Long time no update! I'm sorry, things have been confusing for me but I'm still writing!

Edit: I didn't realize half this chapter got deleted. Here's the fixed version.


Asura tapped one finger against the mattress anxiously, eyes drifting to the clock on his desk shining with red numbers. 3:00 in the morning. He wouldn't be getting to sleep tonight, but he supposed it couldn't be helped. After yesterday's events and the night before he was far too on edge to sleep. It didn't matter how badly his eyes burned or how exhausted he felt, there was no way he would be able to fall asleep. He let himself fall backwards into the bed, laying there for a moment before reaching into his pocket to pull out the small Rubik's cube he carried.

There was a sinking feeling in his gut, followed by a general uneasiness. He remembered losing this the other night when he'd set it aside to investigate the square. Even if he didn't notice right away, it had been gone. It hadn't been around the fountain the next day and he remembered scanning the area briefly for it when they'd arrived. The toy should have been lost. He shouldn't have it right now. But he did. It wasn't supposed to be sitting on his bed when he got home, with a neatly folded note tucked under it addressed to him. "I'm sorry for hurting you. I will see you soon" was written on it with no name, but he would recognize the handwriting anywhere.

How Vajra had gotten into the manor was a mystery. It was supposed to be safe here, how could he have gotten past the security outside? Could he just come in whenever he wanted? Could he be inside right now? Slowly Asura sat up again, trying to ignore the tight knot of anxiety building in his chest. It would be fine. He'd go check and make sure Vajra hadn't come in.

Asura slid off the bed and started towards his desk. There was an extra flashlight he'd found in the house. He didn't need it since he could already see in the dark, but having the light made him feel better anyway. Maybe he should take the keys he'd been give on his first day back here too. That way he could also check outside without getting locked out.

Once Asura had them he carefully stepped outside of his room and flicked on the light. The hallway was the same as usual, nothing appeared to be out of place. Still he moved slowly, casting the light over anyplace he couldn't properly see. For a moment he debated leaving the rooms alone, but caved quickly and slipped into the nearest one. He check everywhere that looked like it could hide a man Vajra's size, maybe a few that couldn't but he just had to be sure. On finding it empty, he left and repeated this with each room. When it came to searching Kid and the sisters'rooms he made sure to be extra quiet.

This continued as he moved through the manor, searching through every room carefully so that he wouldn't miss anyone or anything hiding. He could only relax once he'd finished, glad to see there wasn't anyone else but him, Kid, and the sisters. They would be safe for now while he went to check outside. The door clicked open and Asura had to pause for a moment. Kid didn't lock the front door? He didn't seem like the kind who would forget that, but everyone must have been stressed the other day. And what about the back door? The windows? He should check first so no one could get inside while he checked outside.

Doubling back took a good bit of time, almost as much as his first check had taken, but at least Asura could be sure no one would get inside. He couldn't believe he had neglected to do this before! If he had, Vajra might not have gotten in. Thankfully Kid hadn't been in the manor that night. If his own negligence got his brother hurt, or worse, he didn't think he would be able to live with the guilt.

Finally, after what felt like ages, Asura had finished checking and locking the manor up. It was already light out but he hadn't checked the time yet. Checking outside would have to wait so he pocketed the flashlight. He could still sense Kid and his weapons in the manor so he doubted it was late enough for classes. It might be better to try and sneak back into his room before they tried to wake him. Luck was not on his side though and he could hear Liz call out to him from the second floor landing.

"Asura! You're up already? Great!" She ran down the stairs, the excitement on her face setting him on edge just a little. He had the feeling she was up to something.

"Don't... Don't you have classes today?" He asked, eyeing her cautiously as he took a step back. Liz was never much of a morning person. Most days he'd run into her early, she would brush past him mumbling under her breath about having to be awake. Patty was usually the energetic one. Though she didn't like being dragged out of bed, she was usually wide awake. To see Liz not only up but also wide awake made him wonder what was going on.

Liz just shrugged in response. "Dad said-" She paused as the words left her mouth, floundering for a second as she tried to cover her slip up before finally caving. "Dad let us off classes today. He didn't think you'd want to be alone after the other day. We would probably have been here sooner yesterday but we were kind of held up with filling him in on everything that's happened and showing them the square."

The conversation paused briefly as Liz looked him over, a worried look flashing in her eyes. "Is...everything okay? I got up early today and I was kind of expecting you to still be in your room. What are you doing up?"

Should he tell her he'd been up all night, paranoid about his old partner breaking into their home a second time? That he spent the whole night pacing the manor and ensuring every door and window leading outside was locked tightly? He didn't want to worry her. And then she'd tell Kid and Death and they would worry too. They already had enough to deal with. He didn't want them to be too stressed, as long as he locked up the manor everything would be fine. The only reason Vajra got in was because he was careless and he wouldn't make the same mistake again.

