Rubbing her eyes, Tsubaki waved goodbye to Maka as she and her father drove away after dropping her off. She was grateful for that; no trains or buses were actually still open at two in the morning, and she didn't have enough cash on her at the moment to catch a cab.

Climbing the stairs up to her apartment slowly, the events of the night, or was it considered yesterday, replayed in her mind. Although she knew she should be ashamed of her actions, she couldn't help but feel a little proud of herself. Who knew a little rebellion could make someone feel so good?

It was no wonder Black Star always skipped school; the rush of going against authority must leave someone as hyperactive as him reeling. Of course, Tsubaki realised that it was probably her sleep-deprived, still-high-on-adrenaline self that was talking at the moment, and in the morning she'd go back to making sure Black Star actually stayed in school.

But for now she would allow herself to think it was pretty cool of him.

And, she had to admit, she had been pretty cool herself.

She socked a guy right in the face. Yeah, call her weak again.

Although she did find herself wishing it hadn't taken so long for that mystery person to bail them out, because now all the adrenaline that had kept her awake the past few hours was leaving her body and she just wanted to drop on the floor and sleep for days.

Which was exactly what she did the moment she landed on her bed.

She dreamt of skipping classes, and kissing Black Star senseless in every corner of the school.

And woke up to a nightmare.

The sounds of someone banging on her door jolted her from her sleep. Blearily, she looked around, half-certain it was just Black Star, popping by to ask her how she was after the whole fiasco yesterday before she realised, one, Black Star never actually used the door, and two, he never woke up before ten on weekends.

Grumbling to herself after seeing that the time was still only six-thirty in the morning, she tried to ignore the steady banging and curled into a tighter ball in her sea of pillows and blankets.

There was silence after that, and she was already falling asleep again when the banging started again – this was a lot louder, as if it was more than just fists pounding on the door.

"What's going on?" She spoke out loud, mostly because she couldn't hear her own thoughts with the ruckus going on. Untangling herself from her sheets, she rushed to open the door, not even caring that her hair was falling out of the bun she had tied it into before falling asleep.

"I'm opening the door, sheesh! Patience goes a long way!" She yelled, grabbing her keys and unlocking the door. Even before she had pulled it all the way open, big, buff, sweaty men, were pushing her aside. She barely had a second to get out of the way before a man bulldozed his way through her entrance, a big metal thing she didn't recognise spearheading the way.

Right before her eyes, they began to strip her apartment.

Tsubaki stared at them, eyes wide, mouth open, for a few moments. She had to be dreaming right? Was this even possible? Was this even legal?

Finally, she got her voice back. "H-Hey!" She marched over to one of the men taking down the photos she has painstakingly hammered into her wall, "Leave my stuff alone! What are you even doing here? Get out of my apartment!"

However, they paid her no heed, and continued taking down everything. The desk she had taken forever to put together, the TV she had saved up for months for – all of it, being brought out before her very eyes. Anger surged through her, and she was about to show them exactly what they were messing with when a cold hand wrapped around her raised fist, and a she heard a terribly familiar voice that sent a chills down her spine.

"Not so fast, sweetheart."

Wrenching her fist out of his grip, Tsubaki turned around and came face to face with the guy from yesterday, the one that had grabbed Maka and Soul had punched in the face.

"What are you doing in my apartment? Get out!" She screamed at him, trying to muster all the authority she could into that command, but he simply smirked.

"Your apartment? Well, sweetheart, I hate to break it to you, but you're only renting it," He dangled a creased looking piece of paper in her face, and as Tsubaki snatched it from him, he smiled lecherously, "It belongs to the Gorgon Empire."

She felt her blood run cold as she read the words at the top of the page, bolded and screaming at her.

An eviction notice.

She was being evicted from her apartment.

She was being evicted from her apartment right now.

"No," she whispered, and then raised her voice, hitting the man square in the chest with the paper clenched in her fist, "You can't do this. I didn't even get a notice before this! This isn't legal!"

He smiled, and in his eyes, Tsubaki could see the first traces of madness. Before she could pull her hand away, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her close.

"This is as legal as legal is going to get in this city," he whispered into her ear, and Tsubaki squirmed. Suddenly, he turned to the rest of the men, "Let's give this babe a few minutes to pack up her… valuables. After all, we gotta respect the beautiful bitches, right?" He stroked her cheek with a finger, his long nails digging roughly into her skin, and Tsubaki had to use every ounce of self-control she had not to knee him right then and there.

She wrenched her hand from his grip, glaring at him, before marching with as much dignity as she could to her room, where she slammed the door so hard the remaining frames that still hung on her living room wall shook.

Inside her room, Tsubaki immediately went to work, packing her clothes quickly and efficiently, letting her anger simmer as long as she could to make sure the sadness and complete fear she knew she felt stay hidden.

She did not plan to show any weakness in front of that vile man.

Once her suitcase was filled to the brim, she found an old bagpack and stuffed whatever remaining items she had into it. She had no sooner zipped that up before her door was pushed open.

