"You utter, utter asshole," grumbled Maka, glaring at Soul as he smirked cheekily back at her.
"Sucks to a be a Death Child now, huh?" he answered, grin wider than the Cheshire Cat's, despite his calm voice.
"I hate you."
"And why is that Maka?" Soul asked innocently, throwing his arm around her shoulders jovially as they walked towards Central Park.
"Because you're not human!" she roared at him waspishly, shrugging his arm off and running forward.
"Maka-baka, I'm a weapon, of course I'm not fully human," he gently chided her, easily keeping pace with his long legs. "I would've thought you'd have known that."
"Then explain," Maka shouted, whirling around and jabbing him in the chest with her finger, "how you can walk around in the freezing cold with only a vest on and not freeze to death while making fun of me!"
"I grew up around here, Maka, of course I'm used to it. There's no shame in needing a coat, and a jacket, and a turtleneck, and gloves, and a scarf, and a hat, as well as big furry boots, when you're used to the desert."
She glared at him for a second, then spoke loathingly, enunciating each word, "I despise you," before huffing and turning around, leading the way.
Shaking his head, Soul chuckled, the little laugh rumbling in his chest before bumping through the winter drafts, and followed his partner. "You're impossible. You know that if you moved a little faster, you'd quickly work up the heat," he advised Maka, a step or two behind her as they crossed through the iron barrier between their world and nature's.
"I don't need your stupid advice when you're over there smirking at me as if it's funny that I'm freezing my butt off over here!" Maka yelled at Soul indignantly, face red with frustrated annoyance.
"Maka!" Soul screamed in warning unexpectedly, leaping forward to tackle her as quills flew over their heads on the ground. Without waiting, he transformed, flying into Maka's hand as she stood unsteadily, not used to the extra weight and bulkiness of all the layers. Nevertheless, she charged forward through the trees. "From the left," warned Soul, giving Maka the chance to dodge before she was speared.
"Thanks," she shot back absentmindedly, peering through her bangs, searching for the kishin egg among the trees. "Did you see where the quills came from?"
"About where the Chrysler Building is," Soul answered after a moment to think, looking at the skyscraper's top poking over the trees.
"Huh?" questioned Maka, glancing at Soul in confusion for a second. "Wait, it's coming towards us," the meister growled, stance ready as she prepared herself.
Maka dodged to the side as quills sprouted from the tree in front of which she'd been standing and ran forward, scythe swinging towards the pre-kishin. The monster brought its arm up to block and the blade dug into the mud-like skin. Growling, Maka pulled Soul of the kishin egg and ducked low to avoid the creature's massive claws. The blonde swung her weapon behind her back and stabbed the kishin egg through the arm, just as it clipped her shoulder with its other hand.
Stumbling back, Maka quickly regained her balance and caught Soul as the monster wrenched him out of itself. The kishin egg brought its bushy tail up and threw more quills at them, which the girl easily dodged. Taking cover behind a tree, Maka regained her breath, wincing as freezing air burned her lungs and made her teeth ache.
"Shinigami, I hate this stupidly cold weather!" she grumbled, before whirling around the tree and lunged at the abomination, Soul's pointy end stabbing it through the chest. The kishin egg roared in pain, one massive arm hitting Maka in fury and throwing her through the trees, its quills piercing the winter wind as a reflex action. His scythe form no longer needed, Soul transformed back into his human form and landed on the ground as the pre-kishin dissolved.
"Yo, Maka!" he shouted in alarm, running towards the snowdrift where she had landed. "You ok?" he asked in concern, crouching down beside her, normally drooping eyes wide with worry.
The meister dazedly looked up at her partner, eyes wandering over his form before narrowing as they reached top of his head. Maka reached up and gingerly touched Soul's hair, "Are you bleeding?" she asked in concern, pushing herself to her knees so they were level and gently pulling her weapon's hair to the side, trying to see the wound.
"Don't worry about it, head wounds always bleed a lot," Soul assured her absentmindedly. "What about you?" he questioned insistently, "Are you hurt? Did anything break?"
"Geez Soul, I'm not a baby," scowled Maka, though her frown was more for his head. "When did that happen?"
Sighing in relief and irritation, Soul leaned away from her slightly and grumbled, "Must have been the last quill spasm thingy."
"Does it hurt?" pressed Maka in concern; gloved fingers retreated from his hair.
"No, it's just not exactly comfortable," he scowled, standing up and holding out a hand to help her do the same.
Ignoring his hand, Maka scooped up some snow in her gloved hands and worriedly pressed it into the side of his head, trying to soothe the wound.
"What're you doing?" Soul demanded, laughing slightly at her as he danced away from Maka's reach.
"Trying to help, you stupid idiot!" she shouted, chasing after her weapon as he dodged the trees.
"I think you'd help by keeping all that snow away from me! My hair's white enough as it is!" smirked Soul, heading back to the site of the fight to collect the kishin soul, which was still hanging in the air.
Drooling slightly, he leaned his head back and eagerly swallowed the soul. "Thank you for the food," Soul sighed in pleasure, looking at Maka sideways as she nearly bumped into him, due to the slippery ground.
Maka smiled slightly in response and kissed Soul's cheek. "C'mon, let's call Lord Death and get you to Stein," she called over her shoulder, running ahead with a grin on her face.
Soul stared after her for a moment, an honest grin on his face for once, before smirking and shouting, "That crazy coot? No way! You wouldn't sacrifice your death scythe, would you Maka?"
"It's revenge for making fun of me earlier!"
"Makaaaaa," Soul whined childishly.
"Fine, fine, but you're still getting that thing you call a head bandaged."
Groaning in annoyance, Soul followed his partner, always a step behind her.