"I couldn't sleep so I was walking around last night. I didn't realize it was so early." A blatant lie, but one he deemed necessary. There was no need to make them worry when he could handle it. Liz nodded, accepting the answer whether or not she believed it. "Is...is something going on? You usually aren't this... awake."

"Well, we're gonna have that party soon since Maka's doing better. I've got some... things to take care of before we have it." Liz couldn't help but stare at him as she watched his expression change to one of discomfort. Before either of them could say anymore, Patty came barreling down the stairs with Kid behind her.

"Mornin'~" Patty chirped as she bounced past them towards the kitchen. She didn't bother stopping to wait for a response as she walked. Liz watched her go before she offered a polite smile and trailed after her sister, leaving Asura alone with Kid.

For a moment neither of them said anything. They stood quietly and stared at each other, Asura fumbling for something to say. Finally he stammered out a quiet, "I-I-I'm... I'm going to get changed. I will be back shortly." He brushed by Kid quickly but froze when Kid spoke up.

"Actually I... I wanted to ask you something." The younger boy said carefully, as if he wanted to see how Asura would take the request. Anxiety made itself known and Asura turned to face Kid, swallowing past the lump forming in his throat.

"Wha... What did you want t-to ask?" Kid opened his mouth and then shut it again. He cast a quick glance towards the kitchen where Liz and Patty disappeared too.

Finally he answered, "Can we talk in private?" Asura couldn't shake the feeling of unease he felt. Kid seemed to be a bit off, more on edge. It only made him feel worse, concern weighing down on him alongside everything else. Was Kid worried since Vajra's recent attack? Surely it had something to do with this. Once he realized he'd been silent, he hurriedly nodded and walked towards his room. It was the most practical choice, he could change after they talked.

Kid followed the whole way, and pushed the door shut after he stepped inside. Asura stood nervously across from him when he turned around, the older god fidgeting with the Rubik's cube yet again. Neither of them spoke at first but then Asura asked, "S-so...what did you want to talk about?"

"I need you to tell me what exactly happened the other night. How did you know where to go? What happened in the house? How exactly did the fountain break?" He asked, speaking quickly. He tried to ignore the guilt he felt as he watched the color drain from Asura's face. The older boy gripped his toy tightly enough to turn his knuckles white, but it couldn't stop the slight shaking or hide the sudden tension in his posture.

Asura's response was barely above a whisper, "I-I-I...I told you... I already told you."

Shaking his head, Kid tried to explain himself. "You told us Vajra killed those people and attacked you. I know you don't want to think about it but that's not enough information."

"Why not?! Why is that not good enough!" Asura blurted out suddenly, voice cracking in clear distress before he slapped a hand over his mouth. He obviously hadn't meant to say that out loud and it only seemed to make him more anxious as he started pacing.

"I don't know! I'm not the one who said that!" It came out harsher than the younger boy meant for it too. He lowered his voice and apologized when Asura shot him a frightened look. The only response he got was a slow nod before he decided to continue carefully.

"Father wants to get the whole story from you to make sure we aren't missing anything important. I thought you'd be more comfortable if I ask you before he does or before he sends someone else to question you. It's important we know but I thought you might feel too pressured if that happened. If you tell me I can just tell whoever asks for you. You won't have to be bothered."

There was no response from Asura besides a quick glance his way as the older god continued pacing. He couldn't say it was unexpected, Asura had clearly wanted to forget what happened. Bringing it up again after his brother thought it was over must have been more stressful than the older boy let on. But just as he opened his mouth to speak again, Asura spun around and walked towards him.

The older Reaper placed one shaky hand on Kid's shoulder and guided him back towards the door. He refused to look at the younger boy, but the anxiety in his expression was clear. Kid didn't even have time to react before the door was flung open and he was pushed out into the hall. When it shut again he could hear the lock click. All he could do was stare at the door blankly, trying to process what happened. Once his mind finally caught up Kid tried knocking on the door and apologizing, hoping he could convince Asura to open the door again.

Eventually Kid gave up and slowly walked back to the kitchen. Liz was still there but Patty was nowhere to be seen. A part of him was greatful for that, he wasn't sure he could handle his more energetic weapon's antics at the moment. His own anxiety had suddenly decided to rear its head, taking advantage of the jumbled mess his thoughts were at the moment. There were too many feelings that he wasn't sure he knew how to handle. Concern for Asura, fear that he messed up their relationship, guilt from knowing that he was the reason Asura even had to hear about it, and many other feelings pulled tightly on his chest.

