R: Oh my, look at the time.
Cat: Um, Riika, are you okay?
R: Cat? What's the time?
Cat: Um, 7:15. Are you okay?
R: It's already that late? My, my.
Cat: *hand to her forehead* Maybe you should go lay down. You have a fever.
R: No, no. I'm fine. Really.
Cat: You're about to fall over. Go to sleep.
Disclaimer:: Neither Riika nor Cat own Soul Eater of its characters.
It was dark, the only light coming from the computer mounted on the far wall. The screen glowed a bright blue, the middle blackened by the figure standing in front of it. "No, no, no!" the figure said in disbelief, voice rising an octave. He smacked a fist against the screen in frustration. "Damn it. I'm gonna have to retype all of those reports. I hate these computers," he complained as he sat cross-legged on the floor and hit his head against the wall. "Stupid slack security system. Crashed my computer. That's gonna take weeks to fix properly. Lost all my work. Stupid computer," he muttered to himself as he hit his head against the wall again.
The door creaked open behind him. "Your vision's going to go bad if you keep using your computer in the dark, you know."
He didn't turn, just sighed. "Not like I can use it anymore anyways," he muttered, pointing up. He could tell the person in the doorway had seen by the barely audible intake of breath.
"That sucks. You backed everything up, right?"
"Everything except the last four reports I just finished," he said bitterly.
"How many pages is that. 10? 12?"
"32, actually. Awful number 32, but it could be worse. That's not the point."
"You write eight page reports? How the hell do you manage that?" The woman in the doorway sounded impressed.
"It has to be eight. Couldn't stand it if they weren't. I suppose I could do four two page reports, but I don't usually have four reports to write," he explained. He could feel her eyes on him and could guess she was staring at him like he was insane.
"Oh, right. Got it. Forgot about that. You'd never guess if you didn't know," she said after a moment of silence, the realization dawning on her.
He stood, facing his computer again. He swiped the blue screen to the left, bringing up the menu screen. He selected shutdown and the screen flashed blue before it turned black. He moved a few feet left and pressed his hands to the panel, first left, then right. The lights flickered on as a piece of the wall beneath his monitor sank in and slid away, revealing the inner mechanisms of the computer. The sudden light adjustment didn't bother him, he simply sat on the ground again and started pulling at the neatly arranged wires, which he had organized perfectly when he had been given this computer when he first arrived here over ten years ago. He hadn't really used it back then, as he didn't have a need to, but he had inspected every aspect of it and made it perfect. He ran a hand through his raven-colored locks as he dislodged the wires.
The woman moved to stand beside him, watching as he ripped the cables free and stacked them all on top of the little black box. "Sorry about your computer," she said.
He stood, picking up the box in the process. He wiped dust onto his jeans before turning to look at her. Her bright orange hair was wavy, falling around her shoulders in a way that made her sharp features softer, and reached just past her shoulders. She was dressed as casually as he was, black jeans and a loose black t-shirt. The only difference was she was wearing shoes and he was not. Honey-colored orbs locked with emerald ones. "I would have rewritten them anyways," he said with a sigh of defeat.
"Is there anything I can do to help?" she asked.
"No thanks, Tui. I can handle this on my own."
"I'll bring you some tea later, if you'd like. I'm making some for my brother and me. Chamomile, your favorite."
"That'd be nice. Thanks. I'm gonna go sit in my room and try to fix this. I'll see you later," he said before leaving the room, his footsteps as silent as if he were ghost.
Tui hesitated a moment longer, watching him leave. She sighed. When would he stop being so blind? "See you later, Kid," she whispered, though he was already long gone.
He cracked his eyes open only to shut them quickly, morning light flooding into the room blinding him. Someone had already drawn his curtains aside and opened his window. He let out an irritated sigh. It was warm, the air still holding the summer heat of the day before. By the rapidly increasing temperature, he guessed today would be just as bad. There was an insistent knock on the door. He groaned but reluctantly rolled out of bed. The jolt that went through him when he hit the floor was enough to wake him up. He pulled himself up and left his room, half-combing his hair with his fingers and still shirtless.
He rounded the corner into the kitchen and was greeted with the scent of bacon and toast. "Morning, Maka," he yawned as he fell onto a chair.
The blonde turned, still holding the bowl and whisk she had been working with when he entered. She took a mere second to observe him, irritation in her expression. "Go get dressed or you don't get any breakfast," she stated, turning back to the counter.
He sighed but did as he was told, returning a few minutes later wearing jeans and a black t-shirt. They ate in comfortable silence. They were best friends, practically siblings, and they had been together for years. They found no reason for unnecessary conversation. Half an hour later they were ready for the day and out the door. They split ways at the front door of the apartment building, her heading towards the school and him heading towards work.
"Have a good day at work, Soul," the blonde called over her shoulder.
He didn't turn, merely waved a hand. "See you later, Maka."
It was well into the morning by the time he entered the lab. The lighting was dim in the large room with the few sources of light being a few candles and a lit Bunsen burner. He could clearly see the outline of a woman in a white lab coat, her hair a golden sheet down her back, working over one of the lab tables, concentrating intently on her work.
"I've been expecting you," she said before he had time to announce his presence. "Come."
He moved to stand a few feet from the table before dropping to one knee, his head bowed. "What is the problem, now?"
The blonde-haired woman set the test tubes she had been holding back in their racks and turned to fiddle with the heat of the flame on the burner, turning it from a pale orange-yellow to a bright blue. She picked up a piece of paper and handed it over without bothering to look at him. "Here," she said as she picked up the test tube containing a bluish-green liquid and held it over the flame, observing the way it bubbled and produced a thick sea-foam like fog that seeped out of the vial giving off the scent of burnt hair and sugar.
He studied the paper in silence.
"Standard pay, double if you get both. I trust you can handle that. It should be child's play to one such as you. Right?"
He folded the paper again, slipping it into his pocket. He placed a hand over his heart, the other behind his back, and lifted his head. He eyes shone like amber in the candlelight. A small smile tugged at his lips. "Anything for you, My Lady."
Cat: Well, I hope you enjoyed the first chapter, second chapter should be up in the next couple weeks as well as the next chapter of Conviction. I hope. Riika's sick and won't admit it. I'll try to help as much as I can.
R: Really, Cat. I'm perfectly fine.
Cat: Says you. I'm the one with medical experience, so go to sleep! *sighs* reviews and requests are loved. Any questions, feel free to ask. I have to go put her to bed now. Until next time, Cat out, nya~
