Lying in the bed, tears streaming down her face, Melody sobbed. For the first time in what felt like forever, Girl began to surface. Melody was long use to pain, to having no control over her life. But holding that baby...the baby it was just now beginning to hit her was hers...

Melody let out a broken sob, raising a shaking hand to muffle the sound. T-they took...H-he took...he let them take my baby...M-m-my b-baby! she sobbed in her mind. She used her free hand to pull the blanket around her, covering up her body once more, shaking her head back and forth as her mind began to spin. Is that what was wrong with me? I-is that what Nick meant when he said I was going to give him a p-present? The present was my baby?! she realized in disbelief.

Unbidden, Darvey's mocking voice filled her head. You really are just a stupid girl.

Letting out another broken sob, she raised her hands to cover her face. I-I didn't know...

"Why are you crying?" A very soft voice spoke up in the darkness.

Jerking with a start, Melody's head whipped to the window of the bedroom. Standing in front of it, body partially shadowed with the moonlight coming in through the open window and the curtain billowing out in the breeze, was a stranger...

No, not a stranger. Not exactly. Melody frowned. The man looked a little familiar, just slightly. And the twisting, almost screaming feeling that was beginning to overcome her was familiar as well.

"Why are you crying?" the man asked again. Despite what Melody had come to expect from men, his voice wasn't harsh, mocking, or annoyed. In fact, it was quite soft...gentle even.

At the thought, she stiffened, pulling the blankets closer around her. The only other man who talked to her like that, who's voice wasn't filled with distaste all the time was her husband. Nick often liked to hold her close after touching her, after coming inside her, after she drove him to those limits that he loved to push beyond. He'd never hurt her as badly as the first time though. There had been a few times, especially at first, when she'd been really sore and stiff afterwards. But he'd never pulled her arm out wrong or made her bleed as badly down there as the first time. Even so...

"I-I already have s-someone," she whispered. "I can't be with you. I can't have another," she explained softly.

The man's voice was quite confused. "I...what? What are you talking about, kid?"

She swallowed. "I-I can't..."

He was silent for a few seconds. "Alright. Are you saying you can't tell me what's wrong?"

She nodded her head. "I can't. Can't talk to strangers. I can't be around other people. Y-you have to leave. Y-you'll become a demon of you stay around me..."

There was another pause before the man's soft chuckle filled the silence between them. "I hate to break it to you, but I already am a demon."

Melody blinked, eyes going wide. "You...you don't look like it," she murmured.

The man stared at her for five long heartbeats. Slowly, he stepped further into the moonlight. Moving even slower, he took off his white t-shirt, face expressionless. Melody's eyes took in the sight of his naked chest. There wasn't a whole lot of hair on it, just like there wasn't a lot on Nick's. But it was covered in numerous cuts and scars, all over.

As she watched, the man began to change. His skin began to grow both lighter and darker, until he appeared to be made out of darkness itself. Dozens of varying shades of black and gray, his body began to change into something no longer completely solid. Around him, the shadows began to grow and almost...solidify. A sweeping cloak of shadows formed over his body, the hood down so that she could see his face.

His face had changed as well. His eyes were black, like onyx. Small, sparking lights of gold were scattered throughout his eyes, almost like stars in a night sky. His face had changed as well, becoming something that-had she not been in such a state of shock-would have normally sent her screaming, running to escape this man's grasp in terror. The features of his face shifted until they were much more angular and sharper than before. The skin of his face was white, as white as bone. Black lines, which bled out a smoky, grey substance very similar to how blood would be coming out of wounds, covered his face in an intricate pattern. Melody had seen something similar to how the pattern looked, something she thought was called the Day of the Dead.

He opened his mouth to speak and his voice came out sounding exactly how she thought a demon's would. "I'm a demon of death, kid. So being around you isn't going to hurt me in the slightest." He spoke very, very softly. But even so, his voice seemed to echo inside her mind and soul, even. It caused her to shudder, wrapping her arms around herself. "Don't worry though. I'm not here to take you to your end. I've come merely to find out what is causing you so much sorrow and how I may help you. I've been looking for you for almost two years now, off and on. I've been searching for you and I've finally found you. I do apologize for how long it's taken me."

Slowly, Melody lifted her gaze to the man's. She stared at him for a long moment. The man broke their eye contact only long enough to replace his shirt. The stark white color of his shirt contrasted almost painfully with the darkness surrounding him. "Y-you..."

"You're in a lot of pain, kid," the man murmured. "I'm sure you think you're the only person in the world who's experienced pain and sorrow before. But, as you can see, I've had my fair share of pain in my life."

"What did you do wrong?" Usually, Melody was only punished when she did something wrong. Sometimes she knew what she'd done and sometimes she couldn't figure out what. But she was only punished for being a Bad girl. So what had this stranger done?

