1,862 words! Phew! This whole exchange is modified from events from a roleplay some friends and I wrote, so I can't take full credit for the writing here. However it has been modified to fit the story, and I am the administrator of the roleplay. All credit belongs to their respective owners.

Karma swirled the last bit of coffee left in her cup. Glancing at the clock on the wall, she'd been sitting in the booth for nearly ten minutes. Her brother wasn't late. She was just early. Their relationship had been rather strained for the past few years. The reason? Simple: their father. Michael thought of the man as his hero, all thanks to their mother's stories. He was the boy's idol. Karma on the other hand hated the man more than anything in the world. The difference in the siblings' opinion on their father was due to the fact that Michael had been too young to remember their father's departure. He didn't know about the physical and emotional pain both Karma and Maka had suffered. Maka had covered it all up with her stories and Karma had never been able to destroy everything her little brother had believed in...

But no more. She had to tell him the truth about their father. The weapon figured he was old enough to take the news. She just couldn't stand by and watch him believe such a lie for the rest of his life. But how could she possibly tell him? Karma had hoped that meeting at DeathBucks would help her tell him. Getting there early to figure out what to say had been a good idea as well, but she still had nothing.

The tinkling of a bell above the door dragged her out of her thoughts. Michael appeared in the shop's doorway. "Hey, bro!" she yelled out, motioning for him to take a seat across from her in the booth. Taking a deep breath, she hoped that what she had to say would go over at least a little smoothly.

Michael walked over calmly and took the seat opposite her, watching her carefully. It was very strange of her to ask him to meet her anywhere. They lived in the same house for crying out loud! What was so important or life altering that it couldn't be said in the comfort of their own living room where he could sit down with a book and listen to her at the same time?

"How are you?" he greeted. What else could he possibly say?

One word to describe the get together: awkward. Talking with each other had never been easy to either of them. He was the perfect son. She was the moody daughter.

"Not bad. Yourself?" she replied. She waited as a waitress came to the table to take Michael's order, a French Vanilla cappuccino. "So, uh... This isn't actually a 'let's catch up' kind of meeting, Michael. I've actually got something really important to tell you..." How exactly does one word a speech that shatters everything one's baby brother has only ever known? Karma sighed, running a hand through her messy hair. "Well, I guess there's no easy way to say this, huh? Here goes... This meeting's really about -"

"There you go, sir!" the waitress chirped, placing Michael's coffee on the table in front of him. Karma's eye twitched in irritation. It was like Sayuri had just entered the room, the way the waitress spoke.

As she left the two alone, Karma said, "Why is it that waitresses have horrible timing, huh? Every time you're in the middle of an important conversation, they just have to interrupt, you know?" The scythe stared at Michael for a moment then continued before he could respond, "So, what was I talking about again? Oh, right.

"What I wanted to talk about was..." She couldn't do it. No way, no how. They may not have been super close, but she just couldn't be the one to tell him that everything he knew was a lie. "You and Tatsuya had better be prepared for those missions when they come around! I mean, there are some clear across the world! Not exactly a picnic, and your big sis isn't gonna be there to rescue you, comprende?"

"You fail!" her inner self chastised. "You are so not cool!"

Michael leaned back in his seat, attempting to look cool. "You called me out here to tell me how to do my job? I thought this was actually something important, Karma." Even though Karma was older than him, Michael always thought he acted like the older and more responsible of the two. Sure, she could have been genuinely concerned for the well-being of her little brother, or she could be trying to press his buttons. "Don't worry, I'll try not to need you."

"Good, 'cause Sayuri and I can't come saving your sorry ass all the time, got it?" Karma continued. "We've got our own missions to complete. And speaking of Sayuri, how are things going between you two?" She put on her best attempt at a smile, but it only looked like she was baring her sharp teeth at the meister. Everything was not okay, but she had to make him believe that it was. It was her duty as the older sister. At least, that's what she told herself.

Michael spit his coffee back into his cup as Karma implied relations between him and Sayuri. Composing himself, he answered, "Friendly as ever! Why do you ask?"

