OK, before we get to the next review, I gotta get this little subplot all wrapped up.

This probably won't take very long, so if you've got a couple of minutes to kill, have a read.

WARNING: This might, might, be out of character for at least one of the two characters featured here. I'm not entirely sure. I don't even know why I'm posting a warning, but I guess it's because I've done that for most of the aside chapters already, and I do love a running gag.

So, away we go.

/

It wasn't all that often that Crona got the chance to properly relax. Not that he didn't want to, but he found it very difficult to find a time or place to actually do so.

It wasn't that he didn't enjoy spending time with Maka. That would be the absolute farthest from the truth. But in between that, the events at the theater, and school, it seemed as though Crona had almost no time to himself, except for when he went home for the day. And as strange as it was for him, he actually found himself wanting at least a few moments alone.

Which was why he had The Tree.

Granted, it wasn't the most original name in the world, but that was simply what it was. A tree in Death City was more than unusual, considering how heavily industrialized it was. The fact that the city was smack in the middle of the Nevada desert made it even more unusual. Yet, somehow, Lord Death had made it so.

The Tree was a part of a rather small park that had been set up for the younger residents of Death City. The basic parts of any playground were there. A jungle gym, a swing set, one of those spinning things Crona could never remember the name of, and a bench here or there. It was because of this that Crona didn't go to The Tree as often as he liked. He didn't want to upset any parents of scared children or anything.

Today, however, the stars had aligned in his favour. It was a rather cool day, yet the sun was still high and there were enough clouds to give the sky a picturesque appeal. There was no one around the park that day, for reasons Crona wasn't all too sure of.

Maka and Soul were on a Death Scythe mission and would be gone for a day or two. He would probably start missing them very quickly (especially since he was staying at their place to keep an eye on Blair), but for the time being, he was almost thankful that he could be alone.

He walked over to The Tree, thankful that the side with shade was facing away from the park. Even though he was alone, he knew someone could show up at any time. He thought that, if he couldn't be seen initially, he might get a few extra minutes before having to leave.

He quietly sat down under The Tree, slouching down slightly to better relax. He then placed his hands on his stomach and looked up.

Thankfully, there was no laughing sun in his sight to distract him from the clouds. The white, fluffy clusters of condensed water that came in all shapes and sizes lazily drifted about the beautiful blue sky, and there were more than enough of them for Crona to watch.

He started pointing out the interesting shapes to himself, but without Maka there to do it with him, it didn't feel the same.

No. he told himself. Don't start missing her yet. You start now and you won't be able to stop. You need this moment, and you know it.

Thankfully, a small breeze came along right then, pulling him out of his thoughts. As the wind gently began to caress the leaves of The Tree, Crona closed his eyes.

If there was one thing he missed about the days when Ragnarok was more powerful, it was being able to fly. He never got the chance to truly enjoy it, but during those brief moments where he was in the sky, he felt free. Like he could just drift about like the clouds and not have to worry about anything. With all his cares and concerns so far beneath him that they weren't even worth noticing.

Then Ragnarok would usually remind him that they had a mission to accomplish and it was back to reality. He would have to worry about whatever it was Medusa told him to do, and those brief moments of serenity felt even shorter.

Yet here, under The Tree, with the sound of the rustling leaves filling his ears, he could at least pretend he was flying.

He was back among the clouds, soaring through the blue sky, the wind filling his wings once again. There was no Medusa to tell him what he had to do. No responsibilities. No worries. No concerns.

Just him drifting along the endless sky…

"So this is where you hang out."

Crona's eyes quickly opened, his head turning to look at the source of the voice. He was surprised, and more than a bit worried, when he saw the now-familiar mess of pink hair.

Kim leaned against the trunk of the tree, flashing Crona a smile.

"'Sup?"

"H-Hi Kim…"

Kim moved off of the trunk and sat beside Crona, slouching slightly to mimic his posture.

"You don't mind if I sit here, do you?"

"N-No…go ahead."

Kim then looked up at the sky, eyes widening slightly.

"Oooh, this is a nice spot…"

Crona gave a slight "mm" in reply.

"I can see why you'd like to hang out here."

"Yeah…not that often, though…"

"Oh?" Kim replied, turning her head to look at Crona. "How come?"

"Not a lot of time to do so…"

"Oh, yeah, I get that. Life getting in the way of life and all that."

"R-Right…" Crona answered, not really understanding what Kim meant.

Silence quickly fell between the two of them as they both stared at the sky. Crona, however, couldn't enjoy himself, as his thoughts refused to let him.

Though Maka had assured him that Kim had no romantic feelings for him, some part of his mind had its doubts. And that part of his mind was telling other parts of his mind and they were starting to agree with that part and sure enough, he was becoming convinced that Kim did, in fact, harbor something of a crush on him.

