AN: This would be a two shot, anime-based story.
Disclaimer: I do not own Soul Eater and the song Nobody's Home by Avril Lavigne which inspired this story.
Nobody's Home
A soft lullaby echoed through the peeling walls of a worn down apartment. Golden eyes twinkled with toned-down mirth as she stroked the ash blonde hair of the sobbing girl curled up on her lap. As her song died down to low humming, the girl's sobbing quieted down to restrained hiccups.
"Are you alright now, Maka-nya~?"
Emerald met gold and the girl on her lap stared blankly before nodding her head. Maka uncurled herself from her companions lap. She wiped her wet cheeks with the back of her palm and rubbed her eyes.
"Sorry for troubling you, Blair." The girl hiccuped.
Blair gave a comforting smile and hugged the girl close to her chest. She doesn't know how these all happened. Just three hours ago she was working at ChupaCabra, then the next thing she knew her former roommate, the great Maka Albarn, was waiting for her outside the cabaret, she obviously just returned from a mission because she's all bloody and dirty. Blair didn't know what to do at first. She just rushed to the girl's aid and brought her to her new apartment.
It's been two years since she moved out of the Albarn and Evans residence, saying that she doesn't want to be a freeloader anymore. Of course the two teens agreed. And when did she last saw Maka? It's been a month or two. That's why she was shocked to see the girl waiting for her; saying that she doesn't know who to turn to anymore. Blair asked about Soul but the girl only hung her head low and mumbled, 'He's content of what he has now. I don't want to bother him.' Then the girl cried and of course, that's where Blair comes in.
"It's alright. Now would you tell Blair what's wrong?" she cooed.
Maka stayed silent for a while, contemplating if she should tell what's wrong. Blair waited patiently and when those emerald eyes looked up at her for assurance, the elder woman smiled, "Don't worry, you can tell Blair everything."
Maka nodded and gripped her skirt as she forced a new wave of tears to go back in. She doesn't want to cry anymore. She's getting tired of it. Sighing loudly, she decided to tell the magical cat what caused her distress.
"My mama's missing."
…..
Ever since that night, Blair silently watched over Maka; climbing trees in her cat form as she looked after the girl. Needless to say, the girl has become more distant. That's when she noticed something. Maka isn't with her partner.
She watched as the meister walked down the hallways of Shibusen at lunch. She's sipping an apple juice while reading a small book. Again, she's alone. Blair wondered where the others were. Just a month ago she was sure the gang was still okay. Not that it's not okay now . . . but obviously, something's quite off.
At first she thought that the blonde would head to the cafeteria like the other students or to the library like what she expected. But the girl continued walking until she reached the entrance of Shibusen. The juice box was emptied and crushed on her small yet strong hands. Golden eyes never left ash blonde even as the girl just simply walked over to the stairs and looked over at the city. Her expression was blank yet there's a twinge of regret. It was an expression that Blair had first seen on the young meister. She'd actually never seen Maka Albarn this . . . empty.
It's been twenty minutes yet Maka hadn't moved from her spot. Even her expression hadn't changed. Just then she heard laughing. Blair stared at a rather large approaching group of students. All of them seem to be having fun as they positioned themselves around a certain albino.
"Soul?" Blair wondered out loud in a hushed tone. Well, unlike Maka he seems to be happy being surrounded by those students that seem to be laughing at some nonsense someone said in the group.
Speaking of Maka, Blair watched as the girl walked aside, as if to provide space for the group even though the way was wide enough. She expected Soul to call out to his meister, but the boy didn't even look. He barely even turned his head to Maka's direction. It was weird, no, it was more than that. It was nerve wrecking since the both of them were inseparable. What happened? Blair can't help but wonder as she still followed the group with her eyes as they continued up until they were inside Shibusen.
Maka was left standing there. That empty look Blair hates still plastered on her pretty face. What's going on? She decided that maybe it's time to investigate about the others. Giving the meister one last longing look, the cat proceeded inside the school. Determined to know what had happened the past month.
…
After much sleuthing . . . smooth sleuthing, as she liked to call it. Blair had figured out that everything seems fine. Black Star was as obnoxious as ever and he's still with an overly understanding Tsubaki. Kid was the same with his Obsessive Compulsive Disorder concerning symmetry and both his weapons, Liz and Patty, were still there to console him and such. In fact the group even ate together at lunch, but minus Maka.
