School hadn't been the best time of the week nor had it been the worst.

Maka got by just like the time flew by. She hadn't realized that she had gotten more quiet than usual around her friends. She also hadn't realized how isolated she initially became. She jumped to the quarterly test as an excuse to be alone. She didn't necessarily lie when she said she was studying but it did pay its toll on those around her.

The reaper didn't help much either. In fact, the two had gotten back to square one. Maka didn't spare him any conversation at all. Only when necessary or whenever he would ask her his neverending questions.

Maka honestly was never one for negativity. It became something that caught her so carefully ever since the angst had taken over. It wasn't just her mother. Her life had always been a labyrinth of challenge. She would have never let anything break her vices of strength. She would have never let anger get to her. But as soon as Maka let herself fall, nothing was the same.

She pondered on that fact. How her life resembled a labyrinth. Maka would carefully choose every twist and turn for her advantage in order to get to the top. She chose paths diligently in contrast to everyone else her age whom never cared for anything. There was no running from problems for Maka. It was always running forward and battling them head on.

Ironically, the one time she ran away, led her to death. And so her life truly became a hell. She was living with the Grim Reaper. Or his son per say. Same thing she were bound together by a curse with no escape. Maka could now say that she was living with Death at her side. How ironic. The one creature she had always despised, had come to haunt her with his abiding order.

Maka sighed and closed her locker. She paced her way out of the school. It wasn't hard for Kid to note her intently flustered emotion as she walked off.

"Are you bothered by something?" He asked.

"No." She returned. "I'm just tired. I wanna go home and sleep."

"You know too much sleep is a bad thing. You should do something more productive like painting or reading."

"What are you my mother-," Maka instantly stopped herself, realizing her mistake.

Kid noted the drop in her mood and saddened at the thought that Maka was hurt. In a way he took the blame all to himself. After all he was the reason why her mother was no longer around. It clawed at him to know that he had done so much to the girl without any form of intention. Kid knew negative emotion like the back of his hand, and would never wish it upon anyone. Especially Maka. She didn't deserve it. She was a beautiful soul, flawed yes but not corrupted.

*"Sas chorigisei tin evolgia tis aionias efytchias."*

"Huh?" Maka faced the reaper.

"It's a blessing. It grants happiness to those whom it's directed to."

"Oh." Maka relaxed her grip on the books in her arms. "T-Thank you…"

"You're welcome."

'

Maka strived for a small nap once she got home, leaving Kid off to himself again.

He didn't mind it much. After all, she still leant him a few books for his entertainment. Kid knew better than to push her into his attention. He knew how feisty she could get and what would make of it.

He was buried far into the book when he heard a loud thud just outside Maka's door. Maka seemed to already be awake as she paced over to peek out the door. Kid slowly met up next to her before she gave him a signal not to speak.

He did so anyway. "What is it?"

"Shh!" Maka placed her ear just at the opening in hopes to hear what was going on.

"What do you hear?"

"My papa is talking to someone. About, hold on."

A few seconds passed and Kid saw the way her eyes widened.

"They let him go?! No they couldn't have."

"Who? I don't understand?" Kid asked.

Maka didn't answer.

"Maka?"

Maka gave him no answer and walked away from the door. She was awfully quiet and Kid felt a sudden anger within her.

"Is everything alright?"

Maka sighed. "Giriko. A man by the name Giriko… He was with the man that… killed my mother…"

"There were two men?" Kid faced down in thought. He harshly remembered that night himself. But the anxiety he went through at the time clouded his focus and so Kid never really remembered that night clearly.

"Yes. Giriko got away of course, but he was caught."

"And now they're letting him-," Kid halted himself when he saw the tears flowing down Maka's face.

"Maka?"

Maka ignored him and paced outside to the balcony.

Kid couldn't muster the worry he felt for Maka. He pulled himself together and let himself trail out the balcony to see Maka wiping away tears with her forearm. She was sniffling and holding in anger.

"I don't get it. Why are people so stupid!?" She inhaled shakily. "You have people who try to be nice to everyone and who wander with good intentions. But they're the ones who get pushed down. They're never taken into consideration. But no, instead it's the dreaded bastards who are at the top. Those who hurt and kill... It's disgusting."

Kid lowered his expression and dared to step closer to the exasperated girl. He stood only feet behind her and fought against her negative emotion. "I understand. But humans are only capable of what they have been taught. They are in need of someone who will teach them anew."

