/See I knew I couldn't keep up that speed. I'm not entirely happy with this chapter, but ah well. At least it exists, right?

Thank you all for the reviews. They really do keep me going. Every one reminds me, hey, someone out there is enjoying this, and I should probably get off my butt and write more. Even if it's just a little blurb, taking the time to let me know you enjoyed it means a lot. I also like advice, and I'll try and answer any questions you have up here in these things. At any route, the show must go on. Here you go dears.

Chapter 3 - Waiting Games

Well that was fun. Asura grinned in satisfaction, sitting back. He'd been worried she would put up more of a fight to a direct attempt at control, but it seemed the dreams had done their job well. Maka's soul and mind had been pleasantly pliable, both opening to him with little resistance. He had no doubt she would offer her body to him with the same ease when the time came.

It had been at times infuriating, moving forward at such a slow pace, but it was all proving worth it now. The young Meister had grown accustomed to the visions of him in her sleep, at first frightened and confused, but then learning to accept him, and even to look forward to their little visits. The choice to revisit them on her own in her waking 'private time' was all her own, and had come as a pleasant surprise to the Kishin. The shy, quiet whispers of his name she uttered were all he needed to keep moving forward, eagerly awaiting the day they would fall across his skin as he held her in the flesh.

The Kishin stretched as he stood, bones popping in protest. How long had he been sitting there? Watching his little pet was just too addictive. Grinning to himself as he let the image of her naked body linger in his mind, he stepped outside into the chilly morning, staring up at the fading image of the grinning moon. It had been a nice little nest while he had gathered his power, but he'd had to return to the world below eventually. The distance had been necessary. After so long imprisoned, his wavelength had been erratic, uncontrollable, giving off strong pulses of madness at the most inconvenient times. He'd needed the time alone to regain himself.

He was confident now. His greatest weapon was under his control once more. With the insanity that he had let slowly slip over the earth, his own soul would be nearly undetectable as long as he was careful. He would look like nothing more than another infected soul, unless of course he chose to reveal himself. Something he had no intention of doing anytime soon, except of course for her.

Maka Albarn...why did she have such a hold on him? Asura was no stranger to obsession, but this little one held his attention in a way that bordered on insane. Of course, it might have been insane, who could tell? Asura had long ago ceased to attempt and separate reason from madness in his actions.

She would be his. After months of moving at a snail's pace, opening her mind to the idea of him, he would have her soon. It had been a fun game. The first night, the first time he had found the door to her dreams, he had been so charmed by her he had nearly thrown it all away, coming down to take her at that moment. She was captivating. Even in her unguarded sleep, she had been wary, unwilling to give herself away so easily. It had been so worth it tho. In the comfort of illusion, he'd had no need to worry about breaking her, no need to be gentle. The first few times, he had been anything but loving. So glad to finally see her reactions to his presence-even if it was only an echo of reality-he had been unable to hold back, taking her forcefully.

He'd raped her in her dreams, tasting her shock and anger and tears, but that hadn't lasted. If he'd only wanted to possess her body, his plan would have been much simpler. He'd given her space, letting her get over the shock and disgust that had been her initial reaction. He'd waited. The perfect opportunity had presented itself, as he'd known it would.

She'd been weak, hurt and alone. Her little Weapon had finally moved on, settling on a lesser female after she had ignored his movements. She had been oblivious to the scythe's intentions, and seeing him with another had been an unpleasant shock. His poor little one, she had no need to be sad. She was far too precious to belong to a mortal.

And so he had come to her again, as the tears she had cried herself to sleep with dried on her cheeks, he had found her in her mind once more. Gently this time, he had held her, kissing her cheeks and lips until she opened herself to him. Gods he loved her. Her pain and affection were both so delicious. He could taste her for eternity and never tire of her flavors.

Enough of that for now. Asura could be patient. He had waited this long, it was only a few more hours now. Turning from the glaring sun, he walked back inside, letting the heavy doors slam behind him. His new 'home' was much more comfortable than the lunar caverns had been. He'd needed to be close to her, but not so very close that he would be unable to see if one of Death's little dogs started sniffing a little too close. The abandoned church had been perfect.

The doors had been roped off, the ratty tape warning 'caution'. Asura couldn't piece together exactly what had happened within, but the lingering scent of blood and air of madness that seethed from within gave him a clue. It seemed the little flock had lost its way, finding themselves stumbling in the darkness of insanity. Sad really. It could be such a paradise, but he supposed some simply weren't cut out for it. The glasses and pretty dishes had stood still in their places, where the congregation had enjoyed their own last supper together. The blood trails led from the back forward. He could just see it in his mind, the flash of the knife, and the sound of spilling blood as the pastor led each of his lost little sheep home in turn.

