"Are you positive that they went in this direction?" Maka cautiously asked, hurrying after Kid as they went down the sidewalk.
"For the millionth time, yes, Maka," he replied, shoving his hands in his pockets with mild irritation. "I know exactly where they went."
"Alright, fine," Maka said reluctantly, quickening her pace.
She was finally dressed in her day clothes, having quickly changed into them before leaving Kid's mansion. She found it preferable to running around the city in her PJs like an idiot.
Having completely forgotten her shoes at home and not wanting to wreak her slippers, she'd also taken a pair of Patty's boots that were lying near the front door. That girl had too many of those, anyway. It was somewhat difficult to run in heels, though.
"Kid," she began hesitantly. "Isn't this the way to…"
They were both stuck in an uncomfortable silence for a long moment until Kid decided to respond. "Yes it is, Maka," he sighed reluctantly, slowing down as the destination came into sight.
"…ChupaCabra's?"
"Indeed."
The small building stood before them in all of its not-so-wondrous glory, the walls having slightly chipped paint from recent occurrences unbeknownst to Maka.
Maka groaned and sent Kid a glare. "Why would they come here, of all places?"
Kid shrugged passively. "They got an invitation. They didn't let me read it or tell me what it was about, just stormed out of the mansion in a bitter mood. Now that I think about it, this was nearly a week ago." His lips tightened. "Honestly, I'm worried."
"Kid…" Maka murmured, knowing that he was too busy with his own responsibilities to get involved when the sisters left. It was a great accomplishment that he even noticed they were gone. She patted him on the back, giving him a smile. "We'll make sure they're okay, I promise."
The reaper smiled in return, his tense shoulders visibly relaxing. His sharp, golden eyes softened. "You're right. Everything is fine." He began to walk forwards again, gesturing for her to follow. "Let's get this over with, shall we?"
"Alright," Maka agreed, hurrying after him.
As they came up to the door, a scowl came over Maka's face. She couldn't push away the reminders that her father used to enjoy coming here for his sick entertainment. It lingered in the back of her mind, and she hated it. When he should have been doting on her beloved mama, whom she preferred over the majority of other people; Spirit was cheating on her. For years, she loathed his terrible ways and looked upon him with scorn. When she was very young, her papa was a fun companion whom she adored to be in the presence of. As she grew older, he became an object to tease and look down upon whilst he became more and more desperate to hold his family together. Despite that, his efforts had completely failed. Not that she'd expected anything different from the likes of him; unable to push away his bad habits even for something as important as this. People constantly told her that she was overreacting, but she had a very solid argument against that.
Before Kid could notice her emotional conflict, she banged her fist on the door viciously. "Hey, open this goddamn door before I break it in!"
The reaper gave her a sideways glance and raised an eyebrow at her hostile attitude, but quickly brushed it off as the door opened a crack.
An eye tentatively peeked out, noticing the boy first. "What the hell, Kid?" a voice said bitterly, examining him as if he were a potential spy. "This place is closed! Find somewhere else to get ladies to sit on you!" The person scoffed. "Who even knew you were the type?!"
Kid's face reddened considerably from embarrassment, and he opened his mouth to object to the false accusation.
The voice interrupted in a suddenly cheery tone, finally noticing the girl accompanying him. "Maka!"
The door quickly opened a bit more, and a very familiar face came into view.
"…Crona, what are you doing here?" Maka asked in a flat tone, eyes narrowed. Somehow, she was no longer capable of being surprised at him.
"Hi, Maka," he purred, ignoring the question completely. "How are you?"
"Well, I was fine until I saw you." She spoke in a rude tone, unlike anything she'd ever used on Crona before. The hurt was obvious in his eyes.
"Ow, burn," he muttered, glancing away somberly.
"Move it, I'm coming in," Maka announced, bodily shoving Crona aside and stomping into the building.
"Maka, watch your step!" Crona gasped, reaching out for her frantically.
"What are you-" Maka was cut short as she lost her footing and screamed in terror. The world seemed to lose balance as the ground was torn from beneath her feet.
For a short moment, she had an intense feeling of doom, her bravado crumpling like a paper bag.
Her motion halted with a sharp yank on her arm, threating to tear it completely out of its socket.
