I am so glad I got this done! I have a lot of crafts to do for craft shows lately. Hope you all like it.


"Here you go Asura," Liz said, as she carefully passed him the steaming mug of hot chocolate before taking a seat on the couch. Patty had insisted he have one once he'd woken up, though he didn't actually sleep. He hadn't wanted to make anyone worry so he'd laid on the floor with his eyes closed the whole night and let Patty have the couch. Kid had been on his right side and Liz had curled up on his left. Black Star had sprawled across the floor a ways away from the three of them, propped up against the other couch. He was still there, though now wide awake as Liz handed him his drink. Tsubaki sat beside him on the couch she slept on that night, still rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

They were waiting on Soul to return with Crona, the albino having decided Crona should be there for when they talked about the night before. Asura dreaded the questions he would have to answer the whole night and had been trying to think of how best to answer their questions. Telling them about Vajra would be necessary...but he wasn't sure he would be able to without panicking again. Even thinking about it made the fear rear up in him, heavy and suffocating as it spiked his anxiety. He didn't want to think about it. He didn't want to remember. He had to though, this was a major security breach.

Slowly sipping at his drink, he waited. It wasn't bad, in fact he would say he liked it, but the sweetness wasn't helping calm his nerves. It stayed quiet until Soul returned, something that struck Asura as odd since Black Star was there. At least the quiet was better then being questioned. But as the door creaked open and the two, no three if one counted Ragnarok, walked in. Soul directed Crona to a seat on Tsubaki's couch before settling down in between the two and taking the drink offered to him by Liz, urging Crona to do the same.

There was a silence where nobody seemed to know where to start, and it was only broken by the loud exaggerated yawn from the purple haired woman who waltzed in from the kitchen with her own mug in her hands. Her sudden entrance had gained everyone's attention, but Asura immediately looked away and fixed his gaze to the floor. He tried his best to hide his blush behind his hair. She was barely dressed, only a pair of black shorts, a crop top, and a black leather jacket with a fur-lined collar. The hat she wore very much resembled a witch's and he thought it best to check with soul perception, just to be safe.

He glanced up at Soul, the younger boy had turned bright red. "Tha...that's a cat?" The white haired boy spun to look at him when he spoke, a bewildered expression on his face. It took him a moment to realize he was the one being addressed, but eventually he nodded.

"That's B-" he started to explain, only for the woman to bounce into Asura's view with a cheery wave and mischievous smile. She passed her cup off to Liz as she spoke.

"I'm Blair, a magic cat!" As if to prove it, there was a sudden poof and a small black cat took the woman's place. She stretched out her front paws and yawned before hopping up on the couch between Asura and Kid. She either didn't notice or didn't care when Asura curled away from her. "But you can call me Miss B if you like! It's great to finally get to meet you. Any friend of Soul's is a friend of mine."

Asura tensed when he felt paws on his leg, glancing over at Kid for help. The younger boy didn't seem to get what he wanted so Asura took a shaky breath and asked, "I'm sorry Blair but... C-could you not t-touch me?" For a moment the cat only blinked up at him, head tilted curiously in the same way Kuro would do. Then she stepped back.

"Sorry! Not a big fan of close contact then, huh? Kinda like Crona." With another poof, the woman was back in place of the cat, reaching past Asura to take back her cup. If she noticed how he'd tensed again or how he tried to slide over just a bit she didn't let on. "So what's with this little meet up? Something exciting?" It was added quickly, but she seemed genuinely curious. Still, Asura flinched.

"That's what we were trying to find out." Soul told her before he faced Asura. "What happened to you last night?" And there was the question he didn't want to think about. How was he supposed to answer that? Especially with everyone staring expectantly at him. He couldn't answer that. He just... He couldn't! He didn't want to think about those people or Vajra or how close he was to being kidnapped again!

Asura took another sip of his drink, keeping his head down and trying to stall answering for as long as possible. Already he could feel tears starting to gather, and he felt stupid for wanting to cry over a memory. It was over and he was fine! He was still here and he wasn't hurt, so why did it bother him so much to think about Vajra's attack? Why did he feel so afraid from just a memory? He could feel his hands shaking already, sloshing the drink around in the cup.

