The shadow over the sun cleared, and the demon lord fled. Ame's wounds healed as her power was restored. She returned to her human form and looked around the battlefield that they had made out of their home.

The city was in ruins. Nothing less was to be expected in a fight between the gods. It was good that most of the city was evacuated as soon as the demon lord went on a rampage. Ame looked up at the ashy sky as the constellations of the Zodiac returned to the sky. The students were all tired and injured from the fight.

Ame didn't even realize she was crying.

"We can't just sit here," Kid was the first to speak. He got to his feet. "We need to make sure the civilians made it to safety. We need to salvage as much as we can from the academy."

Ame thought about it. Could she reset the world one more time? She just wanted a perfect world where Kid and she could live. Alive. Together. Happy… But with how bad things were, and Kid was still so brave, she couldn't find it in her to honestly doubt that they wouldn't get through this. It couldn't be that bad, right?

Ame watched the students scatter to carry the injured to safer grounds. She knew better. Things were really bad this time, and it would take a while for Lord Death to heal. She saw Kid glance her way and averted her gaze stiffly. At this moment, he was being brave. He almost lost his father again, and he was just calmly controlling the madness of the thousands of fearful civilians.

"How's he so brave?" she thought. " How can he say that he's ready to face the future like this?"

Ame left the scene. She didn't think that after the Demon Lord had taken her form that many of the students would want her there. She found herself at the roots of the guardian sakura tree that she had grown there when she'd first entered Death City. Carefree? Innocent, she'd been? Yes, but nothing has changed that. She'd been scared, mistrusting. She'd always looked after others, but she had neglected herself and now endangered the whole world again.

She would put the blame off on nobody but herself this time. If she had been present, the Demon Lord couldn't have grown so strong.

Every bridge burned
Every hard lesson I have learned…

"Hey, Ame?" Kid asked upon finding her. "I was wondering where you'd gone. What are you doing here all by yourself?"

Ame opened her mouth and closed it many times, as if she wanted to say something, but her madness rendered her speechless. Kid put a hand on her arm carefully, as if to keep her from going into another of her fits. However, Ame was in complete control. She pulled away from him and gave him a determined look.

"I will atone for my sin," she said. "We need to keep people safe until we can find out what that bitch is up to."

Kid managed to give her a small smile. That was the Ame he knew. He felt so grateful to have her back.


And all along I believed
I would guide you
Now my thoughts reveal to me
You have saved me for these eight hundred years
You'll save me for some countless more

Soul Eater

The setting sun painted the entire sky crimson and orange that evening, the rays reflecting off of the lingering clouds of ash, making it appear as if the fires were still burning. Kid and Ame returned to the academy together to confront whatever was left for them there. They were greeted by the rather aggressive gesture of Kilik and Ox brandishing their weapons at Ame.

"What are you still doing here?"

"Why are you still here?" Ame blinked at him, frowning. "Go home already, eat food."

"You idiots," Maka snapped. "It's Ame. I can tell by her soul wavelength. And she's right; go home and rest."

"We checked around," Kid said, stepping around Ox and Kilik. "The Demon Lord seems to have left us to gather our bearings for now." He stopped walking a few feet away from Maka. His voice dropped slightly. "How's Father doing?"

"Stein said he should be fine," Maka replied. "But we're not really sure; we don't really know what the Demon Lord can do. Even after we fought her so many times…."

The next week was dedicated to making Death City livable again. After Lord Death's recovery, he called a meeting with Ame, Kid, and the entire staff at the DWMA. They all stood in the Death Room.

"Okay, first thing's first," Lord Death began. "Ame."

"Yes?" Ame raised her head.

"REAPER CHOP!" Lord Death wasn't merciful this time. Ame sank to her knees and held her head in pain. "That was for leaving. And I think we all owe you an apology for worshipping you blindly. Except Kid, that is."

"What are we even here for?" Kid sighed. The world was ending, and his father was no more serious than the day after they'd defeated Ninetails.

"How are things going, Sid?" Lord Death asked. "Have you been able to contact the other Death Scythes?"

"Well, no one knows where Justin Law is. Tezca returned our call; he's on a mission right now, but he'll be able to come to the DWMA shortly."

"Anyone else?" Lord Death asked. "What about in Africa?"

"Our call got rejected again."

…

"Okay, then! We'll just give them a call later."

Ame suddenly perked up. She got to her feet and leaned on Kid's shoulder with a sly look on her face. She eyed Lord Death as she spoke.

"Soooo," she drawled. "Your calls get re-jec-ted, huuuuuh?"

"CHOP!"

"Be a bit more serious about it, will you?" Lord Death grumbled.

"Look who's talking," Kid sighed.

"I mean it this time, Ame," Lord Death warned. "You've caused us a great deal of trouble, and even I have to wonder just what you were doing leaving without telling anyone. We're keeping our eyes on you from now on, got it?"

Ame didn't respond. It's not like she'd never been mistaken for an enemy before. Back in her time as Shiranui, everyone feared her as a familiar of Orochi. She could handle Death denying her for a while. After all, Kid was probably back on her side after he'd made sense of what happened.

That was most likely Lord Death's reasoning.

"I'm sure Ame and Kid will do just fine on their own for a while."

However trusting the pair was in each other, things would not go so well between Ame and Kid. Just that afternoon, they'd indulged in another of their fights.

"No way!" Ame shouted at Kid across the lunch table, getting to her feet and slamming her hands down on the table. "That's totally what it is!"

"No," Kid shot back, mimicking her position and gritting his teeth. "You're wrong, it's not!"

"There they go again," Tsubaki said, sweat-dropping.

"You two argue about the dumbest things sometimes," Soul sighed.

"You shut your mouth!" Kid snapped. "You should here yourself and Maka argue. I'm ashamed to call you guys my friends sometimes."

"Tch, I knew it," Ame muttered, sitting down and continuing to eat her meal. "Even Shinigami commit the sin of ignorance."

Kid twitched, his voice lowering to a dangerous growl. "I dare you to say that again."

"I digress," Ame taunted. "Anyone's entitled to their opinion, even if it sucks."

Kid lunged across the table and wrapped his limbs around Ame and twisting her in an unnatural position.

"Shut up about it!" Kid shouted over Ame squealing in protest.

I know this was a bit late, and the mood of this chapter kind of goes from oppressing to silly in random order. I just don't want to be stuck writing depressing stuff all the time. I don't mind our characters enjoying themselves a bit, and hey, maybe the Demon Lord doesn't mind that much either.