Chapter 8: Promise Keeping

"Crona, today Justin and I are going to teach you how to cook," Maka said, walking in front of Crona in the second floor's corridor. "We shall impart to you of our knowledge about Master Kid's food preference." Crona, who was already in her maid suit, nodded acquiescently as Maka continued announcing to her about that day's activities. "Last night, the master instructed us to teach you these things so that you can work more efficiently. We have specific rules in this manor and it shall be discussed to you by Justin later." She closed her eyes." We're going to have so much fun!"

Crona could only sweat drop and smile sweetly as Maka wrapped her hands around hers. She wasn't too confident about being able to work "efficiently", not when the place was too elegant for her. She felt like he had to be really careful in that place or she might break precious stuff. Everything still seemed to be a bit confusing to her. Ever since she started living there, her life has suddenly become fast-paced. She would still wonder how she ended up in that place, not like she didn't want to be there. In fact, the presence of Kid and his servants were rather comforting to her even though she mostly lived alone before because Medusa was usually at work and she would only come home only twice or thrice a week.

Months have passed after her father's departure; Crona has forgotten how heart-warming it is to have people around her who genuinely care for her. She began to isolate herself more willingly than necessarily required by Medusa. She developed the fear of getting too attached to anyone. She believed that in the end, everyone's going to disappoint you… everyone's going to leave you. But maybe… she thought… just maybe… she could actually trust the people in that manor who were taking her into custody.

The two blondes and the pinkette walked into the large pantry. Crona's eyes went wide at the site of the myriad of food, kitchen utensils and linens resting on wooden racks. "We're here to get a few small packs of flour, Ms. Gorgon, not to daze off," Justin remarked and smirked at Crona and he walked ahead of her. Crona was instantly brought back to reality. She bowed her head and apologized to Justin.

"There's no need to apologize," Justin said as he patted Crona's soft pink hair. Crona stared at him cluelessly. "I was just messing with you. Anyone would be surprised at 'this' if it was their first time to see it." He turned around and started walking towards the rack full of packs of flour. "Of course, Maka and I aren't so sure why this pantry has to be so big. Though we assumed it's because of Master Kid's strategic mind." He reached his hand for one pack of flour. "Remember this, Crona, he loves having backups. He's a stubborn little kid who doesn't like to lose so he always has something prepared just in case he loses something like a…" Three packs of flour were already in his arms when he noticed the rack full of jars of honey. "Like a jar of honey!" Crona raised her eyebrow in slight confusion.

"Now, Crona, even a simple object can be used as an analogy," Maka continued for Justin. "When Master Kid finishes off one jar of honey in a week, he doesn't want us to fuss over travelling to downtown just to buy a new one. If time comes when it's down to two jars left, that's when we'll have to go to downtown already. Got it?" She smiled at Crona. The pinkette just nodded weakly but deep inside, she was starting to get hyped about the other things they would tell her about their perplexing master.

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"Why do we have to bring these stupid piles of newspaper to him anyway?" Black Star mumbled behind a mountain of newspapers on the ventral side of his forearms. Soul was carrying the same thing but he dared not to complain. He had much respect for Kid.

"Shh! Quiet down, will you?" Soul admonished. "You wouldn't want the young earl to hear you blurting out such drivel. You and I both know what these are for."

"Well, sorry," Black Star said half-heartedly, almost sarcastic, as he closed his eyes. "I forgot. What are these for again? I've seen the publication dates of some of these. They're newspapers from four to six years ago!"

"Of course they are," Soul said a-matter-of-factly. "Master Kid is about to do what he has promised to Crona… and that is to help her find her father. He's going to gather information about her father using these. I believe there are articles here about the army."

"So you're saying Crona's father is a part of the army?" He started snickering. "How could a soldier marry a whore? If he hasn't done that, Crona wouldn't have to be sticking around here, being looked after by Kid. How troublesome." Black Star burst out laughing when suddenly a gloved hand smacked him on his face. As result, some of the newspapers Black Star was carrying fell down on the rugged floor of the corridor. The shape of Kid's palm was momentarily imprinted on Black Star's face in fading red. Soul, who suddenly froze where he was standing, could only watch the two of them in shock.

Kid was panting, looking down on the floor, trying to bring back his composure before he started giving Black Star what Soul was anticipating… a piece of his wrath.

"How dare you speak of Crona in such an ill manner," Kid said sternly between pants. "You don't know her. And you definitely have no right to talk about her that way, not when you, yourself, are under my custody as well!" Kid stood up straight and smoothen the folds of his coat. "Remember why you are here, Black Star. Remember why I've accepted you here. You're not far different from the person you tried to insult. You belong to a notorious group of assassins that have slayed thousands of innocent people but you chose to be one of my underlings… you chose to be different from the people you come from... because I believed in you. I believed that the descendant of those famous killers was born to surpass even God. I know I have blasphemed but if it weren't for that belief of mine, you would have been wandering around in this world, aimlessly."

"You're wrong," Black Star whispered coldly.

Kid raised an eye brow as Soul let out a small gasp.

"Idiot! He's just going to make things worse!" Soul screamed in his mind.

