Ame was lying on the cold tile floor of the kitchen, inhaling the sweet scent of raw food around her. It didn't console her. The Demon Lord was free. And she had all of Ame's power. And it was all Ame's fault.

"Ame?" she heard Kid calling her from the other room. "Ame, are you still here? Ame?"

He turned around the corner and nearly tripped over the wolf where she was laying. He knelt down next to her and ran his hand over her silky fur.

"Hey, Ame," he said. "How are you feeling?"

"My wounds have healed but it still hurts," Ame pouted, rolling over to sit up against the counter in her human form. "It feels pointless."

"It is pointless," Kid said. "That wench has all the power she needs with you around. We need to find a way to stop her, but how?"

"She has all the power I have," Ame scoffed.

"But that is her limit," Kid said.

"Are you trying to say I have no power?" Ame challenged, balling her hand up into a fist and holding it up threateningly. "I could destroy this earth even if the entire earth stood against me. And you forget."

"Hm?" Kid looked up.

"The demon lord can still kill children."

New Age; The Shinigami's Oldest Resource?

It had been weeks, but the Demon Lord still hadn't made any moves. It set Ame and the others on edge. They had to do something, or else they'd spontaneously combust. Lord Death tried to think of safe measures to take. He didn't want a lot of students gone on missions at one time, and he had to make sure to send very experienced meisters to take care of anything suspicious.

"We need to do something about this silence, Father," Kid said. He was alone with his father this time, so he didn't have to worry about Ame or the teachers. "It's really driving us insane. Ame tried contacting InuYasha again, but he's nowhere to be found. It's like they're waiting for something."

"That is a problem…" Lord Death mumbled quietly. He seemed preoccupied, which only made Kid angry.

"Are you even listening?" he demanded.

"Of course I am," Lord Death raised his head attentively this time. "I agree with you that something just isn't right here. If anything had come up before, InuYasha would have been all over it, but now he's hidden himself away? And the Demon Lord has no reason to wait it out like this."

Kid knew he was secretly questioning Ame.

"Have any of the other Death Scythes or meisters arrived yet?" Kid asked. "Do you know anyone else we could contact to help us?"

"Well… there is one person," Lord Death nodded. "One wizard that I think will be able to help us get some answers regarding Ame and the Demon Lord."

"Who?" Kid pressed. "Have you contacted him yet?"

"I actually can't right now," Lord Death sighed. "He's trapped himself in that book again."

"That book…?" Kid suddenly started remembering a thing or two about the artificial pasts that Ame had forged up. He was suddenly a bit unenthusiastic. "Are you… sure?"

"Yes, of course, son," Lord Death nodded. "Eibon is an old friend of mine; he'd be willing to help out."

So it was decided that Kid and Ame would enter the Book of Eibon to retrieve the wizard from the pages. Liz and Patti, as well as Maka and Soul, would be going with them, just in case they ran into any trouble. Once all the technicalities were discussed, Lord Death had Sid retrieve the Book from one of the vaults underneath the school.

"So this is the Book of Eibon," Kid said, examining the book. He set it down on the table and opened it up. He glanced at Ame. "Let's go."

Chapter 1: Lust

"Well, the first chapter is lust," Maka read from the index. "Hey, wait, why is my voice so low?"

"Maybe you've just been singing along to too much Akiakane again," Soul suggested with a high-pitched laugh.

"Wait, Soul!"

The panic that ensued once our heroines realized that they had swapped genders was pretty irrelevant and had to be cut out for timely reasons.

"Huh?!"

"What the hell?!"

"Wow, Kid, you look good as a girl," Liz commented. Kid blushed and looked away self-consciously. "Ame sure likes what she sees."

Kid glanced at the wolf, who was staring at Kid's chest. Kid trembled slightly, just waiting for her to do her creepy gay thing and move along. Ame silently looked away, obviously unimpressed. Kid was suddenly angry.

"Don't just look away like that, you brute!" he growled. "Well, what are you still doing in your wolf form?" His tone became teasing. He was eager to get back at her. "Come on, don't want us to see you now that you're not a girl?"

"Actually," Ame said, her tone in its normal pitch as she resumed her human form. She hadn't actually changed at all; she was still herself, and in fact, female. Kid stared at her in disbelief.

"How come you're not…."

"My body is that of a child, I'm not developed enough for this chapter to have any effect on me."

"BULLSHIT!" Kid yelled. "Is it because you're gay?!"

Ame laughed bashfully. "Yes."

Chapter 2: Gluttony

"Here we are, in the land of…" Maka looked around.

"Food~!" Ame sang, drooling and bolting for one of the mountains of food. Kid held her back.

"Calm down or I'll leave you here," he said. "This is the chapter of gluttony, you can't eat any of this. Got it?"

"Okay," Ame nodded.

"Really?" Kid asked. "Okay? That's it?"

