I like how the first chapter turned out; I had written it in my notebook before publishing it, but then I didn't like some parts of it, so I re-did it. That took almost the entire day because I like to write things on paper before I type them on the computer.

Someone PM'd me, asking how to pronounce Seriah's name. It's 'Sir-I-Uh'. I played around with the letters before settling on that. I knew I wanted it to start with S, but I didn't know the rest. Names aside, I hope you enjoy this next chapter! XD

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Baskets of food covered the red and white squares of the picnic blanket that was spread on the ground. Bread was sticking out of one, and a delicious smell that reminded Seriah of strawberries came from the one next to her. All 11 of them were sitting outside under the blue sky, celebrating the end of the dark-haired girl and her three weapon's first week at Shibusen.

Tsubaki picked up plates from the ground and got up to hand them to each picnicker, giving them a cup as she went. She gave everyone except Black Star a plate; by doing so, she ensured that everyone would be able to get food before he attacked the feast she had prepared. Seriah went straight for the thing that smelled like strawberries; they were her favorite food no matter what context they were in. It turned out to be shortcake, and she was tempted to take the whole thing for herself.

When everyone had food, Black Star got his plate, and proceeded to shovel as much as he could onto it, hiding the pretty flower design under a mountain of food. Everything got mixed up but he didn't care. "It all goes to the same place!" he proclaimed when he saw Maka staring at him in disgust. She shook her head and looked away.

Kid was beside her, and he was using a set of little scales to make sure he got the right amount and weight of French fries. They were arranged in little rows on the sides of his plate, and in the center, making a neat circle, was a ring of ketchup.

Seriah had learned pretty quickly about his thing for symmetry. When Maka was giving her a tour of the school, he had popped up at her elbow suddenly. He was wielding a pair of scissors, and the shinigami had begged for her to let him trim the ribbons in her hair. According to him, one of them was a little longer than the others and there was a loose thread hanging from another. She couldn't refuse him; he looked like he'd go off himself if she didn't agree.

A noise to the left of Seriah startled her out of her memories. Black Star's face was bright red, and he was holding a jug of water upended over his mouth.

"Hot…. Hot… Hot," he panted. She looked down at his plate, and saw a piece of lasagna steaming innocently on it. Tsubaki hovered anxiously around him.

"I told you it was hot…." She said helplessly. Sokun was sitting beside Seriah and he was doubled over laughing. Even though he got along fine with Soul and Kid, he hadn't taken to Black Star with ease. He rarely laughed at anything though, and seeing him like that was a nice change from his normal sullen self.

Kia seemed to be adjusting well though. She loved being around the Thompson sisters, because she'd never really had another girly girl to be around (Seriah didn't really like that sort of thing). Patty shared her tomboy side, but more than that was the shared temper. She and Liz were comparing colors of nail polish, and they seemed to be stuck at whether blue or pink was better.

Ritsune was…. Ritsune. He hung back from everything, and he never spoke, even when asked a direct question. He preferred to nod or shake his head in answer to anything.

Soul was talking to Patty, in one of her rare moments that she acted like a normal person. They were talking about motorcycles, and Patty was going on about spark plugs and how often you should clean them. Seriah scraped her plate with the fork, trying to get the last bit of cake off. Sokun eyed her, and then handed her a napkin.

"Thanks," was her answer, and Kid turned to claim her attention with a question about how to convert units. She got so wrapped up in her conversation that she didn't pay attention to the time. When her phone started to beep, she jumped and almost knocked over a bowl of macaroni salad.

"Oh hell, I completely forgot!" she exclaimed and pulled out her cell. The people sitting at the blanket all stared at her except for her weapons. They knew what was going on. "I have to call my dad now," she explained. "He gets…. worried." She got up and started to walk away from the group.

"Okay, when you get done talking to your daddy, maybe he can get you a pacifier!" Black Star called after her. She was going to turn and kick him, but from the noise he made, it sounded like Sokun had got there first. She turned out of sight and, with a sigh, dialed a number from memory.

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Soul had gone to the stream to wash the juice out of his hair. When Black Star had acted like an idiot to Seriah, Sokun had hurled the closest thing at the assassin, which had happened to be the macaroni salad that Seriah had almost knocked over. This had prompted a loaf of bread to go sailing through the air as a reply and soon Patty had gotten in on it. Soul had left as quickly as he could, but the remains of a juice bottle had still caught his retreating back.

When he contemplating going back to the clearing, the answer he got from his head was a resounding no, so he started to walk back to Shibusen. As he passed the place the picnic had been and turned the bend, he heard a voice. It was Seriah and it sounded like she was talking to herself. But then he remembered why she had left in the first place. He hid behind a tree, and watched her pace back and forth, talking into the speaker of her cell.

"Papa, why do you sound so far away? I sound far away too? I'm pretty sure that the phone isn't broken papa. Is your phone upside down?" She pressed her free hand against her temple, moving it in small circles. "See, I told you it wasn't broken. Anyway, yes I'm having fun. I have an apartment with Kia. No, Ritsune and Sokun live next door. Yes papa. I haven't seen him yet, but I saw Spirit. His daughter is one of my friends. Yes, there are about 7 of them. I know." With that she stopped talking and quit pacing. "Are… you okay? Do you need anything?"

Something about the way she said the word 'anything' made Soul think that she was asking him if he needed something in particular. Seriah listened to the reply in the phone, and made a small noise of relief.

"Okay. I'll be home in 2 weeks for my birthday, so I'll see you then, and I'll talk to you next week. I love you too, and don't forget to clean while I'm gone! Bye," she said and pressed the disconnect button with a sigh.

Soul shifted uncomfortably against a tree. The sun was fighting sleep like it always did, but soon it would get dark. He didn't want to be in the forest when that happened. Seriah was in his direct path the Shibusen, and if he didn't want her to know he had been spying on her, he would have to go around her. Which could lead to him getting lost.

Seriah was leaning against a tree like he was, covering her eyes with one hand while turning her phone off with the other. "Sokun…." She whispered weakly, and like magic, he melted out of the darkness.

"Was he frantic?" he asked and went to stand by his meister.

"Yeah," she nodded. "I can't stand to hear him like that, with the worry in his voice. I just... Wish that for once he'd stop worrying. Part of the reason I'm going home for my birthday is that we're moving again and he wants my help. I hate always moving like this." She turned and Soul, still standing behind his tree, saw tears in her eyes. "I hate leaving people behind…. I hate having to find a new tutor every few months…"

Sokun knelt in front of her, like a knight to his lady. "You still have us. You still have Kia, Ritsune and I. Isn't that enough?"

She shook her head, causing one of the tears to go rolling down her cheek. "I don't know what I'd do without you guys. Why do you stay with me through everything?" Seriah stared down at her boots.

The red-head took one of her hands. "You know why." He said simply. She managed a small smile. "Yeah. I guess I do…" She took her hand back and they started walking back to Shibusen. Soul breathed a sigh of relief.

'But still….' He thought to himself as he retraced their steps. 'What was that all about?'

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Ugh, annoying chapter is annoying. I completely don't like how the conversation with Seriah's dad and then Sokun turned out. I wanted to somehow convey more in it…. But I guess that wasn't possible…. Anyway, thanks for reading, and please, please, please review! XD