I'm not sure whether or not I'm going to give Spirit some redemption, but I think I'm letting him get close for now. Also, please don't hate me, but of course, I've started another AU fic in the background that I might post soon because I can't get enough of juggling dozens of unfinished fics. Please forgive me, haha.

It was about four in the morning with absolutely not a moment of stirring in the yard when Spirit watched Black Star's chin take a final resting dip onto his chest. Spirit knew there hadn't been a point in trying to convince him to back off, that nothing would happen, so he instead bided his time. He waited a few more minutes, watching the shoulders ease and the jaw go a little slack. When Black Star's breaths began to rattle deep in his chest was when Spirit finally stood, and as soon as he saw not a second's worth of disturbance from the sound, Spirit took the rest of the slow steps to the door, unlatched it, and walked out into the darkness.

He could follow the scent of the fire but didn't need it. With bitter irony, it hit him that while she was always trying to escape him, he was the only one that could always find her. Since when you love someone, when your souls are inextricably linked, there's always a call that brings you to where they are. Another acerbic note hit him, even infidelity doesn't change that. Even desertion. Spirit probably should have hid his footsteps, but even if she tried to sneak away he was bound to find her so he took steady stomping steps in the brush. When he finally crashed through to the clearing she was waiting there, those doe eyes he fell in love with years ago blinking up at him.

"Spirit," Yaara offered with all the love one might give a dead rat.

"Yaara," he was only slightly sweeter, but mostly acid would drip off their tongues tonight and he wasn't about to temper it.

"I suppose I should ask how you found me," this came a little quieter as her eyes fell back to the fire she had been tending before he walked up.

"Stupid question," he murmured before dropping to the dirt next to the warmth. "I can feel you. You can feel me. It's simple, you know that."

"I don't feel you," she let her eyes narrow at the flame. "I don't consider you enough to even bother."

Spirit let out a soft sigh, "I didn't come to do this." He paused to pass a hand between him and her. "I came to ask you to leave."

"Leave?" Yaara delivered a derisive snort. "You don't have the right. I'm trying to protect my daughter-"

"You don't get to call her that." It should have been a hissing, searing scream from his throat but it came without any adornment, just the bare words from his mouth.

In the face of his calm, Yaara could only explode. "What, and you do? Stein told me you pawned her off on Marie, who then whored her out to some prince probably at the behest of Stein's scheming. And now she's pregnant with some-"

"That's why you have to leave," he cut in calmly. "You don't know her, you don't know what's happened to her or what she's going through. You're just doing what you always do and making decisions without-"

"Those babies are sick," Yaara hissed. "If there's anything you can trust that I know, it's souls. Those souls are all wrong."

"Stein told me," Spirit nodded along with her words even in the face of her shock. "He said it was a condition the father has."

"He tried to sell me the same bullshit." Yaara's hands were gripping white-knuckled into her cloak. "But who's to say what that will do to her. You'd let her die-"

Spirit sighed out roughly, his voice ticking up in volume. "Then why haven't you talked to her?" It wasn't a question but an accusation and with the power of it Spirit stood. "How long have you been following her? Weeks? Months? You've had every step of the way to stop her but you wait until she's here. You bide your time in the shadows until what? Until she's vulnerable," Spirit spat the word out like venom. "She misses her husband, she's scared for her babies, and she hates me and that's what you were waiting for, wasn't it? To come swoop in and be the good mother. Well, you're not."

Yaara was on her feet, starting around the fire to lunge at him. "How dare you-"

"I should have told her," once again what should have been a yell simply fell flat, the wounded part of his heart not allowing it the strength. He still grabbed Yaara by the wrist, pulling her that last step closer. "I should have told her you left her. Abandoned her. But I fed her those sweet lies that you were out there, fighting, doing good and it was for a better world for her. I couldn't let her be crushed by the fact that both her parents are worthless." Yaara was trying to resist and backpedal but he yanked again, taking a step and coaxing her towards the treelines. "So you're going to come to the house now, and you're going to do whatever it is you plan to do, but you're going to face Maka while she's strong."

"Spirit-"

His lip quivered along with his resolve but the words still fell from his lips, "Or I'll kill you myself."

"You wouldn't."

There was no more push and pull, not a fight as Spirit's hand left hers and he turned back towards the darkness and started into the woods. I probably can't but that blue-haired kid could probably give you a run for your money. Hell, maybe I could. Maybe that wasn't such a hollow threat, not when I think about her, about what we did to her in all our selfishness. Maybe we both deserve it. The sound of her footsteps behind him cut off any more of the useless thoughts as he turned back to his plan instead. I can't keep her from you, Maka, but I at least think you can stand against her like this. A few more weeks of this and you might falter.