"I did more than I was created to. I destroyed more than I was meant to. I stole away more than was mine to take," the man explained cryptically.

Melody lowered her gaze, staring at her hands. After a few seconds, she raised her eyes back up to the man's. "That's not so bad," she sighed. "I was born. So, because I was, my mother hated me. She left and Father hated me too. I'm not good at anything, only bad. So I can't be happy."

The man's eyes were unreadable as he stared at her. "I have to go now. My name is Kazuo. What is yours?" he murmured softly.

She bit her lip again, trying to decide what name to give. But after another minute, she smiled bitterly. "My name is Girl," she responded.

A strange look passed over the man's face at her words. "Girl?" he repeated. "'Girl' isn't an actual name, kid. Are you not known by a different name?"

Her lip trembled as she fought back a choking breath. "M-Melody," she whispered. "But I hate it. I hate my name."

The man arched one black brow, black-gold eyes studying her intently. "Alright. Girl it is, for now. I really do have to go. But don't worry. I will return later."

Melody's eyes widened at that. "R-return? Y-you're coming back?!"

He frowned, nodding his head. "Yes, of course. I told you, I want to help and I plan to stop at nothing to do so. I suppose this means you have no idea how unbalanced your soul has become. Do you not hear your true self, screaming on the inside? I can hear her. She's been calling out to me all this time and I can't let this continue. So, perhaps it is none of my business, but I've never really ever been known for my tact or manners. Goodbye, Girl. Have a good night. I will be back tomorrow."

Without another word-before she could say anything in protest, really-he was gone. His body dissipated like it had been made of smoke the entire time. She blinked and all that was left was a small vapor of grey that, blinking again, was gone just as suddenly as the man. Gulping, she squeezed her hands together in a show of nerves.
Something about the man...Something in him was calling to her, screaming out with this feeling. She raised a shaky hand to her chest, pressing it to her heart. Sucking in a deep breath, she rolled onto her side, facing the wall. Closing her eyes, she tried to fall asleep.

Several hours later, she was woken up by the shift in weight of the bed. A second later, Nick's familiar arms wrapped around her, pulling her back to his warm chest. She snuggled against him, since she knew he liked it when she did. Closing her eyes again, she started to drift back off to sleep. But Nick's voice stopped her.

"You did such a good job, Mel. I pray the next one goes just as perfectly. What do you think? Would you like a girl or boy? If it's a girl, we can keep her, perhaps. But if it's a boy, we'll have to get rid of him," Nick sighed heavily.

"I want whatever you think is best," Melody responded in a soft voice.

His lips pressed against the side of her temple as he kissed her. "Definitely another boy then. The more money we can make now, the better. We can use the money we make off the boy today in order to buy our own house. You'd like that, wouldn't you, love? A house all to ourselves, away from your dad. We could spend all our time together, with no interruptions," his voice came out in a low, harsh rumble.

She knew that sound. She knew what was on his mind. Turning in his arms, she cupped his face in her hands and kissed him lightly. His brown eyes began to narrow, one hand around her moving to grip her hip, squeezing tightly as he leaned down to kiss her more. His tongue played with her lips, asking for her permission to enter. She let him, tilting her head to give him better access as he groaned in delight at the taste of her.

Suddenly, he pulled back, panting to catch his breath. "God, Mel, you just gave birth. You can't tempt me like that, sweetie. I'll seriously hurt you, not to mention most likely cause damage to you if we go any further with this. But damn, I like when you're eager for my touch. So needy, so lustful you are, wife," he whispered as he leaned down to kiss her again. "Do you even realize how much of a turn on it is when you let yourself go?"

"Not really," she sighed, resting her head against his chest. So, my life's just going to be this? Kissing and sex, with the occasional baby I'll have to give up? I'll live my life, stuck inside a house, taking care of Nick and his family...giving him babies only to have them taken away...Unable to hide it, a very short sob slipped past her lips.

"W-what's wrong?" Nick's worried voice came from above her head. "Are you still hurting badly? See, love, I told you. No more excitement for the next couple of days, alright? We have all the time in the world to be together, Mel. You and me, against the rest of the world," he chuckled under his breath. Nick shifted, settling down better on the bed. Once he was comfortable, he let his fingertips play along her skin. She was still naked from earlier, when Jason had just told her to take off her clothes as it would make everything a lot easier during the labor, with how badly she was going to be sweating. She hadn't bothered to put on a nightgown, as she thought Nick would want her again tonight.

Evidently she'd been both right and wrong in that respect.

Nick's hand came up and began to softly massage her right breast. He liked to play with her breasts, almost as a form of fidgeting as he fell to sleep. Melody was long use to it as she closed her eyes and began to drift off herself...

