A/N: THIS FANFICTION IS ABOUT 55,000 WORDS RIGHT NOOOWWWWW...... AND IT'S STILL GOING TO BE A LOT LONGERRR...... IIII NNNEEEDDDD AA LIIIFFFFEEEEEEEEE

Mari's eyes opened a little, seeing bright light out of a window. She sat up, blankets falling from her. She stood, her feet touching the cold tiles and she walked to the window and looked out, her eyes meeting a beautiful sunrise. She sat down on a chair and looked at the pastel clouds and orange sun.

"Mari?" Marie's sleepy voice said.

Mari turned and smiled when she saw her holding a baby. "M-Ms Marie! You had your baby!" Mari couldn't stop smiling as Marie took the seat next to her.

"Yes. Her name is Bella." Marie said.

Mari looked down. "You shouldn't have named her that... not after... that monster." Mari said.

Marie shook her head. "Stein told me that he knew what your mother was, and he said that he still wanted to name her Bella." Marie smiled, moving Bella's blanket a little as she squirmed. "He said, that he wanted this to be the new Bella, and that she would be so strong that she would clear that woman's name from history."

Mari's smile was sad. "Okay." She said.

"Do you want to hold her, Mari?" Marie asked, her eyes twinkling.

Mari held up her hands. "I-I don't want to hurt her..." she moved away a little. "I-i... I shouldn't really... ever... I might-"

Marie's eyes were hard. "How can you be her godmother and never touch her?"

Mari's eyes were wide as she looked from Marie, to Bella. "Wh-what?! I can't be a godmother! I would never be able to... I... but... I wouldn't know how to be a mother... or... why would you... uhm..." she trailed off as she saw Marie's determined gaze.

"Take her." The woman said and held the baby out.

Mari reached out her shaking hands and Marie passed Bella to her. "U-uhm..." she looked away for a second, then back at the little girl. "H-hello... Bella..." The little baby smiled up at her, her eyes sparkling with joy. Her small hand reached out and touched Mari's cheek. Something warm passed into Mari and she drew in a sharp breath.

Her eyes were wide with wonderment as she looked down into the little girl's bright blue eyes. She couldn't feel any trace of pain or insanity in her. Mari held Bella closer to her chest and took in a few shaking breaths.

"Mari? Are you okay?" Marie said, holding out her arms to take Bella. Mari drew away, tears forming in her eyes. "Mari..." Marie said, sounding protective as she moved closer. "Give me Bella-"

"W-wait..." Mari said, tears falling from her black eyes and streaming down her cheeks onto Bella. Bella was smiling with joy and a happy gurgle escaped her lips as Mari smiled and her body shook for a second. "I... I can't feel it anymore..."

Marie's eyes knit together. "Mari, please give me Bella... and what can't you feel?" Marie sounded more persistent.

"I-I cant feel the pain..." Mari said. She let out a sob of relief and pressed Bella's cheek against hers, Mari's tears dropping onto her soft face. Bella laughed again and her hands waved in the air.

Marie took Bella from Mari's arms. "Oh." She said, tears in her eyes as well when she saw Mari happy. Bella started crying as Mari's hands left her and her fists hit the air.

Mari could feel the warm comfort of Bella gone, and now she felt cold pain stabbing through her. Marie tried to hush Bella, standing and bouncing her. Bella went quiet and gurgled a little, her small voice sounding a bit mad.

Mari held her shoulders. "What time is it?" Mari asked, wanting to hold Bella again; her hands felt empty without the small child.

Marie looked at a clock. "Well, it's-"

Marie was cut off by the curtain next to her sliding open and the metal rings scraping the long pole that held them up. "We have forty minutes to get to class." Amme said and Mari flinched at her appearance. The bandages were mostly gone, save a few on her arms and one of her cheek. Her hair was flowing around her and she was dressed all in white, her red eyes standing out like fire in the dead of night. They were burning with some sort of hatred and Mari looked down at floor.

A boy was suddenly behind Amme, his short black hair matching his black t-shirt. He held two bags, handing one to Amme. "You should probably get ready, Mari." He said, his eyes red, too, flashing as they met Mari's black ones.

