AkireRosales: FU Chapter 19... I beat you. Enjoy!


Whispers

Chapter 19:

"The Hangman, The Lovers and the God of Death"

The Hallow's Eve party would usually mark the start of winter.

The cold weather was reflected in the wind, carrying the first small snowstorms of the season. Stray animals would search for warm places to endure the night, and most wild animals prepared to hibernate. Small rodents, squirrels, and mammals dug into their burrows in search for warmth, away from predators. Germany's DWMA was close to a forest area, and not too far from the nearest city. The huge activity the students usually brought with them, managed to create a medium sized town around the school, with apartments for rent, restaurants, parks and arcades. All around, the town was lively and filled with the students vibes, in the perfect place between forest isolation, and the city busy agenda.

So, it wasnt weird seeing wild animals escaping the forest, trying to scavenge on human waste. Rodents, squirrels, raccoons and other vermin were common, and along with them, their predators. Some sly and jumpy, like the foxes hunting on small prey, or the quiet and serene prey birds, watching from above. With such scenario, you would understand why when the Shibusen students spotted a grey and white horned owl, sitting in one of the school windows, looking inside the building, no one blinked and eye.

The insulation of its furry feathers was good against snow, but yet the owl tried to keep them clean, shaking it off with its long wings. Its large cold golden eyes stared inside the building, in what seemed to be a party in a gym court. The prey bird seemed to be staring into something, with the determined attention of a hunter studying its future meal. Its concentration was unmoving, until a hurtful flash of light stung on its large eyes, making it look to the source of it.

A student, apparently a freshman no younger than fourteen, was pointing at the owl with his flash professional camera, taking pictures. He was small, probably still lacking his first growth of puberty, bright blonde hair covered his head with soft curls. His large sky blue eyes fully focused on the wild animal a few feet above them.

"Its so gorgeous!" The student grinned, excited. His accent was obvious... an exchange student maybe? Or some student from a nearby country.

"Can't believe you taking pictures of an owl man... you should be spying on students with that camera!" Another student, in a clear german voice, scowled the freshman. He looked way older with sleek black hair combed back, probably around his seventeen, surely a senior. "How are you fighting your way inside the school's magazine club with owl photos?"

"These are for me, I love animals" The foreign student explained, taking one more picture of the owl, staring back at him. "Look... it even looks like posing for me!"

"Yeah sure man, whatever you say" The older student snickered, taking out a cigarette to hold it between his lips. "You should keep following the Witchcraft teachers, I heard they've been dancing for a while now. We can throw some juicy photos of them for the gossip column!"

"Dude thats like... the cheapest kind of articles you could write about" Another student laughed, tall and muscular with dark brown hair, holding a mug of beer.

"Ey man, I only obey the masses. If thats what people want to read, someone needs to write about it!"

"You gonna get detention if you publish those photos, I guarantee you that" The freshman warned his partner, trying to find a good angle on the white and grey horned owl. He frowned, staring right into the owl golden eyes, the animal had a quite heavy stare... almost an intelligent kind of look. He felt as if the bird was staring at his very soul.

Suddenly, for all the students surprise, the owl dived towards them. In quick, precise movements, the large animal managed to grasp on the foreign student's camera, snatching it away from him. The blonde student gasped, surprised, staring at the owl flying away with his camera between its large claws.

"W-wait! Thats very expensive!" The young student yelled at the bird, to no avail.

"Bummer man" The black-haired student chuckled, lifting up his own camera to take a quick photo of the owl, flying away. "Ha! Got it, so you can remember your camera forever"

"Not fun! I need those photos!" The freshman complained, running down the stairs of the school, following the owl. "Come back here!"

"Ey dude! Leave it be! We'll search for it tomorrow morning!" The student holding the beer yelled at him, watching him chasing the owl, who was oddly flying very low, almost at hands reach. "That thing is going to maim you if you touch it!"

"Ugh... we should follow him" The older student grunted, before shivering in his spot when a quite cold rush of air hit him.

"With this cold? Hell no, it will start snowing anytime soon. He'll be back when he gets tired of running" The brunette said with a smile "Lets get inside, I heard someone planned on adding flavor to the punch"

"Sweet!" His partner grinned, tucking his own camera inside his coat, following him back inside the school, the predicament of that young freshman long forgotten.

The young boy was running as fast as he could, trying to grab his camera from the owl's grasp. The bird was flying very low, at least low enough to have his camera almost at hands reach, but still far enough to be unattainable. If it weren't just an animal, he could swear the damn thing was teasing him. The cold air was stinging on his nostrils and lungs, forcing him to stop running and cough, bending slightly with his hands above his knees, trying to recover some breath.

"Damn... out of shape..." He panted, eyes looking down to the streets, a thin layer of snow already covering the ground. Well, there was his camera, he would probably find it in some nest later, but it would be one hell of a rescue search, for sure.

A loud, booming "Hoot" called his attention, forcing him to look back up. Not too far away, sitting on a nearby bench, was the damn owl. Its golden eyes stared at him, claws holding into the camera's long black belt. That animal was teasing him for sure! The damn thing was waiting for him!... Or maybe it got tired as well? It was quite cold, and he read somewhere that snowstorms were bad for owls... something about their feathers not having enough insulation.

Shouldn't that owl be hidden in some tree hole or something? Why was it in the open when a storm was coming, anyway?

"Ey bird... just gimme my camera... Really I dont have any money for a new one... please..." The boy panted, in a very polite french language, walking slowly towards it, making the owl tilt its head from one side to the other in a rather adorable way. At least it would be adorable, if it weren't for those piercing, almost unsettling eyes. They looked too focused, almost human.

Just when he was a few steps away from it, the owl jumped out of his reach, flying away and right into the forest. Just then, the blonde student noticed how far he had chased that owl. They were at the entrance of the forest, quite far away from the school... he could barely hear the loud party.

Taking a deep breath, he decided to follow the owl. He was too far away to back off now, at least he should see where its nest was, so he could get some help in the morning. The owl kept on flying, not too fast, not too tall, just at the exact height and speed to keep him viciously interested. The student could feel that just a jump at the right moment could make him reach his camera, it was that close. His blue eyes were too focused on the owl, that he missed the attention of where he was stepping on, the lose of his footing reminding him the very first rule of any student of the DWMA: be aware of your surroundings.

He yelped, feeling his body weight shifting, his foot sliding off a muddy hillside, falling down deeper into the forest. He tried to stop his falling, clawing at the cold ground to no avail, the feeling of fingernails breaking making him hiss in pain. Although he couldnt stop his falling, he slowed down enough for not crashing on the bottom end, finally feeling ground below his feet. That was everything he could do now, feel, since the darkness of the forest in that areas was almost pitch black. Between the tall trees and the black moon, he was completely blind, the road with street lamps too far away to lighten that area of the forest.