When someone laid a hand on his arm he flinched. Kid had switched places with Blair and tried to smile reassuringly. "I... I don't..." Taking a deep breath, Asura tried again. "I was... I was coming home last night... Then.. .then I thought I sensed something... I thought I'd investigate...so...so I followed it to..." To where? He wasn't sure, he hadn't been to that place before and hadn't thought to look for a street sign or anything else in his panic.

"To where? Where'd ya go?" Patty asked, leaning around Liz with a curious expression. For a moment, Asura had thought he'd seen a flash of worry but it was gone quickly. He hesitated, not sure how to answer.

"I... Don't know..."

"ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?! YOU DON'T KNOW?!" Black Star shouted, throwing his hands up in the air. Asura yelped, terrified and not sure why Black Star was so angry with that answer. Across from him, Crona jumped and cowered behind a pillow. "How do you not know?! Come on! What are we gonna do of you can't tell us shit?"

Soul reached out to whack the back of his friend's head, a frown on his face as he said, "Not cool man. You need to relax, it's not that big a deal if he can't remember where he was. It was pretty late."

"While I do agree partly," Tsubaki started carefully, as if she thought her words would spark a fight if she wasn't cautious, "Black Star is right. We can't do much if we don't know where Asura was last night. He said he was investigating something, what if it turned out to be an intruder? 'Somewhere in Death City' is a very broad search range." Soul looked a bit disgruntled, but nodded in understanding at the explanation.

A moment of silence settled over them all, no one sure how to proceed. That was until Ragnarok appeared, huffing out a loud, "God! You're all fucking idiots! Can't even ask the right questions." The demon sword waved a hand around to gesture at them all before looking at Asura. "Did you pass anything you recognized or see any signs?"

Asura nodded slowly, he had. He could already guess where this was going and he wasn't sure he wanted to take them all there. But somebody had to know, Death had to know and Asura couldn't guarantee he'd be able to say anything about the attack to his father. There wasn't really much of a choice, showing them was his best option.

"Asura?" It was Kid this time, gently shaking him from his thoughts. The younger Reaper seemed concerned, surely he hadn't been quiet for that long? "Where was the last place you recognized? Could you take us to this other place from there?" Again Asura nodded, despite how badly he didn't want to go.

"The park... The.. The one we always go to..." He told Kid, watching the recognition flash in his brother's eyes. With a quick glance around he could see everyone setting their cups aside and getting to their feet. Still he stayed seated, trying to convince himself that everything would be fine and he could go home soon. It took a minute to get up but eventually he stood, following after the kids as they walked out the door.

.

.

.

It didn't take long for Asura to retrace his steps from the park. In the early morning, it wasn't as frightening to him but the closer he got to the same small square he was attacked in, the more he dragged his feet. It was ridiculous he knew, by now Vajra was long gone, but the fear he'd felt the night before still reared its ugly head. He stopped just before the square completely, finding himself unable to continue. "It's...It's right up ahead..." he muttered quietly.

Beside him, Kid nodded and walked ahead. The younger Reaper only turned back when he realized his brother wasn't following. "You guys go on. I'll be there in a second, just look around a bit for now," he told his friends, earning a few nods, a lazy grin from Soul, and a minor complaint from Black Star. As they shuffled away from the two Kid faced his brother again. "Come on Asura, we might need your help. You didn't exactly tell us what happened or what we're supposed to look for." He reached out carefully, latching onto Asura's sleeve and giving a gentle tug. The older god flinched at the touch but nodded.

Kid was being logical. He hadn't told them much of anything, they would probably not know where to look. They wouldn't find the... The bodies. Not unless he told them where to go, as he doubted they would simply walk into the homes like he had. Asura took deep breaths to try and steady himself as he let Kid pull him along. In and out, just breath. It's okay, he's gone now. It wasn't the most comforting thing he could think of but it worked for the moment and that was good enough.