Maka found herself staring down into what seemed like a bottomless pit, her feet dangling in the air with nothing to hold onto. Her mouth was open in a lost cry, her eyes wide.
There was a relieved sigh above her. "Man, for a second there, I totally thought I lost you!"
Glancing up, she saw Crona holding onto her wrist from his safe perch on the ledge she'd fallen from… he had saved her.
However, it wasn't exactly the time for gratitude, and having forgotten her voice, she gave him a pleading look; letting him know to get her the hell back up on that ledge.
He complied with her unspoken plea, reaching out for her other hand as well. She gladly returned the favor, her fingers latching around his wrist. He slowly stood and pulled her towards him, assisting her climb. The heels on Patty's boots easily hooked onto the ledge and she struggled up, clinging onto his arms to steady herself. She released the breath of air she'd been holding, glancing down at the pit again. "…th-thanks," she said breathlessly, clinging to him for dear life.
"Do I get a thank-you-kiss?" he questioned jokingly, grinning.
"Nope," Maka replied flatly, looking around the room. The ledge she was on went around the whole place and lead to a staircase. Her sight followed the stairs upwards, and her eyes widened as she saw what was above her.
The stairs only lead to more stairs of many different colors and shapes, the walls contorting into odd deformities. The stairs were littered with various explosives and hazardous items ready to strike out at anyone who made a single foul move. They eventually halted at open doors that lead to assorted corridors, all leading in different directions as far up as the eye could see. It was… well, a maze.
"Not just any maze," Crona interrupted her thoughts and she glanced at him. He was staring upwards, admiring his handiwork. "It's my maze. No one's gotten through the entire thing yet! I invited a lot of people to come and try to beat it, but I don't know where in the maze they are now." He chuckled, smiling happily. "Sure, I used insults to get them here… but hey; they're the ones that listened to them!"
Everything seemed to click into place. Of course it was his fault. He'd sent Liz and Patty those invitations, and now he had no idea where they were… or even if they were still alive.
"You killed Liz and Patty?!" Maka accused in a yell, gripping his arms so hard that it hurt.
His face fell. "…Liz and Patty were in the group?" He bit his lip nervously. "Hey, I never said they were dead!" He glanced at Maka's feet, admiring Patty's boots. "Hey, those look good on you, by the way!"
"DON'T CHANGE THE SUBJECT!"
Crona practically cowered under her glare, shrinking a bit. "Alright, alright…! We'll go look for them…"
"That's better," Maka muttered, glancing behind herself curiously. "Where's Kid?"
"Oh, I locked him outside," Crona answered simply.
"Why?" She asked, gritting her teeth. "Actually, you know what?! I don't care. Let's just go. I'd rather not have any of my friends die because of your stupid maze for your sick amusement."
"Fair enough," Crona responded, reaching down and holding her hand tightly in his own.
"Cut that out!" She instructed, eyes narrowing.
"…do you want to fall?" he questioned, raising an eyebrow.
She paused. "Good point." Her hand tightened around his, and he smiled mischievously. She sighed with irritancy. "Let's just get moving."
He nodded and began to walk along the edge slowly, guiding Maka behind him. He paused, glancing back at her. "Oh, watch the red stairs, okay? They're miniature land mines."
"…you are a sick, twisted person."
He smirked. "Only sometimes."
"I'm stuck! Patty, for the love of Death, help me!"
"I am helping, big sis!" Patty responded from her safe place on a platform, hands cupped around her mouth to amplify the sound. "I'm telling you to jump!" She sat on the edge, legs swinging back and forth.
"What'd you say?! I can't hear you over the noise in this damn place!"
TICK TOCK TICK TOCK TICK TOCK TICK TOCK
"What?!" Patty questioned loudly, raising an eyebrow. Her eyes narrowed, as if she were offended.
They were inside of what seemed to be the inner workings of a clock; surrounded by the clanking of gears and ringing of bells. It was almost painful, the noises being nearly enough to shatter an eardrum. After being stuck there for hours while Liz clung desperately to a pendulum, the girls' ears had grown less sensitive to the noise… not to mention that they could hardly hear each other.
