The next morning Kid awoke to find Crona next to him, an arm wrapped over his side while the other was underneath her pillow. Her pink tresses were a mess, slightly knotted and in need of grooming. But...Kid found that...he didn't mind, as he stared at her serene expression.

She looked so peaceful and youthful in her sleep. Kid could hardly believe yesterday had happened, hardly believe that they had fought, and then shared the same bed.

It was strange.

Kid gave her forehead a tender kiss then got up with a tad bit of difficulty due to the scratch marks and bruises left from the previous night, grabbed his nightshirt, which had spent the entire night on the floor, and then headed for the bathroom. He took care of himself while he was inside, sure to comb his hair and apply medicine to whatever scratch marks he could reach.

Afterwards, he slipped his day clothes on and headed downstairs to get some breakfast, only to find himself hesitating outside the doorway when he heard a pair of hushed voices speaking avidly.

He tried to compose himself before entering, finding Liz and Patty were already up and apparently discussing what had been going on in his bedroom the previous night.

How could he deduce that?

Simple.

The girls fixed him with a glare the second he stepped foot into the room. Well, Patty was glaring, Liz just didn't seem to approve of his presence at the moment.

"Morning," he greeted, attempting to act casual as he strode over to the fridge. Liz was on him in a second's notice. "Where were you last night?" she asked, staring at him from over her shoulder.

"I was out with Maka." he said, careful in his wording, but sticking close to the truth. "I met up with Crona then came back here."

"Uh-huh. And where is she?"

"Hmm?"

"Crona. Where is-" Liz was cut off when Crona, as if on cue, entered the room, yawning, and dressed in those emo-styled clothes instead of Liz's black silk nightgown. She smiled at Kid, who couldn't keep himself from tensing up, watching as he turned to face her with a forced smile. "Good morning, Crona." he said, blushing when she ignored the greeting to place a kiss to his cheek.

Liz was flummoxed, gaping at them in silence.

"I knew it!" Patty squealed, pointing an accusing finger at Kid. "You are a pervert!"

"What?! No, I-"

"Thanks for letting me stay in your guest room." Crona interjected, giving him a knowing smile. "It was really great. I wouldn't mind doing it again sometime...i-if that's okay with you, of course."

Kid blushed at the hidden insinuation behind her words, nodding in agreement. "You're welcome." he replied, keeping his voice low and even. She looked away shyly, pecking his cheek affectionately. He could tell she was trying to behave normally, but from the look Liz was giving them Crona was somehow managing to send off red lights. Patty seemed confused, staring between them and Liz, as though she, too, sensed something was off with the pinkette.

Leaning forwards in her chair, eyes analytically staring Crona up and down, Liz carefully inquired, "Are you high?"

"Hmm?" Kid turned to the curious blonde, "Wh-"

"Sure," Crona interjected. "I'm high on life!" She gave a bubbly laugh, dropping it after a few long seconds to regain her composure.

It was taking great effort for her to be 'normal' and she was doing her best to avoid too much trouble so she could get the hell out of there, but as she stood there with that fake smile plastered to her face she knew that no matter how hard she tried she was just going to end up screwing up and allowing her true personality to bleed through like it just did.

"Ooookay," Liz said slowly, trying to put on a friendly smile. "Well, why not stay for breakfast? I'm sure Kid was going to make something, right?"

Kid could sense the order behind the kind wording, internally groaning. He was definitely going to get an earful later.

"No thanks. I'd stay for breakfast, which would be fun to make, especially if it's something like pancakes or waffles or crepes or, ya know, whatever, but I'm sure I need to get home before I get in a ton of trouble!"

"Good idea," Kid agreed, ready to lead her out the door.

It seemed like a good time to see Crona out, especially since he had no idea how much longer she could keep herself in check. The cracks were apparent and her facade was breaking apart. Yes, it definitely seemed like an excellent time to leave.

"Hold on!" Liz called before they could move two steps from where they stood, much to Kid's hidden dismay and Crona's open annoyance.

"You mean nobody knew you came over?" Patty asked, finding it odd that someone as timid as Crona wasn't freaking out over the fact she was most likely in a shitload of trouble.