She tried to eavesdrop. But she got nothing figured out. Though, she did notice that even though they talked a lot, their conversations ranging from Soul's growing fan club, to Black Star's mission achievements, to Liz's nails, to Patty's stuffed giraffe, to Tsubaki's new cook book, even to Kid's new symmetrical coat, but never Maka. They didn't mention a single strand of the girl's hair. Every after lunch the group would bid their goodbyes like usual but as soon as they're out of the cafeteria, Soul would get flocked on by his 'fans'. Praising him and telling him how inspiring his life is for being the youngest Death Scythe in the history. Soul would just give them a proud smile and be as arrogant as ever. But the crowd didn't seem to mind. In fact, they praised him more.
Soul often goes on A-class missions with their teachers like Stein and Sid and of course comes back victorious with a smug look on his face. He obviously likes the attention everybody's giving him. But there's always something missing. Maka wasn't with him. Maka isn't getting any praise. Maka also takes dangerous missions, doesn't she. Maka even goes on some S-class from time to time, constantly shifting weapons. It's as if Maka was forgotten. Maka has somehow turned invisible. Somehow, Maka Albarn suddenly seized to exist.
…
A week has passed after Blair started stalking Maka. She constantly watched over the girl as she goes on with her life, if anyone could even call it a life. No one even bothers to talk to her. Blair was tempted thousands of times to sit next to the meister at lunch. She wanted to confront her and demand an answer to the biggest puzzle she'd ever laid eyes on. What happened?
But Blair remained rooted on her own watching spot; just watching over Maka Albarn as she slowly goes numb. She couldn't get herself to walk over to the girl and accompany her. She doesn't know why. She felt like, if she ever went close to the girl, much less breathe her air, Maka would break down. And she knows how Maka is when she breaks down. She'd only seen it once but it was enough to convince herself that she would never want to see how broken the girl could get. It was like a steak was being driven straight to her heart every time she looked at those endless pools of emerald, already left empty with despair, worry, loneliness, and betrayal. The cat can't figure out how one little body could carry so many burdens and still goes on with life.
Kami Albarn was still missing. She was last seen in Mexico, hunting down a certain witch when they suddenly lost contact. The headquarters waited three days for the meister to report back. But after receiving silence, they sent back up, yet they didn't found her. Now a search party was being held. And Spirit was among them.
Blair wanted to cry. Maybe she was no better than Soul and the others. She can't be there for Maka as well. She's a no good friend even after Maka told her that she's got nobody anymore. The cat was currently seated on the window sill of Maka's apartment. Yes, just Maka's. Turns out that Soul had moved in to Shibusen boys' dormitory to be closer to Lord Death in case of emergencies since he is after all, a Death Scythe, no matter how young.
Maka was reading. Well, staring would be much honest since the girl hadn't turned a single page on the book she'd placed on her lap ever since she sat down. She watched as a lone tear cascaded down the girl's pale cheek. Blair looked away, not wanting to see the fragile girl in front of her. It disgusts her. Everybody had left her for some unknown reason. The girl behind the window wasn't even Maka Albarn anymore.
That's when she decided. She'd be better. She won't be like Soul and the others. If possible, she'd save Maka from this little bubble of darkness that everyone dared not to pop.
...
Blair can't be more proud of her self. True to her words, she did approach Maka. It's been two weeks ever since she decided to confront the girl. At first she invited her for coffee, which Maka was forced to take since Blair told her that they will go shopping if she didn't agree, then they had lunch every day. Blair even took the opportunity to live with Maka again, saying that she'd cook for the girl from then on since the meister's starting to look like a twig. Her achievements were showing and Blair was happy. From getting Maka to talk, then to eat a full bowl of rice, to smirking, then smiling, and now she even mustered a short giggle at what the cat had said.
Blair's smile widened. Yes, she will be the one to fix Maka. She will watch over this girl as long as she has to.
"Do you want seconds Maka-nya~?"
Maka picked up her empty bowl from the table and handed it to Blair with a smile.
"Yes please."
But through all these, she never did asked Maka what happened.
