(Author's Note: Just a reminder, reviews mean soo much to me! You know that creepy otaku smile you get when you're watching your favorite anime on your computer and something goes fantastically right? That's me EVERY TIME I see a review. It's a little awkward, now that I think about it... Anyways! This ends on a little bit of a cliffhanger. For those of you who're curious about the mirrors... hehe, soon enough, my ducklings...)

Chapter Six: Tiny Kishin, Big Problem

We got a ride to the airport via the DWMAA's complimentary chauffeur service – a genius idea considering most students weren't old enough to get their licenses yet. Black*Star was psyching himself up the entire ride, going on and on about how a big star like him would smash the little kishin within seconds.

With my help, of course.

The plane took off and, within minutes, my big-shot meister had fallen asleep. Black*Star snored on my shoulder the entire time, drooling slightly. Though I was still angry, I couldn't exactly push him off of me. Heartless was one thing I wasn't – anymore. The Kai Blair I was now was caring, and kind, had a heart… but also a bit of a temper. Sue me.

"Flight 042 ready for landing in Tallahassee, Florida. Please sit in your seats and buckle your seats belts. Estimate arrival time is ten minutes."

I nudged my meister slightly, watching a rather fat droplet of spittle as it was dragged back in and out of his mouth with his breath. "Black*Star, we're nearly there. You have to wake up!"

No response.

I tried a different tactic: poking him slightly in the ribs. All this got me was the sucking in of said droplet of slobber and a content sigh. Face-palming, I gave up on trying to wake him. I knew him well enough to know that it would take a bomb to wake him up before he was ready. Softly, I reached around his waist and snagged a part of the seat belt, wiggling a little bit so that I could grasp the other end in my other hand. After the assassin was buckled in, safe and snug, I settled back into my own chair to relax for the last few minutes of the flight. Flying had always been a fun thing for me and I had gotten to do it more often than ever before when I joined the DWMAA. It was one of the many things I loved about my job.

Black*Star shivered and curled up into the fetal position – a feat that I was unsure quite how he'd accomplished, with being buckled in and all. Closer into my side he burrowed, appearing more a cold child than an over-confidant, arrogant, obnoxious jackass. He groaned a little in his sleep, shivering again, and I figured he must be a little too chilly. It was a little pointless to call for a blanket, and taking off my jacket would jostle him too much, so I settled on turning on the warm air so he could soak in a little warmth.

Looking up to adjust the heat settings, I caught the eyes of an older couple watching us. They were both smiling sweetly, eyeing the two of us as if we were a fond memory. There was a twinkle in the lady's eyes as she her smile warmed tenfold, seeing me returning her gaze. Nodding towards us politely, she turned to the older man and they began whispering, chuckling to each other. Even though I thought it was peculiar, I returned to my current mission and fiddled with the dial, turning it so that it would blow a little warm air on my sleeping meister. I rationalized this with myself: he was cold, cold could lead to hypothermia or pneumonia, and a meister with less than ten fingers and ten toes or full use of his less-than-godly lungs couldn't wield a weapon! Perfect sense, of course.

"Excuse me, miss?"

Turning my head, my gray eyes once again met those of the elder couple. Again, the both smiled at us tenderly, their irises filled with understanding. What exactly they understood, I didn't know, but it was nice to see the elderly so sure of themselves. You hear a lot about them being old and infirm, it's rather age-ist.

"My husband and I couldn't help but say something," the lady smiled softly, "You two remind us so much of ourselves when we were young and in love, but mistakes of the past teach us things." She now grew serious, looking me in the eye: "Please tell me you two aren't eloping."

My face flushed hotly, my throat clogged with shock as I quickly began shaking my head and trying to explain – but no words came out. I was left, my head jerking back and forth quickly, my mouth going open and close like a fish trying to breathe.

"He and I aren't- We're not- There's no-", I began, my sentences crashing into each other like mini freight trains, halting and twisting themselves. To make matters worse, Black*Star chose this moment to stretch his arm around me – still asleep – and nuzzle my neck. Already beet red, I couldn't blush anymore, and I silently prayed for Lord Death to give me a quick and merciful death. Anything would be better than this situation.