The next morning, Melody was up at five in the morning. She sat down at the table chair in the kitchen, eyes closed in a few precious moments of both silence and peace-what little she could feel in her life. In the back of her mind, she was worried about the man who'd shown up the night before. Kazuo, wasn't it? She silently mouthed the name, thinking it sounded really strange. Shaking her head, she rose up from the chair and began to start making breakfast.

Father and Cedric hadn't returned yet. As well, both Jason and Darvey had stayed the night. Jason had decided to sleep in Father's room, which had left the couch out in the living room for Darvey. As she began working in the kitchen, Melody made sure to remain as quiet as possible. Darvey must have been exhausted though, as he continued to snore away on the couch, head tilted back at a angle that looked quite uncomfortable.

Around 6:30, the men began to groggily wake up, mostly because of all the delicious smells coming from the kitchen. Wearing just a pair of boxers, Nick came up from behind her, dropping a kiss on the top of her head as he passed her to get to the refrigerator. Jason shot his nephew a glower of irritation, jealous that he was no longer allowed to paw at Melody any time he wanted, since Nick had become the Head.

Darvey just shook his head and rolled his eyes. "Gah, you're so freaking lovey-dovey, it's creepy. Stop being so domesticated, bro. It's not like anyone's watching. It's not like you two are 'officially' a couple. No one knows you've got your very own little fuck-toy lying in wait when you come home from school. Ah, man, I'm so freaking jealous!" the fifteen-year-old grumbled. "Well...I mean, I like my chicks older-no offense, Uncle Jason-but at least you got someone, Nick."

"Don't worry. We just haven't found a chick that would suit you very well yet. But it will happen," Nick chuckled, pouring himself a glass of milk before coming to wrap one arm around Melody's shoulders as she worked on cooking pancakes.

The men had all left by 7:30 and Melody began to slowly clean up the house. Slowly because her body was still quite sore from the night before. As she started on the wash, which included the bloody linens from the night before, she swallowed. They only served to remind her exactly what she prayed to forget. Her baby.

It was in this state, around 9:15, that a throat being cleared filled the living room. Spinning on her heel, dropping the basket of dirty clothes she'd been about to head to the utility room to wash, she nearly jumped a full three feet in the air.

"Oh, geez! Kid, don't scare me like that! L-look," Kazuo cleared his throat nervously. "I'm sorry I scared you and everything...Are you here by yourself?" His uncertain expression slowly began to shift from apologetic to confused.

Nodding, Melody knelt on the floor, gathering up the clothes and putting them all back in the basket. "Yes. I can't go outside. I'll get in trouble if I do."

"...Alright, then," Kazuo's voice didn't sound very convinced. "Shouldn't you be at school?"

She turned her head to look at him in curiosity. "School?" she repeated. "Isn't that...Oh, that's where boys go," she nodded her head as she remembered Nick and Darvey mentioning the mysterious place. "To learn things, read books. But girls don't need to learn that. So I stay home and make sure to take care of the house." She suddenly shot a panicked look at him. "I'm a Good girl," she told him softly. "I can't be Bad or I'll get in trouble."

The more she talked, the more Kazuo's face was growing darker and darker. "The fuck?" he growled. She flinched back at his tone, and he instantly cleared his throat, softening his voice. "Who told you that?"

"Father," she told him, rising to her feet, carrying the basket. She started toward the utility room, setting the basket on top of the dryer to begin loading the washer. "He taught me everything I know," she murmured proudly.

A sick, unsettled feeling begin to creep into the back of Kazuo's mind. A suspicion began to form, but he didn't really want to think about it. Even so...if it was true, it would explain why the girl's soul was as twisted up as it was. Closing his eyes, he thought quickly for a few seconds. "Alright then...I have a question. What would you say if I told you I could make it so that you could leave the house without having to take a single step outside?"

She turned on the washer, looking at him in confusion. "W-what...? H-how?"

"Magic," he smiled, just a little.

She blinked, frowning. "Magic?" she repeated.

Now he began to frown. "You don't know about magic?" He shifted, eyeing her intently for a second. "Wait a minute, that would make sense, I guess. Girl, I have a question to ask. Do you feel sort of...weird around me?" he asked. Slowly, her eyes still confused, she nodded. "So, you've never been around another Other before, have you? Do you even know what race you are?"

Melody glanced down at her arm. "Black," she told him, holding up her limb for his inspection.

His lips twitched up in a half-smile but he shook his head. "No, not that sort of race. I mean the type of race you are as a Other. What sort of magic do you have? I can tell you have some, though not a whole lot. But I have no idea what sort."

Brow furrowing in thought, Melody stepped closer to him. Once she was standing directly in front of him, she grabbed hold of his hand and lifted it to her lips. Kissing him lightly, she sent a spark of magic rushing over his skin and into his body.

