Witches do not grow at the same rates humans do. When Black Star agreed to look after Angela in Mifune's place, he did so knowing his children's grand children would have to look after her long after he died. But, to his surprise, Angela had started to grow. Something about feeling safe, and having a home and triggered it, or at least that's what Kim had told him. Rather than age slowly, they get stuck at certain stages.
It was no coincidence that most of the destructive witches they'd run into were trapped in their teens to early twenties. Once you had earned a certain amount of power, it was easy to stop maturing and learning. In Angela's case, is seemed the opposite. She'd spent most of her life running and hiding, too busy staying alive to do anything else. She'd been stuck as a child for a long time. Even now, he wasn't sure how long that had been the case.
After he finished training Tsubaki, he put everything else on hold to take care of Angela. With each growth spurt he had hope that she'd be able to take care of herself within his lifetime. Kid had no problems assigning him the occasional mission, even if he technically only made it to two-star meister status. Everything seemed to be going fairly well until Tsubaki was ready to take a position overseas.
Black Star wasn't comfortable taking Angela away from Death City. They had been talking about it for over a year, in the quiet hours while Angela slept. She thought meisters and weapons partnered for life. They had tried desperately to find an explanation that wouldn't hurt the poor girl. At the end of the day, Black Star was the one who agreed to adopt her, not Tsubaki. Tsubaki was ready to have her own life. She wouldn't be taking Angela with her.
He worried Angela would stop growing after that.
For two years she'd been stuck looking and acting like a thirteen-year-old. He knew her adjusting to the change would take time. As a single parent, he always had to be the bad guy. He was the one that told her what happened to Mifune, that the DWMA used to hunt witches when he was younger. He tried to persuade her to take up meister training, but all she wanted to do was play with her magic. It was almost a constant battle of wills at home now.
"Aren't you going to the party Lord Death is holding?" Angela has asked the morning before the party. Hearing other people called Kid Lord Death was still weird to him.
"It's not a kid friendly event." Black Star said. "Besides, I wouldn't want to make you miss magic practice just so I could go." She used a levitation spell to take the pan he'd forgotten about off the burner.
"I could stay with a friend." She said. He turned to her, a playfully suspicious look on his face. One of her favorite things was to complain about practicing magic with younger witches. "It's just for one night."
"Are you sure?" He asked setting a plate of almost burnt food in front of her. "You don't have to."
"It'll be fine." She swiveled back and forth in her seat, but kept her tone conversational. "It's not like I'll be with a babysitter or anything. It'll be a sleepover." He ruffled her hair and she silently cheered. Because she knew Tsubaki would be at the party too. Once they were face to face again, she knew they'd have fun, and they'd realize how much they missed living together. It didn't matter to her if Tsubaki came back or they could finally move to Oceania. They'd finally be one big happy family again.
A party without pizza and a mascot running around, it was like a dream come true. Truth be told, Black Star wasn't sure how to talk to most people his own age without boring them. Everyone around him was just starting to hash out the anxieties that came from starting the next chapter of their lives. He'd kind of skipped that step and went straight to rearing a tiny person that was getting into trouble. He couldn't even relate to those who were on their first kid, things related to anyone under the age of eight was a mystery to him.
It was still nice to be out and not worry about the clock. He was plenty happy to catch up with old classmates and hear what they'd been up to over the years. His friends all had their own table. Most of them were seated by the time he rolled up.
"Your god has arrived!" He laughed. There was a resounding cheer that he'd been able to make it and the traditional round of hugs from people he'd only talked to over the phone the past few years.
"Hey," Soul nudged him quietly, "just a fair warning. Maka's kinda of..." He trailed off. She walked up to the table with two glasses of neon pink drink, and started pounding one immediately.
"Is the world ending again and I missed it?" Black Star asked with a huge grin. He really shouldn't find it funny, but Maka was the last person he thought would be fighting with Kid over how many drinks she's had.
"Oh my god, you're here!" Maka sat down next to him.
"I know," he laughed, "I need to get on your level though. I was literally late to the party." She gave him one of her drinks.