Finally, after a deep breath, I got the words out: "We're not together. He's just a friend who I'm taking with me so I don't have to spend time with my…" I paused, attempting to find a good excuse, "My little brother alone."

Apologetically, the old couple nodded. We all spoke together for a few moments, laughing as the plane hit a small patch of turbulence, then bid each other adieu as the plane touched the ground. I was beyond glad that we'd finally reached our destination, but I still had the small problem of the sleeping boy next to me. Nudging him hadn't worked, and I didn't feel like being too mean, so I just sat there for an idiot for a few moments while staring at the top of his head. How could someone so obnoxious be such a heavy sleeper? And how is it that he actually smelled decent – not of sweat or B.O. at least – even though he was clueless when it came to doing laundry? Perhaps I would never know, but it gave me things to think about when I was idle.

"Black*Star…" I shook my shoulder a bit, jostling his head slightly. "We're in Florida. There's a kishin waiting."

He groaned slightly and his eyebrows pulled together, "I don't wanna wake up yet…"

Sighing, I frowned and glanced around. The plane was all but empty, and the flight attendant had spotted us and was making her way down the aisle. It was a time for a lack of mercy, no matter how much I wanted to give it. I unbuckled my seatbelt and, rather suddenly, removed myself out from under Black*Star's head smoothly and jumped into the aisle. The assassin's head fell quickly onto the armrest with a painful crack that made me wince. I felt instantly horrible when Black*Star shot awake, his eyes filling slightly in a natural instinct to pain. Apologetically, I pointed towards the surrounding emptiness. He got the clue, sighing and unbuckling his seat, staring at the buckle with a confused expression before standing and reaching into the cubby where our carry-on bags were stashed.

"I tried to wake you up," taking my bag, I attempted to explain my use of unnecessary rudeness. "None of the usual would work so I had to improvise."

Black*Star shrugged, acting as if it was no big deal. "When you're the guy who's going to surpass god, a little knock to the head doesn't feel like much!"

Gone was the innocent guy who'd been drooling on my shoulder, returned was the overconfident bastard who talked himself up every few moments. For a brief moment I considered knocking him out again, but I decided it would be unwise with all the security guards around. They probably wouldn't take too kindly if a sixteen-year old girl suddenly turned her arm into a sword and smacked some guy upside the head – not to mention all the 'rules of the universe' that the simple humans had set up for themselves. Breaking their barriers would be like exposing a virgin to the teachings of a prostitute… everyone would be fucked.

"You don't move all that fast, do you?" Black*Star scoffed as I exited the plane. The Florida air had hit me like a tidal wave, literally. It was so thick with water that I literally felt like I was drowning.

"I move plenty fast," I wheezed back, glaring, "But it's not my job to move fast anyways, it's yours. It's my job to make sure you don't get killed."

Sending me an eye roll, Black*Star turned away and began for the exit, "A big star like me doesn't die over just anything. You have it easy."

Stopping, I stared at him with narrow eyes. "You think I have it easy?"

Black*Star turned to face me, raising an eyebrow as if the very idea of depending on someone else to keep him on his feet was inconceivable. "How hard could being a weapon really be? Hell, I bet I would make a great weapon, even better than you considering what a big guy I am."

My temper rose dramatically, steaming practically coming out of my ears. Again we both opposed each other as silent forces, each staring the other down while mentally daring the other to avert their gaze first. Invisible to the naked eye, our souls swelled and clashed, causing our wavelengths to spark together.

"Oh yeah?" I growled, "What kind of weapon would you be? A megaphone?"

The look of shock on Black*Star's face was priceless as he considered my question. Confusion passed through his eyes as he stared at me, not quite seeing me, before suddenly his mouth split open wide. Fearful that he was going to begin shouting, my stomach quaked with nerves as I glanced around. Already we were getting strange looks from passerby, but if the blue-haired ninja began shouting we would have a very different problem on our hands.

Much to my surprise, however, he started laughing. What could only be described as cackling ripped through his abdomen, out his mouth in a full-body display of his merriment that I was, admittedly, a bit worried about. Had he finally completely lost his marbles? Had I driven him insane with my sheer intelligence?

Unlikely, I know, but it could happen.

