A/N: Hi everyone. Let me start off by apologizing for not being here to write stories. Let's just say that being an adult has completely taken control of my life. I've been thinking about just goin thru the ones i have now and choosing which ones would be worth re-writing. So this is the first story I chose. I hope you enjoy it. R&R

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Chapter 1: I'm not a Burden

~O~O~O~

Crona Gorgon.

Shy. Timid. And overall, not one who can deal with many things in general. Most importantly, the young witch is genderless.

Or so everyone thinks.

Yes it's true that Crona is very skinny (almost malnourished) and has pale, ghost white skin. But why was her gender so hard to figure out? Pink hair. Soft eyes. Hell, a dress? Sure Crona wasn't very feminine, but in no way was she a boy.

"Hey, tranny!"

Of course there are those who believe she is neither a boy or a girl.

Or just downright both.

"I-It's not nice to c-call people s-something they're not." Her reply earned her a snarky grin from her bully of the day.

"Oh yeah? What are you gonna do about it?" he said, shoving her into the wall behind her. The stupid jerks laughed at the frightened look on her face. But it wasn't them she was afraid of.

Come on, Crona. We can take these losers without even breaking a sweat. The girl felt a slight tingle in the palm of her hand. She immediately balled her fist in an attempt to keep him from unleashing his sword.

R-Ragnarok, we can't hurt them. I-It wouldn't b-be right.

You know what else isn't right? Being stuck with a weakling like you. Crona was pulled from her thoughts when the leader of the bullies grabbed her by the collar of her dress. The pinkette closed her eyes, preparing herself for the strike coming her way.

Except it never came.

She cracked open an eye to see not Maka, not even the professor, but Death the Kid holding the boy at gunpoint. The bully gulped nervously as the gun was pressed further into his neck.

"Sh-Shinigami-sama!" He threw her a quick smile before his face hardened again.

"If you value your pathetic life, I suggest you apologize and then get out of my sight. Otherwise, I will shoot you until your face becomes symmetrically unrecognizable. Do I make myself clear?" The boy whose life was being threatened failed to hide a shudder and mumbled a low 'sorry'. As soon as he was let go, him and his friends scrambled to get as far away from the young reaper as possible. Liz promptly turned back into her human self, and gave her meister a pat on the back.

"You sure showed those jerks, Kid!" He nodded slightly as a thank you and calmly walked over to his pink haired classmate. Crona looked up to see him holding out a hand for her to take.

They all probably think you're just a weakling. They only help you because they take pity on you.

The girl slowly stood on her own, declining the help of the shinigami making him look at her in confusion and slight displeasure.

"I'm fine. You guys d-don't have to pretend you like me anymore. I c-can deal with it." she said softly. Everyone was shocked at her words. Maka was the first to come forward.

"But Crona you're our friend! Why would we even do something like that?" Crona felt a familiar sting in her back.

"Please! You all are just waiting for her to try and take over the world again, aren't you?" said the black blood himself. Crona bowed her head in shame.

"I mean who want to be friends with the child of the most evil and deadliest witch the world has ever known-"

"Crona it's not like that at all!" shouted an angry Maka. Before anyone could say anything else, a loud cough was heard from the front of the classroom.

"If you all are finished I believe that class has yet to begin. All of you take your seats now. Crona you will see me after class." Everyone wordlessly complied with his orders.

After an hour and a half of another boring lecture, the bell for dismissal finally sounded. The students began to pile out of the classroom with the exception of Crona, Maka and the rest of the group. Maka approached her once more.

"Crona I-" Unfortunately she was cut short.

"I'm sorry Maka but this discussion is only for the ears of Crona and I. Could you possibly have this conversation later?" The girl made a noise similar to a growl and turned her angry gaze to her professor.

"But Stein!" Before she could say anymore, Soul put a hand on her shoulder.

"Really, you're siding with him?!" Her weapon sighed heavily.

"Maka let's just give them some privacy." He turned to face the demon sword.

"We can talk later." The pinkette said nothing as the group reluctantly exited the classroom. As soon as the door closed, Stein stood from his chair and walked his desk to stand in front of Crona.

"They're gone now. It's just us." he said, softly.

