The Girl in the Corner

A/N: Thanks you everyone for your reviews! They're very encouraging.

See, it wasn't that hard to figure out that the girl in the picture was Eruka, and indeed she is Chrona and Ragnarok's sister in this universe. She also plays a big part and will come up much later.

In this chapter Kid will confront Chrona and we also get see a bit of the story through Maka's eyes.

The some of the cast shows up in this chapter too. And obviously Sid isn't a zombie so try imagining him back when he was human (Episode 3 anybody?), which is pretty hard honestly, seeing as I typed out the whole chapter envisioning him with blue skin.

Pairings to be expected are Kid/Chrona, Soul/Maka, and a few surprise ones.

Disclaimer: This is merely a fanfic meant for entertainment and none of the characters, or real things, present belong to me unless I say otherwise.

Note: The chapter will switch between points of views. You will know when the point of view changes whenever the character's name appears BOLD and there is a line.

Kid

"Open up your books to page 145. You were assigned to read this story last night and I hoped you at least tried to understand it. I know there are a few of you who just can't seem to comprehend simple English," Our young teacher, Sid, shot a look at his adopted son, Black*Star who only rolled his eyes as he continued to sit inappropriately in class.

I sighed at this. I already read the story many times when I was young, and all the important details were still fresh in my mind, so this morning's lesson is practically useless.

"Now, Kim, would you please recite the first paragraph."

"Yes, sir,"

I decided to ignore the lesson from this point. Listening to someone recite something you already know gets rather irritating after all. Think of me as arrogant, go ahead, but that's how it is. Besides, I have someone much more important to pay attention to.

I turned my head to my left to find Chrona doing her usual bad habit. She was gazing out the window with her usual depressed look, as always. It's moments like these where I take the time to stare and analyze her, to attempt to figure out what is going on in her head. What is she thinking about exactly? Is she interested in the rather bland view of a city and desert? Is she daydreaming? Or does she just not like learning?

Chrona has me questioning her actions all the time, and what happened yesterday answered very few of these questions and just added many more. I now know why she likes the corner so much (She finds it comforting) and I now know what her family consists of (Though her brother seems like a complete ass).

But what about the scars on her legs than? They're definitely not self-inflicted (At least I hope not). And why is it that Chrona hasn't mentioned her brother- or even her entire family-to anyone, even Maka?

I don't want to believe it, but the simplest answer to all of this is that Chrona is a victim of abuse. But I can't just go jumping to such an extreme conclusion. There may be other reasons. Oh lord, please let there be other reasons.

A rather annoyed, gruff cough interrupted my thoughts. I removed my gaze from the pinkette and looked to my right to find Maka, who sat two desks diagonally from me, eyeing me suspiciously. I flushed- she caught me staring at her best friend, not the best thing to do.

I've been friends with Maka long enough to know how protective she gets of certain people, and by far Chrona was the most protected. We're practically brother and sister in a sense, our father's being close companions.

"Maka, will you read the next paragraph?"

Maka gave me one more suspicious glare before replying with "Yes Mr. Sid," and standing up from her seat with her book so she could read out loud.

I had a gut feeling that Maka wanted to talk to me about Chrona at some point in the day. I shuddered in fear at the thought of what she might do. Maka could get violent, really violent, and that frightened everyone. Did Chrona tell her about what happened yesterday? It's hard to say.

"Kid, could you read the last paragraph for us?" Sid's voice immediately broke me out my thoughts, making me confused for a second there about what he requested. I attempted to relax myself and stood up from my seat with my book. "Yes sir…"

This school day is going be long…

"So what happened between you and Chrona?" Soul bluntly asked as we walked to our next class.

That was a surprising question. But I wasn't going to lose my composure over it. "Why do you ask?" I replied coolly.

"Maka seemed pretty ticked last night when I called her. Apparently when she talked to Chrona she sounded depressed-"

"And automatically it's my fault?"