"Black*Star?" I questioned quietly, "Are you sane?"

Clutching his gut, he took more than a few moments to respond, wiping away the tears in his eyes and straightening up as the last of his giggles subsided. He took a deep breath and steadied himself, finally looking back at me to answer my question. "You'd be surprised by how sane I am. It's just," he grinned, coming towards me and wrapping an affectionate arm around my shoulder, "You really remind me of Maka."

I stopped, my anger dissipating. Staring at him, stunned, I let my meister lead me out of the airport as I walked in a daze. Being compared to one of the best living meisters of our time was a strange thing, yet flattering. There was a part of me that liked to point out that he probably meant my personality reminded him of her, but still. My heart swelled a little bit, my chest puffed out in a show of pride.

Before I knew it, we had gotten a cab and driven to our destination, a small hamlet several hours away. A chill ran through me as I looked through the windows as we drove to the inn we had told the cab driver to drop us off. It was a silent, dusty town. There was a waterway up against the rear of one side of Main Street, and an alligator's eyes watched as we passed. It wasn't the only thing that was watching, I knew. Like a sixth sense, I could distinctly feel the eyes of the kishin watching, assessing us. I clenched my fist on my lap, attempting to keep all that was visible of me through the window calm and relaxed.

"Do you feel it?" I mumbled to Black*Star under my breath, "He's close by."

He grunted and his foot started tapping against the floor rapidly – the only show of his excitement. Despite his boisterous attitude, he was becoming better at being stealthy. At least he didn't go around yelling out his rules all the time like when he'd first arrived. I didn't know how Tsubaki had dealt with him shouting all the time during a fight. It would have driven me half insane!

"Here we are kids," the cab stopped at an old, rundown building. The driver turned towards us, glancing at me and then fixing Black*Star with a stern gaze. "You two keep out of trouble, y'hear? And keep this little lady safe, boy."

Black*Star's only answer was to smirk and nod, ignoring my scoff. Getting out was a quick process, and we waved as he drove away. Our bags by our feet, we turned to our accommodations and I frowned. It was a dismal little town, and the inn was even worse than the rest of it. Broken shutters, cracked porch, chipped-away paint; a door that looked as if it was one termite away from completely falling apart. This, accompanied by the constant buzz of mosquitoes and the lack of several windows, didn't fill me with any good feelings.

"This place is really gone to hell," Black*Star remarked, throwing his bag over his shoulder and grabbing mine with his other hand.

"Ay," I agreed, glancing around.

I could still feel it nearby, making my skin crawl with the wrongness of its soul.

The interior of the inn was no better. It smelled of mold and old fried food. There was a squelching noise that accompanied each step that released a foul odor. My nose wanted to climb off my face and walk away as fast as it could. The only thing that kept me there was the steady hand of the assassin on my shoulder, though I wasn't sure if he was doing so to keep me there, or him.

Standing next to the desk, peering through a door that led to the back room, I tapped on the old-fashioned bell that sat on the decomposing wood. Unlike everything else, the bell was polished and clean, letting out a high trill and settling back to its resting point.

"Hello?"

I jumped, startled, and turned quickly to face the voice. It was an older lady, her wispy white hair, fluffy like cotton candy, drifting around her head. She carried with her a basket of vegetables under her arm and several dead birds clutched in the other hand – by the neck. My stomach turned at the sight of the animal's blood on her hands, a flash of memory going through my mind before I shoved it back into the box that I had kept it locked into for so long. Instead I turned my eyes to her face, scrutinizing the wrinkles that surrounded the small puckered mouth and large blue eyes. She studied me in return: my long wavy blood-red hair, the gray eyes that seemed cold as stone, and the alabaster skin. If she looked close enough she just might see the silvery scars that spider webbed across my abdomen, and the stark black dandelion and bird tattoo that sat on my right hip, hidden by my black vest. It occurred to me that, out of us two partners, Black*Star could possibly be least suspicious-looking.

I mean, who exactly wears a black scarf wrapped around her neck in Florida?

"We're here for rooms," I pitched my voice into soft, low tones that I usually saved for small children and frightened animals, "Are there any available?"

Her suspicious eyes squinted at me again, "How many nights?"

