Eruka was cut short by a sharp rap at the door. Her head swiveled towards it, panic coming into her eyes for a moment.

"Great," she whispered.

"Who is it?" Corin asked, looking around the doorway to the other room, which seemed to be even more of a mess.

"The closest thing to a demon this side of Hell," she said, gritting her teeth. She grabbed his good wrist and tugged him to the other room, opening a door that led to a very small closet. "Stay here and don't make a sound."

She shut the door on him, cutting off any questions he had. He heard footsteps recede and another sharp knock. The front door clicked open and Eruka's muffled voice came through:

"Hello, Medusa. Sorry to keep you waiting."

Getting To Know You

Medusa entered the small apartment with a look of mild distain. Her eyes swept across the littered house, from the stacks of papers and herbs on a couch to the dusty lamp that looked like it shouldn't work.

"I'd have thought you would keep better surroundings, Eruka. This is just pathetic."

Eruka sniffed, biting her tongue to keep from talking back. There was no point in starting an argument with Medusa. The sooner she was out of the house, the sooner Eruka could breathe again.

"Can I help you with something?" she asked, making no movement away from where she stood beside the doorway.

"You can." Medusa's eyes scanned the room, pausing a moment at the wall with the closet. Eruka felt her heart skip. She was not ready to explain to Medusa why someone was hiding in her closet, especially someone who looked like he just got out of a boxing match with a very angry cat. She kept herself as calm as she could, but the slight smile on Medusa's face made her want to cry.

Surprisingly, the encounter didn't last all that long. Medusa continued her scan of the room, before turning to Eruka.

"Now, as for what you can help me with, that is rather simple. I need some more help for our little mission. You'll be running a message to him," Medusa said, shifting her weight. Her stance and expression made the message as clear as always: this is not a request.

Eruka nodded slowly. She really didn't want to. She wanted to go back to the Witch Order and plead for protection every time Medusa came within thirty feet of her. Yet, there wasn't all that much she could do. She really didn't want to die, so playing lackey to Medusa was better than exploding from the inside. Besides, if she actually did make it through with her plan, there was a better chance Eruka would live as her follower.

"Just let me know when," Eruka said, crossing her arms.

Medusa just smiled again, heading back to the door. "Oh, also, be careful staying in one place too long. Getting company isn't a good idea, you know?"

She let herself out, and Eruka sank to the floor the moment the door closed, her heart pounding. Why did this have to happen to her?

After a moment of taking deep breaths, she stood herself up and straightened her hat. Making her way to the closet, she opened the door and looked down at her guest. It would have been a nightmare if Medusa found him. He would either die or be enlisted in her army, neither of which would be good for Eruka. If she had known that Medusa would pay her a visit, she wouldn't have taken him in. It had been weeks since Medusa had talked to her.

"She's gone. You almost got us both killed," she said, ice in her tone. Corin only blinked at her in confusion. He looked somewhere between a rat that lost a fight and a very confused dog.

"Who was she?" he asked as she helped him up. She led him to the couch, moving a pillow out of the way and nearly knocking a stack of papers to the floor.

"The less you know about her the better. She's not someone you want to be friends with." Eruka picked up a dead plant and set it on the floor, taking a seat next to him.

"She seemed… creepy," Corin said, leaning back and looking at her. Eruka couldn't deny it; Medusa was all kinds of creepy and terrifying. She could be pleasant and sweet one moment, and standing over your dying body the next.

"That's putting it lightly. She's not a good person, that's all I can really say. I still don't know anything about you, so talking about her is signing a death sentence." She closed her eyes, resting her head against the cushions. "Let's change the subject. Did you remember anything else?"

"No… Though, that woman I saw in my dream is becoming clearer. I think I've seen her more than once."

"She might be related to you. I don't suppose you remember your family?" Eruka asked, a slight frown forming on her lips.

Corin shook his head. "Afraid not," he said quietly. "I hope they're nice. And, you know, live around here. If they were in the city, maybe I could find them easier."

Eruka sighed. She had no time to help him, especially since Medusa was making her move now. Still, she wasn't sure how to throw him out on the street. He looked old enough to be going to the DWMA; maybe they would know who he was. Though, if he was a student there, his knowing who she was could only end badly. It was probably better to get him out of there before anything bad happened-

She opened her eyes and saw him shuffling around, stacking papers into tidier piles and moving her dead plants to the floor in hopes of getting more room.

"What are you doing?" she asked, sitting up.

"That Medusa person said you should clean up. She doesn't have great people skills, but she's not wrong. This place is a mess." The side of his mouth twitched into a slight grin as he organized the books on the ground.

