A/N: This is a time-skip of five years from the ending of the anime, when Maka kills and defeats the Kishin. Yes I messed with the plot a bit and said Kami didn't leave Spirit. She is smart, I just decided to twist it so that it sounds better, and promise me, you will be happy that I made the alteration.
I do not own Soul Eater or its characters and original plot. I merely borrow them and give credits of the awesome work to the actual author. I do own my plotline and my idea.
Enjoy!
oOo
[Maka's POV]
I was on the bed, coughing. I could see my mother crying inconsolably, and my father trying to comfort her in the waiting room outside my hospital bedroom. The doctors said that the cancer I had in my lungs wouldn't be treatable for me. I was in my last stages, and I would die any day now.
I was dying.
My coughing caught in my throat and I couldn't get rid of it. Hours passed and my mother and father left. They knew I would die soon, so why stay and watch me die?
Suddenly the windows fluttered, and a boy stood right next to me, in a black cloak, with a skull mask in one of his small hands.
He looked at me, not with disgust, but wonder.
"I will be taking your soul, Maka…"
oooooo
I opened my eyes. I wasn't in the hospital room, but in a field, a field of dead grass. I shifted my feet around, expecting to be as transperant as a ghost, but felt that I could still pick up things and feel stuff, just like a living being.
I didn't feel a swell in my chest and I had no coughing anymore.
When I tentatively got up and walked around a bit, I found out that I was barefoot. I then took notice of what attire I was wearing instead of the flimsy hospital gown, was a dress identical to the black blood dress I donned when I was fighting Arachne along with Soul.
Soul…
Fears gripped my heart. I wonder how he was taking my death. Did he mourn or did he shrug his shoulders and say that it is uncool to cry and just find another meister to wield him? I don't know. I turned my head and found out that I was wearing a huge black cloak, the hood striped with white like a tiger's skin of black stripes.
I fastened the drawstring tightly around my neck as I found there are no sleeves in this stupid cloak, and worse, I am barefoot.
I got up from my little warm spot among the dead grass, and started walking in a paved path that started to form right behind me. My feet touched the path, and the cold, gritty rocks seemed to poke like tiny little ticks into my skin. They stung like hell, they pierced me more than physical pain.
I walked down the weird graveled path, taking in the sharp pain as the rocks temporarily buried themselves in my soft soles. Eventually the pain and the coldness just faded to nothing. My feet were numb, but not asleep.
I walked and walked, observing how weird this place was. Not one thing was living.
When I saw endless dead trees on my left and right, I wondered, Is this land of the dead?
I saw no birds, no insects, nothing green, nothing sprouting with life. Heck the only thing that is moving is me.
A figure of black just popped out of nowhere and landed right in front of me. Her dress was polka dotted and she had fair hair and a hat and little black dots at the end of her mouth.
She reminds me of Eruka, that girl that always follows Medusa and Free.
The frog girl glanced at me with an irritated expression and I saw her eyes get jealous as she raked her eyes over my body. She wants to be a flatchested bookworm? But then I saw her eyeing the dress and cloak I was wearing and found out she must be a fashionista from the kind of weird clothing she wears right now.
"Hello? On what planet are you on?" I was getting irritated when she eyed my clothes harder.
"On planet death! Whatev's come on," She grumbled, guiltily tearing her eyes away from my clothes and made a fierce eye contact with me before spinning on her heals.
"Who are you?" I asked.
"You mean you can't tell? Dense," she scoffed.
"I thought I know who are you," I said, feeling slightly hurt. She feels and is always greedy like that?
"I never knew young master took a liking for you," her face screwed up.
"Medusa?" I ask, incredulously.
"No, that hag is no longer my master. Young master is," she almost puked when I mentioned the snake witch's name.
"Who is young master?" I air-quoted her.
"Ugh, you'll see," she groaned.
"Whatever, Eruka," I rolled my eyes. When she stiffened, I said, "I know you because I had to face Free face to face. You two were and used to be Medusa's minions, right?"
She looked like deer in headlights, and I said, "So you have another master? Is it because you were forced or are you doing this willingly? Last time I saw you I heard you babbling about getting your freedom from the 'crazy witch'."
Eruka scoffed, "Freedom doesn't come that easily. Yes, you caught on fast. Death just needed another little pawn to move over his land. So here I am. I guess his son isn't that bad, but his father is just a narcissist, acting as bubbly like a child. It is a wonder his son didn't catch onto his stupidity."
Is she talking about Death the Kid…? Shinigami-sama is not stupid, but his kindness is one of the things that makes me happy.
Even though I silently disagreed with her, I just let her stupidly blurt her heart out to her heart's content.
She eyes my feet and said, "Aren't your feet cold?"