Mari tucked her knees up to her chest and nodded, wondering for a moment why the boy knew her name, then she realized that he must be Amme's new weapon. "Th-thanks..." Mari said. The two left, nodding to Ms. Marie. Mari flinched as she heard a door slammed. She stood. "I should get ready." She said.

Marie looked at her, her mouth tight with worry. "Okay. I don't think we have clothing for you..."

"That's okay. Just, don't get mad." Mari turned and focused on something on the wall. She closed her eyes and thought about her appearance. Something warm passed over her and she opened her eyes, looking down at black clothing and shoes. She adjusted her leather jacket and looked at Marie's surprised look.

"Mari... you shouldn't..." Marie began until she saw Mari's eyes, broken. "Was it... Amme?" Mari nodded and put a hand to her neck when she felt a slice of pain. "Mari!" Marie said, moving and pulling her hand away from her neck to show the little drops of black blood that had fallen from her. She let go of Mari's hand as the cut closed and disappeared.

"Whenever I use it, I always feel some kind of pain." Mari said, turning her back. "That must be it."

"Then you shouldn't use it." Marie said.

"They already know I'm a witch, Ms. Marie. So it only makes sense if I use it." Mari said.

"All witches have an animal that represents their power..." Marie said. "What's yours?"

Mari shrugged. "I don't know." She opened the infirmary door and walked out, slamming it behind her. She looked up, seeing a big clock on the wall in front of her. It read, 6:34am, and Mari sighed. "I have a little time then." She said. She decided to walk to the classroom, hoping no one would see her.

Her boots echoed through the hallway as she walked. She looked around, recognizing things. She turned down a hallway and saw the Crescent Moon door. She walked to it, pulling it open to find it empty. She walked inside and found a seat in the back corner.

She put her head down. "What have I become?" she asked herself. There was silence and she knew that it had always been there. "What are people going to do to me?" she said, playing with a strand of her hair. "They're going to kill me, aren't they." She looked up at the sealing, wooden beams holding up the roof. "Is Amme going to ever forgive me?"

The door opened and Mari looked down to the center of the room as Stein stepped in. He looked up at her. "I felt you use your magic, Mari. You can't-"

Mari looked into his eyes, her black ones hard. "As long as I'm not killing people, I don't care anymore." She said, clenching her fist.

"If you're going to act like this, I will expel you, forever." He said and she calmed down.

"Yes... Professor." She said.

He smiled. "Thank you." He said.

The door opened and a student ran in, holding her weapon. "Professor Stein! I felt a witch and a keshin nearby and I-" the student stopped and looked up at Mari. "Her!" The girl pointed her weapon at Mari, her eyes filling with hate. "I'm going to..." she trailed off, lowering her weapon as she saw Mari's soul. "What...?" the girl asked. She looked over at Stein, her pink hair waving. "Stein?" she asked.

Her weapon glowed and a girl materialized with dark hair. "What is it Kim?" she asked, glancing up at Mari. "Wait... isn't that Mari? Mari Ikiru?" she asked.

Her partner, Kim, nodded and looked back to Stein. "What's going on, Professor?" she said.

"I'll explain when all the other students arrive." Stein said, clicking his screw. The two girls went and sat down, whispering.

Mari looked down, trying to catch her breath as she felt something crushing her ribs, anxiety. She crossed her arms and looked down at the door, glad she had chosen a seat in the back so no one would have to chance to kill her.

"Mari." Stein said and Mari stood. "Come sit by me." he said and she sighed.

The students in front of Mari and Stein seemed to have mixed emotions. Some were yelling at Mari and each other, while others stared at her with fear or confusion. Kidd had brought her bag and all of her friends were in one area in the back.

Stein looked at a clock on the wall. It was almost seven and a few students weren't there. "Well." Stein said, blowing out a puff of smoke from his cigarette.

The door slammed open and Mari looked over to see Amme and her partner. She looked away as Amme looked over at her with red eyes blazing.

Stein motioned for the room to be quiet and the students fell silent. "I almost forgot that we have a new student." He gestured to the boy with Amme. "This is Sora Aru."

The boy, Sora, bowed and smiled up at the students. "Nice to meet you." He said and they were silent as him and Amme took their seats.

