1. Chapter 1 (1/2)

hanging offenseby shu of the wind

the room was shuddering with the force of the silence.

that wasn't quite true; he could hear himself panting, and he gritted his teeth as his

oken ribs crackled back into place. if it hadn't been for his status as a shinigami, he would have probably been killed a long time ago. gopher never pulled a punch. he dealt his blows where noah would not see them, chose his pressure points well, drove home the soul wavelength that constricted kid's lungs and snapped his ribs, and he'd never said a word about it. kid had always kept his mouth shut.

if there was one thing he was good at, it was keeping his mouth shut, keeping his observations to himself. like how gopher's soul wavelength had wings. and how noah's soul was like a never-ending scream, so calm and so full of terror at exactly the same time.

gopher's soul had wings, just like maka's.

he bit his tongue so hard blood filled his mouth, and swore under his

eath.

i should have kept my stupid mouth shut.

they wanted maka. they wanted to kill maka, because maka could destroy them. did anyone know that, other than him? spirit, maybe? his father? soul?

but maka and soul and liz and patty and everyone else, they all had to be back at shibusen. had to be. he'd kill them if they weren't. somebody would

eak him out eventually – he was a shinigami, after all, the next lord of death, they had to

eak him out – but if that somebody ended up being his friends, he'd probably end up killing them for putting themselves in danger to come rescue someone who'd get out of here eventually.

though, he supposed, if it had been one of them dangling from the wall and him back at shibusen, he'd kill anyone who stood in the way of him coming to collect them.

so, wasn't that hypocritical of him.

surely you get lonely here all on your own? perhaps the stiffened corpses of your friends would help stimulate your neurotic little mind?

gopher had it wrong. there was no need to stimulate his neurotic little mind. it was stimulated enough already.

wings. gopher's soul had wings, just like maka's. but it was different. they were different. maka and gopher were different...of course they were. there were never two people more radically different.

somebody had to know that maka was in danger. they would figure it out. they had to figure it out. they weren't stupid, back at shibusen. if gopher tried to kill maka, then they would understand. but if he succeeds –

maka would win. he had to remember that. maka always won.

don't you remember? the voice at the back of his mind hissed. nobody always wins.