Kirian Tenegawa; Star Clan Has a Survivor?!!

Chapter Four: The End of the World Is Pink

((A/N: In this chapter, we are introduced to Crona and Ragnarok. I think of Crona as a guy in terms of my story, so I apologize if that offends you.))

_____After collecting all the souls and splitting them among the four weapons, the group left the caves behind and returned to the city. As they passed through the gate, Black Star and Tsubaki dropped down beside them.

_____"Hey, Kid. How'd it go?" Star asked. As Kid told the two of them what happened, Kirian watched Tsubaki. He noted the way her long black hair flowed gracefully over her shoulders like a waterfall made of shadows. He had never admitted it, not even to himself, but Kirian had always had a crush on Tsubaki. After all, she had been the first person to actually talk to him.

______Tsubaki glanced over at him then, noticing him looking at her. She smiled sweetly at Kirian, who looked away shyly. She walked over to him. "What's the matter, Kirian? You're awfully quiet." She asked him softly in her melodic voice.

______"I-It's nothing, Tsubaki. Just tired, I guess." He responded, looking down. He could feel her watching him with worry, so he looked up to smile at her. When he caught her eyes, however, he just melted. Her gaze was filled with so much worry and care, he started to confess.

______"Actually, the truth is that I-" Kirian was cut off as Black Star came up behind him and clapped him on the back.

______"Hey Kirian! What'cha talking about?" Star grinned. He glanced between the two of them. "Oh. Am I interrupting something? Should I go?"

______Tsubaki waved him away, curious about what Kirian was about to say. "Hang on, Star. Just... Go find Soul or something." Star nodded.

______"Alright fine. See ya later guys!" He ran off, and Tsubaki looked back at Kirian. "Now, what were you saying?"

______Kirian took a deep breath and started again. "The thing is... I have a crush on you, Tsubaki..." He looked down, afraid that she was upset.

______Tsubaki stood there, mouth agape, not knowing what to say. "I-I... You have a crush..? On me..?" When he nodded, she blushed and looked away. "I-I don't know what to say... I just... I gotta go... I'm sorry... " With that, Tsubaki spun around and ran out the city gate.

______Kirian reached towards her. "Tsubaki! Wait!" While Kirian was staring after her, Star had returned with Maka and Soul.

______"Kirian? Where's Tsubaki?" Star asked. Kirian just kept staring, starting to tear up. Star looked where he was staring and gasped. "Oh shit..." He turned on Kirian, pissed off. "What did you guys talk about?"

______Maka chopped him on the head with her book. His head spurted blood. "Don't blame it all on him, you idiot. He looks as upset as you!" She turned to Kirian. "What happened?"

______Kirian looked at her. "I-I told her something, and she got upset about it... She just ran off into the forest... I'm worried about her..."

______Soul glanced at Maka. "What should we do, Maka? I think we should go after her." Maka nodded in agreement. Star laid on the ground, white as snow. "After we get him to the nurse, of course. You hit him pretty hard."

______Maka winced. "You're right. Grab his legs, I got his arms." They carried Star to the nurse, promising Kirian and the twins that they would meet up with them at the gates in an hour.

______An hour later, the five of them started out from the city's gates. As they entered the forest, Kirian looked around, calling out Tsubaki's name. After about five hours, he heard a sound from the left. "Hang on, guys. What was that?"

______They went to investigate. Lucien caught a sight of pink. "Wait! Who are you? Have you seen a girl in a long white dress?"

______After a minute of silence, a young boy crept out of the bush. He wore a long black dress, which seemed strange. He had bright pink hair. Maka gasped. "Crona?!? What are you doing out here? You should be at home!"

______The boy's eyes widened. "M-Maka? Um... Well I... Um..."

______Maka sighed. "Never mind that." Seeing Kirian and the twins' expressions, she explained. "Guys, this is Crona. He's a friend. His mother, Medusa, caused a huge commotion awhile ago."

______Just as she explained, something appeared on Crona's back. It took shape as a black being with a huge white X on the face. It had large black eyes, and it came directly out of Crona's back. When they saw it, the twins fainted from shock. Kirian stared. "What the hell is that?!?"

______Maka groaned. "That's Ragnarok, the Demon Sword... He's Crona's weapon..." Kirian noticed the distaste in Maka's voice and saw Soul flinch.

______"Soul? You OK?" He asked, walking over to the white haired Scythe. Soul sighed heavily and looked Kirian in the eyes.

______"Last year, I got some of Ragnarok's blood in my system... It made me start to go insane and almost made me kill Maka... Since then, Maka has been very wary of Ragnarok, and by extension, of Crona, and that has put a strain on their relationship."

______"Oh man... That sucks. I'm sorry..." Kirian said. Then he noticed a commotion behind him, and turned around to see Ragnarok beating Crona up. Crona was cowering and pleading with him to stop but he didn't listen. Kirian marched up to Crona. "Ragnarok! Knock it off!" Flames appeared in Kirian's eyes and wrists, and everyone, including Ragnarok, went silent. Ragnarok's eyes went wide.

______"Flames..?" Ragnarok stopped beating up Crona and did something that no-one had ever heard him do. "Crona, I'm sorry... I don't mean to hurt you. I'm trying to toughen you up so you don't let yourself get pushed around by everyone..."

______By this point the twins had woken up. Soul and Maka watched, open mouthed. Even Crona was dumbfounded. "I-I accept your apology... You've been trying to make me stronger..?"

______"Yessirree! I don't want to be wielded by a weakling, you know!" Ragnarok tapped him good naturedly on the forehead, and Crona flinched. "Oh relax, Crona. I'm not going to hurt you anymore."

______Everyone turned to look at Kirian, knowing he had done something but not knowing what. He just shrugged. "Don't look at me. This was all on them."

______Maka turned back to Crona. "Crona, we are looking for Tsubaki. Have you seen her?"

______Crona scratched his head lightly. "Um... I don't think so... Do you want some help looking for her?"

______Maka smiled. "That would be great. Thank you."

______Crona nodded. The seven of them started walking deeper into the forest, calling Tsubaki's name.