Amaya ran back to the school, which was the closest place.
Classes had been finished for a while now, but maybe somebody would still be hanging around.
With her tears still running down her face, she stopped at the edge of the schoolyard.
Maka was standing there, with some red-headed man. They seemed to be having a heated argument about something.
Hey.
Even in Amaya's despair she realized something.
The man was the same man from her glimpse into Stein's mind. His partner- the one that had helped 'kill' her father all those years ago.
"Maka!" Amaya yelled, her voice cracking.
Maka looked away from the red-headed man and turned to face the calls.
"Amaya?" Maka asked, confused.
Amaya ran up to them, and grabbed Maka's hand.
"Please, you have to help!" Amaya gasped, pulling her friend a few steps.
Amaya knew she must look terrible to them. She knew she was dirty and covered in River's blood. Her face was tear-stained and swollen.
"Amaya, what happened?" Maka asked, seriously.
"It- it was a Kishin- Stein is mad- River is dead-" Amaya gasped.
"River?" Maka breathed.
"Show us where to go," the red-headed man told her.
Amaya let go of Maka's hands and ran back toward the clearing.
She could still hear Stein's laughter echoing through the trees.
Running back into the clear, Amaya saw her professor rolling around on the ground, laughing insanely, his glasses a few feet away, his lips pulled up into a mad grin.
River was on the other side of the clearing, still where Amaya had laid him.
"Where's the Kishin?" the red-headed man asked her, giving her an odd glance.
He knew.
He knew that the Kishin was her father.
Maybe Stein had told him.
"He ran off," Amaya whispered, trying to keep her befallen partner out of her vision.
"He ran..." the man repeated, quietly.
Maka approached River and stared down at him, her eyes tear-filled.
"River," Maka said, bowing her head mournfully. "You were... so good. You didn't deserve any of this."
"Maka," the red-headed man told her. "Go get Sid. He should still be inside the school. Hurry."
"Right," Maka replied, and then ran off back into the trees.
The man looked at Stein, who was still laughing uncontrollably.
"Stein," he said, as he walked up to him and grabbed the collar of his shirt, hoisting him up until he was almost sitting. "Get a hold of yourself!"
Stein's eyes still weren't focused, and he continued to laugh.
The man lifted a hand and smacked Stein across the face.
Stein' slaughter stopped abruptly, and he breathed deeply, his eyes clearing up and focusing on the man's expression.
"Look what has happened, Stein," the man said, shoving Stein's collar toward River. "The Kishin got him!"
Stein grunted, and put a hand to his head as he stared at the fallen body of his student.
"Amaya..." Stein said, so calm after all that had happened. He turned in her direction but didn't look at her.
She took a step closer, her hands twisted and wringing in front of her. Stein finally looked up and his gaze met her own.
"I'm sorry," Stein said, his head bowed but his eyes still drilling into hers. "You asked for my help. You asked me to save him... And I couldn't."
"It's not your fault, professor," Amaya replied, quietly. "It all happened so fast."
Stein hoisted himself up, so he was standing, and seemed a little uneasy on his feet.
"Thank you, Spirit," Stein said, picking up his glasses and wiping them off on his coat.
"There!" Maka's voice broke the awkward silence as she and Sid ran back into the clearing.
The zombie looked at River's body in surprise.
"It's a good thing you were still here, Sid," Spirit told him, his face a mask of despair. Amaya could tell the sadness was uncharacteristic of him.
"When I was alive, I always stayed late," Sid replied, seeming a bit confused. "That's the kind of man I was."
"Maka, take Amaya to my classroom, and you two wait there for me," Stein said. "Do not leave her alone."
"Uh, right," Maka answered, seeming unsure about what was going on.
She grabbed Amaya's hand and started to pull her toward the school.
"Wait!" Amaya cried, planting her feet. "What are you going to do with River?"
"Go on," Stein insisted, taking her shoulders and gently turning her around. "I'll be there shortly."
"But..." Amaya sobbed.
"Come on," Maka said sadly, starting to walk away.
Amaya hesitantly followed, feeling fresh tears hit her cheeks.
What would happen now?
...
Amaya and Maka sat in Stein's classroom, waiting, not talking.
For a while, it was quiet, and Amaya felt her mind go a bit numb.
"That man," Amaya whispered. "He seems so familiar."
"What man?" Maka asked, seeming grateful for the conversation.
"The one Stein called Spirit," Amaya replied, looking up at her friend.
"Oh," Maka laughed. "He's my father."
Her father?!
Amaya's jaw dropped open in surprise.
"Really?"
"Yes, unfortunately," Maka replied, seeming angry.
