HEY! (to my one reviewer)... Anyhoo i just wana say thank you so much to A Rozen Dream for having so much enthusiasm in reviewing. Honestly i love it when i get long reviews that tell me what the readers like and dislike so that i can add and take out things to make the story better. i try to keep the copy write characters as much in character as possible. Thanks for the awesome review it honestly made my night!

Enjoy this chapter! lots of tension!

Disclaimer: No i don't own Soul Eater. *sigh*

A Tortured Past – What are We Stein?

She was lying on a cold metal table in a dark room. Her hands, arms, legs and feet were shackled to its surface. She looked around frantically trying to see something that could help her escape this place.

"Oh how is our sweet little number one doing today?" The man with the doctors' mask asked leaning close to her. The girl screamed trying, in vain, to get away from him. The man laughed. His dirty blonde hair was pulled back in a short ponytail and his bright grey eyes bored into her. He reached out drawing a finger over a line of stitches that were sewn across her stomach.

"Tsk, tsk. It seems that our last experiment has quite healed yet. No matter." He reached over to a table lifting a scalpel and inspecting it under the light hanging over the table. The girl screamed.

"No, no please don't…I can't… please!" Tears spilled down her cheeks. The scientist smiled, smoothing the sharp object along her face.

"I need to do this, after all you're my number one." He gripped her forehead and lowered the scalpel towards her face.

Arusa sat bolt upright, terror clawing its way out of her throat in a horrifying scream. A sudden pain in her stomach forced her to fall back. She hit something soft. Looking around she noticed she was in Dispension back at the academy. The room was lit by sunlight that peeked through the blinds of a window. Shelves filled with books and medicine lined the walls. Arusa was breathing heavily, cold sweat clinging to her skin. She raised a hand gingerly to her eye, sliding her fingers down the scar that ran from the base of her eye to the middle of her cheek. The door was flung open and Stein came into the room. Shutting it behind him he came over to her bedside.

"Are you alright? I heard a scream." She nodded.

"What happened? Did we win?" Stein sat down in a chair beside her.

"Yes, after you were hurt, Spirit and I defeated the Demon Sword, then a witch showed up and took him with her so we aren't sure if he's alive or not." Arusa stared at her hands.

"If I hadn't been so stupid he might not have gotten away." Stein placed a hand over hers, giving the fingers a light squeeze.

"I wasn't your fault, you were protecting your partner." She nodded, but she still wasn't convinced.

"Speaking of partners, where is Lupis?"

"He is being looked after by an animal specialist in one of the other rooms." Arusa's head shot up.

"What."

"The wound he suffered when he grabbed the Demon Sword in his mouth was much more serious than any of us originally thought. As soon as we got you and Soul back here, he collapsed." Arusa's eye widened with worry.

"I-is he going to be ok."

"He'll recover but it will take some time, the majority of his injury was internal so its much more difficult to contain the bleeding."

"Oh." Arusa bowed her head allowing her bangs to cover her eyes.

"How are you feeling?"

"Fine."

"I don't think you are." She looked up at him, holding back tears she wore the most horrible 'I screwed up and now the world is going to end' look. Sighing her raised his other hands touching her face and smoothing a thumb over her scar. "You had another dream didn't you?" She nodded. Stein sighed.

"It was him again, the scientist, he was cutting me open, I could feel everything, it was so real."

"You know he can't hurt you anymore, we took care of that along time ago." She smiled.

"Yeah, you did." He stood up removing his hands. Arusa frowned missing the contact.

"I should probably go get Spirit, he's been in here more than me, and I was the one who had to stitch you up." Arusa winced, Stitches… she clenched a hand over her stomach. As he started to leave her arm shot up grabbing his sleeve.

"Don't leave me."

"I have to."

"Please." Her voice was pleading, like a child begging her parents not to go.

"Roo…"

"Please, I don't want to be alone, I-I need you Stein." There was a moment of silence, which was broken by his sigh.

"Alright," He sat back down beside her. Slipping his fingers in between hers he held onto her hand giving it a reassuring squeeze. "Tell me what's been bothering you." She hesitated.

"Well, it's just… I… umm… well I've been having nightmares every night for months now. I haven't sleep a full night in so long sometimes I think I'll die from exhaustion, the dreams are always memories. All the terrible things that have happened to me." She shook her head painfully.

"Like what?"

"I don't really want to talk about it…"

"Talking will make you feel better." He stated, she sighed.

"Ok," she took a deep breath. "Well sometimes is about my father, we are sitting together, like we always would, that was when it was just us, I never had anyone else. He was always scared, he was terrified of losing me and when the Reaper came for him he told me to hide and then I watch him scream and writhe in pain as the Reaper tears his sin off." She paused, tears slipping over her eyelids and down her cheeks. "I miss him so much and every time I have the dream I remember that it was my fault, all my fault." Stein squeezed her hand.

"It wasn't your fault Roo." She shook her head, whipping the tears away. "Is it always the same dream?"