"Not really." Crona shrugged, her stare switching from lighthearted to biting, as she took on an air of defensiveness that Kid really didn't like. "So what?" her dull, listless tone droned in the sudden, frosty silence. Both sisters were thrown off for a moment, shocked at this sudden change. A chair scrapped against the floor, as Liz stood to fix the bristling pinkette with a stare that seemed stuck between anger and confusion.

"You're going to get into trouble!" she exclaimed, unable to believe this was the same girl she and Patty had befriended. "We,"she motioned between herself, Patty and Kid, "will get into trouble, especially if you two were-"

"Were what, Elizabeth?" Crona snapped.

Kid's eyes went wide, as he looked between the two girls, absolutely stunned at how fast things were escalating. And then he was stunned with himself for being stunned. He already knew she was hostile and unbalanced, so why be surprised that she was picking a fight so early in the morning?

"What did you just call me?!" Liz screamed. "You better not have just called me-"

Fortunately, before things could worsen Kid put himself between the two girls. It was an easy, though unpleasant, temporary fix to the situation.

Liz glared past him at Crona who wrapped her arms around Kid's sturdy form, purposely adding pressure to the bruise on his shoulder, causing him to stifle a pained hiss that almost slipped from behind his teeth. Crona leaned her head against the back of his neck, chuckling, and muttered about something or another that Kid wasn't paying much mind to.

"Crona, Liz," his tone was firm, steady, but strained as he tried to keep his warring emotions at bay, "please don't fight. It's too early in the morning and I think everyone's just a little tense after everything that's happened."

"Yeah, no kidding! Look, if you guys were doing drugs or screwing around behind people's backs then fine! I tried calming down, I tried taking a drink, but after yesterday I feel like some kind of...I don't know! Lazy alcoholic?!"

"That's ridiculous. You know it wasn't your fault."

"Is that supposed to be your big pep talk?"

"No-"

"He's right!" Patty chimed in. "You didn't see that Justin guy so it isn't your fault and if it is someone's fault then maybe it's his for not watching the road!"

"He's freaking deaf, Patty!"

"I-" Kid started, but stopped, realizing that Crona was shaking against him. He turned to give her glance and was shocked to realize that she was stifling laughter, trying to not laugh at what they were saying. He held his tongue and prepared to take her from the room, but damn his luck Liz noticed.

"What the hell is your problem?" she screamed at the pinkette. "What the hell is so funny?!"

There...there was the sight of wispy, disorganized blonde hair...scared brown eyes...shaking hands...no nerve...there was no nerve in those shocked, scared orbs, and she could see their body falling back, crumpling to the ground, shaking and defeated.

"It's funny, how you didn't do worse." Dark eyes glittered dangerously as they met Liz's wide, watery hues. "He deserved so much worse." A predatory smile came over her lips, one she didn't even bother to try and mask, watching the blonde's horrified expression turn to one of disgusted rage. "Maybe he will die and you'll have done the world a big favor!"

She gave a dark chuckle that was cut short by a blur of movement and the next thing Kid knew his arms were around Crona's waist, keeping her arms pinned to her sides while she squirmed and kicked out at Liz, who was trying to jump them.

Thank God for Patty!

She bought them some time, holding onto her sister as best she could. It ultimately took a full twenty minutes for Kid to pull Crona from the room, whilst Patty held Liz at bay.

Kid managed to get Crona upstairs without much trouble and soon they were both back in his room. She sat on his bed, silently watching Kid, as he paced and tried to figure everything out from why Crona was being such a bitch to Liz, to wondering how they'd leave the house without Crona causing anymore trouble.

Pausing mid-step, Kid turned to the silent pinkette, giving her a look of disapproval, whilst maintaining a neutral tone of voice, "Why'd you say that? You should know how upset she is over all this!"

"He did..."

"What?" Kid snapped, frustrated. "What did he do to make you hate him so much?"

"He stabbed me in the back!"

"What?"

"He betrayed me," she shouted, jumping to her feet and standing practically nose-to-nose with Kid, "he left me, and he let me be this way, so excuse me if I want to see him suffer!"

"I...Crona, what do you mean? Did he...did..." his sputters slowed as worry and outrage quickly replaced whatever perplexion had been present, "has Justin hurt you?"

