CHAPTER 16

A/N – Hello everyone! Okay, so… lately for some reason I kept obsessing about changing the cover picture of this story and wasting a lot of time with it, trying to make things fit in ^ $%#&^$ Paint! I hope it came out okay though LOL. Getting back to the actual story… like I promised last time, this chapter shall not be for the faint of heart. There, you have been officially warned.

Maka dragged herself out of bed with difficulty and rubbed the back of her neck. She must have slept in an awkward position, because now all her muscles were sore and aching. Fortunately, she'd had no more dreams, but just the one had been bad enough. It had emotionally exhausted and worried her in addition to the current matters which actually should have worried her more. And the blonde felt all the more guilty since she knew Kid had almost not had any sleep at all, only in the early hours of morning the young shinigami had allowed himself a bit of rest. Hurriedly smoothing her ruffled hair with her fingers, the meister glanced down on his sleeping form with a sad smile before slipping out of the room to get breakfast.

It was still very early, before the sound of the morning bell and the Temple ensemble was quiet. Too quiet, Maka thought, seeing how the previous night Kid had said he'd felt something stirring in the bowels of the mountain. It must have been the Kishins, undoubtedly. But absolutely nothing was stirring now, not even the air. Maybe this was the calm before the storm, she wondered, speeding up across the large stone terrace on her way to the kitchens.

The everyday walking into the crammed, tiny space, suffocating with the smell of bad food constantly lingering in the stale air was a regularly distressing event for the blonde. The Sisters on duty constantly ignored her, but the Older One was there and he was always carefully watching, even when he was silent. Like now, yet his inquisitive gaze burned in the back of her neck. Maka hurried to pick up two bowls full of the usual disgusting stew and a few loafs of bread, and then darted out the door at top speed. Only when she reached their room the meister realised she'd completely forgotten to take any leftovers to the old beggar – who sat there waiting as usual – and glanced down guiltily at the food on her tray. Sighing, she decided that she'd take care of that later.

Kid was still asleep as the meister walked in with the tray and she felt bad for having to wake him up so soon. But they both had to go to work, even if they were inevitably waiting for something to happen. But was there really something going to happen anytime soon? What now? What now? Maka couldn't stop wondering. Perhaps the Kishins were not yet ready to make a move. Yet they had ordered the Older One – Key – to bring them the rebellious soul whose presence appeared to be bothering them.

"Hey…" Maka whispered, sitting down at the end of the bed and gently stroking the young reaper's knee. "Come on, time to wake up!"

Kid stretched briefly and sat up, instantly letting out a displeased groan at the sight of the food on the table. He made a move to drop back onto the mattress, but the blonde caught him and propped his head against her shoulder."Hey… I want to ask you something," she said. Like this is really important now, but I want to do it. Maybe just because it's not important at all… "Hold out your left hand"

He complied, half asleep, and Maka took off the skull shaped ring from her left hand and slipped it back on his middle finger. "There, now it's right"

"Wha-? No! Why did you do that?" Kid's golden eyes snapped open at the realization and he simply stared at his hand in horror.

"I wanted you to have one of your rings back," the blonde replied with a smile.

"But I don't want one of my rings back!" he promptly protested. "What the hell, it's not-… I'm not symme-" He didn't get to finish his sentence before Maka silenced him with a prolonged kiss." Shhh… it's perfect like this. You are perfect. Besides, don't you want to do things right? And I want everyone to know that you're mine"

Kid rolled his eyes and pursed his mouth in a funny way. "Oh, in the light of recent events are you still under the impression that this information is not public enough? Because it looks to me like all Hell has broken loose already." But he didn't sound like he was regretting anything, and the blonde felt a wave of warmth in her whole body.

