Author's Note: (Simply because I cannot reply to you directly via private messaging) To the Guest(s) who left the two reviews for my last chapter, THANK YOU! I really appreciate your dedication in reading my story and am thankful that you care enough about it to be irritated due to any flaws in my plot.

My intention was for this backstory to be during her University years, but after rereading through the chapter, I realize that I mistakenly did not specify that and I apologize.

I want to remind you that I do this for fun, to de-stress, and often write between 2 and 5 a.m. when I am not working. I am currently writing several other stories and have also been working on this particular story for the past five years off and on, so mistakes will be made. I am not perfect nor do I claim to be and always ask for respectful review so that I may better my work.

I do hope that you continue reading, as I value any and all opinions, especially honest critiques such as your own, but ask that you try to show more encouragement and less spite when pointing out plot holes from now on. I will go back and specify that it is a university in this AU. Through that, I hope that it will make for a more pleasing chapter.

Also, thank you to all of the support you've all been sending my way! I know that I've been MIA since covid took over and it's been too long since my last update. I haven't had much inspiration for anything and have been reevaluating where I want this story to go. I promise I'll try to update more frequently. Thank you for bearing with me! Love you All!

Now … On with the story~!

Chapter Nineteen

She had never had so much trouble in finding a Dean before and it was getting ridiculous. Two weeks had already passed her by, her training and education taking priority over her search for information on this 'Grimoire' guy, and still no Lord Death and no information on the creep.

Maka was getting increasingly uncomfortable around him, and he seemed to always be around. He even frequented the apartment when Ponera was absent, off training, or in class, and would always step just a touch too far into her personal space. She did not trust him, but she couldn't find it within herself to express her concerns to her roommate, who she quickly realized was utterly and madly in love with the strange sorcerer. Because of the level of difficulty in her search for information on the guy, Maka was beginning to entertain the idea that he had somehow managed to cast a spell on the entire student body, which somehow oddly excluded her and Blake. Nothing about him sat well with her, especially as she sat at her desk, knowing he was outside her bedroom door. She could sense his soul lurking just beyond the barrier and remained tensed in her spot, her mind thinking up every possible scenario of what he might attempt. Her heart began to race heavily in her chest as she sought to control her breathing; a chill spiking its way down her back until, finally, he stepped away from the door. Maka didn't allow herself to let her guard down until she heard the front door open and Ponera's heavy sigh fill the apartment before the door slammed.

Maka relaxed briefly before she realized from the lack of conversation outside of her bedroom walls that Grimoire was no longer in the apartment. But, why? Why would he leave before Ponera? In fact, why was he ever here while she wasn't? It put her on edge even more than before, making her skin crawl. He was up to something.

Maka thought he had been spending too much time in their apartment a few weeks ago, but now it was like he had moved in. He had started doing his laundry there, sleeping in Ponera's room, eating their food, and now getting his mail sent to their place! It had gotten out of hand, and what was worse? Pon herself didn't even seem to notice.

It was now one of those extremely rare moments that Maka had alone with her roommate as they ate a light lunch together. She was still hesitant to say anything to her about the sorcerer in fear of him magically being able to hear their conversation and … well, Pon's reaction to what Maka had to say. Nevertheless, it had become evident that something had to be done, not just because of Maka's discomfort and Blake's words, but because Ponera was looking drained, grey, and tired. Her health seemed to be depleting more and more rapidly the more time she spent with her boyfriend.

"Pon, um, can I… can I ask you something?"

"Shoot."

Maka took a steadying breath before adjusting her seat toward her roommate. She didn't want to ruin the now good relationship that had, so she needed to tread carefully.

"I … wanted to talk to you about Grimoire."

*Present Day*

The elevator doors opened, the lights flickering, and Maka allowed for the pent up air that she had been carrying the few floors up to finally release. They stepped into a dimly lit room, windows enclosing them from all sides as the scent of cigarettes lingered from previously taken smoke breaks. It was almost beyond belief to witness how much snow had accumulated over just the past few hours as the temperature continued to plummet; New York City was nearly indiscernible in its thick blanket and shower of bundled flakes. The storm was so dense just beyond the glass that the actual roof remained unseen.

An enchanting swarm of frozen black magic had bewitched Soul in a dangerous manner as it beckoned him into its mass. He was suddenly startled from his entranced state when Maka grabbed a hold of his arm, halting him from his exit into the blizzard of crystal flurries.

"No," she stated simply, her mossy orbs glaring out at the frost. It seemed that she wouldn't allow him to step out into the mess of ice, obviously sensing what he now felt looming over them.

"My God …" Soul muttered, his ruby reds squinting at the onslaught of disastrous weather. "How did we not sense it before?" He was referring to the overwhelming and obvious power of a soul somewhere who was behind this mess, causing the city to close down due to the conditions. The first time, Maka had been lucky that Soul had saved her life from the cold; this time she was lucky to have him as a weapon to help her fight against who she now knew was the creator of such a squall. She too was beside herself with self-disappointment at her sudden realization. How had she not sensed it before? She should've known from the first snowflake that fell.

"I don't know, but this won't be an easy battle to win."

Maka knew this feeling and in a twisted way, she felt relief at who she knew to be beyond the dense wall of frozen venom. A chill ran through her bones, burning her veins as his eyes appeared through pelting snow.

" … he's back," she breathed, returning his gaze tenfold. He had a lot of nerve, coming back into her life in this way, but she wasn't the least bit surprised.

"You know who it is?"

"Unfortunately," Maka grumbled, her glare intensifying as his glowing red orbs hid behind the blanket of enchanted snow once more. She heaved a heavy sighed, her head tilting back slightly. "He's a remarkably talented and sly sorcerer. This is going to be such a pain."

