A/N: This chapter is dedicated to my cat who has decided to reside on my feet whilst I'm writing this chapter.
~Stitches – 12 years, 11 months~
Well, Stein's in for a hell of a week.
I'm off to assist in a course for some senior meisters with versatile souls who are learning to adapt to using unique weapon forms. I'm not sure why they didn't ask Stein to go – he's a meister who uses a unique weapon, but nevertheless.
I'm actually going with Black*Star – seeing as Tsubaki is at the other end of unique than me – I'm unique as in… uh… odd? Yes, odd, and Tsubaki's unique because she's adaptable.
But, anyway, Stein's hell of a week.
My baby girl has taken after me in that things have developed a bit quicker than other girls. She took after me in the endowment department, and then there are… those.
And it's that time of the month for my little girl. And I'm going to be gone.
My partner is the strongest meister ever to graduate from Shibusen. He's big and tall and strong and menacing.
But hell hath no fury like a teenage girl on her period.
Good luck, honey.
Marie x
"Stein. She needs them."
"Marie."
"What?"
"I…"
"You're a grown man, Stein!"
"Exactly, Marie!"
"Stein. You don't know what it's like."
"No, I don't, believe it or not."
"Stein. Man up. Do it. I've got to go, alright? You'll be fine."
"…"
"Stein…"
"Fine."
"Good." Stein could practically hear the smirk in his partner's voice.
"Yeah, yeah. Okay. I have to go." Stein said. He hung up the phone and walked tentatively back over to the lounge room where Stitches was sprawled on the couch, a groan escaping her lips as Stein looked at her.
"Right. I'm going to go and get your…" Stein stopped, his voice trailing off.
"Lady products." Stitches filled in the gap. Stein raised an eyebrow and Stitches did the same in turn.
"I should get Mina to go to the DeathMart and get a video of you buying this stuff." Stitches gave a little laugh.
"I could give you money and make you go and get them." Stein crossed his arms. Stitches sighed and recoiled.
"Fine. Just go." Stitches sighed. Stein nodded and looked at Stitches once more.
"You owe me." Stein stated.
"You owe me. If you'd just produced a Y chromosome we wouldn't be in this mess." Stitches retorted.
"You also wouldn't exist as you are. Your mother and I wouldn't have you. We'd have someone else." Stein remarked.
"Who didn't get cramps and a bad case of grumpy every month." Stitches added.
"Nevertheless, I'd rather have irritable you than somebody else." Stein said.
"I'm touched, Papa." Stitches gave a tiny smile, and Stein turned on his heel and walked to the door.
"Don't let anyone in unless it's me." Stein said, finally.
"Don't let anyone in but the six-and-a-bit foot tall guy with the bolt and stitches. Got it." Stitches gave a little laugh before Stein left the laboratory.
It was rather a shock for the other customers of the DeathMart to see the intimidating Doctor Stein wandering along the feminine hygiene product aisle like a lost puppy, but once that debacle had been resolved, Stein finally made his way back to the laboratory. He pushed open the door and heard a faint sobbing sound.
"…Stitches?" Stein asked. He heard a loud snivel and a choked sob.
Oh, Sweet Lord Death.
"Stitches, are you okay?"
"No, I'm not okay!"
Stein tentatively looked over at the lounge where his daughter was curled up, her head tucked into her chest. Stein walked over to her, dropping the shopping bag next to the couch.
"Stitches…" Stein said, quietly.
"Oh, Death, kill me." Stitches murmured quietly into the lounge.
"I think that would be rather unethical." Stein replied, kneeling down by the side of the couch and placing his hand on Stitches' shoulder.
"Please? Just this once." Stitches tried to bargain with her father.
"Nice try. Can I get you anything? And if you say a bullet – no." Stein combated her response before she made it. Stitches shook her head and readjusted herself, sitting up but wincing as she did so.
"No, I'm fine. I think." Stitches shrugged slightly and Stein sighed.
"I'm sorry I'm useless." Stein added. Stitches smirked at her father and crossed her arms.
"So you should be." she remarked.
"Oh, you're fine." Stein stood up and rolled his eyes.
"Did you just – Did you just roll your eyes at me?" Stitches asked. Stein turned on his heel, an eyebrow raised.
"Have we switched roles?" Stein asked.
"I wish. Then you'd know what this was like." Stitches brought her knees to her chest.
"Oh, I think more than a decade of your mother at that time of the month has given me a little idea." Stein replied.
"Papa," Stitches stood up gently and walked over to Stein, staring him in the eyes, "you don't know the half of it."
"And how long are you planning to keep holding this over me?" Stein asked. As Stitches shuffled to the bathroom, she shrugged.