"Fuck... fuck fuck fuck fuck!" He shivered, eyes wide open, trying to catch what little light was available so he could see at least some way to return to the main road. The sound of the party had vanished, so he couldnt guide himself with it, and the wind moving the tree leaves was blocking any other sound.

He was scared, shivering and alone, and almost blind. The road lights were barely able to be seen between the tall branches, but surely if he could walk towards them, he would be back to the main road. Screw his camera, there were wolves and bears in that forest! Being alone in there was no joke!

"Wolves and bears should be the least of your concerns..."

The blonde boy opened his eyes widely, looking behind him, seeing nothing but darkness. That had been a voice, a feminine voice... but coming from where?

"H-Hello?... A-Anybody there?" He stuttered, fearful... probably it had been his imagination? Surely... otherwise how could that voice know what he was thinking?

"Oh but I know everything about you..."

He yelped, jumping away from the source of that voice, his left foot tangling with what seemed to be the root of a tree, making him fall on his back. He gritted his teeth, hands quickly moving towards his ankle, throbbing with pain, probably sprained. Tears of fear quickly welling in his eyes.

"W-Who are you?... where are you!?" The boy yelled, wide open eyes looking around into the darkness. Suddenly, a flash of light called his attention, making him look right in front of him, shivering, expectant... then another flash.

It was his camera's flash, being held by a tall figure of a woman. The vision lasted just a second, barely lightened by the flash, but it had been enough. The woman had long black hair, brown skin and piercing golden eyes... it reminded him of the owl. Was she that owl? But... how...

A witch?

"A-are... you from Shibusen?... is this a prank?" He asked, wary, the golden eyes of that woman almost shining in the pitch black darkness. With his fourteen years of existence, the blonde boy remembered nothing but witches being allies, for the most part. Of course many of them wouldnt be too nice with non witches but, they had a truce... right? "I think I sprained my ankle... c-can I have my camera back?"

Another flash. The witch was taking photos of him, using the flash to add some light. The sudden piercing light made the boy growl, rubbing his eyes in annoyance. The light stung, making him see little light spots everywhere, losing sight of the tall woman.

"What are you?... you looked like a fox... but now you look more like a little mouse..." The voice of the woman resonated in his mind, making him shiver. She had a foreign accent he couldnt point out... sounded a lot like a gypsy.

"W-What you mean!? I'm a boy! Im a Shibusen student of the NOT Class!" He yelled. He didnt mean to yell at her, but fear was starting to fill his soul. He felt in danger... he hated that feeling.

"No you are not... you are just a little orphan. You lost your family in a fire... a kishin egg did it... and the teacher who took it down brought you over to the school" Although he couldnt see the woman's features, he could hear her clearly... and her voice triggered him. It sounded amused, as if she were smiling, mocking him. Tears of humiliation and anger started to fall down his cheeks. "You are nobody, little mouse"

The boy remained silent, unable to talk back to that tall woman, barely visible in the darkness. She had his camera, and those cold golden eyes... she was the owl, and he followed her all the way into a trap. He may be young, but he wasnt stupid... he was in trouble. He had to find a way to escape her, but she was right in front of his escape route, the path towards the lights of the main road. The only way out would be deeper into the forest, and he wasnt sure he would manage to escape, stumbling with every branch and rock around. He wouldnt make it.

"I like nobodies... no one misses them... no one notices them gone..." The witch said, her voice calm and eerie, flashing him once again with his own camera, forcing him to close his eyes in pain.

She was surely using soul protection. There was no other way for her to be around the school without it. For experienced witches, they didnt need their soul protection off to transform into their animal form... this was probably the case. That meant he wouldnt get any help anytime soon... but she also couldnt hurt him. Without magic, witches were just a normal human being, and he may be small, but there was no way such fragile looking woman could overpower him... right?

The witch chuckled, her small laugh sending shivers down his spine. He couldnt quite see her, but he could imagine her... and her eyes were bright even in the darkness. She was glaring at him with murderous glee, forcing cold sweat run down his spine. Fear... no matter how conscious, rational and thoughtful he tried to be... those eyes were summoning a mind-numbing crippling fear into his very soul.

"Please... I haven't done anything to you... let me go!" He cried out, terrified, tears finally leaving his eyes.

Suddenly, he heard footsteps. Movement of legs, limbs, ruffling the fallen leaves of the forest, walking towards him with what seemed to be a limp. He could tell by the way the steps were followed with the sound of something being dragged slightly. That sound was too close, and getting even closer, surrounding him, blocking any chance of escape. He should have stayed with his friends, he should have let his camera to get lost, he should have...

The owl witch took another picture of the boy, the flash illuminating for a brief second their surroundings. Thats when he saw it.

He screamed. A loud, blood-freezing, anguished cry of sheer horror boomed in the forest, before the thing he saw stroke his head with a blunt object, making him fall unconscious in the forest soil. The wind kept ruffling the tree branches and leaves, a snowstorm quickly approaching.

Nobody nearby heard a sound.


Soul took a deep long sigh, ruby eyes staring at the photos scattered all over the Principal's desk.

They called him around midday, after the weekend was over and everyone returned to their daily routines. Thats when they noticed it... one of the freshman in the NOT class was missing. He missed the first classes, and not until midday, right after lunch, some students decided to tell one of the teachers about their concerns. How the boy lost his camera, and left the party following an owl. It would be just an interesting story, until the oldest meister showed them the photo he took of the bird flying away with a camera on its claws. Thats when they decided to call for Soul, to see if he could recognize the animal.

"Its her..." He growled, taking one of the photos of the witch in his hand. It was a perfect photo of the Owl Witch in her animal form. He could recognize those predatory eyes everywhere. "The Owl Witch... Nebula"

"Thats what I feared..." The principal sighed, taking out of his pocket a bunch of freshly revealed photos, throwing them in front of the Death Scythe for him to see them.

The weapon took them in his hands, looking at each and every one of them, frowning when he noticed they all were photos of the missing student, kneeling in the forest soil, staring up with wide terrified eyes, and then the last photo...

"What..." He grunted, frowning, staring at the piece of paper. In the picture, the boy was looking behind him, staring at a large bulky man. It was slightly blurry, apparently the photo had been taken while that thing was moving, but he could see how its limbs weren't human... it looked like it had animal parts stitched as his arms and legs. It looked like one of Stein's sick experiments.

"Yeah... is definitely her... Maka said the witch was experimenting with some kind of hybrids, it must be her" Soul said, leaving the pictures back in the principal's desk. "Where you found these?"