~O~O~O~

"Ugh that damn Stein. We were just trying to help Crona." said a fuming Maka. The group were slowly making their way to the main doors, not really wanting to leave Crona behind.

"Don't sweat it Maka. Crona has to learn to deal with things on his own." her weapon said casually.

"What the-Soul, Crona is a girl!" she said, getting ready to chop him on the head. The blue haired meister snorted loudly.

"No way is Crona a girl. What girl has an unattractive twig body like tha-"

"MAKA CHOP!" And down goes the supposed God. Maka turned towards the young reaper.

"Well that was pretty intense back there Kid. You really looked like you were gonna kill that boy and his friends." Said boy shrugged at the comment.

"It wasn't a big deal really. She's one of my friends, and if anyone tries to hurt my friends, I'll end their lives. End of story." He said, a slight blush dusting his normally pale cheeks.

"Please, you just have only the biggest crush on her. You can't keep up you're cool facade forever!" said, Liz. Everyone else 'ooh'ed at the revealed piece of information.

"It's not like that. She just looked like she needed my help. You know she wouldn't even hurt a fly." his deepening blush was the only confirmation the others needed to know that their favorite reaper boy was head over heels for the demon sword.

"Um does anyone else see that funny lookin bird?" said the famous Soul. Just as the group made their way to the tops of the steps, a small white origami bird gently flew around them to stop and hover in front of Kid.

"Message for Kid! Message for Kid!" it squawked before the paper bird unravelled itself to reveal the note it was intended to deliver. Golden eyes scanned the note quickly before he stuffed it into his pocket.

"What did the message say Kid?" asked a curious Tsubaki.

"My father needs to speak with me. Apparently it's of utmost importance. It shouldn't take me long." He turned towards his two weapons.

"Go ahead on home. I should be there shortly." They nodded in return and continued their long trek down the steps.

I wonder what he wants with me this time?

~O~O~O~

The professor stood patiently in front of his student, his eyes studying her. The timid girl looked into his eyes until they became glossy and shimmery with unshed tears.

"Crona.." he said softly. He spread his arms wide open and gave her a big smile. A real smile. The pinkette ceased to hesitate any longer and quickly leaped into his awaiting embrace.

"Papa! I-I'm so sorry!" she said, fully breaking down into tears. Stein rubbed her back soothingly, until she calmed down. It took a little bit, but soon enough she had stopped crying, whimpering every so often. She rubbed at her eyes roughly, trying her best to will the tears away.

"No I'm the one who is sorry. I'm promised to protect you didn't I? And I can't even do that right." Crona fiercely shook her head.

"N-No way! You do protect me! I-I'm just so weak. It's not your fault at all."

Professor Stein was probably the only person (other than Ragnorok) that she could speak freely around, with the occasional stutter. His caring attitude was difficult to accept at first, but later on she realized that he was doing all of this just for her. Before the tears could come in again, a soft yet firm hand gently tilted her chin up. The other hand wiped away a couple of tears that managed to escape her eyes.

"Crona. I need you to come with me, alright? Lord death needs us both during this meeting." Crona couldn't suppress the nervous gulp at the mention of the powerful shinigami. She knew that he wasn't very fond of witches. Stein held out a hand for her to take. Though hesitant at first, she gabbed his hand tightly and allowed him to lead her towards Lord Death's main chambers.

"What do we have to t-talk about, Papa?" she asked shyly. Stein beamed down at his adoptive daughter.

"It's really important and secret so we can't talk about it in the halls. We're almost there okay?" he said, looking at her. She nodded and tried to look happy but she couldn't shake her nervousness. It wasn't long before the two were facing the two second biggest doors in the school. Lord Death's conference room.

Why would Death-sama want to see me? I don't know if I can deal with this.

You don't know how to deal with anything, stupid girl.

Ragnarok..

Before she could think-say anything else, professor pushed open the giant doors. Instinctively, her hand gripped his tighter at the sight of the shinigami and his son.

"K-Kid-sama?"

~O~O~O~

"Hello, Father. You needed to speak with me?" The powerful reaper bounced over to him while greeting him in his usual sing-song voice.

"Heya, Kiddo! And yes what we need to speak of is very important, but all of our guests aren't here yet. We'll need to wait for them before we begin." His son nodded.