"That's what Maka said." Unbelievable, that's just simply unbelievable. "So," Soul gave me a dirty grin, his sharp, shark-like teeth gleaming, "did you do something or what?"

"What's with that look," I glared, not enjoying the way his red eyes had that sneaky gleam. I was hoping to get away from the conversation as soon as possible seeing as we already made it to Dr. Stein's classroom.

"Come on, man, it's not cool to avoid the question like that. We all know you like Chrona, so if you did something to her spit out it."

"What gave you the idea that I liked Chrona in that way?" I was the type of guy who was quick to deny my feelings whenever someone else pointed them out, even though I knew them to be true. But hey, what guy isn't like that?

Soul rolled his eyes at my response, setting his bag down on our assigned lab table. "You seriously have to stop being in denial man." I know I should.

"Hey, you two morons, you were supposed to wait for me!" shouted out an easily recognizable voice. Black*Star seemed to have shot out of nowhere and wrapped his arms around both me and Soul's shoulders, forcing the three of us to come together.

"And why should we?" Soul smirked. "Because I'm your superior, that's why!" Black*Star laughed. That's a lie; out of the three of he's the youngest.

"So Kid," It was Black*Star's turn to question me. He had a dirty grin on his face too. "Did you do something to Chrona after school yesterday?"

"Where the hell are you two getting such ideas!" I angrily shouted, clenching my teeth out of pure irritation. Honestly, did I look like the type of guy who would force himself onto a girl- a girl like Chrona no less?

"Hey look, his face's all red." Soul snickered. "That means something did happen!" Black*Star shouted, joining in the snickering. "And since something did, you must tell me! Tell me! Your god demands you!"

"Nothing happened- I repeat, nothing happened!" I lied placing my book bag next to Soul's and taking a sit, crossing my arms and legs to show how serious and annoyed I was. I'll just keep on saying the same lie again and again until they stop asking. Because while something did happen, it was something I could never tell these loud mouths.

Maka

I stared at Soul, Kid, and Black*Star from where I sat in Dr. Stein's class. Thanks to Black*Star's obnoxious shouting it was easy to figure out that Soul and him were asking Kid about what he did with Chrona after school.

That was something I would like to know myself.

I looked at Chrona who was sitting right next to me, and as usual her focus was on the outside world behind the window. She wanted to sit in the far back of the classroom, the corner right lab table, so she could stare out into space like she usually did. She was subconsciously rubbing her right arm uncomfortably, an action that I was greatly familiar with. It's not uncommon for someone to rub their arm when they're troubled.

"You know Chrona, if Kid did something bad to you, you could tell me. I'll take care of him personally," I assured her, rubbing her back. And I will take good care of him, indeed. I bought a new hardcover Stephen King book and is has to be the thickest one yet, that should be painful enough for little rich boy.

"Tha-thank you, Maka, b-but," Chrona looked over to Kid for a second before quickly retreating her gaze to look at the table, "Sh-Shinigami-kun didn't do anything bad, really."

"Are you sure? You sounded pretty upset when I called you yesterday."

"I-I was…I was just…Tired…"

"…." That's not a very straight answer. Something wrong definitely happened. But I shouldn't keep pushing it, especially if she's this uncomfortable. "Okay, if you say so…." I said, returning to staring at the three boys, Soul and Black*Star still pestering Kid.

Patty, who sat in front of us, let out her usual giddy laugh. "Kid looks pretty mad~" She childishly sang. Sometimes I wonder what goes on in her head since she sixteen yet acts like she's ten.

The bell suddenly rang, a sign that class has begun, causing a lot of my classmates to scurry over to their tables. Black*Star had to literally be pulled away by his lab partner, Kilik, allowing Kid to have a moment of peace. I continued to stare at that direction, more interested in a certain white-haired jackass than anyone else.

Around five minutes later, the classroom door shot open. "There he is," I softly announced our teacher's arrival. He was late, as always.