He looked up at the faded image ahead of him, the wall pristine where they had taken down the cross that had once hung there. He could see its outline still, even past the messily painted three eyes symbol that had taken its place. Sacrifice to the gods, how touching. He would have been more thankful if they'd waited until their useless little souls could have actually been collected. This was just wasteful.

The Kishin sighed, descending the stairs behind the pulpit. He was patient, yes, but this day was going to try even his limits. He wanted her now, dammit. He sat once more, his two eyes closing as he fell back into his meditative state, the third staring forward to keep watch. They would be together soon, but he wanted to wait with her. Was his little one dreaming still of him as well?

Maka blushed bright red, stuttering over her sentence. Dammit. She was in the middle of class, trying desperately to get the students to pay attention as she described the difference between a full Resonance and a Soul Perception Link-up, when the image of those crimson eyes flashed through her mind. Why would she think of that now?

"I uh, well a Resonance is pretty normal, at least for us, and a Link-up takes a special kind of soul that can see, uh, more." God the way he'd felt against her in the dream. The way his lips had moved with hers...

She could see the kids checking out. She was losing them as she lost her mind in la-la land. The Meister cleared her throat, taking a drink from her water bottle as she gathered her thoughts. Smiling at the class, she sat the bottle back down with a loud crack, regaining their attention. "Sorry about that, I spaced out for a minute there. Shall we continue?"

Why couldn't she stop thinking about him? Maka had never been more happy to hear the bell ring. The sound of the faucet running almost drowned out the commotion from the hallway as she splashed cool water in her face, trying to find her focus. She shivered as she looked up, the hair on the back of her neck raising at the sight of the mirror, although she couldn't place why. Something...happened this morning? Her hands went to her head, gently massaging her temples. It was like there was a gap there, something she should remember, but just didn't. Thinking about it gave her a headache, a dull ring rising from the back of her skull.

"Asura." His name fell from her lips, bringing her from her thoughts. Had she meant to say that? She didn't remember making the decision to. Maka blinked, looking down at her hand, reaching out. The water running from the faucet was scalding hot, pouring steam that had fogged the mirror above it. Her hand moved slowly, tracing again and again over the three eyes she had drawn on the glass. She watched in fascination, feeling oddly disconnected from her body as the action repeated yet again.

The sound of the bathroom door opening drew her finally back to reality, quickly wiping the image from the glass as she shut off the water, heart pounding.

Marie Mjolnir's smile slipped as she watched the young Meister jump. It was so humid, how long had that water been running? "Maka? Are you okay?" The Death Scythe asked in concern.

Maka thought her heart was going to explode. Had she seen? Marie would know what that symbol meant. She'd heard it described in enough detail by Doctor Stein when he was battling the madness. "I-I'm fine," she lied with a forced laugh. "I'm a little tired. I was up late last night, and I guess I spaced out. It got awfully foggy in here, huh?" Stick with the same excuse. It was safer that way.

Marie's eyes narrowed in worry as she stepped closer, placing her small hand on Maka's forehead. "Are you sure you're feeling alright? You don't look well. Why don't you stop by the clinic? Franken will be there for a bit longer. He's got some work to catch up on. If you're getting sick, you should take care of it early." She smiled, giving the girl a pat on the shoulder. "We can't have one of our top Meister's out with the flu."

"Right," Maka smiled, touched by the concern. Miss Marie was always thinking about everyone else. She didn't want to give her another reason to worry. "I'm going to get some fresh air, and if I'm still feeling out of it, I'll stop by. Thank you."

"That's a good girl. Your father will never shut up if you get sick. Save us all from that torture, if you don't care. Now uh...could you point me in the direction of the Death Room? I was sure this was it..."

Training was normally one of Maka's favorite parts of the day. Sure, Black*Star could be annoying sometimes, but getting to cut loose and focus on getting stronger, especially with her friends beside her, made it all worth it.

"Again," Kid ordered, Liz and Patty returning to their human forms on either side of him. The young god's confidence had grown over the years, especially after his escape from the Book of Eibon, and he had slowly but surely become more of a leader. When they were in the field, the group still naturally fell to looking towards Maka for leadership, but more and more Death the Kid had taken over their training.

His obsession with perfection could be frustrating sometimes, but Maka knew it was worth it. He drilled them until they could pull off every single maneuver flawlessly, practicing until the movements were muscle memory, as easy as breathing.

The others grumbled, returning to their starting positions as they got ready to give the move yet another go. They'd worked together so long now that they were practically all one partnership. Their team Resonance was nearly as strong the bond between a single Weapon and Meister, their thoughts and actions so well known that they could predict each other's positions on the battlefield with their eyes closed. Spartoi had gone from being an elite group of promising students to the single most effective battle squad in the DMWA. Their ranks had grown as more students were recruited, but the core membership remained the same, with the three teams as the undisputed combat leaders. They were liquid smooth together, working flawlessly. It was a thing of beauty to watch them dispatch their targets, and even their training maneuvers frequently drew a crowd of observers, eager to learn from the best.

