Stein woke first, his hand tangled in Spirit's hair and his cheek leaning against the man's head. For a brief moment he forgot what had happened the night before, and the red splashed over his hand looked like blood. He jerked back suddenly, feeling the stickiness on his chest and nearly fell off the bed before memory kicked in.

Somehow, amazingly, Spirit slept through his thrashing. Stein slipped off the bed, padding silently into the bathroom to start the water running. He turned it all the way to hot, the steam filling the room as he shivered suddenly. Spirit's body heat had apparently been the only thing keeping his naked body warm underneath the thin blanket he had pulled up over the two of them before they had both fallen asleep.

He was soaping up when he sensed Spirit's wavelength suddenly shift, and realized that the man was coming awake. A moment later there was a pounding on the door that Stein had remembered to lock for the first time in years; he hadn't even locked it when Marie was alive and living with him.

"Damnit, Stein! Tell me there's another bathroom- preferably one with a shower!" Spirit's voice was loud enough to be heard even over the spray of water and Stein just smirked, not answering. The door knob rattled and he heard Spirit stalk off and away from the room.

'How could he have lived here while we were partners and not remember where the bathrooms are?' Stein wondered as he reached outside the shower to light a cigarette before letting the water rinse the soap off his body as he smoked. He stepped out of the shower a while later and dried off, leaving the towel pooled on the floor.

He stepped out, nude, into his bedroom and stopped when he saw Spirit on the bed. The blankets were pulled up over the man's head, and Stein could tell he was asleep again. Stein stared for a long moment at Spirit's soul, a smirk stretching across his face as he realized that the icy prison was completely gone now. He twisted the screw in his head before yawning and stretching. They had gone through a rough week or so, surely they could indulge in some extra sleep.

He slipped into the bed beside Spirit, the other man's hair wet and tousled. Apparently he had found a bathroom and showered in less time than it had taken Stein. Damp arms wrapped around dry skin and he pulled the death scythe back against him, the man murmuring slightly in his sleep before they drifted back to sleep.

"Witch Auril, Shinigami-sama will see you." Auril's eyes flicked up as the door to hers cell opened, even though her eyes were missing. She couldn't see the person that was standing there, but she could tell that it was someone new, yet again.

She stood without complaint, though she couldn't have voiced one if even if she had wanted to. The gag covered her mouth completely and kept her from speaking at the same time her arms were tightly bound to her sides. The gag also did an adequate job of hiding the smirk that was growing on her face. They were taking her directly to Shinigami-sama himself.

She grinned as she walked behind them, her mind racing. The IA agent speaking jerked her back to the world though, and she forced herself to listen.

"Shinigami-sama is willing to see you, Witch, but know that it is not a simple social call. He is going to be deciding your fate." The man's words held malice and hatred, and Auril just grinned wider behind the gag that covered most of her lower face.

Her eyes, had she still had them, would have been twinkling.

She stumbled as they stepped into the Death Room. Someone grabbed her arm roughly and hauled her backwards, forcing her to stand upright while still propelling her forward.

A dark voice rang out, "Witch Auril, you have committed crimes against Shibusen. You have killed and injured members of this Academy. Remove her gag. What do you have to say for yourself?"

A grin stretched Auril's lips as they removed the gag, her voice a hoarse whisper, "Hlysnan, Yuki-Onne ástandan léas Auril."

Shinigami-sama's hand slammed into the witch, knocking her to her feet and causing her to skid across the floor. A moment later he was at her side, and the look on his mask made the IA agents slip back and away from the pair.

"That spell was your last, witch," he growled out.

"It was all I needed," she whispered out, a smile on her lips.

A moment later her glowing soul was floating in front of a pissed off reaper, the Internal Affairs agents standing nervously a dozen feet away. They watched as the reaper grabbed the soul and with a twist of his oversized hands, shredded it. The tattered remains drifted to the ground as he growled into his mask.

"Find out who Yuki-Onne is."

The Internal Affairs agents just nodded, wondering how they would pinpoint one person in such a large world.

Miles away where it was still night, a white haired, clear blue eyed woman woke from her sleep. A chill rushed through her pale, fragile body as she stood. A moment later she smashed every mirror in her home, Auril's words echoing through her head.

"Listen, Yuki-Onne continue without Auril."

The pale woman slipped on her white kimono, her hair pulled up into an elaborate bun. Her goddess may be dead, but she was tasked with continuing the task they had started. It was her last act for the woman who had spared her life. No emotion showed on her face as she looked in at the two young children in her care, though her hand trembled as she shut the door and left.

Spirit woke alone later that day. Stein had gotten up before he had or never came back to bed, but Spirit didn't immediately get up. He just shrugged deeper into the blankets, trying to ignore the rumbling in his stomach that was demanding food and the coiling lower down that was demanding that he release his bladder.

Finally with a sigh he staggered out of bed, yawning. He slipped into the bathroom and then got dressed, and wandered down to the kitchen. He found coffee already waiting and gratefully poured himself a cup. He almost spit it out when he realized that he didn't know how old it was or if Stein had added any little extras in it.

The thought sent him back to the bathroom where he checked himself for new scars. Stein chuckled from his lab as he felt the spikes in Spirit's wavelength.

A few minutes later found Spirit walking back into the lab, this time heading into the research section that Stein could normally be found in. He wasn't disappointed. The scientist sat at his computer, his legs crossed and a beaker of coffee slowly cooling beside him. He was engrossed in whatever he was reading and Spirit walked up behind him to look over his shoulder.

The file that was open was on the witch that they had captured. She was of the winter variety, one of the few witches that didn't have a patron animal, but rather revolved around an element. It was also noted that she had a bit of a following in Japan, among people that still clung to the old gods.

"It's interesting that they worship her, given that she isn't of the Japanese pantheon of gods." Stein said suddenly, looking over his shoulder at Spirit.

"They actually worshipped her?"

"Apparently she has a stable following. Even a few weaker witches seem to be referring to her as a goddess and following her." Stein turned back to his reading and Spirit stood for a while, reading over his shoulder.

Eventually Spirit's stomach rumbled again, reminding the death scythe of how hungry he was.

"Come on, Stein. Let's go get food, and then we'll check in with Shinigami-sama."

Stein nodded, pushing away from the computer. "You're right. Shinigami-sama may have more information on her for us, anyway. We need to make sure that she didn't have any failsafes for her capture."

The pair walked out into the light, neither of them noticing the sudden chill in the air.

A/N: I don't own Soul Eater. Feel free to rant about anything you want.