In this chapter: Aless is mad at her meister, Crona is terrified, and Ragnarok's just a perv. No shocks there.

Disclaimer: I do not, nor will I ever, own Soul Eater.

Chapter 3

Alessei took a monstrous bite out of her sandwich, pretending it was Rikita's head.

It's been two days… and she still won't talk to me? Even in training… she barely says a word, and she lets me get beat up. I've still got bruises…

She couldn't understand why her partner would ignore her like this. Even if her judgment was a little off (which, she had to admit, most of the time it was), Riki should be trying to set her straight, not just flat-out refuse to help. That's what partners did. Right?

Aless and Crona had become "biology buddies". They were paired up for all the science experiments Dr. Stein made them do. Rikita had noticed them walking together, and Aless had noticed her noticing.

I can't eat anymore. The drug that compensated the demon dust suppressed her appetite. Like I have to get any skinnier. Absently, she pinched the skin on her upper arm. A bit of flesh came away from the lean, wiry muscle. Pathetic. She'd always admired the beauty of curvier girls, and couldn't understand why they'd want to be thinner.

No. Can't think about that. Tossing away her food and wiping the forming tears from her eyes, Aless scrambled to her next class.

Aless poured the vial of water into the beaker. For once, they were doing more than dissections in Biology.

"Crona? Pour that clear chemical in… the whatchamacallit… the sodium nitrogen! Yeah! Pour it in."

Crona tipped the test tube he was holding slightly. A drop of liquid plopped into the beaker. Inside the glass, the mixture fizzled, steam rising. The whole thing exploded with a tremendous crash! and they both screamed. Aless coughed as the smoke cleared, faintly hearing Dr. Stein's cackle as her eardrums came back to life. The other students, who hadn't gotten as far in the experiment, stared.

"Dr. Stein, what was the point of us doing that?" cried Alessei. "Did you write the directions wrong or something? Damn!" She took a deep breath as he laughed more. "The nerve of this guy, huh, Crona?" Hearing no response, she looked to her right. "Crona?"

The boy was gone. Puzzled, Aless leaned down under the desk, to find her lab partner huddled up underneath.

"Crona?... It's okay to come out. The explosion's over."

Crona, face to his knees, shook his head vigorously.

"Hey, are you gonna be okay? Want to go to the nurse? I'll take you to the nurse. Come on."

"No!" came the muffled cry. "I-I don't like the nurse. I wanna stay here. There's a corner under here. I'll be fine."

Exhaling and closing her eyes in exasperation, Aless grasped his wrist and attempted to pull him up. But for his wraithlike body, he was surprisingly strong, and he didn't budge. Trying not to have a frustrated breakdown, she let go of him and stood up again.

"Dr. Stein? May I be excused for the rest of today's lesson? I'll take the grade…" The teacher nodded, half-attentive. She crouched under the desk with Crona. "Crona? D'you wanna talk about it?"

"No."

Alessei had seen people like this before. How many times had she had to drag home a friend who'd overdosed on demon dust, who was seeing invisible monsters and couldn't move an inch? How many times had she seen someone completely and utterly collapse from the drug? But this wasn't caused by a drug. Whatever Crona was facing was inside his own mind.

She put an arm around his bony shoulders and sat there, listening to his muffled sobs.

"Aless? Can… can I come with you? I don't want to be alone."

The bell had rung, and Alessei was preparing to go back to her dorm. But the tiny voice of her fallen lab partner stopped her.

"Sure. Come on, let's get going."

As they walked, Aless was amazed at how someone so tall could seem so small. With his shoulders hunched and his eyes to the floor, Crona seemed shorter than she was. And Aless was one of the shortest people she knew. A strong bearing makes all the difference.

When they reached the room, they were shocked to see Rikita standing outside. She gave them a glare.

"What's up, lovebirds?" she growled. "Why's he here? I wanted to talk to you, Aless, not the freak!"

Beside her, Crona flinched. It hurt Aless to leave him and approach her meister.

"Can the bitchy confrontation wait until later?" she whispered to Riki. "He's in a bad way right now, and I don't need your insults at the moment."

Rikita paused, then huffed.

"Fine. If you really want to ditch your own meister to spend time with the Demon Sword, be my guest. But don't expect me to save you from a beating at practice tomorrow." She stalked off.

Demon Sword? Was she serious? Aless had heard all about the Demon Swordmaster, and his mysterious weapon. She opened the door and Crona stepped into the room. Immediately he leaned against the wall and sank to the floor, shaking.

"It's okay. She didn't mean what she said. She says things she doesn't mean all the time." But was this one of them? "You're not a freak. Rikita's just… intolerant."

"I am a freak," he muttered. "I can't even interact with others! And there's nothing you can do to help me."

"Now that's not-"

She gasped as her friend convulsed, black liquid rising out of his back. The liquid solidified to form what could only be described as a tiny demon – black, muscular skin, with what appeared to be white boxing gloves. On its face was a white X, with two blank white eyes.

"Crona, you idiot!" The creature punched the boy he'd risen out of. "Don't listen to her, you freak!"

"Ow! Stop! That hurts!"

