Chapter Two: Crazy Conundrums Concerning Crona: A tongue-twisting dilemma
"Ne, Liz?" Kid sat in the center of his perfectly symmetrical sofa as the older blonde swung into a seat, cell phone in hand. She tossed back her dirty blonde hair as she looked up, freshly manicured finger resting on her full lip.
"Yeah?"
"This is a bit of a strange question, but I've been bothered… is Crona a boy or a girl?" Kid asked, knowing that she must know after having successfully purchased gender-appropriate beach ware. Liz grinned evilly and made a shushing sign at Patty, how returned the grin and skipped off to retrieve her picture book.
"A boy or girl, huh? I can't say, really. He or she looks really great in his or her swimsuit, nee, Patty?" Patty nodded, and Kid grimaced. This was just like them, he should have known he wouldn't get a straight answer. He sighed and leaned back while the Thompson sisters giggled, Patty probably with only a vague concept why. Kid thought for a while, and then gave up at the twinge of the imminent headache that was rapidly approaching. Patience was far from being his strong suit, but all the same, he would have to wait.
~OoOoO~
Maka was finishing packing her suitcase to leave the following morning and sent a nervous glance in the direction of the emerald bikini that Blair had gotten her as a "gift". All of Maka's old swimsuits had long since worn out, and it was the best one she had. Even so, Maka couldn't picture herself parading around on the beach in it, even if it was modest by Blair's standards. Despite her qualms about the cut of it, though, she couldn't deny that it was pretty. The emerald base material had a light shimmer over it that made it almost ethereal, and there were thin cloth bits hanging from the hips, giving it a mermaid-like look. Maka wasn't used to having girly things anymore, not since she became a scythe-meister, but even a fighter like her had a feminine side. If only some dumb scythe knew that sometimes. Oh, well, who cares what he thinks anyway.
Maka passed by Soul on the way out of her room; he had headphones on and wasn't paying attention to his ever-busy roommate. He muttered and apology and she hurried off, and he was about to pass by when he saw the swimsuit that was lying on Maka's bed. He looked left and right as though he were crossing the street and crept in to take a look at it, and he felt his face flush. The skimpy swimwear lay there in all its jade glory, and Soul crept out again before Maka found him stalking her suitcase and have him the worst head injury of his life.
He breathed deeply to clear his head and hoped desperately that he would not have the most uncool nosebleed of his life over his meister, for death's sake. However, lately his relationship with Maka had been walking backwards, her getting less and less close to him and more and more close to the katana master from the class above theirs. He had long shown his interest in the pigtailed blonde and for indescribable reasons, Soul didn't like it. His feelings toward her had been a roller coaster that he couldn't seem to get enough of. Oh, well, another ride couldn't hurt, could it?
~OoOoO~
Tsubaki sighed, watching as Black Star packed last minute when she had packed the moment she found out. She folded her legs while he went around in a flurry, hardly even taking notice that she was there. The young weapon wanted to open up a conversation with him, but as usual, found she had nothing to say. Last night she had woken up in a panic, having dreamt that Black Star had locked her out of the apartment with orders to find a new place because she was too difficult to deal with as his weapon. So, in the dream, she had slept on the porch for days until she wasted away… No, Tsubaki, Black Star won't abandon you. He's been there for you this far, hasn't he?
She shook her head violently, and Black Star looked curiously at his partner as she tried to breathe in a normal rhythm and not fall over backwards off her perch on the couch. Black Star frowned; she had that look on her face that she got when she wanted to talk but wouldn't say a thing. So, having finished cramming his belongings into a star-adorned suitcase, he hopped up next to her and folded his arms.
"Is something wrong?" She asked politely, azure eyes fixed on his teal ones. He grinned and patted her shoulder as she slid down so that they were both on the cushions. Black Star hated anyone to be above him, despite his vertical lacking.
"Only the fact that you never talk when you want to. Loosen up some, would ya?" Black Star kicked back as she smiled vaguely and simply talked with him for a good long time, enjoying the time she spent with her shining meister.
~OoOoO~
Crona fingered the pale blue bathing suit that lay in her slim hands. It was a modest two piece that had a high round neck and boy short type bottoms, the only compromise she could find with Liz. The rest was all the doing of the Thompson sisters. There was a loose fitting shirt with short-shorts, and there was more of that same category. She hadn't quite understood what the point of looking so feminine was, but according to Liz, it was important. Kid's faint scent of soap and peppermint still lingered slightly in the dank room, and Crona smiled a little. It was a nice smell in her opinion.
Inside her head, she could hear Ragnarok telling her stop thinking about him and go to sleep. She instead defied her constant companion's wishes and thought some more on him, knowing that doing so was like leaning over the ledge of a building the size of a skyscraper, though somehow she wanted to disregard her trust issues as she had with Maka. Even though they hardly spoke, he had been so kind to her, like throwing her a party or buying her clothes so that she could go on a nice trip. Weary and worn, she prepared to lay back, only to have her "appendage" decide to make an appearance.
"Thought I told you stop thinking about him!" Ragnarok was irritated, but Crona was cranky, and therefore she would always win.
"Thought I told you to stop twisting my nose!" shot back the pink haired meister, who flicked Ragnarok in the face and lay down on her stomach, resisting the urge to roll over onto her weapon. No, that would be uncalled for. She was pretty sure, anyways.
~OoOoO~
Kid was still thinking. Were it not for his OCD, he might be able to forget the conundrum like a normal person, but it was simply impossible for him. Pink hair, Crona could be a girl, but blue eyes were perfectly androgynous. He turned over irritably in bed, knowing that he should be resting, but couldn't get the problem off his mind. Kid drew up an image of the shy meister, the way he/she would clutch her/his arm and smile nervously. That was girlish, right?
He knew it didn't matter, because as a person, gender wasn't a defining factor. Crona had been through an awful lot and pulled through alright, if a little worse for the wear. The swordsman wasn't exactly known for her luck, either. He couldn't blame the meister for not knowing how to handle situations that she had never been put in when he himself had developed like any normal child, surrounded by them.
Kid thought of how she always sat in the corner, alone, wherever she was. He began to wonder why he had never gone and made sure she could be exposed to normal life, to regularity. A lot of thoughts flooded his mind, like how he could have tried to make her less insecure, even though just a glance could make her feel like that. Crona would look over her shoulder, anywhere but where she would see herself. All of a sudden, Kid was feeling that the beach trip would be a wonderful opportunity after all.
