Ame took it easy for the rest of the day. It didn't bother Kid at first. Then she didn't wake up to cook breakfast when it was her turn the next day. Kid was a little put off; he'd gotten up a bit late, so he wouldn't have time to fix breakfast for everybody. He went upstairs to wake Ame up. Maybe she'd help out.

Ame was curled up in her bed, burrowed under the covers, sleeping heavily. Kid stood by her bed with a disproving look on his face.

"Ame," he shook her a little bit. When he got no reply, he shook her again. "Ame, hey, Ame."

Still no reply.

"Ame, wake up, you lazy brute," Kid ripped the blankets off of her. She curled up in shock and growled angrily. She opened her eyes and glared at him.

"What do you want?" she demanded.

"It was your turn to cook today," he snapped. "What do you mean what do I want? I want breakfast."

"Oh, what, am I your slave now?"

"Ame," Kid tried to control his anger. "We agreed that you could live here if you helped with the chores at least half of the time. Are you listening?"

"No," Ame rolled over. "I'm not interested in your whining. Feed me."

"Excuse me?! You little—!"

He reached for her shoulder, but she whipped her head around and bit his fingers. Kid froze; if he made sudden movements, she could end him. She glared at him for a moment, a warning growl resounding in her throat, before she released him and tucked away in her sea of blankets.

"Whatever, princess," Kid scoffed, going back downstairs.

"Hey, Kid, what'd Ame make for breakfast?"

"No breakfast today," Kid replied, grabbing his jacket. "Come on."

Black Resonance; More Than a Fight?

"I thought Ame was coming to school today," Maka said. "We were going to help those girl scouts today, right?"

"Ame's not coming," Kid fidgeted uncomfortably. "She's… not well yet. I think she should just stay home for a while."

"What's going on with her lately?" Soul asked. "Her madness has just been getting worse and worse."

"I don't know," Kid shook his head. "But I'm afraid this isn't something any of us can help with. We'll just have to wait it out."

"I'm sure she'll feel better soon," Blackstar said. "This is Ame we're talking about."

Kid decided to cut class to visit his father in the Death Room. He needed to make sure that everything was sound, and it couldn't wait. He needed to know why Ame was acting like this.

"Ame's still upset, huh?" Lord Death asked dismally. "I have no idea why she's acting like this. Madness is a tool she uses to cover her negative emotions. However, there are no negative emotions to cover up. Did you try speaking to her?"

"Yes," Kid nodded. "But she's just not telling me anything. Dad, something's wrong. The only time she's ever acted like this was…"

"?" Lord Death tilted his head. Kid stared straight ahead, an expression of sick recognition on his face.

"When she told me that she'd reversed time," he finished quietly. "Only impurity of her own doing could bring this upon herself. And with all that's been going on with humans fearing Ame and such…."

"Kid, you aren't starting to doubt Ame, are you?"

"Aren't you?' Kid scoffed. "You can't honestly tell me that you aren't worried that Ame could be dangerous?"

"I know better, Kid."

Kid gritted his teeth. The way his father had said that… he knew better than to doubt Ame. Of course, the one time Lord Death had doubted Ame, the Demon Lord was resurrected and they nearly died. Twice. He wasn't about to take that chance again.

"With all due respect, Father," he spoke coldly. "You can't keep blindly following Ame simply because she saved my life. You owe her nothing more than my soul. I've already given her that, you need to listen!"

"Enough!" the other snapped. "Kid, I will not tolerate you disrespecting Ame in such a manner. You should have—"

"Me?! Disrespect her?" Kid cried, throwing his hands up in the air. "I'm a slave to her! I know you're doing this for me, but it feels like you're just appealing to her. It's almost like you like her more as a daughter or something."

Silence fell. Kid turned to leave. He didn't want any more part in this argument. He'd just have to take care of it himself if his father was going to be a poor leader. It hurt to think those words. His father had always been such a brave, honest man, and the best leader the world could ask for in Ikiru's absence. He just… didn't feel safe around Ame anymore. He was too susceptible to the madness.

