A/N: This came out later than expected, so apologizes for that, hope you guys enjoy it either way.

13:

Maka:

"There you go again," Blair's voice snapped me back into reality, I blinked, almost surprised that I was home. "You sure you're alright?" despite the grin she gave me, I heard the concern in her voice. I simply nodded halfheartedly. Last night's turn of events really took a toll on me, by the time I returned home, it was already past midnight. Even then, I couldn't stop thinking about Crona. How nervous and strange he acted, it scared me. And then their was Soul and-

"Hey, you look tired, did you even get any sleep last night?" Blair once again interrupted my train of thoughts. I sighed in relief, not wanting to revisit the memory of last night. I was glad Blair decided to swing by when she did.

"Not really," I admitted, letting out a small yawn as I stretched my arms. "Had a rough night, is all."

"Hitting those books hard, eh?" she grinned, playfully punching my shoulder, "I always wonder why you love to read and lazy around the house, then again, having a dad with the rank of Death scythe is a luxury not everyone enjoys."

"Hey, I have many priorities that need to get done daily, I don't just "lazy around"."

"You mean, besides spending the day reading, cooking, and studying up on the supernatural?" my friend asked me with an innocent smile. I ignored the urge to smack her, after all, she was saying the truth. Instead, my mind began to resurface the questions I asked myself in my sleep.

Why did Papa have to leave unexpectedly again? Why did that demon act so friendly? What was wrong with Crona? How did that Shinigami know about her mother? How was Soul-

As my thoughts turned towards Soul, I felt my heart ache and my mood darken. I wanted to pull out my hair and scream out all the pain. *It was my fault he got hurt…it was my fault that he almost-*

"Maka," Blair muttered, her smile disappearing, "is something wrong? I've never seen you like this." She got up from the coach and pulled a chair next to me as I buried my face in my hands. We sat at the table in silence until I felt Blair tug lightly at one of my Pigtails. "I'm here for you, if you wanna talk about it, kay?"

I sighed, "I know Blair, I know." I told her, still not facing her, "I just….don't know where to start." When I finally did look at my friend, she nodded her head in reassurance. I took a deep breath, no longer able to hold on to the guilt.

"Blair…." I half mumbled to myself, staring at the wall in front of me, "I…..can I trust you, not to tell my dad about any of this?" She hesitated for a second before slowly nodding her head.

"You know you can," she said slowly, "your secret's safe with me."

I sighed, "It's just that…this guilt is eating me alive, I can't even think straight right now." I remained silent for a few minutes, trying to collect my thought properly. So many thoughts were running through my mind at that moment, I'm surprised my brain didn't just snap in two right then and there.

"What did you do?" Blair asked me, now curios, if not a bit uneasy. "Maka, you've got to calm down, let it out in small bits rather than all at once."

"Alright," I breathed, "bit by bit then. One of my friends has me worried to death…..you've probably seen him before. His name is Soul Evans, and, his a demon."

Blair blinked, surprise all over her face. "You're kidding, right Maka? This is all just a joke…..isn't it?"

"You know better than anyone that I don't kid around," I told her in a serious tone, "and if I do, I wouldn't go this far. Yes, I'm friends with one of my sworn enemies."

"Ok," she sighed slowly, taking that fact in. The look on her face almost made me regret telling Blair anything. She saw my disappointed look that adorned my face and patted my head. "Maka," she said gently, "if he's your friend, I can accept that. I won't think any less of you, so don't worry. I just didn't expect that, and I'm sorry if I made you feel bad." I gave her a small smile, knowing she meant every word.

"Remember when you escorted me home, almost a week ago?" I asked her, my smile slowly fading, she nodded almost immediately. "That day….Soul got hurt…because of me…." Blair didn't interrupt me, her face only told me to continue. "I was tasked with eliminating a target, a target, I was more than capable of handling by myself. I could've just told him I could handle it, I could've just ignored him, instead, I chose to let him help me. I didn't know I was trapped in limbo, and I had no idea of what I was facing."

I stopped, waiting for the feeling of guilt and self-loathing to leave me. When I realized that was in vain, I sighed and continued where I left off. "I don't even remember how it happened….one minute, I was sure I was at death's door, the next, Soul was on the ground…dying. He took the hit….that was meant for me." That was when the urge to cry hit me, but through all my willpower, I managed to conquer it.

"Maka," Blair said quietly after a long period of silence, folding her hands and choosing her words carefully, "are you and Soul…close. I mean, more than friends?"

My eyes widened in surprise. *Are Soul and I….more than friends?* I always considered Soul just a normal friend, if not a best friend. But, anything beyond that? I then realized, after the incident, my mind had drifted towards Soul more and more often each day. At first, I thought it was this instinct, this desire to take care of him, but now, I'm not sure of what it is. *A friend wouldn't naturally take a bullet for you without hesitation,* I thought to myself, feeling my heartbeat beginning to quicken, *a person you've only known for two months wouldn't do that, that's sound like something a-*

"Maka, you're turning red," Blair commented, raising a brow, "if you don't want to answer me, I understand." Shit. She was right. I felt my face grow hot almost instantly. I didn't have to look in the mirror to know my face was as red as a tomato.

