Marie tried to keep the weight of the chest in mind, hoping it would deaden some of the elation. Maka, living as a lady! She glanced back at Reina who was also balancing an armful of books. And Soul agreed to an engagement! Biting into her lip only just stopped the swell. Even if it's fake– a show– what if–?

"Mama, these are heavy."

"Just a few more steps, darling." Marie sent a smile back, finding it soothing none of her daughter's tired look. That's when she looks the most like me– when she's fed up. She could laugh at that, urging her forward to the bustle of the inn. There were more than enough attendants to lighten Reina's load and usher them into a single room.

Maka's hair was down and she was wearing a simple yukata– nothing all that different from the Masao that she remembered. Apparently, Reina was not convinced either as she bounded into the room with a welcoming chirp: "Masao!"

Black Star, who had been lounging on his back with his feet up against the wall, spouted out a rough laugh. "Told you."

Maka shot him a glare as she gathered the excited girl up in her arms. "Hello, Reina."

"Mama didn't tell me we were coming to see you." Reina sent an accusatory glance back at Marie who only produced a giggle of her own.

"Reina, there's something very important we have to discuss with Masao." Marie pulled the trunk from where the servant had left it and flipped open the lid. "These are all my old things. One kimono is for very special occasions—you'll wear that one for your introduction—and then there are two more for you to wear that are still formal enough. Soul will buy you the rest once the engagement is formalized. They'll be nothing more than wedding gifts– a nice sentiment for a good bit of show."

"Wedding?" Reina latched onto the word she best recognized, eyes darting between her mother and Maka. "Are you getting married, Masao?"

Maka sighed, her hand coming sweetly to Reina's cheek. "Listen, Reina, I lied about my name."

"Why?" Reina blinked wide.

With her mouth slightly agape, Maka looked at Marie.

She doesn't know how to be a mother just yet. Marie smiled softly, motioning Reina back to her. "Darling, remember when we talked about how the world can be cruel to girls?" Reina settled into her mother's lap with a nod. "Sometimes, girls have to lie. Sometimes we have to pretend in order to keep ourselves safe. So Masao– Maka had to lie and say she was a boy. She's not."

"Maka?" Reina tested the name as she glanced over at Maka. Her head tilted, intense study making lines in the girl's forehead.

"Yes, Reina, I'm sorry." Maka bowed her head on cue, getting another snort of laughter from Star.

"Don't see why you have to apologize to the pip-squeak."

Maka merely rolled her eyes.

"Trust me, the pip-squeak appreciates it," Marie replied, glaring at Black Star before shooing Reina out of her lap and to the mat. "So, will you forgive Maka?"

Her lip pouted in thought before she nodded. "But what about the wedding?"

"Soul and I…" Maka started.

Marie noticed the delicate hint of pink high on Maka's cheeks. Entirely fake, right? An engagement in name only. "Maka is going to stay with Soul, just in a different way. For now, we're going to say they're getting married."

"So it's pretend?"

Maka jumped to attention. "Well–"

"Yes." Marie cut Maka cleanly before steadily challenging the rise of the girl's stammering. "We don't lie to Reina. It doesn't work with her. Anyway, Reina, tell Maka what the rules of pretend are."

"Only the people playing pretend know we're playing pretend." Reina wiggled up a finger. "If I have questions about the pretend, I ask Mama or Papa alone. Whoever is the most convincing in the pretend wins the prize!" She jumped to attention at the reminder, eyes glowing at Maka. "Maka, what's the prize for the pretend?"

"Oh," Maka warbled. "I… if you win the pretend, I'll give you a stone. Better than any of the ones that Shiro-chan's given you."

"Oh," Reina cooed in reply.

Easily pleased, Marie let echo through her mind with a laugh. "Well, Reina, if that's settled, give Maka her books." She waved towards the pile.

"Books, of course," Star scoffed before rolling on his side. He tugged at Maka's yukata. "Gotta say, I still don't see the point of all of this."

"No one asked you," Maka muttered as she started to glance over the titles.

"And it's not just books," Marie corrected quickly. "I'll expect you to be ready to practice at this time every day. I found a girl who can fill in temporarily at the kitchens, but we still only have a small amount of time to whip you into shape."

Maka started to leaf through some of the pages. "Really, Marie, I can't imagine that it's going to be that hard. I am a woman– I've seen what other women do even if I haven't had to act like a lady myself."

"Trust me, you've got your work cut out for you," Star grumbled as he rested his chin on his fist. "I hope Whitey's payin' you extra."

"Well, let's see who's telling the truth…" Marie waved her hand, motioning Maka to her feet. "Walk from that side of the room to the other."

"Just walk?" Maka was standing, but staring at her feet as if the order were alien to her.

"Yes, walk– like you're coming into the room to be introduced." Marie rested back on her heels, eyes trained on Maka as she moved towards the wall. It's horrible to say, but I hope she has more of her father in her than her mother. He had a smooth gait, but Rin… A sigh fluttered through Marie's lips as Maka started her walk. Oh, no, she's all her mother's daughter.