"You're Death aren't you?!" Maka lashed out at him. "So why can't you just take away all the bad souls?!"

Kid wasn't expecting the raging outburst from Maka. But the fierce glare in her eyes said it all. The reaper kept calm behind the mask however. He knew she was hurting. Anger was something all humans felt, and sometimes it could get out of hand. "I'm afraid it doesn't work that way."

"And why not!?" Maka leered close to the damn mask that faced her back. "You can take away those who are good, those who are innocent! It's pathetic. Even an immortal being like you can prove useless to humans. You're nothing but despair." Her voice faltered and the tears of frustration had formed into tears of rage.

Kid stood dead in his feet. He couldn't find the words to comfort the girl or even fight back for that matter. He had to admit that it hurt to hear such thoughts coming from her untouched soul. But it was all out now.

He noted how Maka shook her head and instead found a spot to the far right of the balcony, no longer bothering to pay him any sort of attention.

He sighed. Maka was an interesting mortal. Kid had pondered on her from the first time he saw her. That is to say, her soul shun different from others. He wasn't sure if it was a good or bad thing. Her soul itself was pure and untouched, shining with a consuming light. Kid had learned of these souls to be beyond human. Souls so rare that it was the greatest treasure to possess them. But the problem about Maka, was her emotion. The girl had problems just like other mortals, but she was taking them harder than she should, and was instead corrupting herself. She wanted to be everything but human, while on the other end, Kid wanted to be nothing but.

He dared to take a spot next to her and faced out toward the view she had of the city.

The reaper let out a content sigh and faced out to the city in front of him. Vegas was a lovely place. The way he saw it, it was a combination of hundreds of human cultures all in one city. The greatest of history was held in this place and Kid made the assumption that this was why his father loved Las Vegas so much. It was all in one.

"You have quite a lovely view from here."

Maka dropped a sigh and answered him. Though he guessed that it took all her strength to do so. "It's nothing much. It gets a little dull when you've stared at it for so long."

"The same can be said about many things. But there are those whose fire never dies out."

Maka looked up at the mask rather disappointed. "Like what?"

"Symmetry." The reaper held a smile behind the mask. "The beautiful balance that is constructed by perfect symmetry."

Maka stared at him as if he was completely out of his mind. She didn't bother asking any further questions and instead slumped back in a sulk.

The two were met with a gust of wind that Kid disapproved of almost instantly. Dried up leaves hit his robe and fell to his feet just after. He swiped off any remaining pieces until he met with yellow. It was a simple flower encased with four petals. Kid picked it up and held it closer for his eyes content. Four petals lined the center, making the flower perfectly symmetrical.

"Perfect…"

"Hmm?" Maka dusted off her hair and looked over to see him fixed on the small flower.

"This flower is perfect. It's lined symmetrically."

Maka rose an eyebrow at him. "It's just a flower."

"A symmetrical flower."

"I don't get it. What are you talking about? Why is symmetry so important?"

"Within the beauty of perfect symmetry, lies the aesthetics of a perfect balance. The perfect harmony of freedom and order, which both dictate a perfect world. Within, perfect symmetry..."

Maka glared at him without a clue of what he meant. "What do you mean?"

"Listen Maka, symmetry is the most beautiful aspect in all the world. Symmetry is balance and balance is perfection. It is vital. Especially in a world like this." Kid gazed out toward the city. "Perfect balance will shape the world into a beauty like no other."

"How can you be so sure of that?" Maka questioned.

"I'll make sure." The reaper shot out. "It is my duty to create the perfect world. I do have a lot to learn and many duties complete as a reaper. But if my father taught me anything, it is that I will never stop fighting until the world is the way it should be. Until it is balanced."

Maka let her eyes trail along the city life. People walked along with no care in the world. They walked to their heart's content. "Well, what if the world doesn't want to be balanced?"

"What do you mean? The world doesn't choose. The ones who inhabit it do."

"Good point. So what if humans don't want it to be balanced. What if they want to be free to do as they wish?"

Kid read her figure intently. Suddenly Maka had this burst of defiance that he didn't know she had. "Then humans will fall to their own race. If humans are not abided to anything but freedom, they will fail. Order keeps them safe."

"Again. What if they don't want safety?"

"What are you trying to say Maka?"