"You don't like him as a father?" Amaya asked, picking up and studying a piece of paper that Stein had stapled back together.
"I don't know," Maka sighed, looking down at the floor. "I just keep giving him more and more second chances, and he blows them all. It's like he puts his own wants before mine, and I'm his daughter."
"Trust me," Amaya said, ruefully. "Your father is better than mine."
"What?" Maka inquired.
"I would kill to have Spirit as a father. Anyone, really," Amaya replied, setting the paper back down on the desk.
"Stein?" Maka asked, laughing.
Amaya laughed along for a second and then thought about what she was saying.
"Actually," Amaya replied, thoughtfully, "Stein and I have more in common than my real father and I."
Maka stopped laughing and considered this.
"What's so bad about your real father?" Maka asked quietly, hesitantly, as if Amaya would snap at her.
"You don't even want to know," Amaya replied, bending her knees up into Stein's chair and setting her cheek on them.
Suddenly, there was a man in the doorway.
Amaya was startled at first, but then she saw it was only Stein.
"Maka, you can leave with your father, now," Stein told her, calmly. "He's waiting outside for you."
"Alright," Maka said, still confused as to what was going on. She stood up and walked back up the stairs, disappearing down the hall.
"What did you do with...?" Amaya couldn't even finish her sentence.
"It's taken care of," Stein said, almost softly. "You don't have to worry about it any more."
Amaya gulped, still sort of worrying about it.
"But there is a matter I need to discuss with you," Stein added, walking down the stairs and standing by his desk, where Amaya sat curled up.
"What is it?" she asked.
"I'm sorry to bring this up, but if you go home, you will be alone," Stein said. "I am worried that your father has set this up so you will be an easier target."
"He... He told me the night before," Amaya whispered, staring up into Stein's green eyes. "He told me if I didn't come with him, he'd make it to where I wouldn't have anything left to stay for. But... I didn't think he'd KILL..."
"Never underestimate a Kishin," Stein told her. "Especially your father." He paused. "Any time you're alone, you're vulnerable."
"I don't want to be alone," Amaya said. "All of River's stuff, it's right where he left it. His Pepsi is still on the table. I don't..."
She trailed off, hugging her knees.
"I was wondering," Stein said, turning the bolt on his head, "if you would consider staying at my house. You would be safer there."
Amaya thought about returning to her own home, having to face everything as she and River had left it.
"Okay," Amaya answered. "I think that's a good idea."
Stein was quiet, seeming surprised that she'd answered so quickly, much less agreed to his idea.
"Right," Stein started. "Then we need to leave."
He put a gentle hand on her arm to help her up, and the two walked back up the stairs into the hallway.
Out in the parking lot, they got in Stein's car and drove off.
...
They pulled into a driveway.
"What are we doing here?" Amaya asked, feeling panic rise into her stomach as the car parked.
"What do you mean?" Stein answered, calmly.
"I thought we were going to your house," Amaya said, looking out the window at her own home. The one that she and River lived in.
"You do have to get clothes, don't you?" Stein inquired.
"No! I don't need clothes," Amaya replied dramatically, hands on either side of her face.
Stein gave a small chuckle.
"Don't be ridiculous," he said. "Everyone needs clothes."
Still, Amaya didn't move.
"You only have to go in for a second," Stein added.
She still didn't move.
"Would you like for me to go in with you?" Stein asked, finally, turning off the car.
Amaya nodded, silently.
Stein opened his door, which was a different color than the rest of his car, and stepped out, walking around to Amaya's side.
"Well?" he asked, looking in at her. "Are you coming?"
"Of course! Don't be ridiculous!" Amaya used his own words against him as she opened the car door and stepped out.
She looked at her own house and felt dread in her stomach.
Her whole life had changed now. Everything she'd ever known was gone.
How could she walk in there knowing her soul partner was dead? That she would never see him again?
That she could have possibly saved him?
Amaya reached out and grabbed Stein's arm, and he gave her an odd look.
"I'm not scared, I'm just dizzy," Amaya lied to him, sticking her chin up bravely.
He nodded and led her to the door.
They both walked in.
Amaya didn't pay any attention to what was around her.
She just walked in, and walked into her room.
She didn't think about the night she spent with River, after her nightmare. How he'd said he'd loved her and she felt so safe.
She didn't think about those memories.
She just grabbed her clothes, put them in a bag, grabbed one photograph off the wall, and walked back to Stein.
He was standing in the center of the room, waiting.
"Ready?" he asked.
Amaya nodded, once, a strong look in her eyes.
The two headed back out to the car.