"I'm sure it's not that bad," the other meister said, bringing his hand to her lips and lightly kissing his knuckles. "And no matter how bad it is, it's still more than I've ever hoped for"

"Wait," the reaper said, just as Maka was preparing to walk out the door for her daily duties. "From now on I won't let you out of my sight. It's too dangerous"

The blonde flinched at hearing this, not because she was terribly surprised by it – after all it was what she'd been expecting, for something, anything to happen – but it was somehow like only now it had truly become real, a palpable threat. She breathed out, willing the knot in her chest to dissolve. "But… can we really do that and go unnoticed? We have work to do… and how will I know where you are, or rather which one is you? All Death Gods look the same, not to mention I'm not supposed to look at any of them at all"

"You don't have to do anything," Kid assured her, "Just go about your usual business. I will be keeping an eye on you at all times"

They walked outside on the terrace into the fresh spring air and Maka couldn't help letting her gaze wander over the mountain slopes, dotted with the first greens, with fragile branches laden with tiny light green leaves and the small white flowers she remembered from the year past. And it would have been almost beautiful if only it wasn't horrible in an absolutely heartbreaking way. And then she spotted the old beggar again, waiting as usual for her long lost love.

"Stop staring, Maka, she won't transform into some fairy tale beauty anytime soon," Kid stated and she could clearly pick up his hidden amusement.

The blonde instantly frowned – so her meister had probably been reading her mind again, most likely while she was asleep. Gah, that's not fair! "You need to stop that!" she grumbled under her breath.

"Stop what?" the young shinigami asked innocently.

"You know what!"

It turned out to be a long day, which Maka spent being on the edge almost the entire time, while going about her duties. She knew Kid was there somewhere, guarding her from the shadows, but it brought her little comfort. The meister was used to facing whatever enemy looking them in the eye, but taking this kind of pressure from an unseen foe was something she was utterly unprepared for. Fear itself, the horror of it all, of all that which remained unknown to them was gradually gaining ground, creeping into her being and she was helpless against it.

I want it to end, by Death, let it end already! she silently prayed, knowing that she wouldn't be able to take this uncertainty much longer and almost envying the dead pilgrims whose bodies she took care of absentmindedly. Little did she know that even that simple task would very soon become too much to take.

The day was drawing to an end, it must have been, the blonde told herself, literally dragging her feet while checking the alcoves. She just wanted to go back to their room and collapse onto the bed. Apparently nothing was going to happen today, not today. But then Maka drew back one of the black silk curtains and gasped. A little girl was perched on the edge of the bed, her thin feet dangling down from under the simple white linen dress she wore. Her long blonde hair fell in soft, silky curls, down to her waist. She was the most beautiful child the meister had ever seen. For a few moments she simply stood there, dumbstruck, staring at the little girl who glanced down at the folds of her dress with an absent air.

"Maka? What's the matter?" Kid's voice brought her back from her daze and the blonde shook her head, trying to pull herself together. Maka turned abruptly, eyeing the white skull mask frightened, then drew a deep breath to calm herself, gripping his arm.

"Kid, there's a child in there! It's terrible, how could this happen?" she spoke quickly, almost choking on her own words. "I don't know who brought her, but we must get her out of there, now!"

The young shinigami pushed his mask up and peered from behind the curtain Maka was still holding up, observing the child in turn. "Stay here," he said in an odd voice which got the blonde completely confused. Kid stepped inside the alcove and sat down on the bed next to the little girl, whispering something Maka was unable to hear. The child looked up at him and a light smile crept onto her pale lips. Kid took off his ring and gently held up the girl's tiny hand while continuing to whisper to her, distracting her, and used one of the sharp teeth of the skull to sting the small pad of her thumb. She had no reaction whatsoever. Gently caressing the child's hair, the reaper stood from the bed and returned to the entrance.

"Maka, bring me a cup," he said, his featured strangely hardened all the sudden.

"What?! No!" The blonde was completely confused. "What do you mean?! It must be some mistake, she's only a child! Kid, she's only a child, she did not come here by her own will, she must have been brought here, out of… out of-"

"Out of mercy." He sighed, running a pale hand through his hair. "She's a leper. It's not manifesting yet, but…"

"A… what? What is that?" the other meister cried, unable, no… refusing to process what he was saying.