"No, sometimes its when I was in that laboratory and those scientists are experimenting on me. After when I wake up from those ones my scars burn." She raised a hand to her eye. "And just other things like, being bullied and the witches, but only vaguely, and our fight, you know the one we had before left." He nodded. Arusa closed her eyes letting silence swallow the room. After what seemed like forever she finally broke it.

"Stein?"

"Yes?" Arusa hesitated looking down at their hands.

"Umm… you remember that Christmas Party when we were at the academy right?" The scientist stiffened slightly, how could he forget.

"Yes, why?" She shrugged.

"I don't know, just I've been thinking about it for the past few days that's all." He frowned, he had also been thinking about that.

The young girl stared at the floor, the pink tint in her cheeks she'd had since they started dancing had yet to disappear.

"I guess I'm not very good at this kinda thing huh?" She looked up at her dance partner's dull green eyes.

"No, no you're very good, it's just I've never done this before so I'm a little nervous." He smiled his silver hair swaying as they moved.

"Yeah me too." She smiled back but frowned inwardly, if he was nervous he sure didn't show it.

"Honestly I didn't think I'd be coming."

"Why not?" He asked tilting his head to the side.

"Well you know, no one but Spirit would ever ask me to something like this and no offence to him but I cant even see my self entertaining the idea." Stein laughed.

"Yes, but Spirit seems to have gotten over your rejection." They both glanced over to where Spirit was laughing and talking to a ring of girls that had formed around him.

"I was really surprised when you asked me, I thought you hated this sorta thing." Stein shrugged.

"I do, but I couldn't let you go with Spirit now could I?" She smiled shaking her head.

"But you knew I wasn't going to go with him anyways, so why did you really ask me Franken Stein?" He shrugged again.

"Neither of us have ever been to one of these things yet so I thought it would be interesting to see what it was like, a very interesting experiment actually." She laughed, trust Stein to turn this into an experiment. She glanced back over at Spirit. Smiling she said;

"He's a good friend but he's not really my type."

"Oh and what exactly is your type?" She blushed.

"Uh… I don't know… I guess someone smart, not to socially extreme, kind but not too nice if you know what I mean… uh… I don't know someone who understands what I feel, who understands me, I guess…you know someone like…"

"Me?" he inquired. She knew that he was only comparing his personality to the one she was describing and he had no idea how his response sounded to her. She blushed furiously.

"Umm… yeah I guess…" She avoided his gaze. He was about to say something but he was cut off by someone shouting:

"Hold it! Don't move!" The two meisters looked up and saw Spirit, Marie, Yumi, Tezca and Enrique grinning at them. Arusa was just about to step forward and ask them what was going on but Marie pointed at her.

"Arusa don't you dare move an inch." She was taken aback by the forcefulness in her friend's voice. Marie smiled sweetly at her. "Now look up sweetie." Arusa frowned.

"What?"

"Look up idiot." Yumi said adjusting her glasses. She raised her head looking at the ceiling. Her cheeks turned beat red. She sheepishly lowered her gaze. Shifting uncomfortably she whispered:

"Mistletoe." She flashed a glare at Spirit.

"Hey don't look at me it was Marie's idea." Of course, Arusa thought.

"Well?" Yumi said putting her hands on her hips. "The rules of two people being caught under mistletoe state that you have to kiss each other." Arusa blushed. Kiss Stein? She couldn't do that could she? I mean he was her friend. She was brought out of thought by two pale hands, which rested on either side of her face. Before she could respond he lent down pressing his lips against hers. She stiffened. But after a moment leaned into it, reaching her hands up and clutching at his sleeves.

Arusa blushed, looking over at her friend who was sitting deep in thought beside her.

"S-stein?" she asked nervously. He lifted his head.

"Yes, what is it?"

"Umm…" She lowered her head; he was still holding her hand. "Umm… I was just wondering, I mean I know we had a fight just before I left along time ago and I know we said some pretty awful things… ok some really awful things. But I never stopped regretting the things I said I mean you were my best friend, the only one who thought I was worth the trouble…"

"Yes we didn't exactly part on friendly terms." She winced at his cold tone.

"I-I know… it's just I've been noticing that you are kind of avoiding me and always trying to break of our conversations as fast as you can. But you said that you had missed me and then the other night when you stayed with me and you smile when we talk." She clenched her hands. "The way you've been acting… I'm so confused I can't tell if you still care about me or if you want nothing to do with me and you're just being nice. If you hate me that's fine I'll try to stay out of your life as much as I can but will you please just do the same for me."

"I don't hate you Roo." She lifted her head, her face was sad.

"Maybe not but then what do you feel?" He shook his head.

"It's been ten years Roo a lot has changed since then."

"I know but you can't ignore that there was something going on between us then and for the sake of out current relationship I need to know if we are just colleges or friends or more…just answer something for me," She looked him right in the eyes.

"What are we Stein?"