Medusa slid into the courtyard, spying her subject lounging on the engawa with his pipe in hand. "Good day, young lord."

Soul only nodded in reply before balancing the kiseru between his lips.

"I thought we might have a moment to talk…"

"About?" he muttered.

"Well…" Medusa made easy steps to stand in front of him, her shadow painting darkness over the white of his kosode. "I heard that you've had another unfortunate accident."

The boy winced ever so slightly but nothing more.

"I'm going to assume that means what Franken has been prescribing you"—she waved a hand towards his pipe—"is not doing the job it should. I think I may be able to offer an elixir that would give you more control over–"

"No." He rolled onto his back, eyes focused on the overhang of the roof rather than her.

"Then you just want that dark whispering to continue?" Medusa loved the way his muscles tensed against his will, the fear starting to seep from his pores. "You'll just keep killing, slaughtering those close to you because you shirk your real power."

"I've said before," he muttered, "that I'm unstable. There's no real power, and there's no way to control what I do have. I can't do what Asura wants, so I'll do what my brother suggests. I'll produce more weapons."

"Marriage?" Medusa raised an eyebrow at the prospect.

"Yes." The kiseru tapped anxiously against the engawa. "So leave me alone."

"You do know…" She barely resisted the urge to lick her lips, still tasting that sweet bit of fright in the air. "You'll have to tell whatever little bride you picked that she's marrying a monster."

His eyes closed slowly, a breath rattling deeply in his chest. "At this point, Medusa, I'm sure everyone knows exactly what I am."


Maka slid through the gap in the fence, pausing for a moment to absorb the sounds of the night. She silently slunk to the side of the house, eyeing the light that the lantern painted against the ground in the courtyard. The door must have been open to let the glow leak out, but Maka still stalled at the edge of the building. I shouldn't. There's really no reason for me to be here, no information to gather or–

A crash erupted before Soul let out a grunt.

All of her excuses evaporated into smoke, legs burning from the scramble around the side of the house and up the engawa. The main room was empty, the screen disposed of and leaving a clear view of the secret doorway. He was standing there, shoulder's bare and taut as they heaved with each breath.

Her heart thundered as she rushed towards the opening. I told him! I told him not to go in there alone! "Soul!" Her hands fell to his sweat-stained back, sure that black blood would be oozing to the floor beneath him.

Instead, Soul jumped as he flipped his chin over his shoulder, eyes widening only momentarily before a smirk graced his lips. "What're you doin' here?"

She kept her hands planted long enough to verify his warmth, eyes trickling over his bare back and finding it unmarred besides the old scars. "You're alright?"

Soul raised his eyebrows. "You think I can't manage one night without you?"

"The– the crash–"

"Yeah…" Soul sheepishly brushed back his hair before motioning towards the doorway in front of him. "Thought I'd tear down this wall. Already got rid of the stained tatami, so…"

"You're–" Maka examined his back again, the sheen of the sweat of hard work rather than nightmares glistening in reply. "You're cleaning?"

He nodded. "You, uh, gonna hold my back while I do it?"

Maka's hands launched back to her chest, the heat from her fingers sizzling through to her heart and up to her cheeks, painting pink to her ears. "N-no! But why are you–"

"You're gonna live here, aren't you?" He turned to face her, his hand motioning towards the door that was now splintered on the floor. "So it's about time this house went back to what it was. Open up this room, let the light in again, y'know?"

She turned, trying to get that image of him out of her mind as she examined the wall. "That'd be nice."

"Yeah," he murmured with a beautiful hint of joy. "Are you okay?"

"Me?" Maka resisted the urge to look at him again, taking a step towards the main room in hopes of getting close enough to the night air again to cool the fire that wouldn't die in her chest. "I'm fine. Just wanted to make sure you weren't getting into any trouble."

He snickered behind her as the floor creaked. A few of his footsteps followed as his voice started over her shoulder: "Pretty hard to get into trouble after just a day." He cleared his throat and she felt some of his heat move away from her, a gap between them created by a step. "Listen, you want to see the rest of the house?"

"Well…"

"If you have time"—that same amused bit of teasing sweetened his voice—"since Marie said you had plenty of studyin' to do."

She spun towards him, a pout instantly pulling at her lips as she glared in his face. "She did not tell you that."

"She did," he crooned back. "Over dinner. She was makin' sure I followed your number one rule: eatin'."

Her hands tapped his chest, pushing him playfully until his eyes fell. It was as if he were examining every detail of her knuckles, leaving her hands hovering between them. "Soul?"

He cleared his throat, this time giving into another step without her pressure. "Yeah, sorry. Guess I'm just– I'm tired. Maybe did too much work today, but the offer still stands: you want to see it or not?"