"But other than that, how was your day Kiddo? You know, word on the street is that you have a little crush on someone! Aw you can tell me! Who was the little meister or weapon that stole your heart? Hm?" Kid nearly paled at the mention of his 'crush', especially when his crush was both a weapon and a meister.

There's no way in hell I could tell him that I'm in love with a witch. Before Kid was pressed any further on the matter, the two large doors to the front of the room slowly pushed open to reveal the missing guests.

"Ah right on time Stein. And you too Ms. Gorgon." his father said, completely distracted now. The beautiful pinkette directed her gaze towards me.

"K-Kid-sama?" the young reaper smiled slightly and waved. She partially hid behind her father/professor but smiled and waved nonetheless. Stein gestured for Crona to take a seat next to Kidd as he walked to stand beside Lord Death.

"Now lets get down to business shall we? Lord Death and I have been discussing this quietly for some time now, but we believe that this is the perfect time to let you both know." Stein said, becoming completely serious. The reaper spoke afterward.

"We believe that another kishin is on the rise. It's possible that this one is more powerful than Ashura."

"This kishin is quite ancient so ancient that we aren't even sure what his name was. Any text we've uncovered about him only says that he was known as Hyacintho Daemonium which translates to Blue Demon." Stein said. Finally, the reaper's son spoke.

"Is that really the only available info we have on him? And he sounds like he's been dead for dozens generations. How on earth was he revived in the first place?" His father answered him.

"Technically he isn't completely revived. This was the work of a witch who used to work alongside Medusa." Crona flinched slightly at the mention of her mother's name. Even though she was dead now, she's been haunting her dreams for weeks. The pinkette felt a hand on her shoulder and found herself gazing into vibrant gold eyes. Kid mouthed a silent 'Are you okay?' to his friend. She smiled lightly and nodded before his father would notice.

"Her name is Minerva and she is immensely talented in the field of dark magic. It wasn't long before she broke away from Medusa's guidance in pursuit of her own research. We never would have dreamed that she had the means to duplicate and harvest the cells of a long dead kishin."

"Surely it should have some kind of weakness. For Ashura it was his fear and insanity." Kid said, processing this amount of information.

Stein calmly walked over to Crona.

"Yes this kishin does have a weakness… black blood." Crona's eyes widened with surprise.

"My b-blood?! But why?" she asked, surprise quickly turning into fear. Kid laid a hand onto her shoulder as an attempt to comfort her.

"Black blood is the only known substance/object to be able to pierce the kisin's skin. So you're blood, or Ragnarok I should say, has the power to inflict any real damage." Stein answered.

"Father… is this why Medusa put the black blood into her own child? Did she know something like this would happen?" his father sighed heavily.

"We have reason to believe so but I'm not completely sure. One thing I am certain of however is that once the kishin has revived entirely, it will migrate towards an area greatly populated by people in order to collect souls."

"How l-long will it b-be until it's revived Lord Death?" Crona asked quietly. Stein replied instead.

"We still haven't been able to pinpoint Minerva and the kishin's exact location, but I want to say around 6-8 months. But there's no telling how long ago she started this project."

"Crona, during this time you will be training in a secret place while Kiddo and the rest of the gang will find out more about Minerva's whereabouts. Hopefully she will be apprehended soon." On that note, Stein, Crona and Kid were all dismissed.

They were all silent as they walked down the long steps together. Once they reached the bottom, they waved their goodbyes; Kid headed one way and both Crona and Stein headed the other.

~O~O~O~

"Um.. Papa?"

"Yes Crona, what is it?"

"... I don't know if I can deal with this." The professor chuckled lightly at her statement.

"I promise you Crona, you're going to be fine. I can feel it." he said looking at her.

"But what if I don't get strong enough in time a-and Kid and everyone else has to s-save me? Then I would have done all this for n-nothing." Stein stopped walking and knelt in front his daughter.

"Crona why are you worrying so much? You might end up getting wrinkles at a young age." She giggled at his little comment.

"I just don't wanna be a burden, that's all." Stein stood slowly, but not before giving Crona a soft peck on her forehead.

"Trust me. You won't."

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A/N: And that's all for the first chapter folks. Yea im tryna take a new approach to it but let me know what u guys think okay? Love u guys byeeee. Also there were a few errors in here so Im praying that I fixed them all this time. XD