All right, I'm back. I want to apologize to all of you whom wanted to read chapter 7 on the promised April Fools Day. Let me clarify: I had every intention of uploading this chapter on that date. It wasn't to punk' you lot, but there was a good deal of shenanigans pulled on the part of my computer. I logged out of my laptop instead of setting it on sleep mode. Alas, my memory isn't that great (though it is improving with the Concerta®), and since I set this computer up two years ago, I could not remember the password to get back in! And, if that wasn't bad enough… I accidentally deleted the finished original version of this!
Me: All right, everybody! On the count of three! One! Two! Three!
Crona, Patty, Ragnarok, Tsubaki, Liz, Kid, Spirit, and every other SE Character: EPIC FAIL!
Me: *weeps*
Okay, now that I'm back on track, time to give credit where credit is due. I DO NOT OWN SOUL EATER, NOR DO I OWN ANY ASSOCIATES. THIS IS JUST THE WORK OF A DERRANGED FAN. Also… Just a bit of forewarning… This chapter is (probably) going to be the darkest part yet. This isn't crack; It's pseudo-crack.
And, on a side note… Sunday, April 15, 2012 is a big date. The creator of the Nuzlocke Challenge® and Pokémon: Hard Mode® is coming out with his B/W run. Look it up after you finish reading this, because you may need something (somewhat) light-hearted.
*thanks to Roving Otter for letting me use their genius idea about Crona-haters. Also, credit is given to ZeroVX for the running gag of Crona's "It's a robe!" Thank you for not brutally murdering me !*
/ / /
Crona groaned, adjusting the ever-growing mountain of bags on his person. He knew that girls, most of them anyway, liked to shop. Crona had overheard various stories form the girls, and shuddered from the horror stories that the guys told him. Of course, like almost anyone else, Crona was curious about going shopping with a girl.
Alas, as the old adage goes, "Curiosity killed the cat."
Patty had been dragging him around the mall for what seemed like forever. He was now sitting outside of a Victoria's Secrete store, waiting for her to emerge and (hopefully) go home. Ragnarok was quite pissed at Crona for not following Patty in there. Crona winced, remembering how his partner had reamed him out.
-f/b-
"YOU FUCKING MORON!" Ragnarok screamed, smashing his tiny fists into his meisters head as hard as possible. "What the fuck did you do that for!"
Crona blushed, rubbing his arm as per force of habit. "B-b-but Ragnarok… I don't know how to deal with lin-"
He was cut off and cried out in pain as Ragnarok tugged sharply on his ears, dragging his face up to his own. "Who gives a shit about what you can deal with! Think of what you're missing! All those titties… And panties…" At this point, the black demon had started to drool with lust, imagining "things" that shall not be touched upon.
"B-but! I can't go in there, Ragnarok! I'm a boy!"
This outburst from his meister brought Ragnarok back to reality, which ticked him off even more. "Look, blockhead…" He started, rhythmically hitting the mass of pink hair with his left fist. "You're, for the most part, gender-ambiguous. Nobody would suspect you of anything! Unless…" the sword broke into a naughty grin. "You got a boner."
Crona squeaked, snapping his head up into Ragnarok's own, eliciting noises of pain form the both of them. "W-what! Ragnarok, don't say stuff like that!"
"Why?"
"Because it's creepy!"
Ragnarok scoffed. "Dude, we've literally been together for almost all of our lives. You know that I am the king of creepy. But who cares about that! I wanna see Patty in tight, sexy lingerie!"
The meister groaned, clutching his head. "Ragnarok, we're supposed to look after Patty's best interests, not act like horny donkeys around her… Or anyone else, for that matter…"
"Oh, fine! Do whatever the fuck you want!" Ragnarok screeched, giving Crona one last sharp hit before returning to his meister's liver to fume.
-f/b-
Crona moaned, grimacing slightly as he rubbed his throbbing temples. "Oh, come on, Crona!" he mentally chastised himself. "Ragnarok was just trying to screw you up! You have nothing to be aggravated about, anyway! Patty's having fun…" he mentally sighed, eying the mountain of colorful bags on his lap. "Don't complain. She's had a hard enough life, already. She doesn't deserve to have any happiness taken away from her… Besides, didn't Liz ask me to make her as happy as possible…?" He tried cracking his neck to relieve the massive pressure building up in his skull, to little avail. "Ouch! Okay, I'm going to grin and bear it, but after we're done here, I'm going to ask Black*Star to share his Vicodin…"
"HEEEEEEEY! CRONA!"
"Well, speak of the Devil…" Crona thought, turning his head around to see the self-proclaimed ultra-god and his partner walking up to him. Well, rolling toward him in Black*Star's case.
