Soul's POV:

This is the second time this week, I thought bitterly, She needs to stop running off!

For the past few months, Maka has been running around Death City and sometimes even farther. There are times where she will be gone for almost a week and then show up at the DWMA with bruises littering her small body. This time is different, though. Usually, her actions go unnoticed by most of the teachers and staff but now... Now, I don't know what to think. Her most recent disappearance has sent almost everyone who knows her on edge. This time, Death has become worried about her and even slightly suspicious. Apparently, he had called her in the other day to talk about her frequent disappearances. He had told me that she seemed tense and well, uneasy. She had been hiding it well but her could even see fear in her eyes.

I remember what had happened this morning all too well. I was in science class...

Flashback Time:

I was staring off into space and wondering where on Earth Maka had gone. She had been seeming a bit off for the past few days and I was worried about her. Mr. Stein was talking to the class about why human souls react the way they do when weapons eat them when there was a knock at the classroom door.

That's strange, I thought, usually people come right in. I watched as Mr. Stein rolled out of the room and over to the door that had opened only a few moments ago. The woman who was standing there seemed nervous and terrified. They whispered things to each other back and forth before finally looking at me.

"Soul. You need to go see Death. You can't waste any time." I noticed right off the bat the fear in Mr. Stein's eyes. I felt like I was going to hurl as I ran out of the classroom and towards Death's office.

I was inside of the room in no time flat. Death had a concerned look in his eyes as he took in my appearance. I was out of breath and bent over at the waist, using my knees for support.

"I have a new assignment for you." I looked up at him and met his gaze. The tone in those words made a chill go up my spine. "Black Star, Tsubaki, Kid, Liz, and Patty have already been made aware of the assignment. In fact, they should be here any moment now. Soul, Maka is in danger. I can't tell who's pulling the strings yet. That's why I need you to keep an eye on her. I had gone and taken a look around the city last night only to discover Maka roaming the street. A strange object was in her hand and she seemed to be walking towards someone. Upon further inspection, I saw that she was making a deal with a witch. I'm sending you with the others who know about it to keep an eye on her secretly. Her soul can easily perish if you don't do something." I felt like I wanted to kill someone. Not just anyone, though. I wanted to kill that with who put her in that position in the first place.

"I will succeed in my assignment." just as I said those words the others ran into the room and stopped to stare at me.

"I take it you know", Kid said. His eyes wore a blank expression like always. He stared at his father who nodded his head slightly at the gesture.

" mission starts now."

End Flashback

So now you know why I'm so irritated at Maka. Though, I wonder if it's even her I'm irritated at. I could be. I don't think I am, though.

"Wait. I sense her soul. It's down there in the alley." Looking towards kid I noticed that he had already beat us to the edge of the roof and was staring at the two people down people. Underneath the streetlight, you could make out Maka's bleach blonde hair and the black hair of a witch. Maka was looking around nervously, she seemed tense and scared.

"I can't take this anymore! It's getting too hard to conceal and I know my friends are getting suspicious!" The witch kept a calm look on her face as she listened to Maka's rant. Her eyes never left Maka's as she started to speak to the young meister in front of her.

"There isn't much else I can do. The process is taking longer than I expected it to. You're not the only one who is getting tired of this. If our meetings become any more frequent the other witches will get suspicious. Neither of us want that." Maka's once exasperated look turned to one of udder sorrow as the words settled in. Looking back up from the ground she stared at the witch in front of her with tears flowing from her eyes.

"How much longer? My temporary abilities are getting out of control." Temporary abilities? What is she talking about, I thought. Confusion entered my mind as I listened to the rest of the conversation.

Maka's POV

"I'm sorry. You're going to have to deal with them for another 2 weeks at most. Here, I'll cast another spell. It should help you keep your powers in check." I nodded my head and closed my eyes. The wind picked up around me as the witch started to chant. Her words faded out as a light blue mist surrounded my body and a dull yellow glow came from my hands. The light faded and the wind stopped as the witch stopped chanting.

"I did all that I could for tonight. Please collect some Warmweed and Wolfsbane. The journey to get them will be dangerous. They're the final ingredients we need for the potion though." I nodded my head and turned around. An image of the objects and their locations entered my mind as I walked away. They would be more complicated to get and the journey to get them will take longer. I was aware of the meisters and weapons that were watching my every movement since they had shown up. My only thought at this point was to get far enough away so that I could talk to them without arousing suspicion from the witch.