I apologize for the long wait. I had to finish up my sophomore curriculum before I even considered updating. But now that I'm on break, I can update frequently.

I want to bring to your attention that my profile page contains recent updates, in case a chapter is late. I will update that even more frequently.

Regarding Our Lives - my new (short) story for Maka and Soul. It's more of an experimentation, and romance is much more limited than Do Re Mi. It's in an alternate universe and examines what life is like without direct communication. So go read the first chapter.

The picture? Haven't started! Because of school. But now I will make it, but I need more suggestions! So far, Cindy wants a picture from the scene where they are in Moscow, but I want approval from everyone else. If you have a different idea, please tell me through a review.

Speaking of reviews... I'm not trying to beg for reviews. It just... I've been short on them. They give me confidence and a reason to write. So please please please, review for my confidence's sake. And I will update a lot quicker if I get at least eight more reviews. Thanks!

Enjoy this kind of shortish chapter,
Ki

Redish leaves swirled on the ground. They crunched under Maka's feet. Her mouth didn't speak under her scarf. There were no words to be spoken, except through the silence of the search party. She felt a pat on her back. She cringed. Her eyes burned with the unknowing… the lost of something she had never gained. Maka heard Kidd say to her, "Honorable Father is anticipating a new Death Scythe from you."

"Yes," Maka smiled softly at the leaves on the ground. She was quickly, but gently embraced by her own weapon, a treasured person she could still hold to her heart. Her feet were numb, but this person kept on keeping her up. Standing up. Through the coldness of the days that had since passed her father's disappearance. She thought she wouldn't care. She thought she wouldn't give a damn. Or cry. She wouldn't cry. But she did anyways. Maka felt herself being pulled up onto the motorbike, and she heard Soul announce to everyone that they could go home. Then, the vibrations of the engine shook through her. Now this was a familiar feeling. Sitting on Soul's bike, her cheek pressed against his back. But the guilt inside of her, and that numbness in her toes seemed to be eating her inside out.

In just a half an hour, Maka was sitting on her bed, her mother's postcards spread out amongst the white sheets. She brushed her fingertips on the glossy surfaces, staring blankly at the colorful scenic photography. The bedroom door opened. Soul invited himself in and sat down next to her, watching her. Then, she said, "It's been six months."

"I'm sorry," Soul apologized, resting his hand on her thigh and bringing her closer. He, too, stared at the stunning photography in the pictures.

"She's hasn't sent me one in six months," she repeated bitterly, stacking up the postcards in chronological order. While whistling their song. She turned over the stack and bound the cards with a rubber band. She tossed them to the side and laid back onto her bed, conveniently pulling Soul down with her. But right now, she couldn't feel him. She couldn't sense his presence. All feeling was lost.

Soul kissed her check, then ran his lips towards her ear. He whispered sweet nothings. Every word made Maka's stomach flip over and turn inside out. "Everything will be alright, Maka." Kiss. "I'm here for you… I'm right here." Kiss.

"Soul…" Maka moaned to his touches. "Stop… pitying me. It's not cool."

But he continued to brush his lips along her cheek, just breathing against her skin. He spoke no words now. His soul invited her in, but she declined, remembering the last time she went there. Her father saw. Everything. They must have been kissing in real-life, too. And now, Papa the pervert was gone. Dead or alive. Not even Shinigami knew. Her teeth clattered. It wasn't even chilly. She yanked her head away from Soul and curled up on the other side of the bed. Her feet angrily swept the photos off the bed.

Soul watched the postcards slide off the bed, a waterfall of them flopping to the ground. He shut his eyes and groaned. There was no way he could think straight when his girlfriend was emitting an aura of self-hate. Best thing he could do was leave her to think. And that's exactly what he did.

After fleeing the room, he sat himself next to the door, extending out his arms to rest on his knees. His favorite television show was on, but he wouldn't feel right about enjoying himself while Maka sulked on her bed. Instead, he slumped near the door and watched the sky out of the far living room window turn gray. It was about as light as it could get at this time of day during the season. The apartment was a mess. A mess that Maka would have to clean later. But that would be a burden. A large burden. So Soul hastily climbed back up to a standing position and used the remains of his energy to retrieve the vacuum. No sense in sitting around. Just gotta keep moving.

It was midnight when Soul finally finished. He checked in on Maka, who was surprisingly awake. Her nose was dug into a book, her mind wandering off into someone else's imagination. Soul smiled and closed the door again. But right when he turned back to go to bed, he heard a crash and a high-pitched scream.

Maka's scream.

He broke down the door with his transformed arm and rushed in, his heart racing. Maka… Maka… Maka… But what he saw angered him rather than worried him.

Black… Star…?

BlackStar was on Maka's bed, hugging the thin mattresses. He moaned, "So this was the bed…"

"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING IN MAKA'S ROOM, YOU BASTARD?!?!?!?!" Soul shouted at him, snatching the book from a startled Maka and throwing it at his friend's head. He missed.

"Goddammit, Soul, at… least aim…" Maka whined, magically taking out an even thicker hardcover textbook and slamming it into BlackStar's blue-haired noggin.

