Chapter 9: Reality's Distortion

The light illuminated the dormitory in a pleasant glow, as the group sat on the couches. Maka, Liz, and Tsubaki sat next to each other, where as Soul sat on the other couch, to which Black Star had sat himself down, next to the white haired weapon. On the other side of the blue haired assassin sat the ever bubbly Patty. While Death the Kid sat in an arm chair, appearing to be in very deep thought. Eruka calmly walked in and set down some glasses filled with drinks, which she calmly handed each one to the people sitting down, before sitting down herself and began to drink her own drink. The meisters and their weapons, calmly accepted their drinks and sipped from them, all except for Kid, who simply glared at his glass "Kid, what's with you, aren't you thirsty?" Soul asked arching a brow. Kid didn't seem to respond, his gaze darkening more, before his forced himself to gulp it down and stood up. "I'm going out for a bit" he spoke suddenly, causing them to look at him. "Where are you going?" Liz asked worriedly, to which Kid stopped and glanced over his shoulder. "I just need some fresh air, don't worry Liz, I won't be long" he told her before walking out.

He walked about the campus and saw a forest, figuring a midnight stroll through the woods might help him clear his thoughts, he walked over towards it. There his eyes instantly widened upon seeing a figure standing before the gate. The stranger had a pale slender hand visible to the young reaper, one which seemed to be shivering slightly, with a strange black signet ring on their finger, wearing a black uniform, and short slightly messy hair. Not sure why they looked soo familiar, he inched closer as silently as he could muster. However, as he got just close enough, he quickly recognized that unsymmetrical pink hairstyle almost instantaneously. Kid carefully walked towards them, but swiftly hid upon hearing footsteps, and to Kid's surprise, he saw an elegant man walk over, placing their hand on the young stranger's shoulder. "I, I can't do it…forgive me…please" the frail voice begged, causing Kid's eyes to widen in shock, he knew that voice 'Crona?!' he thought frantically, as he saw the pink haired duelist turn to face the elegant man pleadingly, he looked terrified, moments before the man pinned him against the gate.

"Can't or won't Crona" the man spoke darkly, to which Crona's innocent eyes teared up "please, don't make me do this, they don't deserve it, what am I supposed to do?!" he begged. "You kill them, swallow their souls, I don't care what you do, just destroy them" the man scolded. Crona trembled in distress "please….isn't there another way?" he pleaded. "They made their choice, and I made mine, don't forget your role in all this, or do I need to remind you again" the man scolded. "N, no please, a, anything but that, please, it hurts when you punish me, and I don't think I can deal with that right now" he panicked. "Shut up Crona" the man hissed, clasping a hand over his mouth, and glanced about cautiously, before letting go. "You really need to learn to keep your voice down" he hissed, before seeing Crona almost on the verge of tears. Akio then hugged the boy close to him; before he placed his mouth over Crona's, and allowed his hand to slide down, holding the boy to him tightly. Crona's eyes clenched shut, his hands shaking, but he knew better then to push him off. Kid's eyes widened in horror, before noticing Crona's body language, he didn't want it like Kid had thought, causing Death the Kid's eyes to dim murderously. 'You Bastard, how dare you touch poor Crona like that, you'll pay for this' Kid thought murderously, before he watched them walk off, and decided to secretly follow them, to which he soon saw them head into the chairman's residence.

He knew for sure now where Crona was being held prisoner, now all he'd have to do is to go tell the others, but he didn't feel like waiting, as he found himself running over the tower like residence. The young reaper then leapt onto the skateboard, and carefully scaled up the side of the building. Crona had made it to his bedroom and sat down, lowering his head. "I screwed up Ragnarok" he spoke weakly, causing Death the Kid to pause, his golden spheres widening, upon hearing that familiar frail voice. 'Crona?!' he thought quickly, before he glanced over through the window, and saw Crona sobbing into his hands. The young shinigami felt a boiling rage, welling up within himself, seeing how helpless and scared Crona looked, and wanting to severely punish whoever was responsible, as his eyes dimmed. He had to know who hurt Crona, as he managed to catch the ledge, and crept into the room. "So, this is where you've been hiding is it?" Kid spoke casually, causing Crona to feel a pulse of horror. The pink haired swordsman looked up at Death the Kid, as if seeing the young reaper was the most horrific thing ever, causing Death the Kid to flinch. "Crona? Wha, why are you looking at me like that?" Kid asked, as Crona got up and gripped his arm tightly.

