A/N: Music I listened too:

#1: Still Frame- Trapt

#2: Disturbia- Rihanna

#3: You're Going Down- Sick Puppies

#4: Comatose- Skillet

#5: Mirror- Lil Wayne ft. Bruno Mars

#6: For You- Staind

#7: Call Me When You're Sober- Evanescence

#8: On My Own- Three Days Grace

"S-Star Clan?" Maka stuttered and hated it; she was trained for this type of situation, she wasn't supposed to stutter, yet she did… what was it about these two guys that made her nervous? Was it the tough look that they shared? Or maybe it was the warm smiles that she had never been able to get used to…

She had to remind herself that the Star Clan was known for their murders. They killed for money, for power… She could already imagine how dark their souls could be, a deep red and black color emitting from them.

Jared opened up his mouth but he didn't get the chance to talk because smoke was blown in his face from Pops. He sighed and sat back , pushing down his sleeve so that it covered his tattoo and letting his hands rest behind his head as if he were relaxing, but Maka knew better.

Jared was on edge, she could tell by the way his jaw clenched and unclenched with every passing second. "Fine you want to explain this to her?" he grumbled.

"I'd do it with pleasure." Pops said smirking as he took another drag of his cigarette and blew the smoke in the air, earning a small cough from Maka. "Now, the Star Clan is a clan of pride, one in which family always come first. We don't take betrayal to kindly around here… just so you know." Pops said sending Maka some sort of warning with his eyes.

"I'm the leader of the Clan-" he started but smirked when Maka raised her hand, her eyes full of wonder and shock. "What is it that's bothering you child?" he asked, the smirk never leaving his face.

"Um… sorry, but… I thought the DWMA had killed off the Star Clan." She mumbled trying not to set him off, she kept Black*Star a secret though, if they knew he was alive or not was not her problem… and she wasn't about to drag her child hood friend into this.

Pops blinked at her as he took a hold of his cigarette in between two fingers and then let out a booming laugh that made Maka flinch as it echoed across the four walls of the room and bounced back at them, but it didn't seem to effect Jared, he just sat there waiting to jump in when he had to.

"We are gods! They cannot kill us off! No one can!" he said as his dies began to die down. "They may have taken down my brother's part of the clan, but they didn't even know my part of the clan existed. We keep a low profile… and we aren't as evil as my brother's clan. They did everything for money and power… we do it to protect the pride of our family and our friends. Whoever messes with us is going down… sadly, a lot of people seem to be interested in seeing us in pain…" he trailed off shaking his head in disappointment. "Maybe I'll give you a mission one of these days." Pops said with a genuine smile.

"If she agrees in being part of the clan." Jared said through clenched teeth.

Pops sighed and rolled his eyes. "Why do you have to be such a bum on a log? You used to be so much fun!" he mumbled as he put the cigarette back to his mouth and took a long drag before puffing the smoke in his son's direction again.

"That was unnecessary." He grumbled swatting his hand at the smoke. "I used to be, until you suggested on putting Kami's daughter into the clan." Jared mumbled and looked at Maka. "Maka, you have to be warned, once you are in… you're in for good. If you ever betray us, you have to die, although it hurts us it has to happen. Maka… think about this, you don't have to join as long as you keep this a secret…" Jared started to list off warnings but Maka wasn't paying all that much attention…

She needed something to distract her from the pain of her heart… she was never much of a writer, she sucked at drawing, the only sport she was good at was fighting… if that even was a sport…

Scratching the back of her neck, she seemed to take this opportunity as some sort of calling. "I'm in." she said before she could think about any longer.

Jared froze. "Think about this Maka." He said his hands clenching. "Don't rush into things Maka." He kept warning her.

Pops smirked as he dropped the cigarette in the ash bowl that was on Jared's desk. "Jared, it's her life, not yours. She could do whatever she wants with it. Isn't that right Maka?" Pops asked a smile on his face as he reached over to ruffle her hair.

Maka nodded, but there were butterflies in her stomach… was this really a good choice?

Jared sighed. "Fine then. We'll go get your tattoo tomorrow. Normally you'd be born with it but since you aren't actually a member of the family, we'll have to draw it on you." He mumbled shaking his head.

"Maka… please, back out of this." He pleaded. "There's a reason that I haven't told your mother about this." He said.

"Jared, shut it. Let the girl have her fun. Come on, let's go enjoy the party." Pops said placing a hand on Maka's shoulder as he stood up and offered to help her up too but Maka was looking at Jared.

"Why haven't you told my mother about this?' she asked him refusing to stand up at the moment.