It was a dumb idea, they had realized. It had been a major mistake to listen to those stupid insults from some anonymous person. They had placed their own lives in jeopardy over something as silly as proving themselves, and Liz felt terribly silly about the whole thing; not to mention that her nails kept breaking.
The insults had no support at all. They were flimsy and senseless, not even having any substantial proof.
And then, Liz read the final paragraph.
It was entirely about her cup size in comparison to her sister's.
That was somewhere that no one was allowed to tread, and the sisters had gotten worked up about it; dashing out of the house in a flurry. Then, they'd gotten themselves caught up in the whole "finish the maze" thing.
It was their worst idea yet.
Food was provided via falling from the ceiling for whatever reason, and there were enough resources to provide for an army. However, that didn't even come close to making up for the negatives.
"I give up! I can't do this anymore!" Liz wailed, leaning her head against the rail of the pendulum. Her fingers clutched at the pole and her legs tightened around it. "I'm gonna fall!"
"What'd you say, sis?!" Patty yelled, waving her arms around enthusiastically. "That was pretty rude!"
"OH, FORGET IT!"
"Why did you even make this death trap in the first place?" Maka questioned irritably, panting from a lack of air. She leaned forwards, gripping her knees as support.
She had only spent ten minutes running from various dangers, and already she was weary and more frustrated than ever.
"…I don't know," Crona replied simply, watching her. He seemed unperturbed by their recent fleeing, his breath steady and his eyes alight with a cheerful glow. "I just sort of… felt like it. I mean, I can do what I want, can't I?" He leaned forwards a bit to get a better look at her face. He smirked. "I am the Kishin, after all." His breath lightly tickled her cheeks.
At that, she turned and glanced at him.
A fearful shudder raced up her spine.
She was chilled to the bone when she really thought about her situation, having not dwelled on it enough. He was a killer and a sinister being. He was on a higher tier than even Asura was, yet he still insisted on following her around. Her Crona had never been flirtatious, and she'd never considered that he liked her in that way at all.
Something just didn't seem to add up.
There was always the possibility that he could be using her for some unforeseen benefit, or just planning on snapping her mentality like a twig. It was a terrifying concept to think about.
No matter what Maka tried, she couldn't see this Kishin as being the Crona she knew before. They were completely different beings, and she couldn't tell if his old personality was lingering anywhere. She couldn't even activate her soul perception around him without getting a major headache.
It was scary.
Maka was jerked from her thoughts as Crona stood upright, glancing around curiously. She wondered what he was doing as he tilted his head, as if listening. His nose crinkled in concentration, and he held perfectly still.
Crona suddenly leapt into action, springing forwards and bending over, scooping Maka into his arms bridal-style.
She yelped in surprise, falling uncomfortably and getting a bit of wind knocked out of her. She was shocked at how he was able to lift someone only slightly lighter than himself with such ease, as if she were weightless.
"Hey!" she shouted, a blush coming over her face as she pounded on his chest. She was completely mortified. "What do you think you're doing?!"
"Hold on a sec," he muttered, clutching her tighter to keep her from squirming. He quickly took a few steps backwards, staring with a deadpan expression.
A swinging guillotine sliced through the air exactly where Maka was standing only moments before. It passed by, and the weapon vanished into a crevice in the opposite wall.
Had he not moved her, she would have been cut in half.
However, now was not the time for gratitude.
A series of clicks rang out through the air, coming from all different directions. Maka's ears strained in attempt to hear whether or not there was any pattern, but she found none.
An eerie silence followed.
"…shit," Crona cursed, a slight edge to his voice.
"What? What happened?" Maka questioned tentatively, leaning against his scrawny form in an attempt to protect herself.
He took a long moment to respond. "…oh, ha ha, not much, really…" he chuckled nervously, glancing around the room with slight panic visible in his eyes. "…but, I should probably get you out of here, um… yeah, right now."
"Why?" She asked in a quiet voice, worry appearing on her face.
Crack.
Maka's head whipped to the side and saw that Crona had moved his hand protectively over her neck, an arrow stuck into the back side of it. Inky black blood dripped to the floor.
He drew in a sharp breath and shook it off, the brightly-colored arrow landing with a clank.
"I mean, there are a few reasons, ha…"
The black blood hardened and took the shape of thorn-covered vines which laced together, sealing the wound while skin quickly began to boil back into place. His arm wrapped back around her, holding her closely.