"What're you doing here?" he asked seeming terrified "what do you mean what am I doing here? I came to take you back to the academy" Kid answered. Upon hearing this, Crona's gaze seemed to darken, despite the scared look on his face and how badly he was trembling. "You shouldn't be here!" Crona snapped causing the raven haired reaper to be taken aback "but Crona I" Kid began to protest helplessly. "You need to leave here Now!" Crona snapped more fiercely, his shaking getting worse. "I'm not leaving here without you Crona, none of us are" Kid snapped defiantly. "Just forget about me okay?! Take the others and get out of here, while you still can, before he finds out you're here, please Kid, I'm begging you" he spoke sounding defeated, the fear clearly emanating in his frail voice. Kid's eyes dimmed, as he abruptly seized the young swordsman's arm "you're hiding something from me aren't you? What aren't you telling me Crona?!" he demanded "nothing, just leave me alone" Crona protested helplessly.

"What aren't you telling me?! Answer me Crona!" Kid insisted sharply. "Stop it Kid, let go of me" Crona begged "not until you tell me what is going on here, what happened to you?!" the black haired reaper demanded. Crona continued to try to pull away, but suddenly looked at Death the Kid, his eyes widened in shock. He trembled feeling his heart race, as he gasped softly in surprise. The shame and guilt was too much, as he could no longer gaze into those determined golden spheres. He forced himself to look away, to try to hide the hurt from him, but it was no use. He felt his cheeks burn, as he bit his pale knuckle, trying to keep himself from giving in, he couldn't involve Kid, Crona didn't want to risk putting the reaper in danger like that.

Death the Kid watched the resistance in Crona, something definitely was wrong, but how could he get Crona to give in and tell him, what was causing him to seem soo afraid. "Crona?" Kid began softly, before Crona began to tremble, gripping his arm tightly, his head lowering, as a couple tears fell down. Kid blinked surprised, seeing the pain and anguish from Crona, his own gaze darkening. "Crona" he began again, gently seizing Crona's shoulders "listen to me, we need to get you back to the DWMA, you'll be safe there, please Crona, let me help you, I can't bear to see you like this" Kid professed. The young reaper's caring words caused Crona to stop and look up at him, tears flowing from his pale eyes. Kid saw the pain in the young swordsman's pale eyes, and pulled Crona towards him, wrapping the frightened frail swordsman into his comforting embrace. Crona's eyes widened in shock, but he knew there was no sense in fighting it; they weren't going to listen to his warnings. All he wanted was to protect them, but they were not appearing to want to let him, he wasn't sure how much more of it he could take. "Kid" he uttered softly, causing Kid to glance at him, but he refused to let go. "I don't understand, why did you all come here, I did warn you about this place didn't I, you knew this place was dangerous, and that you could end up trapped here, didn't you, so why?" Crona managed to say helplessly.

"How can you not understand it yet? They care about you Crona, and so do I" he explained, as he hugged Crona tighter. Crona could feel the reapers warmth, and felt his cheeks burn furiously. 'He's soo warm and kind to me, I don't deserve it, I'm always soo afraid, I thought I couldn't be afraid anymore …but I was wrong, I'm terrified of Akio's wrath, more than I ever was of Lady Medusa's' Kid felt a frail shivering hand, slide up hesitantly on his back, and clenched the fabric of his jacket, as Crona shivered chortling sobs. "I…I can't, I'm too scared Kid, if I speak ill of him, I'll be punished again, and I don't think I can handle that right now" he pleaded "please, you need to leave, you'll be safer if he doesn't find you here" Crona spoke weakly.

"Crona, that man that I saw you with, tell me, who is he? Is he the man you're soo afraid of?" Death the Kid inquired, in a soft yet stern manner. Crona couldn't allow himself to say it, as he hugged onto Kid tighter, the young reaper could feel Crona's heart racing in terror, and hugged him even tighter. "Crona, I promise you, I will find a way to protect you, when I find out who's hurting you, I swear I'll" he began, but there was a sudden knock on the door, causing Crona to stiffen, and shakily look towards the door, shaking worse. "Crona? Is everything alright?" came a smooth male voice "who is th" Kid began, but Crona panicked and covered the reaper's mouth with a hand.