I look at my feet, which look frozen from all the sharp pebbles tearing at me. I shake my head but she sighs nonetheless her croaky frog voice and takes off her frog hat and pulls out knee-length snow white boots.
"Put them on. I guess you are presentable enough for Lord Death's ball," she nonchalantly handed me the boots.
I put them on, with little difficulty. When nothing but warmth surrounded my feet, the coldness of the graveled path hit me. I shudder and pull my cloak closer to myself. Zipping up the zippers, she eyes me and says, "I guess you can keep the cloak on."
I shrug, not caring what she thinks.
We walk on forward, and a huge, black mansion that was once the size of a pebble, becomes over-the-top humongous as we approach it. Inside the building, there is a lot of fancy, low key music. Wine glasses clink and soft murmurs sound.
There are no smiles.
There is no laughter.
Eruka faces me once more and hands me a black mask with diamonds glittering on the edge. She sighed and said, "Young master ordered it. Wear it, because it is a masquerade ball."
I was annoyed by how she was just a pessimistic girl and took the mask from her. She shrugged and said, "Because of your mask, that old dude over there won't stop you from going in. Have fun, I guess."
With that, Eruka the Frog was gone, and I slipped on the mask. I went over to the entrance, and the elderly man's stoic eyes widened when he saw my mask. He nodded and bowed down deep for courtesy purposes, although a deep one was a little too much…
"Shall I get your cloak for you?" the butler asked.
"It is my favorite," I lied, "Where will you put it?"
"By the individual coat hanger for guests," he said. I sighed and took the drawstring and unraveled it, allowing the warm cloak to fall off my shoulders. The moment my black blood dress was revealed, jealous whispers came out from the ladies. I looked and saw the dress to be much prettier than I thought. I guess I never paid attention to beauty of dresses.
Handing the cloak to the butler, he bowed (once again) before taking off to the coat hangers.
I walked towards the room and saw that couples were starting to pair up. I hated dancing, and here I am, after my death, in a masquerade ball.
I sigh, and make my way to the sideline, ignoring stupid requests to indulge in wine. It seems so stupid and brainless to get drunk when you are dead. You can't die of alcohol assumption but still I am a goody two shoes like my mom, so I will continue to stay stubborn in the land of the dead.
Large whispers of admiral come when a boy with three stripes in his hair, his face obscured in a mask that is almost identical to mine, except his is for guy's.
I inwardly groan. Is this why?
I try to sink into the sidelines, hoping that the young reaper wouldn't find me, but he did. I turned around and pretended to pay attention to how many wine bottles were on the shelves.
I could see two boots come to a halt behind me and a black trench coat give an edge to his figure.
"I never knew you had such a…passion for wine," that familiar voice came.
That very voice that took my soul at the last moments in my life. My heart clenches but I just scoff and say, "Hell no. I don't drink, like my mom."
"Then why are you here in the bar?" he asked, and I swiveled around to face his masked face.
"You know, funny question. Although I got pushed here right after my death by a certain snotty frog witch," I raised an eyebrow and squared my shoulders in distrust.
"How sad, because I really thought you would like white wine," the boy showed mock disappointment. I scoffed at him.
"You're the one to speak. Doesn't anyone put alcohol restrictions on you? You look about my age," I spat, and then whined quietly, "I just wanna read a book."
"No I do not drink, I was just testing you," the boy made a knowing look at me and my face almost showed horror if he heard what I said underneath my breath.
I didn't know what to do. The dance was boring, it was depressing in here because apparently, the dead seem to take balls way to seriously. I mean, who just LOVES to go to a party with no laughter and happy music? No enjoyment at all? I can't live in a world of stiff formality. I kind of miss my mom and dad and everyone that is alive on the living side of planet Earth.
"Care to dance with me?" he offered his hand to me.
"Care to not drug me?" I asked sarcastically and he looked offended, but I wondered is it was mock disappointment or real hurt. Either way, I didn't trust him immediately.
"I won't, and you know that," he whispered, hurt.
Suddenly the windows fluttered, and a boy stood right next to me, in a black cloak, with a skull mask in one of his small hands.
He looked at me, not with disgust, but wonder.
I raised an eyebrow, and I had a fair good idea of who he is. But just keeping my views to myself only, I put my hand in his gloved one. For some reason, I didn't feel cold in this room, and wondered if this dress was the same one like the one I wore when I defeated Arachne.
"Yes, it is made of black blood if you noticed," the boy smiled from his mask.
I raised an eyebrow and silently was thankful that it was a masquerade ball, not a normal one. He pulled me to the ball room when I spoke up, "You should know I have no relative dancing experience."
"Is that so?" he asked, slightly surprised.
"Yes. When I tried to dance with my weapon partner, Soul, I stepped on his foot a grand total of eight times," I remembered how funny the experience was, letting a smile grace my lips.