"Now," Stein said, clicking his screw. "You, the students of Crescent Moon, want to know what Mari Ikiru is." There were a few shouts and Mari saw Kidd stand and leave, slamming the door behind him. Mari wanted to run after him, but Stein looked at her. "She is a hybrid. Her father was human, and her mother was part witch and part keshin." There were shouts of disgust and hate and Mari looked down.

'Why am I doing this to myself?' she asked herself and no one answered.

"She is currently on probation and is no threat to the DWMA. She will stay enrolled as long as she hurts no one." Stein continued. "That's all."

There was dead silence for a moment and Mari stood. She could feel the anger of bedrail and realization coursing through her. She clenched her fists, her head down. 'I want out.' A voice said and she started walking to the door in the quiet.

"Prove it." A student said and Mari turned, snapping. Her black eyes met the ones of a boy who sat in the first row of seats, his feet up. He stood and walked to the center of the room.

Mari looked him up and down, recognizing him. "Leo..." she said. Her hands slowly relaxed and she smiled. "You don't want to-"

He cut her off by raising a hand. "Shut up. You killed my father."

There was a gasp of shock in the room and Mari lifted her arms in a placating gesture. "Self defense. He was keshin."

Leo shook his head, his eyes dark. "You think I'd ever believe that?" he turned to Stein. "Can we duel?"

Stein shrugged. "Okay." He looked at Mari. "I don't know if you want to, Leo." His eyes flickered to Leo again, clicking his screw. "Unless you really want to see what she looks like when she's angry." He looked into Mari's eyes. "You're not going to win anything by doing this." Stein said. "I won't tell her to hold back." He laughed a little. "But don't kill him, Mari."

Mari nodded, feeling the silence that the room left her in. Someone coughed and she looked into Leo's eyes. Her vision flashed and she saw Leo's dad standing in front of her, an evil grin across his face. She blinked and Leo was standing there again. "Should we go outside?" Mari asked and Stein nodded. She turned to the students. "I hope you're not afraid of true monsters."

All the students filled out of the classroom to the front of the school to watch the fight, getting other classes out of the other rooms. Stein walked beside Mari, clicking his screw constantly. "Mari... I told the other teachers you might use your magic... but you really shouldn't. You could go out of control." Stein said, leaving the rest of the sentence for her to fill in.

'You could go out of control, then Kidd is going to have to kill you.' She thought, clenching her teeth. "I'll be okay, Professor."

A soft hand slipped into hers and she looked over at Kidd's worried face. "You really shouldn't fight him, Mari." He squeezed her fingertips.

Mari smiled sadly. I think this is something that he needs, not me. I wont hurt him to bad."

Kidd nodded and let go of her hand as they reached the front of the school. She stood across from Leo, a tall girl next to him that must be his partner. He finally had one.

His face was straight and he looked at her. "I'm never forgiving you. And I'm not going to hold back in this. You're going to die."

There was a whisper of concern in the crowd and Leo squeezed his weapons hand and she transformed. He grabbed her out of the air and she glinted, the sharp edge of a katana.

Mari took off her coat and let it fall to the ground. Leo smiled at her and opened his lips. A beautiful sound came from his mouth as his hair whipped in an invisible wind, his soul resonating with his partner.

Mari felt something pushing at her thoughts as he continued to sing, taking slow steps toward Mari. She was frozen and the voices in her head were screaming at the sound of Leo's singing, as if it was metal scratching stones.

She could feel Leo in her thoughts as he stopped in front of her. "I hate you." He said, pausing the song for a moment. "I really do."

The katana's sharp point driving into Mari's stomach. She couldn't feel anything at first, the blade so sharp, only a cry arising from a few people. She heard Kidd yelling something as Leo began to sing again, driving the blade upward through Mari, pain beginning to grow hot in her as her blood dripped down her.

Leo was suddenly in her head and she saw him, light seeming to emanate from him. "Mari." He said as she closed her eyes and was in her head, standing across from him. He held up his fingertips, her memories rippling over them. "Let's relive a few of these." His said his tone malicious.

Mari was suddenly back in her living room the day her dad died, watching the monster tear him apart. The memory merged into another of her banging her small hands against her door, begging her father to let her out of her room. She started shaking, in this reality and the real world.