"Oh, y, yes, Everything's alright, I mean, I, I'm fine" Crona managed nervously. His pale gaze locked on the door, not wanting Akio to come in "Sorry, I thought I heard you yelling about something" came the male voice. Crona tensed more, icy beads of sweat appearing on his face, as he forced a nervous smile. "Huh? Um n, no, that wasn't me, I'm fine, h, honest" Crona protested nervously. He tensed seeing the handle to the door moved slightly but soon stopped "alright, I suppose I'll leave you be for the moment, but I would like to speak with you, when you're able to, it's about what we discussed earlier" came the smooth voice, before Crona turned paler, his shaking became even worse. "Y, yes sir, I understand" he managed, forcing himself to keep the quivering out of his voice.

He absently placed a hand onto Kid's chest and moved closer to him, keeping his terrified gaze towards the door, before hearing the man leave and glanced at Kid. Realizing the placement of his hands, he moved back a little, lowering his hand from Kid's lips. "Who was that?" Kid inquired, but Crona looked at him, with a broken expression in his eyes. "Please Kid, listen to me, you need to leave now okay?" Crona begged "what, but why, I don't understand" Death the Kid told him, but Crona looked at him in a desperate manner. "Kid please, before you get me in trouble, I can't have him know you're here" Crona explained worriedly. Death the Kid watched the pink haired boy, and his golden spheres widened, before placing his hands onto Crona's shoulders. "Listen to me Crona, whatever's bothering you I can help you, but you have to tell me what I'm up against" Kid explained "I can't…..at least, not yet…I can't keep him waiting too long, or he'll get suspicious of my loyalty, and I can't have that right now" Crona explained. "Crona" Kid protested, seizing him into a hug "I'm not letting anyone hurt you again, do you understand?" Death the Kid told him. "I don't understand" Crona uttered softly "let me protect you Crona" Kid confessed causing Crona to tense, shaking as his eyes widened. He felt his cheeks burning, as small tears brimmed in the corners of his eyes.

'This feeling, it feels like something, I feel that I need to remember, but why can't I? What's happening to me?...something…isn't right' his thoughts echoed softly "K, Kid I" he began, before hugging him back. "I'll be alright, just please, go back to the others, and tell them that I'm alright, and please, tell them Not to come after me" Crona pleaded softly. Death the Kid blinked, upon feeling Crona hug him, and felt a dark burning in his cheeks, before blinking confused. His golden spheres widened more, when Crona lifted his head to look up at the raven haired shinigami, causing their lips to be in mere breath distance of one another. Death the Kid trembled, wanting to grab the pink haired swordsman and make Crona his, tensing at the thought, as he quickly forced himself to look away. "I, I, guess, th, then, I'd better be going, though to be honest Crona, I really don't like the idea, of y'know just leaving you here like this" Death the Kid stammered. Crona moved away from him and sighed remorsefully, gripping his arm and lowering his head, before turning away.

"I'll be fine, I really mustn't keep my master waiting" Crona confessed sadly, before leaving the room "Crona wait, there's something I need to" Death the Kid protested, but Crona didn't seem to hear him, as the door closed behind him. "Tell you" Death the Kid finished in defeat, before he sighed and summoned Beelzebub, and jumped out the window. He made his way back to the dorm, where he and the others were staying at. 'What was I thinking? T, to think that I almost' Kid thought, and absently a hand went over his mouth, golden spheres widening, feeling the burning sensation flooding his cheeks. Soon he found himself running back to the dorm, as fast as his slender legs could carry him, until he reached the dorm and kicked the door open, causing the others to jump and look over, as they soon realized it was the raven haired shinigami.

"Kid what the hell?! Are you Trying to give us all a heart attack?!" Maka blurted out, before she noticed his head had sunken forward, and he didn't seem to be responding, causing the cream haired meister to blink confused. She set down her drink and got up, before carefully walking over to him "um Kid? Hey, are you okay?" she asked softly, before noticing he had a determined glare, as he glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. "Where have you been Kid, we were beginning to worry about you" Liz commented. "I found Crona" Kid spoke abruptly, causing them to all look very surprised. "Are you serious?" asked the white haired weapon "no way, you mean, you actually found him?!" Black Star blurted out. "You found Crona? That's great, so where is he then?" Maka asked, before Kid looked strait at her. "Maka, can I speak to you in private please?" he asked her suddenly. She was about to protest, but after seeing the look on his face; she managed a nod and followed him, into the only bedroom there. "Kid what's going on?" she asked him "Maka, listen to me very carefully, something's very wrong with this place, surely you've noticed it haven't you?" he asked her. "Well, now that you mention it, there does seem to be something strange about this place, though I can't quite put my finger on it as of yet, why do you ask?" she managed. "Yes, Eruka wasn't kidding, when she told us that Crona's acting strangely" he spoke, turning away from Maka, absently sliding a hand into his pocket, as he stuck a usual pose for himself. "What do you mean by that, how did he seem to you?" she managed to ask him.

