CHAPTER I
Knock, knock.
"Maka?" Soul called through the door. This was a strange thing for Soul to be doing. Maka was normally the one to wake him up, not the other way around. Although this was true, sometimes Maka got to bed later than she usually did. Even so, today felt different as Soul knocked on her door with no response. So he tried again.
Knock, knock. "Maka?"
With no response for the second time around, Soul slowly opened the door and peeked inside. Maka's room was as tidy as ever, expect for the small bundle of sheets on her messy bed. And inside of those sheets was Maka herself, in her nightclothes and her sandy hair in a tangled mess. With much resentment for the wrath Maka would bring upon him, Soul stepped quietly over to the bed. Maka seemed at peace while she slept, but there was something else. There almost seemed to be... contriteness? But that's ridiculous. Why would Maka feel remorse, to a point where you could see it in her expression while she slept? Soul pushed the thought from his brain and got back to the task at hand.
He placed his hand on Maka's shoulder and shook her lightly. "Maka," he called to his dreaming companion. "Maka, you need to get up."
Maka stirred and groaned, her face tensing. Then her sleepy emerald eyes opened slightly. Soul moved out of her way as she sat up, her eyes still glossy from sleep. "Soul," she said plainly. Then she started shrugging the covers off of herself. "What time is it?"
"Later than you usually wake up," Soul replied as he stood up straight. He was about to walk away, when Maka grabbed the sleeve of his shirt. Soul turned around in surprise and looked down at his meister. She looked different. Her facial expression was blank, her eyes half closed, and she sat limply on the bed, just holding onto his sleeve.
"What time is it?" she asked again. When she spoke, he realized, she sounded meeker than usual, almost apprehensive or sheepish.
Instinctively, Soul placed his hand on her forehead. She felt slightly warm. "Maka, are you feeling okay?"
Maka stared at Soul with empty emerald eyes. "What time is it?"
Soul was taken back. Why was Maka acting like this? Was she sick? It didn't feel like she had a fever. But she sure was acting weird.
Soul pulled his arm out of Maka's light grip and turned around. "Come on," he said. He grabbed her arms and hauled them over his shoulders, then grabbed her legs and started to carry her in a piggy-back ride style. In a strained voice, he said, "I'm taking you to the hospital."
It was a moment before she responded. "What time is it?"
Soul left with Maka to his motorcycle. He placed her in front of him so she wouldn't fall off as he drove. As soon as Maka was secure, Soul sped off to Dr. Stien's.
Maka turned her head and looked emptily at Soul. She seemed even more exhausted than she had been earlier and her eyes had glossed over. Her voice was stretched and weaker than before as well. "What... time... is it?" Then her eyes closed and she went limp and leaned unconsciously on Soul's chest.