Black*Star and I traded a look, "One night, please."

"We ain't got no rooms," She grunted after a moment of consideration. "I got a couch y'all can fight over, and a floor that's none too clean, but it'll do if y'er desperate."

As we had already planned on being here, and there weren't many options. Plus, night was falling quickly, and I disliked kishin hunting without having somewhere to run to in a pinch.

After she cleaned out our pockets, she sat us down in a back room that was furnished with a questionably stained couch, a T.V. that looked as if it belonged to a whole different time period, and a single table with enough coffee cup rings for me to wonder if it hadn't been attacked by an octopus. There were two windows large enough to fit a person through that I pinned as our entry and exit points while Black*Star followed our innkeeper to get blankets. I poked the couch and, finding it somewhat dry, decided to chance sitting on it.

The sun was setting slowly. When Black*Star returned with an armful of blankets, he pushed me towards the couch and told me to rest, saying he'd wake me up when it was dark. It took a bit of convincing, but eventually my meister had me tucked under the blankets, so enveloped I felt like the filling of a burrito. He nearly sat on me to keep me there but I forced him off, saying there was no way I was sleeping if his fat ass was on top of me the entire time. I rolled to face the back of the couch, trying my best not to breathe through my nose so as to avoid the toxic fumes. A restlessness had settled into my bones, causing my entire self to tremble. I felt this way whenever I was about to face a kishin – whether I was actually worried about facing it or not. The anticipation itself was enough to make me want to do a few hundred laps around the town.

Finally I gave up on trying to sleep and sat up, glaring at the half-sun that was peering over the hill. How inconsiderate of it to continue to stay up after I had been lying here for what felt like hours! Black*Star laughed a bit when I sat up, frustrated. I couldn't help but glower at him from under the blankets. Much like the alligator in the water, but when I surfaced I sighed and shrugged my shoulders. No time had passed since he had attempted to force me to sleep but it didn't matter – the pre-fight jitters were beginning to infect the both of us. Black*Star's eyes were lit brighter than normal. He couldn't seem to sit still.

"Come on, I can't wait anymore!" I growled, kneeling by Black*Star. "Can we go off him yet?"

The blue-haired boy suddenly sprang to action, jumping to his feet, yelling out his trademark 'Yahoo!' before grabbing my hand. My body transformed at his touch, glowing and shifting its shape until I was harder than iron. His hands gripped my handle steadily, showing no hesitation. We leapt out the window, Black*Star hitting the ground and using his momentum to push off and bound into the swamp. I focused on our souls: fine-tuning my wavelength to fit his like a worn t-shirt. Pleasurable shudders ran through my blade as our wavelengths connected, feeling like two good friends once again converging.

Forest passing in a blur, I turned my mind to my own job: sensing the location of the kishin. Though I had never been able to see souls, I had been extremely adept at sensing their presence. Black*Star used this to his advantage, leaving me to find our destination while he traipsed about, breaking every branch in the forest. I directed him silently, giving him tugs to direct him.

Already we were a well-oiled machine, working together. This was true resonance: being one of soul and body, each controlling our separate selves yet delving so deeply into the other that it felt as if I had two sets of eyes. We took in air together, jumped together, sliced through obstacles like they were butter. In my astral form, I kept my eyes locked ahead, feeling out for the kishin.

Then, as soon as we neared it, I felt its soul swell.

"Black*Star!" I warned, urging the assassin to slow down, "Something's changed!"

"Don't worry, Kai!" He gave me a reassuring squeeze, only slightly slowing his pace as he felt my cautiousness flow through our link, "A big star like me isn't going to lose to a little guy like him!"

A growl shuddered through our surroundings, sounding much larger than a little dwarf. It was then I could distinctly sense no one, but two kishin, and the realization ran through me along with adrenaline: we were going to have much more trouble with this mission than we thought. When we came to a clearing they were there, waiting for us, the smaller one monkey-like and small while the large one was a grotesque graphing of several animals. The head of an alligator with a gaping mouth, attached to a body of a heron. The whole thing had a snake for a tail, one of the many poisonous vipers that whispered through the undergrowth.

"Black*Star, I-"

"Yahoo!"

I felt the wind whistle along my surface. "Shit…"