"I barely come here. This is just for research and safety, not living. Also, you have one working hand. What do you hope to accomplish?"

He gave her a deadpan look, holding up a book. "You could, you know, help me. Then we have three hands, math genius. That's more than enough to carry some books."

Eruka stayed still a moment longer, before shaking her head and kneeling down next to him, stacking books and taking them to the other room. "This is pointless, you know," she called.

"It's not like we have much to talk about. You're some kind of criminal and I don't even know my birthday. 'Getting to know you' conversations are kind of out of the question," he called back.

There was a moment of silence, then, "Fair point."

And so the two spent the afternoon removing papers and trash from the bookcase and replacing them with books, finding out what order papers went in ("Why do you need to know types of food that cause frogs indigestion?"), and having at least eight plant funerals. The ones that were still somehow alive were placed outside the doorway via Eruka. They broke out dusters for the tables and mops for the linoleum, getting rid of at least three years' worth of dust. They scrubbed out the bathroom, which nearly made Eruka sick, and managed to remove the mold that had built up in the shower. By the time they were done, the clock on the wall said it was just after six o'clock.

"That was… awful," Eruka declared, flopping onto the couch. "I feel like I absorbed the dirt."

"True, but at least you have a couch to sit on," Corin countered. He sat down, looking worn out. "Where do you sleep, anyway?"

"Usually? The bed- well, sofa- that you've been using. Though for the last couple days I've used this couch."

Corin raised an eyebrow at her and she rolled her eyes.

"I moved the mounds of garbage to the floor when I slept. I moved them back so I wouldn't trip."

The two sat in silence for a moment, breathing the fresh(er) air. They'd cracked the window, much to Eruka's distain, in order to let the apartment vent and it paid off.

"Why don't you take a shower? I can make dinner," Eruka said. She didn't understand the feeling of wanting to take care of Corin. He was just some kid. Still, there was something to him. He actually did things. He asked questions. He didn't just sit there and let someone run his life. Eruka stood up quickly, knowing the thoughts would do her no good. She accepted who she was. Sure, she was a coward. She knew it. She was also alive, which Corin wouldn't be if not for her.

Corin opened his mouth to say something back, but stopped at seeing her expression. She must have been a bit too open with her thoughts, so she quickly turned away and went to scavenge through the pantry.

She heard footsteps and a door close. The sound of water running came through the paper thin walls; there were no secrets in the apartment.

Except, there were. Too many. Eruka never had a problem keeping her life from people because there was no one to keep it from. She hadn't needed nor wanted friends for years. It was just her way of life. Friends hurt you. Friends stabbed you in the back. Friends hated you for being a witch. Friends and Eruka didn't mix well, so she just removed them. Yet, bantering with Corin and taking care of him while he was unconscious brought out a side of her that she hated. Kindness and compassion had no place in the heart of a witch, especially one that worked with Medusa. Witches were independent, relying only on each other, and even then being careful. Keeping secrets wasn't really relevant when there was no one to keep them from. Yet, she couldn't stand it if Corin turned out to be working with the DWMA and went after her.

She realized that the noodles were nearly boiling over and her temperature was up far too high. She shook her head, focusing back on what she was doing. Corin would leave as soon as she was sure he wouldn't pass out in the nearest ditch. Then, she would get back to living as she had been.

"ERUKA! Where's the soap?" Corin called. "I think I found a family of roaches and I'm really not comfortable showering with them!"

Speaking of which…

"You put the soap by the sink! And I doubt those roaches are very interested in you, there's not a lot to look at."

There was silence for a moment, then the sound of the water turning off. Corin came out in a towel, peaking his head into the kitchen.

"Uh, do you have another towel? This one is… small," he said, awkwardly.

"You're dripping all over the carpet." Eruka moved the noodles off the burner and grabbed a kitchen towel, wringing out his hair in it. "Dead plants are one thing, mildew is another."

She shoved him back to the bathroom before hunting down another towel in the closet he was hiding in earlier. She draped it across his shoulders and helped him towel dry his hair. Being one handed wasn't going well for him and his bandages were now wet.

"How was it that you cleaned my house and yet can barely take a shower?" she asked, a note of quiet exasperation to her voice.

"You weren't helping me take a shower." The two were completely silent for a second. "I didn't say that."

"Mmhmm. That's a kind of creepy that even Medusa doesn't go to."

"I didn't mean-"

Eruka cut him off with a soft laugh. "I know. If I had a bath, I could at least help you wash your hair, but showers are a little too close, you know? Hey, you should really trim the dead ends of your hair."