Maka just wished she could get her head in the game today. She knew damned well, even if Kid would never say as much, that she was the one throwing them off. Her reactions were too slow, her body seeming to take just a second too long to process the incoming commands. It was like each new piece of information had to pass through a filter, slowing her down just enough to be noticeable. It was driving her crazy, and she knew it was frustrating her teammates.

Sighing, she shook her head, trying to force focus. She hated slowing them down. She would not be the reason they failed. They would not fail. They would kill the Kishin, and return sanity to the world. That was their mission. That was their purpose. No matter how much some crazy part of her wanted to see those red eyes on her again, he was an enemy, and it was well past time to stop letting her dreams sneak into her waking thoughts. She was Maka Albarn, and she would not fail.

"One little failure doesn't mean anything, Maka," Kid consoled, patting her shoulder. "You're just having an off day. It happens to all of us. Are you sure you're feeling alright? Maybe you're coming down with something."

Ugh. Maka resisted the urge to roll her eyes. If one more person asked her if she was sick... But no, she knew it was only out of concern for her. She smiled, wincing a bit in soreness as she stood. Being out of it came with a price when there were punches to dodge, and Black*Star didn't know the meaning of 'hold back'. "I'm sorry, Kid. I know you wanted to move on. I'll get some rest tonight, and give it 200% next time."

Kid nodded, already adjusting his schedule. This would throw them off, but not too badly. He'd wanted to get them started on cross-partner battles soon, but it would have to wait. No matter. They would pull through. They always did. "You do that. And look over those schematics I gave you. They should help you to remember the positions. Sleep on it. I'm sure we'll get it perfect next time."

Giving his friend a comforting squeeze on the shoulder, and then one on the other for good measure, Kid left her, heading off to chase down his errant Weapons. He'd heard them mention something about shopping, and he had the sneaking suspicion he knew whose credit card was going to be bearing the brunt of the attack if he didn't catch up soon...

Maka sighed, smiling as the Reaper darted off. He'd tried to hide it, but she knew he was disappointed. She glanced down at the confusing stack of papers he had handed her. She was getting a headache just thinking about all the time reading over them was going to take. Or maybe that was just from the insistent ringing that had been buzzing around the back of her skull for the last few hours. It was getting louder, and harder to ignore. Almost as if it was impatient for something. With a groan, she picked up her bag, heading off to grab a quick shower. She needed to clear her head, and she knew just the way to do it. She was looking forward to getting off to herself. A little peace and quiet out of the city would be just what she needed to get her mind off of him, and back where it belonged.

The impatience grew as she showered, feeling like something was tugging at the back of her mind, urging her to hurry. Hurry and leave. Hurry and come to him. He was waiting. So close, and soon his hands would be on her, and she would be his.

She would be whose? Maka paused as she tied her damp hair back up, trying to track down that thought. But like a dream the morning after, it was gone. She couldn't even remember what it had been, or why it had seemed important. All that was left was a vague sense of unreality, and the feeling that something was somehow not right.

Everything was fine. Everything was perfect, or it would soon be. She left her bag on the bench beside her, pulling her jacket around her. She had to leave. She had waited long enough. Too long. Her Kishin was impatient, his hands twitching with the urge to touch her skin, and she would not keep him waiting any longer for her. Her emerald eyes were glassy as she walked, her pace quick and purposeful. She was so excited, her body tingling at the thought of giving herself to him finally.

The buildings passed quickly, becoming more and more sparse as she moved towards the city gates, only a few broken ones dotting the empty area outside the walls. There it was. The old church she had read about. The minister had gone mad a few years back, the insanity spreading like infection to his congregation, until they had all died. A mass murder the investigators had called ritual suicide. No one had gone near it since, Death having warned that the taint of madness might still be potent enough to infect the unwary.

Ignoring the warnings posted, the young Meister opened the doors, walking in a daze through the blood stained sanctuary. Her excitement rose as she descended the stairs, finally feeling him so close to her. Her master was just beyond the door, waiting for her, wanting her.

The door slammed shut behind her, clarity crashing down on her as her eyes met his. The room was dominated by a pile of scarlet cushions and covers, clothing scattered around as if tossed off carelessly, and in the middle of it all, him. The Kishin Asura. He was there, right in front of her. Maka's heart seemed to fill with ice, terror flooding her as the Kishin smiled, holding out his hand to her.

"Welcome home. I've been waiting for you, Maka."