The square wasn't as frightening during the day. Even if the trees still looked a bit twisted and the buildings still looked over them, the feeling of unease wasn't as bad. He could see everyone scattered around the square. Black Star sat perched atop a lamp post while Tsubaki tried to talk him into coming down, one leg dangling over the side and a hand shielding his eyes from the sun as he seemed to survey the area. Liz was with Patty as per usual, the two walking slowly around the outer edge of the square and looking in the small yards in front of the homes. They seemed to be taking their time, and he was sure they hadn't seen the blood spattered window on the opposite side of them yet.

Soul and Crona stood in the massive puddle spilling out from the gaping hole in the fountain, the albino kicking at a bit of the rubble with a thoughtful expression. Crona took to walking slowly around it and, while Asura wasn't sure, he partly believed that Crona was checking for any other damage. He couldn't help but flinch at seeing it, memories from the previous night coming up broken and distorted. It was so so cold and he couldn't breathe, he had to go! Go, get out! Get away! There were hands holding under, they wouldn't let go. He didn't want to go back! There had to be something! Anything! Please just-!

He was shaking, hands balled tightly into fists. Kid had left him to talk to his friends, which he was grateful for at the moment. He had to breathe. He was fine. He was safe. It was over, for now at least but Vajra will come back, over and done with. All he had to do was tell them. Tell them it was Vajra, Asura knew he had to. They would tell Death and he would... he might kill you, just like he'd planned to and just like Vajra said. What use does Death have for someone who can't even look at the Kishin he wants dead?

"Asura!" Kid called out to him as he jogged over. Asura crossed his arms defensively over his chest and pinned his gaze to the ground, unable to look at Kid right then. It was... Painful. His chest hurt, as if something heavy had been set on it. The younger god eyed him with worry, paused until he decided it would be better to not get off track. "...You said you came here to investigate? Where did you look next?" At first he tried to speak, but he found he couldn't form the words. Instead, he lifted his arm and pointed at the house he'd gone into.

Kid followed the motion, turning to see what exactly Asura was pointing at. At first he was confused, not sure why Asura would go to one of the houses, but then he noticed the splatter across the front window. "...I'll be right back."

"W-wait!" Asura said, making Kid freeze. Kid hesitated, glancing between his brother and the house until he finally decided on what to do. He nodded, calling over his friends instead. Soul was the first one to jog over, followed shortly by Crona. Liz and Patty drifted over as Black Star hopped down from his perch to join them, Tsubaki in tow.

"What's up Kid?" Soul was the first to speak, stuffing his hands in his pants pockets. He glanced between the two reapers for moment before finally watching Kid. "All we found was a broken fountain." He announced as he nodded towards Crona, and despite looking somewhat frightened at the motion they still have a quiet "y-yeah... " in agreement. Soul glanced back at Asura curiously but didn't say anything else.

"I need you guys to check the houses." Kid responded, pointing at the one Asura had indicated. "And start with that one." At first nobody moved, even Black Star looked somewhat uncomfortable with the idea of just walking into the homes.

"Why?" the blue-haired boy asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

Black Star hadn't meant to be rude, Asura was sure, but the question brought the memory of twisted and mangled bodies and gleaming silver collars with it. He flinched back as ignition physically hurt him, trying to avoid meeting any of the students'curious stares boring into him. God he hated when people stared, feeling their eyes on him always set him on edge. But they wouldn't stop until he told them would they? He wanted them to stop and go away. "...th-they...they're...they're dead... the owners."

His voice was much quieter than he'd meant for it to be but he still managed to say it. At first they seemed to not believe him, staring at him in disbelief until Crona spoke up quietly. "I... I can't s-sense anyone here." The pink haired kid stuttered, shifting nervously and glancing around as if they expected something to jump out at them any second.

"Wait, for real?!" Black Star shouted, spinning to face Crona. Crona jumped back at the sudden movement and loud voice, cowering slightly behind Soul. The blue haired boy didn't even wait for a response before he continued, voice drowning out Tsubaki's apology to Crona. "Alright! Then I'm gonna see if whatever did this is still around! When I find it, it'll wish it stayed out of the city!"