"Leprosy is an incurable disease. Whoever brought her here only meant to spare-"

But the blonde was already on the verge of hysteria. "No, no! NO! Kid, you can't! She's just a child, you can't!" she cried, tears now trickling freely down her face as she shook her head."Please, she's so little! PLEASE!"

The young shinigami reached out and pulled the blonde tightly into his arms, while she continued to sob and beg. "Maka, listen to me, she will have a horrible death. The nerves in her members are already dead, in a year at most she will begin to rot alive. Whoever brought her here did it because they didn't want her to suffer such a fate. And we can't let her suffer, it's too cruel, she doesn't deserve it," he whispered.

"But…" Maka whimpered, squeezing her eyes shut as tears continued to slide down her cheeks. At last she nodded, pulling away and heading towards the Black Water basin with numb steps. She picked a cup and proceeded to fill it to the brim, glancing absentmindedly at her own eerie reflection in the flickering light of torches.

"Maka, she will feel no pain," Kid said, taking the cup from her almost limp hand. "It tastes like a strong wine, a bit sweet even. And she'll just fall asleep… When it's all over I will take care of her, you mustn't touch anything, the disease is highly contagious. It will not affect me in any way, but you might get sick, even now."

The blonde remained standing outside the stone alcove, now staring in a sort of mesmerized daze as Kid sat down on the bed and pulled the little girl into his lap. She smiled again, a tiny hand reaching out to paw at the tassels of his cloak. It was obvious that she liked him, that she trusted him. Pale fingers gently smoothed down the golden locks as the child obediently brought the cup to her lips and drank. After that, Maka could no longer watch.

She turned around and froze in place, noticing the Older One now standing next to the basin, stern and motionless like an ominous statue, his dark eyes watching her from under the ragged hood. Terror gripped her, knocking the air out of her lungs, as the blonde expected him to shed his human appearance and transform into the hideous creature she'd seen in the Kishins' lair.

"Maka, what-…?"

The blonde flinched hearing her meister's voice and her hand involuntarily sought to grip his arm, but Kid pushed her aside roughly and stepped between her and the Kishins' favorite servant with a menacing air.

"Well, well… young shinigami. It seems you have more backbone than I thought, I was having some doubts about you actually doing it," the one called Key drawled. "But aren't you a bit too protective of your little pet?"

"Is there something you want, mortal?" the reaper spat, the poisonous tone which had terrified the other meister so much before returning in his voice. "Perhaps, to see what happens if you seek a fight with me?"

The head Brother let out a sinister, gurgled laughter. "Fight you? More like… put you back in your place, you've become far too insolent. Maybe allowing you to have your eyes and legs back was not such a good idea… Either way, it seems you'll have to find out what kind of gift my masters have made me."

Saying that, the man threw his arms to the sides, as he began to change, his back curving with a horrid sound of cracking bones as the ragged cloth enveloping his body was discarded. The blonde meister watched in absolute horror as the man before them swiftly turned into a creature resembling a large snake, covered in gleaming black scales. Hissing, it crawled towards them, the forked tongue springing out of its snout to taste the air.

Kid stretched his right arm to the side in a rather lazy move, making an almost inconspicuous calling gesture with his fingers which Maka understood perfectly. She jumped and morphed in mid-air, the enormous blade shooting out and, with a single swift motion of the reaper's hand, sliced through the hideous body, cutting it in half.

"Eww," he said dryly, while his weapon switched back to human form to see what was now left of the Older One. A perfect kishin egg.

"Maka, eat his soul. It will make you a stronger scythe," Kid asked and the blonde eyed the small reddish floating sphere with disgust.

Oh well… Soul said they have no taste, the kishin eggs… Maka told herself, picking it up with care and stuffing it in her mouth. The slimy taste instantly made her stomach turn, but she still forced herself to swallow. Great! Guess he lied about that one… "This was easy, I guess," she observed.

"Yes… much too easy"

To be continued