Sorry guys, I've got a super summer job at a golf course and the last week was super hot. I had eight 10 hr shifts, so i was too tired to write the chapter in one sitting. So this chapter took me a few days!

-to enkindle courage

The Ends Justify the Means (?)

Maka observed as his head sunk into his hand. He crumbles before her.

He's visibly tired, more so than she had ever seen.

She was breathing rigorously, gasping from her rage and rant at him. Fury would be a light way of saying how she felt toward the boy in front of her.

She slunk back into her chair, never taking her eyes off of him, determined to get some sort of an answer from him before she left. She had felt momentarily relieved when she realized there would not be a fight between them. But that vanished when he told her of his reasons to his betrayal. Now, all that was remained to be seen was if they would accept him back, or never speak with him again.

It wasn't the time to deal with that, she realized.

"Kid…"Maka started, sounding apologetic. She quickly changed her tone to a more neutral one. "We need to destroy The Kishin." She continued to glare at him. "We'll deal later. Let me talk to them. Take your men and go first. Attack his army for us, and we'll take him out. "She decided to stand from her chair, as he chose to keep his head in his hands, ignoring her glower. "My father and the other death scythes are leading the army as we speak in through the gates. If there's an ambush or trap waiting for them, they need to know." She turns from him, hoping a door had appeared for her to leave. It had.

"Did you hear?"

The next thing she hears is his chair scraping away from the chess table. Just as she was about to turn and repeat her question, strong arms grabbed her waist from behind, and wrapped them around her. A head get buried into the crook of her neck. She freezes at his touch, unsure of how she feels.

Hot breath on her neck, the hairs stood on her arms.

"Yeah."

The word almost tickles.

Soul watches from the shadows of Maka's consciousness to see the scene before him. He listened to everything that she had been through with Kid in the chess room. However, he wasn't sure if Kid had sensed his presence. Maka had not, due to her focus on the Shinigami.

At this particular moment, he wasn't questioning as to why he had a direct link to their conversation, he would wonder later if it was because of his connection both physically and emotional with his meister the moment Kid swept her away. However, for now, Soul peered on, taking in the spectacle. He sat silently in the dark as he observed the scene play out before him, analyzing the movements and reactions of both parties before him.

His heart sunk when he watched how close Kid seemed to be physically to Maka; she didn't even seem to notice. It made sense after all; she didn't appear to be hurt at his betrayal. Maybe she knew something he didn't.

His thoughts quickly changed as he watched Maka's reaction toward him as he explained his reasoning for betrayal. As she screamed in fury, Soul sat stunned.

Kid did all of that… to make us… in his mind, better? Soul felt his face turn up into an awkward grimace. So uncool. He didn't understand how Kid thought them weak; they had saved him more times than he could count. Have we, though?

Soul mused for a moment, however, if Kid really needed saving in those moments. If we follow with the logic that he had been faking his strength in past battles to make us stronger… it matches to his logic now. And well… his logic isn't exactly human. Soul watched as Maka slunk back into her chair, tired from yelling. He smirked at her, knowing that she was more furious than anything toward Kid, which meant things between the two of them remained intact.

He slightly frowned as she moved past her fury. She does have a point. If Kid doesn't want to harm us, then we should be able to take the Kishin out, like badasses, if he freaking keeps the minor guys off us.

Then, he's standing in the room.

His temper flared as he witnessed the scene before him, Kid tucked behind her, arms around her hips. It wasn't like before anymore, he couldn't just turn away like he used to, keeping quiet.

No. He didn't even think as he charged to her; he ignored her surprised eyes and Kid's slight protest. He grasped her wrist with a clammy hand and pulled her away from him, head slamming into his chest.

He knew it was an overreaction.

He knew it wasn't necessary.

He didn't really care that it was going to be awkward.

As he glared at Kid, Maka shifted uncomfortably in his arm, blushing at his strong reaction but finding herself pleasantly surprised at his sudden appearance. "Soul…" She trailed off slightly, continuing to wiggling in his arms. He held strong as she vainly tried to escape his grasp.

But Soul was ignoring all of it; eyes intent on the Shinigami before him. Kid had moved away, accepting Soul's superior claim to Maka. He leaned against a chair, which sat by the chess table, not meeting his eyes. He seemed unsurprised at Soul's sudden appearance.