The teen's jaw dropped when he saw Black*Star and the injuries that the not-so-ninja ninja had sustained from the infamous "sky-diving escapade." Every non-bandaged part of Black*Star was discolored by bruises. An I.V machine, covered with various bags of liquids, was being pushed along from a somewhat-disheveled looking Tsubaki. "Hello, Crona" she said, sounding slightly out of breath.
Crona stood up, placing Patty's goods where he used to be sitting. "B-Black*Star!"
"In the flesh!" the ninja bellowed, than laughed raucously, causing almost everybody in the vicinity to jump in alarm.
On closer inspection, Crona could see that Black*Star's eyes were hazy and unfocused, in addition to his pupils being dilated. "Whoa… He's stoned…" Crona thought, sweat dropping slightly.
"H-how are you holding up? I heard from Tsubaki about your accident…"
"Bah!" Black*Star scoffed, flapping his hand at Crona. "A big star like me can handle a small scrape like this easily!" He then winced, rubbing his wrist. "Well, maybe it's just a bit more difficult than I said before, but it's not that bad. Besides…" Black*Star's voice took on a bragging tone. "Stein said that I had the worst injuries that he'd ever seen in his thirteen years as a doctor! But, I suppose that it's only natural for a big man like me to set records!"
Tsubaki gave Crona a small smile, gently rubbing Black*Star's left shoulder. "He's actually healing faster than Stein expected. Black*Star should be able to return to class next week."
Crona softly smiled back. "That's really good… We're all missing you, Black*Star… Even Ragnarok misses you…"
Black*Star laughed. "Ha! Even that grumpy frog likes me!" He then paused in mid-laugh. "Oh! Wait a minute! Is it true that you're babysitting Patty?"
"Um…" Crona started, rubbing his arm slightly and looking at the floor. "… Yes, actually…"
There was a pause, and then…
"WHUMPH!"
Crona had the wind knocked out of him by Black*Star wheeling up to him and giving him a vice-like hug. "I KNEW IT!" the braggart ninja crowed.
"E-eep! Black*Star, I don't know how to deal with this! Isn't this b-bad for your wounds?"
Black*Star ignored him, continuing to give him "a Manly Hug®." "I'm so proud…" the ninja said, starting to shed tears of joy. "I always knew that you were a player underneath that dress!"
This current awkward scene was starting to trigger a panic attack in Crona. "I-it's a robe! And what d-do you mean by "player?"
"B-Black*Star!" Tsubaki cried, hoping to call off his attack. Alas, her words were falling upon deaf ears.
Black*Star broke the hug away, beaming and wiping the tears out of his eyes. "Whatever… And you know what I mean by player, right?"
"BLACK*STAR!" Tsubaki roared into the ninja's ear, finally getting the epic duo's attention. "HE DOESN'T NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THAT!"
The ninja groaned, wiping the spittle out of his ear. "Tsubaki… He needs to know… Besides, he'll find out eventually…"
The weapon sighed. "… all right. Go ahead."
Black*Star cleared his throat. "Crona. A player is a guy who has girls wrapped around his finger. Basically, he's great with girls. Can get anything he wants from them. Oh, I knew that the day would co- Crona, what's the matter?"
Tsubaki and her meister saw that Crona had huddled into the fetal position, head buried in his knees.
"Um… Maybe we should just go now, Tsubaki…"
Tsubaki sighed. "Black*Star, we can't leave if we've upset a fri-"
"No. It's fine…" Crona sighed, interrupting Tsubaki. Both she and her meister exchanged a worried look.
"A-are you sure?" Black*Star eventually asked.
"I'm fine… Please… You don't have to stick around…" Crona muttered into his knees. He did not look up, even after the assassin duo had long since left.
/ / /
Patty hummed happily, exiting her "favorite" clothing store and carrying a ridiculously large number of bags. "Man, that was intense!" she crowed, doing a pseudo-pirouette. "I absolutely can't wait to go the next store!" However, Patty stopped her happy, somewhat disjointed rambling when she spied Crona huddled up into a small black mass.
"Oh? What's Crona doing like that?" she pondered, making her through the crowd over to her temporary guardian. Patty poked Crona on the head once, which only elicited a slight moan from him. She sighed, sitting down next to Crona and placing her bags on the only vacant parts of the bench. "Hey, Crona… Are you still alive?"
Her only response was Crona lifting his head up to look at her. Patty blinked, taking in every aspect of her friend's face. "Jeez, Crona… Are you feeling alright?"
Crona nodded, still not speaking. Patty frowned, not liking how unusually quiet the other teen was. "Are you sure? You're looking really, really pale… Well, more so than usual…"
He gave her a small smile. "Y-yeah… I'm fine…" Crona said. "I've just got a really bad headache, that's all…"
Patty's skeptical frown didn't leave her face. "Crona, we haven't known each other for a long time, yet I can still tell if you're hiding something…" She thought. "Something must've happened while I was away… But what?"