Dr. Stein entered the room, rolling on his office chair that one would think was stuck to his butt. He was intelligent, but very, well….Insane (That's the nicest way to put it). What makes us think he's insane? Anyone would think their teacher to be if they had a screw in their head. When we met him last year we all thought it was a costume prop or something. According to my papa, who's a childhood friend of his, he did it to himself just for a "test". Creepy is a mere understatement for that.

"Sorry class, I had something to talk about with the principal." Dr. Stein told us, standing up from his chair as he turned the screw in his head around until we heard a 'click'.

"Now what did I have planned for us today?" He asked himself, seemingly pacing in front of his desk as if he really had no idea where to go. "Is it more dissecting!" Patty yelled out with strange cheerfulness, raising her hand.

"Oh, that's right. I got us brand new animals to dissect."

"Yes!" Patty cheered, punching the air with both fists as if she was actually excited. Almost everyone, even Chrona, looked at her as if she was high. The only person who really didn't care was Kid, which didn't come off as a surprise to me since he is Patty's step-brother and has to deal with her.

Which makes me wonder: does Patty know anything about what may have happened between Kid and Chrona yesterday? She had to stay after school for a club meeting, and knowing her she would have waited on Kid before going home.

I should take advantage of this class time and ask her. Whatever she'll tell me I'll confront Kid about it later.

Kid

"Another dissection?" I heard Soul groan, slamming his head against the table, causing it to shake a bit, which also caused some of our lab tools to move a few millimeters out of place due to the vibrations.

"Don't take your irritation off on the desk, Soul- you're ruining its symmetry." I casually said as I carefully placed the sharp, medical utensils back into the perfect order they were before.

"Who gives a damn about symmetry?" I heard him insult. I had to remind myself that we were in Dr. Stein's class, for I had the strong urge to rip his face off for saying such blasphemy.

"Now class, today, for the first time we'll be dissecting these small snakes." Dr. Stein announced, placing a large glass container that was filled with an uncountable number of green snakes on his desk. Since they weren't moving, it's easy to assume that they were already dead.

I could feel the disgust in the air as several girls gasped and several boys cringed. The one's who were considered normal let out a long "Ewwwww" or an "Oh crap". Those who weren't in their right minds- Patty and Black*Star, we're looking at you- were laughing and saying "Hell yeah!"

I could only shake my head at this. "Out of all the things we could dissect, he picked snakes." Soul groaned, slamming his head against the table, which caused the lab tools to move out of place again, and just leaving it there as he let out another annoyed groan.

"Stop slamming your head Soul," I told him as I tried my best to keep my cool and place the tools back into a straight, orderly fashion.

"Excuse me, Dr. Stein." Maka stood up from her seat, raising her hand. I rolled my eyes at this: She was going to try and get the class out of dissecting some 'poor creature', again.

"Is the principal really allowing you to use so many of these snakes for a mere experiment?" She asked sternly. Dr. Stein merely pushed his glasses back up, "Why of course, Azusa is perfectly fine with me using these extremely rare and possibly endangered snakes. No one will miss them." By his tone it was obvious he wanted to freak us all out a bit.

"Nice try Maka," Soul teased.

"Now let's not waste anymore class time. All of you get your gloves and grab a snake." We all quickly, yet unwillingly, followed his instructions and began with the dissection. I don't understand how a human being could find pleasure in such a grotesque process.

"Make sure the cuts symmetrical Soul!" I reminded, watching him hold the scalpel over the dead snake that was on our pan. I refuse to go near it.

"If you want it 'symmetrical' why don't you try cutting it yourself?" Soul glared up at me. I was about to give him a comeback, but a sudden feminine scream rang through the class, shutting every one of us up for a moment. What quickly followed the scream was the sound of someone falling down and hitting the ground.

"Chrona!"

Quickly we all turned around to face the back of the classroom. Maka was on the floor trying to help her friend up while Patty was standing there looking down worriedly as she was holding her snake in both hands. I could only guess what had happened.

Soul and I immediately stopped what we were doing and ran to accompany them. I could see that Chrona was on the floor, holding her head in her hands as she shook uncontrollably.

