It had already been 38 days. Half her allotted time to get prepared was up already. She had 38 more days to make sure Asura would be able to handle being somewhat near the group of students who had killed him...and he wasn't getting any noticeably better, beyond getting sassier. He was still just as fearful, just as paranoid. He would just make snarky comments more often, and it made her want to pull her hair out. She would have to work double time now just to make sure he wouldn't try to murder her or her friends...and she was already exhausted. She was trying to play it off as her studying...which would only work for so long.

After yet another long day of dragging her feet through school, she was ready to open the door to her flat and just go straight to her room and pass out until it was time to eat. It seemed that was not to be, though, as she gave a short shriek of terror and was shocked to full alertness by a loud crash as soon as she opened her door. There were a few stray pieces of wood near her feet now, and even more scattered about. She looked at Asura, who was standing over the torn and splintered remains of her couch. The kishin just looked at her, face hidden behind his scarves as always.

"...there was a spider. It is dead now, though."

A...spider? HE HAD DESTROYED HER COUCH OVER A SPIDER?!!? Oh that was it. She was at her breaking point. She calmly shut her door, and slipped out of her shoes before walking over to what used to be the couch and grabbing one of the blankets. She shook off the debris, and proceeded to wrap herself in it before lowering herself to the floor and just laying down silently.

Yes, her breaking point involved her just laying on the floor, curled up in a blanket cocoon.

Asura looked to her quizzically, and crouched down in front of her a few arms lengths away. One of his scarves reached out to poke at her face, which could barely be seen now.

"...Asura I'm busy having a mini mental breakdown may I politely request that you stop poking my face?"

Surprisingly, he actually did stop...but he didn't move from his position.

"...I cause you this much stress yet you still do not try to rid yourself of me? You must be a masochist of some sort..."

Aaaand there was the sass. Emilia tried her damndest to think positively. She tried so hard to look at the bright side, to think that even though this wasn't the progress she wanted, it was still progress. She was failing though, and a little whine of exasperation left her lips. She really wished she could have had help...this was too much for just one person. But in a situation such as this? There wasn't really anyone who could help. There was no one she would be able to trust enough to not try and turn the both of them in. Asura was looking concerned and confused, now.

"Asura...please...please, I don't ask much of you...but can you please not destroy my stuff...? Furniture is expensive and I don't have the money for it..."

Asura looked over at the splintered remains of the couch, and used his scarves to shove it all in a contained pile. Well...it was better than it being scattered throughout the living room. This would be easier to clean up, at least. Oh God, how would she explain this??? She wouldn't be able to. She wouldn't be able to take this out and throw it away without getting a lot of questions thrown her way. She would have to keep the remains in her extra room, for now. But what about getting a new couch? She would have to figure that out later. For now...she had to find a way for Asura to get rid of bugs without him destroying her things...or covering the place in pesticides.

She brought out her phone, and went into the internet browser, typing in a search for all natural diy pest solutions. At least...she was halfway done with typing that before Asura yanked the phone from her grip. She made a noise of protest, sitting up and looking at him with an annoyed little pout. He was glaring at her phone suspiciously...at least she assumed so, as his face was still covered. Could he somehow still see???

"...I was literally just trying to find a way to both repel any bugs and kill them so you wouldn't feel the need to murder any more furniture...if you need to you can watch over my shoulder."

It took almost a minute of him internally debating before he gave her phone back to her, moving to sit behind her and watch what she did. Too tired to care, Emilia just continued typing in her search. It only took a couple minutes before she discovered that vinegar would kill them, and many different essential oils would repel them. Well...at least she could make a reed diffuser for cheap. She just needed some bamboo skewers, the oils, and an old soda bottle. She would probably do a combo of eucalyptus and mint...those two smelled nice together, and would repel pretty much anything. She turned slightly, showing the screen in its entirety to the paranoid kishin.

"See? I can get you a spray bottle with vinegar you can use to spray any bugs, and I'll make a scent diffuser with eucalyptus and mint to repel them too. Does that sound okay?"

The tall man seemingly stared at her for a few moments before finally standing back up.

"...it is acceptable. Though if you try anything...unsavory, just remember my threat."

With that said, he walked away, off to her bedroom. Wait...why was he going in there??? Curious, Emilia followed him, and was greeted by the sight of him curled up atop her mattress, hugging her pillow. The sight quelled some of the frustration in her heart, reminding her of exactly why she was truly putting up with him. He may be a centuries old being, who used to have power that rivaled that of Death himself...but at the same time, he was also a scared little kid who just...didn't want to be scared.

She walked back out to the living room, and began to gather up smaller pieces of the couch, bringing it all to the storage bedroom and piling it up in a corner. It took her a good ten minutes to get everything moved, then she was faced with the bits that were too small to be worth moving. She would have to use the vacuum cleaner. With a small sigh, she headed back towards her bedroom, where Asura was still laying on her bed.

"...Asura? I have to use the vacuum cleaner to get all the tiny bits of the couch cleaned up. It's a bit loud, so...I wanted to warn you. It's nothing bad, its just a machine that sucks up all the small pieces that I can't pick up with my hands. Is that okay?"

All she got in response was a small noise of acknowledgement, and a slightly dismissive wave of a scarf. Well...it was better than nothing? He knew that her vacuum was going to turn on, so she may as well just get it over with.

"...I'm gonna close the door to the bedroom so it isn't as loud."

She didn't wait for a response this time as she pulled the door shut with a small click, then went back into the extra room and grabbed the vacuum cleaner. She brought it out to the living room, then plugged it in and got to work. It only took about two minutes, and after she had shut it off and wrapped the cord back up, she turned to walk it back into the extra room...only to be faced with Asura standing in the hallway, glaring at her suspiciously. After a few moments, he allowed her to pass, but didn't take his eyes off her for even a moment. After she shut the door to the extra room again, she looked up at him with a tired expression on her face.

"...Can I please go to bed? I'm just going to sleep until its time for me to wake up and eat dinner...I'm tired. School is exhausting."

Asura seemed suspicious still.

"...you sleep all through the night, why do you need more?"

Emilia wanted to cry. In frustration, in hopelessness, in exhaustion...and probably a few other emotions she couldn't name at the moment.

"Because I'm tired. We're being put through physical training at school, and I'm not exactly a meister. I'm just a weapon, so it takes a lot out of me. I'm also constantly being put through remedial lessons because I can't find a compatible partner to save my life. Even professor Stein can only use me for so long. Apparently I have a slight madness wavelength that he can't even totally match...and he's supposed to be a master at altering his soul wavelength...so I'm being worked twice as hard for something that isn't even my fault and I am exhausted. Please...can I please go to sleep...?"

Wow way to spill your guts all over the floor, Emilia. Granted, what she told Asura wasn't the whole truth, but it was still the truth. She was being worked to the bone just because she couldn't find a compatible meister. After a few moments, Asura relented and let her pass. She gave him a nod of thanks, and went straight into her room, flopping down onto her bed and worming her way under the covers without even changing out of her clothes. She silently cast the spell one time more, and the drain that took caused her to pass out cold.

Hopefully she would wake up in time for dinner.

A/N: Hi guys!!!! I know its been a while, but life has been royally kicking my ass for a while and I had zero inspiration for this...until now.

Now, I make no promises, but I really hope I can actually get going on this at a decent pace!

I need to hash out the plot first (because I lost the original manuscript), and find a way to add more meat to the story so it isn't just another flat, boring fanfic. I'm not the most long winded writer, but I wish it came easier to me so I would be able to paint a better picture for you all.

If you have any comments, advice, or even requests/ideas, feel free to leave them as a review!!!

Happy reading!!!