"Your mother would have never gotten together with me if she knew the risks that came along with me… if I ever messed up and the clan ended up suffering for my mistakes… my head will roll… and so will my family's…" he whispered looking into her eyes. "I do not want that to be your future Maka. I want you to grow up, find a boy you like, get married have a family… a happily ever after Maka… this isn't a onetime thing, once you're in… you're in." he whispered.

Maka frowned shaking her head. "Oh Jared… I'm not a little girl anymore; I already know happy endings don't exist, never have and never will… I've never had a real family, what with Mama and Papa always fighting, my friends are miles away, the only way I could communicate with them is by sending them letters or calling them… I have nothing to lose Jared. I'm saying it one last time… I'm in." Maka insisted, she didn't know if it was her stubbornness that insisted she had to be in the clan or the fact that there was the possibility that she could finally have an actual family.

"That's my granddaughter!" Pops exclaimed pulling Maka up to her good foot and hugging her to him.

Maka's heart swelled, she felt as if she had found her place in the world, she felt as if she was needed… she felt loved. She finally has found herself the family that she had always wanted since she was little.

Maka hugged Pops back, but not before seeing the look of shock that Jared had spelled out in his face… this girl in front of him had no faith in herself… she actually thought she had nothing to lose… she was wrong, she could lose the friends that she had back at Death City, her father… Kami will be gone too, he wasn't so sure about Jason… or himself. Worst case scenario, he would be forced to take her life.

"Come on; let's go introduce you to the rest of the family." Pops said pulling Maka towards the door.

"Pa…" Jared called out.

Pops turned back to look at him. "Yeah?"

"I'll only agree to this if you let me be her partner." Jared said.

Pop's blinked and turned all of his attention to him, his jaw slacking. "You out of all people want to be her partner? What ever happened to working alone?" he asked.

"I'm her step-father Pa, I don't want to see her hurt." Jared growled and then his glare softened when he looked at Maka. "You know how to handle a scythe right?" he asked her.

"What kind of question is that?" she asked him.

Jared smirked. "Throw something at me." He said.

Maka shrugged and readjusted her crutch, limping her way to the other side of the room where she grabbed a hold of a vase. "This good?" she asked him.

He nodded.

Maka tested the weight of it, it wasn't too heavy but it'll do. Pulling her good arm back, she swung it forward the vase flying in his direction with force.

There was a blinding glow in the room and then silence.

Maka blinked and saw that a blade had cut the vase into two before it hit his face and as soon as the blade appeared it disappeared.

"Nice reflexes." She mumbled. The guy was a scythe, great just great. This was how she was supposed to forget about Soul?

"Jared, are you sure? One thing is to be there for her at her practices, this is a whole other thing entirely." Pops said.

"I'm positive." He said.

"Well, Maka, seems like you have a partner." Pops said. "Well, it seems like you two need to talk, I'll be outside if you need me." Pops said leaving and closing the door gently behind him.

"You're going to regret joining us one day Maka. I warned you." Jared said, scolding at her.

"I've been through enough Jared. I need a distraction and this seems to be the only thing I'm good at." She mumbled as she hobbled over to her seat and sat down.

"I've been meaning to ask you." He said getting her attention.

"Hm?" she asked him.

"What happened to your cheek?" he asked her.

Maka flinched. "I'd rather not talk about it." She mumbled looking down at her feet, her good hand clutching at her clutch.

"Maka, you do realize that you're part of the family now… whoever did that to you is going to pay, whether you want them to pay or not." Jared said sitting down in his chair.

"To tell you the truth… I don't really remember exactly how I got this scar." She mumbled her hand going up to graze it and Soul's face appeared behind her eye lids as she closed her eyes. The look of pain and shock, betrayal and anger… sadness that he had when she yelled at him, telling him that she no longer wanted him… it had all been a lie… she had to hurt him.

Tears escaped Maka's eyes as she bit down on her lips to keep a sob back, but she failed.

"Maka… you could talk to me." He whispered, his hand reaching across the desk to grab onto hers.

Maka looked up at him, more tears pouring out of her as she told him everything, she told him about Soul, and she told him about her friends, about the DWMA, about Blair's threats.

Jared sat there and listened to her, nodding when he needed to nod and shaking his head when he was meant to.

"Maka." He whispered when she was finished, but she didn't look up. "Maka, look at me." He said.

Maka wiped away the tears that appeared and looked up at him, her eyes red from her crying.

"Maka… when you tell us that you're ready, we'll go to Death city and take care of that little problem of yours… but for now, let's forget about the problems of our lives and introduce you to the rest of our friends and family." He said a small smile on his face as he walked around his desk, and went to open the door for her.

Maka smiled a small smile and wobbled out of his office. "Welcome to the family." He whispered as she passed him.

She smiled up at him, a genuine smile that reached her eyes… she was a part of an actual family… it's about time.