Kazuo jerked backwards, pulling his hand out of hers lightening quick. "Shit!" he cursed. "F-fuck!" he swallowed, trying to fight down the flash of lust her magic had thrown at him. He'd been completely caught off guard, his head spinning with the rush of electricity her magic had brought on.

Instantly, Melody's face broke out into a heartbroken expression. "I-I-I'm sorry," she choked. While his mind and body were still reeling in reaction to her magic, she began to move to the large deep freezer, which was about ten feet from where he'd materialized in the living room. As he watched, feeling dumbstruck, she began to climb into the deep freezer!

"G-Girl, what the hell are you doing?!" Kazuo asked in a panic. He rushed over to the freezer, holding her back as she tried to push past him to climb inside.

"I-I was a Bad girl, I have to go where Bad girls go!" she yelled at him. "I-if I don't..." her eyes grew wide in panic.

Kazuo shook his head slowly. "You didn't do anything bad, kid. I asked you to show me and you did. There's nothing wrong with that-"

"NO!" she shouted, her black eyes filled with an almost crazed, terrified light. "I have to make up for being a Bad girl," she insisted.

Kazuo stared down into her eyes for a long moment. Slowly, he released his hold on her. By the look in her eyes, he could tell nothing he said would stop her. She remained silent as she continued climbing inside. She closed the lid behind her and Kazuo stood there, not knowing what the hell he should do or say in this situation. She stayed inside the freezer for about three minutes before slowly pushing up at the lid from underneath.

Hearing her movement, Kazuo reached out and quickly lifted up the lid. He stared down at her inside the freezer, lying out on top of bags of frozen food. She was shivering, hard, her eyes filled with an almost mad fear. She blinked, her gaze seeming to slowly become aware of him. She shook her head and smiled faintly up at him. "S-see?" she whispered. "Now it's all better. I'm a Good girl again," she let out in a shaky exhale of relief.

"How often do you...do that?" Kazuo asked in a very quiet voice.

She blinked at him, frowning. "Every time I'm a Bad girl," she replied. She pulled herself up and began climbing out of the freezer, shivering a little at the contact of the room temperature air against her chilly skin.

Something inside Kazuo began to stir, and it was something he'd never even realized he could feel. Clearing his throat, he shook his head slightly to get rid of his thoughts. "Okay, fine. I'm beginning to realize that trying to help you is going to require a lot more effort and a few more headaches than I originally planned."

"I didn't ask for help," Melody muttered in annoyance, crossing her arms over her chest. "If I'm so annoying, then why are you staying? You could just go away and forget all about me."

Kazuo's lips lifted into a wry smile. "I don't think I could ever forget about you, Girl," he chuckled. "So, how about we try a new approach instead? Would you mind terribly if I left for a minute?"

She shrugged. "Do whatever you want. Just as long as Father doesn't know you came here, I don't care." Sighing, she returned to the utilities room to get the basket of clothes out of the dryer to start putting them away. When she came out of the room, Kazuo was standing next to the window by the freezer, a notebook in his hand, as well as several mechanical pencils. She froze as she took in the sight. "W-what are you doing?"

Kazuo moved over to the small table in the kitchen. "I think I'm going to do something weird and try teaching," the man grinned widely. "Why don't you try coming over here and doing something weird too?"

"W-what kind of weird?" Melody asked, fighting a kin interest and trying to appear bored with the conversation.

Kazuo's face broke into a bright smile. Honestly, Kazuo had no idea what the hell he was even doing right now. Why was he inside some random little girl's house? Hell, why was he standing here with a notebook and pencil and fully planning to spend the next several hours of his free time devoted solely to this little girl? Why the hell should she matter to him? It was pretty damn obvious to him that her father didn't treat her quite right and had left her to fend mostly for herself.

If he was thinking correctly, he should just drop an anonymous tip by the human's DCFS abuse center and let them deal with the situation...

But he wasn't really thinking clearly now, was he?

Grin growing a little wider, he winked at 'Girl', who blinked, looking at him in shock. "The learning kind of weird," he teased, patting the chair-which he'd left empty-in invitation. "C'mon...why not give it a try?" he invited.

Swallowing nervously, Melody eyed the man worriedly. "Are you mean?" she asked softly.

His grin began to fade, his brown eyes growing much more serious. "No, I'm not," he told her firmly. "But words are meaningless. I can say I'll never hurt you and that I won't scare you or anything else. But until you see it in action, you aren't going to believe me, are you?" he murmured, shifting to have his arms crossed over his chest, notebook and pencils resting on the table.

Shaking her head, Melody studied him. "You're different. There's something about you that..."

"Calls you to me?" he finished for her. "Well, I could say part of that is because you've obviously never been around another Other. As such, you've never gotten that sense of...magic from someone else before. Then there's the fact that I am a Death God, a shinigami. As such, it makes sense that being around something both as powerful and as...sinister, as far as abilities go at least, as I am would make you feel a little ill. Is that how you feel?" he asked calmly.