"I don't know." I said finally, "Maybe." I waited for my blush to disappear, wishing that I was alone in my room rather than out here in the open. "What I do know, is that because of me, Soul would've died that day."

"Maka," Blair told me gently, placing a hand on my shoulder, "it's not your fault. Soul willingly chose to protect you. I know you feel guilty, but that's no reason to beat yourself up." I felt cold tears running down my checks, I quickly wiped them away with my arm.

I sighed, "I guess you're right Blair, but no matter how much I keep telling myself that, I'll still feel guilty."

"So, aside from the demon that you obviously can't get out of your head, what else is taking your sleep?"

"…Crona." I murmured quietly, I barely heard the words come out of my mouth, so I repeated myself.

"Crona?" Blair looked at me with an interested tone, "What about Crona, is he ok? I haven't heard a word about him in almost a month."

"I'm not sure Ok is the best word to describe him right now," I muttered softly as a chill went down my spine. I suddenly remembered Crona's uneasiness, and the way he snatched the medication I brought him, almost like he was addicted to the stuff. I shivered, remembering my friend's horrible appearance. What was once a boy that held the innocence of a child, became a totally different person, but why?

"You should've seen him Blair, I doubt you'd recognize him. He got even thinner if it were possible, and his eyes…."

"Is he even eating?" Blair asked, a bit of panic escaping in her voice, "I heard he was really sick, but I hope it isn't really that bad."

"That's what I'm afraid of…." I said, trying my best not to let my thoughts take me back to last night. "I wonder if his mother's even caring for him at all."

"Of course she would care for him, I mean, she's a nurse, she must know what she's doing. And besides, what kind of mother doesn't care for her child?" The conversation continued, at first about Crona, then it escalated to the topic of mothers.

And through it all, I wondered if Soul was angry with me, and whether or not I would see him again.

Soul:

"Ok," I sighed, looking up at my guardian who was absentmindedly munching on a crunchy green apple he had forgotten he had, "I did every single chore you assigned me, not one of them unchecked…now, about that training?"

Virgil stopped his chewing for a second, dazed, as if realizing that we were in his room for the first time. He sighed, tossing the apple into the air and catching it with his left hand. "So long as you stay in your room, knock yourself out kid, just try not to blow up half the damn place."

Before I left, I called back to him, my curiosity poking at me. He had been standing there for around ten minutes just staring at the apple when I came in. He didn't even acknowledge me until I called out to him around three times. "Hey Virgil," I started, but something in the back of my head told me not to ask. The main reason being that he probably wouldn't talk about it, that much I already knew. "…Never mind."

The man shrugged as he walked off, probably going to keep some of the guards in line. I myself left his room with a grin on my face, I never thought I'd be this excited to serve my punishment. The grin faded once I heard my stomach growl. "Now?" I muttered to myself, mentally arguing with myself whether or not to go downstairs to grab some dinner. *They probably won't even give me anything,* I mentally told myself, sighing as I held my empty gut, *More than likely, dear old dad ordered it so.*

I was surprised however, when I found a warm bowl on a tray sitting atop my bed. I looked back outside, making sure no one was around before I shut the door. Rubbing my hands together, I brought the bowl to the floor with me, not very sanitary I know, but I was not spilling any on my bed.

I looked down at my plate, taking a spoonful of whatever was in it, and instantly made a face. It tasted like a spoonful of ash.*Well, that's what you get.* I thought to myself. Part of me wanted to push the tray away, but my hunger got the better of me. I swallowed every bite without even tasting it. Thankfully, there was a bottle of water next to the bowl, so at least it wasn't that bad.

"Ok," I sighed, picking up one of the first books in the stack, "let's see what you can teach me." I examined the book in my hands, the old red leather had seen better days, and the title of the book was now all but gone. Flipping over towards the first page, I fetched the weapon I had earlier tried to communicate with. "You still might have some use to me." I told it, and immediately felt stupid. I shook my head and sat cross-legged on the floor. If anything, I could use this blade as a reference.

"Chapter 1," I read to myself, and as my eyes began to follow the text, my mind took me back to Maka. She'd probably have more fun reading this than I will. I wondered what kind of punishment she was in. Sighing, I closed the book (gently, I didn't want Sid beating down my door if I damaged it in any way), knowing that my thoughts wouldn't let me concentrate.

I flopped down on my bed and stared at the ceiling, my mind taking me back to that day at the fair, when she and I first became friends.

And for some odd reason, the small smile on my face remained as my eyes slowly began to close and sleep embraced me.

A/N: short, I know, but I promise that the plot will continue after this filler chapter, and hopefully, I won't have to write another one in a while.