The table chatter started to resume gradually, and Kid invited all of us to a party at his (our?? For the moment?) house. The cause?
"I want to celebrate Rose, Simon, and Crona joining our group. It's not very often that we team up from people previously on the other side, or in your case, Rose, free lance meisters. So, stop buy tonight at seven. No, damn it, eight! Oh, I slipped up, I'm garbage, kill me now!" While Kid had his rant, we went to the rest of class, then I, Simon, Soul and Crona were dragged shopping for nice clothes by Liz and Patty, while Black Star was taken care of by Tsubaki (it was a long rant.)
Later at the party, Soul and Simon were in suits, and I was in a dress that was a deep purple with long sleeves, and an ankle length skirt. It reminded me almost of what Crona always wore. Speaking of which, Crona was wearing a deep blue suit to match his eyes, apparently that was a good thing, and Maka had gotten a wheelchair to come with us in a dress she was helped into by Tsubaki, because she was still paralyzed in the legs. We all took turns pushing her on the way there, then she insisted on wheeling herself around, because she reminded Soul with a Maka-chop that she could in fact use her arms.
"Hey, Rose," Simon pulled me aside at the party, "how do you control that telekinesis? Maybe we should go back to our room until you can control it enough." I shook my head.
"No, I'm fine. What happens will happen. Oh, god, what is Black Star doing?" I hoped that was the right thing to say, because Black Star was swinging from something on the ceiling. We walked up behind the group, and I was about to tap Crona on the shoulder, but I seemed to have already done it, because he turned around and smiled. He saw my shocked face, and I explained about what we heard today.
"Oh, shit," I said, "we were supposed to go to Dr. Stein's lab tonight."
"Don't worry," Simon cut in, "I'll call and reschedule."
"Thanks."
"YAHOO!" Black Star yelled, jumping to the ground. While attention was focused on him, Kid gathered Simon, Crona and I off to the side and informed us of a mission.
"We have to go investigate suspicious disappearances in the Siberian region. Black Star is useless right now, and Soul can't fight without a meister, so you three will come with me. Go get changed, and meet me at the back door, adjacent in the house to the front door, if you were wondering."
Black, black is Crona's color, and my color too. We wrap ourselves in black to blend in with the night, to not be noticed in the world we were born into. Now, at Shibisen, we stood out more than we wanted to, but that was good, I guess, because it reminded them of what is out there, how to face different enemies and to get used to seeing odd things.
Simon was in his normal attire, while Crona and I had matching dark winter cloaks with large cowls that hid our faces and hair well, since we were the most noticeable out of the group. Everyone else was in normal winter clothing, but we were warm enough. We stayed behind, getting camouflaged in the night, and we finally found our target, a Kishin-to-be.
"Rose, Crona, you come in when I tell you." Kid goes in with his guns, but they weren't doing any good. The Kishin was powerful. It flung Kid around like a rag doll, but he still didn't call us in. I couldn't wait anymore.
"Simon, katana mode." I said, and Crona took up Ragnarok, who had been dormant these past few days, because he still didn't like me.
We went in, and the Kishin growled and threw Kid to the ground, knocking him unconscious. We threw off out cloaks, revealing our normal combat clothes.
I lunged at the Kishin, landing blows to the torso and head while Crona distracted it by hacking at limbs with his demon sword.
"We're barely making a dent," Simon observed, "can you handle flail mode right now?" I laughed so hard that I almost got hit, but dodged just in time.
"What's so funny?" His voice is amused, he always likes watching me fight.
"You're talking to me like I'm weak, like the flail is hard. Of course I can," I doge another blow, "lets go."
The handle shifted slightly, and I held a spiked ball on the end of a foot and a half chain, attached to a handle wrapped in leather. Swinging with expertise, I attacked with new strength at the kishin's head and torso. It screams as Crona manages to hack off an arm, and I manage to find an opening to land the final blow.
"Kid!" I yell, rushing over to where Liz and Patty are knelt beside their meister, now waking up.
"I'm so sorry, Kid! If I hadn't rushed in, it wouldn't have thrown you like that, I should have waited for your signal..." I trailed off, looking down in shame. Kid shook his head.
"No, it's not your fault, I should have known better than to think I could take it on alone. That's the biggest one Ive seen in a long time, since the Kishin Asura awakened. Next time, we'll all go in together. Now, lets collect the soul and get back to the academy." Crona and I put our cloaks back on and our cowls up, and Ragnarok disappeared into Crona's back with a little huff towards me. I kept Simon in weapon form, but since carrying a katana or flail around would look odd, he became a staff, about as tall as my chin. I realized then how tired I was from the fight, and began to lean on him a little more.
We arrived back at Kid's house long after the party had ended, and we went back to our room to get at least a little sleep. The night was dark and dreamless, and the morning seemed brighter than usual. I realized it was Saturday, and we had slept in. Crona was sitting next to me on the bed, he had woken early like always.
"Hey."
"Oh, good, you're awake." He seemed happy to see me up and unscathed from last nights fight. I noticed for the first time a bruise across his cheek, and a small cut.
"Crona, let me help you with that bruise. I have some herbs in my bag that will clear it up." He shook his head, and looked down at his hands.
"Come on, do you want to see Maka upset?" I didn't wait for an answer, just went for the herbs and treated his face. I knew it was wrong, but I tried to use my telekinesis to find out more about what his views on Maka were. It wasn't bad if I only wanted to better understand him, right?
Bits and pieces, short flashes of images and words, but I was able to focus somehow. His first friend... The first friend is always the best... After seeing his memories and feeling his feelings, I understood why she was so important, and I decided then and there to get to know Maka better. After I made my resolution, a knock sounded on the door; it was Liz today.
"Stein called. You guys have to go to his lab today." She shook her head.
"I feel real bad for you, Rose. He's our teacher, sure, but he's a mad man." She smiled reassuringly.
"But I hear Death Scythe will be there too, so Stein won't go too far, hopefully."
"Ok, Crona. Lets go, before Simon wakes up." I left a small note for Simon on my pillow, and we departed for the laboratory with the criss-cross stitches.