A dazed look came over her as she stared at him, seeming confused about the entire subject. "Jus...tin?" she murmured, shaking her head, which buzzed with static, enticing her to perform some dark act rather than stand and talk.

"No...no...but...yes..."

"I don't...who...Crona, who are you talking about? We were talking about Justin, remember? Liz accidentally-"

"No," the pinkette whispered, as misery and weariness began overcoming her quiet tone, "she didn't. My fault...it's all my fault..."

"What? Did you attack Justin, too?! How many officers are you intending to kill?"

"Three...three are dead...or two...maybe just one..." Crona groaned, rubbing her temples as she resisted the thick fog that was starting to make her head ache, "I need to lie down."

Her head went back to the pillow she'd used the previous night while Kid took a seat next to her, unsure of whether she was aware of him or not, just watching her pained expression slowly relax as her headache faded and she was able to think...somewhat...clearly again.

"I-I didn't...I didn't want to get the first guy...but he figured it out...and he had to die...he had to..."

"Just like Joe had to?" Kid bitterly muttered, unable to look directly at Crona as he spoke those five strong, yet simple words.

"He was after Miss. Marie. I couldn't let him tear my family apart, Kid, I couldn't let that happen again."

'Again'? Kid silently echoed. He rested a hand over hers, hoping to comfort her on some level. She gently took his hand in her own, turning her head to him, her dark orbs stared at him shaking, watery, and above all, pleading.

"H-he was secretly seeing her. P-Professor Stein wouldn't do anything about it s-so I...I made him...I made him stop, but...he'd already hurt Professor Stein...I failed, Kid, I failed to stop him soon enough and if I was late...h-he would have..."

"Crona, I don't know what he was doing with Marie, but I can assure you he is-" Kid hesitated, reluctantly correcting himself, "was a good man. He wouldn't have taken Marie away and he certainly wouldn't have hurt Stein without good cause."

"That's a lie! People say Justin's good, too, but he wouldn't leave me alone! He followed me...an-and he did things...that bastard even threatened Ragnarok to get at me!"

"He did things?"

She ignored him, sighing. "He hates me," she muttered, "but that's just because I'm Professor Stein's."

"You're Stein's?"

"Mmm-hmm. He teaches me things."

Ah, here is where a sense of dejavu began to set in for Kid. The only differences really were the room they were in and how sane they both were. To Kid, it seemed as though the world were flipped upside down, nothing made sense and what did make sense seemed to make even less sense when he thought about it hard enough.

"Don't worry," she said, forcing her tone to become brighter, "it's not...like...sexual or anything. I know that's what you meant...before...but...Stein isn't like that. I tried to be like that once and he got mad."

She giggled at the aghast expression the raven-haired teen took on as he let her words sink in. "Yeah, I was like...twelve...and wouldn't listen when he tried to be nice about pushing me away. It was bad, Kid, really bad. He got so mad at me." she shuddered, laughing and trembling. "You really don't want to make him mad. You know, I once thought about pushing Miss. Marie down the stairs because I got jealous, but I didn't do anything like that. I couldn't do anything like that! Not to her...that doesn't matter, though...I still thought about it...and he had to teach me a lesson for thinking like that."

She nodded to herself like she were agreeing with that logic, which bothered Kid who sat pondering on what sort of secret abuse Stein could have put her through while Marie's back was turned. None of the thoughts that popped up were any good and he felt sick, realizing with trepidition that anything could have been done. Crona was weak–to a certain degree–willing to concur with whatever twisted logic Stein had fed her all those years ago.

"Crona-"

"No, no," she interjected, pulling her hand away from his and sitting up, already sensing where his train of thought had headed, "he didn't hurt me. Not badly. I mean, he gave me the back of his hand when I got too...uh..."

"Out of control?"

"Yeah, okay, when I got too 'out of control'. He brought me back," she said, passing a loving smile to Kid who continued to listen, unable to resist the urge to flinch when she rested her palm against the side of his face, "like you do, but in his own way. And he told me why it was wrong for me to think the way I did and said that I needed to get over whatever issues I have, or something. I can't really remember. It's all a blur. I might have been put on those damn pills then. I usually can't remember some stuff when I'm on them for a while."

"But you've been taken off..."

"No, I lost them. Or she did. Someone lost the bottle, dunno who, but someone did."

"Crona, I want to know something."