He was at the front door when he heard her hesitate but he didn't bother to slow his steps, throwing open the door. Black Star jolted in his seat, eyes wide at Spirit. "What the hell?"

Spirit kept his voice low but the chill of speaking with Yaara was still there. "Go in and wake Maka up. Be gentle."

"For what?" Black Star croaked back but instantly those eyes went a little wider until his glare honed in behind Spirit. "Who's that?"

Spirit didn't bother to look, just sidestepped out of the doorway and allowed Yaara into the threshold. "Your snoop. Like I said, gently, please."

Black Star clenched his jaw as he stood slowly, eyes never leaving Yaara as he moved across the room to the hallway. I don't like this. I don't trust this. I should take her and go out the backdoor. Fuck all of this and get on the horses and get her to Marie. Then back to Soul. I'm done playing house, I'm done watching her suffer. He stuffed it back into his gut with a firm set of knuckles to his thigh before opening the bedroom door quietly. Crona was asleep, curled on their side as Maka sat up, her hands stroking at her stomach as her eyes lazily watched the moon.

"What is it?" she murmured.

Black Star moved to the bed, easing down next to her on what little space was left before he let his voice come as a whisper. "Someone's here."

Maka narrowed her eyes at him. "What?"

"Spirit said to wake you," Black Star sucked his teeth as he shook his head. "But I want to walk you right out the backdoor right now and take you the hell home. I don't like this, it doesn't feel right."

"Spirit brought someone in?" Maka shook her head softly but fantasy started to tug at her mind. "What do they look like?"

Black Star let a frown tug down the side of his lips, humor escaping him. "She looks like you."

Her lips fluttered wordlessly over a trembling breath.

"Promise me something," he said quickly, ripping her from the edge of her daydreams.

"What's that?"

Black Star gritted his teeth before urging each word independently at her. "Remember Soul. You made promises to him that you have to keep."

"Why would I…?" Forget him? But the words seemed useless as Black Star was already on his feet, displaying a hand that was there to balance her out of bed. As she caught that last look before he turned, Maka let his words sink in. I love Soul. I promised to come back. I promised to let him be the first person to see his two beautiful babies. I promised him me. Even as she got to her feet she didn't let go of Black Star's hand, trying to pass those words through the touch. He let her lead but he didn't fall far behind, their hands still keeping them tethered as they walked into the kitchen.

"Maka," Spirit tried to start but the look on her face was already telling him it was too late, too much.

"Mama," spouted from her lips before the entirety of it hit her. Her feet tried to take another step, but Black Star held firm to her hand, keeping her just in the doorway. Maka tried to shoot him a glare, to spell out all of the ways that this moment meant everything to her and he was ruining it when their eyes met, when she felt the entire force of his soul yelling it right back at her.

Remember Soul.

Maka turned her eyes back to Yaara slowly.

"Hello, darling," Yaara cooed. "Is that your husband?"

"You know it's not," Black Star shot back before the question finished.

"Then I wonder at how possessive this all looks," Yaara offered a gentle laugh. "Why you won't let her greet her mother who hasn't been able to see her in over ten years." She took a step forward but Spirit's arm instantly halted her. "A room full of possessive men."

"Tell her," Spirit muttered.

"Tell her what?" Yaara turned to him with every last ounce of innocence in her face. "Tell her that I missed her? That I'm sorry her father couldn't take care of her like I thought he could? Or that-"

Spirit grabbed the front of her cloak, jutting her forward. Maka pulled against Black Star but he held her tight. "Tell her what you came here for."

"To make sure she isn't hurt," Yaara insisted but his grip didn't falter and he produced her a step towards Maka. "Your father seems to think-"

"You've been sneaking around the house," Black Star offered cooly. "Haven't you?"

"Why am I being interrogated?" A sweet smile crossed Yaara's lips as she attempted to untangle Spirit's hand from her cloak. "I followed you two, but it was to protect you, to make sure that witch didn't come after you. Medusa and Stein fought, she almost killed him."

"What?" Maka's voice finally sputtered to life. "Stein? Is he alright?"

Black Star caught the moment of sourness on Yaara's features before she answered. "Fine. He lived. He took that witch you recruited back to the castle."

"Witch?" Maka glanced back at Black Star who had nothing to offer her but her own confusion reflected.

"I think her name was Kim," Yaara shrugged. "I've always been taught that you only murder witches, but Stein always has his own plans."