"AHHH OW DAMMIT OW!!! THE GREAT BLACKSTAR HAS COME UPON CURIOUSITY!!!!" He exclaimed in pain and pride.

Soul walked over to the bed and asked, "What the hell are you talking about?"

BlackStar suddenly burst out into laughter. Soul stood dumbfounded, but Maka clicked. Her jaw dropped. "Oh shit… no… please don't tell me…"

"YEEEEPPP!!!!" BlackStar looked up at her with pleasing eyes and an evil, innocent grin.

Maka shrieked. She suddenly kicked BlackStar's ass, causing him to tumble off the bed. "This bed must be disinfected at ONCE!!!"

Soul stood in the corner as Maka and BlackStar scrambled around the bed, frightened and overreacting. He was still dumbfounded and completely out of the loop. Obviously, something obnoxiously annoying happened, and it obviously wasn't cool. At all. He started by saying, "Um… guys… this isn't cool. What happened?"

And BlackStar decided to break the news pretty damn bluntly, by stating loud and clear, "Kim is pregnant!"

Soul's jaw dropped. His eye twitched. His teeth clenched. "In… Maka's… bed…?"

"Yep!"

"On… my… birthday…?"

"YEP!!!!"

Neither Maka nor Soul slept in her bed for the rest of the year.

The next day, after school, a very exhausted shinigami grabbed the wrist of a very nervous witch and ordered, "You're coming with me."

Kidd pulled Chrona out of the corner she sat in all day in the classroom and dragged her out the front of Shibusen. The day was fairly clam with some light misty winds. But the laughing sun's silhouette was prominent through the haze. Chrona whined and moaned, her feet unable to keep up with Kidd's. What was going on? Did she do something wrong?

"I'm sorry! I'm really, truly sorry!" She squeaked.

"Not now, Chrona," Kidd stated without looking back. "You didn't do anything wrong. Like I've told you over and over again, if you DID do something wrong, I'll tell you."

She looked back, herself, and pointed to Shibusen through the fog, "But I have a training session with Angela and Kim in five minutes!"

"They can wait," Kidd countered again. "Kim is fully capable of taking care of Angela herself."

"That's not what I meant…" Chrona slouched, finally giving in and keeping up Kidd's pace. They walked down several streets, turning lefts and rights. They passed a mirror store. They passed several food markets, a restaurant, and a couple residential areas. Chrona knew exactly where she was, but she had no clue where they were going. But then, they passed a large oak tree with a pointed nose. She remembered. "Agaaain?"

"Yes," he said. "Once a month at least from now on."

"Oh… okay." She squeaked. What Kidd says, goes. For everything. She ran a couple fingers through her long lavender hair, now completely down, save the small purple flower pin on the left side of her head. She sighed when they reached the destination. Here we go again… how am I supposed to deal with this? She thought. That liar… we were just here a week and a half ago… But she was shocked when they passed it. A small shop squished between an antique store and a pawn shop. A beat up sign in front read, 'Berry's Barber'. She tilted her head in confusion as she continued to follow Kidd. "I thought we were visiting Berry again."

Kidd shook his head, "She's not in today. But I did arrange an appointment for the 8th of November." He smiled proudly to the heavens for his accomplishment. That accomplishment being scheduling a hair appointment on a symmetrical numbered day.

Chrona sighed, "That's tomorrow, Kidd."

"Shh… shh…" Kidd silenced her, grabbing her tighter and going at a faster pace. Suddenly, he heard a sniffle. He stopped and turned around to face Chrona. Who was upset. He let go and completely turned her way. "Huh? Are you okay?"

Sniffle. "…is my hair really that unsymmetrical…?" Sniffle. "I'm really… sorry…" Sniffle. "I don't need… this hair… at all… if it's causing everyone… trouble…" She buried her face into her hands, trying to hold back the pain of sobs. Crying was truly painful and annoying when you're the type of person who cries a lot.

"NonononononoNONONO!!!" Kidd hushed her. He grabbed the end of his jacket sleeve and rubbed the stretched fabric onto her eye, wiping away tears. "We just need it trimmed. You know – so you can grow out your hair longer and healthier. I promise!" He said, comforting her. "Here…" He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and patted her. "Walk with me here. There are a few things we need to talk about. And I want to show you something." Chrona calmed herself down and followed Kidd up a small hillside. The grass was dry and dull. She fought the slope of the hillside, her feet carrying her up. She began to shiver in excitement and fear. At the same time. When they reached the top of the hill, Kidd told her, "We're here."

A deep violet glossy rock formation covered the west-facing side of the hill. It sparkled through the light fog, sending shimmers of light to their eyes. Chrona gasped in amazement. Bending down, her hand brushed the smooth crystallization. Kidd patted her back again and said, "This is called 'Fog Rock'. It's unique to Death City and is caused by the opposing sun and moon. It's virtually impossible to break off a piece, since it's a thousand times tougher than diamond."

"Wow…" Chrona awed as she rubbed her finger on a bit of rock protruding out. She grabbed it and tried to break it off. She knew it wouldn't budge. But, unexpectedly, that piece shattered and fell into her hand. She panicked, "K-Kidd… I think I broke it! I'm sorry!"