She regarded him with a wary eye, and then turned her gaze down to stare at her lap, recalling their activities of the previous night with a hot blush.

"Fine, but don't think that I'm going to share my life story just because we fucked once." She cringed, shuddering at the memory, and also ignoring the look of offense that came over the other teen's features.

"I wouldn't describe it like that," Kid said, struggling to not snap at her, "but if that's how you wish to view it then fine. To be honest, I didn't expect you to share much of anything. I wanted to believe you cared for me, but it's obvious you view last night as a mistake, so..." shaking his head he ran out of words for that subject, quickly changing their topic. "What I was wanting to know was where you're planning to go."

"Home, I guess. I'm pretty sure Miss. Marie and Professor Stein are going to be angry at me for staying out all night. They like to over-react when I don't take my medicine."

"Did they overreact the first time you slipped?"

"Which first time?"

"You mean...you don't know?"

"No, but like I said my memory gets all blurry when I'm on it for too long of a time."

"Okay." Kid sighed, thinking back. "Well, the time I'm referring to was when we were at your house. You wanted me to read some poetry you wrote and...you started to get...a bit aggressive...does it sound familiar?"

"Not really..."

"Too bad," Kid sighed. "I was somewhat curious about all those dark threats you made. Using my skin as a cocoon and such. Where did that come from, hmm?"

"I don't know!" The flushed pinkette lied, finding herself stuck between being appalled and shaking with uneasy laughter. "You're sick, too, you know that, right?"

"Oh?"

"Only a sick person would put up with that and like it," she scoffed, and then gave a teasing grin when she added, as an afterthought, "or is the sex really worth it?"

"I never said I liked it. And it's not about sex either. For someone who has supposedly never been hurt that way before, you're very touchy when it comes to intimacy."

And that's when he saw it, a faint glimmer in her eyes that brought a pang of hurt and hidden embarrassment to surface. It made his face fall as he, too, broke contact with her, feeling awful about what he'd just said, even if he hadn't meant anything serious by it.

She cringed away when he tried to touch her and her muscles tensed, making her body taunt. She turned her dark eyes away and that's when Kid realized, without a shadow of a doubt, that what he just said had struck a cord, making his words ring true, and no matter what she did or said she would never be able to change his mind about that.

And what was the point?

It wasn't like anything could be done about it. The truth was the truth whether they liked it or not.

"I'm sorry," he apologized, "I didn't mean-"

"I know. It's okay. I've dealt with it for a while and...I made up my mind...and decided that it'd be best for everyone if I go away..."

"No, no, that's not true. Crona, I know what you mean, but...suicide isn't the answer...you can quit now and get help-"

"You're really sweet," her watery hues spilled over, prompting her to wipe the salty drops away, forcing a smile as she tried in vain to hide her pain, "but there's no one who will help me. I can't stop, not when I'm so close to ending it, and besides...if I don't stop myself...then who will?"

"I will." Kid promised. He stood firm, clutching her hands, which she jerked away to glare up at him, disbelief clear as day on her pinkened face. "I swear, Crona, I will stop you and I won't let anyone hurt you. I promise, just please, stop hurting people before it's too late!"

"Are you even listening?" the pinkette growled irritably, annoyed at that sweet promise she knew he couldn't keep. "It's already too late for me! I-I can't stop now...I can't...if I do...I'll lose..."

"Lose what?" Kid demanded. "What have you to gain from any of this? You're miserable and angry, and you're planning to kill yourself after this is all said and done, so tell me just what do you get out of all this?"

"I can't expect you to understand-"

"You've said that a million times and I have no idea what you mean! Can you stop being so vague?"

"Then find someone who does," she coldly retorted, "it shouldn't be hard for someone like you."

Kid regarded her with a cold eye, silently frustrated with her.

"It's better to repeat yourself than dwelling on new things," she said, feeling just as frustrated with him as he was with her, "like if I were to acknowledge the fact we really had sex then I would have to admit that the consequences are a possibility and hate myself all the more; whereas, if I just tell myself that it didn't happen and I was asleep in your guest room then all I have to worry about are my nightmares. Can you understand that?"

"Yes. I guess I can." Kid sighed. There was a moment of silence, and then he thought of what she'd said and was struck with a sudden realization. "Dammit, Crona! We didn't use protection!"

