for Maka and Soul. After all, it was Winter… There was a rare snowfall in Death City and Crona had found himself in the middle of it as the snow fell around him, enchanting him, which led to him getting too cold by staying out so long. By the time he had made it back with the food, they were ice cold and so was Crona.

Now it was morning and Crona was stuck in his bed. He took the same piece of tissue and wiped his running nose. He shivered slightly as he huddled more under his three different blankets that lay on his limp form. Winter was the coldest of all the seasons, he mused in his head, but of course… he had to get sick now.

He turned his head on his pillow to face the window, gazing outside to see all the fresh snow that had fallen. It sparkled in the sunlight almost like stars… which only felt like some kind of joke to him. He wouldn't be able to see the stars with Kid tonight. Now he was faced with staring at the snow which only imitated stars.

Stars on the ground… not in the sky. Stars that could be stepped on… not ones that could be gazed upon in awe with a friend.

He suddenly felt light-headed as he blew his nose into another piece of tissue. That meant he needed more medicine. Struggling to get out of bed, he wrapped the top layer of blanket around him, an orange and red blanket.

Crona had to get the medicine himself since Maka had left for a little while to get more soup from the store. So now he had to fend for himself.

Opening up the door to his room, Crona tiptoed out, wrapping the blanket tighter around him. Everything felt cold to him, including the floor. It was almost like walking on ice and it was worse since he was barefoot.

But the more he walked, the less he wanted to. Eventually, he just stopped in place in the middle of the hallway. Looking over his back, Crona had half expected Ragnarok to appear just to call him a pussy for not walking anymore. Of course the weapon did not appear, to which Crona took it as fact that Ragnarok must have been feeling just as sick as him…

It still confused Crona to no end. Did blood get sick?

Or was it because Ragnarok was connected to Crona in every way, including the immune system, he guessed.

As he mused these questions over in his head, Crona forced himself to walk more, his feet reacting to the cold floor by sending shivers up his spine. Looking around, he found his way to the bathroom. Turning on the light, he covered his eyes. It was kind of bright but he guessed it was thanks to him being sick.

Once his eyes had adjusted to the light, he looked around before his gaze settled on the sink where some medicine was set out. Picking up one of the muti-colored bottles, Crona read the name.

"C-cold and Flu Medicine." Leave it to Maka to have the medicine already set up for Crona.

Looking at the directions, he eased some of the clear looking liquid into a cup, stopping at the half-way part. As he raised the cup, he hesitated. Crona had already been given this medicine earlier and he knew just how bad it tasted…

Kind of like a mix between oranges and strawberries but mushed together into a liquid form. It may have sounded good, but smelling it was horrible.

Just as he was about to drink though, Crona heard a sound from inside of the apartment. Maka wasn't supposed to be back now. So who?

What if it was a bad person coming for Crona?

His body shook at the thought but he knew that he had to do something. If Maka was there, she would have said as such.

Rushing out of the bathroom, cup of medicine still in hand, Crona made his way to the source of the sound. "Go away! I have yucky medicine and I'm not afraid to use it!" He shouted out his threat before holding the cup in the air.

But when the would be intruder walked out from behind the doorway to the room, Crona froze in place. "Kid-Kun?" He shouted out as soon as he spotted the three white stripes. That was one way to know that it was Kid…

Kid nodded as he set down his backpack. "Sorry about that Crona. I rang the doorbell but no one answered. So I walked inside… I was wondering where you were since you weren't in class. It started just a bit ago."

Crona shrugged. "I'm sorry…" his mouth felt dry as he knew he had to break the news to Kid. It pained him though yet he knew he couldn't stay silent. Kid wouldn't like that.

"I'm sorry… I got sick last night. I can't go stargazing with you."

For the next few moments, they both were silent. And then, Kid grabbed his backpack from off the floor. "Well go on back to bed then."

"I-I need to take my medicine."

"Ok then, go on and take it. Then back to bed."

Crona felt like his heart was breaking. Kid wasn't showing any emotion at all. He must be angry inside, he must! Oh… this was all Crona's fault, he knew it!

He struggled to keep the tears back as he silently drank his medicine, keeping himself from gagging on the taste. And then, he walked back to his bedroom, the floor not so cold anymore. Crona's body felt numb, that must have been why.