"The witch left the boy's camera behind... any guesses of why she left evidence?" The director asked, both of his elbows resting on his desk, hands intertwined in front of him, looking thoughtful.

"She's taunting us, this was a direct attack to make us act... she wants us chasing her" The albino said with anger in his voice, ruby eyes staring at all those pictures in front of him. "I dont know... we probably should. She sneaked right under our noses and kidnapped a student... she did it while I was there in the party"

"Now now, dont blame yourself... the witch is very smart, using her animal form to lure a naive kid away from school, right out of our Soul Perception reach, she probably didnt even break her soul protection" The director tried to calm him down, his hand going up to rub his well kept beard. "Maka helped us out with her Soul Perception, so we know the kid is no longer in the forest... the search party is still looking, but there's no evidence of blood where we found the camera"

"Maka?" The weapon frowned, looking puzzled.

"She didnt tell you?" The director sighed, his eyes staring back at Soul with a calm, almost understanding look on his face. "How are things going between you both? I'm getting worried with your resonance problems"

"We are working on it" Soul said, dry and straight to the point. How much he disliked being asked about his personal life, specially when it came around his marriage troubles.

"I dont want to be disrespectful, Soul, and I know its private, but you are the best Death Scythe available right now. If I need to send somebody in a search for this witch, it will be you... but if your meister is not up for the task of teaming up with you, I'll send another meister who can" The principal explained, his voice serious, staring at the albino with a frown on his face "How is your research about the witch going?"

"Ive asked around. The Witch Council said they have records of still living owl witches, but most have being searched in their homes and found no evidence of the dungeons we described. When asking about Nebula and how she looks, they said they have records of she being dead a long time ago... so either she's a fucking zombie, or she tricked the council to avoid being on their radar"

"Then we have nothing... this is not good Soul, you will need to go back to Russia and search again. The chances of she still being there are close to zero, but we have no other clues to follow" The principal noted, getting up from his seat and walking towards his large full body mirror, staring at his own reflection. "I'll inform Lord Death about this in a few hours, see what he thinks we should do... for now stay in the school, I'll tell you the plan by the end of the day"

"I understand" Soul said, bowing slightly to the principal, before moving towards the exit.

"Oh Soul! One last thing" The principal stopped him from going out, watching at the Death Scythe looking back at him with an arched eyebrow. "Maka helped us out, but she doesnt know this is related to the Owl Witch. She has no clue about these photos either"

Soul frowned, staring at the principal with a scowl on his face.

"Why? She's going to be pissed if she finds out you lied to her" The scythe warned the principal, who just embossed a sheepish smile.

"I was concerned she finding out would worsen her mind state, we know she tends to blame herself in these cases... if you want to tell her, is up to you" At the principal's words, Soul only nodded, walking out of the office.

The albino took a deep breath, feeling enraged and impotent. That boy was only 14 years old, and he disappeared right under everyone's noses, snatched away by a witch he and Maka let escape. In some way, it felt as if his disappearance was their fault. If he was feeling this way, he had no idea how Maka would feel about it if she found out. Those photos and the story of the owl witch was a secret, handled by only a handful of meisters and weapons including him. Even the search party remained small, just to avoid unsettling the students... there was no one Maka could talk about the issue but himself.

Should he tell her? What if telling her would do nothing but make things between them worse? His patience was running thin, and sooner than later, he would force her to talk to him. This wasnt just about their marriage and their resonance anymore... there were lives at risk, innocent people depending on their teamwork. Whatever was troubling her, it had to end now.

He searched on his jacket inner pocket, taking out the three tarot card he was now carrying with him at all times. Their resonance had been strong and sound, until the witch started to mess with Maka's head. If she wasnt telling him what was wrong, he would try other methods.

He just needed to find that witch student who knew how to read cards, and he had an idea of where to start searching.


Despite it all, it had been a rather pleasant weekend.

It was his fifth day in Germany, monday close to evening, teaching the last class of the day. The classroom desk had a pair of empty tea cups, one plain black and the other had funny pictures of hopping frogs, with books and paperwork scattered all over the desk surface. After hearing out Eruka's method of teaching, he soon found out why they needed him helping her out. She had no idea how to teach, she would often forget the subject she was touching, or all of a sudden lost track of the signature and start talking about her personal life instead.

Crona remained sitting in the teacher's desk chair, both of his hands clasped together on top of the wooden furniture, staring at Eruka moving around in front of the classroom trying to explain the basics of magic control and defense. His dark eyes were focused on her, the way she would forget her train of thought, and how she flustered when the students laughed when she pointed out some funny remark she didnt intend to make it funny. He was letting her be, after all this was her classroom, he was there just to guide her in case she needed help.

After the party... their relationship had evolved to the better. They spent the whole night in the party, dancing, talking, enjoying the clubs show offs, and in the early time of morning they helped every remaining student to either go home, or sleep off their hangover in the school's infirmary. Ragnarok did a remarkable job too, holding up the alcohol like a champion, allowing him to actually enjoy the evening without the nasty side-effects... until he reached the school basements, that is.

Until he accompanied Eruka to her bedroom, to make sure she was safe... he wished Ragnarok could have intoxicated him enough in one strike to not remember what happened, but he remembered perfectly well. Later on Saturday, he thought he wouldn't have the courage to talk with Eruka again, but she brushed it off, and treated him with absolutely normality. Even more, it felt as if their friendship was now stronger, like... actually being old good friends. He wasnt sure it was the right way of saying it, but he liked it, nonetheless.

"Ey idiot! Frog's talking to you!" Ragnarok pulled his left ear, making him snap out of his thoughts. The swordsman shook his head, shoving his weapon partner away from his sore ear.

"S-Sorry.. what was it?" Crona asked, big dark eyes look at Eruka who was pouting at him. Some of the students chuckled.

"Really Crona..." The witch sighed, her hand going up to fix her loose hair behind her ear, but despite her scolding, she smiled at him. "Always with your head in the clouds... repeat the question please!"

One of the students quickly got up from his seat, obedient to the witch's order, and loudly repeated himself.

"Most of us witches dont have a weapon partner! How are we supposed to choose one if we cant resonate? And how are we supposed to learn how to resonate if we dont have a partner?"

That was a good question. The swordsman frowned slightly, trying to figure out the easiest explanation. Witches were not trained for soul perception, most had no idea how that worked, and even so not everyone would be able to master it fully. Even Maka, the most skilled meister in the subject, wasnt perfect. The memory of the blonde meister sent a whirlwind of memories into his brain, making his heart ache. His semblance changed slightly, but enough for the Frog to notice it.

