Author Notes: Seems that I'm going pretty fast with writing this fanfic, aren't I? I'm so glad to be able to write something easily and being able to update quickly enough when I can. Also, a big thank you to 'ShadowWolfBeast' who added this story to their favorites. Thanks so much! I'm glad to see that you are enjoying it!

Also, I find it ironic how the full moon is today, 2/7, and I haven't made it to the full moon yet in my fanfic. Well, at least I'm writing a fanfic like this during the right time of the month.

"Soul Eater" and its characters are by Atsushi Okubo


Chapter 2: A change in morning norms

"It appears that you two had quite the scare last night." Stein mused, taking a drag from his cigarette. Maka and Crona had waited till after morning classes had ended to tell Stein of what had happened the other night and it was clear that he understood. Sitting in his chair, he rocked back and forth, using his legs to push.

"If memory serves, you two must have had a run-in with the Pre-Kishin, Little Red Riding Hood. I remember seeing that one as the focus of a mission that had been put up the other day. I'll have to let them know that the mission was already taken care of." He turned to Crona who flinched at the scientist staring at him.

"Good job I must say." Crona nodded at the complement. "T-thank you sir."

He then noticed that Stein was staring at his arm. "Oh, yes- and it's true that I got hurt. I got bit…" Crona rolled up the sleeve of his robe, which he had luckily already changed into a clean one when they had arrived at Shibusen, and Stein eyed at the bandaged wound. "Do you mind taking it off so I can see?"

Crona complied and began to unwind the cloth from around his arm. When it was fully revealed, Stein was able to see the extent of the damage. It appeared that the teeth had punctured the skin and had sank in deep, but luckily, it seemed to be healing correctly. Though, there was a chance it might scar.

"Doesn't look too bad, just make sure not to scratch at it or it might become infected." Stein felt the need to comment on this as Crona had been scratching it this morning when he first showed up to class but he hadn't seen him scratching it since then.

It had been to Crona's surprise earlier that the itching had stopped just as quickly as it had appeared, so he felt no need to mention it to Stein.

But there was one thing he did want to ask.

"Do people usually get bitten by Pre-Kishins?"

Stein took another drag of his cigarette, blowing out a puff of smoke during his pause before making eye contact with Crona once more. "There isn't anything to worry about… since the Pre-Kishin you had fought was animalistic, I don't find it a surprise that you got bit."

Crona's tension relaxed. It appeared that there really was nothing wrong with him like he had thought. Though, it didn't change the fact that he had been acting weird all day. Not to count his sudden craving for meat or the drooling from earlier, he still felt as restless as he had been when he woke up. During the whole previous class, Crona had been shifting in his seat or tapping his fingers against the desk. Although, the pinkette seriously hoped that this was just because of his sleep issues from the other night.

Maybe he was just having an off-day?

"I understand. I was worried… I just thought that-" his voice trailed off.

"Again, there is nothing to worry about but if you still feel that way, you and Maka could come over to my lab tonight and I can do a check up on you, Crona? It would also be a chance for you guys to have dinner with me and Marie." Stein commented, hoping that a little reassurance would help ease Crona's worries and anxieties. Plus, Crona needed to be around Marie a little more. It would help him with any leftover Madness he had in him since Asura was defeated.

"That sounds like a great idea!" Maka interjected, grabbing ahold of Crona's arm. "What do you think? Do you want to go over for some dinner and to make sure you are ok?"

Maka sounded so eager and it was clear that she wanted to help Crona's worries settle down just as much as Stein. After a moment of hesitation, Crona nodded in agreement.

"Then it's a deal! We will be there sir!" Maka exclaimed and Stein smiled. "Sounds good. Now then… you best get to your next class before the bell rings." He pointed towards the clock. "Break time is over."

After a second of realization, Maka realized this to be true. "Oh! Thank you so much for pointing that out! Come on Crona!" She then ran out of the room, Crona trailing behind her as she hadn't stopped holding his arm.

Stein stayed behind in his classroom, blowing out more smoke into the air. "Just a quick check up on him will be for the best." There was always still the question on if Crona was completely devoid of Madness or if he would always have some inside of him, and from Stein's experience, having some Madness in you can grow if it came in contact with the correct catalyst.

Crona fought a Pre-Kishin on his own but also came in contact with the Madness because of that. Though, a question still floated around in the scientist's mind. He turned his screw a little in thought.

"Could Crona have gotten tainted with some of the Pre-Kishin's Madness thanks to that bite?"

... ... ... ... ...

The next class that morning was Gym; which Maka and Crona made it to barely in time before the bell rang.

"Ok, I've got to go get changed into my gym clothes- so excuse me for a few minutes." Maka smiled and waved towards Crona before disappearing into the girl's locker room. Crona followed suit and walked into the boy's locker room to get changed as well.