Corin gave a nod and Eruka left to get scissors from the kitchen. He turned around on the toilet, making sure the towel around his waist was still secure. Eruka bent her knees slightly and started to trim his hair.

"Eruka? Why… why are you being so nice to me? It's not like we know each other…" His voice was quiet, and had almost a sadness to it. Eruka didn't like it at all, his tone nor the question.

"It's common decency, isn't it?" she replied, hoping he would drop it.

"Not really. If you knew who I was and we were acquaintances then sure, but I'm just some kid you found on the street. What if… what if I bring you trouble? I don't know who I was fighting or why. I don't know anything about this city or who runs it or even myself. You don't have any reason to trust me. Yet you've let me stay here, fed me, talked with me… I just don't understand how you're a criminal. There's no way everyone in the city is this nice."

Eruka stopped cutting. She was stuck. She'd been called a lot of things, most of which came from people who didn't like her for one reason or another. They had reason to. She'd destroyed land, made people's lives difficult, and just caused general mayhem and destruction. More than that, she'd enjoyed it. So what if someone lost their house? So what if a few criminals got loose? It was just one more event. She was used to being called a coward, a liar, a terrible person. But nice? It wasn't as if she'd never been called that before. Though, it wasn't all that normal now. Now, she was evil. She was cruel. She was destructive. She hadn't been nice in a very long time.

"Look, Corin. I'm not like this normally. You shouldn't get used to this from… people like me." She finished trimming his hair and stood up, folding the towel on his shoulders so that the split ends didn't fall to the floor. "I'm a criminal for a reason. You should probably leave as soon as you can."

Corin turned around, his eyebrows knit together. "Why? Where should I go?"

Eruka sighed, gritting her teeth. "I don't know. Wherever you want. Go to the police, the DWMA, the next house over, I don't care. I can't tell you where to go. You just shouldn't be here."

"Then neither should you. Medusa can't make you do anything. You can turn her in, you can-"

"You don't understand! You don't know a damn thing about me!" Eruka felt her chest tighten, anger building in her head.

"I don't know a damn thing about anyone! You're all I have to go off of, remember? I knew your name before I knew mine. I'm trying to mimic you so that I don't end up as some asshole who likes to hurt people, or some selfish jerk. I know that it's possible to be like that, and I know you're not. So what am I supposed to do, Eruka?" Corin's face was flushed, his knuckles white from gripping the toilet seat.

Eruka breathed out, her gaze averting from his eyes. "Don't do that. Don't mimic me. I'm one of the last people you should mimic. Even by w- criminal standards, I'm pathetic. You need to find someone who can teach you things, someone who can get your memory back. You can stay here until you're healed. Then, you need to go to the DWMA and ask for help. There are some talented people there, people who could help you."

She turned and left, putting the towel by the door. She would shake it out later. Instead, she went back and put the noodles in two bowls, sprinkling them with salt and setting them down.

Corin came in a moment later, in the same dirty clothes. He sat down wordlessly and the two ate without talking. This was normal, Eruka reminded herself. This was better. Getting attached was dangerous for both of them. Medusa or the Witch Order would find out eventually and it would be all downhill from there.

Eventually, she had to take notice of his increasing paleness. Corin wasn't looking too great. She inhaled softly and spoke up: "You look a little sick."

He glanced up from his food. An awkward smile on his face, he put a hand to his forehead.

"Yeah… I guess I kind of overdid it. It's fine, I'll just sleep it off. If that's okay…?" He looked at her with a bit of concern, as if she would just throw him out. There was no point in that. She already promised herself that she would keep him at her house until he was healed.

"Yeah, it's fine. Just be careful, yeah? I'll take care of the dishes." She stood up and took her plate to the sink while he finished. There was something more between them now, not just the blind trust. That was better, to Eruka. She didn't have to worry as much now that he wouldn't want to leave.

"Thank you for dinner," he said, coming over with his own bowl.

"No problem." She didn't look up at him as she ran the water. He paused, as if to say something, but turned around and lied back down on the pullout at the back of the room. She dried the dishes and started to walk out.

"Eruka?" He called suddenly.

She turned slightly, looking at him with her brows furrowed.

"I just… Never mind."

With that, she turned away as he closed his eyes, the house settling into a tense silence.

A/N: Alright! Chapter 2! I have to admit, I was a little befuddled on how to pace this. I don't want to draw it out more than I have to, but I'm worried it came off as a little sudden...? Ah well. These two are a blast to write (I may rewatch Soul Eater again just for Eruka to be honest-) and the interaction between them is something that I find myself able to do without getting bored. Let me know what you think and thanks for reading!