Maka stared at the bloodied arrow for a moment, trying to ignore the very likely outcome that it would have killed her if the guillotine hadn't.
"Uh, just relax, okay?" Crona instructed, his grip tightening.
A loud explosion rang out from the direction they had come from, followed by a rumbling that quickly escalated. It sounded almost like a stampede, trampling everything that dared to stand in its path.
Maka's eyes widened as she saw a searing fire rage around the corner, practically turning the walls to charcoal. Her eyes stung from the heat, despite the large distance between her and the hazard.
Crona quickly turned and began to run, surprisingly fast for someone supporting another. His knees constantly buckled slightly from the pressure, but he tried to shake it off whenever it happened. The inferno was quickly growing nearer, the crackling noise intensifying.
The boy sighed in frustration, giving Maka a quick glance. "Do the both of us a favor and cover your eyes for a second, would you?" Crona shouted above the racket, weaving between multiple guillotines and out of the way of flying projectiles as they hurtled around the hall.
He spun around with an awkward stumble, coming way too close for comfort to many assorted deaths. Though, it seemed like he was paying more attention to the girl's well-being rather than his own; constantly taking blows for her.
Maka was more than happy to comply with his request, finding it much less horrifying than keeping a close eye on all of their close-call experiences. She bit down on her lip to keep herself from screaming.
"That's a good girl!"
There were a few popping sounds, and for a moment, she thought she heard a laugh alongside them.
She felt something shift in Crona's movement, making it smoother so he didn't jerk around. The motions were swift and clean, albeit fast. It reminded her somewhat of an amusement park ride… only, without the amusement.
Maka relied completely on her hearing to attempt to find out what was going on. She was completely baffled by the rhythmic booms and crashes from multiple directions, and couldn't make any sense of it as it tangled up in her mind.
The noises of the fire were dimming, as if it were fading away. The other sounds followed suit. She couldn't understand what was happening.
It wasn't long before silence began to drum, and Crona slowed to a stop. There were a few more pops, and then nothing.
"You can open your eyes now, Maka."
She complied, quickly turning her attention towards the direction they came from.
The ground was littered with what little remained of smashed guillotines, arrows, boulders, and other various traps. The walls were burned to the point that they were melting, dripping down onto the floor.
"Wow…" Maka murmured, shooting a sideways glance at Crona. He was truly powerful.
"Yeah, you're right, this thing was a really bad idea," he admitted sheepishly.
"Yes, it was."
She paused for a moment.
"…hey, you can put me down now, you know."
"Aw, do I have to?" Crona asked, making a childish pouting face.
Maka scoffed and pushed out of his grasp, landing neatly on her feet. She smoothed her skirt down, her mind still running wild with questions and accusations that she dared not voice. Her first suspicion had come automatically, and she dwelled on it.
Had he changed forms while they were running?
It was an extremely likely possibility, but she still had no idea what he had become or why he'd wanted her to shield her eyes.
Was he…
…embarrassed?
"Let's keep going."
Maka's prying thoughts were interrupted by his words and she glanced up at him again, not expecting to see him frowning. He looked strangely upset at something, his expression cold and bitter. It was as if he were mad or frustrated at her.
He studied her face closely, as if searching for something of extreme importance.
"Come on," he instructed flatly, turning and beginning to walk away. He put his hands in his pockets, deciding not to reach for her hand this time. He didn't even bother to glance back to make sure she was following. "Those two… they're over here."
Maka watched for a moment, confused by his ever-changing attitude. Then, she quickly trailed along behind him, fumbling to re-start a conversation.
Seeing him like this was somewhat unnerving.
"So… how do you know they're over here?"
"I can hear them," he replied, continuing to stare forwards. "Liz is too loud."
Maka paused, listening closely.
She couldn't hear anything besides the clicking of her heels on the tile floor.
"…huh," she mused. Apparently, his new state as a Kishin heightened his senses to the very peak reachable by such a human-like form.
They went quiet again.
Maka couldn't help but realize that she preferred him being loud and obnoxious over silent and angry.
She was hit by a pang of longing, wishing for the Crona she used to know to return to her. He was the one she wanted back.
