A/N: This one is based off a request by Little Snuggle.

It started with boredom. My friends and I were walking down the grand staircase at the front of the academy, trying to figure out what to do. Classes were done for the day and none of us had any extracurricular assignments. We weren't really in the mood for training and it was such a nice day no one wanted to spend it indoors.

As we racked our brains, our legs carried us on and on until it seemed like going for a meandering stroll was something nice to do for now. Eventually we wandered down a street lined with small shops. Feeling hungry and a little tired, we decided to take a break at a convenience store.

"You guys brought money, right?" Soul asked, turning his pockets inside out to show he was broke.

We stood in a circle outside the store, counting up how much we had all together. Black*Star reluctantly handed over his change, complaining that Kid should've remembered to bring his checkbook.

There was enough to buy several snacks and drinks for all of us, a small bite to tide us over before dinner. We split up as we entered the shop, wandering slowly up and down the aisles.

I looked and looked, but couldn't find anything I particularly wanted. Tsubaki's arms were empty too and when I asked her what she was going to get, she shrugged. She wasn't sure, either. The two of us decided to just take a bit of our shares from whatever everyone else was getting.

Maka and Patty stood in front of the candy section. The latter bounced restlessly from foot to foot, unsure of which to pick. The former reached a hand out toward a huge chocolate bar. She hesitated, her fingers twitching. Then she pulled her hand back and chewed on her lower lip.

Patty nudged her shoulder encouragingly. "Go on, if you want it, just take it! You'll regret it otherwise, right?"

Maka sighed, but then smiled and nodded. She took not one but two of the enormous chocolate bars while Patty settled for three large bags of sour gummy worms.

I found Kid and Soul arguing over how many sub sandwiches they should get. The latter wanted to buy seven because he knew Maka didn't care for these kind of sandwiches. The former kept insisting it had to be eight.

"Not just because it's the most perfect number in existence, but come on! There's eight of us all together. You, me, Liz, Patty, Black*Star, Tsubaki, Maka, and Chrona. That's eight in all, Soul, can't you count? As for Maka, if she won't eat hers, then you'll just have to."

They went on pointlessly for several minutes. Eventually Soul lost the fight.

The last of us ready to go was Black*Star, who couldn't decide what kind of soda to get. "Extra sugar or extra caffeine?" he kept muttering to himself. In the end, he grabbed both. Under one arm he carried a six-pack of extra sugary soda and under the other he carried a six-pack of soda loaded with caffeine.

We paid for it all and lugged the goods outside. We sat around a small fountain and ate, knowing our original boredom would be kept at bay for now. Soul passed around the sandwiches but kept Maka's. He scowled, but an idea seemed to dawn him when he noticed the candy in her hands.

"Sure that's all you want, Maka? Better be careful, or you'll get fat in no time."

Whack!

Soul howled in pain as she hit him with a book. She glared furiously at him for a moment, but it melted away as she thought over what he'd said. She looked worriedly at the two chocolate bars, then handed them to me.

"Here, Chrona. You like chocolate, don't you?"

I did, but I told her she didn't have to worry about it making her fat. An image of a chubby Maka crossed my mind and to be honest, I thought she looked cute. She'd be cute no matter how much she weighed. Though I didn't say that part out loud, of course.

I accepted the treats anyway and watched her snatch the sandwich meant for her out of Soul's hands. Ragnarok rose up from my back to devour one of the candy bars after I peeled the wrapper off for him.

He wanted more, so I asked Black*Star and Patty if they wouldn't mind sharing the sweets they were having together. I was fine with just having the sandwich and the chocolate, but all three of them insisted I try the rest too.

I thought Ragnarok would eat more than any of us, but he very quickly stopped. It was odd. In an even odder voice, he said his head hurt. I couldn't remember the last time he had a headache, or if he even ever had one at all. To all of our surprise, he handed all the rest of his candy to me, claimed he felt very weird, then shrunk back into me to rest.