"Yeah, I can totally do this," Ame smiled. She turned to a shop selling roasted chicken. "Just let me eat this one real quick."

"No!" Kid wrapped his arm around her neck in a headlock and pulled her down the street.

"Hey, Maka," Soul said, motioning to a restaurant with udon and ramen. "Do you think their udon is any good?"

"Soul!" Maka shouted. "Get a grip! You don't even like udon!"

"I do!" Ame shouted, raising her hand.

"That… wasn't a question," Maka said.

"Aw, what's wrong with being a little gluttonous?" Ame asked as Kid pinned her to the ground to keep her from eating. "Nobody's perfect, and it's just a little snack."

"I don't know how you can stay four foot nine, half-pint!" Kid argued.

"No, that's my punishment!" Ame said. "I eat all I can and I don't grow an inch, and I accept that."

"No, you don't!" Kid exclaimed, twisting Ame in an unnatural way to restrain her.

"Free mutton!" a shopkeeper called. Ame snapped, she threw Kid off of her with sudden, incredible force and charged for the shop. Kid darted after her, throwing her to the ground and twisting her arms behind her back.

"Don't you dare eat that!" he growled. "Do you even know what mutton is?!"

"Kill the goat!" Ame cried, grumbling in pain as Kid's grip on her tightened.

"It's okay, calm down," Kid tried taking a different approach. "We're almost at the end of the chapter, then you can eat all you want. Right, guys?"

"Actually," Liz said with her mouth full. "You guys go on ahead. This udon is delicious."

"Elizabeth!" Kid scolded.

"Sorry, it was my fault," Maka apologized. "It's just, I think Ame's right. Who needs to be perfect? Plus, we missed lunch today!"

"Just go on, and we'll catch up," Soul said, settling for a slice of pizza and eating it calmly.

"I hope you all die," Kid and Ame said in unison.

Chapter 3: Envy

"It's too bad they couldn't come with us," Kid said as they entered the next chapter.

"I envy them, can I go back?" Ame asked. Kid smacked the back of her head intolerantly.

"No, father sent us on a mission," Kid said. "Come on, you're a god, you're better than this."

"Oh, so if I was human, you'd let me go?"

"Stop letting it get to you," Kid said calmly. "We're in the chapter of envy. We should be careful."

"I thought we were supposed to be separated for this chapter," Ame said, looking into the black void around them.

"Eibon's probably expecting us at the end. He doesn't want us to get lost. Come on, we can't waste time."

"He's expecting us?" Ame questioned. "Who told him we were coming?"

Kid side-glanced at Ame. Was she just doing this as a social dictate of the plot, or did she honestly not know about Eibon? The chance that she'd relive so many different lives in this world and not know of Eibon were pretty slim, but Kid decided to answer her question as he saw fit.

"Eibon is an… old acquaintance of my father," Kid explained. "He's a wizard, and his power of knowledge is kind of dangerous. He's the embodiment of knowledge, I guess you could say."

"I see," Ame shifted her eyes forward in time to see figures materialize around them. They wore masks, and moved as if they were floating in the dark space that was the chapter.

"If it isn't Shinigami's son," one said mockingly. "You think you're smart. You'll never be at the top of your class like Maka is."

"Ugh," Kid scoffed. "I thought Eibon's welcoming crew would be more charming than this."

"I'm starting to feel more human now," Ame whispered.

"The all-powerful Amaterasu!" the voice mocked. "All-powerful? Maka defeated the Kishin without you. Why does the world suddenly need you to conquer all its enemies?"

"Go back to the chapter of Lust," a voice told Kid. "That's what you deserve after what you did. It was your petty lust that revived the demon lord."

"Will you shut up?" Kid asked politely.

"Aw, am I breaking down the young fragment's feelings?" he continued to laugh. "Be a man. You could never live up to your father's greatness and you know it. It's a good thing he found it in him to survive one last time."

Kid gritted his teeth. They were almost there.

"And Eibon knows it too."

Kid stopped walking. If Eibon knew, then was it a fact of nature?! It had to be. No, the voice was just trying to get to him to slow them down.

"Leave him alone," Ame said, putting a hand in front of him and shoving her ears forward. "You have no right to speak to him like that. Come on, Kid. The exit is right there."

Chapter 4: Wrath

Kid and Ame left the voices behind and entered a space with flames and volcanos.

"Hey, thanks," Kid said quietly. "Thank you for standing up for me like that. I wish I could have done the same for you."

"Don't worry about it," Ame smiled at him. "A human's words could never hurt me, really."

They moved into the depth of the chapter. Ame almost immediately stopped walking when a sudden force hit her. She stumbled back and looked back up, holding the side of her face. Kid was standing there with an annoyed expression on his face.

"Did you just hit me?" Ame had to ask.