Blair rushed to Shibusen as fast as she could while riding her floating pumpkin. She received a call from Maka that day. The girl's voice was cold. It reverted back to when Blair was still secretly watching her. The line spoken was simple yet it was enough to make Blair went on a panic rampage.
'Papa's dead body just arrived.'
Blair burst through Shibusen's lobby. It was silent but a lot of people were crowding around an area. The people there were all adults, since it was Sunday. In her cat form, Blair squeezed her way to the center and almost made a beeline outside. It was six bodies covered with bloody white cloths. Dead bodies, to be precise. She looked around the lobby, searching for emerald and ash blonde. But all she saw were distressed men covered with dirt and an aura of grief. It looks like they just got back from a mission since they all looked worn out. They were obviously the search party sent by Shinigami-sama to look for Kami.
Golden eyes wondered around the area, but she still can't find Maka. Blair sprinted outside Shibusen, hoping to find the young mesiter. A loud crash was heard and she looked up. The sky had gotten darker, she knew any moment now that it would start pouring. And obviously, from what's happening right now, she was pretty sure Maka would not be looking for shelter.
Blair had nearly covered the whole Shibusen grounds but still found no signs of Maka. That's when she felt a cold droplet hit her head. The cat looked up and rushed toward the overhang of the school. She's beyond worried by now.
"Maybe she went home already." Blair mumbled and sighed. Maybe she'd go home and check.
Maka wasn't at home. Blair even pulled an all nighter just waiting for the girl. But she never came. It's already three in the morning and she can't take it anymore. She has to ask people.
The first place she headed to be Tsubaki's. She rang the doorbell countless times. But there was no response. She was about to leave when a soft click was heard behind the door. There stood a grouchy looking Black Star. She really can't blame him; it is 3 am after all.
"Who dares disrupt the slumber of a god?"
Blair paid no heed to his antics and rushed to the boy, holding his shoulders with cold firm hands, "Black Star!"
"B-Blair?" Black Star choked out, "What are you doing here in this godly hour!"
"Please, have you seen Maka?" Blair almost sobbed.
She expected him to be filled with worry like she was but the boy just stiffened at the name she mentioned. She waited for a response but Black Star only shoved her hands and looked down. He was uncharacteristically quiet. Blair was about to ask what's wrong but another figure appeared from the house.
"Black Star? Who was it?"
"Tsubaki please tell me, did Maka come by? Did you see her?" Blair frantically asked the female weapon.
"Maka?" the girl looked stunned, as if she'd never heard of the name before.
"Tsubaki?"
"Sorry," the girl finally said, "We didn't see her."
"Are you sure? She never came back tonight; I'm really getting worried now." Blair was already close to tears.
"Yeah, sorry. C'mon Black Star, let's go back to bed."Tsubaki reached out for the lad's arm and pulled him inside. But before they could close the door, Blair snapped. She can't take this anymore. Maka's practically missing and they didn't even care.
"What is the matter with you people?" Blair screamed and Tsubaki halted form closing the door.
"Your friend is missing! Aren't you even worried?"
The pair remained quiet and Blair continued, "What has she done so bad that made all of you turn your backs on her!"
"Friend?" Black Star scoffed and gave a humorless laugh, "What are you talking about, Blair? That girl's no friend."
"B-Black Star, let's just go back inside."
"She's weak." Black Star pressed on, "Can't even handle a simple death. We didn't turn our backs on her." The lad gave her a menacing glare, "She's the one who turned her back on us."
Tsubaki finally succeeded in pulling Black Star inside, without glancing at Blair, she closed the door with a soft 'sorry'.
Blair remained speechless, 'What does he mean?' but she just shook her head and set her mind on the problem at hand, if Tsubaki and Black Star were no help on Maka's location, then she'll just have to ask the others.
With a new found determination, Blair rode her pumpkin towards Kid's. She might not know what had happened two months ago, but she knew she'll find out soon. 'I won't be like them. I won't leave Maka.'
It only took five minutes for Blair to arrive at Gallows Mansion. The rain still hasn't halted and the cat contemplated if she should ring the door bell of such glamorous mansion while looking like a wet chick. Blair shook her head, 'Stop thinking about yourself! You're here to look for Maka-nya~.' So with that thought in mind, she finally rang the doorbell. She waited for a few seconds and rung again when there's no response. The rain has no signs of stopping and it just made her worry more. Just thinking that Maka's out there without any shelter makes her want to go knocking on every door and shout the girl's name. She rung and rung and rung but still there was no answer. Blair rode her pumpkin and elevated until she reached the second floor, peeping through a slightly opened curtain, she only saw pitch black. Clicking her tongue in annoyance, Blair cursed and headed for Shibusen's boy's dormitory.