Black Star shook his head, "Kim? A fucking witch?" His tongue snapped hard against the roof of his mouth. "Maka, come on."

"Mama," the confusion along with the tears was swimming in her head and she desperately brought her hand to her hair to try to hold it all together. "I don't understand. You've been… gone. Gone and now you come home? I don't…"

"I've tried, darling…" Yaara ripped herself out of Spirit's grasp to get within arm's reach of her daughter. "It just hasn't been possible, but now with this mess with the babies."

Maka felt that growling urge between their fingers again and didn't need Black Star's hand tensing on hers to clearly spell the resistance. "Mama, there's no mess." It was a fight with her chest to let that out just above a whisper, even though it should be scathing. Why now? was blaring in her head instead, stealing her breath for that mental scream.

"I didn't mean it that way," Yaara came back gently. "I just meant that you're probably… so frightened right now, so unsure. And I should have been there before for that." Black Star's fingers flexed against Maka's as Yaara reached a hand out, touching Maka's cheek.

"You should have," Maka echoed weakly. The touch overwhelmed her like a flood, feeling that old buzz of her mother's soul through her fingertips. The tears broke over her lids and she took a step forward, bringing herself into Yaara's waiting arms.

Black Star took the step with her, afraid she might tear apart their hands to join completely with her mother but Maka held so tightly that the blood cut from his fingers.

Stein had wandered onto the field after hearing the commotion from halls and was in no way disappointed by the show. Free was literally tossing the men aside, flinging through each new recruit like they were flies. Kim was sitting by helping with the more far-flung soldiers but for the most part, exchanging laughs with Soul at the festivities. While that sight brought the two of them joy, as Kim fixed her eyes on Stein, she instantly went to nudging Soul. "Look at him," she murmured.

Soul did as he was told and found a sigh quickly hitting his lips. He looks just as sleepless as me. Free was right, then. He turned his eyes back to Kim and nodded. "Got it."

"You better," Kim hissed back just before Stein reached them.

"And what is he calling this exercise today?" Stein asked Soul with dry amusement.

"Well, the recruits are calling it 'try not to get your skull cracked open,'" Kim muttered as she threw a hand towards a few bandaged heads.

Soul shrugged, "It's mostly harmless."

"And good real life application," Stein quickly agreed as he settled down next to Soul. "You're not sparring?"

He let loose a laugh as he shook his head, "I'd like to keep my skull intact."

"But your black blood powers, you haven't tried anything with them?"

That started the pinprick of worry in his gut, the sweat tingling in his palms. "Without Maka, I'm not sure I should."

Stein's glare was nothing short of analytical and Soul felt picked apart underneath it. "She opened the door for you to control it. Between that and the potions you should have the stability."

"Should," Soul sighed.

"There's a difference between caution and cowardice." Stein's voice was cold and concise, turning the pinprick to a wave.

Soul hesitated, watching the seafoam eyes refusing him an ounce of mercy. "Maybe… you and me…"

"Acceptable challenge," Stein grinned.

Soul swallowed but the lump in his throat refused to move. "Now?"

Stein raised his eyebrows playfully as he threatened to stand. "When else?"

"Soul," Kim hissed at him but Soul was already following Stein to his feet.

Stein steps picked up with a strange enthusiasm and the stone started to settle in Soul's stomach. As memory served him, which at this point now it mostly did, there were only vivid memories of painful beatings from Stein. There was a reason why he was Marie's captain of the guard and why Black Star had made the insistence that they travel to visit him. Not to mention I'm still out of practice, and still half a coward.

"Swords?" Stein threw playfully over his shoulder.

"I guess…" Soul let Stein pick, let him toss the weapon his way before sending doubtful eyes his way. It didn't help that none of that amusement left Stein, the high of playing and toying shining in his eyes.

It started easily enough, making it instantly obvious that Stein was settling into mediocrity by barely breaking a sweat in reply to strikes and parries that weren't much more than Soul could offer almost a decade ago. A playful but still furious growl from Free's direction broke Soul's attention and as his eyes snapped to the side his arm erupted in pain. Stein had slashed him during his distraction, the cut starting the ooze of black blood down his arm. "Stein!" Soul hissed.

"You're not pushing yourself," Stein answered back calmly, never even for a moment letting the fear of injuring a crowned prince sway his judgment on this. "Remember that the blood is yours, it should listen to you just like it did for the one who attacked you."