It was wrong. Everything was wrong and he had to fix it. Kid could already feel his hand twitch and he quickly ran a hand along his suit to smooth out the imagined wrinkles. It helped just a tiny bit, he needed to find something else to fix. His eyes flicked around the room, finding nothing out of place there. However once he spotted Liz watching him from her seat with a worried expression, he offered a stiff smile and shuffled off to the next room. Maybe he could check the candles in the hallway to see if they were still even? Or make sure the bookshelves in the library were still in order? But then again they did watch movies together recently. Did he ever make sure they were put back in proper order? Maybe he would start there.

Kid decided he'd made the right choice, Patty had torn apart their DVD collection yet again in her search for movies. Instead of neat rows, they were stacked in random piles and some of the disks were left out of their cases. Getting to work, Kid knelt on the floor and began matching disks to their cases before rearranging them by title. It was easy to get lost in his own world as he worked, he hadn't even realized he wasn't alone until he felt the gentle tap on his head.

The sudden contact jolted him from his work and he turned his head just enough to see the familiar hoodie Asura was so fond of. For a long moment neither of them said anything, Kid unable to think of anything and Asura not trusting himself to speak. Finally Asura spoke, his voice so quiet that Kid was sure he wouldn't have heard it if he were anything but a god, "I'm sorry." There was a pause and the sound of shuffling clothes as Kid waited to see if his brother had more to say. Even if he didn't think Asura should be the one apologizing, he also thought it better to let him talk if he needed to.

Asura took the time to rummage around in the hoodie pockets, leaving Kid's curiousity get the better of him. The younger boy turned and faced his brother. After a bit of searching, Asura pulled out a folded bunch of paper and handed it to the younger boy. "Th-this...this is... everything. Every... Everything I remember at least. Can we please stop bringing it up again? Please?"

"Yeah. I think so. Thanks." Kid said, a part of him surprised that Asura had gone and written a recount of the attack for him at all. The guilt from earlier made itself known again and he added, "And I'm sorry for bringing it up. I know you don't like us asking." Kid only got a quick nod, before the older god stood to leave the room.

Kid wasn't able to turn back to his sorting before he heard a frightened shriek and faced the sound. Asura had barely gotten to the doorway before Liz appeared and blocked his path. Knowing it was only her sudden appearance that frightened his brother made him relax a bit. He could return to his work now and focused on that, only half listening to Liz get berated by the older god.

It didn't seem to bother Liz much at all and she quickly shrugged off Asura's complaints. "Sorry," she said, dismissively waving a hand, "but I was looking for you anyway. You're coming with me today." For a moment, she was sure she had offended him but it didn't last long before he leaned back and eyed her warily. She smiled at him in the most reassuring way she could but he only narrowed his eyes, clearly suspicious of her intentions.

"...why?" He spoke with caution, watching carefully to see if he could find out what she had planned.

"Because we're going shopping. We're having a party soon and I need a new outfit." Her smile widened more as she looked over Asura, and she watched him cringe away from her when he saw that.

"Take Kid." He stated, nodding to Kid behind him.

"Kid's busy. If I pull him away from that," She gestured at the younger boy as he quietly grumbled to himself about Patty's messes, "He'll either throw a fit, complain and stress the whole trip, or ditch me in the middle of it because it bothered him too much to leave it unfinished."

"Then take Patty."

Liz shook her head at that. "I don't know where she went, and besides, she said something about making invitations so I'm sure she's busy too." When he opened his mouth to argue Liz continued, "Aaaand you need a nice outfit."

"I don't like parties." Asura stated, crossing his arms over his chest. Liz's smile faltered for a minute, replaced by an uneasy one that disappeared immediately. He raised an eyebrow at the expression, his own anxiety prodding at him persistently. At first he hesitated, but managed to ask, "Is...there another reason you need me?"

The guilty look on Liz's face disappeared quickly as she tried to seem at ease. "I just think you could use some new clothes anyway. You've only got like, ten outfits but you're wearing five of them right now."

"...six actually. If you count the jacket as one."

Ignoring the comment, Liz continued, "I know I told you before that I'd get you some nice new clothes since your fashion sense is horrible, and that's what we're going to do."

"My fashion sense is fine and I like what I have!" Asura argued as he adjusted the hoodie he wore to hide the layers of shirts he had on. "I don't need anything else."

"Yeah... No. You wear so many clashing colors, it's like looking at a really ugly parrot." The statement earned her an offended scoff as Asura turned to look back at Kid. Peering around the older reaper, Liz could see Kid watching them with an amused smile.

"Kid! Back me up!"