Eruka frowned, walking towards him with questioning onyx eyes. His eyes were fixed on his own hands, resting on top of the table, thinking. Crona's lost stare got interrupted by the witch's hand resting on his own, squeezing his left hand softly but firmly. He blinked a couple times, looking up at her, watching her smiling at him. The soft rub of her thumb against his hand helped him to focus again, and he just nodded in a silent thank you to her.

The swordsman got up from the desk chair, releasing himself from Eruka's touch and walking to the center of the classroom. These students were all witches, most of them male. That was perfectly normal, usually female witches would always stay with their peers, but males... males more often than not would try to flee that choking matriarch system.

Shibusen turned into a haven for undesired witches, weak witches, and male ones. In a society where magic and power was the norm, magic-less and weak members had no place in it.

"Y-you dont need a partner for achieving a resonance..." Crona started to explain, looking up to his weapon partner who was amazingly behaving himself, silently sitting on top of his head. "You can resonance with anyone, friends... family... other meisters... as long as there's some kind of connection between the both of you"

"What if I have none of that?" Another student, sitting in the last chair at the end of the classroom, grunted loud enough to be heard.

Crona glanced towards the voice, staring at the young meister who said that. He was a male witch, he could tell by his looks alone, dark pink hair combed in a spiky fashion. Pink hair was highly common among witches, and quite rare in non witch males. It was a dead give away.

"W-Well you need connection... resonance is just that... a connection between souls" The swordsman explained, looking up to his weapon partner. "Choosing the weapon partner is always the most important decision a meister can ever make... it would be perfect if we could choose them by soul affinity and compatibility, but..."

"Wait what? What does that even mean?" Eruka interrupted him, arching an eyebrow, both hands resting on her hips.

He looked at her, staring at her confused face, and back again to the students who were equally as confused. Of course, he was used to teach to high level meisters, this was a starter class, with most students being freshman or veterans without weapons and who had never have a mission before. He would need to start with the very basic...

What Maka taught to him, so long ago. It would be a lot easier if he could explain a resonance from the start, from the very basics, maybe with an example...

"O-Okay... S-Soul Resonance is a high level ability of a meister, it happens when two souls manage to achieve synchronization... like a radio that matches the frequency of another radio. You can communicate when in the right channel, right? Souls work the same..."

"How does that feel?" One of the students interrupted him. He was a young small student, probably not older than thirteen.

"Well... you can feel what they feel, anger, fear, happiness... and sometimes you can even hear what they are thinking... Thats why is so important to keep your mind and body sound, if you're sick, or worried, it affects the resonance"

"Well then how the hell YOU can make a resonance if you are neither of that!?" Ragnarok suddenly asked, looking down to his meister and pulling on his pink hair.

"R-Ragnarok stay still! D-dont interrupt me" Crona complained, blushing when the students started laughing, watching him struggle with his weapon partner.

"Thats because you're equally as messed up as him, and you have no body! Should I say more?" Eruka grinned, bursting a laugh when Ragnarok released his partner to stare at her with murderous glee.

"Oh you sassy toad! You think you're fucking cute!?" The demon sword growled, stretching up as far as he could towards the witch, who remained at a safe distance from him.

"Pfff... bitch I'm adorable" She grinned, finally dropping a laugh along with the students.

Crona groaned, looking how the students stirred in their places, now completely distracted. Eruka was a horrible teacher, hands down. Kim would always help him control Ragnarok and keep the class on track, but the frog seemed to persistently try to sabotage him.

"A-A-Anyway!" He clapped a couple times, making the whole classroom to stop the noise and focus on him. It was a trick Kim taught him long ago, to make himself be heard despite his usually shy voice. "Resonance needs two things to work... lets c-call it ingredients... C-Compatibility and Affinity"

"Aren't those synonyms for the same thing?" A witch asked, green hair fixed in a high bun, staring at him with sharp bright purple eyes. She had a silver necklace with the image of a dragonfly resting proudly on her chest.

"N-No t-they aren't... C-Compatibility is how efficiently two souls can work together. Like pieces of a p-p-puzzle, like... sometimes you can make a puzzle piece match in another puzzle set, r-right? Is not the same picture, but it fits..." Crona tried to explain, in the exact same way Maka showed him that lesson, in a time that now looked so long ago.

"Oh! Like a piece of a lion puzzle having the same size and form of a... hmm... dog puzzle? The piece doesnt belong, but it fits?" Eruka asked, standing next to him with questioning eyes.

"Y-yeah! Exactly that" The swordsman smiled at her, before returning his attention to the class. "Comp-p-ativility is a crucial ingredient in a resonance... without it, it just cant happen. When searching for a weapon partner, you must find this compatibility, the better it gets, the stronger the resonance will be"

"I wonder what kind of compatibility you have with Ragnarok" Eruka musited, arching her eyebrow while staring at the black blob resting on his meister's head. The demon sword stared at her for the longest time, but amazingly didnt answer her taunt. Instead, he just combed Crona's hair with his paw-like hands, getting comfortable.

"So that means I have to find someone who is exactly like me?" One of the male witches asked, both of his arms crossed on top of his desk. He had unruly spiky short red hair and matching eyes, looking at them warily.

"N-no, a-actually you can be compatible with people who is completely opposite to you... like a brave, outgoing and loud ninja can be perfectly compatible with a shy, quiet and gentle sword." Crona explained, remembering one of his oldest dearest friends. That loud blue monkey, as Maka would always call him, and his oh so patient weapon partner.

Even in class, he couldnt stop thinking about her. Crona shook his head, taking a deep breath before continuing.

"Affinity, on the other side... is rare. It could be described as... some kind of natural attraction" The swordsman tried to explain, but he fell short on words. Maka tried to explain that to him once, but she couldnt either...

"Stop thinking about her dammit" Ragnarok growled in his ear interrupting his thoughts, giving him a quick punch on his skull, making his meister wince.

"Oh! I can explain that one, gecko!" Eruka jumped in her place, ready to step up and help him out, much for the swordsman's relief. She cleared her throat before talking. "Affinity is a spontaneous or natural liking or sympathy for someone... also its explained as a feeling of closeness and understanding that someone has for another person. Is this thing you feel when you see someone, like... you see this person and you immediately say 'Ey, he looks like a nice dude, I want to meet him" kind of thing..."

"E-Exactly, thank you Eruka" Crona smiled fondly at her, making the frog witch blush slightly, dodging his stare. "Affinity is more related to the soul, unlike C-Compatibility that is more related to the personality. Affinity is not necessary for a resonance, but it empowers it greatly... also Compatibility can change over time, with age and different experiences between meister and weapon... but affinity always stays there... like a link between souls."