Blair should have known it would also end the same way. Sid returned to his room in the dormitory after telling the cat that Soul was on a mission with Kid and the Thompson sisters. Sighing in defeat, she proceeded outside. The weather isn't changing. She looked up at the dark sky and hoped Maka somehow found somewhere to hide. Blair is just too close to giving up. For now she could only hope and pray that the young meister was okay. But as if fate was on a mood for some bad humor, Blair saw ash blonde. The rain was pouring hard and it was a little hard to see but instincts told her that she need not go any further. The girl she was looking for was currently bashing everything in sight inside the property of Death City Junk Yard.
Changing into cat form, Blair walked closer and watched Maka. She was drenched in rain and her face was stained with tears and sweat. Her clothes clung on to her like second skin and her boots were thrown on to the entrance of the junk yard. Her feet were full of blisters and so were her hands. She was holding on to a metal baseball bat and was smashing an already beaten up old refrigerator. Blair could only watch as the girl break down. She can't decide what's worse; this or the first time she saw her.
Maka suddenly stopped hitting the old appliance and threw the base ball bat somewhere. She looked up and screamed. Blair flinched at first. She watched as Maka screamed to her heart's content. She went on and on for at least five minutes until all her screaming died down to sobbing.
"What more do you want from me!" She hiccupped and slid to the ground, not minding as mud and dirt clung to her clothes and skin. "WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT FROM ME!" she punched the ground with so much force that Blair felt a slight shake.
'She's using soul menace.' Blair thought bitterly, 'Why can't I move my legs. Why can't I just march there and hug her like I wanted to.'
"I have nothing more." Maka sobbed, "Please don't take anything more."
Blair looked away when the girl cried and continuously punched the ground, blood, tears, mud and rain mixing in the hole created by her fists. It was gruesome, how such a strong girl could lose her path in such a short span of time. She lost her faith, Maka Albarn has fallen from grace; the great Maka Albarn has fallen behind. It was an unacceptable thought.
'Am I just gonna watch her destroy herself? How disgusting, how shameful of me to turn back on my words,' Blair hissed, 'NO! I'm not like the others.' That's when she finally changed into her human form and showed herself.
"MAKA!"
The cries stopped and the girl looked up, her face was now also covered with blood and mud. Her knuckles were scratched raw. Her eyes were blank, turned into a deeper color of green. "Blair." She mumbled but the cat heard it well.
"Maka, Blair was so worried! Blair can't find you anywhere, she even went to Tsubaki's for help!" she rushed beside the girl and hugged her. She certainly felt Maka flinch but feeling no other movement; Blair relaxed and let the girl cry on her chest.
"It's okay now. Blair's here. Blair will never leave you."
" . . . "
"Blair's just here, Maka-nya~"
" . . . "
"Blair promises-"
"Shut up."
It was softly spoken yet it was very cold. Maka's voice was hard, devoid of any emotion but hate. It sent shivers down Blair's spine and she almost let go of the girl's shivering form.
"M-Maka-"
"Do you know why I'm alone, Blair?"
Blair just kept quiet.
"Because everyone else was useless."
"Maka-nya~ I-I don't follow . . ."
"They let Crona die."
Blair doesn't know what to say. That was new information to her. She didn't know any of that.
"Seven weeks ago, 6th of January, we were sent by Shinigami-sama, ordered us to collect the souls of three pre-kishins in a small village down east. Such a simple mission, right? But we underestimated the enemy. We should've known something was up. Three pre-kishins in a small village? That should've been suspicious enough. But we continued, later on finding out that there was a witch controlling the three beasts. Apparently, there was a girl living there with a grigori soul. The enemy was after her. We tried to protect everyone as much as we could be we still ended up needing reinforcements. The witch was a scorpion. She was strong. Then she caught Crona. I-I didn't even had a chance to react. The next thing I know, Crona was sliced in half." Maka gave a humorless giggle as Blair's eyes widened.
