Chapter Three

Soul came to after a few moments. He moaned because his head hurt as if there was a hammer mill inside, working full force. Maka's face hovered over his, with a worried look on it. He felt a runlet of warm blood on the left side of his face, trickling down from temple to cheek. He felt Maka's tight grip around one of his shoulders that steadied him as he sat up.

Jona enjoyed the sight. He had won. There was nothing they could do to him now. "Na, how about I continue my story now? I don't feel like finishing you off just yet."

-Flashback-

Jun's soul's wavelength dulled as he took his last breath, then suddenly sparked up again, rushing through his body and into Rin's via the sister's kiss. It made her body twitch inside and she gasped at the power she felt.

"What's wrong? Rin?" Red intended to grab her shoulder, but she backed away from him and shook her head.

"Monster," Jona hissed, sudden to the two Shibusen students. He stared intensely at the girl, watching her soul closely because it did something he had never seen before: it changed its color!

Her soul was usually of a light blue, like many others, but now sea green swirls made their way in – the color of her brother's soul. She felt as if her skin was no longer large enough to hold her body in. She yelped when she felt her soul wavering, extending, changing.

At the same time, Jun's body dissolved and Red's eyes widened when it did not leave a soul behind as it should have. He turned back to Rin and concentrated so that he could see the girls' soul.

The pain ceased and Rin opened her eyes again, looking straight into Red's black orbs. She took a second to sort out all the different emotions they displayed: disbelief, confusion, sorrow, loss, anger and... fear. She locked her gaze to the ground and stood up. "I understand. You don't have to team up with me anymore, it's okay. I'll be fine by myself, just like before." That was right. She had been by herself for eleven years of her life, she did not need anyone to help her fight and survive.

A pulse of her wavelength brushed Red's soul. Sadness, loneliness … but also anger and resolve – and no sign of fear. She had always been different from them. No matter how close they might have gotten over the past three years, there were still a lot of things about her that no one would ever reach who has not experienced the same as her. An abyss that will never be straddled by a bridge. He had found himself wondering about this part of her more times then he could count and before he knew it, he had…

She charged at Jona. She felt a power that was almost stunning and that enabled her to kill the monster which just killed her brother. She knew she could do it. She only needed to get close enough once. But Jona dodged all her attacks and kept a distance. He probably knew that he could be finished in one blow now if he was not cautious.

Red struggled with himself. As a Shibusen student, it was his duty to protect human souls and to kill those who took them. But Rin didn't kill Jun and she didn't exactly eat his soul either and she's the same Rin, too, just a little more … powerful. He refused to think the word scary, because there was absolutely no reason for him to be scared of her power. He had never been before even though she had been a lot more powerful than him and Jun from the start. Then why am I trembling now?

Even though Jun's soul was now a part of her own, it was not the same as being in resonance with him. Rin felt his aggressiveness, his eagerness to fight which she had always lacked, but she definitively did not get his level of speed added atop of her own. She felt more powerful, yet net even close to the power they have had when they were two bodies, two souls, resonating as one.

The fight bounced back and forth, going in circles basically as Jona kept his distance and Rin was waiting for an opening to finish him off with a final attack. Yet, this was not how it would go on any longer. With a look at the confused red-haired boy who was totally out of it and did not even pay attention to the fight, Jona suddenly knew of a way out of this disadvantageous state. He jumped back a lot further out of her reach then he had done previously. He intended to use the boy as a shield and make his escape, but she had noticed his glance and blocked his path.

"I'm not retarded, Jona Quinn. A coward like you would eventually seek a cheap way to escape. But I won't let you get away, especially not by using my partner as a shield. I'm your opponent, so face me!"

Red was surprised by her words. That she still considered him her partner even though the bond between them had actually been Jun, who was dead now, and nothing else. Yet, she had saved his life numerous times, and he had never felt as if it was only because it was her duty to do so. And even now, stripped of every duty she had towards him because of that rejecting glare he had given her, she still protected him. Right. Just as this, she's never failed us, not even once. There's no reason to doubt her now. Truly, I'm making an idiot out of myself. He clenched his fists for a moment as if to reassure himself that he was rinsed of all his doubts and fears now, then he stepped forward and held out a hand for her to grab. "I'm sorry, Rin. Come on, I think that we both have a brother to avenge."

Something inside of her screamed in panic, telling her that this was not the right thing to do. An awkward feeling nested in her stomach all of a sudden, but Rin pushed it aside with logic. She knew now that she could not win without Red's help, not soon enough before she lost total control over the anger that dwelt within her. And once she lost it, this slight amount of control she still held, she would truly turn into a monster. So she placed her hand in his after only a moment's hesitation. "Thank you, Red-kun."

