"How do you always manage to coerces us into these situations Maka?" Kidd asked with a grunt. Ripping his sword out of another fur matted, tar soaked creature. He heard the clink of metal and could just glimpse Maka deflecting a no doubt venomous bite from a large, half-rotted- away cobra.

"Hey! Don't even try to blame this on me." With a quick slice she cut through the serpent's neck separating the head from its torso before slamming into the ground. However, as she turned to her next opponent Kidd saw the body right itself as 2 more razor clad heads emerged from the body with a sickening pop. He was about to call out when the large red wolf slammed its mace-tail into the snake.

"Well, you did decide to wander into the dark scary land in which nothing grows. Gah, I hate hyrdas." Liz complained as the creature rose to meet her again. Kidd was on his way with an assist when another scaled monster set upon him. They weren't low level enough that he could let his guard down but they were farm from the legendary beast the land was known for.

"How was I supposed to know where the Unwalked was? Tsubaki's kingdom is literally a line of bright green 10 feet away." While she wasn't wrong Kid found it hard to rationalize her mistake. The cut off from Tsubaki's kingdom nd the Unwalked was pretty drastic and hard to miss.

"Sisssssy! Be nice to Maka. You alwayssss ssssaid learning was the most important thing." Patti who was a good distance away from the fight due to her destructive abilities was trying her best to keep most of the creatures from reaching the party. Kidd found the glee on her face somewhat unsettling.

"Yeah, that does not apply here." With that Liz slammed the hydra into the ground stunning it. Maka then skewered it's body on her scythe and flung it into the ravine a few yards away. "Is that the last one?"

Kid cleanly pulled his twin needles out of a turtle like creature with spikes on its back. "I do believe so. Maka are you injured?"

"I remember when he used to ask us that." Whispered a transforming Liz to her sister. Kidd directed a glare in her direction making it clear he had heard her.

"Ahhh- Nope. No. Nope. Totally fine. 100% perfectaroni. Not a smidge on me." Kidd was never one for understanding human mannerisms but this one obviously stank of a lie. The way she fiddled back and forth and hid her hands behind her back.

Aw that's so cute. She's so innocent. Maybe you should change that.

What a nuisance. You are back again. Kid thought to the boy dressed in white leaning over her. His hands were far too bold. Kidd knew Maka couldn't feel them but he could still see them and it made his blood boil.

Maybe you are losign your hold on me. He then looked to Maka. Maybe it's because of her.

"Really? Not injured at all you say. Not even the smallest 'smidge'?" He began to take a few steps closer to the fidgity girl. She clutched her arm closely with her hand but there was just a small ammount of black oozeing through her fingers.

"Nope. Not at all."

"I see." With one quick movement Kidd was behind her with her wrist clutched firmly in his hand. The white boy had to move in order to avoid being passed through. However, even then, Kidd could see his power fading as the battle wound down.

Psh. Don't sound so happy. I'll be back. And soon.

Kid shook his head and instead focused on Maka. Heturned her arm carefully, revealing a small but bleeding cut on her arm. He smiled as if he had caught her stealing a cookie before dinner and rested his chin on her shoulder. "My, Maka. What on earth could that be?"

She jerked away quickly and with wide eyes. The overcast sky showed no reflection and allowed him a perfect view of the deep black pools. "You, you wouldn't hurt me, would you Kidd?"

Lost in a daze the Prince was slow to respond. Hurt her? No I would never hurt her. What on earth is she thinking? And I swear if she keeps looking at me like that... She could concur kingdoms with those eyes.

That didn't take long.

Get out.

"Maka stop that. You know that's unfair." Liz's voice managed to snap him out of his trance and pulled him back to reality. The cut had stopped bleeding but still needed to be cleaned.

"Aw, come on. It's the only thing that works. I don't wanna die again."

"Ha." Kidd let out a dry laugh. It still sounded foreign to his after years of disuse. However, when he looked at Maka she didn't seem to show the signs of human jest. "Oh, I thought you were doing that joking thing you do. First off, I cannot kill you. I have told you this hundreds of times. Secondly, why would I?"

"Well, excuse me!" Maka's face had started to blush as Liz and Patti joined in on the giggling. Kidd found it quite alluring and reminded himself to embarrass her more often. "But you did last time!"

"Hehe, Maka you silly-goose. That was only cause it was your first time. Now you are black, just like the rest of us." Patti lifted up her sleeve to show an injury she got while fighting off the droves of beast. It too had black ooze slowly seeping from it.

"Ew, Patti. Stop. That's disgusting and you're scaring her."

"Am not!"

"Are too!" As the girls continued to bicker Kidd made his way towards Maka. She was watching the twins with a longing look on her face.

"Maka?"

"Oh- huh?" She shook her head before smiling at the prince. But something in her features told him she was far away.

"May I treat this? We don't want it to get infected." He gestured to her arm and she held it out dutifully.

"Oh, sure." She turned back to the sisters who had now escalated into a physical fight and were grappling on the ground but both had smiles on their faces. Kidd simply shook his head and began to clean and wrap the wound. After a short moment of silence she spoke again. "You know, I think that is what I miss most."

"Proper medical care?"

"No, stupid." She swatted weakly at his arm and smiled. "Sibling rivalry."

Kidd paused his wrapping for a moment and thought back to everything he knew about Maka's life. "I must regret to inform you that you never had a sibling Maka."

"That doesn't mean I didn't have a brother."

"Actually that is precisely what it means." She smiled again but this time it was fainter, almost mocking.