Very slowly, Melody nodded. "Yeah," Kazuo let out a soft snort of laughter. "I figured as much. But I suppose another thing is the fact that the two of us are tied together, by Fate."

Her expression clouded in confusion and disbelief. She glanced between the two, giving him a look that told him he was being silly. "No we aren't. We don't have a string or rope on us."

Laughing outright, Kazuo shook his head slowly. "That's not what I meant, silly. I'm talking about the...the call you keep feeling when you're around me. Or, at least, I assume you feel it. I know I do. It's why I've been searching for you for the past two years. But, you being locked up inside this house, I assume, it explains why I could never quite seem to find you. The call has been trying to guide me to you. Now, I don't really know why, but I plan to find out. And until I know, until I understand, I'm going to be doing my best to figure it out. This means you're going to be seeing more of my ugly mug from now on."

He felt a small burst of that happiness at seeing a reluctant smile pull at her lips. Her whole face transformed with that one smile. He felt a tightening in his chest, something he'd never felt before and it made a part of him begin to panic. The call, deep in his heart, grew insistent for a few seconds, before dying back down to that constant, distant hum it liked to stay at while he was in her presence.

"You not ugly, silly," she shook her head at him. Biting her lip, she glanced between him, the table, and the clock on the microwave. 10:11. Swallowing, she slowly moved to sit down at the table. "H-how do I do this?" she asked.

Turning, Kazuo took hold of one pencil and quickly wrote out the alphabet. "Which of these do you recognize?"

Very hesitantly, Melody pointed out, A, B, J, N, M, T, and V. Kazuo's eyes widened in shock, but he made sure to school his expression when she glanced up at him worriedly. "I-is it bad?" she whispered at the awkward silence that had fallen.

Shaking his head firmly, Kazuo smiled. "Nope! Not at all. Honestly, you know so much, I'm amazed," he grinned down at her.

Her cheeks filled with a blush and she lowered her gaze, twisting some of her curls around one finger. "R-really? Y-you aren't just s-saying it?"

Gods, I think my heart is being stolen by a little girl! The thought flashed through Kazuo's mind for just half a second. Shaking his head, he cleared it of such thoughts. He'd known the kid for exactly...half an hour, forty-five minutes? Besides, saying it like that, hearing it in his mind, it sounded kind of creepy.

Even so, a small part of him couldn't completely deny the possibility. What the hell else could this warmth, this happiness he had no memory of ever feeling in the thousands of years he'd been alive now be? Sure, he'd cared for a few mortals over the years. There was his best friend, Jack Frost, who he checked up on from time to time. And he'd even had some lovers over the centuries. But there was something different about this...this feeling in his heart.

It wasn't exactly friendship and it definitely wasn't romantic love. No...it was something Kazuo had never encountered before. Swallowing, he forced himself back into the present moment. "I'd never lie to you like that, kid," he promised. His voice came out gruffer than he meant and he winced when her black eyes slowly lifted up to his face. They stared into each others eyes for what seemed like a piece of eternity.

And then...slowly, so slowly neither of them quite realized it, a wall each had been keeping up around their hearts began to crack and gradually lower. "I believe you," Melody murmured softly.

"S-so, you've got A and B down. Let's introduce C into the mix, why don't we?" Kazuo cleared his throat, feeling his cheeks start to warm in embarrassment. Why the hell he was embarrassed, he wasn't really sure. But damn it...

This kid's kind of cute...

O O O

The next two months passed by quickly. They were the happiest Melody could ever remember being, even before she was Melody. After the first week, Melody trusted Kazuo enough to let him create a special 'door'. He placed it on the wall next to window beside the Cold Box. When he'd put it there, a very small crack formed in the wallpaper right about hand-level for Melody. Kazuo explained that he'd made it a very special door. The only people who could use it were himself and her. It allowed her to stepped through the 'door'-or the portal, as it actually was-and into his own apartment, at any time she felt like.

Kazuo told her that he was fine with her showing up at any time, any day of the week. He told her to look at it like a safe haven away from the stress of her own home. And since she wasn't stepping outside, she wouldn't be breaking any rules so she had no reason to punish herself.

Loopholes, save the both of us! Kazuo thought when he finished explaining his idea to the kid. And, somehow-thankfully-magically, she agreed to it!

Inside the comfort of his own home and the distance from her prison, Melody quickly began to open up more and more to him. He even, amazingly, convinced her to go outside a few times with him for a walk.

Those days had been magical to Kazuo. He'd find his gaze drawn to Melody's face more than anything else. Seeing the light of joy, wonder, and shock in her eyes was the best feeling he'd ever experienced before. Especially when he realized that he'd been the one to help her feel that way. It was a simple thing, something he did often. Going for a walk in the sunlight. Striding down the sidewalk and taking in the flower pots, the fresh cut grass, the dogs people were walking, the kids playing in people's yards...