"I feel that affinity when I see a sexy ass" An older boy grinned, rising up his hand for a couple of his friend to give him a high five.

"That happens to me too when I see your sister!" Another voice, far behind, answered to the boy, making him snarl and get up from his chair, trying to find the culprit.

"I feel that too when I watch Sasha Grey!" Another anonymous voice yelled, making the whole classroom to laugh.

"Gross!" The group of girls complained, and soon enough balls of paper and crafted airplanes were flying through the classroom. A complete mess.

Crona stared at the chaos, and couldnt help but shook his head, sighing defeatedly. He obviously was lacking the strength and cold determination needed to keep a bunch of bored hormonal teenagers in check, specially when they didnt know him. At least back in Shibusen, the students were familiar to him and respected him, in here on the other way...

"Where are you Kim?" The swordsman complained in a low tone of voice, ruffling his hair slightly, trying to figure out a way to get back the students attention. Suddenly, a sting at his back forced him to bend forward, biting down his lip in pain.

"Crona?" Eruka reached for him, worried about his sudden change of humor, frowning at his silent face of pain, until she saw Ragnarok growing.

The little demon started to mutate, growing larger. The black blood ripped through Crona's muscle and skin, adding mass into the demon. The demon sword got huge, his bulky form forcing his partner to stay hunched while he transformed. In seconds, the little frog-like thing that used to be Ragnarok, turned into a ripped bulky bigger form of himself, easily as large as Crona was tall. The swordsman hadnt recovered, when he felt his partner starting to suck on air.

Alarmed, he reached for Eruka, holding her close to him, quickly covering her ears with his hands. The frog stared at him confused, questioning him with her eyes, until she heard it. Despite Crona's hands covering her ears, protecting her, she heard it.

A loud, booming, merciless screech resonated in the whole classroom. Ragnarok's screech forced the students to cover their ears, paralyzing every conversation, every yell and every attempt of disrupting the class. Yeah... that was exactly the reason why students back in America's DWMA never dared to disrupt his class. They knew Ragnarok.

Once the screech ended, the whole classroom was completely in silence. The students looked at each other in confusion, and some started to gently slap their ears, while others snapped their fingers in hope of hearing anything.

Crona shook his head, gently releasing Eruka from his grasp to move towards the classroom's board, writing down a message. The frog witch got unharmed from Ragnarok's attack, thanks to her proximity to him and his hands protecting her, and yet she still had a low ringing in her ears. She watched him writing the message on the board, and couldnt help but grin.

"The deafness is temporary, give it a couple hours. See you all in next class, hopefully a second screech wont be needed if you behave" Crona silently wrote in the board, for all the students to read it. They started to complain, but being unable to hear their own words, they resigned. Quickly enough, every student collected their items and abandoned the classroom in silence.

Once the classroom emptied of students, leaving no one but the Witchcraft teachers alone, the demon sword started to rant.

"Bitches disrespecting my bitch! Never!" Ragnarok puffed his chest, flexing his muscles on top of Crona's head, a large hand going down to grasp his skull, shaking him vigorously. "You better man up in class you wimp! Or these students will eat you up!"

"Y-y-y-yes R-Ragnarok! S-S-stop it!" Crona stuttered, his head being moved back and forth by his partner's huge hand. He shook him off, dizzy, pushing his hand away and slapping him when he tried to grab him again. "Enough I said!"

"Oh come on! I know you miss this! Dont tell me you dont like it rough!" The sword grinned, making his meister blush in embarrassment. A little shy croak called both of their attention, looking at their side where Eruka was standing, staring at them with large dark eyes.

"I-I didnt know Ragnarok c-could get big at will..." The frog witch croaked, fear clearly pictured in her face, her small frame shaking slightly. Her vulnerable form made the sword grin, stretching towards her, his large shape towering above her.

"Thats because I've eaten thousands of little witch souls like yours" Ragnarok grinned, enjoying the way Eruka's face paled, shivering at his sight. Quickly enough, an iron fist collided in his stomach, punching the air out of him. The demon yelped, both of his large hands going down to hold his stomach, looking down to his meister staring at him with a deep frown.

"Dont scare her... and go back to normal size now" Crona demanded him, his voice sounding unusually bossy for him. His weapon partner stared at him for the longest time, snickering after a while and giving him a punch on his head.

"Dont get all manly and shit with me! You wimp!" The sword chuckled, but obediently enough recoiled back into his usual small form, resting on top of his partner's head. "If it weren't for me you wouldnt be able to teach shit!"

The demon swordsman ignored his partner, taking a big sigh before looking at Eruka. He had forgotten how usually jumpy and scared of Ragnarok she used to be. She still was slightly pale and shaky, wide eyes staring at the little fiend on top of his head. Crona reached up to her, both of his hands warily moving up to hold the frog witch by her small shoulders.

"S-Sorry... are you okay?" He asked, truly concerned, midnight dark eyes trying to make contact with deep onyx. After a moment she finally lifted up her gaze, looking back at him.

"Y-yeah... I just forgot how scary he was..." She tried to laugh it off, a nervous smile twitching in her lips. She thanked his support with that smile, a hand reaching up to grasp his own above her shoulder, fingers caressing the back of his hand. "Well... class is over, where should we go today?"

"T-Today?" Crona asked, slowly releasing her shoulders, moving up to the teacher's desk, sitting on the chair while collecting his paperwork back inside his backpack.

"Yeah, we took that long tour in Berlin this weekend, what should we do today?" She asked again, reaching up to him, her hand resting at the back of his neck, fingers toying with the few strands of loose hair in his low ponytail.

"Any place with food! Those spicy sausages where lit!" Ragnarok grinned, pawing at Eruka's hand like a annoyed kitten playing with a bell. "Hands off! I'm sick of your hands all over my meister!"

"Jeez jealous much Ragnarok, learn to share" Eruka challenged him, keeping her hand on his hair, petting his ponytail.

Crona blushed slightly, Indeed, after recovering from the nasty hangover, they spent the whole weekend together, out of town. After what happened, Crona thought being with her would be awfully awkward, but... it actually felt nice. After establishing boundaries and explaining the kind of friendship they wanted, everything went out quite smoothly. Crona wanted empathy, warmth and understanding, while Eruka wanted protection, comfort and to be heard out. It was a good deal, small things both could try to achieve in a growing friendship.

The fingers toying with his hair made him smile. It had been just an innocent comment, telling her he liked how she toyed with his hair. He said that to her while dancing, and after that she would do just that time to time. It was really comforting, and he let her know with his usual small smile.