Kid was making his way home alone. He hadn't realized that he'd been running. He finally stopped for breath at the foot of Ame's sakura tree planted at the edge of town. He looked at the ground unhappily, trying to regain his composure to put on a brave face for Ame and the others. Who knew what she was up to right now? What if she was still upset? He'd better hurry home so he could check on her.

He saw movement in the corner of his eye and froze. The air turned cold as the birds in the trees fell silent and the cicadas chirped a disconcerting ambience. Ame was standing behind the tree. She lifted her head and smiled at him.

"Kid-kun, miitsuketa," she purred. Kid was again haunted by the emptiness in her eyes.

"A-Ame," he greeted. "I was just going home to check on you. How are you feeling?"

"Much better now," she chirped. "What about you?"

"Um… good, I guess," Kid sweatdropped at the awkward return of the question.

"Is that so?" her voice dropped to a monotone. She rocked forward on her toes until she was uncomfortably close. "You're really fine?"

"Yes," Kid nodded, taking a step away. She took a step forward.

"Then why were you not in class today?" she asked. "Huh, Kid-kun?"

"I had business elsewhere," he replied simply.

"You were in the Death Room." Her green eye flashed. "Weren't you? You were arguing with your dad, right?"

"…" How could she know that?

"Am I right?" she pressed a bit more loudly.

"Y-yeah, I was with my dad," he nodded. "Just talking, that's all."

"I see," she narrowed her eyes and backed away, lowering her head to shade her eyes with her bangs. "You're mean. What ever did I do to you to make you lie to me?"

"Well, if you want to go into details…"

"So what were you and your dad talking about, huh?" Ame continued to interrogate him, her voice maintaining that steady monotonous voice.

"Nothing, really," Kid mumbled, looking away.

"LIAR!"

Kid jumped as the birds nesting in the sakura tree fled. Ame's shout seemed to reverberate around the clearing, spreading over the world and momentarily emitting an uncanny silence.

"Ame," Kid said quietly, gazing at her small form. "You have to stop this madness. It's over. Ninetails is gone; we're fine."

Ame let out a soft laugh. Kid turned his head slightly; it wasn't like her at all. Her laughter was loud and proud, and sometimes scary, but that soft, dainty giggle was enough to throw her off.

"Baka," she muttered softly. "It's only just begun, Kid-kun."

She narrowed her eyes, letting out another one of those creepy laughs.

"Why… why do you keep calling me Kid-kun?" he asked.

"Because that's what I called you," Ame replied. "Come on, let's go home now."

Kid felt his body tense up. He just couldn't shake the fear that something was wrong.

Soul Eater

Lord Death had summoned Ame to talk with her in private after the incident with Kid. He was worried about Kid's behavior; he'd been rather erratic of late.

"Did something happen to Kid a while back?" he asked her. "He's been so edgy lately. I thought the Demon Lord's defeat had eased his mind a bit."

"He's growing," Ame stated calmly. "Being a fragment of madness makes him more susceptible to such things. Treating him like a child all the time won't help anything."

"But I'm still worried about him," Lord Death tried to reason with her. "He's losing confidence in himself. In turn, I think he's starting to doubt you."

"Doubt me?" Ame let out a short bark of laughter. "You honestly tolerate that kind of crap at this school?"

"…" the other was silent for a moment. Was Ame really laughing about this? Sure, she laughed at everything, but she was somehow cruel, as if mocking Kid for his weakness.

"Well, Death?" Ame suddenly became eerily serious. Her voice dropped back to the tone that she had used with Kid earlier. "Why would you teach that at this school?"

He was silent. At first, he wasn't even sure that he'd heard right. Ame's question had him wondering what to do. He was angry, but he wasn't sure if he should take it out on Ame. The two gods engaged in a furious stare-off.

"You still have them, don't you?" Ame suddenly asked quietly. "The Shinigami Eyes. Just like Sidoh."

Why wouldn't Kid have them as well?

Ame shrugged and pulled away. "It wouldn't matter. I come and go as I please."

"She's right; it wouldn't matter," Lord Death thought with a sigh. "As a goddess, Ame's time is unlimited. I can't see an exact date on her head. But I wonder why she was so curious."

Another chapter. Got super lazy about now. Been wanting to write a Guardians of the Galaxy fic, but trying not to rush this one.