The fact that she continued to show up wherever he was only further increased his suspicions. He was almost willing to believe that that dream he once had about him thinking Kim was his sister had something to do with it, but that was far too implausible for even him to consider.

Not to mention that would only make things even weirder… Crona thought, trying to not shudder while doing so.

He decided to simply sit there and remain quiet, hoping Kim would eventually get bored and leave. Maybe then she'd decide to leave him alone.

"So…"

Crona turned to look at Kim, who was now sitting up properly, looking at him.

"Can I talk to you about something? …something important?"

…uh-oh. Crona thought.

"U-Um…w-what, exactly?" he asked.

Kim sighed, hugging her knees to her chest, clearly embarrassed about something.

"W-Well…it's kind of…oh geez, this is weird…"

Crona blinked when he noticed a blush coming over Kim's face, which only made him even more worried about what she was going to say.

Don't let this be what I think it is… he thought.

"It's…it's sort of hard to explain…" Kim continued.

Please let it be anything else please please please please…

"See…I've been thinking a lot about you lately…"

Crona's eyes widened, his mind telling his body to start running but being blatantly ignored. Kim remained curled up, not looking at him.

"It's stupid…but I thought about this a bit…"

No no no no no no no no was the only thought running through Crona's mind right then.

"And I figured…well…maybe there was a chance we could be-"

"Wait!"

Kim turned to look at Crona, who was holding both of his hands up, his entire body shaking like a leaf. Only one thought was prominent in his head.

PANIC!

"W-We don't even know each other that well, Kim! We've only started talking recently! And you're with Ox, and there's someone else, and I don't know the first thing about relationships, and I can't deal with breaking people up, and this is all happening so fast, and I don't know what the kids would look like-"

"Whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa!" Kim interrupted, holding up both of her hands as well. "What are you talking about?"

Crona stared at Kim, now completely confused and still more than slightly panicked. The two of them looked at one another for a few moments, before Kim's eyes slowly widened in understanding.

"…wait…do you think I have a crush on you or something, Crona?"

Crona blinked. "…y-you mean you don't?"

"No!" Kim practically shouted. "God no! No! Just…no!"

She shook her head, quickly reorganizing her thoughts. "I-I mean, no offense or anything, Crona-"

"N-None taken…"

"But you're definitely not my type! And I like Ox, and this would just be…"

"R-Really weird…"

"Yeah, exactly!"

She rubbed her forehead for a moment, thinking about what she had started to say.

"…God, was that what it sounded like? A confession?"

"A-A bit…"

"Oh, geez, I'm sorry Crona…"

"I-It's OK…"

Kim sighed, smacking her own forehead. "Knew I should've thought this through…"

Crona breathed a sigh of relief, glad that his suspicions were, for once, not true. However, there was still a matter to solve.

"…so…if that wasn't it, what was it you wanted to tell me?"

Kim sighed, leaning back against the trunk of The Tree.

"Well…I'm not so sure I want to tell you now…"

"Y-You said you were thinking about me a lot…"

Kim flinched. "…I did say that, didn't I?"

Crona nodded. Not something you can just take back…

Kim looked away from Crona, uncurling her legs and stretching them out a bit.

"…I'd have to ask you something pretty personal first…"

Crona frowned, tilting his head. "Personal…?"

"About when you were still with…well, her…"

Crona tensed, not needing Kim to explain who she was talking about. Why would she need to ask about her…?

He took a quick breath, then nodded. "G-Go ahead…"

Kim waited a few seconds, then sighed, her hands fidgeting in her lap.

"Well…when you were with her…did she ever say anything about…siblings?"

Crona stared at Kim, his mind almost unable to comprehend just what was going on.

…is she actually considering…?

"N-No…never…why?"

Kim sighed, shaking her head. "Nothing. It was a stupid thought anyway…"

"N-No…what…?"

Wait, why am I asking…? Crona wondered. It's just a crazy thought…she'll probably go if I just let her…

"Well…" Kim started, running a hand through her hair. "…thing is, I never knew my real parents. I was raised by the coven my entire life. Any one of them could've been my mom. And I figured…well, Medusa was a witch…"

She fidgeted slightly, looking away from Crona.

"So I thought that…maybe…we could be brother and sister…"

The area around them grew immensely quiet, Crona staring at Kim in disbelief. Somehow, the events in the dream he had were starting to come true, in some strange sense.

…this is actually happening. he thought. …how did I dream this up…?

"But it's a stupid thought." Kim continued, turning and flashing Crona a smile. "I mean, all I have to go on is some murky backgrounds and the fact that we have the same hair colour."

She then pointed up at Crona's head. "It's not even the same shade as mine, anyway."

Crona instinctively reached up and patted his own head, not sure of what to say in response.

Kim flashed a forced grin again. "This was just me being dumb, that's all. I mean, I was just fooling myself into thinking I could find out what it'd be like to have family. Pretty stupid, right?"