"Hey, what took you so long?" Soul shouted as soon as he saw Crona walk in. Glancing over, he saw Soul, Black Star, and Death the Kid all getting changed next to their respectable lockers. Crona's locker was next to Soul's on the end of the locker rows so that his was closest to the corner.

He waved to them as he walked past them and to his locker. "S-sorry, I had to talk to Dr. Stein about the Pre-Kishin last night."

"Yeah, we just heard that from Soul! He just finished telling us about how you totally kicked that thing's ass and saved Maka!" Black Star grinned ear to ear and gave him a thumbs up. "This big star acknowledges your courage!"

Crona felt the blood rush to his face. "C-c-courage? Oh no! That's not something I have!" He waved his hands in front of him as he shook his head furiously. "Please don't say something like that! I wouldn't know how to deal with accusations like that!"

Black Star only laughed, and just as loudly as he always did. "Fess up! You did it because Maka was in trouble, right?"

"I-I…" Crona didn't know how to respond. Truthfully, the blue haired ninja was right. But how was he supposed to say that?

"Ha! See? The man who surpassed God knows this stuff! You don't even need to answer!"

"There is no need to torment him anymore." Kid spoke, easing Black Star away from where he had been standing. "Don't mind him. He just is an excitable mood today because he wants to beat his record."

"Of course! Running laps is awesome because I get to show the others just how fast I can run!"

"But that's also without using Tsubaki's enchanted sword mode." Soul laughed as he slipped his shirt on.

All the while, Crona just nodded and tried his best to smile more in response to his friends' conversation. For the rest of the time, they talked back and forth about the gym assignment for the day and how fast they bet that Black Star could run this time.

As Crona changed into his gym clothes, Soul pointed at his arm. "You aren't wearing the bandage anymore?"

The swordsman shook his head. "It is already healing, so I don't need it anymore." He wouldn't admit it though but he was happy that Maka had given it to him in the first place when he was hurt.

"That is good to hear," Kid began before his face contorted in a look of horror. "The very thought of you wearing a bandage on only one arm and not the other completely throws off the symmetry! It is a good thing you got rid of it already…"

He folded his arms and nodded. "Yes, because now you look better-"

"Hey Kid, you do realize that Crona's wound still shows a little on his arm despite the fact that its healing, right?"

Soul extended out the arm, showing the little areas where there were still punctures in it. "And it might even scar."

"W-what? No, I refuse that!"

"You can't. It's a wound."

After a moment of silence, Kid's eyes filled with tears. "Dammit! It just isn't right! How could Crona have gotten himself hurt in such an asymmetrical way? I feel unclean just looking at it!"

"But I'm the one with it…" Crona whispered, knowing that nothing he said would change it as the Shinigami had already collapsed to the ground in a fetal position. "Don't worry about it." Black Star just walked over the crying boy. "He'll join us once the laps start." Soul continued, following Black Star by walking over Kid.

Without another word, Crona did it too, taking a large step over Kid who refused to look at him. "Sorry Kid-kun… Soon enough I won't have this wound anymore."

He hoped that it would help Kid cheer up a little.

Walking outside, the boys made their way to where the other students were lined up, getting checked off by the teacher, Nygus.

Crona walked over next to Maka. She greeted him with a smile and returned it with his own half-smile.

"Ok, when I call off your name, I need you to get here to the starting point." Nygus instructed as she pointed to a chalk line in the ground that was one of many on the field. "As I told you the other day, we are doing the 100 meter dash; so I'll be timing how long you run for."

She took out her stopwatch and tapped her pen on her wooden board. "Ok, first one up is… Soul Eater!" Hearing his name called, Soul stepped up but not without replying with a sarcastic "You randomized it this time, didn't you?"

Knelling to the ground, Soul readied himself.

"And go!"

He took off in a sprint down the track, making sure to run at the same speed the whole time. As soon as he made it to the end, he looked back to hear Nygus yell out his time.

"11.18 seconds!"

And that was how it went for the whole class, one person being called off at a time to run and those that ran fast, the girls usually gushed over.

It wasn't any usual than the normal track runs.

Nygus stopped when he got to Death the Kid's name. "Does anyone know where he is?"

Almost on cue- Soul, Black Star, and Crona pointed towards the boy's locker room. "I-I guess he hasn't come out yet…" Crona added.

The teacher shook her head. "Well, I'll just have to make him make it up next time." Her gaze continued down the list.

"Maka Albarn!"

Crona glance over as Maka stood up and made her way to the starting line. "Ready? Go!"

Maka began with a quick dash down the track, which didn't surprise Crona at all. He already knew that Maka was fast and that it was because she was used to training her legs. But he still was amazed at how fast she did run.