"A-Anywhere you want" He answered, plain and simple. Anything was good really, he was bad at making choices anyway. Ragnarok rolled his eyes.

"Good boy!" She cheered with a big smile, reaching up to hug his head tightly, shoving Ragnarok away while doing so, grinning at the meister's sudden yelp. It lasted just one second, quickly releasing him to start babbling about her ideas. "I say we should go to the museum! The story with the dictator that turned into a kishin egg is so interesting!"

"I dont think six million eaten souls ate by an army of kishin eggs should be considered interesting..." A sudden well known voice was heard in the classroom, making the swordsman jump in the spot, face turning pale.

"Oh fuck no, get the hell away from us!" Ragnarok screeched, his cartoon-like face showing a deep scowl, staring at Maka standing in the classroom's entrance, both of her arms crossed in front of her chest.

She was safely protected from the winter cold with a long ivory colored coat, synthetic fluffy white fur around the hoodie on her back, and a pair of well insulated black pants with matching boots. On her hands, her trademark white gloves protected her fingers from cold numbness. The scythe meister looked gorgeous, as always, and Crona couldnt help but look away... how long had she been there?

"Hello there Maka, where were you? You missed the best part of the party on Friday" Eruka smiled, the swordsman frowning when noticing the look on her face. The witch had what could only be described as a wicked kind of smile, her dark eyes holding a sinister glare, like a challenging kind of look. Suddenly, the arms of the silvery haired woman slid across his chest, feeling her weight on his back, making him blush in embarrassment. She was taking advantage of his hunched position in the desk chair, resting her weight on his back.

"The hell! Get off me you nympho!" Ragnarok complained, trapped between his meister's back and Eruka's chest.

"R-Ragnarok be quiet" Crona shushed him, getting nothing but a hard noogie from his weapon partner, both of his paw-like hands harshly rubbing against his skull. "Q-Quit it!"

"Betrayal! Dishonor! You prefer the bitches instead of your weapon partner! I see! You know what!? Fuck you! If they rape you, dont come crying to me!" The demon screeched, finishing his harsh noogie before retreating back inside his partner, much to Crona's relief.

The blonde meister standing in the classroom's entrance, however, was completely silent. Her emerald eyes, always a source of warmth, were staring down at them with a cold glare. That frown, that scowl, wasnt unusual in her, but certainly it never had been addressed to him before. Soon enough, after feeling Eruka's hands drawing circles in his chest, he noticed. That glare wasnt directed to him, but to the frog witch.

"Can we help you with anything Albarn? We were making plans for our next date" Eruka stated, her voice sounding unusually secure and straightforward. Crona wasnt sure he liked that tone of voice, that last word... she made it sound like a dirty word. And it seemed it had that effect, noticing how Maka tensed.

"Well you will postpone it for another time. I need to talk to Crona" The scythe meister declared, firm and demanding, yet the swordsman saw through her cold eyes. She looked hurt, and that was something he couldnt stand.

"Whatever you need to say, you can say it right here" Eruka stated, her hands going up to his shoulders, holding into him with possessiveness. As Crona stared at Maka, he quickly noticed how her eyes sparkled with impending rage, ignited with that fierce fire he knew she held deep in her soul.

Eruka could be a witch, but an enraged Maka was dangerous, even weaponless. Like a spring, Crona got up from the desk chair, standing between the frog witch and the scythe meister, both of his hand up trying to soothe the snarling women.

"E-E-Eruka... I'll go with Maka... it must be important" He looked at the frog witch behind him, who frowned deeply, both of her hands resting on her hips.

"What!? Crona we talked about this! You cant just run at her every command!" She scolded him, the swordsman wincing slightly at her words. Yes, they talked about it, in her bedroom...

"Stay away from our business Eruka, you dont own him!" Maka snarled at the witch, stepping closer much to Crona's anguish.

"Oh you are one to talk! Why dont you-" Her words were cut by Crona's arms holding her shoulders, the swordsman giving his back to Maka just to stare at her, midnight dark eyes focused on the witch.

'E-Eruka please... I want to go with her... please..." He whispered, his pleading stare quite obvious to her. She couldnt say no to that stare, it was like a small child begging to let her go to his best friend's sleepover. The witch kept the deep frown in her face, shaking her head in disapproval.

Slowly, she raised both of her hands, resting her palm in Crona's arms. She had a bad feeling about it, whatever Maka wanted, it wasnt good. She could feel it, just... nothing good would come out of it. She knew that much... the scythe meister wasnt ready, she still had doubts, she still had no idea what to do... and in such a state she would only hurt him.

Crona was her friend, and Eruka was very protective towards her friends.

"She's going to hurt you..." She said in a low one of voice, only for him to hear her. It wasnt a question, it was a statement. She had no doubts in her heart, that Maka was going to hurt him.

Crona however shook his head, smiling softly at her, slowly releasing her from his grasp. With a deep sigh, the swordsman looked back at Maka, his now empty hands squeezing each other with fear. The blonde meister wasnt looking at them, instead, her stare was fixed in some random point in the classroom, a hard frown showing in her face.

Despite not looking, the scythe meister knew they had finished talking, her emerald eyes now staring at him. He nodded at her, taking a deep breath before walking towards her, Eruka's loud voice making him yelp and stop.

"Listen to me Albarn. If you hurt him, your Maka-Chops will look like child's play compared to what I will do to you!" The frog witch threatened her, her face showing anger with a deep scowl.

Surprisingly, at least for Crona, the meister said nothing. Maka just stared at Eruka, her face drained from every emotion, looking almost bored. The anger he saw minutes ago had vanished, leaving her with an unimpressed look in her eyes. He didnt know what was worse: seeing her angry, or not knowing what she was feeling at all.

Above all, she was so quiet now. Without a word, the blonde meister left the classroom, apparently confident enough that he would follow her. And he did, obedient as always, loyal to her every command.

He just couldnt help himself.


She was quite the elusive little thing.

Anybody would think that after five years working in that school, he would already be familiarized with every single student, but truth was he had little patience and even less interest in knowing them. His work as a scythe was more field related than teaching related, and the classes at his charge involved only the most advanced weapons in school.

Therefore, anyone would understand if he had no idea who was that bat-witch freshman everyone talked to him about. He didnt even know there could be bat witches... would there be witches of any kind? Like... dog witches? Or whale witches? Did it even work like that? Maybe he should take a couple classes with Crona and Eruka, after all... ignorance wasnt cool.

Soul yawned lazily, stretching on the uncomfortable chair of the cafeteria. After asking a few favors, one of the students promised him to send the student over to him at that hour... it was almost seven o-clock in the evening. It was a safe hour, he knew that by now Maka would be in the apartment, hopefully making dinner. She would surely be pissed about him arriving so late tho... but this was important.