"There was blood everywhere; Crona's black blood was everywhere. I was waiting for her to regenerate like always but it didn't happen. The witch's poison was so strong it prevented the recovering agents of the black blood from functioning. It was such a brutal sight that I can't handle it.
"Blades suddenly protruded from my arm, and I could faintly remember laughing like a mad man. Soul's and everyone else's voice were so distant. I felt the little black blood from Soul left in me do its wonders in my mentality. The moment I opened my eyes, the village was on fire. Soul was pinning me to the ground, and the blades on my arm were covered in blood. I was covered in blood. Out of the ten reinforcements sent to us by Shinigami-sama, only five remained. The pre-kishins were dead and so was the witch. Soul told me that I did all the work. The reinforcements tried to stop me but . . ."
Blair covered her opened mouth, shock and fear evident on her face. She doesn't know what to say or do. "Y-You didn't . . . did you?"
" . . . " Maka's head remained bowed down, the rain not helping at all in their current situation.
"But it was . . . but you didn't know what you were doing!"
"That's what I told myself. But then, I started having dreams. No, they were nightmares. I was slicing their bodies. I was so happy while doing it. Then I realized, it wasn't just a nightmare. They were memories. I let myself be overcome by madness . . ."
She was weak. Blair faintly hears Black Star's voice.
"I remembered locking myself up in my room for a whole week . . . when I got out, everyone was different. They looked at me with fear. Whispered to each other that I'm a monster. Then Soul and the others became distant." Maka smiled, it wasn't happy though it wasn't also sad, Blair can't describe it, but it was a pretty disturbing expression. "Soul and the others became the heroes who defeated three pre-kishins, one witch, and tamed a monster. It was funny, really. Then he moved out, saying that Shinigami-sama needed him more, Black Star won't look at me, Tsubaki was scared of me, Kid was disgusted at me, Liz and Patty would flinch around me . . . they, they all hated me. They were scared of me." Giggles turned to into maniacal laughter. Blair didn't mean it, but she began to tremble, she can't help it. The girl she's holding doesn't even feel like Maka.
"Can you believe it Blair? I killed five innocent people -giggle- without mercy -giggle- they're right, huh?" she was still giggling, a crazy smile plastered on her face but tears welled her eyes, "They were heroes. While I was the-"
"That's enough now, Maka." Blair hugged her closer, burying Maka's head in her chest.
"Will you leave me too, Blair?"
Blair stayed silent for a while. She didn't know how to answer that. Would she leave Maka? Would she go back down and remain as another spectator in Maka Albarn's downfall? Or would she stay beside a murderer, a new monster feared and left by everyone?
"Blair . . . Blair won't leave Maka."
Maka gave another laugh, but a lighter one this time, like some sort of relief. Then she rested on the cat's arms more comfortably, a minute or two later, unconsciously drifting to a deep slumber. Blair sighed as she felt the rain stopped pouring. She looked up and saw the laughing sun started to peep through the thick haze of mist and clouds.
"Blair would save you."
…
Maka was barely home after that day. She wasn't at school either, no. She was constantly out on missions. Getting one after the other, refusing to rest, refusing to eat. Blair can't take it. The girl was practically trying to kill herself.
It's already Maka's fourth mission in a week. Thankfully Shinigami-sama refused to give her missions higher than B-ranks; saying that it would be risky in Maka's situation. The same time Maka just returned from her latest mission, Soul walked through the doors of Shibusen. But unlike any other day; he was alone. A dark aura hovered around him, making students who were constantly beside him before to back away. Being the carefree cat that she is, Blair bounded toward Soul. "Good afternoon Souly-kun~ why so glum?"
Blair only received a slight shove and a death glare as Soul continued walking toward his class.
"Don't mind him," Blair looked beside her to find Kid and the Thompson sisters looking like zombies. "We just got back from our mission. Sad to say but . . . we failed."
"Soul's become a grumpy face!" Patty sang while Liz tried to shush her down, telling her little sister that she's making their migraines worse.
'Oh so that's why.' Blair watched Soul's back disappear into the halls and went on another hunt to find Maka. 'I swear, once that girl gets back from a mission she suddenly disappears. She's probably patching up her wounds by herself again.' Blair sighed and faced Kid again, "Did you guys see Maka-nya~? Blair's been looking for her everywhere. Blair's pretty sure Shinigami-sama said that she just got back."