"Someone's controlling him Maka, and it's not Medusa this time" he answered, seeming to clench his hands into fists. Maka's eyes widened in horror, remembering how Medusa had manipulated Crona, and saw Death the Kid's reaction. "Someone other than Medusa, but if what you're saying is true, then who is he taking orders from?" she asked. "Crona wouldn't say who it was, but someone clearly is manipulating him, and apparently it's a man this time" Kid managed to answer. "How do you know that?" Maka asked "Crona wouldn't tell me who it was, but his reaction to that man's voice that I heard, was most certainly proof enough" Kid confessed. "So, do you even know where he is now?" she inquired "yes, but it is probably best if we wait till morning" he answered.

Maka wasn't sure she liked that idea, but managed a nod "okay, tomorrow we'll go over, and try to see if we can seek an audience with Crona" she told him, before she made her way for the door. "Maka, may I request something of you?" Death the Kid asked suddenly, causing Maka to blink confused, as she stopped and glanced over. "Please don't tell the others about this, but when I was there, I suddenly got these disturbing thoughts in my head, and I can't seem to make sense of them" he managed, causing Maka to blink confused. "Disturbing thoughts, like what?" she asked, before she saw Kid shaking, his cheeks turning a dark crimson "I saw myself being inappropriate to Crona, a, almost like, I wanted to make him mine, I don't understand, where did these horrendous thoughts come from?!" Kid blurted out, gripping the roots of his hair almost in torment. Maka blinked before moving over to Death the Kid. "Um Kid? Are you alright?" she asked "how can I possibly be alright Maka? Clearly something must be wrong with me, for me to be imagining such horrible things, I…I feel sick just thinking about what that bastard's probably doing to him right now, if anything happens to Crona, I won't be able to forgive myself, I can't let that happen, I, I just can't, I" Death the Kid panicked worse, causing Maka to stop and grab his shoulders. "Kid pull yourself together, we came her to find Crona and get him back to the academy, we're going to rescue him, now snap out of it, because we need you to focus, you're a shinigami aren't you? Then act like one, and help us rescue Crona" she demanded, before suddenly the door opened. Maka blinked and looked over, as Death the Kid tensed and looked over, only for the two of them to see Eruka standing in the doorway blinking. "oh, gosh ribbit, I'm sorry guys, am I interrupting something?" she managed. "Oh, no, it's fine Eruka, is there something you needed?" Maka managed to ask. "Uhh yeah, your little boyfriend with the white hair, wanted me to find out what was taking you soo long, miss Maka" she managed. Maka blinked and thought of Soul instantly "boyfriend?!" Maka blurted out dumbfounded, before blushed darkly. "S, Soul is Not my boyfriend" she protested, before getting up and walked over to Eruka. "Um, can you talk to him, Kid seems to be bothered by something" she told the blue haired witchling.

Eruka blinked but moved aside, in order to allow Maka to exit the room, before looking over at Kid and closed the door, glancing outside as she did. "Sooo reaper….what did I miss exactly?" she asked, before Kid looked over at her. "Stay out of it witch, this matter doesn't concern you" he spoke coldly. "Hey, now hold on here, I'm trying to help you out here, you don't have to be a jerk about it" she snapped, before she folded her arms over her chest. "Keep disrespecting me reaper, and I will leave, you got that?" she scolded, before he flinched and saw her about to leave. Before he could stop himself, he got up and seized her from behind into a hug. "Wait, I'm sorry Eruka, I'm just not sure how I'm supposed to feel right now, seeing Crona again, made me feel things I never felt before, horrible things, I'm scared" Death the Kid confessed. Eruka blinked and blushed, and was about to smack him off, but stopped hearing his words. "Okay? But I'd suggest you let go of me though, before you grab me in a way that you'll regret" she commented, causing him to let go and stepped back, allowing her to turn to face him.