She let out a sigh, before grabbing one of Crona's shoulders. "Crona, is there something that you're not telling me?"
"N-no, not at all!" he quickly answered, making Patty all the more suspicious.
"Hmm… Maybe you should go walking outside for a bit…" Patty mused. "Yeah… Why don't you go outside Crona? I'll be out of here soon, anyway."
Crona stammered. "B-but, Patty!"
His response was Patty's "Face of Authority." "Y-yes, ma'am… I'll be by the bike…"
Patty shrugged. "All right, I guess… But feel free to move around if you want to. I know this mall like the back of my hand." She then sweetly beamed at Crona. "Oh, and why don't you leave the bags with me?"
"B-bu-… Okay…" he responded, not wanting to be thoroughly intimidated again. "I'll see you later, Patty. Have fun."
/ / /
Crona sighed, sitting on the curb next to Patty's bike, which was behind one of the stores at the strip mall. "Way to go, Crona…" He bitterly thought. "Now she knows that something is up…"
He looked up, gazing at the amber sky. "Is what Black*Star said true? Do I just… use the girls around me…? Or the people around me, for that matter?"
"But of course." A small voice in the back of his mind said. "You always use people… You used Medusa as an excuse for all of the horrible things you've done. Remember? It was your doing that made Stein go mad, not Medusa's."
"B-but…" Crona floundered, trying to argue his innocence with his conscious. "But I had no choice…"
"Oh? No choice, you say?" the voice replied, dripping with vindication. "You always had a choice. You could've chosen to not obey Medusa. You could've chosen to not kill people. You could've chosen to be a good person. But you didn't. You chose to use her as an excuse for what you are, when, in reality, everything is your fault."
Crona could feel hot tears starting to build up in his eyes, and he blinked rapidly, futile trying to force them back down. The voice continued its rant, constantly becoming more furious. "And your friends… You use them too, don't you? You used your past to garner sympathy! Tsubaki, Black*Star, Kid, Liz, Patty, Soul, Marie, Shinigami-sama, Ragnarok, Maka! They've all been used by you!"
"No…" Crona said aloud, shaking his head back and forth. "I'm… I'm nothing like that… I… I…"
He was choked by a sob, preventing him form continuing. His conscious, however, kept on going. "Yes you are! You use people all the time! Medusa and Arachne look like saints compared to you! You're nothing but a nasty little liar!"
Crona buried his head in his hands, trying to block out his guilty feelings. Alas, now that his subconscious had said its two bits, his conscious mind was churning with what had transpired. "O-oh hell, I'm right! I'm manipulating my friends!" He looked down at his trembling hands and felt the bile rising. "I-It's true… I'm a horrible person…"
Crona felt a sudden burst of anger toward Black*Star. "It's HIS fault I'm feeling like this! He's the one who called me a player!" he mentally raged, but quickly forced it down. "No, it's not his fault. Not at all… I guess I'm just trying to force this off onto somebody else… Pathetic…"
His thought process was interrupted when he became aware of what sounded like some sort of riot heading his way. Crona wiped his eyes and nose to attempt to conceal any trace of his mental breakdown. While he was doing this, he got a good look at the group that was rapidly approaching.
In all actuality, this group had somehow managed to be equal parts intimidating and hilarious. Every member looked like they came straight out of the 80's. They all had torn jeans, studded belts, leather jackets, big black boots of death, and quite ridiculous hairstyles. Of course, Crona quickly reminded himself that people who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. Their hair was dyed; his was natural. But, given that this is Death City, odd hair colors were quite common.
Crona shivered slightly, casting around for something to make it look like he wasn't observing the ruffians. Sadly for him, he had nothing to pretend to distract himself with, seeing as how his robe had no pockets. Eventually, Crona found a small stone, and started to observe it, hoping that there wouldn't be any trouble.
Oh, how little you know.
"Hey, hey! Waddya' have here?" rasped one of the members, walking up to Crona.
"I dunno, bro…" said another, who had violently blue hair. "I can't tell… Is it a bro or a ho?"
This rather offensive statement evoked a chorus of loud guffaws, causing Crona to freeze with fear. Then, what appeared to be their leader stepped up. His purple hair violently pointed up at the sky, as if it was trying to give the heavens the finger. "Hey… Wait a moment…" The leader pulled out his cigarette and blew some smoke into Crona's face, causing him to cough and try to wave the noxious fumes away. "… Do I know ya'?"
