Where Affection Lies
By. MidnightSting
Chapter 1: Her Lies
"Maka!" the scythe in said girl's hands shown brightly as the boys face appeared in reflection next to where the blade connected to the staff; a look of concern clouding his eyes. "Don't push yourself! If you aren't feeling well we can do this another day!"
"Soul's right, Maka," their pale professor stated as he approached her from behind, and placed a hand over her own, removing Soul from them. Maka reached up in protest only to have her scythe pulled away as Stein set him on the tiled floor of Shibusen to return to his human form.
"I can keep going, Professor! Just give me a minute to catch my breath." Maka argued through shaky, labored breathing as she tried to regain some control over her lungs. What was wrong with her? Was it possible that, that had begun to act up again?
She didn't want to believe it.
"Maka," Stein began in a tone that would seem normal to everyone else, but to Maka it appeared lethal. She knew what he was going to say, and her eyes pleaded with him to just let it go.
"I can do this!" She pleaded in one last feeble attempt to continue her soul resonance training.
"Maka," Soul's harsh voice broke in with a scowl, "we can do this any day, so stop being so pig-headed and listen to what we said!"
"Pig-headed?" Maka growled with gritted teeth, "well, excuse we for wanting to get stronger!"
"Oh, please, Maka," he rolled his eyes as well as his voice, if that were even possible, "you already defeated the kishin, how much stronger can you get?" his sarcastic tone made it hard for Maka to determine whether or not this comment was a compliment or in insult.
"Maka~" by the look on his face she took it as an insult, "CHOP!" the hardcover, one-thousand page, History of Souls text book made contact with it's target with perfect precision, and insured that her sarcastic partner would get a good taste of how Shibusen's tiled floor tasted on this particular evening.
Soul cursed under his breath as he gripped the top of his by now pounding head, and rolled over to face her with angry eyes.
"What was that for? It was a compliment!" he whined as he began cursing up a poem on how badly his head ached thanks to her.
"Didn't sound like one to me," she hissed as she leaned back onto the stonewall of the gymnasium behind her, and again began attempting to regain her lost breathing rate.
"Maka, I believe I made myself clear the last time we spoke of this, did I not?" Stein asked in a deadly tone. Maka didn't bother looking down from the ceiling as she nodded her head solemnly in agreement.
"I understand..." she said in a faint tone as she continued to stare at the yellowed ceiling with discontent. Steins deadly tone informed her that she had in fact been correct about her assumptions that, that had begun affecting her again.
She bit her bottom lip with a vengeance. Damn Medusa, and her insidious plot. Maka simply thanked the heavens that Soul had not yet managed to figure out the one parting gift that Medusa had left them, that continued to remind Maka of her retched existence even long after she died.
"If you understand, then get going home now," Steins voice took on a lighter sound and she looked down to see a crooked smile on his stitched face. "I expect to see you in my office tomorrow morning however to discuss this incident further," Stein finished under his breath so that only Maka heard.
"Yes, sir," Maka nodded slowly as she walked over to where Soul sat gripping his indented head, "Come on, Soul..." Maka sighed as she grabbed onto the back of his jacket collar and proceeded to drag him down the hallway behind her.
"Oh, and Maka," she turned around to face Stein, showing him that he had her full attention, "if things continue like this you'll have to tell him."
Limes bore into Emeralds as they stared back at one another. She merely nodded her head before continuing down the hall.
"What was Stein talking about back there? Did he mean me by that last comment?" Soul asked as he finally decided to stand, and walk on his own. He continued to absently rub his head as if it actually hurt or something. Maka rolled her eyes. It had come to her attention some time ago that Soul had grown so accustom to her Maka chops that he had actually developed a resistance to them long ago, and as such had no such feeling of pain in his cranium.
"He was referring to my idiot father if you must know," she lied as she turned sharply, and opened up the doors of the school to be greeted with a gust of cool air.
"And what are you suppose to tell him?" Soul asked looking directly at her as he took a large step forward to keep up with her suddenly quickened stride. 'Was she hiding something from him?' he thought absently.
Maka wracked her brain in an attempted to find something, anything to change the subject to, or lie about. She felt herself growing angrier as she realized that she had no idea how to reply to that particular question. Damn Stein for throwing out that last line. It was hard enough to explain to Soul why they didn't accept as many missions as they used to, and part of the only reason he bought those excuses is because he assumed that it was because she had made him death scythe shortly after her defeating the kishin and no longer had any pressing reason to collect grotesque souls.
"Nothing," Maka mumbled without much else to say. Sure, when it came to exams, and educational related questions she could answer them in a second flat, but the moment it was a question like this she could do nothing but panic inside. She cursed her creating father for turning her into such an antisocial person.
"Nothing, huh..." Soul repeated as he eyed her. 'Something's off here...' he thought with concern, 'what's she hiding from me?'
She could feel his eyes burrow into her from behind the whole walk home. She bit her lip in anticipation of him calling her bluff, but he said nothing, and she was thankful for it.