The boy seemed to smile and said, "Eight, hmm? What a symmetrical girl…"
Symmetrical?
I eyed him and he looked panicked to keep his cover on and I whispered, "Say that again?"
He said, "You caught me, didn't you?"
"You are so familiar to someone I know. I knew him when I was alive, but I didn't know he would be here. Maybe my guess or not, but your little OCD for symmetry is making my suspicions stronger," I said, as he twirled me around.
"Maybe I am him," he smirked at me, "Maybe I am not. You have to find out."
I sighed. Whatever. I just said he reminded me of someone. Why is he so over-the-top of keeping his identity a secret?
"You interest me," he smiled.
Tell me something I don't know, I thought in my head.
"So how did you die?" he asked.
"What a stupid question," I said, and he twirled me around, and caught me, "You were there when I breathed my last."
"I will be taking your soul, Maka…"
"You were the one to take my soul. So how is it you do not know I died? I thought you were smart enough to figure that out," I whispered to him, as murmurs were filling the room.
A slow dance started and I swayed in his arms.
Pure shock filled his face and I said, "I was dying of cancer. My family was poor because my dad would spend majority of the income on his indulgences with alcohol and women, a reason alcohol plays a painful memory for me. My mom couldn't leave him because she didn't know who else would want her, and my dad would just sugar coat her and brainwash her from the truth. When I was diagnosed with cancer, I knew we wouldn't be able to save me…"
He stayed silent.
"And I went in the last stage of cancer. The doctor said it was futile, and nothing could save me from my agony. I would die soon, and it would only be a matter of time," I said, "And on my last day when mom and dad left my room, you came and took my soul. When I woke up, I woke up in this dress, and that cloak on the coat hanger. It took me a while to figure out where I am."
"I'm sorry," the boy whispered.
"Silly person. What do you have to apologize yourself for? I knew I was going to die. If you are what I think you are, then you are merely doing your job," I said.
The boy stayed silent, and I had to know who he was. He looked so familiar, so right to me, and I do not know his name.
He reminds me of the same boy who had three, asymmetrical sanzu lines in his jet black hair, who had a perfectly symmetrical house and two weapons for symmetry purposes, and would have an OCD breakdown over symmetrically writing his name on the tests given at DWMA.
He looked like the person who was kind-hearted and silent, but could be broken so easily if you mentioned his hair. He seemed so dark, yet so light.
He seems so much like Death the Kid, son of Shinigami-sama. I loved him when I was alive, but I knew that where I stood in the society. I knew I was of no caliber to be by his side forever. He would find another dazzling immortal girl to marry and I would be another lonely, worthless human whose soul would be taken away by the end of the life by him or his 'fiancé'. Either way it didn't matter why my chest hurts every time I saw him when I was alive.
It probably doesn't matter to him that I am dead, right?
The boy noticed my uneasiness, and pulled me outside to a garden he had, that was filled of flowers of all kinds. For the land of the dead, this is breathtaking. Living plants is phenomenal to me at this point and it takes all myself will not to run up to a plant and pluck a flower off and feel the petals against my fingertips.
"What are you thinking about?" he asked.
Oh right, there is a boy who is holding my right hand. Yanking it out, the boy grumbled in disappointment from the loss of contact but that is his loss, not mine.
"About the flowers and how awesome it is to see that they are alive," I snorted.
"No I meant what were you thinking about in the ballroom. You looked so…lost," he tapped his chin apprehensively to think of the right word, and my breath caught in my throat. That guy is seriously a stalker.
I looked at the roses and admired a bright white one, and said, "I was thinking of someone whom I loved when I was alive."
"Oh? And who is it?" he asked, jealousy lacing his words.
"Someone close to me," I simply said and touched a flower, afraid of getting on is nerves if I picked it.
"You mean that annoying albino kid that is completely asymmetrical and disgusting?" the mysterious boy said behind his mask.
I looked at him in surprise. That is what Kid called Soul, as far as I remember. Kid resented Soul's snobby personality, and always told me he hated Soul's asymmetry. He also told me that he was jealous of him for some reason, but I didn't know why.
I smiled and said, "No, if anything, Soul is just a big brother to me."
He sighed behind his mask, and I laughed silently. He raised an eyebrow and said, "What?"
I sniffled and said, "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you are jealous."
He stiffened and said, "Who do you love?"
"The son of Shinigami-sama," I said, simply.
"You love Asura?" his face turned into horror.
I forgot. Lord Death had two sons born from his soul. Asura was shunned by him when he became a Kishin, and Death the Kid was his favored one, because Kid wanted to be a Shinigami rather than a disgusting maddened freak.