Of course she noticed the trio turn rigid. It was quite obvious actually. She waited for them to reply and sighed when they didn't. "Blair would just check out the infirmary then. Bye bye!"
Fortunately, the meister was there. "Mou, Maka-nya~ are you running away from Blair?" Blair pouted while Maka gave a huff of annoyance, "Was it that obvious?"
"Mou, Maka-nya~ stop being mean!" she suddenly dived on the meister and almost squeezed the poor girl to death.
"Blair! Cut it out!" Maka whined, trying to push as much breast out of her face. Blair just laughed; she likes it when Maka's being close to her normal self.
"I heard that Soul blew a mission."
Blair stopped laughing but didn't remove her hands around Maka.
"Oh? So what do you plan to do?"
"Nothing."
"Think he can handle it himself?"
"It's just a mission. It's not like he lost somebody." Maka grumbled as she successfully pried off Blair's arms around her, "Everybody's over reacting."
Blair nodded, "Well considering that Shinigami-sama refused to tell the story about the . . . failed search party . . . a death scythes failed mission would cause a commotion."
Maka was about to speak again but the infirmary's door suddenly slid open. Both girls turned their attention to the person who just came in and Maka can't help but grimace. Sensing the oncoming awkwardness, Blair decided to speak, "Ah Soul-nya~! Do you need something?"
"Nygus-sensei told me to pick up some pain killers for my arm." Soul showed a big gash on his left arm.
"Oh my . . . "Blair stood up to inspect the wound, "That'll leave a mark."
"Poor you." Maka mumbled but the other two individuals in the room still heard her.
"M-Maka-nya~ . . ."
"What do you mean by that?" Soul directed his glance at the meister.
"I heard what happened at your mission."
"Whatever. It's none of your business." Soul growled and walked to the medicine cabinet.
"I don't understand why you're making such a big deal about it." Maka pressed on.
"I'm not making a big deal about it!"
"Oh? Well it's circulating around the school. I don't know what to think about that."
"What's your problem?" Soul hissed.
"Nothing."
Blair remained rooted on her spot, not knowing what to do for the time being. She just watched as her two former roommates exchange blows.
"A-anou . . ." Blair tried to speak.
"Must be easy to criticize somebody when you're a perfect meister, huh?"
"Yeah, I guess so." Maka stood up from the bed and walked closer to Soul, who remained stoic. Maka lifted her hand, hesitated for a little while, before finally touching Soul's wounded arm. Upon contact though, Soul stiffened and unconsciously slapped Maka's hand away. Blair made an 'eep' sound in the background while Maka cradled her reddened hand. No one dared to speak or move as Soul tried to recover from shock. Composing himself, he gritted his teeth and glared at his former meister.
"What do you want from me, huh, Maka?" he bit out, "Got bored on getting spoiled by your dad that you settled for picking on a defeated death scythe?"
Maka stared at him with wide eyes, "What?"
"Huh, what do you mean by what? Life must be so perfect for you! Getting away with everything because of your father's influence and all. Don't you remember? You killed five men. Five innocent men with families. They cried for mercy but you didn't stop, you just kept on going, on slicing. But when you got back, what happened?"
"S-stop . . . please stop." Maka covered her ears and closed her eyes as she tried to block the images of bloodshed from entering her mind.
"Please? Stop? Those were the words that the men cried once you caught them. But you just laughed at them, Maka."
"B-but I-I wasn't aware . . . I didn't know what I was doing." Maka began trembling and her breathing became ragged.
Blair finally unfroze from her shocked state when she saw Maka crouched down on the floor, tears streaming down her face none-stop. "Soul!"
"Wasn't aware? You were shouting Crona's name the whole time! You were stabbing everyone at sight, saying you'll get revenge. You were letting the black blood take over you. You were letting your weapon genes consume you. Are you sure you weren't aware? Maybe everyone was right . . . you are a monster."
SLAP!
To say that Soul's cheek stung would be an understatement. Blair really could give anybody a whiplash with those hands.
"SOUL! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?"
Soul blinked and turned his head to its proper position. Blair was crouching over a hyperventilating Maka. Soul just stared at the scene while Blair panicked.