"So?"

"So? What do you mean 'so'? Do you know what that means?"

"Umm, n-not exactly...well...I suppose so." she replied, flushing to a dusky red. "It means we're in a relationship, you own me, and we love each other, but I don't think I want-"

"No," Kid interrupted sharply, bringing her dark orbs up to meet his worried golden gaze. "Well, yes, to some extent, but no. What it means, Crona, is that you could become pregnant!"

"Pregnant?" She echoed, voice sounding small and faraway. Her body swayed gently, ever so slightly, as this idea filled her mind, which was slowly shutting down, heavy and overwhelmed she stumbled forwards a step. "Oh...wow...I didn't even think about that...huh..."

"Crona?" he noticed, catching her as she fell towards him.

He laid her on the bed, stroking her hair and amazed that talk of suicide and murder were minuscule compared to the idea of a pregnancy, but then again, he could–to some extent–sympathize with her. She was losing her grip and will to live, and having a baby to worry about would definitely make things all the worse.

Five minutes later, after she came to she was, of course, in a panic.

Kid done his best to console her, promising that if she were pregnant then he'd take full responsibility and help her in any way possible; however, she didn't seem to want his help, losing her composure and putting all the blame on him.

"You should have told me this would have happened!" she shouted tearfully, giving him a hard shove away from her. "You should have done something to prevent this! You know more about it than me so why didn't you think about it before?"

"Don't blame this on me!" Kid snapped back, offended at her audacity. "I assumed you knew of the risks involved." It was a lie. He hadn't been thinking of whether she fully understood what was happening or not, then again, he hadn't thought much at all, too busy and caught up in the heat of the moment.

"No," Crona screamed, face red and fists shaking at her sides. "I was just looking for a way to feel good! You should have warned me! What am I going to do with a baby? I can't deal with this! I can't-"

"Calm down! We don't even know if you're going to be pregnant!"

"B-but what if I am? What will I do? I can't kill it, but I wouldn't be able to keep it, either! What am I going to do?"

"Shh, shh," he tried to soothe, wrapping an arm around her in a half hug, "everything will be okay."

"Stop saying that!" Crona screeched, pushing him off her as she stalked from one side of the room to the other, throwing her arms up and kicking out at things in a rage. "It's not going to be okay! It'll never be okay! No matter what I do I'm going to end up just like her!" That's when she wheeled around, glaring at him heatedly, teeth clenched as she uttered the same old accusation, "And it's all your fault!"

"Crona-" Kid started, stopping as she turned her back to him.

He didn't get a chance to finish because she ran, flung open his door, and sprinted from the room. He followed, but found her to be as good as gone by the time he was outside.

Of course, he knew that she would be going home to recupperate and rest after all the stress and bad news, but rather than follow her he decided to go another direction. Kid needed to help her, stop her, and reach her all at the same time, but he couldn't do that without understanding the situation.

So, logically, as was suggested by Crona, he decided to find someone who did understand her and only one person came to mind, whether or not he'd be able to reach them was beyond him. Still, off he went to find Ragnarok, who was possibly the only person who fully understood Crona when she was like this.

They grew up together, after all.

"She does have a lot of people watching out for her nowadays, but that's just because everyone thinks she's a pathetic, little nothing. In reality she's a filthy, little parasite. Believe me, she's more than willing to suck everyone around her dry."

Kid recalled this with more than a little distaste, especially since he now had a better understanding of what the other teen meant.

Ragnarok definitely knows something to have said that, Kid thought, wondering just how the other raven-haired youth had put up with Crona whenever she had a fit.

Kid wanted to believe it was through nonviolent means, but when he thought of Ragnarok's temperment combined with Crona acting like a psycho he knew it was a dangerous mix and could only imagine how many times she had taken a beating. He really had no idea about any of that though.

He had no idea...


"You traitor!"

A fist met a cheek.

Once.

"I can't believe I actually pitied you!" There was a pained grunt followed by a heavy exhale, and then a fist came down for a second time. "I can't believe I freaking trusted you!"

The air was thick with silence, save for heavy breathing.

"You sold me out!" a voice, quaking in anger, hissed. "I trusted you and you sold me out!"