"... Why do I feel like you're treating this more like a game of dodgeball from high school gym class than an actual battle with 'a remarkably talented and sly sorcerer'?"

"You'll find out soon. It's only been a few years, but man, can he hold a grudge."

"Do I get a backstory at all orrrrrr...?" Soul watched as she puffed out her cheeks, huffing indignantly at the recollection of ridiculous past occurrences.

"Long story short: he dated my roommate to use her for some stupid college prank, or so he claims. He put everyone under hypnosis, but it had little to no effect on me and my cousin. Besides Ponera, we were the only two that knew he existed."

"What, so his little prank didn't work because of you and now he's back for his petty revenge?"

"Nah, he's pissed because Ponera broke up with him and he blames me for the split."

*BOOM!*

One might wonder what the origin of such a startling sound could be in this predicament - Thunder? Perhaps an attack of hail? Well, one could say that … if a man running full force at a window only to flare his red, snotty nostrils as he pressed his face firmly up against the glass is considered an attack. Maka and Soul, however, considered this poor expression of upset as a nearly laughable and embarrassing cry for help.

"He's also an incurable idiot."

"Callarse, estupido!" he yelled, banging the glass as his face fell, probably too ashamed to meet their eyes, leaving a snail trail of mucus upon the glass.

"What did he say?"

"I'm pretty sure he just told me to shut up." The snow had begun to slowly dwindle down to flurries as Grimoire's pride had seemingly been wounded, his focus being thrown out as he wallowed in self-pity. "What are you doing, you guppy? Stop acting so glum. What happened this time?"

"You say that as though this is a regular occurrence."

"He shows up every time they break up, blaming me for their problems."

"We don't have problems!" yelled the sobbing man, his snow turning to rain as he wept. "And I would never use her for anything! I love her!"

"Yeah? Then why are you here? Should I call her to ask what dumb thing you did this time?"

"... you wouldn't dare …"

"Would I not?" Maka raised an eyebrow strictly, crossing her arms as she stared unamused by the man she had once feared. What a joke. The guy was most certainly an amazing sorcerer, but hosted a sensitive ego and an easily defeated resolve, especially when it came to the love of his life, Ponera. Maka had thought his motives toward his relationship with Pon to be nothing more than to succeed at his grand magic trick, but he was nowhere as evil as she had originally thought him to be. Soon after a short conversation Maka had had with her roommate about her worries, it became clear upon their breakup that Grimoire was actually head over heels for Ponera. They had been in an on-again-off-again relationship ever since; the main reason being Grimoire's obnoxious and overzealous personality and acts of pseudo heroism.

"So… you're telling me that all this is because he holds a grudge against you?" Soul questioned, his face a mixture of aghast and dismay.

"No!"

"Yup."

"It is not!"

"Then what? You know, I'm curious to know what Ponera would think of this very illegal display of magic in one of the largest cities in the world."

"... Fine," he grit out, pouting like the child that he was as he stood upright. "But I want an apology first."

"You're kidding, right? Why should I-"

"Because my relationship with Pon would be rock solid to this day had you not filled her head with lies! Because of you, she doesn't trust me! Every little thing I do makes her question me like I'm some shady criminal. You could have just come out and asked me back then, I would have told you, but instead, you followed your own biased assumptions against me without any actual proof of wrong-doing and I'm the one who pays for it! I'm the one who gets outcast by the entire DWMA!" She stared at him silently for a moment, eyes blinking rapidly in bafflement. How is she at fault for all of his troubles?

"You knew I was wary of you, why didn't you just come out and tell me what was going on?"

"Look," he sighed, laughing slightly at her obvious need to direct blame anywhere but herself. "I get that I seemed creepy at the time, but I was able to cast hypnosis over the entire school, save for you and that cousin of yours, and I wanted to know why. I still haven't the slightest clue. If I had come and told you of my plan, would you have really just let it go? You're a goodie-two-shoes who would've taken it to the dean regardless of my reasons behind the whole thing. I was testing the limits of my powers, as was our assignment. It wasn't a prank that you ruined, it was my life. Now all I ask for is an apology and you can't even do that."

"Wait, 'assignment'?" Soul questioned. "So, was it a prank or schoolwork? I'm confused."

"Both," he answered, shivering violently outside the glass in his own storm, the dork. "We were given free rein as to how we tested our capabilities, save for vandalization and the like. I decided to disappear from existence, recording every moment of it. Maka and her cousin were an interesting challenge; besides Pon, they were the only ones I couldn't hypnotize. I was keeping a close eye on them to figure out why, which led Maka here to turn my own girlfriend on me. The breakup ruined me emotionally, Maka's actions after that ruined my reputation, and I was later involved in the unfortunate happenings that made magic, meisters, and weapons illegal."

"Wait … what?"

"Okay, how did I ruin your reputation? You did that well enough on your own."

"... You can't be serious right now…" Maka stared blankly at him for a moment before Grimoire's pure rage was seen, being exhibited through the hail now pelting down into the city, the round orbs growing dangerously large the longer he seethed. "Fine, Miss Albain. Have it your way." Grimoire steps back away from the window, snow and hail mixing in a fierce dance to hide him from their view once again, leaving them both to stare in shock. He knew… he knew who she really was.

"How does he…" Soul started, his face was intense as the realization sits heavily over them. If he knew of the past Maka had made sure to erase with everything she had, Grimoire was much more powerful than either of them had given him credit for.

"I … I don't know." Maka felt unsettled as the clouds darkened the sky to the point that she was unsure if the sun even existed any longer and dread overtook her being. She had just poked a very large, very powerful, and angry bear.

I know it's short, but the next chapter will be big big :) and I'll try to get it to you asap, as well as update my other stories.

Again, thank you all for continuing to read and review. It really means so much to me. I'm glad to be back.

Much Love~!

k.t.