AN: I've gone through trying to pluralize and everything, so it should be right. If it's not, please tell me so I can fix it.

Deutschland: Germany
Serienmörder: Serial Killer
Polizei: Police
Kopfgeldjäger: Bounty Hunters
Gedulden Sie sich bitte einen Augenblick: Wait a minute, please!
Ich entschuldige mich: I (very much) apologize
Bitte: Please

Faust didn't bother to look up from his reading as the bickering couple came storming into the room. He was used to this by now –living with children who would squabble constantly.

He had never been good with children, far from it. Neither had Eliza, to be honest. Short bursts were fine, which was how they were able to handle a family clinic. But it wasn't as if they were going out of their way to be around them.

Eliza had made herself scarce a while back to avoid it all. She never told him where she went. She had explained it once that if he knew where she was, he would go to her and they would follow him or something like that; somehow it had made sense at the time to the point it had become habit to let her go.

A habit which always didn't register he would regret in a few minutes. So there he was -trying to look so absorbed by his reading that it would be a crime to bring him into the conversation.

That tactic never worked.

"Faust'll settle this." Son of a bitch. "Faust, who's prettier?"

The new room mate, Hao, more demanded than asked anything. Faust didn't even know why Hao was here… he'd just moved in one day. And since Faust couldn't go back to Deutschland because he was a serienmörder, he didn't have any grounds to complain for risk that they would throw him out. So, he dealt with it as always.

"Eliza," he told him flatly, not bothering to look up. It was funny, though; he hadn't heard the girl's voices. Hao's little fan-girls would be obediently quiet if he told them to be, yes. But Anna most certainly would not have been.

"No," Yoh told him, "You have to pick one of us."

Funny, again; he could have sworn he'd heard 'one of us'. Cautiously, he peeked over the top of his book.

Dear God, they were in ball gowns… Yoh had a straight red dress with a black bolero jacket, Hao had a layered violet two piece with silver glittery spirals on the top and long slits in the skirt.

Yoh had let his hair down and removed the headphones.

Their nails were painted.

They were in high, extravagant, black platform shoes.

They were wearing as much make-up as Eliza would to the theater.

Faust stared at them blankly for a long while, mouth hanging open in shock as he tried to remember how to make words again.

"Where did you…"

Hao cut him off, "It doesn't matter, just pick."

Faust shrunk a bit into himself as he desperately tried to think of a way out of this situation. "Do… do I really have to?" He asked finally, almost a whisper.

"Yes," The two snapped back.

He winced at the reply, eyes darting for any line of escape. "I… um… well…" he fidgeted nervously, "I…"

"And don't just pick because of what Anna did for you." Hao once again spoke in an ordering tone.

Yoh looked indignant. "But don't forget who took you in and shielded you from the polizei and kopfgeldjäger!" Yoh shot back.

Hao didn't look in the slightest way defeated, but then, he had never done that. "He crippled you and Eliza," he said silkily.

Yoh frowned, looking ready for a bit of a pout. "He tried to kill you!"

Hao smirked back. "Ah, but can I kill Eliza? I can't do much, considering you already stole her legs."

Yoh pursed his lips like he'd tasted something sour. "Cheater! Come on Faust, you can see through this!"

Hao shrugged. "I'm not cheating, I'm just trying to keep him impartial, you're the one who brought a fight on."

It was a like watching a train wreck in slow motion, seeing these two fight. No… he liked that phrase but it wasn't accurate.

More like being alone; tied up to the point you couldn't move a muscle and watching a time bomb count down.

They suddenly had found an even ground to rest on and had come to staring Faust down. He looked like a deer in headlights as he looked from one to another.

"I… I don't know…. I can't decide…" He babbled out. The two narrowed their eyes at him bitterly. He stalled for a long while pretending to think about it.

When he clamped his eyes shut as to not see their reactions, he didn't notice they were no longer looking at him.

"I… I think Hao the prettiest… I always thought Hao was prettiest." Now that they had nothing to hold against him, he opened his eyes and smiled nervously.

They weren't remotely looking at him, but over his shoulder. He froze for a minute, wondering what they could have been staring so fearfully at.

Faust made the mistake of turning around.

Murphy must have been an absolute genius –you could only count on three things in the world. Taxes, death and that Murphy's Law would always be proven right.

Eliza was standing in the door way –crying silent all over the notebook she was scribbling in. When she met his eyes, hers were puffy and red.

She ripped the message off, crumpled it into a ball and ran off down the hall.

"Eliza! Bitte! Gedulden sie sich bitte einen augenblick! Ich entschuldige mich! Eliza!" he begged after her down the hall, having to run to even try to keep up.

Hao and Yoh watched the door he had left through for a long while before finally turning their heads to one another.

"So…" Yoh began, "We have another few hours left on these costume rentals. Wanna go screw with someone else's life?"

Hao shrugged and checked another name off the list.