But for Melody, it was like a whole new world she'd never seen before. And, truth be told, the evening after their first walk, Kazuo had been more than a little shocked to discover that he'd cried himself to sleep.

How can anyone possibly treat this little girl like she's been treated?

Two days later, he found himself beginning to research adoption and foster laws in the state. He began to look up different lawyers who were know for being very good at winning cases that had to do with child custody. It shocked him, to find himself doing such a thing. But, at the same time, it felt completely right.

To Kazuo's surprise, he began to look forward to each day more and more. He'd never felt like this before. Every day always blended into the next. But with each passing week, he began to pick out details that helped the days stand out from one another. Like, last Tuesday, Melody had learned how to write and spell, just a little.

Over the weekend, since Melody insisted that Kazuo could not come over at all-since her father was home all day-he found himself taking on a few jobs out of town. He couldn't stand just sitting in his house and waiting for the two days to hurry up and pass by. And he figured standing at his front apartment window and glaring down at her house for two day's straight was a bad idea...

But the most amazing moment to Kazuo was the Monday that dawned eight weeks after meeting Melody. He'd wearily climbed the stairs up to his apartment Sunday night, coming home from a long job. He'd decided to actually ride in planes in order to eat up more of his time over the weekends. But he was exhausted, suffering from really bad jet lag with all the changes in flights he'd had to make. So instead of getting some frozen dinner out of the freezer, like he usually did when he was feeling lazy, he simply passed out into sleep on his couch.

Waking up the next morning, he was starving. He hadn't had anything to eat in roughly twelve hours and it was making him feel woozy. Stumbling half asleep over to his fridge, he opened it up. In the middle of the fridge was a large dish he had no memory of every seeing before. Blinking, he pulled it out and stared at it. It was a casserole dish, wrapped tightly in tinfoil. Frowning, he closed the fridge door and moved over to his small dining table to sit down, pulling back one of the chairs. Unwrapping the foil, he discovered it was a dish of chicken broccoli rice casserole.

His stomach let out a loud growl and he glanced back at the fridge door. He'd paid it no mind, focused more on the contents inside than the outward appearance. But, hanging up by a banana magnet, was a piece of notebook paper. Slowly, he rose to his feet. Hands shaking, he unclipped the paper and held it in his hands, reading the note slowly and carefully. The handwriting was shaky and big, obviously very unskilled, and a few things were spelled incorrectly, like his name. But there was also a sense of earnest to it that had him rooted to the spot as he deciphered the meaning between the lines of the note.

Hi Kazo.

I mak food, in dis.

Cook 350, 25-30 tim.

Trip was good?

I miss yu.

I say tank for help wrd me.

Best. I am happy!

: )

At the bottom of the note, a big smiley face was drawn.

Hands shaking even harder, Kazuo slowly fell to his knees. He cradled the note to his chest, tears rushing down his face.

The most exquisite, awe-inspiring feeling he'd ever experienced in his life overcame him in that one moment and all he could do was weep in the aftermath of it all.

S-she wrote me a note...It's the first time she's tried to write something by herself!

He let out another choking, bubbling sob of pure joy and gratitude. "Thank you, Great Ones, for guiding me to this little girl...She's saved me...saved me from my own emptiness I'd never even realized was all I had in my life. This is the most precious gift I've ever received from anyone and I will cherish it for the rest of my life. I'll cherish her for the rest of my life..."

Some time later, he honestly had no idea, he woke up from the spinning mess of his thoughts. Rising stiffly to his feet, he began to preheat the oven to start cooking the casserole. When the food was nearly done, Melody came stepping out from the door that led into his empty hallway closet he never used. Literally, it was just a tiny, empty room, with a door and light bulb. The landlord for the apartment hadn't even bothered to install a shelf or anything inside it.

"Kazuo, what's taking you so long?" Melody's voice whined at him. "I've been waiting forever!" she insisted.

"I'm sorry, kid," he chuckled. "I woke up late and I'm working on making the delicious meal you left me. It looks amazing, but you know you honestly didn't need to do something like that. I don't expect any reward out of this," he reminded her what felt like the fiftieth time.

She smiled brightly at him. "I know. But I wanted to say thank you anyway. W-was it hard to read? Uh, my note?" she asked worriedly.

He shook his head. "Not at all!" he grinned. "You misspelled a few things, but that's okay. Everyone messes up now and then. Even me."

Her expression first started to fall before looking at him in disbelief. "What? No, not at all. You're so amazing, Kazuo..." she blushed at her words, ducking her head.

