A/N: Heya, guys. I know, more hiatus. I'm so sorry about that. But, I did finish the manga series, which led to this idea, which is much better than the overplayed one for my first Soul Eater fic. I hope this proves to be truly unique for you guys, and I hope you like my story. Yes, the main ship will most likely be SoMa, but I'm not going to push it on the story. If you guys really want the ship, then I'll put it in, but, nothing super cliche, okay guys?
Okay, confession time: I got this story idea by listening to the How to Train Your Dragon soundtrack. BUT, that doesn't mean that my story is going to be based off of HTTYD. In fact, the only thing I got from HTTYD was the general location- up in the Northern lands, probably Scotland. And, I PROMISE not to discontinue this one, especially because my Soul Eater obsession has lasted longer than any other fandom-love I've had- it's not gonna wear down within a week. So, let's have some fun with this story, shall we?
I was thinking of being cheesy and switching P.O.V'S, but, I'll try to make it look fancy. If you see a fancy italic and underlined name in the middle of a line, that means I switched POV's, okay?
DISCLAIMER: If I owned Soul Eater (which is owned by Atsushi Ohkubo, and its English releases are licensed by FUNimation), I wouldn't be on Fanfiction, now would I?
MAKA ALBARN
As pretty as this place looked, I was freezing down to the bone. What a place to be in winter, huh? This was probably the third hour of our trek through this dense, poorly-trailed forest. There were vines and old roots everywhere, each branch of every very inconveniently placed tree low enough to whack me in the face. If this were a regular extra-curricular activity, I'd have been dropped off right into a city, or something. But, this was different. This was a mission. A mission that needed a Death Scythe. So, it was up to me, Soul, Black*Star, Tsubaki, Kilik, Fire, Thunder, Sid, and Naigus to be camping out near a small Welsh town for weeks while figuring out some huge mystery. Kidd had assigned us to this mission when he noticed stranger-than-normal reports all spawning from areas in Scotland (another team was deployed in Wales). But, why did this all have to happen in the winter? I was shivering, even in my heavy, fur-lined coat (which, to my surprise, had the old SPARTOI emblem on the right sleeve- it was probably made when Shinigami-sama was alive). That's what I get for living in Nevada my whole life.
We trekked on and on, and it was nearing sunset. Well, I didn't exactly walk, per se. My clumsy, big-footed self had managed to almost tear my ankle muscle while tripping over a protruding tree root, and getting my foot stuck. And, where did that get me? Being stuck in an uncomfortable piggy-back ride, from none other than my weapon partner. Well, he wasn't grumbling, or anything, but I could imagine having to carry his meister while the whole group hikes through an endless forest wasn't fun for him. Of course, once we're able to get to the campsite, and I can stretch a bit, maybe walk out the numb feeling in my ankle, possibly wrap it a little bit, I should be good as new- Naigus said it wasn't as bad as it felt (so, yes, "almost tearing a muscle" was a bit of an exaggeration for me. It was just a really bad twist, so that should be healed up within the next day). But, to save time on our trip, it was suggested that I be carried.
"Oi, Sid, when're we gonna get there?" Black*Star asked, walking in his usual high-kneed way, his hands behind his head with his elbows high up in the air.
"We're almost there- we should be there before dark, even with our little delay back there," Sid replied almost immediately. Oh, so my mistake is considered a delay, now was it? I let out a slight sigh as the walk continued. It felt odd, bobbing up and down as if you were walking, but not being the one walking. Maybe I only noticed it right now because I was like this for so long.
It was not until half an hour later, when the lowering sun had bathed the sky in a shade of orange that reminded me of honey, that we had finally met our destination. I looked to the right, where the trees separated to a large clearing- we were high up, basically up a mountain, and the village was about half a mile away (of course, Shibusen had a cabin up here, as an outpost). And boy, was that view amazing. Or, at least what I could see of it. I wanted to get closer, I wanted to see that beautiful view. But, we were ushered inside the cabin to get everything settled. It was a really simple cabin, like the kind you'd see at a camp, maybe just a little bit bigger. It was made of old, but newly polished-and-glazed dark wood. It seemed old, but it must have been newer - The over abundant wildlife had not yet discovered this new surface to invade.