"You're wrong, master." He stared into Kid's golden eyes. "I would have been wandering around in this world with a great purpose if it wasn't for you. Nevertheless I chose to be here, serving you, because I also believed that you're someone I can look up to… someone I feel indebted to. Remember this also… I've sworn to myself that I'd live to protect you at any cost with all my might and strength. I will never forget the kindness you've shown to me." His serious face quickly faded as he started laughing like an idiot. "Anyway!" He started picking up the newspapers from the ground. "Here are your newspapers, sir! And oh boy, it's almost late for your breakfast already. You must be hungry. Shall we escort you to the dining room?"

Soul sweatdropped. "He totally changed the topic," he thought in disbelief.

Kid folded his arms and glanced away. "I'm not going to eat breakfast nor lunch. I'll spend the whole day in my study if you need me. Please proceed to the job at hand and later, tell Justin to bring me one plate of Linzertorte and a cup of rose tea at 4 p.m. Help yourselves in the kitchen and do your jobs."

"Yes, sir," Soul and Black Star in unison. Aftewards, they continued walking towards Kid's study room with the newspapers on their arms and Kid following behind them.

"Thank you for your hard work," Kid remarked as soon as Soul and Black Star placed down the newspapers on Kid's mahogany desk. "You can leave now and enjoy the rest of the beautiful day," he said with a smile that sent chills down the spines of two boys who. Somehow, they assumed that he was just trying to mask his real emotions but they were also relieved that he wasn't angry anymore so they quietly waltzed out of the room and heaved a deep sigh in the hallway. They had a feeling he didn't want to be disturbed.

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"I can't believe he's going to skip breakfast for the first time," Black Star said as soon as they reached the stairs which is so far away from Kid's study room already.

"Crona must be really that important to him," Soul supposed.

"But how could she be? He just met her a few days ago and she's that important already?

"Haven't you noticed? He seemed to be bored for the past few weeks just dwelling in this huge house, doing the same routine every week."

"Maybe he's like that because he hasn't done anything 'interesting' for a while already."

"That's exactly my thought, Black Star. It could be just merely entertainment to him." He smirked. "You know our master."

"Right, he wouldn't let himself get too attached to anyone… especially after he lost his parents on that particular day."

"Now that you've mentioned it… that's probably one of the reasons why I like that kid. We could relate with each other because of our deceased parents."

Soul smiled fondly, his hands tucked into his shorts' pockets. "I guess you understand him in a level that no else can reach."

Black Star stopped walking from shock and allowed Soul to walk ahead of him. "Was that supposed to be a joke?"

Soul faced down and chuckled. "Forget what I said," he said as he waved his hand.

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"He's going to what? !" Maka screamed at the top of her lungs. "He can't do that! He'll get sick and he'll-he'll—"

Soul locked his hands on Maka's shoulders. "Maka, calm your tits. It's not like he's going to die just from skipping two meals."

"You should have atleast tried convincing him to eat! We made a lot of pancakes too."

"He said we should just help ourselves in the kitchen. Oh, and Justin," He gazed at Justin who was just finished pouring pure orange juice into a glass on the dining table. "He also said that he'd like a plate of Linzertorte and a cup of rose tea at 4 p.m." Justin nodded to this.

Crona felt uneasy ever since the boys reported about Kid's weird decision. "Mr. Evans-"

"What the—Just call me Soul, Crona. There's no need for such formality between us. After all, we're working under the same brat—I mean, revered young earl."

Crona covered her mouth with her first and giggled softly.

Black Star pushed down his hands on the dining table that made it shook and said, "Okay! So apparently, we have this place all to ourselves for the following ten hours!"

"Don't even think about it," Maka said as she glared at the aqua-haired boy. "We're not going to mess up this place just because Master Kid won't be around for inspection."

"Damn, Maka, you're too uptight. I wasn't even thinking of that." He folded his arms at the back of his head and walked away from the table. "I was just thinking we should have a little party. I mean, come on. We haven't had a welcome party for Crona yet."

"Please—you don't have to do that," Crona said weakly.

Maka gasped. "That's a great idea, Black Star! We totally forgot about that!"

"Hey, I'm not against this at all and I hate to break it to you, but shouldn't we consider the master's absence? Should we celebrate without him?"

"Oh, come on, Soul. It's just a small party that we're going to throw. And besides, the party isn't for the master but for Crona."

Crona felt like melting in her seat as her eyes switched from Soul to Maka and vice versa.

"Yeah, but if the master finds about this, he'll feel bad about us not telling him beforehand."

"That's not a problem. We can just go upstairs right now and ask for his permission."

"He obviously doesn't want us to bother him right now, Maka. He's busy… with something."

"Now that you mentioned, what is he working on anyway?"

"As promised, he's going to muster up information about Crona's father."

Crona flinched at what she just heard. "He's… he's really going to do it?" She thought.

"Awww. That's so sweet of him. He's even willing to skip two meals for it."

"Okay, so what are we supposed to do now?" Black Star interrupted out of the blue.

"Well, first of all, we should atleast finish all these pancakes we made. Afterwards, Justin will show Crona how to clean the house while the three of us prepare for her welcome party!"

"Sounds great!" Black Star said with a grin.

Justin just smiled at this while Soul looked away and said, "Fine. Don't tell me I didn't warn you thougha."

"Geez, Soul," Maka said, sounding disappointed. "You worry too much."