He held back the very sudden and almost overwhelming need to gather Melody into his arms. Damn it...Yep, totally stolen my heart, he thought. But there wasn't the slightest hint of regret or annoyance in his heart at the thought. If anything, he was impatient. Impatient because all he wanted to do in that moment was be able to tell Melody that the two of them were going to escape her prison together.

Swallowing, he straightened his shoulders. "Hey, kid, I'm really sorry, but something's come up today. I have somewhere I need to be and it's very important I go today and get it done, alright?"

Slowly, her expression beginning to sadden, she nodded. "Okay. I hope it goes well, Kazuo. I'll see you tomorrow?" she asked, a hint of hope in her voice.

"Definitely," he nodded his head firmly. "I wouldn't miss it for the world," he promised.

Her expression began to lighten at that. "Okay! 'Bye, Kazuo!" she waved as she stepped back into the closet and returned to her own house.

With her gone, Kazuo moved to his room and pulled out his laptop. He spent the next hour alternating between eating and looking up lawyers to call, plus getting a hold of the Human World's DCFS in this country. He called in a concern of abuse, giving them the address of Melody's home. He also let them know that he feared it was very urgent and serious, praying to all the gods that doing so would help them move faster. Done with that, he made a list of lawyers and began to call them up to see if any would be available for a very sudden and impromptu appointment for a hefty bride he'd throw at them. He was determined to find out as much about this whole situation today as possible. His hope was that he could have Melody in his legal and official custody by the end of the month.

By a quarter to four in the afternoon, he finally found a lawyer who was willing to sit down with him for a last minute, late in the day appointment. Thankful, Kazuo gathered what he had that he figured he'd need and changed into a better change of clothes. Letting himself begin to dissipate into his teleportation, he imagined the bathroom of the small café he knew of that was roughly a five minute walk away from the lawyer's place.

Back in the Foli house, the rest of Melody's day continued like normal, at first. But, around four in the afternoon, when Nick came home from school, things quickly escalated.

Her husband stormed into the house, slamming the front door shut with much more force than necessary, causing her to jump in fright from where she was in the bedroom, vacuuming. Quickly turning off the vacuum, she peeked her head out around the bedroom doorway. "W-welcome home, Nick," she stuttered out fearfully.

His brown gaze latched onto her face and she paled at seeing the sheer rage in his eyes. "You fucking little bitch!" he snarled. "You've been out, running around with another man while I've been gone, haven't you?!"

She gulped, shaking her head quickly. "N-no! No, I haven't. Y-you are my husband, N-Nick," she struggled to keep her voice even, but it didn't work.

"You can't even look me in the eyes!" he snarled, face darkening with his rage. He started toward her and she began to back up quickly, trying to get away. "People have been talking about it, gossiping, about some little girl who's been seen outside now and again. A girl who sounded quite a lot like you. But then...t-then..." he was so angry, he was struggling to even get his words past his lips. "Then one of my friends from school happened to see you a few days back. No one believed him but he sent this photo to all of our friends today to prove it and imagine my surprise when I...!"

Reaching into the pocket of his jeans, he pulled out his phone, which showed an image of Melody and Kazuo. Melody was holding onto Kazuo's arm, smiling brightly up at him, while he smiled happily down at her. Melody blinked, having never seen herself in a picture before. Is that what I look like to other people? She wondered for half a second before Nick's furious growl returned her attention to her current predicament.

"Fidelity, it's all I fucking ask of you, Melody! Loyalty, damn it! Is it that hard to keep your hands off of other men?!" he shouted. "You don't see me bringing in women to our home! You don't see me parading a bunch of fucking whores in front of you! And h-here you are...in public with another man! A man who's as fucking old as your father!"

Suddenly he stopped, eyes going wide. "Is that what this is about? Is it? You like men as old as your father? You want to fuck men more than three times your age?!" he screamed at her. "Eight years isn't good enough for you, is it? You want to be some god fucking damn gold digger?!"

She raised her hands, trying to find words to speak in her defense. But her mouth was very suddenly completely dry and she couldn't form any words. He took her silence as agreement and she watched in terror as his face shut down. His expression was wiped of all emotion. But in his eyes...She knew in that moment what her fate was going to be.

And, truthfully...

She welcomed it, at least partly.

His blows were sharp, precise, almost calculating on the best way to inflict the most damage. And once she was too broken to be able to fight against him anymore-for even despite her earlier thoughts, her survival instincts kicked in-he threw her on the bed and proceeded to rape her, twice.

It was more painful than the first time. Her magic didn't kick in once throughout the entire session of physical torture. She was too beyond-inside the pain of all her other wounds-for her magic to even attempt to protect her from some of the pain by making her enjoy it.

No, this was pure agony and terror. She screamed throughout it all. Nick's response was simply to use a pillow to cover her mouth, half-smothering her as he slammed into her dry, ripped, bleeding passage over and over. Once he was done, he rose to his feet and calmly began to dress and clean himself off.