"Cover yourself and then maybe." There was a small victory in that not coming out as a stuttering mess.

His laughter after was enough to make her blood boil but in a moment she heard the shuffling of his feet and a grunt of acquiescence. "Alright."

Maka moved to follow but stopped short, her eyes rolling. He'd thrown on a haori but hadn't even bothered to tuck it or tie it, leaving it more just a warmer for his shoulders. "You know, for a lord, you're awfully disheveled."

"You know," he parroted her perfectly as he moved towards the entrance to the hallway, "for all your bravery, you're awfully skittish when it comes to a bit of skin."

She stamped after him, arranging some kind of retaliatory insult as he led her into a cozy looking kitchen. It spoke nothing of royalty, only of a proper home– an assumption that had been planted firmly in her mind since it had been his mother who lived here. The hearth was lit, its warmth not entirely welcome in the late summer night.

"You want some tea?" Soul glanced at her before starting the steps anyway.

"I wouldn't mind it…"

He snorted at her hesitancy before continuing. The tray he started still held that fine, noble pottery but nothing gilded or garish. There was surety in his movements, no confusion of first steps in a kitchen.

"You've done this before."

Soul raised his eyebrows at her, stopping to stare for a moment. "So?"

"Well, I just thought– with Marie, you never made your own tea."

"Can cook too," he mumbled as he brought his attention back to the cups. "Guess it's the blessing of bein' a second son." She watched the uneven heave of his shoulders through a sigh. "Wes always lived with Father– groomed to be the next lord. When I came along, well… I wasn't good enough to be in the main house anyway, so I stayed here with Mother. I wasn't groomed to be a lord, just– just to be myself."

Good enough. Maka moved to his side, her hand tentatively hovering over his. He still jumped, eyes dashing from her to the threatened connection, but no warning sounded from him. She laid her hand over his. "Good. No offense to Wes, but I can't imagine spending as much time with you as I have if you were just like him. This is– what you are is better."

He looked away from her, attempting to appear like he was gauging the heat of the water over the hearth. "Thanks."

"I think it's warm enough." She withdrew her hand, giving him freedom to continue the preparations. He poured over the leaves in their silence. "While it steeps, why don't you show me the rest?"

"Sure." Soul was slow to finish before starting back out into the hallway. They traversed the long part of the corridor first, finishing in a gloriously large main bedroom. "This was my mother's." He paused to look around, Maka seeing memories painted over his face. "I was thinkin' it's big enough for Franken, Marie, and Reina."

Maka startled. "They're living with us?"

His brow wrinkled as he sighed. "I'm worried about Medusa. If you're all together…"

"Reina will always be with one of us." Maka nodded, a new spring of warmth starting in her heart. Sometimes he's just like a doting father.

"Exactly." He tilted his head towards her, raising an eyebrow. "You don't think it's stupid?"

"Well, it's what I'd expect from a worry-wart like you," she teased but found relief in the way his smile mirrored hers. "And the other bedrooms?"

He nodded, leading her back past the kitchen to two side-by-side slides. "One for you and one for Star."

Maka got far enough to put her hand on the door before she froze. Her head swiveled quickly, eyes narrowing at him. "I made it very clear that you and I weren't going to be sleeping in the same room!"

Soul instantly started to chuckle as he leaned into the wall. "Funny you didn't think of me bunkin' with Star."

There was no hope of keeping the flustered pink from the blossoms of her cheeks. "I mean– I just assumed no one in their right mind would want to stay with that idiot, so…!"

The anxiety in her chest only flared as a softness came to his eyes, his tender gaze steady on her face as his smile slowly shrunk away. "But I'm not doin' that anyway. I-I'm goin' back to live at the main house while you're here."

There was no explanation Maka could find for how she felt, but it was as clear to her as if it were happening before her eyes: fine cracks were lacing his heart and another splintered just at that sentence alone. Maka watched it, her mind scrambling to justify how she could be so sure that she was witnessing a part of him break. "Soul–"

"It's fine," he murmured.

It's not! The scene repeated itself as if that muscle in his chest was nothing more than fragile porcelain. She faltered, but her soul would not settle until her hand was over his heart, slipping under the wayward haori to press warmly into the skin. He grunted, mouth agape as Maka started: "It will be fine." She raised her eyes to his, still wildly wide as his lip trembled. "You'll be fine because you can do this, just like walking into that room with Medusa. And the moment– the second you forget that, you'll come to me, and I'll remind you."

"OK…" he whispered as his fingers just barely touched her elbow.

I want you to believe that. I want those scars on your heart to disappear and for you to feel that– know that. "Promise me."

The silence fed her surety that he wouldn't, especially as his glare drifted away to the hand on his chest. He was studying again, memorizing, and Maka couldn't stand the quiet of it all. It was his grip that answered her first, no longer a ghost of a touch but a strong hold of her skin. It kept her hand pressed firmly against him, her own bit of memorization of the beat of his heart. "I promise."