She missed his stuttering and his sensitivity, his shy offers of assistance, his awkward fidgeting, his blushing, the small smile he would only give to her…
…Maka missed him.
What had become of Crona? Not this entity before her, but really him?
Something must have happened to make him act like this, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. It was as if the answer were right there in front of her face… so close that she couldn't focus directly on it.
"Would you stop doing that already?"
Maka's eyes moved to Crona's form as he spoke to her without glancing back.
There was something in his voice that seemed feeble and broken. She noticed that he was avoiding looking at her, his head tipped slightly away.
"Sorry," she answered simply, unsure exactly what she was apologizing for.
"No you're not," he muttered bitterly.
They fell into a silence that was almost painful to bear.
Maka wondered quietly what she had done wrong.
Her train of thought deserted her when she heard a loud, rhythmic clanking in the distance.
"Is that where we're going?" she questioned tentatively, unsure whether or not it was a good time to speak to him. She got no response, and decided that it was safe to assume that she was not welcome to speak.
Crona's pace quickened as a large door became visible at the end of the hallway, and Maka followed suit. The noises grew progressively louder and it made her somewhat concerned, glancing at him again.
He was looking downwards, bangs obscuring his face. She couldn't read his emotions, but she assumed that he was still angry with her.
As they reached the door, the clanking became almost unbearably loud. Maka clamped her hands over her ears to block out the noise, and turned to Crona to ask if they really had to go in there. She never got the chance to ask, as he quickly pushed the door open.
Now she recognized these noises as being that of a clock, and she was somewhat embarrassed that she hadn't made the connection earlier.
Crona walked ahead of her, not hesitating to enter the room.
Maka glanced inside worriedly, slowly making her way towards the boy.
It was an intriguing sight; having never expected to be able to enter an actual clock. She didn't have room to marvel, however. It was far too dangerous to slow down, and the noises clouded her thoughts and made her agitated.
It was so loud that it burned.
She glanced at her companion, seeing that he didn't need to cover his ears at all. She considered that perhaps he could change the strength of his senses on a whim; and that was why it didn't bother him. He had to have strong hearing before, having heard the noises from a far distance. Or… perhaps he didn't actually hear things, and just sensed that they were there?
There were so many possibilities that she decided against thinking it over. She could just ask him later, saving herself the major headache.
Maka saw his mouth move in attempt to form words, but she couldn't hear them at all as they were swept away in the racket. His face painted in mild irritancy, he pointed to a platform high above them.
The girl's eyes followed where his finger led, and she smiled.
There were Liz and Patty, alive and well, seated on the platform. Liz looked breathless and panicked while Patty patted her back, giving her reassurances.
Maka glanced at Crona with curiosity, hands still clutching her ears tightly.
"So, how are we going to get up there?" she questioned, unable to hear her own words. Somehow, she got the feeling that he'd hear her anyway.
"Easily," she read his lips as he spoke soundlessly.
He motioned for her to come closer to him, though he avoided looking directly at her. She was slightly irked that he was so upset over whatever it was, and figured that it couldn't have been that big of a deal. However, she didn't want to raise her voice at a Kishin, no matter how familiar-looking.
She complied with his instruction and removed one hand from her ears, Crona entwining their fingers tightly.
He began to walk up towards the platform on an invisible staircase, carefully tugging her hand to guide her away from the edge that she couldn't see.
"Don't fall," Crona mouthed, pulling her away from the side.
She didn't need to be told twice. Maka carefully followed his exact footsteps, being sure not to stray from his guide. It was extremely nerve-wracking, being able to see hundreds of feet below her of meshing gears. If she fell, she would be ground to pieces in their unforgiving grasp. Even if they weren't there, she would die from the sheer height.
Maka attempted to ignore the fear of danger, but it was difficult. Her so-called "courage" had been failing her lately, and it was putting her in a sour mood.
It was reassuring to know that, albeit how twisted this Crona was, he would not let her fall.
…unless that was his plan all along?
That was a possibility that she did not want to consider.
Maka made one final leap onto the platform, relieved to escape that horror. She sighed with relief and moved to put her hand back over her ear. Crona came up next to her, a slightly bored expression on his face.
Glancing up, she saw Liz and Patty looking completely flabbergasted.
