The towns and the faces were starting to bleed together now. Most people were hiding from the cold in the comfort of their own homes. Lord Death's minion shivered in the snow as Chrona approached them.
"You're pathetic." Chrona spat. Here was her fearsome opponent, a death scythe with an anti-magic wave length, was reduced to tears at her feet. She cut her wrist and let the black blood flow. It didn't take long for the whole town to be coated in the slick black substance, all uniform and pristine as it spindled long fibers into the death scythe's mouth. He choked on the bitter flavor and his own tears, clearly unfit to sustain madness. With a merciful strike, she ended his misery. The black blood enveloped his still form and solidified into a sphere above the ground.
Chrona casually offered Ragnarok the soul, through the haze of madness. He sluggishly downed the offering. No exceptions could be made; if a soul was unfit for madness, they were to be erased. Even the people she now cared for. She crumpled in on herself, her skin felt like it was on fire. Like a corset laced too tight, she could feel Ragnarok's soul brushing up against her's. It sickened her. Ragnarok howled as his snout was elongated further and the hands that once held swords stretched into thin, jagged wings. Even with ninty nine souls, he could barely contain her anymore.
Kid angrily tossed bits of rubble into a dented trash can. He'd arrived to the Sarcophagus early and there wasn't much else to do. Cleaning offered him a little thing he could control.
An engagement? For him!? What did his father think, that Kid was too incompetent to find his own wife? There were several girls that would gladly kill to hear the time of day from him, let alone marry him. He had enough power and money to woo any number of girls that would impress his father. Not that he wanted to. They had already been through this when his father tried to pick out his own weapons for him, and yet it kept happening.
"That's a little pointless, don't you think?" Chrona had gracefully landed on an upended slate of asphault. She watched the boy jolt and fixed his appearance before facing her. How odd.
"Chrona!" Kid's face flushed."You...umm... look nice." Very odd.
"Really?" She asked. "I always feel tired after I've killed someone." His face blanched briefly, so he knew, and yet he was still here. He didn't run; only shook his head, muttering something to himself under his breath. He smiled at her sadly and Chrona wondered just how much he knew, yet over looked. This mild curiosity grew. What kind of person saw something in her she long assumed was dead? Was it a good sort of stubborn, or a dangerous kind?
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be rude." How could he be so dense? Of course Chrona had continued to aid Medusa, what other choice did the girl have? She was bound by the choices of her guardian, much like he was. Struggle as he might, he couldn't overrule his father's plans directly. That didn't make this situation change any. He felt a hand rest on his shoulder and looked up to meet a confused gaze.
"You're not rude," Chrona said, "it's no big deal." She didn't quite understand what he was feeling, but she knew guilt when she saw it. "I didn't mean to upset you."
"Oh no, it's not your fault." Kid said. "It's just... One minute I think I know everything and the next the world just seems to turn over. I can't control anything anymore and I hate it!" He held his head in his hands. "I'm a disgusting, pitiful creature that can't even decide what to do with my life without a million limitations first. I don't ask for much; but the one time I really want something to change, you'd think my father would actually listen." He sat down on a warped park bench. "He's always been like this. Growing up, I wasn't allowed to talk with other children. I wasn't allowed to go to school until I enrolled myself and literally foght to stay there. Every time I think I'm finally making my own decisions, I find myself back in line!" He heard Chrona chuckle behind him. "What?"
"It's just, this is the first time I've heard you talk about yourself since I knew you." In that moment, ever so briefly, Kid felt like nothing had changed. Her smile faltered. "You've given up a lot for your father, haven't you?" He didn't say anything in response; so she settled down next to him, a knowing look in her eyes. "I-I don't understand much about the world." She admitted. "But once, a long time ago, when I felt bad; someone did something that made me feel better." Her arms nervously wrapped around his torso. Maybe this was what he wanted from her all those times. He didn't move to hug her back. She pulled away suddenly. Maybe that wasn't it after all? What if she wasn't allowed to touch people, they were only touch her. "I'm sorry! I-I just thought that-" His face was bright red.
"No, it's not that." She had touched him, of her own volition. "I just wasn't expecting it. It was... nice." His heart was pounding a mile a minute. He gently took Chrona's hand, if only to reassure her. She glanced at the setting sun.
