THE GAUNTLET
2 months, 1 day after Asura
Crona hadn't well slept that night - whether it was the lumpy couch or the fact that it was a foreign place was debateable. Ragnarok was thankfully silent, allowing the meister time to get lost in their thoughts. So far, Agnes and Rudy were rather accomodating. They promised to buy Crona their own bed the following day, though Rudy kept hinting that she was going to skip class with Liz and Patti to check out the mattress store. It was amusing, seeing the different interactions the sisters had with their friends. Crona liked to stay back in crowds, preferring to just watch others; Agnes was often seen around Patti or Pot of Fire - and consequently, Kilik- and they were usually playing games. Rudy was much more exuberant, and was drawn to Black*Star for the constant challenges - she was also very close with Maka, which was a comfort to Crona.
They swore they heard an irritated huff in the other room, but silence settled once more and Crona hoped it was one of the sisters, because they couldn't deal with a ghost-
"Shut up, your whining woke me up."
"Oh, uh, sorry Ragnarok..." the weapon gave Crona a noogie, who barely contained a cry of pain, before sleepily retreating into their back and falling into a slumber. Crona then began to draw their thoughts to their own weapon. Would Ragnarok ever turn back into a formidable blade, or were they truly hopeless like Medusa made them think? Their thoughts shifted to someone else - Eruka.
Eruka and Free were together, and they were moving. Crona tried not to panic, and continued going down the logical road - Medusa was dead, and Eruka hated her anyway. There was no way they would try to bring her back or find her. They were under the impression that Free and Eruka were good friends, and the more they thought about Rudy's recounting of their interaction, the more things became confusing.
They were running away together. According to Rudy, the witch became very uneasy at one point in the fight and revealed herself to get Free's attention, only for them to retreat immediately. What did Eruka figure out during that fight that lead them to flee, and what would be so intimidating that it would send them packing?
No matter what end Crona tried to find, they couldn't seem to get there. Everyone's story matched up. They caused no harm to anyone over the past few months, and as such, there was no official pursuit of the two. Crona still didn't know if there was now, but they could only assume it was being kept from the lower-ranked students.
Another frustrated sigh came from the bedroom before the door creaked open and Agnes softly padded over to the chair adjacent to Crona. She didn't say anything to them, not wanting to wake them if they were asleep. She stared at the closed door of her room and Crona watched her for what felt like hours before they drifted off.
Agnes woke them only three hours later to get ready for school. They stretched carefully, a bit sore from the way they had their neck angled, but soon they were out the door with the two sisters and heading towards Soul and Maka's to meet them. It was strange, however, when no one answered the door.
"Maybe they're just tired from training and need a day off?"
Crona went to knock once more before pulling their hand back. Maka had seemed absolutely exhausted the past few days, though it was strange that she would disregard that and make plans with Crona. Still, they were concerned for their friend and boldly knocked again. No one answered again, and Rudy took the liberty of opening the door.
It was a mess inside.
There was a little bit of blood splattered on the couch in front of them, and there were a few broken dishes. One of the blankets that was once hung neatly on the back of the couch was shredded. There were dented pots and pans everywhere, and one of the windows was cracked. There was no sign of Blair, and both Soul's and Maka's rooms had closed doors. Agnes glanced over at Rudy, who returned the look, when Ragnarok formed and took in the scene.
"It looks like a wild animal was let lose in here!" the weapon goaded. Soul's door opened then, an angry look on his face.
"What the hell? Did you guys break in?"
"Your door wasn't locked, and no one answered the door... Soul, are you bleeding?" Rudy stepped forward to look at the cut on his face only for him to swat her away, irritated. Agnes was looking anxiously at Maka's bedroom door and Soul seemed to notice, as he began trying to draw her attention away by telling them that Maka was getting the chicken pox for the first time and didn't want anyone to see her. Crona accepted the lie, though Agnes and Rudy were a bit more firm.
"We won't get sick, and we won't tease her. Let us see her, just to make sure she's ok." Soul shook his head once or twice, a firm no. He could barely get her to stay in the room.
"No, she really doesn't wanna see anyone." He thought back to an hour ago, when Maka kicked Blair into the window as the cat napped on the back of the couch. He was amazed it didn't break, but he was sure Blair wasn't so lucky. She had limped out of the house slowly, not even able to use her magic to help herself. He had managed to get Maka into her room and last he knew, she was passed out. He didn't want anyone waking her up - he wanted her to fix herself and wake up like she did the last time.
Rudy had slipped into Maka's room while Soul argued with Agnes. She had to be quick - Soul may be focused on her sister for the moment, but he would surely notice her absence. She saw Maka laying on the floor by her desk, books and pages torn out strewn around her. Rudy walked over and knelt down, brushing the hair from the girl's face. There was no spark in the touch anymore, just a dense coldness that told Rudy that she had given into madness.
She felt her anger bubble up inside her. Maka couldn't be their kishin. No matter how much they warped and twisted her soul, it would never be tainted enough to completely turn. Grigori souls were the one soul type they couldn't do anything with. She quietly slipped back out just in time for Ragnarok to put in their two cents.
"We're gonna be late!" Crona and Rudy ran for the door while Agnes turned to Soul and smiled.
"We hope Maka will feel better soon. Take care of yourself, Soul." She followed the others out, closing the door with a soft 'click' before Soul trudged back into his room and fell onto the bed. He felt his hand ball up into a fist before bringing it down to his mattress. What was he going to do about this mess?
