Chapter 11

"You didn't tell us your birthday was coming up!" Maka shouted. She started ranting on about what they could do for her, being a special birthday. Leiko tried to stop her, but ideas spewed from Maka's mouth like a fountain.

"I really just want to forget about my birthday," Leiko cut in, crossing her arms. Maka's mouth dropped, appalled.

"But why? It's your birthday, Leiko!" Maka shouted. Soul stepped in, and agreed with Leiko.

"If she doesn't want to do anything, we don't do anything," he said, leaning against the wall. "Simple as that. Honestly, Maka, you make such big deals out of these things."

Maka sighed, and agreed to not do anything special for Saturday. Throughout the day, more students and teachers stopped in to say hi and ask what happened to Leiko. Everyone seemed to know the basic story, mostly because BlackStar was boasting about escaping a cave system hosting a witch, saying he was more powerful than a god.

When she was alone, Leiko focused more on what the Black Room really was, and what that little demon wanted. She ran over her memories of it for hours, trying to figure out what it all meant. She questioned her morality, sanity, and even humanity. She looked at the differences between her, her family, her friends, and even her enemies. The only thing Leiko was sure of was she was the only person who had a little demon living in her head. However, she never asked anyone else if their Hell lived in their head, too.

Suddenly, a flashback to her youth offered the key to her madness.

Leiko was naturally a curious child. Her snow white hair was in pigtails, and her eyes were slowly turning from emerald green to crimson red. She was about three and a half feet tall, and loved to hijack accessories from her parents. She "borrowed" two red bows for her pigtails from her mother that matched her red and pink sundress, and black painted barefoot toes.

At the tender age of six, she stumbled upon records of her family in the attic. Being the locks to the filing cabinets were rusted, she knew her blade could sever the lock from the cabinet. When she remembered the void, she regarded the scythe in her as nothing, and used a piece of plywood to break it.

She pulled out handfuls of records at a time, reading as much as she could of birth certificates and medical things. She recognized her name, and her parents' names. While going through the documents, she found something that peaked her interest: her parents' DMWA physicals.

"Hmm," she said to herself as she looked for her parents' names. She pulled out a sheet that read her mother's. "It's Mama's!"

Leiko read over what her mother did at her time in the DWMA, and felt even more honored to have a mother like her. She smiled at every good deed that her mother did, and was amazed at all she accomplished. She put her mother's papers aside, and looked at her father's. When she saw his picture, Leiko couldn't help but giggle, since he didn't change much, somewhat like her mother.

However, when she came across his medical records from the DWMA, she was puzzled at one thing. She read over how he had to undergo surgery from an attack of a demon sword. There were only two lifelong precautions listed from the surgery. They read "Possible Organ Damage for Life; Black Blood."

"Black blood? I'll ask Mama," Leiko asked herself. She kept hold of the record as she climbed down the hardwood stairs, and through the small hallway that led into her parents' bedroom. She ran downstairs to find her mother making lunch.

Leiko's mother seemed like any other stay-at-home mom, but her reputation was legendary. Not only was she known for her DWMA accomplishments, but for being married to, and raising a child with the current Death Scythe at the DWMA of Death City. She had ashen blonde hair that was either kept down, or in a high ponytail. She had a figure that surpassed her youth's in any good way. When puberty hit her, it washed over her with the best traits a woman could ask for. Her emerald green eyes could mesmerize anyone, especially her husband. As she was chopping food for a homemade fruit salad, Leiko tugged on her skirt. She looked down, and smiled as she saw her adorable daughter.

"Yes, hon," she asked. Leiko sat up on one of the bar stools that was poised in front of the kitchen's island, opposite the side that her mother was working on.

"Mommy, what's black blood?" Leiko asked innocently. Her mother's chopping stopped dead in it's tracks, and her body froze. "Mama?"

"It's nothing you need to worry about," she replied. She looked at her daughter with a serious face. "How do you know about that?"

Leiko handed her mother the records she found, confused about why her mother thought black blood was so taboo. She asked her mother again, what it was, but her mother just stared at the forms.

"Leiko, we've told you to stay away rom the attic," she said. "It's dangerous up there."

"But those files are really cool! I read what you and Daddy did when you went to school, and I wanna be just like you," Leiko said, smiling. Her mother sighed, and kissed Leiko's head. She gave a worried smile, and folded the paper, putting it in her back pocket. She hugged her daughter, which made Leiko giggle.