For a long moment Kid didn't say anything. He simply glanced from Asura to Liz and then back again. Finally he shrugged, "I have to agree with Liz. She knows this stuff better than I do. Just go with her for a bit, it might be good for you to get out of the house." Asura frowned, clearly unhappy as he muttered about being right back under his breath and stalked off. Kid waited until he was sure Asura wouldn't hear them before speaking again, "So what reason do you really want to take him for?"

The guilty expression crossed Liz's face again before a resigned one took its place. "You know how yesterday when Death was talking to us about what we saw, and I went off to grab a snack in town before we met up to go back home?" Kid nodded but stayed silent so she continued. "I... Felt weird. Like that creepy feeling you get when someone's watching you. The kind that makes your skin crawl and your hair stand on end. I didn't see anyone but it kinda freaked me out a bit."

"You think someone was following you?" Kid asked, brow furrowing in worry. Liz shrugged, offering a gentle smile.

"It's probably nothing, just this whole Kishin thing setting me on edge. Still, Asura might notice and if he senses something I'm sure he'd say something right? And if it's nothing, I finally get to drag Asura on his first shopping trip with me. It's a win-win!" Liz said proudly, sounding very sure of her own plan.

Kid nodded slowly this time, seemingly uneasy with the idea. "Just... Don't let him get hurt again, okay? I don't think it would be good."

"I promise I won't."


Following Liz around hadn't been as bad as he'd expected. The girl was more than happy to pick all the outfits she thought he'd look nice in for him when he showed no interest in it. She seemed so happy that he didn't have the heart to tell her he would probably bury most of them under his favorite layers of clothes and it didn't really matter what she chose. Maybe he could switch it up just a bit for once and wear something she chose over the rest? He would have to see.

But while being around Liz wasn't so bad, he still felt terribly uncomfortable. Liz had been kind enough to leave early when other people wouldn't really be out and about but even the sparse crowds made him nervous. He found himself frequently scanning the area around them in search of Vajra. After all, the man had stalked him before and that had ended with Asura barely getting away from another kidnapping. Thinking about it made him nauseous and he slumped against the arm of the chair he'd sat in while waiting for Liz to find something. On one hand, he hadn't spotted Vajra yet nor did he feel as if he was being watched. On the other hand, something felt off to him and he couldn't tell if there was a real issue or if it was only his paranoia.

"Hey Asura!" Liz called out to him so he lifted his head to see what she'd found this time. She had been trying to find a new outfit for this party her, Patty, and Kid seemed so excited for. For some reason she seemed to want his opinion on everything she picked. This fifth dress she'd found was a dark blue sundress with a yellow sash and she spun around so the skirt would flare out before turning to him. "What about this one?"

"...It's an outfit that's for sure."

A frown pulled at her lips as she leaned forward and placed her hands on her hips. Put off by the action, Asura shrank back and pressed against the back of his seat. "C'mon, you can do better than that."

"Okay," he squeaked out, trying to think of a better opinion than what he gave. "It... It's very... Blue?" Though he was happy with the response, it seemed like Liz still thought he could do better. Afraid of disappointing her, he quietly added, "It, um... It matches your eyes?"

Liz sighed at that. "Don't worry, you'll get better at it. Especially with me helping you." She hurried back to the dressing rooms quickly. However Asura watched as she froze at the door, casting a glance over her shoulder at the store's entrance before shaking her head and continuing on. Curious, he stood from his seat and followed Liz's gaze. Nothing seemed off at first but he swore he quickly spotted the someone standing across the street, partially shrouded by the shadows of the alleyway they stood in.

The sound of Liz's voice brought his attention back to her as she walked out in a dress with different shades of pink layered over each other, one almost black and the other much brighter, that cut off above her knees. However he quickly looked away to see if the figure was still there.

"How about this one? I think it's my favorite so far!" She asked, throwing her arms out to the sides and twirling again. When she didn't get an immediate response, she opened her mouth to ask again and froze. Asura seemed fixated on something else entirely and Liz soon realized he was staring out the storefront. She couldn't ignore the sense of unease that settled over her and walked up to him. "Asura?" When he didn't respond again, she set her hand gently on his arm and tried shaking him.

Asura jumped, spinning around with a frightened look on his face until he realized it had only been her. He relaxed only slightly and cast one more glance out the front window before turning his full attention to Liz as she spoke again. "Hey, are you okay?"

"I... I'm fine. I just thought... no... I-I am probably just being paranoid." He muttered as he began to play with his scarves.