Someone clearing their throat next to him made him open his ruby eyes, looking to the source of such noise. At his right, a petite looking girl was staring at him idly. She had short black hair, cut neatly below her earlobes, pierced with silver earrings. Her skin was fair and pale, ruby red eyes like his own shining through the black bangs in her forehead. She had a black and purple dress, with a pair of bat-like ornamental wings sprouting on the back of her light leather jacket. A purple skirt with black leggings and leather boots completed her outfit.

"Isn't Halloween already over?" Soul chuckled, looking up and down to the little dark lolita. She didnt respond to his tease, her cold red eyes focused on him.

"You called for my services, Mr. Death Scythe?" She asked, Soul quickly noticing a pair of sharp fangs protruding from her mouth. The scythe arched an eyebrow, thinking for a minute that she looked like a vampire...

"Are you the bat witch?" Soul questioned her, fixing himself to sit down in a more proper manner. The little witch kept an unfazed look on her face.

"Is rude answering a question with another, but yes I am" The student had a soft high pitched tone of voice, making him think she was below 15 years old. The witch moved across the table, taking a seat in the available chair in front of him. "My name is Katherine... you can call me Kate"

"Uh... thanks for coming, Kate" The albino answered, finally noticing a small square lunch box, neatly placed in front of him on top of the table. It had colorful drawings, looking like some kind of object a child in elementary school would carry around. "I was told you can play tarot cards?"

"I dont play with tarot cards" She hissed, her face showing a soft frown, her mouth twisting slightly in a cute little pout. "I read them, play is for little kids"

How old was she again?

"Okay, sorry" He apologized with a snicker of his sharp teeth, slightly unsettled by the dark little loli. "I'm not familiar with the names of these kind of things..."

"No one is. Card reading is a rare skill only some witches with the third eye possess" The little witch looked around, finally noticing that the cafeteria was completely empty. "You emptied the place?"

"I wanted privacy... I'm not going to lie, I'm very wary of this things, personally I dont think they work... having students watching me having a card reading is not cool" Soul explained to her, crossing his arms in front of his chest, leaning over the table just to watch the little witch taking out a deck of cards out of her colorful lunch box.

"False third eye witches have caused that kind of thinking. I'm not offended" Kate said with an unimpressed tone in her voice. After taking out her deck of cards, she proceeded to take out a couple of candles, an empty cup made of glass and bottled water. "What would you like to know in this session?"

"Uh... first of all, I have a few questions" The albino fixed himself in the uncomfortable cafeteria chair, both of his hands resting on top of the wooden table, his fingers intertwined for self-comfort. "What is this third eye you are talking about? Why not all witches can do this thing?"

The bat witch blinked a couple of times, her ruby eyes shining with sudden interest. She smiled a little, just the tiniest curve showing on her lips, before she started fixing the empty glass cup in the middle of the table, filling it with clean water.

"We call it the third eye, but you all call it Soul Perception" She explained, carefully fixing the candles on each side of the table, four candles total. "Only witches with that ability can read cards, because what we actually read is the soul... cards are only an instrument to reach such soul, thats why we insist on you opening your mind to us."

"Then you really cant read the future" Soul deducted with a grin, hopeful. If all of it was a hoax, then the owl witch cards meant nothing.

"Oh we can, we use magic deduction and calculations for that. More than seeing a future, we deduce it according to your soul, personality, and most common choices..." The witch interrupted herself, her hands holding a deck of cards neatly covered by a white folded handkerchief. "Is this what you wanted to know?"

"No... No, I want a card reading" The albino said, his grin long time gone from his face. He didnt want to believe that it was true, and that card reading actually had some explanation behind it. It would make the Owl Witch a lot more threatening. At least now he knew that witch could actually force herself into their opponents soul wavelengths. She wasnt bluffing after all.

After a long sigh, Soul searched through the inner pocket of his black and yellow trademark jacket, After a few seconds, he took out three worn out tarot cards, placing them on top of the table. The little witch blinked a couple times, leaning closer to take a better look.

"An owl witch gave me those... she didnt say what they meant. I want to know" He explained, ruby eyes staring down at the little witch who placed her hand on top of the facing-down cards. She closed her eyes, taking a long deep breath, remaining in silence for a minute that felt incredibly awkward for him.

"This cards belong to a very old deck... an owl witch you say?" She asked with interest in her voice, ruby eyes staring down at the face down cards. "I would love to meet one, they're so rare..."

"So I've heard... you can read the cards for me then?" The albino insisted, looking at the little witch pushing those cards right back at him. With a frown, he took the three cards, tucking them back inside his jacket's pocket.

"Yes I can, but I'll use my own" Kate explained, taking out a match from her lunch box. "Please light up all the candles, and think about your full real name and your date of birth while doing it"

"Uh... okay?" He grunted, taking the little match from her hand, lighting it with his fingernail. While obeying her odd request, Soul slowly reached the flame to each candle, lighting up the wax sticks around the table. "Now what?"

The witch didnt answer, instead, she carefully unfolded the white handkerchief covering her deck of cards, placing it neatly arranged in front of her. Gently, she rested her left hand on top of the deck, her right hand reaching up to the death scythe.

"Please hold my hand, and open your mind" Kate said with the upmost serious tone in her voice. It was so weird hearing such a firm voice in such a little girl, but Soul reached up to her, holding her small hand with his own. "Think of nothing but the question you wanna ask to the cards... what troubles your soul? Think hard, and repeat the question three times"

Soul tried with all his might not to think about how idiotic the whole thing looked. This was serious, at least for the little witch in front of him, so he had to stand up to the situation. He tried to obey her, thinking about the owl witch and her threat, her plans, what Maka said about her... but soon enough he found himself thinking about her, his wife, and his problems at home. No matter how hard he tried to shove off those thoughts, they intrusively returned to his mind, over and over again, making him frown in frustration. Suddenly, the witch dropped his hand, staring at him with unreadable red eyes.

"Good... we will begin now" She declared, both of her hands reaching up to her deck of cards. In quick finger movements she shuffled the cards, Soul staring at her hand work in awe. She handled them like a professional gambler, shuffling and shifting them in quick movements, throwing two rows of 6 cards each in front of her, on top of the table. "This is your past and your present... this reading will help me understand you, and will allow the cards of the future to reach out to us..."

Soul said nothing, both of his hands holding each other on top of the table, interested red eyes looking down to the cards being slowly flipped over, revealing figures of men in horses, weapons, sunsets, moons and other objects. What he hated about those cards, were that there was no way you could understand them. He saw nothing but figures, like a memory card came and nothing else, and it was really frustrating having to depend on someone else to understand them. The witch stared down to the cards in silence, red eyes looking at them as if trying to figure out a complex math problem... was this the magic calculation she was talking about?