"You're looking more like your father everyday, Leiko. The next thing you know, you'll have his attitude," she said, returning to her lunch making. "Although, I'm not sure if that's a good thing."

"Isn't that why you named me my name?" Leiko asked, giggling. "You're always calling Daddy bigheaded, like me!" Her mother chuckled, and nodded. "I'm just like Daddy!"

"It's my blood," Leiko muttered, returning to Earth from the depths that are her memories. She looked at her fists, and sighed. "I am just like Dad."

Leiko watched the hours go by, day in and day out, until she was awakened at seven on the dot, Saturday morning. Being that she healed extremely fast, faster than Stein expected, she was due to go back home on her birthday. Whoever was trying to wake her up should've been ready to throw her out of bed. Leiko groaned, and threw the covers over her face.

"Leiko, you can go home today," Maka said, shaking the sleepy teen by the shoulders. "Well, we're going somewhere, and you can come if you wanna."

"Face it, Maka," Soul said from the doorway. "If she isn't getting up now, she won't until lunch time."

"I'm up, I'm getting there," Leiko said, groggily throwing her legs over the side of the bed, and stretching. Her hair was going in all different directions, and her pajamas were wrinkled from head to toe. She rubbed her eyes free of sleep sand, and squinted from the bright sunlight filtering in through the windows. "Where do you guys plan on going?"

"The beach!" Maka said, excited. "The seven of us thought it would be a good idea. We need a break, and we can celebrate you getting out of the infirmary!"

"Something doesn't seem right with your plans," Leiko said, pointing at Maka. "It better not be what I think it is."

"I have no idea what you mean," Maka said, obviously lying. Soul gave himself a well-deserved face-palm, and shook his head. "You should come!" Leiko yawned, and then smirked.

"Fine," she said. Maka smiled big, and giggled. "However, if this has anything to do with my birthday, I'll kill you."

"Your birthday's today?" Maka asked artificially. "It must've slipped my mind!"

The trip up to the beach was much longer than it should've been. The eight of them planned to take a bus to the coast, but it was delayed due to many things. First of all, Leiko was consistently watching Maka for signs of a birthday party. Her shifty behavior that really wasn't convincing threw her off the whole morning and trip there. After getting food packed, they went to meet up with the rest of their friends at the station, Kidd being an hour late. Once he got there, he was a wreck. Liz then explained that he was having a temper tantrum over his swimming trunks' wrinkles not being symmetrical.

By the time they actually got to the water, it was almost two in the afternoon. This would't have been a problem, however Maka, Leiko, and Soul had left the apartment around nine in the morning. After finding a spot on the each, and setting up, everyone ran for the water. Everyone, except Leiko. She sat on the towel, and watched. Soul found this weird, and walked back.

"You coming or what?" Soul asked, standing over her. He noticed she was still wearing her new clothes, being black skinny jeans and a red sleeveless top, finished with her recognizable soul-pictogram belt. "You're not even in your suit!"

"It's under my clothes," she said. "I'm probably not gonna swim, anyway."

"Why not? It's like, eighty-five degrees out," he said, hands on his hips. Leiko shrugged, and looked down. Soul felt like something was off, and sat next to her. "What's wrong?"

"The scars," she muttered. "I don't want anyone to see."

"Why?" Soul asked. Leiko looked right at his bare chest, at his own stitch scar. "Honestly, it makes you look like a badass."

"Really," she asked, chuckling. She sighed, and nodded. "Fine, I'll go in."

"Finally," Soul said, getting up. "I don't need a roasted scythe out here." He ran back to the water, tackling BlackStar to the ground in the process. Leiko chuckled watching the group. She noticed how well they worked and played together, like they've known each other since they were born.

She gave in to the tempting of the sea, and threw off her cover-up clothes, her high ponytail dancing in the breeze. Knowing all three of her scars were showing, she wanted to crawl into a cave. However, Leiko knew she felt cooler without her clothes, and in her bathing suit. She wore a strapless bikini top, thick stripped with red and black. Her string bottom matched, having three stripes of black, and three of red.

She walked to the edge of the dry sand, and watched the waves. Thoughts about black blood and the little demon plagued her mind, until someone from behind threw her over their shoulder.