The next thing he knew, Maka was already at the end of the track. "7.23 seconds!" Nygus yelled and Crona jumped up as Maka ran back over. "You did good!" he exclaimed but she only giggled. "It's no big deal. I'm sure you will do good too."

He shook his head. "Not really, I'm not at all fast like you, Maka-chan."

"Well, we will just have to see, right? Don't worry so much. You have been full of so much anxiety today- loosen up a little."

"O-Ok…" He rubbed his hands together and tried to smile again. This time, he had hoped it looked good but he hadn't had a chance to ask before Nygus called out the next name.

"Crona Makenshi!"

As soon as he heard his name called, Crona froze it place. It was already his turn to run? Oh no… he didn't want to let Maka down!

"Come on." Nygus coaxed and ever so slowly, Crona walked up to the starting line. A quick glance over towards Maka showed that she was giving him a thumbs up. "You can do it!"

She really did believe in him. As this knowledge set in, Crona felt a strange change in him. The restlessness from earlier that morning returned and filled him with energy again. Every fiber of his being suddenly seemed to be screaming at him to run. And run fast.

"Ready? Go!" Suddenly Crona took off, running down the track, running faster than he ever thought he could before. He seemed to enjoy this feeling, all sorts of adrenaline was rushing through him. How fast was he even going? He had no idea. All that he seemed to even be thinking of was running.

He saw the end of the track coming up, but his whole body screamed for him to keep running- go off somewhere and run around. It would be fun! Maybe he could find a good area to roll around in the grass?

…Wait, where were those thoughts coming from? That wasn't right!

Crona stopped in place just as quickly as he had started and to his amazement, he noticed that he had made it to the end without knowing it.

He looked back at the other students who stared at him with their mouths gaping open.

"H-How fast was that?" Crona yelled back at Nygus. It took her a minute before she responded. "5.03 seconds!"

Was that right?

Crona couldn't seem to process that information since he usually was slower than that. How had he gotten so fast since last time?

Fear seemed to fill his head now and instead of running back to Maka, he ran to the boy's locker rooms. He could hear the shouts of his friends trying to run after him but he quickly made his way into the locker rooms without them making it to him.

Though, he was sure that Soul and Black Star would follow him in, so he made his way into the back and into the bathroom, making sure to lock it.

Grabbing ahold of the sink, Crona felt like he was about to be sick. Was he going to throw up? Of course, he wasn't too sure but for the next few minutes, he kept his face over the sink.

When nothing happened, he looked up at the sink mirror in front of him. He was greeted with the sight of his own reflection, only he was covered in sweat from all the running he had just done.

He was breathing heavily too, which is why his mouth hung wide open, allowing him to breath in and out and get his heartbeat back to normal.

But as he stared at himself in the mirror, breathing rhythmical, he noticed something. Large lines of drool ran down from his lips again. He had been drooling again when he was running.

Why? His mind seemed to speak to him.

Why was this happening? Nothing like this happened to him before…

Suddenly he was faster at running? You had to be kidding?

Turning on the water, he ran his hands under it, allowing him to scoop up some of the water in his hands before he splashed it on his face. He then used a paper towel to wipe off the drool before it fell on the floor.

There was something wrong with him… he knew it.

At that moment, the pain suddenly came back. The pain that was coming from his arm and his wound. Without even thinking, he began to scratch at it again, not caring how much he scratched at it.

Back and forth, he dug his nails into his skin in hopes of finding some way to ease the itching. But no matter how much he scratched, it did nothing. Instead, he began to feel some prickling sensation that ran down his arm and it extended to the rest of his body.

He started to feel itchy everywhere, but how? How could he make it stop?

"Hey Crona?" Suddenly a voice came from outside the door. "Are you ok?" That was Soul's voice, right?

Whatever force he had been under then had disappeared the moment Soul spoke. The itchy feeling disappeared and Crona just stared at his arm. It looked a little messed up now because he had been scratching at it, but it wasn't anything he couldn't deal with.

"Y-Yeah. I'm ok. Just give me a minute."

"Ok, then hurry up! It's time for lunch!"

Getting ahold of himself, Crona took another deep breath to calm him down. With that, he left to join the others, but not without changing first.

Though, if he had been paying attention when he had been- he would have noticed something odd. For, it may have been just a moment or so, but it was no illusion.

Crona's eyes had turned a golden color for but a second before turning back to their normal blue color. If Crona had been paying attention, he would have noticed this… but he didn't.

He hadn't been paying attention to his reflection at that moment and so, completely missed it.


Author Notes: Developments are underway everyone, and it seems that little by little, Crona is realizing that something is really wrong with him now and he isn't just having an 'off' day.

What more trouble will he get himself into in the next chapter?