"Oh no, I've spent too much time here!" Chrona squeaked. "I'm still in the middle of a mission!" Before she left his side, she paused. "You know my name, but I don't know what to call you." A smile melted across his face."I mean, that is, if you want to see me again."
"Yes, of course. I'm just glad you want to meet again. Tomorrow at sundown?" She nodded, "Until then Chrona." He pecked the top her hand. "You may call me Shini." Chrona nodded, rapidly, her face deep red.
"Yes, then," she stuttered, "G-good bye Shini-kun. Until tomorrow." She stumbled backwards and choked down her embarrassment to leave Claudia's barrier. She didn't know how she would deal with him if she had to erase him. So she wouldn't, somehow she would keep him by her side, even if she had to drag him down with her.
Soul and Maka stood before Shinigami-sama, their heads bowed. They had tried to intercept Chrona on her way to Chernobyl, but didn't get three steps into the battle before the madness had started to effect Soul. It had taken everything Maka had to just to ground him back to reality. In the end, she had chosen her partner over her friend.
"I'm sorry we were unable to stop Chrona." Maka bit her lip. "I tried to reach out to her wavelength, but I couldn't make it through the madness." The shinigami nodded. "If I had more time, then maybe I could, but she'd have to stop running to do that." Something was wrong, but she couldn't put a finger on what. All she knew was she'd hoped to prove to Shinigami-sama they could find a peaceful solution.
"I imagine the two conflicting wavelengths would cause some issues." He sighed and looked at the image of Ukraine covered in Chrona's black blood. "It seems we can't turn a blind eye to this much longer."
"There is one more thing." Maka said. The shinigami turned toward her. "We know where the Kishen is."
Chrona trudged into her home, her mind clouded by fatigue. The world she was striving for was void of anything, to cut off herself from everything for her mother's vision, but it hadn't helped Ragnarok recover at all. They were almost as strong as the Kishen on the moon, but even still, she was afraid. Her fingers brushed over the locket under her dress. Did she want to risk breaking free from the path she was set on?
"Chrona you're home!" Medusa cooed from the kitchen. "I saw your battle with the death scythe, you were wonderful." Chrona blinked in shock.
"Such a sad face." Medusa tsked. "I know what will cheer you up. I made your favorite dish tonight." The snake witch glided into the dining room. "A celebration of your triumph. Thanks to you my research is complete. I know growing up must have been difficult for you, but it was for your own good." Chrona cautiously eased into her chair to eat her pasta. "I think it's time to tell you what your training was for." Medusa set down her cup to draw Chrona's attention. "When I was a little girl, the wicken world was ruled over by the Wicken Queen Iroha."
"...Iroha?" Chrona's head began to pound, that name sounded eerily familiar.
"She was born into a time when witches were forced into hiding, but she wanted more for us. She believed that everyone born with magic was capable of doing something great." Medusa spoke with a bitter sweet fondness. "She was the most powerful witch I ever saw. I thought if anyone could convince Lord Death to stop defying the fates, it would be her. She loved him more than anyone and he reaped her just like any common witch."
"What does this have to do with my training?" Chrona dared to ask.
"The fates were the ones who used to watch over the living. Pandora; your great, great grandmother; was the fate that ruled over the present. Like Iroha, she decided when it was someone's time, reguardless of how 'bad' they were." Medusa said. "You have her magic within you. If Lord Death knew who you were, he would have destroyed you as a child. I trained you to protect yourself from them. I gave up everything to keep you safe." Medusa smiled at the girl as she stood, but Chrona couldn't do the same. Medusa was lying, she had to be. Her mother didn't care about her; her mother was cold and bitter. Everyone had an ulterior motive, everybody lied. Her purpose, the reason she was born, was to kill a god for power's sake. That was the way her mother thought. With Shinigami-same gone, Medusa would take his place, not her. "The only way for you to stay safe, is to kill Lord Death. Then I can make up for all the time I had to be callous to you." Medusa wrapped her arms around the girl. "We'll finally get to be family." It was a lie, one huge lie. This wasn't her mother, her mother would throw her away once she wasn't useful. She'd be forgotten and alone.
"NO!" Chrona's sword dug into the witch. "Don't look at me with that disgusting smile and lie to my face. You gave up nothing!" Chrona gave up her freedom, Ragnarok had given up his body, Medusa was the only one who lived a normal life. Medusa was the one who refused to fix Ragnarok they way she had fixed herself. They were both getting ripped apart on the inside and Medusa chose faux kindness instead of helping. Why now? Why was she showing kindness now? It had to be another trap.