"Are you okay?" I asked, joining Maka in comforting her, kneeling down and putting my hand on her back.

"What happened?" Stein calmly walked over to us, looking down at the sight before shifting his gaze to Patty, who instantly flinched under it. "She was playing around with the snake and came up to Chrona with it and then she screamed," explained Patty's lab partner, Hiro, who was pointing to us from where he stood.

I thought it was something like that. I found this strange though since this wasn't the first time Patty played around with whatever dissection victim we had for the day. Whenever Chrona had to deal with it she would just awkwardly giggle or stare. She never freaked out. Though this was our first time dealing with something as disgusting as a snake.

"I-I'm so sorry Chrona, really, really, really, really sorry! I didn't know you were afraid of it!" Patty apologized, worry clear in her eyes. Chrona only shook her head, mumbling what I would assume was "it's okay" but she was too shaken up to really say anything clearly.

"Do you need to go to the nurses?" Dr. Stein asked. "Come on, it's just a snake, no need to get so worked up!" I heard Ox Ford say out loud. "Shut it Ox!" Both Maka and I yelled, turning over to the bald boy with vicious looks.

"I-I-" Chrona immediately shot back up to her feet, covering her mouth with both hands as she began to cry. "I-I'm going to throw up-"

"Chrona-" The pinkette had already run out of the classroom to the best of her ability. I stayed still, feeling a déjà vu moment take over seeing as she did the same thing yesterday.

"I'll get her," I announced, running after Chrona, not bothering to listen to what Maka had to say about it. I had a good idea where she would be heading to.

"Chrona, can you please come out of the girls' bathroom?"

Faithful to my gut, I stood in front of the same girls' bathroom from yesterday and to my satisfaction I was right about Chrona hiding in there, sitting in the corner I bet. "N-n-no, I'm fine." She replied through her sniffles. I sighed at this.

"You ran out of the middle of class crying because Patty shoved a snake in your face. Clearly you're not fine Chrona."

"I-I-I-"

"We know you can't stay in there forever."

"I can try…" I chuckled at her rather childish answer, not knowing if she was joking or being really serious. It took me a second to remember that Chrona doesn't joke.

"Come on, Chrona, I don't want you to get in trouble for skipping class- again." For the past year she had a bad habit of doing that due to her mental breakdowns. There was a few seconds of silence before I heard the shuffling of fabric and shoes.

The door creaked open a bit and I could see her blue eyes peek out nervously from the small opening. I gave her a welcoming smile, "It's okay. It's only me here." That seemed to have given her a small confidence boost for she finally came out of the bathroom. Quietly she closed the door behind her and stared at the floor, rubbing her arm.

"Are you feeling better now?"

She wiped away whatever was left of her tears with, to my surprise, the handkerchief I gave her before nodding at me. "I-" She slowly began, "-I-I just d-don't like…Snakes…"

"Clearly, I think the whole class figured that out already," I playfully pointed out, "I'm guessing you had a bad experience with them. Were you bitten once?"

I took note at how the hand she had placed on her arm seemed to have stopped on a spot and she even squeezed it a bit. Her eyes seemed to have shown extreme fear for a second there. Her reaction to my question told me "yes".

"Um-I-I-" To be bitten by snake is a memory that most would like to suppress so I shouldn't let her tell me. Instead I placed my hand on her shoulder to assure her that it was okay. "You don't have to give me the details. But also, you didn't have to cry like that. The snakes are dead- they're not going to hurt you."

She looked at me with her usual surprised look, before it became one of realization. She looked at the handkerchief that was in her hand and immediately held it up to me, bowing her head as if she was apologizing.

"S-s-sorry, Shinigami-kun, this is yours. I-I should have given it back to you sooner." I raised a brow at her words. I thought I made it clear that she could keep it.

"Chrona, I said it was okay for you to have it."

"B-but it's yours. Lady- I mean- m-mother always said to give something that isn't yours back to its rightful owner." So it was because of her mother's influence that she was returning it. That figures.