"Yo!" Aless yelled. "You're hurting him! Stop it!"

The creature stopped punching Crona and looked up at her.

"And who are you?" it asked.

"I'm Aless," she said, her voice shaking. "Who are you? Why are you beating him up?"

The thing threw its head back and cackled.

"I'm Ragnarok, Crona's weapon!" Hearing her gasp, it laughed again. "Didn't you know? He's the Demon Swordmaster!"

By this point, Crona was near tears. Aless stared at him, not sure what to say. Riki was right… is that why she hates him?

"Well, he may be the Demon Swordmaster, but he's still my friend!" she proclaimed. "And I would appreciate it if you stopped hurting him. Weapons and meisters are supposed to like each other, you know."

"Yeah, but who would be friends with a wimp like this?" Ragnarok slapped Crona again.

"That's it!" Alessei drew her hand back and slapped Ragnarok with all her might. Both weapon and meister went flying.

"Ow!" they cried in unison.

"Sorry, Crona, but I had to teach this… this thing a lesson," she hissed. "Now will you stop?"

Ragnarok just glared at her.

"How did you do that?" he yelled. "Humans can't hurt us! How are you that strong?"

"Th-that's none of your business," she stuttered. His secret's out. Doesn't mean mine has to be. "Now go away. Please."

Shaking its head, the creature disappeared back inside Crona's body. The boy sat up, shivering.

"Are you hurt?" Aless asked, showing a completely different side of herself. She put a hand to his cheek and he flinched. "Relax, I won't hurt you. You really took a beating, huh? Does that happen often?"

"N-not as often as it used to. But it still hurts." He sniffed. "I'm sorry I'm crying, Aless. I j-j-just don't know how to interact with you. I'm a f-failure of a friend."

"Oh, no, sweetie," she said, forcing cheer into her voice and giving him a hug. She felt his whole body stiffen, as if he wasn't used to affection. This poor kid's really screwed up. "Trust me, I've seen worse breakdowns in my time. What do you say we get you cleaned up? Wipe those tears away. Then we'll get something to eat. Alright?" He frowned and nodded.

In the end, Aless had to get the food herself, because Crona was afraid to leave the room. When she got back, he was curled up on the floor, leaning against the bed.

"You can sit on the bed, you know. The floor isn't very comfortable." Looking awkward, he climbed onto the mattress. "Here. I got you something." She tossed a package of cookies at him and he flailed around trying to catch it. "Cookies make everything better, right?" Sitting with her back to the headboard, Aless took a bite out of her sandwich and sighed. "They make good food here. I could live on these sandwiches alone." Crona just nodded. "So… you wanna talk about it?"

He bit his lip, looking wary. Finally he spoke.

"How much do you know about me being the Demon Sword?" he asked.

"I know that your blood is a weapon, and that Medusa was your mother and she was in charge of you. That girl named Maka freed you and got you enrolled here. That's really all I know. It's all anyone knows. You're a mystery. I don't think most people even know you're the Demon Sword."

"Well, it's… it's a long story. But to put it simply, Medusa was the most abusive mother you could ever imagine." He took a small bite of a chocolate chip cookie. "That explosion in the lab reminded me of the training she made me do. And once I start thinking about something like that, I can't stop. And now I'm just scared. Maka says it's called anxiety."

"Gotcha. You know, I get that sometimes, too. Docs say it's flashbacks from the drug abuse. I know what you're talking about." She paused. "Medusa was abusive, huh? Why am I not surprised? My mom's dead. Died when I was twelve. That's when I started using demon dust. If you ever want to talk, you know, I'm here for you. I think I can relate to your anxiety pretty well."

Crona crawled up to the top of the bed so he was leaning on the headboard next to her.

"You mean that?"

"'Course I mean it. I always mean what I say. Why?"

"Well… some people told me that it sometimes makes it better if you tell someone about your problems. But Maka doesn't always have time to listen to my problems, and Soul doesn't want to hear them. A0and even when Maka is able to listen, she doesn't really understand, I don't think. It's hard to understand madness when you've never been mad yourself. Will you listen to me?"

Alessei nodded. He launched into the whole story, the punishment, the beatings, the pain of being used liked a puppet. Every once in a while, Alessei had to wait as he tried to catch his breath through tears. As the light through the window dimmed, his voice grew slower. Eventually, he stopped, and Aless thought that the story was over.

"Sounds horrendous… I don't know what to say…Crona?"

There was no response. A glance to her left told her that that he'd fallen asleep, sitting up, head against the cement wall behind the bed. Jeepers. That looks uncomfortable. As if answering her thoughts, he sank sideways, landing with his head on her shoulder. Nice. Now what do I do? I'd wake him up, but… this is the happiest I've ever seen him look. It was true. At least in sleep, he didn't have that tortured, distraught look that he wore so well. She stared down at him, watching the gentle rise and fall of his chest. Eventually she settled for trying to get some sleep herself, patting his hair. As she sat there with her eyes closed, Aless tried to sort out her thoughts.

She'd originally thought that this boy would be a temporary distraction, something cute to play with and then drop when a better opportunity came along. But now her feelings were different. Not only would it be cruel to drop him, but that was the thing: she didn't want to leave him in the dust. They had a lot in common, Aless and Crona. And now she wanted more.