Crawling back into bed, Crona never noticed the extra pair of footsteps behind him until he turned around as he laid his head on the pillow.

Kid had been following him the whole time!

"N-no! It's fine. You can go…I don't mind." Crona didn't know what else to say but this all felt like it was getting worse for him. But instead Kid shook his head. "You're sick! I'm not leaving at all! I'm going to stay here and make sure you get better."

The swordsman didn't know what to think as he watched the Shinigami prop up a chair next to where Crona lay in bed. He then grabbed ahold of a book.

"You must be bored. You could read something or…" Kid's voice trailed off.

Crona tried to give him the faintest of smiles. "Yes, you can read it to me."

Kid's expression lit up as he flipped through the pages of the storybook. His eyes were focused as he tried to figure out what story best to read. "Ah, here we go!"

The pink haired boy looked over at Kid, curious as to the tale he was about to be told.

"This story is called: 'The Owl Witch'." A curious name, that was to be sure. Crona wondered why Kid felt the need to read him a story about a witch. It appeared that Kid picked up on that curiosity.

"It is a story that my father told me when I was little. He said it actually happened but I never believed him." His eyes were glazed over as if he were remembering those times as a child when his father would read him stories. Kid knew that Crona had never known what that felt like- so now was the perfect time.

"Once upon a time… there was an owl witch. This was long ago when the world was still young- before Meisters and Weapons were even around. This witch was sad. She watched as the witch race she knew and loved slowly became corrupted by their own magic. The Sway of Magic made them want to do bad things…

The Owl Witch knew this was wrong. She proclaimed that witches were actually supposed to be one with nature. Spirits of Nature, to be exact. That is why each witch has an animal, to show their connection to nature. The owl witch knew that this was true, and tried to tell others.

So she tried to get the help of the Shinigami. Back then, there was more Shinigami… a whole race of them.

She tried to warn the Shinigami of what was happening.

She tried to stop the witches from becoming more corrupted as their hate for the Shinigami grew…

But it was too late.

They attacked the Shinigami and many died. The Owl Witch was blamed for having a connection to the Shinigami and made out to be a spy on both sides. And she was killed.

To this day, people still wonder about what the Owl Witch said. If her words had been true- that Witches were spirits of Nature like how the Shinigami were spirits of Death.

If such were true though, then did that mean that Witches and Shinigami were one and the same? A race? An allegory?"

As Kid finished reading the book, Crona looked at him with wide eyes. "A good witch?" Kid nodded in return, closing the book and setting it down.

"B-but… what is an allegory?"

"Oh? Do you need another figurative language lesson, Crona?" Kid chuckled for a moment but it was so fast that Crona wondered if Kid had laughed at all. Instead he focused on the growing blush on his face. The last time Kid had tutored him had been a few months ago when he had been learning about metaphors.

Now, it was allegories?

"Allegories are close to metaphors," Kid began while he too remembered the time he had taught Crona about metaphors. "An image is used to stand for an idea or concept. That is why us Shinigami are seen as the rulers of Death and Rebirth. Because that is an allegory. The Owl Witch in the story made an allegory too by saying that Witches stood for nature. But certain concepts can have more than one way of expressing it."

"So does that mean that…" Crona's words trailed off as he tried to keep ahold of his thoughts. "Does that mean that Death and Rebirth have more than one allegory?"

He remembered back to that conversation he had with Kid all those months ago… about the concept of Death and Rebirth and about how Kid had the nagging feeling that they had met before in a past life. Of course, that had to be impossible. Kid was a Shinigami and had lived many more years spanning past Crona's life. Sometimes he wondered just how old Kid really was compared to how he looked.

Hearing Crona's question, Kid nodded. "Yes, there is another way of showing Death and Rebirth through an image. Have you ever heard of the mythical animal known as the Phoenix?"

Crona shook his head. What was a Phoenix? And what did an animal have to do with Death and Rebirth?

"The Phoenix is the king of all birds. The longest living bird, it can live for 1000 years before it has to die in a blaze of fire. And from the ashes of that fire, it comes back to life… It is truly the bird that stands for Death/Rebirth and the idea of reincarnation."

A bird? A bird can do that?

And saying that was supposed to be an allegory? …Wow, they were just as confusing to Crona as metaphors had been!