The man, with his unsightly metal piercing through the nose and oddly shaped hair, was standing in her doorway, arms crossed. He made a sound akin to one of disappointment. "Thought you woulda wanted to change. Now I can't get a good look at 'em melons."

She could feel her face burning, though it was more out of anger and offense than of actual embarrassment. "You're disgusting," she spat out, letting some of those emotions she felt seep through in those words.

"Nope, 'm Giriko," he smiled, still staring at her chest, "Maybe since I can't see, I can get a good squeeze o-"

He hadn't even finished his sentence before Tsubaki uppercutted him. As he doubled over grabbing his chin, she flexed her fist, and scorned down at him, "Never speak to me like that again."

"Why ya little bitch," he answered back, though he sounded more amused than anything. "I like 'em feisty."

This time she aimed for the crotch, and was met with the satisfaction of knowing she hit bull's eye. Through his doubling over and wince, she could make out a sadistic smile which creeped her out even more.

"I'm leaving, but tell me this. Is all this really over the library?"

He let out a bark of laughter, "Why the fuck would we want a library?"

She nodded, his words confirming her suspicions, "I see."

And with that, she walked out of her apartment, leaving behind the memories she had made over the past few years.

It was only until she was halfway to Black Star's house did she even realise she was walking towards it. She slowed down, ignoring passerbys' side-eyeing her, no doubt questioning why a young girl was walking with just her suitcase, hair in a complete mess, in the wee hours of the morning.

Oh, they had no idea.

Tsubaki sighed, deciding that if she was going to turn up at his home uninvited so early in the morning, she should at least look decent. With that, she retied her hair, and tried to convince herself that the reason she was even going to his house in the first place was because of the convenience and not anything else.

Which was partly true, since his house was the closest.

But really, she knew it was because she just needed somewhere to start crying, and no one made her feel more safe and comforted than he did.

After ten minutes of walking, she was in front of his house. Taking a deep breath, she rang the doorbell.

Moments later, after a lot of chattering coming from inside, Nygus opened the door. It took just one shocked look, one worried 'Tsubaki are you ok?', and one soft touch.

Tsubaki burst into tears.

Black Star woke up with a start as Nygus pulled the blankets off him, immediately retracting his legs at the sudden loss of warmth.

"Didn't need 'em… Just-" he mumbled, then yawned, "Just wanted 'em."

Nygus rolled her eyes, used to his excuse of not needing the blankets since 'A God doesn't get cold', "Wake up, Sleeping Beauty. There's something important I need to tell you."

At that, Black Star sat up in bed straighter, rubbing the sleep out of eyes, "Everything alright?"

She sighed, sitting down next to him. Looking him in the eyes, she told him, "I need you to promise not to go crazy until afterwards, ok?" Black Star nodded.

"Tsubaki's in our kitchen right now, having breakfast with Sid."

Black Star let out a laugh, "That's all? Sheesh, that's not an emergency, that's just… weird."

Nygus sighed. "No, I'm not done yet. Listen carefully. Tsubaki's been evicted from her home."

Black Star cocked his head to one side, scratching the back of it, "What's ebicted?"

"Evicted," Nygus corrected patiently, "And it basically means that… at this moment, Tsubaki doesn't have a house. She's been thrown out."

Black Star blinked, then laughed, "Nice try Ma."

"I'm not joking, Black Star."

As Black Star looked at his mother's face, he knew she really wasn't. He had never wished to be more wrong.

Tap tap tap.

Maka frowned in her sleep, turning away from the annoying tapping noise.

Tap tap tap

Still frowning, though know half-awake, Maka tried swatting away the incessant tapping, nearly pushing Blair off the bed. The cat meowed indignantly, before rolling on her side and drifting off to sleep again. After a few moments of silence, Maka smiled, believing the tapping to be gone.

TAP TAP TAP

This time her eyes flew open, and muttering furiously under her breath, tried untangling herself from her sheets before falling out of bed. Blair, woken up by the noise and movement, hissed at her before jumping on the nightstand, where she proceeded to curl into a ball amongst Maka's items.

Rubbing her eyes, she made her way to her window, not really registering what was happening until Black Star was sitting cross-legged on the edge of her bed, face solemn.

"Black Star?" She yawned, stretching, "What are y- Black Star?!" She repeated, staring at him in shock, before she slapped her hands to her mouth, hoping that her scream hadn't woken up her father. As his snores continued drifting down the hallway and into her room, undisturbed, she let out a sigh of relief. Then, she placed her hands on her hips and turned to Black Star.

"What are you doing here?" She whispered, looking at her clock. "It's two am! And why through the window? I do actually have a working front door."

Black Star just remained quiet, still with that hard look in his eyes that made Maka a little more nervous than she'd like to admit.

As the silence dragged on, Maka shifted her feet, "Is everything ok? Are Nygus and Sid alright?"

He looked up at her, "Yeah."

"Okay… Then, what's the matter?" She trailed off, not really sure what she wanted to ask.

