"It's because of you Maka, that I stopped running away", Soul's sharp teeth gleamed as he said it and Maka had never felt more torn. It was a hard road, and there were losses that would never stop tearing at her heart, but having Soul's praise soothed something in her that she couldn't describe. "I know!" Maka exclaimed. This is what they had worked so hard for, the Kishin was gone and Soul was finally a Death Scythe, but Maka couldn't shake the unease. Sure, she had helped mold Soul into a Death Scythe, but what now? Did he really need her anymore, her job as a Meister was complete, what was the point in having her around? "Then let's say it together", and with that little reassurance from Soul, everything was right with Maka's world again.

It happened slowly, the distance between Soul and Maka. Maka had been right after all, there wasn't much of a reason for her to stay with Soul and Kid had seen it the same way too. He began sending Soul on solo mssions, leaving Maka behind to continue with her studies and be a peer tutor. This had been going on for about 2 months when Maka was summoned by Kid, which still really grated on her nerves. Like they hadn't been classmates just 9 weeks ago, now he summoned her like a dog.

Maka stopped in the middle of the hallway and shook her head haard. What was she thinking? Her duty was to the DWMA, and Kid was the new Shinigami. She needed to stop thinking of him as her friend and start thinking of him as the boss. With resolve, she continued her journey through the guillotines. When she reached Kid's 'NO! Shinigami' Shinigami's new throne, she noticed another man standing next to it. She had never seen this man before. He was…average. In fact, there wasn't a single noteworthy thing about him. He was average height, average build, brown hair, brown eyes hidden behind wire glasses.

"You called?" Maka came to a stop about 10 feet from the throne.

"Yes, thank you for coming Maka" Kid lifted his head from his hand "I know that we have been underutilizing your talents of late, but the truth is that I believe you have gone as far as you can go as a Mesiter. I know that you have been working with Spirit in honing your Scythe abilities, but as you know a weapon cannot grow alone."

Maka felt her hands start to sweat in her gloves. She wasn't sure she liked where this is going, but Kid just continued.

"That being said, Soul has shown himself to be extremely effective in the field and I think it's time that your partnership come to an end. I know this is hard to hear, but you haven't been on a mission together since the moon and I am sure that your resonance has suffered for it." She felt her heart splinter. Break her partnership with Soul? Lose the resonance that she lived for? Even now she could still feel him, far away but warm. Yes, they were physically apart more than not nowadays but she could live with that as long as she still felt him in her heart and that had been enough. She couldn't imagine life with Soul, he took up more of herself than she did.

"I have already spoken with Soul and he has agreed, it's time that we help you to grow as powerful as possible and the way to do that is to work with a meister, as a weapon. I'd like you to meet Damien, he transferred here just today to work with you. He is very strong in his own right, so I hope that you will work with him and learn."

And just like that, her splintered heart shattered. Soul had already agreed to this? He wanted to end their partnership? She figured that he was just excited to e a Death Scythe and one day he would come back for her, but this…this changed everything. He didn't want to be with her anymore. She was such an idiot.

She mentally slapped herself. So what if Soul didn't want her? She was Maka Fucking Albarn, Death Scythe forger, and if he didn't want her anymore then he could go fuck himself. She concentrated on the warmth in her heart that was soul and their connection, then she started laying bricks. She built a wall so high she couldn't see the top of it. She felt the light slip from her soul, plunged her heart into despair. It felt like she had cut off a piece of herself. She refused to let it show how much this hurt. Inhaling deeply, she pasted a smile on her face and reached out her hand to Damien.

"It's great to meet you, my name is Maka"

Soul was lying in a crappy motel when he felt it, like a punch to the gut. His hand flew to his chest and fisted his shirt there. "Maka". She was gone. He went inward, raced through the halls of his soul, searched high and low but he couldn't find her anywhere. He reached for her, frantically searching, but he couldn't find anything. Panicked, he raced to the mirror, it was cracked but surely it would still work. He fogged the glass and hastily scribbled on the surface. Kid's face soon filled the mirror.

"Soul, how can I –"

"Maka! Where is she, we have to help her!"

Kid had never seen Soul lose his calm so badly "What are you talking about? She just left here, she's fine"

"Something happened to her, I know it! Her soul is gone, I can't feel it anymore, you have to go now Kid, I'm catching the next flight and I'll –"

"Soul! Chill the fuck out. Maka. Is. Fine. She's pairing with another Meister and they will need to soul resonance which means she can't resonate with you anymore. We talked about this, remember? It's the best thing for her and you know it. She can be stronger than anyone, we just have to let her. It was time."

Soul pulled his arm back and smashed his fist into the mirror. It shattered, spilling on to the already stained carpet, ending the conversation. He hated this, hated everything about it. He wanted to stay Maka's partner and if Kid hadn't spent hours explaining that he was actually holding her back by staying with her, he never would have agreed to this. He sank on to his bed and buried his face in his hands, feeling hollower than he had ever felt.

Maka dragged her bag up the last flight of stairs to her new apartment. She still wasn't quite sure why she was the one who had to move anyway, it wasn't like Soul was ever there. Just thinking his name hurt. She shoved her feelings aside and fumbled trying to find the right key on her ring. Just as she was about to insert the key into the lock, the door flew open. She looked up to see Damien smiling down at her.

"Maka! I'm so happy you're here! I just finished dinner. Come in, come in." With that, he reached past her and picked up her bag. He grabbed her wrist with his other hand and dragged her into the apartment. The apartment seemed nice enough. The door opened into a tiny entryway, complete with a narrow table against the wall that held a bowl for keys. Above the table was a large mirror, perfect for making sure you looked great before heading out the door. Unfortunately, Maka took a look at herself in a mirror. Man she was a mess. Her hair was frizzy, and her orange zip up hoodie had seen better days. Packing up all of her belongings and trudging halfway across town meant that her make-up was running off with sweat.

Damien paused, noticing her staring at herself. "C'mon, I'll show you your room. I hope you like it."

He continued down the hallway, opening the last door on the right. Inside was a neat twin bed with a wrought iron frame in the center of the far wall. Maka had always wanted a bed just like it with a headboard and a footboard, old and feminine at the same time. A closet made up most of the right wall and there was a dresser tucked on the left. Hidden on the same wall with the door is a desk and a chair. It was everything Maka needed, almost as if it had been created straight out of her childhood dreams. The walls were a soft lavender, perfect and unblemished and everything was in mint condition but Maka couldn't help but feel a bit empty looking at it. It was wonderful and beautiful, but it didn't feel like home.

"This is your room, if there is anything you don't like just let me know and we can change it." Damien placed her bag in the center of the room and turned around to look at her. His eyes softened as he took in her slightly lost expression. He came closer and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Hey. I know. It's hard right? Everything is changing. You're not alone, you know? This is all new for me too. There's no good way to say this but…the reason I'm here….what I mean is…."

He sighed, and walked to the window, staring out on to the busy street 4 stories down.

"My last weapon…she took her own life about 6 months ago. I tried going back to school but it was too hard so I came to the DWMA."

Damien inhaled and turned around.

"I guess what I'm saying maybe we could try it out together. A fresh start. What do you say?"

He held his hand out towards her. When he put it like that Maka found that she could breathe a bit easier. Things weren't so bad. This man had a harder road than she had and he still managed to keep a smile on his face, Maka supposed the least she could do was try to make this work between them. She reached not only her hand towards him but also her soul. The spark started and she realized that Kid was right, their souls were compatible and this could work.

"Yeah Damien, that sounds good. A fresh start."