Crona, still trying to clear his lungs, choked. "Ack! I d-don't think s-so…"
He should've known that that was the moment when all Hell broke lose. For, not a second after he finished, the mobster who spoke first had an epiphany. "Hey! Boss, I think that this is that Crona kid!"
The purple-haired boss turned sharply to look at the speaker, along with every other mobster. "What? You sure that this is him?" The boss laughed. "Well, ain't this just a riot? It's him! The demon kid! Waddya' thinking, showing your face around here? Don't cha' know that you're not wanted here?"
Crona gulped, casting around for an idea to get him out of this mess. "O-of course I'm wanted here!" he said, though without a lack of conviction. The mobsters all quickly noticed this sign of weakness.
"Oh really now?" the blue-haired one spoke. "Why would Shinigami want a monster like you roaming the streets of his precious little city?"
"B-but I'm not a monster!" Crona exclaimed, this time with even less conviction than before.
The leader then gave the teen a left hook to the face, causing Crona to reel. "Liar!" he roared, suddenly switching into a fury. "We've all heard about how you almost killed us all by spying for that witch! And how you have another dude living inside of you!"
Crona winced, but not from the pain in his face. "It's true… I really am a monster… A manipulator…"
The boss gave a small motion to the rest of his gang, and they circled him, slowly closing in. "And we don't tolerate monsters here. Got it? Let's give him a lesson boys!"
Crona screamed as the group pounced.
/ / /
Pain.
All-encompassing agony.
Crona was in this as the group started to maul him. He could feel fists raining down upon him, boots snapping bone.
And the strange thing was that Crona didn't really care.
"This really hurts…" He thought, making no move to stop the onslaught. "But I guess I deserve it… For all the bad things I've done, and how I've been using my friends… This is just."
Crona slowly smiled, giving into the agony ripping through his body. He could feel blood pouring from open wounds…
Ragnarok was screaming inside Crona's head. He was telling him to fight back, to defend himself.
Crona ignored him. Everything was starting to turn black. But it was then that he remembered: deserving or not, Crona could not let these people injure him any further. He had an obligation, and he had to see it through.
With a final, last-ditch effort, Crona locked his eyes on a puddle of black. "Bloody Needle," he croaked, causing spikes of black blood to erupt around him. The Bloody Needles had created a sort of cage around Crona, protecting him from the enraged mobsters outside.
His vision flickered, and Crona started falling…
/ / /
Patty was walking back to her bike, carrying only ten bags with her. It was a funny story, really. She was almost out the door of the strip mall when she remembered that there wasn't a car to haul all of this stuff around with. So, she had to go back and return almost everything.
Needless to say, Patty was starting to feel the strain. She groaned slightly, sitting down on a curb to rest. "Maybe we should've taken the bus…" Patty thought, massaging her tender ankle. "No wonder Crona had a headache…"
Patty pouted, tilting her head back to look at the sleepy sun. "Something's up with him… But why won't he tell me?"
Her musing was interrupted by a loud "DAMNIT!" She jumped off the curb, bags jangling madly around. She was even more surprised to see a bunch of 80s punks rushing out of the back alley, all red and sweaty. Patty blinked, peering after them.
"… What the hell was that?" she pondered, before shrugging and continuing on her way.
She rounded the corner, and promptly froze. Multicolored bags slipped out of her numb fingers. Blue eyes rounded to the breaking point. Patty's breath hitched, and her heart skipped a beat. For that one horrible second, all she could do was gaze in horror at the scene in front of her.
There was Crona, lying unmoving on the ground. His robe was savagely ripped; exposing bloodied and bruised flesh. But that wasn't the worst part. Crona was lying in a pool of his own black blood. Ragnarok had reformed, shoving Crona's shoulders.
"Crona… Crona…" he rasped, voice laden with grief. "Wake up, Crona… Come on, you gotta' wake up… Why won't you wake up…?"
Patty fell to her knees, unable to support herself. Tears flowed freely from her eyes. All she could think about was…
"CRONA!"
/ / /
… Holy shit, that was dark.
Just a couple of points I wanted to cover.
1.) If Black*Star and Tsubaki seemed to be OOC; it's because of my subpar writing skills. Let's just attribute it to Vicodin, please?
2.) If you are wondering about Crona's thought process, I can explain it to you. See, when you're like me and struggle with depression (My Concerta® has obliterated it, by the way), you know that you may become psychotic. And by psychotic, I mean losing touch with reality. Believing that you're nothing but a burden, feelings of guilt from little things, etc… Disjointed and/or repetitive thoughts may also be present in depressive psychosis. And let me make one thing clear: If any of this applies to you, you are not alone. You are worth it, as is everybody else. Everything has a place in this world, and nothing is worthless. Survive. It will eventually get better.
And, just to reiterate…
… Holy shit, that was dark.