"S-she can't breathe!" Blair stood up and frantically searched for water.
Red orbs focused on the young meister. He didn't know what made him say that. Maybe he's just pissed at the failed mission. Maybe that's what he really felt about her. He didn't know, but as he continued to stare at his former meister, all wounded and messed up, guilt and self loathing gnawed on his nerves.
Blair gently pulled the shaking girl to a hug; softly stroking her hair and patting her back. "It's okay now." She gently cooed, "Nobody's going to hurt you. Blair's here for you."
"Why are you doing this for her?" Soul asked.
"Why are you doing this to her?" Blair countered.
No reply was given as the young Deathscythe silently left the infirmary; and the talks about the failed mission abruptly simmered down.
…..
Ever since the encounter in the infirmary, Blair had only seen Maka once and it's been a week! Obviously, the girl had taken harder and longer missions. The magical cat could only sigh as she walked back to their apartment. "What was Shinigami-sama thinking," she frowned, "Letting Maka-nya~ go on an S-class mission like that. Geez, adults these days are so frustrating."
She tiredly slumped to the couch once she arrived at their familiar abode. But peace was short lived when the phone rang. She weakly reached for the phone and groaned a tired "Hello?"
"Blair?"
The familiar voice sent shivers down the cat's spine. In all her days she never would have guessed that this person would call in Maka's home number with much practiced calmness. She was alert within seconds; contemplating if she should pinch her arm to affirm that this is really happening.
"B-Black Star?" the name left a tangy taste on her mouth that she tried to swallow down. It just wasn't normal for the ninja to call Maka's number! "Uhm . . . what's wrong?" surely something's wrong right? She chose the right question to ask. Why would the blue haired assassin ring them when he just oh so proudly declared that Maka Albarn was on the top of his Hate List. The other line was busy for a few seconds it alarmed Blair more than ever. But finally, he spoke.
"Can you . . . can you come here? We wanted to talk to you."
"We?" Blair questioned and the other line became silent once more, muffled cursing could be heard from the background and she knew that Black Star was covering the mouth piece of the phone so she wouldn't hear what really was happening. A rather disturbing shuffle was heard and Blair winced at the sound, her highly sensitive ears twitched in grimace. Then the speaker changed.
"Just go to the Gallows Mansion," it was Tsubaki's soft voice, "We just wanted to talk." And then there was the beeping of the dead line.
Blair unconsciously released a threatening hiss. She didn't know why but the thought of the gang wanting to talk to her made her blood boil. What? So now they wanted to talk? About what? About Maka? What gave them the right? The phone in her hand gave a resisting crack and she sighed. She placed the phone on top of the coffee table and sat on the sofa. She won't go there. But the finest instincts of curiosity courtesy of being a cat nagged at the back of her mind.
…..
She may be seating at the finest leather couch ever made in the history of Nevada but the stares she's currently receiving from every one made her very uncomfortable. She may be a club entertainer but she could only take so much stares. Finally she decided to get this over with, with a loud gulp she finally spoke.
"W-what do you want with Bu-tan?" okay so her voice cracked, where was her confidence when she needs it?
"Why are you with Maka?" Liz was the first to speak, but even the tall blonde's authoritative voice wasn't enough to break the new resolve that Blair gained after hearing the ash blonde meister's name.
"Why not?" she confidently asked. Are they gonna ask her to leave Maka too? Like hell she'll do that! Maka needs her! Maka's got nobody, why can't they get that?
"She's unstable. I'm sure you've heard of the last mission we took with her right? She almost killed everyone on sight. She's dangerous. She almost killed us." Liz's voice hardened.
Blair could feel the hair at the back of her nape bristle in fury. How dare they?! They didn't even try to understand Maka! What right do they have to speak so badly of her?
"Well I'm alive aren't I?" Blair glared at the people in front of her, "She didn't kill me, now, did she? What happened back then was an accident! She wasn't aware of what she was doing! She was overcome with grief with the loss of a dear friend. She's suffering too! Do you really think she actually liked what she did back then?"
"You weren't there." It was Kid who spoke this time. "You didn't know what actually happened."
"She was taken over by the Black Blood! She wasn't – "
"She's got an anti-demon wavelength!" Black Star scoffed, "She didn't resist the Black Blood, in fact she embraced it! She went mad by choice!"