If Crona had been thinking of something to say right then, it would've been immediately forgotten.

He realized that, in a sense, he and Kim were very similar. The both of them had been isolated in some way, only interacting with a few people in total. Yet while Kim wanted to find some sort of connection to her family, Crona wanted nothing more than to get away from his. He never experienced the sort of love that Kim wanted, and he wasn't sure he wanted it.

He saw Kim turn away, quickly wiping at her eyes. He felt a sudden pang of sorrow, and was surprised that he did.

"Anyway…" Kim muttered, starting to get to her feet. "Sorry to waste your time-"

"W-Wait…"

Kim stopped, surprised at the pleading look on Crona's face. She hovered for a few seconds, but soon obeyed, sitting back down and looking at Crona.

Maka never had to extend the olive branch to Crona, yet she did anyway. They had been enemies at the time, and she still saved him from the loneliness and isolation that he had suffered through for fifteen years. He was terrified to go back to that, hoping against all else that he would never experience that feeling ever again.

It was in this that he realized why Kim's situation bothered him so:

It wasn't fair for anyone else to feel the loneliness he felt.

"Kim…" Crona started, now kneeling in front of her, rubbing his arm nervously. "I don't…I don't know anything…about being a brother…"

I hope I know what I'm getting into… he thought.

"But…I-I could try…i-if you like…"

Kim stared at Crona in shock, hardly believing her ears. Here she was, telling someone she barely knew about some bizarre, desperate fantasy of hers, and he was basically offering to give her what she wanted. He was telling her that he'd be willing to at least pretend to be related to her, in the hopes she could know what it was like to have some sort of family.

She watched him for a few moments, his head lowered, almost waiting for an answer from her. When she spoke, her voice kept wavering.

"Crona…that's really sweet of you…" she started. "But I can't ask you to do something like that. Like you said, we hardly know each other…and besides, you shouldn't have to indulge some weird desire of mine. I mean, it's more likely that there's something wrong with me for…for wanting that…"

"I don't think there's anything wrong…"

Kim blinked. "You…you don't?"

Crona shook his head. "No…it just means you're lonely…"

Kim stared at him for a few more seconds, before looking away again. She gave a small sniffle, gently rubbing at her eyes.

"Kim…?"

"I guess…I guess I am a little lonely…" Kim explained. "I mean…I've got Jackie…I've got Ox…but it's just not quite the same, you know? Jackie's my best friend, and Ox is my boyfriend…I couldn't imagine either of them like a sibling."

She looked back at Crona, moving so that she was kneeling in front of him. "I guess I figured that because we don't know each other that well, that I could somehow make myself look at you that way…but, really, I could've used anyone and it would've been the same…"

Crona forced a weak smile onto his face. "I-It's OK…I would've been a bad brother anyway…"

Kim blinked in surprise. "What makes you say that?"

"I wouldn't know how to deal with having a sister, is all…"

"…well…what can you deal with?"

Seeing this as the perfect opportunity, Crona took a breath, then slowly raised his hand, holding it out to Kim.

"…being your friend." he answered, looking directly at Kim. "I can deal with that."

Kim looked back at Crona, before looking down at his hand. She looked back up at him, then gave a small smile, reaching with her own hand and shaking his.

"I'd like that."

Crona smiled back, only to be surprised when Kim suddenly leaned closer and wrapped her arms around him, squeezing him tight.

He paused for a few moments, before doing the same to her, gently patting her back while holding her.

…is this how Maka felt when she became my friend? Crona wondered. It feels…nice…

It was a strange sort of warmth that he got from hugging his newest friend. It wasn't the same that he got from Maka. He felt like he had accomplished something. Like he had made a difference in someone else's life. And it felt wonderful.

…I wonder if she'll be proud of me when I tell her about this…

And just like that, the slight pangs of longing for the girl he cared about more than anything started happening.

The two of them soon separated, Kim wearing a bright, happy smile on her face. Said smile quickly turned to a cheekier one, much to Crona's surprise.

"So…" she started, poking Crona's shoulder. "Now that we're friends…care to tell me who this "someone else" is?"

Crona blushed brightly, quickly looking away. "I-I-I don't know what you're talking about…"

"I distinctly heard you say "there's someone else"."

"I-I was just making excuses…"

"Suuuuuuuure you were. I bet I can guess who it iiiiiiis…"

"B-Bet you can't…"

"Oh, really? And just who were you visiting when you skipped class a few days ago?"

"H-How did you hear about that?"

"I always keep an ear to the ground when it comes to a good story, Crona. Besides, you practically had a panic attack when you ran into me that day."

"…am I…really that obvious about it?"

"Do you really want me to answer that?"

/

Yeah, I just couldn't leave this alone. Once an idea gets into my head, it just refuses to budge.

Review coming soon.