Not that she should have expected them to have any other reaction; considering that they had just literally walked on air.
She opened her mouth to explain, but she was cut off when the two girls launched themselves at her and wrapped her in a hug. Maka nearly fell off of the edge, struggling to keep her balance.
Maka only heard small tidbits of their noisy cries of joy, but she let them hug her, anyway.
Ahead of them, Crona gestured for them to follow. He pointed at a door that she hadn't noticed before.
Maka grabbed the Thompsons by their wrists and pulled them along beside her, deciding to save the reunion for when they could actually hear themselves think. The girls seemed somewhat confused, but followed anyway.
They entered the door, Crona quickly slamming it shut behind them. The noise dimmed to nearly a whisper, the door being made out of some unrecognizable material.
For a moment, they sat in a comfortable silence, enjoying the quiet.
"My ears are bleeding," Patty pointed out, digging in one ear with her pinky. "So noisy!" A quirky grin came over her face, and she ran forwards to give Maka another hug. "You saved us!"
Liz collapsed onto the ground, lying on her back with her limbs spread out. "I thought I was going to die…" Her eyes shut lazily and she enjoyed the content feeling of not running from impending doom.
Maka returned Patty's hug, glancing over at Liz in attempt to get the attention of both of them. "Are you guys okay?" she asked, prying the girl off of herself.
"Peachy, now that I'm not dying," Liz murmured quietly. Patty just giggled.
"Oh! Those're my shoes, aren't they?" Patty pointed out, staring at Maka's feet.
"Er, yeah," Maka admitted, scratching the back of her head. "Sorry about that…"
"Not a problem!" the girl said, shaking her head. "You can just keep them if you want to!"
Patty's eyes strayed away from Maka as she noticed Crona nearby, awkwardly observing them and feeling out-of-place.
"Wait…" the gun murmured, pointing at him with wide eyes. "Didn't you… become…" She went dead silent.
Liz lazily lifted her head to find out what her sister was talking about, and cried out in shock. "You're…!"
"Oh, cool it," he muttered scornfully, looking away. "I'm not interested in hurting you."
The sisters' faces remained with a wary expression, and Liz managed to stand up.
"Soooo," Liz questioned awkwardly, brushing dirt off of her pants. "Is there an exit to this crazy shithole?"
"Right there," Crona pointed to two staircases to their left, one heading upwards and the other going down. "It's the one going downstairs. Just keep following it and it'll take you to the front door. Kid's outside waiting for you."
Their eyes lit up, and they started on a mad dash towards the door. Before they left, Liz glanced back at them, grinning. "Thanks a bunch, guys. Really."
"It's no problem," Maka said, smiling in return.
"But I wanna hear the whole story of whatever crazy stuff is going on around here later!" she commanded the girl, pointing at Crona. He scowled a bit under her accusing finger, eying her angrily. She ignored it. "All of it! But right now, I'm going to go take a loooong soak in the hot tub. I'll see you later!" With that, she quickly went down the stairs in pursuit of her sister without another word.
As the clicking of their high-heels subsided, they fell into silence. Maka was growing weary of these moments, a frown finding its way onto her face.
"Do you want to leave, or what?" Crona questioned, blinking.
"I don't feel like walking right now," Maka murmured, bending over to rub her ankles. "These shoes are starting to hurt…" She glanced around for a place to sit, eyes falling on the stairs leading upwards. "Where do those go?"
"To the roof," Crona replied, shrugging.
"Let's go there," Maka suggested, hurrying to the stairs. She was eager to sit down and rest her tired feet. She glanced back to make sure that he was coming, and then continued.
The sunlight on the roof was almost blinding. She had to shield her eyes for a moment until she adjusted to it, blinking furiously. Eventually, she re-gained her sight.
For a moment, she could do nothing but gape at the marvelous sight before her. The entire city laid spread out in her view, from the Academy and the buildings out to the surrounding sandy areas. She realized that the smallness of ChupaCabra's when she had seen it from the outside was simply an illusion, and this was where it truly ended.
It was stunning.
Maka laughed happily, spinning in circles and absorbing the sunlight.
Crona came up onto the roof, gazing at her with interest. A smile tugged at his lips, and he tried to cover it with one hand.