"Are you telling me . . . that she killed five innocent men because she would enjoy it?"
"No, she killed five innocent men to let out frustration."
"W-why are you all being so mean to her? She didn't mean what happened back then! She didn't like what she had done!" Blair argued.
"We know." Black Star muttered.
"What? Then what do you – "
"We know that she didn't like what happened but she was fully conscious while she was killing everybody. She let it happen." Black Star spat bitterly, "After she killed those five men she turned her attention to us. She stabbed Soul and almost decapitated Patty. All the while calling us useless."
Because everyone else was useless. Maka's voice echoed in Blair's head.
"She wanted to kill us too." Liz whispered with a gasp, as if it's the first time that she'd thought of those words.
"But it was because of the black blood! She'd been infected by insanity!" Blair desperately tried to make them understand that Maka is not the evil one here. "She was just disoriented! She didn't mean for any of those to happen. Maka would not kill someone innocent! You've known her longer than I have, why won't you try to understand her!"
"Because she pushed us away!" Soul bellowed. His voice was like thunder, Blair couldn't help but curl up a bit in fright, her hears flattening atop her head.
"Do you really think we want to leave her like that?" he continued, "Of course we know that she's suffering from what happened. But she's not stable. She's willing to give herself up in insanity if it means it would make her feel better even for just a second. She doesn't even recognize who her friends and her foes are anymore."
They're wrong. Blair pursed her lips in disgust as she stared at the bunch before her who refused to meet her gaze. They're all wrong. They're shrouded with so much fear, turning them into cowards and it's not even funny.
"If Maka's insane she would be locked up by now." Blair hissed.
"The only reason why she's still out and about is because of her father's influence. If everyone knew that Shinigami-sama's Death Scythe has a mad daughter in the dungeon, what do you think would the world think? They'd be terrified! Thinking that Shinigami-sama's letting insanity too near him. They'd think Shinigami-sama would be stained with madness. Maka Albarn is a well known meister, her sudden disappearance would cause turmoil and suspicions if she would ever be put on lock down." Kid answered with a grim voice, Blair knew he was being serious since he started addressing his father as 'Shinigami-sama'.
"So what? You're just going to ignore her then? You're just going to pretend that she doesn't exist?" Blair can't accept their petty reason. Those reasons were shallow! She'd been supporting Maka for quite a while now and she hasn't shown any signs of insanity. She can't understand or rather she can't accept what they're trying to make her believe.
"It's for the best." Tsubaki quipped beside Black Star, she uneasily rocked herself with her heels as she tried to look anywhere else but Blair, "I-If we continued being by her side, we don't know what we might trigger. All of us were present during that mission, we might accidentally remind her of Crona's death and she might go berserk." She finally looked at the cat woman with pleading eyes, "You must understand Blair, we're doing this for her. You should've seen her that night. She was willing to kill everybody! If Soul didn't tackle her she would've killed more of us. She's unstable –''
"STOP SAYING THAT SHE'S INSANE!" Blair can't take it anymore, her tears poured out as she glared at the lot before her, "I've been together with Maka for weeks now and she hasn't hurt me once! You're just afraid of her! You're just no good people who don't mind leaving a friend behind when she'd fallen so many times!"
Liz gasped as her own tears stained her cheeks, "That's only because you've done nothing to trigger her insanity."
"Bullshit!" Blair stood up from the couch to stare them down, "You don't know what Maka's going through right now! She'd experienced enough to trigger something but let me tell you, she is still fucking sane!"
The sorrow in the gang's eyes turned to curiosity, "What do you mean she'd experienced enough?" Soul asked as his brows furrowed further.
The adrenaline suddenly left Blair's body and she slumped back down to the couch. Her tears continued to spill and she didn't even mind as her mascara swam on her cheeks. She rested her head on the backrest and stared at the white ceiling of the Gallows Mansion, mapping the shadows as Soul impatiently waited for her reply.
"Blair!"
"K-Kami," Blair sobbed as she remembered Maka crying out in the junk yard, "Kami and Spirit are dead."
As if on cue, a lightning struck by, illuminating the shocked and guilt ridden faces of the teenagers before her.
This will be a two-shot story.