"I'm saying that your desire of order within this world may be challenged by humans' desire to be free. Why should order rule freedom?"

"Balance isn't perfect order. Death is. Balance is the perfect equilibrium of it all. Freedom and order need to be balanced in order to dictate a perfect world." Kid felt the apathy burn into a sense of strength within him. Something he hadn't felt in ages. But he let himself stay calm and approached Maka with understanding."You yourself should acknowledge this, as you simply despise the illness that humans can sprout. Understand that one cannot give in to a desire too much. It will spoil them and soil their soul."

"I guess you can be right. After all who am I to challenge a god like you?" Maka let out in defeat, although the tone she gave away seemed like she was just getting started.

Kid responded with a stern glance to her. She turned away and played silent. The act was innocent but it made him feel challenged.

"Just like I have yet to understand the lives of mortals, you have yet to understand the world."

Maka faced over at the mask and loomed into the hollow sockets where the eyes were supposed to be. She knew there was more to him than that mask. And more to him than she could ever know.

They both stared out at the night in silence. Kid shifted and faced his back to the railing. He felt a sudden unease and went off to walk around the balcony. The question that slipped from Maka's voice was enough to catch him off guard.

"What was it like for you, you know, in the underworld?"

Kid trailed back next to her and dropped his expression down to a sulk. "The underworld isn't very lively Maka. It's nothing like Earth realm. Earth has day and night, light and dark. There's the ball of fire in the sky and a pure disk at night. In the underworld, its nothing but hollow." He shifted his weight and leaned against the railing, resting his head on his hands. "Being a reaper isn't very welcoming. It's dark."

"Well what's wrong with darkness?"

Kid knit his eyebrows. "What do you mean? Darkness is evil and terror. It is the very definition of despair. I do not understand why you are questioning that."

An unexpected chuckle came from Maka who simply rested her chin on her hand and glared up toward the sky. "You know how people call darkness evil and haunting? Well I like to think differently about it. Darkness is beautiful. Because without it, none of this right here would exist."

Kid followed her gaze up to the sky. Diamonds of white cascaded their darkened canvas. The sight was truly beautiful.

"In a way it's kind of funny." Maka continued. "Without darkness, light cannot exist and without light, dark would be empty. Neither can exist without the other." Her gaze switched to meet his mask. "I guess that's the beauty of perfect symmetry you've been talking about."

Kid was bewildered at the words that had just been spoken. His eyes were planted on Maka with a newly found trust. This girl, this young human had just revealed the missing truth that he had always searched for in himself.

"Well would you look at that." Maka let out a light chuckle.

"Look at what?"

"We just sort of bonded."

Kid blinked and realized she was right, and this time it ended rather well.

"Also Kid, I apologize."

The reaper furrowed his eyebrows. "For what?"

"I attacked you out of anger the night that I told you about my…mother. I acted irrational and I apologize."

A smile lit up behind that skull he wore. Despite the things that Maka said to him, he knew that there was a side of empathy to her. He hoped to see it more often. "You have my forgiveness. Or as you humans say, apology accepted."

'

'

Annnnnnd updated. Finally after all these years!... weeks. Felt like years though. So some major Maka angst here, we'll shed some lighter moods in the next chapters so chill guys xD Also I missed you all so free hugs! And I updated my profile with story info if you wanna check that out too.

*"Sas chorigisei tin evolgia tis aionias efytchias."* = I grant you a blessing of eternal happiness. It's Greek :p

Responses:

QuantamTheory: Ok so the update took way longer than expected. Waaaaay longer. I had a unexpected busy week. But the update is here and I seriously can't wait for your always so wonderful reviews. *hugs*

WeightlessWriter:Ok I'm not gonna lie, your review on Graveyard Dancing really made my day. I am so sorry bro, I missed you to! *hugs* I swear I won;t disappear again! Also I am sorry for torturing Kid so much, but it is what I do. It's not like I want to, the story just calls for it ;) Don't worry, our awesome reaper will be seeing better days here soon enough.

OfAllTheShizz: Thanks for the nice review and I wil be checking out your works here when I get the chance. I've been all out of whack lately.

Guest-DeathTheKidOCD: Thanks for the review! Glad to hear those words about my story. Though I can't really answer your question just yet, it'll be in the story.

Guest-Anonymous: I love seeing reviews like these and I am so freaking glad that you love it so much. Sorry to keep you waiting so long for an update though.