"Oh... you come from a very wealthy family. Born in a gold cradle, you had everything a little kid could ever hope for... you had people who loved you, and someone you admired deeply... a very close blood related person... a brother maybe?" She said without looking at him, her red eyes focused on the cards. That was probably the reason why she didnt notice Soul tense shoulders and annoyed snarl in his face. "But you wanted more... you wanted to be yourself, and not some family's name shadow... I see lots of friends in your life, I see success, power and love... you've had a really good life"

Well... yeah, that was accurate. Seeing him, in his modest lifestyle, there was no way someone could guess where he come from. His family name, the Evans, however was a ver well known name in the school... so maybe she was just guessing. It was interesting, but he wasnt impressed at all. Then...

"I see a wound... a deep wound... a wound that even nowadays it hurts. It was made by someone who is casting a very large shadow in your lecture... this wound changed your life" Kate said, her voice cold and almost addressed to him with monotony, like reading some boring article in a newspaper. "This person still haunts you... there's some secret you hold that binds you to this person... you hurt someone really bad in your past."

Now that was really making him feel uncomfortable. Those were personal thoughts, private thoughts and feelings he often remembered when he had too much spare time in his hands. Those were things not even Maka knew... was this witch really guessing all that, or she was just fishing some kind of reaction from him? In any case, Soul tried his best for not to look impressed at all, working hard to keep his face calm and unreadable. It wasnt of much help, since the little witch wasnt looking at him at all.

Suddenly, the bat witch took all the cards from the table, and shuffled them again in a separate deck, mumbling unintelligible words under her breath. Leaving that deck apart, she took the first three cards of the other deck, placing them face down on the table. Finally, the witch looked up to him, ruby eyes meeting each other.

"These cards hold your future... do you want to know?"

For some reason, Soul thought those words had sound really ominous. Maybe it was the very well settled environment, with the candles and all the show-off, but... he still felt a little wary. It was subtle, but he could feel the witch's little nibbles in his soul. She was clinging on his wavelength, like a little bat on a fruit tree, nibbling and sucking on him, trying to get information. It wasnt resonance at all, it was her soul perception, trying to figure him out. It wasn't intrusive, but he felt slightly uncomfortable. He wanted to know, didnt he? Why was he there if he didnt want to know?

"Yes, I want to know" He answered, embracing himself for anything she would say.

The witch took a deep breath, and slowly flipped over the three cards on top of the table. The image of a hanged man on a tree, two merged hearts, and the shadow of Lord Death greeted his eyes, making a shiver ran down his back. They were the same cards...

"The hangman, the Lovers and the God of Death" The bat witch recited, taking the smaller deck of cards and shuffling them once more, adding three more cards below each of those. "These cards of your past will help us read these ones... they will show us what they mean"

Somewhere deep inside, Soul was already regretting what he was doing. Maybe he could call it off? Nonsense, he wanted to know, now more than ever. There was no way the same cards the owl witch had gave him, were now showing again. The little witch didnt even saw his cards, she just touched them without looking at them. This was too well done to be a hoax.

"The hanged man... Very soon you will receive a notice that will change your current routine. I cant tell how soon, but very soon... this change will bring a cascade of consequences in your life... I can see you can refuse to make this change, but you wont... even if you should"

A notice? He had no impending issues... unless...

"You've been betrayed" Her words, cold and merciless, made him jump in his place. Leaning over, he stared at the card she was reading... The Lovers. "By someone very close to you. This event is centric... it will change your whole life if you allow it to happen... you need to take care of your loved ones, and be wary of old enemies. A shadow of the past approaches your life with nothing but vengeance... you have a big debt and this card tells me you will pay for it very soon."

Soul was out of words, silently looking down to the cards, and how the little witch uncovered the last set, right below the Death of God card. The little witch frowned, finally showing some kind of emotion Soul could identify. What else there was to say? His lecture sucked as far as it was by now.

"There's heavy problems ahead... the shadow of death lingers over your future, a premonition of life threatening danger." She made a brief pause, silence stretching across the cafeteria. After a while, she talked again. "Meditate about a wrongful deed of the past. You must confess your secret to the right person... or many lives will be lost..."

The scythe sat there in silence, staring down at the little witch, who suddenly took a deep sigh, taking all the cards from the table and neatly arranging them back into a single deck, carefully covering it with her white handkerchief. Soul frowned.

"What... is that it?" He growled, looking at the little witch blowing the candles, before placing them back inside her lunch box, along with the deck of cards.

The witch stared at him, yet remained silent while grabbing the glass of water, walking towards a dry flower pot holding what used to be a large green plant, now dead. She poured the water in said pot, walking back to the table and fixing the empty glass cup on her lunch box, closing it almost in ceremonial movements.

"Yes, thats it" She explained, looking at Soul who was staring back at her in bewilderment. "What else you wanted to know?"

"Hell I dont know! Maybe some names? Something more specific? You said the most random vague things! How am I supposed to know what to do with that information?" The albino complained, trying his best not to rant about the issue, but indeed he was ranting. He was hoping for information and facts that could put his mind at ease, to take out of him some deep worries he was holding, not to give him more stuff to worry about.

"Card reading doesnt work like that" She explained, her little hands toying with the handle of her lunch box. "You need to figure out their meaning by yourself, and if you decide to change the prescribed destiny you have, they work as a guide... nothing else."

Soul grunted, taking a deep long breath. His eyes moved to the nearest window, noticing just how dark it was. With a frown he looked down to his wrist watch... almost nine o'clock. Did they really spent two hours in that crap? No way... He had to go home, Maka would be seriously infuriated.

"Well thank you.. uh... Kate, you were really helpful" He growled, getting up from his chair, just to suddenly have a receipt shoved on his face. With a frown, he took the piece of paper in his hands. "What is this?"

"The payment for my services, that would be 300 euros please" She suddenly grinned, making Soul's feature to drop in color, looking sickly pale.

"WHAT!?"

Maka was going to murder him when she found out.


AkireRosales: Okay... lemme explain. Chapter 19 turned out to be a freaking beast of a chapter... over 30k words. There was no way I was going to upload that behemoth of a chapter. So, I decided to split it in two parts!

This is part one. Part two is already finished... and I'll upload it as soon as this chapter reaches enough reviews! Muahahaha

How much are enough?... I'll let you know *Insert evil laugh here*

I'll just say this... I cant wait for you guys to read next chapter... I just cant wait!

REVIEWS!