"I don't know. Until menopause. Or the day you die. Whichever comes last." she gave a tiny smirk, and Stein crossed his arms and smirked. She was a lot like him at that age – not that she'd want to hear that.
He was a lot like that as a teenager, before all the meister duty, before the madness. He was just a dry, smart little teenager. But nobody seemed to remember that.
Stein couldn't help but let his mind drift again to whether or not Stitches would be highly susceptible to madness. She was starting at Shibusen in a matter of days, and her exposure to madness would gradually increase.
But, for now, Stein would just have to keep a hold of the last few days before his daughter went off to Shibusen.
"Duck!" Stein called, and the half-formed girl did so, rotating herself around her father and realigning her transformed hand in front of her.
"Good…" Stein dropped his fighting stance and Stitches' hand transformed back into, well… a hand. Stitches gave a long drawn out sigh.
"But…" she urged her father on.
"Nothing, really. You're not bad… for a weapon, anyway." Stein gave an inward smirk and Stitches scoffed.
"Excuse me?" Stitches asked.
"I think you heard me." Stein remarked. Stitches crossed her arms and would have lurched forward to attack if not for the little, unmistakable cry a the bottom of the stairs.
"Could I get some help here?"
"Mama's back!" Stitches' eyes lit up and she ran to the top of the stairs, looking down to confirm that it was Marie home. When she saw that it was, she galloped down the stairs and into the beckoning arms of her mother.
"I missed you, baby girl." Marie smiled widely and hugged her daughter tightly. Stein made his way down the stairs behind his daughter.
"How was it, Mama?" Stitches asked. Marie smiled and nodded.
"It was pretty good. But I missed you two too much." Marie said. Stitches crossed her arms and gave a tiny laugh.
"And you," Marie walked over to Stein and hugged him tightly, "I missed you." Stitches deftly turned away and Marie gave a tiny laugh.
"You were gone for a week and a half, Marie. It's not that long." Stein said.
"Well, yes, but that isn't the point. I'm saying, I missed you, Franken." Marie replied.
"Wow. Franken. You must be serious." Stein remarked. Marie rolled her eyes and gave Stein a little shove.
"Stop it." Marie warned. Stitches turned back around and looked at her mother.
"So, what did you do there?" Stitches asked Marie picked up one of her bags and Stein took the other, and they began to make their way up the stairs.
"Well, I gave a couple of talks. I saw Justin Law again – He still looks like he's twelve – and people actually asked to have their picture taken with me." Marie said, incredulously.
"My mama's famous." Stitches laughed.
"Oh, I have my place in the minority weapon culture." Marie replied. Stein slung his arm around Marie's shoulder.
"And what about you two? Did we survive the…"Marie trailed off, and Stitches and Stein looked at each other.
"Yeah. I think so." Stitches said. Stein gave a small shrug and nodded in agreement.
"Do you want to tell me about i-"
"No." Stitches and Stein replied in unison. Marie gave a wide smile and wrapped one arm around Stein's waist, the other around Stitches' shoulders.
"I love you two." Marie beamed.
She'd had many achievements in her life. She'd become a Deathscythe at quite a young age. She'd been on missions to places others could only dream of. But her biggest achievement wound always be her family. Forever.
A/N: I think I wanted to put this in so that we get a last leg of real family situations. The next story is fast approaching and it's going to be very weapon/meister/fighting/souls as opposed to this. There still will be some family moments, though. I promise.
And, in light of this, we've got our final bio. The namesake of our series, the girl that our story revolves around – Stitches.
Okay… Hi. I'm Shelley Yumi Stein, but you can call me Stitches.
No, scratch that.
You have to call me Stitches.
I'm nearly thirteen, and my birthday's on the 2nd of February. My last name sounds familiar?
No, I have no idea what you're talking about.
Okay, okay. You probably know who my papa is – if the silver hair, versatile soul and the shocking eyesight aren't clue enough, then it's your own fault. My mama is Marie Mjolnir. Blonde. Deathscythe… very short. I love them both. A lot. I'm a weapon, like Mama. I inherited her height, (sigh) her eye colour and her her weapon form. So, I'm going to Shibusen soon. Very soon.
My best friend is Mina West. She's absolutely amazing. She's helped me through bullying and all the tough times at school. She also has some wicked rebuttals for any insanity or screw jokes. My other best friends are Thomas Cameron and Joseph Martin. I'd known them for a while before I became friends with them, because of that horrible affliction – boy germs. But, after extensive testing by Papa, he proved that they don't exist. So, we're all good friends now.
Okay, I'd better go. I'm glad I got to share some of my life with you.
Stitches x