Crona. The name and the way Maka had whimpered it in her sleep echoed in his mind. He stared at the droplets, but before he could form a thought Stein was on him again, no longer keeping a steady pace. The press was on, the steady shriek of metal against metal filling the yard as Stein refused to relent, striking once after another. "Stein…" Maybe that was somewhere close to a breathless grunt, maybe even a beg since Soul was stumbling backward, pushed into the dust with a hit that clattered the sword from his hand. "Stein!"

Soul should have recognized the look in Stein's eyes, the lack of sense that he'd experienced himself, but he was too busy watching the sword swing downwards again without anything in its path but the bleeding arm he'd put up to shield himself. Kim was screaming in the background, bringing any other noise from Free and the recruits to a stuttering halt. It was agony, the slow fall of the blade, but in the midst of all the panic Soul brought Maka back to his mind, all the promises. Letting this fear swallow me whole means that she loses everything. She'll be left alone. Abandoned again. "Fuck that," came quickly under his breath, and just as the sword hit the flesh it stopped.

Instead of the ripping of sinew and the crack of bone, the fine, high call of fracturing metal tinkled between them. The sword has struck the black on his skin and it had left a fissure right down the blade leaving it crumbling into Soul's lap instead of splitting him in two. That sick smile was still plastered on Stein's face until Kim's second scream brought him back from the haze. "Lord Stein!" Kim was on top of him, pulling back the now blunted, useless piece of metal. She could feel him trembling in her hands but he quickly shook her off.

"You did it," Stein let a weaker smile hit his lips.

"What?" Soul looked down at his arm to find only the old cut that was starting to fuse together. All I did was think of her, think of how much I couldn't leave her and… what?

Stein paused, adding breath to his lungs and crouching next to Soul as if he was spent. "Skin shouldn't stop a blade let alone break it, but Maka had the same problem with your predecessor. Skin like stone, and all you had to do was…?"

"Think that I needed to stop it," Soul whispered to him.

"Soul," Kim hissed again, bringing him back to the memory of the look in Stein's eye.

Soul leaned closer, making sure it didn't come off his lips as an accusation but a fact, "But you were going to strike me."

A coolness washed over those pale green eyes and Stein remained motionless except for his lips. "I was. You would not have acted without real danger."

"Could you guarantee I was going to be able to do whatever the hell I did?" It wasn't necessarily anger starting in his chest but a slow creeping worry. Loyalty wasn't a question, but sanity was.

"No," Stein answered quickly with a shrug. "I suppose I wasn't worried about that at the time."

"Because you weren't all there," Free blundered into the conversation, his face closer to Stein than Soul had ever seen anyone get. No one had the nerve but Free seemed unaffected.

"Perhaps," Stein allowed the proximity for only another second before planting a hand on Free's shoulder and pressing him back.

"No perhaps," Free grinned back before turning that smirk towards Soul. "You both smell weird. Told you, Soul. Something's up. Something's not right."

"Of course trouble's right around the corner," Kim sighed as she slumped down next to Soul. She was just about to reach for his arm when Soul stopped her.

"Don't," Soul warned but gave a soft smile to try to ease the tension that instantly hit Kim's face. "It'll close on its own." He turned his attention back to Free before shaking his head, "But you still smell it? That weird thing from my room?"

"Yup, and it's on him, too," Free offered after another sniff in Stein's direction.

Stein grimaced, "What's the smell?"

Soul sighed deeply before rolling his eyes at the insanity of it all, "I've been seeing a little girl at night. She kind of looks like Maka, and I thought maybe-"

"It isn't," Stein said quickly. "That little girl isn't her. No matter how much we're both supposed to think or want it to be."

"You sure?" Soul shot back as he leaned closer to Stein. "She could be-"

"I'm sure she wants to," Stein tried to let a modicum of soothing hit his voice. "I'm sure if she could find a way to talk to us, she would, but I don't think that's possible."

"But our soul resonance and the blood," Soul was spewing hopeful thoughts. "Doesn't that connection mean that maybe, just maybe-"

Again, Stein forced as quick a squashing as he could, "Then she would not come to me. She's only connected to you. It's another part of a game, meaning that someone is toying with us."

"Fuck," Soul muttered.

"Or fun!" Free struck Soul in the shoulder, jutting him forward with jovial enthusiasm. "Could see how those new moves work out against real competition!"

Mad Stein is real competition, Soul wanted to let out in a withering mutter but he just stared at Free with an unenthusiastic grimace. "Whatever it is, I want to get it over with. She's… she's only three weeks away from going to Marie's," he barely let it out, breathless from the thought alone. Which means if I could leave in a week, I'd be there to meet her. I'd give anything to be there.