Dammit, Aless. Why do you have to feel this way, huh? Why are you so stupid?

She tried to fall asleep, without success. Soon she realized the problem – she hadn't gotten into her nightclothes. And she hadn't taken a bath. Alessei was a creature of habit, and she knew that if she didn't take her daily hot bath, she wouldn't be getting any sleep that night.

Inching her way out from under Crona and replacing her shoulder with a pillow, she gathered up her nightclothes and a towel and tiptoed into the bathroom.

Alessei sank her body into the steamy water with a sigh. For some reason, she'd always been more relaxed in water. When she took a bath, she could forget her problems and just calm down. Forget your problems. Forget him. Forget Riki. Forget the Demonology test. She gasped. Damn! I forgot about the test! Oh well. I'll study tomorrow. Forget the Demonology test… But she couldn't get the feelings of self-hatred out of her head. Idiot, idiot, idiot. So she picked up the razor that she'd brought in with her. It didn't take much pressure to slice through her thin flesh, and for that she was grateful. The red haze spread across her vision and she felt a wave of calm come over her. For once, she had power over her body. Power and control… that's what cutting was about.

Aless dipped her arm into the water, watching the red cloud bloom. It felt so comfortable, so right. Before long she was singing a low tune, satisfied with the sound of her voice.

It was because of this tune that she didn't notice Crona calling her name from the other room. She also didn't notice the doorknob turning until it was too late. Her eyes shot open. Crona had cracked open the door and was obviously startled by the sight.

"Aaaaiiieee!" She curled up, quick as a wink, to cover herself.

"Aaahh!" He slammed the door closed, loud enough that Aless was sure the people in the surrounding rooms had woken up.

Mortifying.

She drained the tub and dried herself off, scrambling into her nightclothes, stopping the flow of blood with the towel. Even after that she sat on the floor, trying to come up with something to say to him. Now who has anxiety? She tried to shrug it off, knowing that he'd be even more freaked out than she was. Dumping the towel down the laundry chute, she went back into the bedroom.

Crona was huddled in the corner. When he saw her, he immediately covered his head.

"Don't hit me! Please! I didn't think you were… I didn't mean to… Ragnarok made me do it!"

"You bet I did!" cried Ragnarok, springing out of Crona's back. "Though I was expecting a better sight than that…"

"You! Ragnarok! Scram! You're the reason for this whole horrible… incident, you've done your part, so just go away." Sullen, Ragnarok disappeared, mumbling something about no fun.

"P-p-p-please don't hurt me!" sobbed Crona. "I r-really didn't mean to. You have to believe me. He-he's my blood, so he can move my body. And he's a pervert, ask anyone. It wasn't me, it… it was my stupid weapon!"

"Hush. I believe you," said Alessei, pinching the bridge of her nose between two fingers. Calm yourself down. Don't take your anger out on him. Take it out on that little bloody brat tomorrow. Deep breaths. "I'm not mad at you. Just… try to be more careful, eh?"

"I'm sorry. So sorry. I'll fight him next time. I'll make it up to you, I promise." Crona's hands were clenched into fists, and it was obvious that he was fighting tears. Damn, this boy cries a lot. Aless exhaled loudly. The corner of her mouth twitched up the tiniest bit. Now that the shock had worn off, she could see the sick humor of the situation. And sickness and humor were her specialties.

"Gave you a shock there, huh?" She gave an exhausted chuckle. "Didn't think I was gonna have a visitor. Guess I shouldn't be cutting with people in my room." Another manic giggle. Much as she hated to admit it, the whole incident had given her a bit of a thrill. Though it may just be the high from cutting. Am I sick or what? This kid's upset and all I can think about is getting high.

"Y-you were cutting? I was wondering w-why the water was red."

"Yeah, actually, I was." She stretched and yawned. "Look, can we talk about this some other time? I'm ready to pass out from fatigue." She climbed under the covers.

"A-alright. Goodnight." He started to leave, but paused. "Um…" He fidgeted a bit.

"What, Crona? I'm tired. Speak now or forever hold your peace."

"I… I don't like walking in the dark…"

Aless groaned. Difficult as this was, she had to admit his shyness was endearing.

"Do you want to stay here tonight? Is that what you're hinting at? 'Cause you can if you want. So long as the black-blood-brat doesn't make an appearance," she added, referring to Ragnarok.

"R-really? You mean it? Th-thank you so much, Aless. I promise I won't be trouble."

"Yeah, yeah. Please go to sleep before I change my mind. Kidding," she added at his scared look. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight." He stretched out on the floor, curling into a painful-looking position.

"What are you doing? You don't have to sleep on the floor. What kind of person would I be to make you do that? The floor is hard and cold. The bed is soft and warm. C'mon, I won't bite," she added.

He shook his head vigorously, eyes wide. Too shy, I guess. Oh well.

"Okay. But you're at least taking this." She tossed a blanket and a pillow down onto the floor and heard him moving around, trying to get comfortable. "See you in the morning, Crona."

There was no answer. He was already asleep.