Thrice. That fist kept striking out, not stopping until the receiver fell backwards where they lay limp, shaking as they waited for more pain. Ragnarok wasn't sure what to do. He was so angry and he wanted to take it all out on Crona, but he knew this was mostly his fault. He should have known better than to trust someone like her.

Deception, manipulation, betrayal...it was all family traits as far as her bloodline was concerned.

Speaking of blood...

It was running down her face, out her nose, and she even spat some out when she coughed. Her pretty face was marred by red spots and forming bruises.

Tears leaked from her eyes as she quivered, attempting to be quiet, whilst her arms wrapped around her stomach that was probably as bruised as the rest of her. "Oh no," he snarled, gripping the collar of her dress as he jerked her up so that she was on her knees and they were practically nose-to-nose, "don't you even start with that shit! You don't have the right to cry! Not now! You're just a liar and a faker who jerks people around to get what she wants!"

"I-I'm s-sorry...I d-didn't...I d-didn't have a ch-choice."

"Do you really expect me to believe that?! Do you really expect me to believe anything you say after this?!"

"P-please...st-stop-"

"Shut up! Just shut up!" He shook her hard once and she tried to quiet herself, still crying as he studied her for a moment. When he spoke his voice had dropped to a much quieter tone that scared Crona more than his yelling ever could. "You're so pathetic, you know? Ya know maybe you are just a little bitch like my dad said. No. He's hardly ever right about anything anymore. You're worse than that...you're a parasite..."

Crona was speechless, tears actually slowing a bit due to her shock. Never before had Ragnarok said anything so mean. It really hurt, made her chest ache a lot worse, and more tears cascaded down her wounded, flushed cheeks.

"And if there's one thing you know it's that I don't like being used."

"I-I know," she whimpered. "An-and I'm s-sorry...I di-didn't know...I didn't know..."

"That's right," he muttered, shoving her so that she fell backwards and landed on her butt. Dark eyes stared up at him, puzzled as to why he'd let her go like that.

He appeared conflicted and in truth he was but not for the reasons Crona thought.

It was because he was angry at himself. He knew Crona was weak, knew her mom would probably make Crona tell her what that combination was despite her promising him she wouldn't say anything. He knew Medusa was a manipulative witch...knew Crona was a sheep...

Ragnarok knew all of this when he told Crona about it. At the time it was just because he wanted her to stop crying, stop being so sad, but now he was just mixed up. He wished he could blame her and keep hurting her, wished he could hate her like he would anyone else, but...he couldn't...he just couldn't...

"You didn't know." he breathed, glaring off to the side. "Because it was none of your business."

"Th-then wh-why're you b-being s-so...so...m-mean?"

"Because, now that your mom stole all that money from us just how the hell do you expect me to act? Is it really surprising that I'm mad, Crona? This doesn't just affect my old man! It affects me, too!"

"H-how do you kn-know it w-was her?" Crona stuttered from her place on the ground. Sniffling, she wiped away the blood from her nose, as she stood up shakily hoping to somehow shift the blame from her and Medusa to someone else, if that were possible. "Wh-what m-makes you so s-sure?"

"I'm not as retarded as some people like to think! You told her the combination, and then suddenly, while our house was empty, someone broke in, and took everything inside the safe because they knew the combination. Now what? Do you know how badly my old man has been itching to take all this out on me? I got slapped around this morning because of you and he promised I would get worse later!"

"H-he w-won't w-will he?"

"Like hell if I know!" he scoffed. "All I know is that he's thinking he was telling people stuff while he was out of it. But I swear if I get beaten half to death over this guess who'll be next?"

"M-me?"

"Right."

He started to leave, pausing at hearing Crona scramble after him, stumble then fall. "W-wait!" She called, getting up and hoping that her friend...ex-freind as of now...would stop.

"Ragnarok!"

"What?" he snapped, pausing to turn and give her a heated glare. "What do you want now?"

All words dried up from her mouth and she found herself unable to beg him for forgiveness. She didn't deserve it. Someone like her...a parasite like her...didn't deserve his friendship let alone his forgiveness. He was right. She was bad...just like Medusa...

"N-nothing...but...I r-really didn't know...I-I'm sorry..."

"Yeah. I know."

"R-Ragnarok...do you...ha-hate me n-now?"