"No more," he murmured in a cold, distant voice. "You've used up all the compassion and empathy I ever had for you. Welcome to your new life, my love. Welcome to the Hell you brought about with your inability to be faithful. Really, Melody, you should have just kept your legs crossed. If you could have just done that..." He sighed sadly, shaking his head as he glanced at her bleeding, broken body splayed out on the bed. He clicked his tongue in regret. "I've treated you too well, more than you deserved these past two years. No more though, my love. No more will I be the kind, caring husband."

Without another word, he walked out, slamming the front door behind him.

Gasping, sobbing, in so much pain that her sight seemed to no longer be working correctly, Melody struggled to move. She had to get to Kazuo...He'd said that his home was her safe haven. If she could just...If she could just get there...

She had no idea how long it took her to roll off the bed, but when she did, she hit the floor. Nick had broken her legs in order to make sure she couldn't kick him while he raped her. So, half-sobbing and whimpering through the pain, she began to drag herself along the ground.

About seven feet away from the wall she was aiming for, in the living room, a strange sensation rushed through her. Blinking, she struggled to glance back over her shoulder, dragging herself a little more forward. Blood was rushing out between her legs, but it wasn't quite the same as from the blood she'd been expelling from Nick's rough treatment. There was something that almost looked...lumpy and...white, sort of, clumped together inside the blood. It wasn't very big, only about as large as her thumb, really...

A wave of dizziness passed over her and she let out a cry of fear and terror. She didn't have time to look back. She had to escape...She had to reach Kazuo before Nick came back...

Turning forward once more, she made it through the doorway. Somehow, luck was on her side and when she'd left earlier, she hadn't closed the closet door all the way. Hitting out at it with her hand, she forced it open. Sobbing even more, she realized that the apartment was empty.

Her bleary, pain-filled gaze took in the room all around her. M-maybe...maybe I can rest on the couch, she thought faintly.

Coughing fits began to wrack through her and she realized more blood was coming up. In fact, it was getting harder and harder to breathe. Each gulp of air she pulled into her lungs was filled with pain and a wet, rattling sound as more blood pooled into her lungs. Whimpering, the real and true reality that she was going to die now hit her head-on.

Sobbing, she collapsed into a exhausted heap about six feet from the couch. She couldn't move anymore. Turning her head, she coughed up some more blood. She was so tired...The next cough could barely move her chest. Instead, it gurgled out of her open mouth, spilling over. It filled her mouth and she felt the darkness slam into her without any other warning.

It was just that sudden.

Death came and swooped down to take her soul and, for once, she was finally at peace.

O O O

Kazuo stared down at the child's lifeless body lying in the pool of blood. Seeing it, all he could feel was rage and sorrow that ripped through his chest. Sinking to his knees, a sob tore through his throat. "I'm so sorry...I failed you. I failed to protect you..." Sobbing even harder, he crawled over to the child's body. Lifting up the limp form, he cradled the small body to his chest. He lowered his lips to the child's cheek, kissing them gently. "I'm so sorry..."

It was a long time later, he wasn't sure, when a crazy thought came to his head. It was sheer insanity, this thought. But he was insane with his sorrow, in that moment. All he could feel was an overwhelming guilt and sorrow. Tenderly, he lowered the child's dead body onto his couch. He didn't care about ruining his furniture at this point. All he wanted to do was make the kid just a little more comfortable. Then, he leaned over the child's body, praying to all the gods his crazy idea would work.

As a Shinigami, I proclaim that this soul, Melody, must live once more! As One who Brings Death, I proclaim that this soul may continue to Live. I shall overlook their End. I shall overlook their Death. In exchange, I accept that I must give up part of My own Life. I give up My Soul for Melody's own. As a Shinigami, I proclaim, so shall it be!

Ten minutes later, feeling weaker and a little empty, he watched in elated relief as the kid's chest rose, just a little. It was just the smallest amount. Just a slight change...But it let him know his idea had worked. Briefly, a joy so great it nearly stole the breath from his lungs filled his heart. But just as quickly, he took in the dark bruises covering the child's face and body. Rising to his feet, he smiled. "Don't worry, kid. I'll be back, I promise. I have something I have to take care of first."

O O O

The dark form cradled the weak body to it's chest. It's touch was gentle, tender, careful of all the bruises and wounds on the child's body. "No one's going to hurt you ever again," it promised the child in a darkly threatening voice. "I'll kill all that try."

Five blocks away, lighting up the deep night like a second sun, a house was burning. As the dark shadow kept sulking through the night, careful to be silent and unseen, a slow grin spread over it's face. "I'll burn them all," it laughed quietly. "They'll burn and bleed until there's nothing left of any of them."