Another month had passed since my run in with Kid. I felt disappointment.

So much for not giving up. He's not tried to bring me back home since back at the ruins. I winced as I wrapped a bandage around my arm, my latest injury with a run in with a dangerous kishin. Something nagged at the back of my mind from the last fight; my mother just disappeared.

Right as I thought I was going to get my head chopped off, thankfully my fire fans chopped his off instead. Something kept nagging at me… my mother was down and out for a lot longer than I anticipated. I winced as I patched myself up; a rule among witches here was if you got hurt, you cleaned yourself up after.

I rolled my shoulder after popping it back into place and stood up from my bed. I walked through the castle; the walls were cold and dripping with damp. It wasn't the best but the witches were supportive of helping me gain control of what I am and learning to channel it through my weapons I could summon.

I got to the room where the witches were setting up for a meeting. "You said she was special." I heard the Elder say.

"She is I assure you." My mother replied.

"So you keep saying." I could hear the threat in the Elder Witch's words. "Yet all you scheming, all your preparation for what?!" I risked a glance around the stone corner at the Elder, my mother and a powerful witch I knew to be called Ilythia.

"Elder speaks the truth." Ilythia said in a calm voice while looking at my mother. You experimented on the child while she was in your womb to make her a weapon for our cause yet it has shown no fruit."

My mother let out a groan. "She is here isn't she?!" I froze as there was silence as I thought they saw me. "We brought her here and she left those killers at the academy did she not?"

"She was friends with those brutes though." Elder said calmly, differing from my mother's tone. "Not only that but she is in love with Death's son. That presents a problem."

"She was." My mother said levelly, though I could see she was getting agitated. "She chose us over them."

"Her heart is changing." Ilythia warned. "We can all feel her heart wavering from our cause."

"She will do as I say. Once her training is complete she will kill Lord Death, his son and all those students at the school!" She yelled.

I gasped and couldn't contain my anger. "I will do no such thing!" I yelled at her. All 3 looked to me with a shocked expression. "You think I would betray my friends?"

My mother let out a cruel laugh. "You already have dear, you are here with us and not with them. Do you think they'll let you back after betraying them like this?"

I frowned at her. "I know they would." Elder and Ilythia didn't look angry nor surprised. "If I chose to I could go bac there any time I wanted."

"You can not!" Mother yelled.

"Your mother is right." Ilythia said calmly. "If you leave us to be with them you won't be welcome with us. Nor would we see you as ally or friend anymore."

I sighed. "Did you ever?" Silence was my answer. "You said it yourself; I'm meant to be a weapon. Even if I did have these powers you want me to have I'd never use them against Kid."

"The boy?" Mother ran her hands through her hair. "You still care for the boy?"

I nodded. "I love him."

Mother laughed again. "You don't know what love is, you're just a child."

I huffed. "I'm no longer a child mother! They know me and love me for who I am."

"They don't know you! They could never know you like we do!" She calmed with a few deep breaths. "We're your family."

I shook my head. "You don't even know it's my birthday today."

All we could hear was water trickling down the walls. None of them could meet my eyes bar my mother. Her eyes that I thought I knew so well just seemed gloomy and clouded. The eyes of a stranger now replaced the warm memory of a loving mother. "Hannah-"

"I'm leaving." She stood shell shocked as did Ilythia and Elder. "Thank you for your teachings but I cannot stay here any longer."

I turned to leave. "DON'T YOU DARE TURN YOUR BACK!" I reeled to my mother who was seething. "You leave these walls you will not return to them!"

"Something I can live with." I turned once again but as I reached the wall the space next to my face was alight with fire.

I turned to my mother who took up a fighting stance. "I will not have my work go to waste." She gritted her teeth.

I shook my head. "You cannot be serious."

Ilythia and Elder stood by my mother and took a similar stance, a sting of betrayal went through my body at the two women I did hold as family. "We cannot allow you to leave Hannah."

"I'm afraid I'll be taking her from here ladies." I looked to my side to see Kid had snuck his way to me. He smirked at me and winked. "As she said she is leaving and I'll be taking her home now."

I couldn't stop the grin on my face at the sight of him. This quickly faded as I saw how angry the three witches were. "Then we kill you both."

It was a blur; all 3 came after us. Ilythia and Elder went after Kid which left my mother and I to finally settle things between us. But just as I thought I was gaining the upper hand when my flame fan clashed against her sword; she brought out a staff and a surge of wind and fire flew to me. The force of this knocked me clean through the wall and out to the darkness outside. I pushed a slab of rock off my stomach and rolled onto my hands and knees as my mother sauntered over the debris. She had a long cut on her forehead and several bruises. My body ached as I brought myself to my feet after wiping blood away from my lip. "You can still end this madness Hannah."

I shook my head. The cloud that shrouded my memories was lifted and I finally saw through it all. I saw through the lies and deception. "Kid was right the whole time. I don't have the soul of a witch at all. I have my own soul."

She shook her head. "I am your mother! You bear my soul's signature! You're my double!"

"Look at my soul again." No protect. No spells. I wasn't a witch. Everything she tried to place on me was just me wanting to be what my mother wanted. The spells were all her. "I see through your lies. You made me feel like I needed to be a witch but it was you the whole time! You're the one who needed me to be a witch!"

"Stop this!" She was becoming erratic.

"You were there the whole time! When I said the words it was you pulling the strings. Kid made me appear how I really am and that frightened you." She now looked scared. "You knew if I figured out what I am that I'd leave you with nothing! All that experimentation and you couldn't make me into the witch you wanted."

"Enough of this!" She raised her hands and I saw her conjure a lion of fire; her spirit animal. I didn't have time to think before it engulfed me in flames; but I was accustomed to pain and I blew it away to either side of me.

"I'm sorry." I whispered before assaulting her with eagle after eagle. Each hit made her weaker and weaker. As she was distracted by the flurry I went around the back of her.

She noticed me too late as I plunged my dagger into her chest. The fire quickly extinguished around us. Hot tears were going down her cheeks. "You could have been unstoppable."

I twisted the knife making more blood flow onto my hands and she lurched forward. "I will be. Just not by your hands."

I yanked the knife out and her body fell limp to the floor. I turned to see Kid walking out the ruins, also covered in blood probably due to how Liz and Patty weren't here. He walked over to me and stroked my cheek. "You came back for me."

He smiled softly. "Like I told you… I will never give up on you." He kissed me and it was like we had been apart for years. He was bold as he held me firm against his body and offering me no rest bite. Eventually though we both had to return for air. I was breathing heavily as was he, and my cheeks suddenly felt very hot. "Oh, before I forget..." He reached into his pocket and brought out a box with a ribbon around it. "Happy birthday."

I smiled and pecked him on the lips again. "You remembered." I took off the ribbon and opened the box, my breath caught in my throat. It was a silver chain with a Death Academy skull on the end with onyx stones as the eyes. Either side of the skull were guns that were exact replicas of the guns Liz and Patty transformed into. "Kid it's beautiful."

He helped put it around my neck. "Now everyone will know you're with me." I turned back to face him and stroked his face. "I've been so lost since you left my arms."

"I was a fool to ever leave them." I kissed him once again allowing his arms to rap around me. "Take me home."