"I don't know."

"A-are we...st-still...g-gonna be f-friends?"

He said nothing. Crona wasn't surprised by the silence...just hurt. She stared at the ground beneath her sadly as he started walking off again. This time she said nothing to stop him. She didn't follow this time, either. Crona was fully prepared to let him go.

A few minutes later he was gone and Crona was left alone.

Standing there she sniffled, crying silently as she headed for home, trying in vain to tell herself that maybe...just maybe...everything would turn out okay. It's probably best this way, she told herself over and over as she headed for home, chest aching and now feeling utterly alone.

It was her own fault though.

Surely this is what she deserved, all the misery and heartache...she'd earned it after what she did...after she destroyed their friendship. She had broken his trust and as a result Ragnarok was probably going to get hurt because of it. What sort of friend would let such a thing happen?

I'm a bad girl, she thought miserably.

Tears were dripping from her rosy tinged face, as she stood on the street corner less than two blocks from her home. Her eyes were squeezed shut, trying to just block everything out, but the day's events kept replaying in her mind, starting from the second she confessed what she had done towards the end where Ragnarok left without answering her question.

Swallowing a thick wad of saliva, she kept where she was with her hands at her sides, trembling as they clutched the fabric of her dress.

Her scrawny frame shook with small sobs and she felt like she was about to be sick.

"I did right..." she sniffled, reasoning with herself. "I did what Medusa said, but...Ragnarok...I tricked him...but...I did right...didn't I? Didn't I do right?"

Her mind was a confused jumble. Crona had no idea if what she did was right or wrong. She'd received so many mixed messages about it. Her mother assured her that it was good because she was being an obedient daughter, but Ragnarok said she done wrong because she'd fake cried and tricked him, because she'd broken her promise, and thrown him to the wolves all at once.

When she weighed the consequences against the benefits Crona felt, deep down inside, she'd done wrong.

Would missing that one meal have been so bad? She thought that maybe it wouldn't have been. That maybe she could have made it and snuck some food later while Medusa was sleeping. Oh, what a fool she was for listening to her stomach! Ragnarok was the only good thing she had, her only friend, and she'd probably just messed everything up.

She wanted to fix things.

Crona wanted everything to be better, but...what could she do? She was pathetic, weak, worthless, stupid...

Still...she couldn't just give him up without a fight! She couldn't let him get in trouble because of her mistake.

Crona found her feet moving then except she was rushing forwards blindly. Luckily there were no cars coming and she made it across the street safely. Running she passed the apartment building after a little while, but she kept running for as long as she could. Her chest burned and her frail body was beginning to ache. She was determined though. Crona knew that Ragnarok wasn't one to accept apologies but hoped that maybe...for once...he'd make an exception.

Hey, she was grasping at straws, but if there was even the teeniest of chances her apology would make things better then she would try it.

Crona soon found herself panting, as she slowed her pace, coming to a stop in front of his house. The steps where they sometimes sat together were vacant. She wasn't too sure if it'd be a good idea to go knock on the door so she decided to first look around before she did that. She didn't want to face her friend's father, especially if he were as mad as Ragnarok had said he was.

If anything, knocking on that door would be a last ditch effort to make contact.

She started to look around, checking out all the nearby allies and even around some old buildings where he'd sometimes hang around. She looked around local stores where they sometimes shoplifted only to leave disappointed when she didn't see him. She eventually went to the park and looked around a bit. She walked away, once again, disappointed, finding herself back to square one.

Or to be more exact, step one in front of his home. Swallowing, she took a step up, nervous and shaky as she forced her stiffening body to move up another step. There she was...just her and the door...she rose a shaky hand up to the door, and...

Crona...couldn't do it...

She ended up climbing down the steps and ran across the street where she sat against the brick wall of a nearby building. She felt like a complete failure. Did she even deserve Ragnarok when she didn't even have the guts to knock on his front door?

Probably not.

He would probably hate her forever now. Such thoughts brought tears to her eyes. She rubbed them away in shame, feeling like the pathetic crybaby that both Ragnarok and Medusa accused her of being.

"Hey!"


"Crona, are you paying attention?"

