"COME ON, CRONA," Black*Star shouted. He yanked on the other tech's arm as the skinny boy hesitated. "You can learn everything about girls in the girls' locker room!"

"Yeah!" chimed in Ragnarok, popping out above Crona's head and trying to push as Black*Star pulled.

Soul slowed as he walked by the scene, coming to a halt in front of his friends. "What the hell are you doing?" he asked, eyeing them lazily.

"We're going to peek in the girls' locker room!" Black*Star shouted. "Chrona needs help with a girl, so I'm teaching him all my secrets. Hyaaaaah!"

"... you're teaching him to spy on the girls' locker room?" If that's Black*Star's secret, it's not exactly a shocker that he's never dated anyone. Soul continued to eye the assassin for a moment longer, then shifted his gaze to Crona. "Did you really ask Black*Star to help you with girls?"

The purple-haired tech was looking at the ground, slouching in defeat. "I can't just ask a girl out. What if she says no? What if she laughs at me? I don't know how to deal with that."

Black*Star shouldered his way in front of Crona and planted his thumb squarely in the middle of his own chest. "So I'm going to teach him how to get the ladies! Not that he'll ever be a big star like me, but a big star knows some tricks!"

"Yeah, like spying on the girls' locker room," Soul scoffed.

"Come on! You know you wanna try it out, too. I'll let you have a space in my V.I.P. Room!" Black*Star grabbed Soul's wrist and Crona's and yanked both of them along behind him.

"What?! No way!" Soul protested, struggling against the assassin's grip. But he was a weapon, not a tech, and Black*Star was strong. His resistance amounted to a lot of pitiful flailing, in the end. "Maka will kill me!"

"So don't tell her!" Black*Star grinned, his eyes fixed on his goal. He dragged them, apparently oblivious to their struggles, through the halls and out the door, around the side of the school.

At last they halted outside, staring up at a narrow vent shaft.

"Alright, you first, Crona, since you're the skinniest!" Black*Star yelled.

"Wait, we're going into that ventilation shaft?" Crona asked, his eyes widening. "I don't know if I want to go in there. It looks dark in there, and I don't like the dark very much-"

"Seriously, Crona?" Soul asked, eyeing the slight boy. "You're a really strong tech, y'know. You shouldn't let stuff get you scared so easily. Especially since you can kick most things' ass, no problem."

"You- you really think so, Soul?" Crona looked up at him with big, glossy eyes and for a moment Soul was terrified that the other boy would start crying all over him. That sort of crap was Maka's department, not his.

Soul edged away. "Uh, yeah. You took on Medusa and Stein, didn't you?"

"Yeah, but...I wasn't alone. I was with Miss Marie. And anyway, I would've died if you and Maka hadn't helped." Crona blushed.

Soul eyed him. What's with this guy? He shrugged and motioned at the vent. "Well, hurry up and get in there," he said. He looked at Black*Star as Crona wriggled into the vent. "Hey, did he tell you who he likes?"

Black*Star laughed so loudly that it shook the vent. Soul heard a yelp of pain from Crona as the skinny tech's feet disappeared. "Of course he told me! I'm such a big star, he had to tell me."

"Well?" Soul asked, impatient. "Who is it?"

"Isn't it obvious? He likes Maka," said Black*Star, shoving him out of the way of the vent. "Duh."

The light push sent Soul sprawling on his ass. Crona likes Maka? It can't be... But it made sense. The way Crona followed her around all the time- he should've known sooner. Whatever. Cool guys don't have anything to worry about, even when another guy is trying to move in on their partner.

There wasn't anything to worry about. Was there?

He remembered how Maka had stood up for Crona when Shibusen cut a deal with Medusa, furious at them for hurting him by letting the witch come there. Or how she had chased him down in the desert, and how she'd hugged him for such a long time while he cried all over her.

There's no way. Maka was just being nice. ...Right?

"Hey, Soul, move your ass!" Black*Star shouted from somewhere inside the vent. The noise rattled the entire vent and there was another whimper of pain from Crona somewhere ahead.

Good, I hope it hurts, Soul thought, suddenly far less sympathetic to the skinny tech's plight. For a moment he even hoped that Crona would fall headfirst into the locker room and be expelled for peeping. Not that this would happen, of course; Black*Star was caught spying on Tsubaki at least once a week and no one had tried to kick him out. But a guy could dream.

With a sigh, he got to his feet and climbed into the vent, but his mind was still racing that tight, nagging circle.

Maka... Did she like Crona? He'd always just assumed that she had chosen him, that he was her weapon and that was that. They had a bond that went deeper than the friendships or dating of kids in other high schools- they had to have absolute trust in one another, had to be willing to lay down their lives for each other, and had to connect their very souls. What could be more personal than that relationship?

Okay, so he could think of a few much more personal things to do with a girl than argue over who's turn it was to cook. No way. Not gonna think about Maka like that! Crap. That might be a drop of blood on his nose.

Cringing, he turned and hastily wiped his nose on his sleeve. Black*Star helpfully rambled on to help distract from any other... unfortunate thoughts.

"Hurry up, Soul, you're taking forever. Jeez. A big star like me can't just wait around all day while you figure out how to climb into a vent..." Black*Star continued, but that was as much as Soul actually listened to. The rest, to him, could be summarized as 'blah blah BIG STAR blah blah I'm the greatest.'

Soul frowned as he crawled after Black*Star's voice, not really looking at the interior of the vent. How much longer would they be able to keep this crap up? His shoulders almost touched the sides of the narrow shaft and ahead of him, Black*Star's broader frame did touch the sides. In a few months, they wouldn't be able to wedge themselves in here.

There was some scuffling ahead, the metallic thumps muffled somewhat by their bodies occupying the hollow space. Soul watched, dazed, as Black*Star wrestled Crona up against a grate while Crona whined the whole time about not being sure it was such a good idea. There's just no way. How can he be good for her if he can't make up his mind about anything?

And there, in the back of his head, he heard another voice, a familiar creaking voice that never failed to grate on his nerves. And can you make up your mind, Soul Eater? You don't want Maka for yourself, but you don't want anyone else to have her. What do you want? Do you even know?

Just like that, he could see the inside of the red room, the tiles stretched out around him, shining under the polished piano.

I got rid of you. Maka and I stopped you. He still had odd dreams about it, dreams of that dark box and the bright golden light of her diving through, soul first, to protect him from the black blood's control. They had won. They had... right?

The little demon's bulbous eyes glittered and he twitched against the song's tune. How do you know I'm not you? You did spend an awful long time inside the Kishin's barrier.

Soul ground his teeth, sweat pricking his skin. Not possible. I'm not insane. I was never insane. I'm-

Too cool?

Before he could argue, there was a horrible groan and the floor lurched. No, not the floor. The vent.

Black*Star and Crona both looked up, their wide horrified eyes meeting Soul's.

"Oh, shiiiiiiii-"

They crashed through the vent and onto the tiles of the locker room floor amidst a rain of plaster and high-pitched shrieks from the girls.

Rubbing his head, Soul sat up, blinking in the dust and hoping to see a clear line to the exit. No such luck, of course.

Standing over him, wrapped only in a towel, Maka Albarn lifted a book over her head.