Black*Star and Patty raised their eyebrows, then shrugged and went back to scarfing down the sweets and chugging the soda as though nothing happened.

I chewed on some sour gummy worms. They made my lips pucker, but the taste was wonderful. Sometimes they stretched stubbornly when I tried to bite them in half, but it was fun at the same time.

They made me thirsty, so I asked for a can of soda. Unsure whether to pick "extra sugary" or "extra caffeine-y," as Patty described them, I took both. It was the sweetest snack time I'd ever had.

The others began to notice the three of us munching noisily. Liz warned us we'd get stomachaches for eating too much sugar at once, but Patty waved her off. The bags and cans were almost empty, anyway. Might as well not let them go to waste.

When it was down to one gummy worm left, the three of us glared at one another. Maka, sensing an argument, offered to break it into three equal pieces for us. I eagerly watched her stretch the worm to its maximum length. She was careful not to let it break in the wrong places. As she handed me my piece, I felt my stomach wriggle, most likely from the anticipation of tasting that soft, somewhat sticky treat.

Black*Star, Patty, and I dropped our bits into our mouths at the same time. I felt pleasantly full, but I craved more. Just thinking about candy made me fidget in place. I'd never had so much at once before. It was hard to decide which I liked more: the velvety rich flavors of Maka's chocolate bar or the sweet-and-sour stringy features of the gummy worms.

Beside me, Black*Star and Patty were fidgety too. Like me, they were probably thinking of candy. Their faces stretched with toothy grins and their eyes sparkled dreamily.

The others finished their sandwiches and began discussing what to do next. I barely listened, but wanted to do something more rigorous than just walking around again. It felt like tons of energy were trapped inside me, eager to escape. Sitting here would make me explode.

"Hey," Black*Star said, but not in his usual loud voice. He spoke normally, as if not wanting everyone to hear him. He only addressed Patty and me. His foot tapped rapidly against the ground and I sensed he had a lot of trapped energy right now too. "Let's have a race."

I didn't even have time to blink before Patty nodded her head so fast her hair couldn't keep up with the motion. "Okay! Yeah, that's a good idea! Chrona, you're coming too, right?"

"I—"

"We just ate a lot of candy, so now I feel like running! Don't you? I bet it'll help either way!" She tilted her head to one side, eyes peering deeply into mine.

I thought of running, pounding my feet against the street, breathing heavily, air rushing past my face. It sounded like the perfect thing to do right now. It was how the three of us could spend time while the others figured out what to do in the meantime.

I answered her question by standing up.

"ALRIGHT!" Black*Star suddenly burst out. He leapt to his feet and placed himself in position. Patty bounced on her heels and did a couple of quick stretches.

The others turned their heads toward us, startled by Black*Star's shout.

Kid raised his eyebrows and said, "What are you guys—"

"Ready, set, go!"

At his own signal, the assassin took off like a shot.

Patty bounded after him, nearly tripping on the way. I took a deep breath and ran.

It was just what we needed. The energy trapped inside us now escaped freely. It was a thrilling experience. For a while it didn't even matter who was winning. We just ran through the open streets, passing by buildings and alleyways, following whoever was in the lead.

"Where are we going?" I called out, more out of curiosity than any real concern.

Black*Star seemed to notice for the first time that we were running a race without a finish line. With him in front, and as the one who thought of the idea, it fell on his shoulders to choose where to stop. He looked right and left, taking in his surroundings.

"Aha! The clock tower! First one to the top floor wins!" He pointed to a dark gray building in the distance, a tall one with a clock face near the tip.

The three of us made a beeline for it, our feet clattering against the ground. I panted quietly, keeping my eyes glued to the tower in the distance. From here it almost looked like a tall piece of licorice… a thin strip of candy that could bend and turn into a candy wristwatch… The thought of sweets made my mouth water and my legs churn.

We were tied, all of us in a horizontal line. The path to the tower was clear of obstacles. It could've been anyone's win. Black*Star must have realized this because he leaned forward so much his head nearly grazed the street. He pushed forward, racing slightly ahead of us. If anything, the spiky tip of his blue hair would ensure his victory.