"I'll go get another one." She slurred and downed the rest before getting up.
"This is going to be fun." Black Star said.
Everyone else seemed a little concerned, but Black Star figured they were just not used partying like they used to. He certainly was out of practice, two drinks felt more like five. It was still nice to see everyone again. Highlights included an elderly Stein racing the new hires down the dance floor on office chairs, beating Kilik and Ox at silly drinking games, and seeing his squarest friend try to dance.
He did, unfortunately, brag a little too much about Tsubaki's promotion. Throughout the night, he kept hearing people wonder why a bunch of Kid's top brass was hanging out with a two-star meister. To which he was quick to snap back, why would he need to train another weapon? He nailed it the first time.
Halfway through the night, his vision got hazy around the edges, and he had to admit he'd gone a little too hard on the drinks. Just having Maka lean into him was enough to make him think about his balance.
"Hey," he nudged her back on her feet, "I have to go."
"Boo." He wasn't sure where she'd been trying to poke, but she dug her finger into his cheek. "The song's not even over."
"You said that three songs ago." He grabbed her hand to guide it away from his face. Her head bobbed a little, and he glanced at their table. Everyone else was still talking and having a good time. "How are you getting home?"
"I'mma walk." Maka patted him on the shoulder.
"By yourself?" That was a horrible idea. Years of training or no, one drunk person stumbling in the vague direction of their home, was not a safe person. "I could take you home." She stared at him. Likely under the impression she was still okay enough to party. She was going to need a whole persuasive essay to be convinced she should call it quits. A task Black Star wasn't sure he could handle even while sober.
"Alright." Maka shrugged. "Fuck it, take me home." Black Star thanked whatever lucky star was shining on him tonight that he wouldn't have to worry about her. That was until they got in the cab and she couldn't tell him which hotel she was staying at. "I thought you were taking me home." She lolled her head to the side. "Or were you just saying that?"
"Your hotel is nicer." Black Star said. She made a face. "It's at least cleaner, I didn't think I was coming four hours ago." She laughed and he rolled his eyes. "You'd seriously want to stay with me?"
"I already said yes, didn't I?" She listed toward him and he gave the driver directions. He didn't question the way her arms snaked around his waist, or the small pliant kisses on his neck, or the hand that had somehow snaked up his shirt. He had liked her since high-school and even if she didn't mean it, it was nice to play in the innocent space where things had gone differently. Where he hadn't let the world almost ending and getting stronger take up his entire childhood. "Hey," he turned to Maka, "what are you-"
Her lips were on his. He heard the click of her seat belt and the driver give some vague threat as she crawled a little more in his lap. A rush of adrenaline, the edges of his vision faded in and out. She was warm under his hands, this had to be real, or she would have snapped him out of it.
"I said get out!" He cabbie shouted. They had made it to the apartments. He was reminded again, as they struggled up the stairs, that neither of them were sober. All the giggling in the world wouldn't change that. He had to convince her multiple times to stay on the bed while he showered. The cold water helped him a little. Everything was too bright, too loud, and he was leaning against every available object to get around. He came out partially dressed just as Maka threw her underwire across the room like it personally offended her.
She was framed by shadows on either side, the light of the bathroom casting a golden glow on her hair and skin. With one finger, she called him over, and he followed helplessly as his mind lagged behind. She cupped his cheek and pulled him close.
"What's the matter?" She asked.
"We can't." He said. She bit her lip, her brows furrowed, slowly laying back. He crawled over her, not wanting to break eye contact. "I'll never forgive myself if I mess this up." There was a sparkle back in her eyes as she locked her arms around his neck.
"It'll be fine." She grinned. He pushed himself onto his hands and knees, with her hanging around his neck. She tilted her chin, waiting for a trail of kisses.
"You promise?" With a fistful of his hair, she pulled him down for a kiss, humming some vague consent. "Then you can wait." He said once she let him breathe.
"Boooo." She let her arms drop like wet noodles, but clearly wasn't too offended.
"I'm trying to make good fucking choices." He laughed. "Go shower." He got up and watched her roll out of bed. When she realized she still had his eye, she walked slower, letting her skirt drop in the doorway of the bathroom. "Shower." He threw a pillow in her direction. His head was swimming again. That had been too close.