The memory switched to a different scene, a dark place and pain was ripping over Mari's body. She heard women laughing and she knew that the three witches were ripping her apart. She screamed and then suddenly, she was in a memory that she didn't recognize. She was holding something warm and she looked down, seeing Kidd.

"Kidd?" she asked, tears falling from her cheeks. His hands were cold and his cheeks were pale. It jumped again and she saw Kidd yelling at her. There was blood on his face and he looked angry. "This never happened..." Mari said, looking around as the scene faded to black.

Her eyes landed on Leo's face cold and expressionless. "But you know that deep down, someday they are going to happen." She could feel him driving the katana up through her rib cage and pain was raging through her.

The darkness faded to a place that Mari recognized, Kidd's room, but this time, she saw herself, lying unmoving on Kidd's bed, her face still. She looked up and saw Kidd. His hands dropped from the knife protruding from Mari's chest, black blood on his hands.

"N-no..." Mari breathed, seeing tears streaking down his cheeks as he lifted another knife.

"I'm sorry, Mari. But life is to painful without you..." the blade swung towards his throat and Mari screamed. She was back in the real world, blood running down her body.

Her head slowly moved to look into Leo's evil eyes. Her black ones were full of hatred and rage. She put a hand on his chest and shoved him back, the katana pulling out of her chest, bringing a spray of blood with it.

"Not him..." she said, her voice low and scary. Her hair began to wave a little as power raced over her skin, enveloping her. She lifted an inch off the ground, her hands raised. Her body glowed for a second, pain ripping through her.

Her feet touched the ground, her body shaking with anger and she straightened. She was wearing her black pants and a shirt leather shirt that showed the scars on her back and the three keshin eyes on her belly, her shoes gone. She looked up at Leo, her black eyes seeming darker than they had been. Giant two-foot claws had replaced her hands and her needle teeth were back. "You don't... touch... him..." Mari said, her tongue lashing out.

Leo stepped back, the crowd quiet enough for Mari to hear their heartbeats. "Wh-what?" Leo asked, his weapon turning back, her body shaking with fear.

"L-Leo..." she said, pointing at Mari. "We should g-go..."

"No." Leo said, shaking his head. He looked at his weapon. "Transform." He said and she did. He ran at Mari, the blade flashing in the sunlight.

Mari blocked his first attack, sending him flying with a flick of her wrist. He landed on the ground, sliding a few feet. She smiled, feeling something familiar running through her. She stopped when a pulse of insanity broke through.

Leo stood as Mari fell to her knees, clutching her shoulders with her claws, the blades slicing into her skin and causing black blood to streak down her arms. Leo walked to her, raising the katana again.

Mari was suddenly behind Leo, her teeth flashing. They dug into his shoulder and he froze when he felt the pain. Mari pulled away, ripping off some of him. His weapon yelled and turned back to human form. Leo fell to his knees and clutched his shoulder, shaking with pain.

Mari raised one of her hands in the air, ready to bring the sharp claws down into Leo's back. She slashed down and the blade bit into his skin. He fell forward, coughing once before going unconscious. Everyone was silent.

Mari could feel the insanity running hot through her and she heard Stein yell something she couldn't understand. Her entire body burned and she couldn't see straight for a moment. There were footsteps and she looked up at Kidd's wavering form.

He put his arms around her and whispered in her ear. "Mari... it's okay." She could feel his soul harmonizing with hers and she could feel the insanity fading. She slumped into him, feeling weak. Her body returned to it human looking form, her clothing changing back too. Kidd lifted her, keeping her close. "Mari?" he asked.

She looked up at him, her eyes half closed with pain. "Yes?"

"What did he make you see?" Kidd asked, looking over at Leo who was being carried off by a teacher.

"He made me see... you killing me and then... you killing..." she stop and Kidd's eyes were pained.

"I'm sorry." He said. "I'm never going to forgive him for that. I swear..." he held her closer. "We should get back to class." He said.

"No." Mari said and he looked at her, confused. "No one is ever going to look at me like I'm human again." She looked into his eyes. "I cant go back... not after what they've seen-"

He pulled her into a tight hug. "No. That's why I'm here. To protect you." His soft words rushed over and their souls clicked together, humming with resonance. "Let's go." he said, taking her hand and pulling her after Stein back to the classroom.