"Chrona?" Medusa croaked. Chrona pulled her sword back and towered above the witch.
"I gave up everything." It couldn't be, there had to be something more. "I starved and isolated myself because you said I should. If I really was that important, someone would have saved me." Shini-kun was out there, waiting for her. "Mother just wants people to suffer when she says they should. You're not her."
"Chrona, you don't understand-" Medusa stutter. The blood loss made her weak. Chrona's heart twisted in knots. She'd killed many people more innocent, more kind, and hadn't felt this guilty. Even though she knew Medusa was on Shinigami-sama's list, knew people would be happy this person was gone, it still hurt. She didn't want it to hurt, she wanted to be free.
"My mother needs me, you're nothing without me." She stabbed Medusa again. The numbness wasn't coming, the maddness wasn't helping. "I'm not afraid of you." The snake witch dropped to the floor, the last thing Medusa saw was her daughter standing tall and strong. Just like she had hoped she'd be.
"I love you." It was worth her daughter's loathing to know that she would be survive.
Chrona frowned at the form of her dead mother and took the soul in her hand. It was cold, like sleet in spring. She continued to stare at it like something was supposed to happen, some magical happy end, but the knotted energy just hovered in her hand uncermoniously.
"Here you go Ragnarok, dinner." Ragnarok slurped up the soul eagerly. Power coursed through him and for the first time in days, his energy dwarfed her's and she felt like she could breathe again. She knew she should feel some more powerful emotion. People usually cried in these senarios, but she was more bitter she felt bad about what she'd done. Ragnarok was happy enough for the both of them, even if he'd long lost the words to express it. "I did the right thing, didn't I?"
It wouldn't be enough to keep him safe for long. Witches were more powerful than weapons, even one as old as Ragnarok was. He needed to be stronger.
Kid was the last to arrive to his father's summons, but no one really noticed due to his reputation for being late to things. The air was tense and the room was full of the top students from both classes. All the death scythes who could leave their posts were there as well.
"Now that everybody's here I have a few announcements." Lord Death spoke. "Thanks to Maka and Soul, we now know the location of the Kishen. He's on the moon of all places, which makes things fairly difficult for us." The group muttered amongst themselves.
"Wha? The moon?" Kim exclaimed. "Maka, you can't be serious!"
"Soul and I both felt his wavelength clear as day." Maka insisted. "He's up there."
"But how will we get up there?" Tsubaki asked.
"We have a small craft," Lord Death shrugged, "but the conditions up there will be tough. Kid you will be going up there with the death scythes to stop the Kishen."
"Sir." Black Star interjected. "With all due respect, I don't think Kid should go on this mission." Both shinigami stared at the ninja. "He's been rather unreliable as of late." Kid had been disappearing for hours at a time, where even his weapons didn't know where he was or when he'd be back. It didn't help the few times Kid had agreed to meet with them, suddenly he'd run off.
"Is that all?" Soul asked. "And this suggestion you have wouldn't happen to be related to other events?" Black Star glared at him. Sure he could see how this could sound like petty jealousy, but they were talking about waging a war against the god of madness.
"No." Black Star defended. "A true warrior listens to his keen instincts and my instincts tell me that Kid going would be a bad idea." The group began to bicker amongst themselves until Shinigami-sama interrupted.
"CHILDREN PLEASE! Yes, Tsubaki." The chain scythe lowered her hand which had been raised the whole time.
"What are the rest of us supposed to do?" She asked.
"In light of the recent events in the Ukraine, it had come to my attention that we should do something about Chrona." The god sighed. "From this moment on she been moved to the top of Shibusen's list and her execution will be entrusted to you." The group was thrown into chaos once more.
"Shinigami-sama, please reconsider!" Maka begged. But the elder shinigami remained firm in his verdict. She looked to Kid who had a blank look and tarnished, bronze key around his neck.
"...What Chrona did was unforgivable." Kid said smoothly. "She's killed hundreds of people now and has made a detrimental impact on the level of madness in the world." His friends stared at him in muffled shock. He couldn't tell them that he'd tried meeting with her several times, only for her to run back to Medusa. "Her disposal was inevitable." On the outside, he was the perfect son; on the inside, he was screaming.