I face-palmed and said, "Yes, I totally love the disgusting maddened creature I killed five years ago with the intent of creating peace because he killed so many people and the fact that he sickened me to the core."
The mysterious boy caught onto my dripping sarcasm and said, "Who are you?"
He made a move to remove my mask and I moved out of reach, "Ah-ah-ah, no pulling it off. Masquerade Ball, remember? You can do it afterwards."
"So what if I do it now?" the boy asked me.
"You will lose someone important," I reminded him.
"The girl I am in love with and the girl I will make my queen is already dead. What difference does it make?" he asked.
My heart hurt but I managed to keep a straight face on and said, "Well she could disappear from your life even in the underworld, forever. It happens and it is real."
The boy said, "You do not know how close to reality you are."
I snickered and said, "I am in the land of the dead. How much further do I have to walk?"
He grabbed my hands and pinned them behind my back and brought his lips to my ear, saying, "Not much."
I shivered but didn't let him do anything to me. I said, "Yeah, sounds better than it really is."
His hands became tighter and I yelped. His chest grinded against mine and he growled, "Stop trying to play hard to get."
"I…am…not…" I managed between gasps of pure pain.
He realized this and let go of my arms, but pulled me into a hug. He buried his head in the crook of my neck and said, "I am sorry, you remind me of a girl I loved before she died."
I didn't know what to say and it seemed like he had a little story to tell me.
"She had sandy blonde hair held up in symmetrical pigtails. She had a pair of determined jade green eyes. She was small, and slender, and petite. She was teased to be flatchested by some of her perverted friends, and she loved books and got the best grades in class. She hit people who she dubbed as perverts on the head with thick dictionaries or encyclopedias," he laughed and said, "And most of all, she had a grigori soul."
Oh.
My.
God.
"I didn't care too much for her soul shape or her abilities. She captured my heart and that was the end of the story. The end. And when she died, she took my soul with her, unknowingly," the mysterious boy released me from his hug.
The guests were leaving, and we stood there.
The guests were sighing with irritation about how the prince didn't choose their daughters in marriage to be the Queen of the Dead.
The girls threw lovesick looks at the mysterious boy but he just sent them off with a cold glare. They sobbed silently like zombies in their parent's arms until the ball room was empty.
Silence filled the room and we went back in the ball room to make sure it was empty. To be sure, the ball was over.
"May I now see your face?" he asked.
Before I could answer, two warm hands were untying the mask from behind my head and let the mask drop to the floor.
"Maka…"
His mask dropped and I saw Kid.
"K-Kid?" I got out of my shock.
Before I knew it, I was crushed in a tight embrace. He was trembling and then when I felt my shoulders get wet, I realized one thing. He was crying.
"Kid, I want to ask you, what was the meaning of this ball?" I ask, as his grip on me becomes tighter.
"To find a queen for me. Honorable father told me to quit glooming around and he threw me several parties already, all just to find a suitable bride for me. But I found none, until today," he said, shaking a little, but he released me so he could look at me.
I blushed and said, "I am just a human, Kid. I am very worthless."
Hands that I didn't know that were on my shoulders, tightened in anger.
"Don't you dare say you are worthless, Maka. I yearned for you the very moment I fought Black*Star, and almost broke apart when you left me. I came here to make you mine. I want you back, Maka, please come to my side," he said.
I felt something burn into my neck. I touched the spot and felt an emblem of Kid's skull collar.
"Every Shinigami may have one love and can have an immortal creature or a human who died, to be by their side forever. They can mark their loved one only once, so it is advisable for them to make the best choice. My father…marked your mom…but made a mistake because she was alive and she loved your father. I thought…" he trailed off.
I touched his cheek and said, "You thought I would fall in love with Soul?"
He nodded and I chuckled.
He looked at me with confusion and I explained, "Silly he didn't have intense feelings for me. He had it for Liz, and the only reason he was shy and a little bit jittery around me is because he found out that Liz's temper is almost like mine."
He sighed and said, "So will you come back to the Land of the Living? My father would love to know the good news now."
I arched an eyebrow and said, "But I am a dead mortal."
"Not anymore you aren't. You are now my fiancé, and you are far from being a mortal as anyone can be. I would like it if you stay by my side, but if you like that boy like you said…"
"Kid!"
"What?!"
"Didn't you get my clues?! That was you I was describing!" I threw my hands in the air.
He smiled and hugged me. He twirled me around a few more times before setting me back on the ground so I could regain my stability and footing.
"So will you come with me, dear fiancé?" Kid asked, flashing me a genuine smile.
"Yes, yes I will," I giggled and put my hand in his.
And somehow, when I left with him to go and tell Lord Death the news, I felt so happy that I found the person I loved, loved me back.
I didn't mind dying, and being reborn as someone who I didn't know I would be.
oOo
-fin-