Maka stopped and glanced at him, her hands falling back to her sides. Her face burned with slight embarrassment. "Erm… sorry. I just-"
"You're fine," he said softly, moving to the edge of the roof.
Crona swung his legs over the edge and sat down, staring down at the bustling city below. He had a thoughtful expression, eyes glazed over.
The Scythe Meister came over to join him, taking a seat beside him.
There was still silence, but it wasn't quite as painful as before.
"Crona?" she asked, staring into the distance.
"Yeah?" he murmured, unmoving.
"I need to ask you something… something important." Her gaze turned to him, her lips tight with seriousness. "You have to promise to answer me, alright?"
Crona cast her a sideways glance, finding himself caught in the light of her lovely green eyes. "…I guess," he replied, shrugging.
She was quiet for a moment, trying to find a way to word it properly.
"…I know you've been different lately," she spoke hesitantly, looking away from him. "At first, I thought that you'd just become the opposite of who I know you as. It makes more sense, doesn't it?" There was a pause. "…but that isn't how it is… not really."
"What are you talking about?" He raised an eyebrow.
"It's like… you have multiple personalities. Yeah, that's what I'm trying to say."
He stared at her.
"Like… one minute, you're flirtatious and are stalking me around. The next, you're upset and rude to me." She sighed. "I don't understand."
She frowned.
"Tell me why?"
Crona's expression was completely placid for a moment, eyes glazed over as his thoughts ran rampant in his troubled mind.
"…I don't know."
Her head whipped around to stare at him again, mouth slightly open. "…what do you mean?"
"I mean exactly what I said. I don't know, Maka. I have no idea."
"…Cro-"
"I don't like you treating me like I'm a freak just because I'm different." His voice was quiet, but had a severe edge to it. "So what if I'm different than before… I'm still Crona. If I'm not Crona, than what am I? What am I doing wrong?" His voice became strained, fingers digging into the edge of the roof. "Can't you still like me?"
"…Crona…" Maka spoke in a whisper that was barely audible.
Her fingers reached out and brushed his cheek, and he flinched reflexively.
"…Crona… you're crying."
Crona jerked away from her, roughly rubbing his arm against his eyes to dry the salty tears. "How long have I been crying?" He hissed in an annoyed tone, teeth clenched. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"But I just told you!" she pointed out. She frowned, but there was more emotion behind it.
For a moment, she thought she had seen her Crona flicker in front of her.
Just as quickly as he had come, he had left. It made her chest hurt with longing.
"Crona, just… calm down, alright…?" She coaxed, putting an arm around his shoulders. "You're being really moody… we need to work on that."
"I am calm," he sniffled, snuggling closer to her. "I'm perfectly calm…"
"Alright, well, that's good," she said.
It reminded her of the times so long ago where she would comfort him. For a moment, she truly felt hope that he would someday return to her.
They slipped into a silence that wasn't rigid or uncomfortable. Crona slowly calmed down into an amicable state, his breathing becoming steadier.
"…thank you," he murmured.
Maka glanced at him, a smile finding its way onto her face.
"You're welcome, Crona." She chuckled. "Wow, with the way you've been acting recently, it seems more like Ragnarok than you."
He gave a half-hearted laugh. "I guess so."
Maka pursed her lips, blinking. "…where is Ragnarok, anyway?"
Crona's body gave a violent jerk, and Maka tugged her arm away from him, confusion clearly written on her face.
The boy gave a not-so-Crona-like shout in a bubbly voice.
"I AM RAGNAROK, YA DOUCHE!"
He clamped his hands over his mouth as if he were going to vomit, eyes wide in terror and shock.
Maka stared at him, mouth hanging open.
Suddenly, she began to understand.
"Crona…" she began, voice wavering as she pointed at him.
"…you're… Ragnarok and Asura…"
A/N-
I should get an award for "slowest updates ever".
I'm really trying though, I swear!
This chapter is pretty long, so I hope that makes up for it…
Anyway, allow me to explain!
Ragnarok's soul and Asura's soul fused together with Crona's, giving him their abilities… and their character quirks. This means that Crona becomes more forward with his feelings and actions because of Ragnarok, and he's irritable because of Asura's paranoia. I hope that makes some sense!
See you next time; hopefully not too long from now!