Wait. How the hell am I even here? This isn't just me watching anymore. The mind of Shinigami was complex and dangerous compared to a human; if entered forcefully, one could destroy their very essence, leaving a husk behind as their body. His eyes soften at the familiar boy in front of him; who stood with his arms crossed, looking particularity vulnerable. Kid seemed to be waiting for more yelling, to be chastised and hurt.

A scoff.

"You're such a kid."

A joke.

Kid's eyes whipped up to meet the red lights of Soul's and saw a slight smirk on his face. Kid head turned to the side, almost unknowingly as he filled with confusion.

Soul released Maka and turned his attention to the Shinigami in front of him. "You fucked up man." He shrugged and put his hands in his pocket. "Like, majorly." He slowly moved toward the man in the pin-stripe suit. Kid's face became neutral as Soul spoke to him. "I don't know if the sisters will even look at you, and Blackstar will probably want to kill you but…" Soul trailed off as he looked away from Shinigami toward to the finished chess match.

Kid was willing to throw everything he cared about away, because he thought it was for the greater good. It was quiet in the room as Maka and Kid held their breath, waiting for Soul to finish.

"Look, man, I don't really understand what goes on in your head, but…" again, Soul trailed off, but this time to look back at the Shinigami, with a smile. "But what goes on in your heart will never let us down." He saw Kid's eyes fall to the ground, clearly not believing his words. Soul moved toward him to clasp both hands on his shoulders, causing Kid to stare into his eyes.

"Shinigami…and humans…have done worse for less worthy causes. But you're different." Kid's eyebrows rose. "You're the first Shinigami who wanted to earn our respect, not just be gifted with it." Maka gasped at Soul's words. "And now you really have to earn it. I have faith in you, Kid."

Kid's face broke out into a look of shock that Soul had never witnessed before as the room vanished; he found himself back in Maka's hands.

The cobwebs still hung and the shadows had continued to dance on the wall under the torches. Everything had remained the same from when he and Maka had entered the chess room. Blackstar's soul reeked of anger and overwhelmed the room. He was about to snap.

Quickly, Soul let go of Maka's hands to stand in front of his friends, back facing Kid and his men. It had caught everyone off guard.

"Soul, what the hell are you doing?" A growl came from the blue haired ninja.

Liz was still comforting the weeping Patty as Soul explained the situation to them. As he spoke, Patty's crying stilled and her gaze fell to the floor. She looked emotionless as her face fell to be dispassionate. Liz rubbed her arms as her eyes flashed back from Soul to Kid, who wouldn't meet her gaze. Soul wasted no time in explaining the situation to his comrades.

"…so basically, he's a dick and he's gunna make it right." Soul finished, feeling better now that the stuffiness of the room vanished; along with the rage resonating from Blackstar.

Tsubaki was the first to speak. "I, well- I, okay, Kid." She fumbled over her words quietly as she tried to find her voice. "If you save our friends out there, maybe we can talk!" She nervously fidgeted as Kid turned to gaze at her, his face remaining calm.

As Patty and Liz remained silent and faced away from Kid and their friends, Blackstar turned to grab Tsubaki's hand. He nodded, without ever looking at Kid, as he peered curiously behind him, toward Kid's body guards, unsure of where they had come from and why they were loyal to their commander. Liz and Patty still refused to meet the eyes of the Shinigami or their friends.

It was silent in the room for a few moments again, the air was filled with the question of whether or not the sisters would follow the plan. As the chamber held it's breath, Patty slowly pushed off her sister to stand tall, tears forgotten. Her eyes were not filled with kindness or forgiveness. They did not soften as she looked toward her 'nakama' either.

As she moved back to point at Kid, she announced in a booming voice. "I don't forgive you and I don't trust you. I won't let you betray us again." Her sister went to stand beside her. "So we're going with –" She still couldn't say his name without tears threatening. "To make sure our other friends stay okay." Her eyes narrowed. "I hope you betray us again so I can finally kill you." At those words, her sister grabbed onto her arm, stopping her from staying more.