"um...Black Star. I don't think fighting something that killed an entire neighborhood without anyone noticing is a good idea." Tsubaki stated, waving one hand anxiously as she tried to reason with her partner. She had barely finished speaking when Black Star burst out laughing, eyes closed and head tilted back.

Once he stopped, Black Star tossed one arm around his weapon's shoulders and loudly announced, "I'm gonna surpass God! Stuff like this will be easy, so let's go!" Tsubaki smiled nervously, as if she wasn't sure this was a good idea. Or maybe she thought Black Star was being a bit too much for the situation. Either way she seemed a bit unsure as she followed after her partner to patrol around the area.

"Okay, so..." Soul glanced around at the rest of his friends still standing there before turning to Crona. "You wanna pair up with me? Those two usually don't separate." When he added the last part he nodded towards Liz and Patty, the younger girl sticking out her tongue in response.

Liz put a hand on her sister's shoulders and nodded towards a few houses. "We'll go that way. You guys can have those ones." She pointed at the houses opposite the ones she'd claimed as she spoke. Then she turned back to Kid before leaving. "We'll let you know what's going on in a few."

"Okay, thank you," Kid muttered absentmindedly as he glanced at Asura. His brother had slowly been inching away from them and towards the exit, clearly not too keen on sticking around any longer. He followed after the older reaper, watching up quickly and asking, "Where are you going?"

Asura froze right away. For a moment guilt flashed across his face before he hid his expression behind his scarves. He shuffled anxiously as he tried to think of an answer for Kid, only to come up short. Finally he took a deep breath and stuttered out, "...ho...home? I... I don't want to be here." he added the last bit as an after thought, in case Kid wanted an explanation. At first Kid didn't respond, a thoughtful look coming over him before he finally nodded.

"If it makes you feel better. But I do need to ask you a few things. We are going to have to tell father about this after all and of you can't answer, I can just tell him anything he needs to know."

Even though the thought made him uneasy, Asura agreed. He'd rather say it once than repeat himself. And after his little talk with Vajra the night before, he wasn't sure how he would respond if Death confronted him. "I-it was...I... I saw Va-vajra..."

Kid didn't respond, staring up at his brother with wide eyes and mouth open in disbelief. He wasn't sure he could. It was hard trying to wrap his head around the thought that the Kishin has been there, inside Death City, without anyone's notice. Well, without almost anyone noticing, a voice whispered at the back of his mind. Asura had noticed. Asura noticed and he'd investigated. He'd found Vajra here and...

"He was the one who attacked you?" The older reaper didn't respond but Kid didn't need him to. Asura refused to look at him, but the question dragged his attention to the ruined fountain. Kid followed his gaze, a bit confused at first before he realized that that was probably where Asura was attacked. The only response he got was a nod as Asura stepped back.

"I... I'm going home..." He murmured almost too quietly to hear. At first Kid wanted to argue and tell Asura he would be fine if he stayed. He wanted to say that Asura should stay with them until they contacted their father and filled him in. But he'd noticed now how Asura's shoulders shook and his eyes darted around the small square, wide with terror. It seemed like he was fighting the urge to run and was quickly losing.

Not wanting to see Asura so stressed, Kid forced a small smile. "Alright, will you be okay heading back on your own?" A hasty nod was Asura's immediate response.

"Y-you... You have classes t-today... I... I will s-see you after..." He trailed off, finding himself unable to finish the sentence. As soon as Kid nodded in understanding, he couldn't stop himself from bolting out of the area. He just wanted to be far, far away from there. Far away from the place that ruined his safety in minutes. If only he hadn't investigated alone.


Trudging slowly up the path to the manor, Kid tried to distract himself with Liz and Patty's chatter. It proved useless as his mind drifted back to earlier. To when his weapons had dragged him off to show him what they'd found. Patty had been far too quiet at the time, almost. He didn't like that, everything felt more ominous when she would get like that. The bodies were mangled and twisted, gaping holes in their chests and limbs bent in awkward angles. Still, the most unsettling thing he's noticed was the slightest bruising around their necks.