Black Star looked her straight in the eyes, "Tsubaki."

Maka felt like her whole body had been dipped into ice-cold water. "Tsu? What's wrong with her, is she okay?!"

Black Star held out a hand, and she quietened. "I'm not sure. She's not hurt, physically at least. If she had been…" He flexed his hand, and Maka knew what he meant by that.

After letting her heart calm down a little, Maka went and cautiously sat down next to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. When he didn't shrug it off, Maka took it as a good sign, and asked, "So… what's wrong with Tsu?"

"She was thrown out of her house."

Maka stared at Black Star, looking for any signs that he was joking. But there weren't any.

"You're being serious…" She whispered.

Black Star pulled his gaze away from her, looking straight ahead. In the moonlight, his features were sharpened, and for the first time in her life, Maka felt scared of him.

"It's that stupid Gorgon witch. Tsubaki told us before that her apartment was under their watch. But we didn't even think about that when we went and pissed her off." He stood up and started pacing around her room.

Maka sat there, feeling the guilt settle in her stomach. She felt a light tug on her shorts, and smiled softly as Blair cuddled up to her, knowing her owner felt down. Scratching Blair's head, she looked at Black Star, who had stopped pacing and was now staring out of her window.

She didn't know what he saw when he looked out into the quiet streets of Death City, but she went to stand next to him, scooping Blair in her arms.

They stood there in silence before Maka spoke up, "I'm sorry."

"For?"

"Everything," she sighed heavily, hugging Blair closer to her, "I dragged you all into this. If Tsu hadn't been there… She would still have a house now."

Black Star didn't say a word for a while, but then looked down at her, "S'not your fault, Maka. It's that witch." His grip tightened on her window ledge, "They'll pay for this."

Seeing the determined expression on his face, Maka's resolve was cemented.

The Gorgons were going to regret the moment they decided to hurt her friends.

"It's not about the library anymore, is it?" Black Star asked, voice softer than Maka had ever heard it. In answer, she shook her head.

"I don't think it has been," she told him, "Even from the start… I don't think it's ever been just about the library."

He let out a scoff, "What bullshit."

"Agreed." Maka said, and he grinned, slapping her on the shoulder in what she was sure he meant as a friendly manner. He took a deep breath and shook his head vigorously, before smirking at her.

"Well, Maka, that was a good talk!" Without warning, his tone of voice reverted back to its usual loudness, and Maka had to resist the urge to slap her hands on his mouth, remembering that she had Blair in her arms. "I'll see you in school," he looked over at her digital clock, the time reading ten past two in the morning, "Tomorrow morning."

With that, he gave a two-finger salute and jumped out of the window, landing gracefully on a tree branch.

"Black Star!" Maka shouted, leaning out of her window so he could hear her. He turned back to look up at her. "Is Tsu staying at your place now?!"

"Don't worry!" He told her, grinning widely, "She's always got a home with me!"

With those words, he jumped off the tree, landing on the ground and breaking out into a sprint immediately.

Just in the nick of time too, as Maka's door opened and Spirit stumbled in, brandishing a baseball bat.

"Is everything alright?! I heard voices!"

Shutting her window, Maka turned around, "Everything's alright, Papa. Or they will be soon."

A few hours later, Maka, bleary-eyed and hungry, opened the fridge and grabbed her carton of strawberry milk, drinking straight from it.

"Looks like someone's hungry," her father teased, tightening his belt, "I bought you some those strawberry-jam buns you like so much."

That brightened up her morning, and she was already feeling more awake when she placed her carton back in. Awake enough to not completely miss the absence of her father's beers; he usually stocked up at the end of each week.

Looking around, she saw how most of his preferred foods, his coffee and peanut butter and cereal pops were all missing, although all of her food was still there.

Maka frowned, turning around to look at her Papa, who was just about to leave, "Papa. Where's all your food? Did you forget to buy them?" She asked, although she knew that was highly unlikely.

Spirit chuckled, "No, it's not that. It's just I'm a little tight on my budget this week," he grinned at her, "I can live without those for a few weeks. Gotta lessen the carb intake, y'know?" At that, he patted his completely flat stomach.

His words didn't sit well with her though, and she frowned, watching as he whistled happily while tying his shoelaces. What could he have spent so much money on? He hardly went to the bars anymore, opting to stay home and watch reality shows, and even if he did spend the day the night with a lady as he was prone to do, he never used up too much money on them…

It made no sense. What could have drained his money since last week?

Then it clicked.

"You paid for our bail," Maka stated, looking at her dad with wide eyes, "You paid for all our bail."

"Eh?" He said, then shrugged, "What was I supposed to do, let you guys stay there?" He smiled at her, "My daughter will always sleep comfortably if I can help it."

Feeling unspeakably touched, Maka walked towards him and wrapped her arms around him. Spirit stiffened for a moment, before he beamed and hugged her back with twice as much enthusiasm.

"I guess you can be a pretty cool Papa sometimes."