"Wow! That sounds… amazing." Crona muttered as he imagined a majestic bird in his head. As he imagined it, he watched it fly around in his mind, making tiny cheeps here and there. The bird was flying around for Crona it appeared, but then again, this was his imagination.

But suddenly, the bird gave out a loud crow and flame enveloped it's body before all that was left was ash.

That was when the ash moved… and from it came a baby Phoenix.

It all was so surreal to Crona but he couldn't help but think of it even as Kid smiled to him. "Phoenixes are amazing. I agree with you, Crona."

Getting up, Kid put the chair back, snapping Crona from his daydream.

"Where are you going?"

"I have to go back to school. I'm glad I checked up on you."

Crona couldn't help but feel a little better though. Sure he wasn't going to be able to go stargazing with Kid, but at least the boy didn't hold any hard feelings. As Kid was leaving, he made sure to leave another book- different than the storybook.

He left the hardcover book on Crona's bed before winking. "Just read that and then we'll be able to go stargazing together."

Crona's fingers slid across the cover before he grabbed it. Opening it up, he was greeted to the sight of many stars, all formed in different patterns that created images.

"Kid! Are these allegories too?" Crona exclaimed before looking up to see that Kid had already left. Giving a sad smile, he knew the answer already. "Thank you… Kid-Kun."

Crona held the book close to him, as he slid back down into his bed and drifted off into a feverish sleep.

"Shinigami! I urge to speak to you!" A voice called out, desperate in tone. The voice belonged to a figure dressed all in white, from dress to her bird shaped mask. The mask covered her face but her light pink hair that trailed down her shoulders was noticeable despite that.

It was the only thing about her that wasn't white, after all. From her back, a pair of whitish/brown wings was folded up on her back.

"Shinigami! Shinigami-sama!" She cried out again as she found her way to the room where the god of Death was in. He turned around to address the lady. "Ah, I didn't think you would show up. After all, with everything happening with the witches, who would have thought that you would have even had the courage to come here?"

"Spare me the talk! I'm here to stop a war that is beginning to brew! Don't you realize that we all are in danger! Both of our races!" The witch clenched her hands together and bit her lip.

Shinigami tilted his head. "And you expect me to believe you- you are a witch after all…"

"Of course I 'am! But I 'am one that is trying to save my race! …A war is about to start. The witches have already planned what they are going to do. Your whole race is in danger."

"And so is your's, my witch friend." Shinigami shot back, causing the witch to scoff.

"There has to be something I can do! Please… I just want to make sure that our races aren't both killed and wiped out of existence in the process!"

Her eyes trailed to gaze upon a young boy, only of age 6 or so, hiding behind his father. "Daddy? What's going on? Is something bad going to happen?" Tears were brimming on the edges of his eyes and Shinigami tensed up.

If a war was about to happen, his son would be in danger.

"Young witch! If you want to do something so badly… I need you to keep my son safe. But that means you will stay here." As he said this, Shinigami hugged his son. It was awkward thanks to his giant hands but it was still a hug.

"Stay here?... Very well, Shinigami-sama." Her voice trailed off as she grabbed ahold of the boy's hand. "I will protect him with my life."

"And if you die?"

The pink haired witch mused this for a minute before turning back to Shinigami, his precious son holding onto her. "Then I will make sure to protect him in the next life as well. I' am a witch- that is true. But I' am also against violence of this sort. Such horrible things my sisters have turned up. They created this turmoil!"

"And how can I believe that you won't do the same thing your elder sisters did?"

…

"Because I'm a witch you can trust." This was all she had to say on the matter as she took the son into her embrace and extended her wings before flying. She was determined to take him somewhere safe. But she also had to stay in the area around them. The area governed by the Shinigami. She could not take the boy out or she would be labeled as a traitor.

So she headed for the one place she was sure he would be safe.

As she flew away Shinigami watched her closely. "Farewell, Meropis Gorgon. You damned Owl Witch."

Crona suddenly jerked himself from out of his sleep, his whole body sweaty.

What had he just been dreaming?

…

Maybe he had been thinking too much about those allegories? Yeah, that had to be it.

Thinking nothing more of what had just taken place, Crona decided to read a bit more of the book Kid left him.

At least it didn't mention anything about those weird allegories.