"Oh right, s, sorry about that, I guess I'm really not feeling like myself, at least not since we got here anyway" he confessed. "Well snap out of it, you came here to save your friend Crona didn't you?" Eruka asked him. "Yes, that is true, but I'm afraid of what I'll do to him, if I see him again" Kid confessed gripping his arms. "Uhhhh, what do you mean exactly?" she asked worriedly. Crona felt a hand absently go over his heart, and a sorrow filled expression remained in his eyes, before seeing Ragnarok in his reflection, but as the duelist version of him. "Hey listen up you moron" came the reflection's voice, causing Crona's eyes to widen in shock. "Ragnarok?!" Crona blurted out, before moving closer "I, is that you?" Crona asked, quivering a little as he approached. The duelist suddenly vanished from the reflection, and appeared beside him. "You better not be thinking of going up against the prince" Ragnarok spoke "but I can't stay here, my friends are waiting for me, we don't belong here Ragnarok" Crona told him, his voice weak and full of sorrow.

"What if we do belong here, think about it Crona, who's to say this wasn't what we were meant to do all along?" Ragnarok spoke grinning slightly. "I don't think, I like where you're going with this Ragnarok" Crona stated "we could stay here Crona" Ragnarok spoke smoothly into Crona's ear, sliding his hands over Crona's shoulders. Crona's eyes widened, seeing the demented duelist's glowing crimson orbs, and that sadistic smirk "think of the freedom we could have, to do what we want, the power of miracles and that which is eternal, don't you want to know what it'd feel like, to have that kind of power? Think about it, with power like that, you wouldn't have to be afraid anymore" Ragnarok cooed. Crona trembled shaking fearful "easy for you to say Ragnarok, you're not the one he punishes at night, I just want to go home, and forget any of this ever happened" Crona confessed, a few stray tears slid down his pale cheeks. "Then how about something even sweeter?" Ragnarok spoke venomously into Crona's ear "what are you suggesting Ragnarok?" he asked, his submissiveness growing, and it scared him as his voice became frail. "What I'm saying Crona, is lets play along, until just the right moment, than together we'll kill the prince and swallow his soul" Ragnarok spoke sinisterly into his ear. Crona felt like his heart nearly stop, and felt as though his veins were turning to ice "b, but Ragnarok, we don't kill people anymore, it's wrong remember, what would Maka and the others think, if I started killing again?" he spoke softly. "You Do want to be free of him don't you? and besides" Ragnarok spoke, before his sadistic grin turned psychotic. "His soul looks very tasty if you ask me" Ragnarok spoke, causing Crona to gasp in shock, and pushed himself away from the duelist. "N, no, no, you're wrong, stop it, I don't want to hear anymore, leave me alone" Crona complained, before hearing a knock on the door, making the frightened swordsman whirl around. "Y, yes? Wha, what is it?" he asked, shaking as he gripped his arm tightly "Crona, is now a bad time?" came the prince's voice "oh, um, n, no, no, everything's fine" he spoke, before the door opened and he saw Akio walk in.

"Crona, come here" he told Crona, grabbing the boy' wrist and pulled him over to him swiftly, embracing the pink haired swordsman. "Crona" Akio began, as a malicious smirk crossed his majestic lips "you're shaking, you're not afraid of me are you?" Akio cooed sadistically into Crona's ear, causing the boy to blush darker, and shivered worse. "Would it be terrible if I did?" Crona asked. Akio moved closer and lifted Crona chin as he smirked "do you think me wicked Crona?" he asked smoothly, Crona's eyes widened feeling terrified, gazing into those intimidating emerald spheres. "Wha, what I think doesn't matter" Crona managed "oh but it does Crona, don't you understand how much you mean to me by now?" Akio cooed smoothly. Crona gasped softly, his cheeks burning darkly, Akio surprised him by planting a kiss onto the young boy's head, and gently let go. "Get some rest, you're going to need the energy" he told him before leaving the room. Crona heard the door lock from the outside backing up, suddenly jumping upon feeling two hands upon him. "Patience Crona, it'll all be over soon….understand?" came a venomously smooth female voice as Crona jolted and shook terrified "N, no….. I, it can't be" he whispered horrified, as he turned to look behind him "mother?!"