Patty turned her head left and right, grinned, and made a sudden turn. "Shortcut!" she yelled gleefully and disappeared into an alley.

Whether she knew a secret alternate path or not, none of us ever knew. All I could think of was if they could have their own strategies, then so could I. The clock tower grew larger as it loomed nearer. I focused on the tip of the building. The time was 4:25. Seeing how high the clock was gave me an idea. I just hoped Ragnarok was up for it.

He hadn't looked too good when we had all that sugar, but it seemed he wasn't as sick as I feared. Without a sound, two thin bands of black blood uncoiled from my back. They slithered, stretched, and fanned themselves out: a pair of black scaly wings.

I grinned. Black*Star, nose to the ground, had no idea what I was up to until I zoomed over his head.

"Wha—?" he choked, lifting his head to stare at my flying form with his jaw drooping.

If it had been a breezy day, my win would have been guaranteed. The flow of air would have practically carried me to the top without any effort on my part. But that was okay. I was still fast, regardless. I flapped my wings and soared straight for the top of the tower. Patty and Black*Star would have to take the stairs, and I'd meet them at the top, already rested.

Putting on a burst of speed, I soared toward the center of the now giant clock face, then rocketed upward. For fun, I flew around and around the very tip of the tower before diving back down to the highest floor's terrace.

It was pretty empty and, more importantly, neither Patty nor Black*Star were anywhere in sight. Some tables with small bowls of sugar mints caught my eye, so I skipped over to one and helped myself. They tasted like sweetness in solid form.

The sounds of crashing thundered behind the staircase door until it burst open. Black*Star nearly shoved it off its hinges. He looked wildly about, saw me, and slapped both hands to the sides of his head. "Noo!"

I grinned and stuck out my tongue.

"Rematch! Best two out of three!" he challenged, but a sudden noise from behind caused him to glance back. There were voices, grumbling and complaining loudly about some "Shibusen hooligan" who made quite a wreck of the stairwell.

Realizing the owners of the angry voices were after him, Black*Star shoved past me and ran toward the edge of the tower. "I'll leave the rest to you!" he called. And with that, he began climbing up to the roof.

The voices got closer. My heart jumped with panic, so I decided to make an escape, too. I leaped off the tower and let my wings carry me away.

I kept an eye out for Patty, wondering where she could be. My wings were getting numb, so I flew toward the alley she disappeared into, hoping to find clues. As soon as I landed, though, an unexpected sight awaited me.

"Watch out, Chrona!" Patty called.

I barely stepped out of her way in time. She held a cat in her arms, running as if both their lives depended on it. Hot on their heels, a pack of barking dogs pursued.

I grew frightened and panicked. They were headed straight at me, teeth glistening, so I turned about-face and ran. The sounds of feet thumping and hounds snarling filled my ears. Soon I could feel the hot breath of one of them on my ankle. I was tired from the race, unable to summon the strength to fly again. My wings had already retracted. I badly wanted to close my eyes.

I ran so fast that I passed Patty and the cat. She shouted something at me, but I didn't make it out. I thought about running back to the fountain, but leading a pack of vicious brutes to my friends didn't seem good at all. I didn't even risk looking back to see if Patty really needed my attention.

Any people we saw jumped out of our way, flabbergasted. The dogs were relentless. They knocked over anything in their path. A boy riding a bike swerved out of our way and crashed into a flower stand, causing the lady who owned it to scream and catch falling bouquets at the same time. He had time to yell, "Drop the stupid cat!" before he was left far behind us.

I led the way down another alleyway and thought we could lose the pack among the garbage cans or at least over the wire fence, but no. As Patty and I climbed over, they bashed through the trash and ran through a large hole at the bottom of the fence. Just our luck that it was there.

"Save yourself, Chrona!" Patty insisted. "They're not after you!"