"That's only if I said you could borrow it, and I didn't. And really," I dug into my pocket, the small mention of her mother reminding me of the very important possession that I picked up, "If anyone should be giving something back, it should be me."

She straightened herself up, staring at me curiously. "Here," I slipped the photo of Chrona's family from pocket and handed it over to her. She looked at it for a bit, as if she didn't know what it was, before she let out a small squeak. Much faster than I thought she would, Chrona snatched the photo from my hand and held it close to her chest.

We both stood there in silence, waiting for anything to be said. I don't know whether or not it would be a good thing to tell her that I had looked at the photo, since it seemed to be so personal, but at the same time I wanted to ask her questions such as if the girl and the boy with her are her siblings, who her father is, etc.

"D-did you-" She softly stuttered, slowly look at me with scared eyes, "-did you look at it Shinigami-kun?"

The way she looked at me, it made me think that she was practically praying inside that I didn't even bother to acknowledge what the photo was- that I would have thought it was just a folded piece of paper. But I knew it was something much more important.

But I had this gut feeling that if I said 'yes', she would never look at me the same way again. But at the same time, if I said 'no' than I would lose a chance to ask my questions. Really only one of these two answers would work, and so I settled with that one.

"No," I lied, shaking my head, "I didn't look."

A wave of relief seemed to have washed over her, for her worried eyes relaxed and she let out a relaxed sigh. Clearly my answer was the one she was hoping for. If I had said 'yes' she would have run off once again, too ashamed to face me. Now this meant I had to search for answers my own way since I couldn't confront her directly.

"Chrona, clearly something is bothering you, and it's not just the snake." I stepped a bit closer so that if she were to try and make a break for it I could catch her. "I saw those injuries on your leg Chrona, and while I have promised not to tell anyone, that doesn't mean I can just forget about them."

"W-what-"

"Don't try and avoid the question like you did yesterday, please."

"B-but-" Chrona looked away from me, "T-there's no-nothing wrong- I-I got all of them because I'm just clumsy….Y-you just- just scared me yesterday- s-so I didn't answer you correctly."

"You're lying," I immediately stated. It was clear, her tone was uncertain, as if she knew what she said was false but at the same time she had to say it. "You're not that clumsy Chrona," I continued, "and even if you were you wouldn't be hurt that badly."

"I-I-"

I took this as a chance to take her hand and roll up her sleeve myself. I didn't want to come off as forceful but this was the only way to confirm my suspicions.

And there it was.

I only rolled her long sleeve up to her elbow, and just like with her legs, her forearm was covered in scratches. It was unbelievable.

I didn't know what exact tool was used to cause these wounds. Some scratches looked like it came from long fingernails, and there were scratches that looked as if they were done by a sharp object such as a needle or even a small knife. If you looked even harder you could see a faint burn mark.

"Chrona-"

Immediately she shook her arm off of my grip and pulled down the sleeve. Chrona stepped back a bit, as if she was trying to hide her arm. "I-I-I cut- I cut myself- that's why I'm so messed up," was her excuse for this one. I frowned at this, "I highly doubt that Chrona. You may be quiet and depressed, but I doubt you're at the level of cutting."

"And how do you know that!" She quickly shouted back, looking at me with angry eyes.

"For one thing you're scared of touching a scalpel in Dr. Stein's class. So if that's the case than you wouldn't have the guts to even hurt yourself!"

"I-I-"

"No excuses Chrona, please," I placed both my hands on her shoulder so she would know how serious I was, "Please, just tell me who is doing this to you."

"…."

"Is it that Ragnarok guy? Because if it is, I'll-"

"N-no!" She waved her hands in defense, though the handkerchief and the photo were still being held tightly in one hand. "Ragnarok…Ragnarok wouldn't do this to me! H-he may be mean and he may be a bully, but he won't hurt me unless she tells him too-"

"'She'-who's 'she'?"