Karma giggled a little in that cute way of hers that definitely did not fit her as she leaned over the table to ruffle her brother's hair affectionately. "Smooth, Casanova. Real smooth. Can you try not to make it so blatantly obvious you're head over heels for her?" Her thoughts drifted to their mother and what she'd done the other day. Her completely fake smile fell away to a sad expression. "Hey... did you help Mom bake cupcakes the other day...? You know... for his birthday...? She always says it isn't for him, but..." She hadn't helped at all. Seeing her mother upset would have made her angry. And being angry wouldn't help her mother feel better at all. "Or did you at least help her eat any of them? You know how she tries to eat them all. Happens every year..." She leaned back in her seat and stared up at the ceiling. What she wouldn't give to keep her father out of their lives without her mother being miserable for the rest of her life...

Michael sighed. Right. That sad little cupcake day. "Yeah, I helped bake a little. Mom already had quite a few made by the time I got home, but I helped make a few more. I ate a few of them. I think what Mom and I couldn't finish went over to the Star's house," Michael answered. "I can't believe he didn't show up again... Doesn't he know how much we miss him?"

Michael had been under the impression their father had been away on missions all these years. Being a Death Scythe came with a lot more responsibilities, most of them being placed in charge of certain areas of the world for extended periods of time. But certainly he should be allowed to visit his family? Their grandfather was a Death Scythe and was able to stay in Death City to take care of their mother, even if she'd never really wanted him around.

"Hey, isn't it ironic that Grandpa and Dad are both Death Scythes but neither really knew their children?"he thought out loud, wiping his mouth with the napkin the waitress had given him along with his coffee.

The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end as Michael spoke. "At least Grandpa made an effort to try to get to know his daughter," she replied with venom in her voice. "He may not have gone about it the right way, but he at least tried, and that's got to count for something. At least Mom could call him Dad because he was always around and always trying to look after her! At least he never hurt her! At least -!"

She stopped herself. Hadn't she already made up her mind about not telling him quite yet? The scythe sighed, looking into her empty cup. "I need another coffee..." she whispered. She waved down the waitress who returned to the table with a refill for the scythe. "Thanks," she murmured before the waitress walked away. Might as well use manners in front of her brother.

"I don't understand why you hate him so much, Karma..." Michael said. "He's a hero! He and Mom defeated the Kishin! He became the youngest Death Scythe in history! You know, someday I'll be able to wield him just as easily as I do with Tatsuya... I'll be able to wield you when you're a Death Scythe someday, too, Sis."

Karma honestly couldn't picture Michael wielding a scythe. She figured a sword suited him better, and not just because he was partnered with Tatsuya. But her anger slowly rose as he continued talking about their father. "I will be a better Death Scythe than he ever was! That's a promise! And I'll get there sooner than he did, too!" Angrily, she took a swig of her coffee, forgetting that it was still very hot. She fought back the urge to scream every swear word she knew as she felt her mouth burning. Karma bit her lip to keep quiet, eventually making it bleed. Composing herself, the scythe wiped her hand across her mouth to remove the blood. "Ow... Hate to burst your bubble, but I don't think you could handle wielding me. Besides, I've only got one meister. Sayuri's the only meister I'll ever have," she said matter-of-factly. Licking her lip, she could just barely taste a hint of iron despite her burnt tongue. Suddenly, she spotted a tiny splotch of black on her hand where the blood from her lip had been. Doing a double-take, the color returned to its normal red hue. "Weird..." she muttered to herself.

"Well what if Sayuri isn't there to wield you? Then what?" he asked. But deep down, he knew it was pointless to argue. Karma was stubborn that way. He would never get her to even give him a chance to weild her... Unless... "I'll give you my allowance for a whole month if I can't wield you." Michael wagered. He was ready, it was simply just resonating souls with someone else. How hard could it be...? Michael looked at his sister with determination. "Please accept!" he chanted in his head.

Karma smirked, the overhead light glinting off of her sharp teeth. "Let me get this straight..." she whispered in a creepy manner. "I get to humiliate you and take your money? Heh heh, this outta be good. Just remember that this was your idea when you go crying to mom." The scythe stood and placed enough money on the table to cover her bill and a tip. Jerking her thumb in the direction of the door, she said, "Should prolly do this outside. Just in case a miracle happens and you can swing me around. Let's go, little bro." Walking out of Death Bucks, Karma tried to keep it together. "This is just too much," she giggled quietly. "Like taking candy from a baby!"