Liz sighed at his dismissive answer. She reached out carefully and took his hands, earning a curious look from him. "Asura if there's something bothering you, even if you think it's nothing, you can tell me. I know paranoia, not like you do but I still know it. It can really eat away at you if you aren't careful. I don't want you to hide things from me if something bothers you. You can talk to me."

"...why does it matter to you?"

"Because you're Kid's brother, and since Kid is like family to me that makes you family too. And family is very important to me. We all just want to be sure you're okay." She stated, offering her most comforting smile as the reaper scanned her face for any sign of deception.

He bit his lip and averted his eyes, pulling his hands away and stuffing them into his hoodie's pockets. Still he leaned forward, taking a deep breath and keeping his voice a whisper as he said, "I think I saw someone watching us from across the street, but they disappeared so quickly I'm not sure they were even real to begin with."

The reaper's obvious discomfort at her reassurance bothered Liz, but she pushed it aside to focus on what he said. A sudden yet familiar paranoia settled over her. If someone was really following her it made her wonder who and why. But Asura himself said he wasn't sure, so maybe it wasn't true. "Okay. Just in case let's keep an eye out for anyone while we're out from now own. It's probably best if we confirm it right?"

"Of...of course! I will watch for them."


Kid laid across the couch while Patty chatted animatedly, a book in his hands. He found that he couldn't focus much on the words a while ago and instead chose to listen to his weapon's chatter as he though back to what Liz had told him earlier. She had wanted to bring Asura along to confirm if she was being stalked. The thought left a sick feeling in Kid's stomach.

If someone was following Liz it had to be a recent development. Liz may have relaxed quite a bit from her first few months living in Death City but often times he could see what she'd learned from living on the streets come through. She was always more cautious than she let on and more aware of her surroundings. Some of the paranoia she'd learned would rise up when she became stressed and all she could seem to think about was Patty's safety, though more frequently he seemed to be included in that regard as well. Liz would have noticed someone stalking her rather quickly, so the fact that she mentioned she suspected something yesterday meant she was probably right.

For the life of him Kid couldn't figure out why someone might be stalking Liz though. The only recent event that came to mind was the Kishin's attack and Liz hadn't even been there to gain his attention. But then again, he didn't know much about the Kishin besides what little he heard from his father and how Asura would speak so fearfully of him. Perhaps the madness would be able to twist his logic that Liz somehow was a target now? He hoped not. Asura being targeted by the Kishin was already enough to deal with.

Before he could consider it anymore, Patty threw a crayon at him. It bounced off the book and landed on the couch next to him. The girl was staring at him with an oddly contemplative look. "You got that look on your face again Kid. Whatcha thinking about?" Patty's childish voice did not match with the expression on her face. It was something that always unnerved Kid. Like Liz, Patty was much more aware of things than she let on and it could be especially jarring to suddenly be reminded of that fact.

"...I was thinking about the Kishin attack again. And something Liz mentioned." He admitted, laying the book on his chest. "I'm really worried about everything that's going on."

"Huh," She stuck the end of a pencil in her mouth, chewing on the eraser end. "Did she tell you about the creepy person? Cause that could be bad."

Kid had to pause for a moment. "Creepy person?"

"Yeah, the one that was behind her when she came back to meet us yesterday. They were really weird." She elaborated.

A worried look crossed Kid's face and he sat up, leaning forward as he asked, "Can you tell me more about this person?"

"Weellll~ I couldn't see their face really well. But the way they walked was weird. Didn't move like a person should, and not like limping or something. It was just really weird." Patty told him as she picked up another crayon.

A feeling of unease crept over Kid as he processed the information. Patty was definitely a lot more observant than she let on and it was a huge help at the moment. Still, it didn't help too much as she had said she never saw their face. "Okay... Was there anything else you noticed?" He asked, earning a quick shake of her head.

Before either of them could speak again, they heard the door open. Asura brushed past the room immediately and Kid could hear his footsteps fade. Liz however waltzed right into the room and threw herself on the couch next to Kid. "Well we had fun. Though your brother is god awful with fashion and would not leave me alone until he got the red version of whatever I picked him. He should look less like a hobo now if he actually wears any of that. How was your day?"

"I made invitations for the party sis!" Patty exclaimed, pushing the stack of glided papers towards Liz. The older girl picked them up and leafed through them all with a smile. Once she finished she gave her sister a thumbs up. "Great! Now I'm gonna snack! See ya!"

Once Patty had left, Liz turned to Kid with a serious expression. "You should go see Asura. I was right and I think it's stressing him out really bad. He stopped talking to me when we confirmed it."

Kid nodded and frowned at that, standing quickly. Asura was already acting strange since the Kishin's attack and he didn't want him to get any worse. He would try his best to comfort Asura now and hopefully it would actually work.