"Uh-uh-"

"Does Maka know anything about this?"

"N-no- only-only you do-but-"

"I can't let those wounds be ignored, Chrona," I started feeling a bit sick thanks to the fresh image of her cut up body. "You have to give me the full story or tell the others about it all. You need help-"

"No!" She refused, shaking her head as fast as she could, "No-no- you can't tell the others!"

"And why is that?"

"You just can't! Please Shinigami-kun," there were tears, ones she was trying to hold back, rolling down her cheek now, "If-if other people find out, I'll get in trouble. You'll get in trouble! Sh-she'll-she'll-"

"Chrona, what are you-"

"There you are!"

We both looked to our side to see Maka and Soul walking in our direction. Guess which one had the "I-don't-care" expression and which one had the "I'm going to fucking kill you" glare. "Kid what the hell do you think you're doing!" Maka yelled, her anger definitely directed towards me.

"Isn't it obvious, Maka?" Soul smirked, "They're-"

"I didn't ask you, Soul," Maka frowned before turning to Chrona with caring eyes in contrast to the way she looked at me and Soul

"Are you feeling okay, Chrona?" She asked. I slowly released my hold on Chrona's shoulder, letting my hands drop to my sides. "I-I'm fine, Maka…." Chrona replied, wiping away the small traces of tears before quickly stumbling to Maka's side.

"….." Maka stared intently at her, before looking at Soul, "Could you take Chrona back to class, Soul? I'd like to talk to Kid for a bit."

Soul looked at her, and than at me, and than back at her, like he was checking whether or not it was a good idea. "…Alright," Soul shrugged, "If you're sure…" He gestured for Chrona to follow him, leaving me with a very pissed off friend. There is no way I can talk myself out of this.

Once the two were out of hearing range, Maka immediately started talking. "What did you do to Chrona, Kid?"

Here we go. I raised a brow at her question, "Nothing horrible if that's what you're thinking. I thought you would think of me to be better than most other guys-"

"Don't lie to me. You did something yesterday that hurt her in some way, and I can't let that go. And then I found you with your hands on her shoulder and her against the door crying. What am I supposed to make of that?" She sounded so sure of herself. If only she knew what was really going on than she wouldn't be talking to me like this.

"I didn't do anything, and even if I did wouldn't you think I would have apologized by now?"

"No I didn't think that because knowing you, you won't apologize to people you don't like!"

"What are you getting at?"

"You know what I mean Kid. You said it yourself that you didn't even like Chrona!"

"That was a year ago!" It made me feel like an ass, but I can't deny it. As mentioned before when Chrona came here I found no reason to approach her. She just didn't look the type of person who I could get along with. But that has changed. How I feel about her has changed completely, especially now.

"So you expect me to believe that you suddenly like her?" Maka continued to glower at me. She wasn't one to trust men, thanks to her father, so I wasn't surprised that she was thinking this way. It was still ticking me off though.

"Believe what you want, but I can assure you that I don't wish to harm Chrona." That was all I had to say to her before I started walking back to the classroom.

Yes, I don't wish to harm her. I wish to help her. Because at this moment it seems like I'm the only one who can.

A/N: So we have a look at some of the other characters, all of them play an important part later on. Chrona tells Kid something, but it is not enough to quell his curiosity about what is really going on.

The whole chapter is meant to bring up new information, such as Chrona's fear of snakes (Yes her family has something to do with it) and to point out that at first Kid didn't really like Chrona which is why Maka doesn't trust him with her. Maka thinks of herself as Chrona's defender, even though she doesn't know about all of Chrona's cuts and her family.

So Kid now is certain that Chrona is being abused, but he can't be certain who it is out of the family bunch. Remember he only met Ragnarok so far so he's his main suspect.

I have the whole story planned out already so each chapter contributes to the story line in some manner. I hope this chapter appealed to all of you.

The next chapter will continue to the next school day and Kid will be doing some interrogation with the other characters.

Please leave a review if you can and tell me what you think. Thanks for reading!