Reality came crashing back in the next morning. Maka was back to her straight laced apologetic self, unable to look him in the eye. Which was a bit of a bummer, but part of him knew it was inevitable. Angela standing in his kitchen, seeing Maka leave the bedroom in his clothes, was not.
"She's only been gone for six months!" Angela slammed the cooking utensils down. "You were supposed to bring her back, not some other girl!" She turned invisible, but it was easy for him to follow the trail of slamming doors and angry sniffles. He tried to explain while the breakfast Angela had cooked cooled on the stove, but it was no use. Tsubaki was the only one who could calm her down when she got like this. He called her as soon as he could, and explained in as short of detail what happened to his half-asleep weapon. Angela had run out of the house, she'd be near impossible for him to find now. As he left Angela's room, he hung up the phone just in time to keep Tsubaki from hearing Maka throw up in the trash.
"Don't worry about me." Maka waved him off. "Go after her." She needed to find her clothes. He didn't listen, instead helping her gimp to the nearest chair. "She'll hate you more if you don't." She knew from experience, and she didn't need to be babied right now. She just needed to keep down a glass of water and get out of here before Angela got back.
"She left without her house keys, someone's got to stay behind." Black Star offered her a hot cup of chicken broth. "It'll be okay, she just needs time..." Though, truth be told, he wasn't sure how long that would take. Part of him resented being stuck in one place for so long, but anytime he tried to rush things, it just made it worse.
"I'm sorry." It was the third or fourth time she'd said it. "I acted like an idiot last night, and I keep making things worse."
"Maka, really, you're fine." He laughed. "It's been an honor to see what happens when you get shit-faced." She buried her head in her hands and groaned. "At least you didn't think you could get honey out of a stadium light." She peaked at him between her fingers. "The graduation after party was crazy. Soul insisted we go to Ikea to find, and I quote, a Narnia closet. No one could convince him it wasn't real." He jerked his thumb over to a wall mounted stop sign. "I stole that on the way back. We never figured out what intersection it was from."
"Why did you steal a stop sign?" She asked.
"Because I physically could." He said. "One second, we were walking back from the ikea, the next I had a stop sign. So, considering the fact you didn't get kicked out of a store or commit any crimes, I can say with confidence not the worst I've had to deal with. Myself included." He checked his phone, still no update. "I do not mind that you find me incredibly bangable." Maka choked on her cup of broth, it almost came out of her nose. He had that smug look on his face, that told her he one hundred percent was just messing with her. Unable to speak right away, she wildly swung her hand and ended up smacking his arm. "Honestly, a little insulted you find that embarrassing. I'm obviously a 10."
"Okay, I get it." She said once her voice cleared. "I'll stop apologizing."
Angela didn't have anywhere to go. Her anger had gotten her far, but not far enough. She wandered the streets at dawn, imperceptible to others walking by. Mifune always said, once she was strong enough, she could go anywhere she wanted in the world. She could do it now, just runaway and never look back. Maybe then her sorry excuse for a guardian would actually feel sorry about what he did, instead of pitying her like it was inevitable. Humans loved to come and go in her life it was about time one of them took responsibility for it.
Her heart stopped. In the alley behind her favorite smoothie shop, someone was standing over a body with a large star tattoo on their back. She was still invisible. As quietly as she could, she disguised her phone and took a single picture with a trembling hand. They looked her direction just as the light from the flash faded.
Two long whips receded back into beaded braids that framed a soft face. The metallic mesh ware they wore rippled and reflected the street behind them as they came within inches of Angela's location. She minimized her presence as best she could. Their eyes narrowed. Just as they reached out a muffled voice shouted in their ear, causing them to flinch.
"There's a Shibusen student in the area, what are you doing lingering at the site?" They pocketed the ear piece, the shouting still evident, though fully incoherent. With a shake of their head they left.
She lingered a little too long in hindsight. Her magic had faltered and she ran in the opposite direction. There were no sirens. No one else knew that person was dead.