"I had to do it once," Kid said. His shoulders swayed as he turned around. "Come on."

"Why the hell?!" Ame demanded. "What'd you hit me for?"

"Because you're stupid, now come on."

"Why you—!"

"Come on, this is just anger," Kid said. "I'm always angry at you, but you never care. Come on, let's go."

"I can't tell if you're trying to console me or justify your own actions."

She sighed as she continued following him. Well, as long as they were there, they might as well argue more.

"There's only one thing in this world that will keep a man going," Ame said. Kid recognized this line.

"Revenge?" he asked.

"Nope," Ame turned and gave him a cheeky thumbs-up. "Women!"

"You're starting to make me angry again!" Kid snapped. "Just move your butt so we can get out of hell."

Chapter 5: Pride

Kid felt instant waves of calm as he entered the large building. It looked like the Taj Mahal, minus the dead people.

"We made it," Ame said happily. "We're almost out."

"I just saved your life," Kid gloated.

"I could stand on my own," Ame muttered, looking away.

"Please, stop being such a proud wolf," he said. "Admit that you're proud of me."

"Are you proud of yourself?" Ame asked incredulously. "Ya hit me."

"Is there a problem with that?"

Hmm, it felt like Kid just asked that because he couldn't think of something better to ask. But seriously, folks, I'm forced by the media to say that domestic violence is wrong and I do not mean to promote it in this fanfiction.

Ame sighed. "Your father babies you too much."

"What has this got to do with my father?" Kid inquired. "He didn't do anything."

"He saved me," Ame said.

Kid cringed, her words like needles against the balloon of his pride. She was right. He couldn't forget his failures, or his triumphs. It all happened in balance.

"Now, rub me between the ears and tell me how well I did," Ame commanded, sipping a cup of tea.

"Where did the tea come from?!"

Chapter 6: Sloth

"I guess we're almost done," Kid said. "I wonder how the others are doing."

Meanwhile, back in chapter 2…

"Have you tried these strawberry crepes?" Liz asked Maka. "They're divine!"

"Amazing!" Maka cheered, taking another bite of one.

Back to chapter 6

"Should we wait for them?" Kid wondered out loud. "No, we should keep moving. Come on, Ame."

He took Ame's hand gently and began pulling her through the large white space. This chapter should be a piece of cake. Even though Kid felt a little tired, he was still full of energy from the last chapter, and he was always a hard worker. He should be fine. However, he felt Ame tug once on his hand before releasing it entirely. Kid stopped walking and turned around. Ame was kneeling on the ground. She swayed slightly before laying on her side.

"Ame?" he asked, kneeling next to her. "Are you alright?"

"I… need to rest for a bit," she said. She pressed her lips together and curled up. "I don't feel so good."

"Get up," Kid ordered. "You can't stop yet; we're so close."

He put a hand on her shoulder. Her pulse was weakening, and her breathing was slow.

"No," Kid shook her. "No, you can't do this, Ame! Ame, come on, get up. Don't you see that you're killing yourself?! Get up!"

Ame didn't respond. Everything was going black. She felt sick. Kid was yelling at her, his anger possibly returning.

"Come on, Ame! I'm not messing around anymore! Move, dammit!" Kid shook her again. Ame was completely still now. Her eyes were only half open, and her chest had stopped moving. Kid began to panic. "Ame… Ame, breathe. You can't do this."

"Please stop…" Ame thought. "Stop nagging me. Do you have any idea how much pain this causes me? I just want to rest for a while…."

"I won't let you!" Kid shouted.

Ame's eyes snapped open and she sat up with a jolt. She turned to look at Kid, who smiled in relief.

"Thank goodness," he said before collapsing onto her shoulder. "I thought I'd lost you."

Ame held him up and pulled him to his feet. Together, they exited the chapter and continued on.

Chapter 7: Greed

The chapter of Greed was written for humans, definitely. It was presented as a land of riches. It rained money and lucky cats stood tall among the chapter. As a wolf, Ame honestly had no affinity for such objects. If the chapter were to be somehow rewritten to contain a flock of sheep to eat, she might have been at least a little fazed. Kid wasn't that enamored by the thought of material riches either. It was just more distance to walk, really.

"It just occurred to me," Ame said. "This Eibon guy knows we are coming, he knows why we're coming, but he's still making us come get him!"

"Is this you being greedy?" Kid wondered. "Are you… like, does the idea of being lazy just appeal to you like a material gain or something?"

"Will you shut up and answer my question?" Ame frowned.

"Well, I guess Eibon is like you in that sense," Kid sighed. "He just thinks it's all a game."

"Shouldn't he be here already?" Ame asked. "This is the last chapter."

"No good," Kid stopped walking as something dawned on him. "I can't feel his soul wavelength. There's no one here."

"You mean we went through all that for nothing?" Ame demanded.

"You really are greedy about time management," Kid realized.