But I didn't want to abandon her. I didn't know how I managed to still be in the lead of this chase after already winning a race, but now was no time to rest. The shrieking of the cat made me want to get them both to safety, made me want to help. Those dogs were nothing but bullies. They just couldn't forgive Patty for saving that cat.

I passed a sign pointing the way to a nearby park, so I got the idea to run there. We would definitely be safe if we climbed a tree.

Patty shouted again, only this time her voice seemed further away. The barking steadily lowered, too. I kept running, hoping I wasn't going deaf.

The park was empty. The sight of it made my lips twitch upward, but as I got closer, my face fell. This park had grass, bushes, flowers, and playground equipment, but no trees in sight. Not any big and strong enough to climb, anyway, just skinny, weak-looking ones.

Not knowing what else to do, I entered it anyway.

"Chrona?"

I heard a different voice behind me and immediately recognized it as Maka's. I didn't stop. I hoped the dogs wouldn't go after her too.

I heard her follow me, trying to catch up. "Chrona? Where are you going?"

"Dogs... Patty... kitty cat... candy... energy... running out..."

"Chrona, stop! Don't do that!"

Don't do what? Was she telling me to stop running for our lives?

"Can't..." I mumbled. My head lolled as my eyes closed for a moment. If only I had more candy to give me a speed boost. I was starting to feel awful now, dizzy and faint.

My running turned into jogging and then into an abrupt halt. I collapsed onto the grass, my head spinning. Blackness engulfed me.

When I woke up, Maka was shaking me. My head was on her lap. She looked down at me with worried eyes. When mine met hers, she gave a sigh of relief.

I knew right away there were no dogs around. My head no longer hurt, so I was able to think clearly. Patty's voice had faded because she wasn't following me anymore. She probably led them somewhere else so that I wouldn't be part of the chase anymore. I hoped she was alright, but knowing her, the dogs would soon be the ones running away once that cat was in a safe spot.

When I asked what Maka was doing here, she said that she and the others had been searching for us after we took off sprinting to nowhere. She spotted me running by myself into the park and decided to follow.

"We really need to move now, Chrona." She pointed to a sign that read, "Keep Off The Grass." So that was why she shouted for me to stop.

I stood up without her help and quickly moved onto the stone pathway. Maka moved by my side and asked me if my running away with Black*Star and Patty had anything to do with the candy I'd consumed with them.

I blushed, realizing for the first time the three of us had been acting very silly.

"You had us all pretty worried. I was afraid you'd get hurt or in big trouble, Chrona," Maka said, reaching over to hold my hand softly in hers. "From now on, I'll see to it personally that you don't overdo it with the sweets, okay?"

I nodded, feeling bad for making her worry. I couldn't meet her eyes and I guess she must have noticed this because she added playfully, "It's too bad I didn't get to see much of your sugar rush, though. I bet you were like a cute little hyper kid."

"I, uh..." My face grew even redder at those words, so I tried to cover my cheek with my free hand.

I let her guide me back to the fountain. No one was around because the others were still trying to retrieve Black*Star and Patty. Maka told me this was where the search party was supposed to meet up. We sat down close beside each other.

She asked me about the last time I saw our two missing friends. I barely started the story when Tsubaki turned up with Black*Star in tow. He dragged his feet against the ground, complaining of a stomachache.

"Liz warned you," his Weapon partner said. She looked at Maka and me and shook her head. "I found him at the clock tower, where he nearly broke off the giant clock hands! I'm glad you're safe and sound, Chrona, but when everyone's together again I'm going to take Black*Star straight home."

We didn't have to wait long. The others returned in a group, with Patty marching up in front. She was scratched, bruised, and tired-looking, but grinning. There were no cats or dogs about. She walked toward me, telling in a small voice of how she'd put the cat underneath a car before giving the dogs what for. Her story faded out as she reached me, just in time to collapse at my feet, fast asleep.

"What a day," Maka sighed, "but at least you candy caperers gave us something to do, that's for sure."

I smiled wearily. I wouldn't be having any sugar anytime soon, even though it did end up making our boring day more interesting.