Maka and Soul watched the Shinigami's reaction to her words, to only see something surprising. He didn't look hurt, like when Maka and Soul had spoken with him. Instead, Kid wore his confident face, with a slight smirk. He was still in his adult form, Maka secretly believed he preferred that version of himself.

"Fine." The words sprung from the lips of the Shinigami and behind the men gave a cheer. Liz looked to them curiously before they all looked bashfully away from her and her sister. Liz actually had to fight back the small smile.

From there, the group established new battle plans and formations; Kid taking an active role in the planning with Maka and Tsubaki. Kid, the sisters, and the body guards were to go down and meet the Death sycthes inside the castle. With Kid's soul tracking abilities, they had no doubt of being able to locate the others quickly.

The next stage of the plan was harder to discuss, knowing the impending doom the four faced if they failed. Kid had explained to them the Kishin was on the roof with numerous of his stronger generals, and would not be expecting an attack so soon, due to the overwhelming number of soul's that would be below. The four of them would slip by undetected, they hoped.

As the sisters moved toward the door, they said nothing to their friends. Liz slightly turned to give a small smile but followed after her angry sister. After the body guards trailed after them, Kid lingered for a moment in the door. He turned back to them. Maka's eyes are filled with questions about their failure as she looked toward the Shinigami. He nods to them and turns.

I'll kill him if you can't.

The words aren't spoken, but they are heard.

With the conformation of the safety net in place, Maka felt relieve swell inside her. At least if we die, no one else will.

"Why can't I sense her?!" A frustrated cry sprung from a red haired death scythe. They had finally made their way into the castle. Stein and other scythes from distant lands followed Spirit in tow. Stein, with a smoke in his mouth, clapped his partner on the back.

"Will you calm down?" He was getting sick at the intensification of the fathers protectiveness to his daughter. Daily life was a hassle, but this? Stein shook his head. I can't handle this everyday, Maka. You better be still alive.

"How can you say that? She's—"

"She's your baby girl and the light of your life and blah." Stein finished for him as Spirit scowled away from him. Stein looked to his upset friend. "Listen, she's okay. She's the strongest meister the academy has every seen, well—" He trailed off, looking nervously away. Except Kid.

It was a very good possibility that Maka had already been slain by Kid and that he was on his way to finish them. But we can't think like that. Stein thought, half optimistic.

It was only after the few dozen of them had been patrolling deeper into the castle when the fighting began. The kishin's had taken up residence in cavern's hidden under the castle. Small openings in the walls or cracks in the floor were subtly stairwells leading to the hiding spots. Stein realized they had probably already passed over a few hundred in their walk without noticing.

The death sycthes decided that splitting up was not an option; they were unaware of the total amount of danger, nor could they afford to be killed, as they were the strongest weapons currently alive. But numbers sometimes beats quality, so there they remained.

During a pause in battle, as everyone was resting on the floor of a particular section of the cavern, Spirit and a few others quickly jumped to their feet. Spinning to the northern side of the cavern, Spirit's eyes narrowed. "He's here."

Stein's eyes widened. "Asura?!" Spirit had always had a stronger sensing ability than he, but he would have assumed the madness would've reached him before Asura did, warning them of his approach.

"No." A growl. "It's the bastard… and his girls?" Spirit's body language suddenly changed from tensed to confused as the soul's continued their approach. He was able to sense number other humans with them, each with their own strong souls. "Hold." Spirit commanded of the others as the group emerged from the shadowy path they had taken.

Stein quickly recgonized Liz as she stepped from the shadows toward them. Before any of the meisters could speak, she broke into a tirade of what had happened. It was a slightly confusing story, with it being not very well planned and practiced, but the death scythe's got the message. At this point, it was Kid's turn to speak.

"They were going to trap you, well, lets turn the tables on them." Though most of the sycthes were unsurprised with the leather clad- scary looking- shinigami, Stein and Spirit felt slightly intimidated by the manly man in front of them. They were too used to seeing a child in a suit, which seemed to care about the symmetry of his stripes more than anything. But the man before them had shaggy hair, the white sparkling throughout one side of his hair.

This was a shinigami.

For a moment, Stein felt more respect for the Shinigami before him than he ever had for the goofy version in the academy.

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