"Don't mention it." His hands grabbed the two swords firmly, then he realized that he held two blades instead of only one. Can she adapt her shape because Jun's soul is within hers now? Yet, this was an advantage for him since he was more skilled using two swords and he technically did not lose a weapon. But he lost a friend. His best friend, to be frank. Since his family was of high birth and he was their heir, he knew amounts of servants and false friends, but Jun never cared about his name or reputation. He had been the first to treat him as a person, as an equal individual, someone with likes, dislikes, fears and dreams. That was probably why they did get along so well and became as close as brothers. Closer as he had ever been with his real brother.

"Ah, lovely." Jona put on a grin to hide his nervousness. Rin alone had already been a bother, but the two of them together were a real problem. Since he did no longer have enough energy left for regeneration, it meant he actually had to use his wavelength's power which tended to get out of control. "So you still wanna put up a fight, eh? Don't worry, I'll have the three of you together again very soon." He wrapped himself in his pulse, a light of yellow and orange.

"Red-kun."

"I know. This won't be easy..." He concentrated and reached for the girl's wavelength. "Soul resonance," they said in unison.

It felt strange without Jun. They had worked as two men cells before, but it was either just the siblings because Red was with his family, or just the two boys, leaving Rin behind. This was something totally new for them and it made the uneasiness that had been lying underneath their three man resonance come clearly to the surface. This "unsaid" matter between them made their resonance very unstable. Could they win like this? Or did they need to work this matter out beforehand? No, this would do.

"Rin, can we put this aside for now? We both made this promise and we'll keep it, but don't you agree this is more important now?" Red was serious but he felt insecure as he spoke. He was not quite sure if he could just blend it out himself … then he felt her heart skip a beat. "Rin?"

She calmed herself and their resonance steadied in an instant. "You're right. This can wait until later."

"You think?" Jona smirked, an ugly grimace of madness. Then he giggled just as mad. "You really think that, it's just great, just great!" He approached the Shibusen students at an unanticipated speed.

Red barely escaped the three bandages which all aimed for his vital spots. "What's with him all of a sudden?"

"Keep your distance. He's dangerous like this. We have to figure out his pattern and strength first. Otherwise, we'll end up just as dead as Jun."

Red flinched mentally at her voice which sounded so rational and absolutely unemotional. How does she keep her cool in a situation like this?

It's what you learn when you grow up on the streets. It's either kill or be killed, there are no such things as pity or mercy. If you let your emotions get a hold of you, only death awaits, she answered only with thoughts within their resonance.

She had never said it this plain and clear before – that she grew up as a thief and murderer, suppressing her conscience and developing a cruelty like the one of a kishin egg. While at Shibusen, she never showed mere hostility or anything like that, she just seemed more distant and cold towards matters and people, making it hard for others to approach her. Yet, as Jun recognized her as his sister, he handled her like he did not notice at all. It took her a while to get used to it, but once she did, she opened up like a flower answering to the sunlight's rays. After a little while, she no longer flinched as he suddenly called her name out loud, no longer slapped his hands away when he tried to touch her, finally even suppressed the urge to attack him whenever he got a little too close. They were able to form a strong bond, just as they might have if they had grown up together. Red had always envied them for that, for this deep love they shared despite what their parents and other people thought of them. That was also the reason why he never... No, he could have never gotten in between those two. It would have been unforgivable if he was the one to destroy this bond.

Rin felt their resonance waver, instable. "Red-kun, you need to focus. I.. I don't want to lose you too." She was glad to be in her weapon form because she would have probably blushed otherwise. This was the first time she ever said something regarding her own feelings.

She achieved the exact opposite of what she wanted – Red totally froze, and Jona took his chance to draw out his last card. He let his wavelength run across the ground, and it hit them like an electroshock. Both yelped and the pain forced Red to his knees while more and more of Jona's wavelength reached them. It bit into their resonance, finding the weak spot instantly and widening the gap until they could no longer obtain the sync. When their resonance broke, Rin was forced to turn back into her human form. Like this, they sat on the ground, facing each other, eyes squeezed shut as they both bit their lower lip to not scream, and fingers of both hands entwined in a tight lock.

Rin succeeded in cracking an eye open and taking a glance at Jona's direction. They were completely defenseless, yet he had not attacked again. She assumed he could not move as long as he ran his wavelength across the ground like now. But she already felt her body taking damage on the inside, and it was probably the same for Red, which meant they had to escape this attack by any means and as fast as possible.

She struggled to her feet and somehow managed to pull Red up as well. Yet, running would probably not help them get away. There was only one route for escape: upwards, off the ground.

"Red-kun, we have to-" Rin was cut off as he could no longer hold up and fell over, his head landing on her shoulder. Blood was dripping from his ears; he obviously was more effected by the wavelength's impact than herself. She wrapped her arms around him before he slid off herself and fell back to the ground, and anger boiled up inside her soul again, giving her the strength to spread her wings and lift both of them into the sky.

A/N: As you can see, I'm not quite done with the Flashback, so you'll know how it turns out in the next chapter. Plz enjoy.

Ah, and thanks for the alerts and hits, even though I would appericiate reviews (ha, who wouldn't?) as well, as long as I see sb is interested, I'll keep trying my best. =)