He caught himself reaching up to rub at his own throat, forcing his hand back down. The marks were too...circular. A faint ring of bruised skin around their necks that reminded him of Asura's old injuries. He hadn't seen them himself, but he'd seen the remains of that old metal collar and the heavy bandages around his brother's neck. It wasn't hard to put together, Vajra collared his victims. He'd brought it up to Death when they contacted him and he knew it would come up again when ever the investigation the school launched needed to hear about it.

But he couldn't figure out why. Why collar the humans? They weren't nearly as strong as... Probably a good few students, certainly nowhere near his level of combat and laughably weak compared to Asura, who the collars were made for. What reason was there for it? Did he just do it to terrorize Asura before attacking him? He needed to get the whole story from his brother, before their father or any of the teachers tried to. If they spoke to him first, Asura might refuse to talk to him or might even refuse Death himself.

Shaking his head to try and clear his mind, Kid realized he'd fallen a bit behind Liz and Patty. He hurried to catch up again, ignoring Liz's curious stare. The manor was unusually quiet when he walked in, it was always quiet but this time the air felt tense. He tried to see why, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Maybe it was his imagination? A lot had happened last night and earlier in the morning so it could have been stress. Yeah, that had to be it.

Behind them, the door clicked shut. All three of them spinning around and Liz evengiving a frightened shriek. It was only Asura though, shutting the open door behind them. When he got there Kid wasn't sure, but he smiled when Asura turned around. It was good to see he was alright. Kid's smile fell quickly, replaced by concern. Asura still refused to look at him directly, but he seemed worse off than earlier in the day. Ruffled clothes and hair were the first things Kid noticed, less like he'd gotten into a fight and more like he'd been unable to sit still. He looked a bit startled too, but it might have been from Liz's shout.

"S-sorry Liz!" He apologized quickly, shuffling in place a bit. "I... I didn't mean to scare you..."

"It's alright. I just didn't hear you." Liz said, offering a reassuring smile. "So how are you doing? Feeling any better?" There was a moment of hesitation before Asura nodded. Liz wasn't sure it it was just because of his anxiety or if he was lying. He didn't look much better to her but she didn't know him well enough to tell. "So what have you been doing?"

"I was only making sure everything was locked before you all came in. It, uh... It helps to be sure..." Asura smiled anxiously, reaching into his pocket and pulling out the Rubik's cube he usually kept there. He fiddled with it absentmindedly as he added, "You can never be too careful. I'd rather be safe than sorry."

Liz nodded in agreement. That had been her motto before she and Patty met Kid. She would rather be sure no one could get in without her knowing, especially after they had the cops called on them or pissed off the wrong person. After being attacked, it made sense Asura would be extra cautious.

"Well since we're home now, let's go watch a movie!" Patty chimed in, not giving anyone a chance to disagree as she ran towards the kitchen. "I'll get the popcorn!" Asura glanced back at Kid, an uneasy look on his face. All Kid could do was shrug in response before following Liz to the living room. For a moment Asura hesitated, staring down at the cube in his hands. He wasn't sure he wanted to be around anyone but...he didn't want to be alone. Especially not right now.

He followed after the Kid and Liz, settling in at the end of the couch. Patty was back soon enough, setting the bowls down on the table and taking the spot between Kid and Liz. All of a sudden she reached into her pocket and leaned over Kid to shove a folded piece of paper in Asura's face. "Here! I made this for you at school. I thought it might cheer you up!"

Asura took it from her carefully, and unfolded it. He couldn't help but smile a little at Patty's childish drawing of a giraffe on the page and the scribbled "Feel better soon" beside it. "Thank you Patty." Asura said, folding up the paper and tucking it away in his pocket. Even if it wasn't much, it did help. Vajra may be right about Death, but Kid and his weapons had been nothing but nice to him and they made it clear they worried about him. He was sure he could live with that.