There was the main room, with a bunch of standard bunk beds arranged strategically on the wooden floor, each with one of our suitcases sitting atop one of the blue mattresses. So, they could send up our stuff, but they make us take a four hour hike through a mountain pass? I was beginning to question Kidd's methods already. There was one open door that probably led to the bathroom, and a door-frame without any door that led to the tiny kitchen. "So, we're all sleeping in the same room?" was the question I let slip from my mouth. I felt foolish immediately after saying it- I was probably coming off as snotty and rude. Naigus gave me a short nod. "Everyone will just take turns changing in the bathroom, and, you guys will be surveilled," she said, looking around the room with her pale blue eyes, giving everyone the most motherly look she could. "Let's all get settled in," she continued, and then looking at me, she beckoned me over, saying, "Here, Maka, let's see if your ankle is doing any better. If not,we can wrap it up." Soul took that as cue to lower himself slightly, letting go of his grip on my legs, letting me slide down his back. I tried to put pressure on my foot. A bit of a sting and a lot of tingling surged into my numb foot as I shifted around my weight a bit. I rotated my ankle a bit, and a few popping noises were heard (which made the numbness in it not feel as bad), and I lowered my foot back down to the ground. It stung slightly, and felt a little odd to walk on, but it would be just fine.
I walked over to my bunk, giving Naigus a thumbs up as I sat down on the lower half, getting the green sleeping bag unhooked from my bag. Tsubaki sat down on the next bunk over, giving me a light smile. "It's good that your ankle is alright, Maka-chan*," she said, that Japanese accent still mixing in with her meek voice. I wasn't surprised at her use of an honorific, either- though she has been in Nevada for a few years, now, she still hasn't been speaking English for very long. I gave a soft smile back, nodding. "I should probably watch my feet better… But then I might run into a branch, or something," I commented with a chuckle. Was this going to be a long trip? Probably.
After a dinner of canned beans and hot dogs made on the stovetop, we pretty much sat on our bunks and talked away. Well, I was trying to read, of course. I was exhausted, and I'm pretty sure the others were, too - Fire and Thunder were already napping away, and Kilik was telling some outrageous story about one of their missions- with many interruptions from Black*Star, and his arrogant comments. Soul seemed to be shifting around a lot, moving his shoulders around, and hitting them lightly with his fist to try to un-stiffen them. He's probably aching right now, having to carry my clumsy old self, with the numb ankle, for almost an hour. I probably should have told him I was fine, and I could walk it out, back when I fell, but I was all too ready to accept the kind offer. Ever since what he said at Kidd's "becoming-a-Shinigami" celebration (about the music he played being our music), and I, unknowingly at the second, felt my face grow hot, things have been a bit… different for us. It was a bit harder to talk to him, sometimes, and now, I'd always become bashful to his (somewhat rare) compliments. Blair had even backed off of him a little bit, as if she sensed something was going on. But, was it really? I'm sure it was just in his nature, and his upbringing, to be nice, right? I didn't know, and I didn't want to think about it at the moment. Speaking of "at-the-moment," I'd been betrayed by my hormones once more, as my face reddened again. Not to mention, it was noticeable
"Uhm, Maka-chan?" I heard Tsubaki's somewhat meek voice again. "Are you alright? You look a bit flushed." My mind scrambled into overdrive, and I just noticed that I'd been staring off into space (and, at someone, curse my luck). As I tried, and failed, many times to start a sentence, but failing after one syllable each time, I finally said, "I-I'm just a bit stressed, is all…" Great, not only had I been snapped into a blush-inducing reverie, but I'd made a scene as well. I'd never hear the end of this, if anyone else noticed. And it was then that I noticed a few other pairs of eyes on me. Well, this would prove to be quite the interesting mission.
A/N: Okay, there's the first chapter! What do you think of it? I'm going to spin this whole thing into an all out -series-, so this better be good. Please, leave a review, or I will -sadly- have to shut down this operation. Don't expect updates to be right-on-time, but I will strive to make updates weekly, at the very most.
Puppy-sama OUT!