"Family doesn't always mean blood, Kidd."

"OKAY I HAVE HAD IT! KIDD GET THE DAMN HORSES BECUASE I AM KICKING PATTI ALL THE WAY BACK TO DEATH CITY AND SHE WON'T BE NEEDING HERS." Liz let out a screech as she charged at the younger girl.

"Well, you are all wrapped up. I better stop those two from proving me wrong about dying in my kingdom. Do you mind grabbing the horses?" Maka stood and nodded but her thoughts were still far away. Kidd wasn't sure what had bothered her so much but he was sure if it were important she would tell him. In the meantime he set off to stop world war three.

00000000000000000

It was a short time later when the sisters had been detached and everyone had loaded back onto the missing horses. Liz was still sour about sporting a few new bruises while Patti simply sat next to her smiling. The two road ahead incase Maka decided to have any more thoughts of wandering…or leading for that matter. However, from where the prince sat she seem to be thinking but not about any wandering. Is she bored? What do I do? Should I ask the girls to entertain her? No. She is not a child. She does not need to be entertained. But then, what shall I-

"Hey Maka?"

"Yeah?" Kidd sat there dumbfounded with his traitorous mouth. He had absolutely no idea what to say but words had exploded out of his mouth anyway. She sat next to him staring and waiting for a reply.

"Uh, you mentioned earlier something about family not being blood."

What are you saying you fool!

"What exactly did you mean by that? Is it a human euphemism?" Kidd felt like smacking himself. He was simply not used to being speechless and had asked the first thing that flashed into his head. Why did I have to ask about her human life? It always upsets her. What is wrong with me?!

"Oh." She looked to where her hands grabbed the reigns of her horse and smiled softly. Unsure of what to do the Prince smile awkwardly back. He was about to explode into a fit of apologizing when she spoke again. "I suppose in a way it is. The saying is that 'Friends are the family you choose yourself' and it is true... but in a different way."

"Do you mean like marriage?" She seemed to jolt back to reality a bit before chuckling.

"Sometimes. But not specifically."

"I don't understand."

"Well, it's kind of hard to explain. Family you don't get to pick. There is an obligation for you to always take care of them and vice versa. But with friends it's different. They always have your back and you theirs. But it's not because you have to. It's because you want to. So even though you can fight like siblings you can also care for each other in the same way. Sometimes even stronger."

"Oh, so when Liz and Patti were arguing?"

"I...was reminded of a friend."

"I see." The silence hanging between them was thick and even to Kidd it felt uncomfortable. "Do- uh- you wish to talk about it?"

"Do you mind?"

"Oh. Not at all." Kidd preened a bit at how he had handled the situation. He really felt he was getting better with these situations.

"I had a friend I used to be really close to… You know…. Before."

Before you stole her away.

"Oh?" He asked with a bit less chipperness.

"Yeah his name was- no. Is Soul." Kid didn't want to admit it but he had pried a bit into Maka's past life more after Medusa's stunt at the banquet. It was only out of self-defense. He had to see what kind of human had wandered into his kingdom and know everything he needed to protect her. This time it was more than just a glimpse of her deeds but more of a timeline of her life.

To be honest she and this boy were always very close as far as Kid knew of it. It looked a lot like love. It made Kid feel something he wasn't quite used to when he watched it. It was like a sick feeling in his throat, almost like he had swallowed something too large. He vaguely remembered the feeling from when he found Stein attacking her at the party and BlackStar a few days ago (to a lesser degree).

"Were you… fond of this Soul?" He wasn't sure where the words came from. He had always been curious as to what she thought of him. He could only ever see her actions but he could never hear her thoughts as he could with others. Perhaps because she had not passed yet.

"He was very dear to me. We used to fight just like Patti and Liz were. We would start an argument of something silly like what to order on the pizza and would end up tumbling around on the floor. Just like them. More than once my dad threaten his life with the bruises he left on me."

At that Kid felt a spark of rage. He understood that humans had odd ways of communicating but he could think of nothing positive about marring the flesh. "He hurt you?"

"No! Oh god, no!" Maka waved her arms as if the very thought had poisoned the air around her. "It was just how we argued. I would always kick the shit out of him too. But, I don't know. I have found I really don't miss life. I mean I love the three of you and even when were are fighting gross, slimy monsters you always find a way to make it fun. I just… I still miss the people I left behind you know, wish that I could have said goodbye."

Kid didn't know. He didn't understand the concept of leaving someone behind. In his world when someone came into his life they were there for good. No matter if they liked it or not. However, as she spoke an idea blossomed in Kid's head. It was a risky one but the payoff could be astounding. He would have to speak to his father about it.

Speaking of which, before Kid could reply a long darting shadow sped towards the horses. All except Bronte reared up at the intrusion. The shadow pulled up to meet Kid at full height before taking the shape of his father.

"Hey, hey, hey." Maka looked at the specter in awe before passing her hand through it. Lord Death didn't seem to notice or care.

"Father, I see you have come to fetch us. May I ask why?"

"This is so unlike you Kid. Normally you are on top of previous engagements." He turned to the wide eyed Maka. "It was so cute when he was little we would have these tea parties with all his toys and if they were late-"

"Father! What previous engagement. I remember none." His father's smile lost its friendliness before turning back to his son.

"It's that time of year Kid. She's on her way now. I believe if you ride through the night you can beat her here."

Kid's face fell with dread. He never forgot things. Even unpleasant things were always on his radar. His mind was slipping and it bothered him.

"Yes Father. We will be there."