"No, no…" Kidd explained, "The reason why it's called 'Fog Rock' is because it will absolutely only break apart when it's foggy."

Chrona looked at Kidd and asked, "Why?"

"Not even I know that," Kidd said. "But you can have that piece you're holding. I gotta break some more to give to Liz and Patty."

The witch nodded and fiddled around with her piece while she waited for Kidd to get some more Fog Rock for his weapons. She turned the rock in her fingers and smiled calmly. The world around her was changing. Why did she just suddenly realize that? She felt a bit more secure now that she had been at Shibusen for almost four years. Not only did she change physically, since she now looked a lot more like a girl, but she was starting to see the good things in life. Friendship, family, and love. She couldn't remember the last time she wrote dark poetry, and it seemed that Ragnarok was becoming a lot more independent. Chrona wasn't fun to tease anymore.

"First Dusty… and now Spirit…" Kidd muttered, standing up after finishing. Chrona stood up with him. He continued, "Both have disappeared… and for a reason. But Honorable Father believes their disappearances are not connected at all. We believe that while Spirit left on his own, Dusty may have had no choice."

Chrona became confused and the sudden change of topic. She asked, "Why would Death-Scythe leave so suddenly? He had the best job in all of Shibusen."

"I don't know," Kidd said. "But I have a theory."

"What?"

Kidd slid the rocks in his pocket. "I'd rather keep my thoughts confidential for now. If my theory were to be wrong, we would have been getting our hopes up for nothing." He placed a hand on her shoulder. "But also… I'd like to recruit you for a secret mission." He bent down to tap on the Fog Rock. "During the first foggy day of December, you, Kim, Jackie, BlackStar, Tsubaki, and I will be retrieving the body of Asura."

"Oh… that," Chrona remembered Soul's eighteenth birthday, when she and Kidd took a stroll around Death City. He had explained to her about his mother and Eibon and Asura. But what she couldn't figure out was why he needed a whole team. She asked, "Why so many people?"

"Well, there was going to be Soul and Maka also," Kidd added, "But Honorable Father and I decided that they should concentrate on finishing up promoting Soul. But anyways, Honorable Father sealed up the tomb with two hundred tons of Fog Rock… it would take a long time for one single person to dig it up."

"Oh…"

"…and each person's special ability will come in handy. It'll actually be more fun than difficult. It's just a lot of abiotic obstacles," Kidd finished. "We might have Angela come along to… but only if she wants to-"

"OF COURSE I DO!!!!" A squeaky voice squealed. A small brunette girl bounced over the hillside with a joyous giggle and landed on the Fog Rock. Chrona groaned. She loved children, but her inner self was dying to take a break from Angela. But she couldn't because, of course, she was the one who agreed to take her in. Angela was almost like a little sister to her, now.

"Ah! Angela! I'm so so sorry I didn't come!!!!" Chrona apologized almost dramatically. She cringed a bit, despite knowing she wasn't going to get hit or anything. It was a habit she couldn't break.

Angela hugged Chrona and said, "It's okie-dokey, Chrona! Kimi wasn't there either."

"Huh?" Chrona and Kidd looked at each other in question.

"KIMI IS HAVING A BABY!!!!!" Angela yelled with happiness and a huge smile plastered onto her face. She smiled happily as Kidd and Chrona dramatically fell to the ground in shock.

It was a foggy day, and back at Shibusen, neither half sister desired to attend the next block. So both Mel and Thalia agreed on ditching the rest of the day. Out on the streets of Death City, again. Were two lonely girls who felt out of place in the world. Thalia took a swig of her sake and stumbled a bit, but regained her balance after gripping Mel's shoulder. The two of them made it a few blocks down when they finally reached the flower shop. Thalia set her sake on the bench before following Mel in.

"Hey there, kiddos!" a young man came out from behind the counter wearing a black apron with a iron-on tulip. His messy gray hair curled into his face, but he didn't budge, instead high-fiving Thalia.

Thalia said, "Hey, Husky-Dawg!" The two of them did their secret handshake; two high-fives and a double fist. Mel stood by, twirling a daffodil between her fingers. Her brother and her half-sister were almost like best friends, except more than that. Thalia just had to be Husky's demonic brush. And Husky just had to be Thalia's meister. It worked well, except at that point, the empty space beside her made her feel insecure. Where are you, Dusty? She thought silently. But if her brother was here at the shop, that meant his enrollment college was out for break. She sighed and began to pluck its petals.

Thalia tapped the counter, "So mum is at Berry's?"

"Yeah… escaping from your father. They had a fight over which side if the family gets the shop after the divorce." He began to wipe the counter clean, particularly scraping the rag against a sticky spot. His impatience caused him to create a dent in it.

The girls' eyes widened in sudden panic. Mel asked, "D-d-divorce? Since when was there going to be a divorce?" That would mean yet another father gone. Another one. Another bastard gone. She gripped the flower tightly, squeezing it so that it fell apart when she let go. First a tragedy, and now a divorce? What did she expect? A happy ending? She first lost her dad. Then Dusty. And now Nagi? Died. Disappeared. Divorced.

The world was turning against her.