There was a moment of silence, and then she gave a nod. It'd been twenty minutes since she had ran from Kid's place. She had called Marie and explained to her that she had stayed over, which got her yelled at and it didn't help her feel any better when the blonde on the other end of the phone broke down in tears, demanding to know when she'd be coming back home. The pinkette promised she would be back that night, but knew she probably wouldn't stay long after returning.

But...she had no idea...what she was going to do.

They were going over the plans now. It shouldn't take more than a couple of hours to finish things up, perhaps longer if their prey wanted to play or attempt to make a futile escape. Either way, Crona knew it wouldn't do anything, save for entertain them.

She gasped quietly, as her superior took her chin between their thumb and forefinger, forcing her head to tilt back slightly so she was staring up at them. They looked so curious. The pinkette knew they were trying to get into her head. A scowl of disapproval told her they could see the guilt and fear hidden within her murky hues, hidden deep within the black despair and hatred. Those were dying embers, dying just like her victims, and once they were completely gone she'd have no other reason to keep going, but she was determined to keep the previous night and possibility of being pregnant a secret. If not for herself then...for Kid's sake...

"Tell me, what's bothering you? Are you getting cold feet so soon?"

"N-no, of course not! I just...I'm rethinking some things...and...you messed with Kid, didn't you?"

"What would make you think that?"

"You sent him a box...with pictures...and he blamed me for that. He blamed me for a lot."

"Maybe I did," her associate replied in a thoughtful manner, "but then again, maybe I didn't."

"You promised you'd leave him alone!" she snapped, daring to raise her tone and meet dull hues with her own dark predatory orbs. "You promised!"

"And you promised he wouldn't get in the way. Is he becoming a problem?"

"No!"

"Good. Because it'd be most unfortunate if another innocent has to die, don't you think? Hmm, just think...one minute he's with me, and then...he's gone. Wouldn't you love to see that spark wink out, watch the flowers bloom?"

"I do like seeing the flowers bloom..." she muttered, smiling a bit, but then recalled who they were talking about and snapped herself back to her original thought process. "No, no, just forget about Kid. I know I am."

"Oh? Did something happen between the two of you? Anything personal?"

Reluctant, though flushing, Crona scoffed, waving his implications off. "No, I just think he's too boring now. Besides, he doesn't like me anymore. He's just like everyone else."

"I told you, didn't I?"

"You did." she conceded. "But if anyone is going to rip his heart from his chest or skip rope with his insides then it'll be me, so don't worry about my personal feelings. I can do this."

"Good. That's very good to hear." Glancing to his watch he gave a sigh, "Let's go ahead and get started. I'm hoping to get some lunch today."

Nodding, Crona followed him as they headed off to start their dark tasks.

Internally, Crona thanked Kid for everything he'd done, for keeping her company, and giving her a shoulder to cry on when she was losing it; but as she said before, she wouldn't let her personal feelings get in the way. Grateful or not, she had a job to do, a game to complete, and today was the day she ended it, once and for all.

Never mind her hopes and fears, never mind the sick feeling that settled within her soul, she climbed into the back of a cab, which her superior had hailed. The only thoughts occupying her mind now were those of mutilation and bloodlust, save for that one bothersome voice tucked away in the back of her mind, persistent and resolute, I swear, Crona, I will stop you and I won't let anyone hurt you.

It was enough to make her wonder...

Was it really too late for her? Her arms wrapped around her torso in a hug, whilst her stomach got a queasy, stress-induced ache. She leaned her head back and stared at the ceiling of the cab through half-lidded eyes, now pondering on a sole inquiry that began to slowly overthrow every original, planned move she had memorized for this day.

What was she going to do?

Glancing out the window at all the passing signs and buildings, Crona found herself stuck with one last hope that conflicted with varying other aspects of her mentality.

There was a clashing of determined thought against desperate hope, which crumbled down as she realized, with resignation, upon reaching the designated location, that she was on her own and even if she backed out now...she had no choice...this was do or die, and Crona wasn't about to die.

At least...not yet...


Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

:D

I wish you all had a happy holiday and hope you have all enjoyed yourselves immensely! I've decided to shorten this chapter, though, I will admit, it isn't by much. Please review and I hope you've all enjoyed this chapter! Although, I feel, that ending could have been better.

xP

Oh well.

:)

Until next time, byez! ~Love, Fairylust~