It was a beautiful day in Death City; the sun was out and smiling, barely a cloud in the sky. But for Maka, she wished for rain or snow, anything to get her out of this "Daddy-Daughter Date" she got roped into. Maka's dad, Spirit and Soul worked out a deal that if she could beat Soul at HORSE, Soul would buy Maka new books. If she lost, she'd have to spend the day with her dad. Spirit wasn't too fond of it at first; making it seem like it's a punishment but he changed his tune when Maka lost and today was the day to pay up. As she slipped her shoes on, Soul knocked on the door.
"Hey Maka, your dad's here."
"Just a minute," said Maka as she rolled her eyes.
She loved her father, but she certainly didn't like him; not after how he treated her mother. She just didn't understand why he would throw away everything for other women. It wasn't any secret to anyone of how much disdain Maka felt toward her dad; even Spirit knew. But he always did what he could to appease Maka and earn her forgiveness. So far, it didn't seem like she was ready to do so. Maka finally made her appearance in the living room to find not just Soul and her dad, but Black Star, Tsubaki, Kid, Liz and Patty. Even Blair, who thankfully was in her cat form.
"Hey there sweetheart, you ready for our date," asked Spirit happily.
"Please don't call it that, it's creepy," Maka retorted.
The two of them headed out as the others watched.
"I can't believe you got her to agree to something like this," said Tsubaki.
"Maka's relationship with her father is certainly in a precarious position. I certainly hope for Spirit's sake she doesn't kill him before the day is done," said Kid.
"Knowing him, he'll probably flirt with every pretty girl that walks by," said Liz, recalling the remarks Spirit made at her while waiting for Maka.
"Well, let's hope they can make some progress," lamented Soul.
Silence then filled the room; everyone worried about Maka and Spirit and hoped that things between them would get better. Blair, couldn't take it anymore.
"This is boring! Who wants to come and pet the kitty?!"
She quickly turned into a naked human and snuggled up to Soul causing him, Black Star and Kid to nosebleed and the other girls to glare.
Meanwhile, Spirit and Maka were enjoying a carnival in the square. Whatever Maka wanted to do, Spirit did it without complaining. But that still didn't stop him from flirting with every cute girl at every food stall, every prize booth and every ride. Maka did her best to not pay attention but it still made her mad. As they were getting off the roller coaster, Spirit went to the photo counter to see how he and Maka looked on camera and then proceeded to tell the girl running the counter how cute she looked and asked if she'd like to have a drink sometime. By now, Maka reached her breaking point and stomped off. Spirit quickly chased after her.
"Maka wait! You can't just run off like that and not tell me where you're going."
"Why should you care?! I've been doing it for a while now and you never bothered before!"
"That's not true; I worry about you every time Lord Death sends you on a mission. But I let you go because you're doing the same thing your mother did and I'm proud of you for it."
"You know, your tricks won't work on me anymore."
"What you call tricks, I call being sincere."
"Sincere?! You want to talk about sincere?! Were you being sincere when you're shamelessly flirting with other women?! Were you being sincere to mom when you would go out drinking with other women?! Was mom not good enough for you?!" By now, Maka's emotions were running high and years of build up came pouring out.
"I looked up to you! What you and mom accomplished together was amazing and I wanted to do that, too! You were a hero to me! But as I saw how you really are and what it was doing to mom, I just can't think of you in that way anymore. You maybe Lord Death's weapon but to me, you're just a lying, cheating jerk who hurt the one person who should have mattered to you."
Spirit had stood quietly, listening to Maka get her feelings out. He knew she was right and she had every reason to be angry.
"There's nothing I can do to change that."
This really set Maka over the edge. His cavalier attitude about it just didn't sit well with her; it was as if it wasn't a big deal.
"You don't get it do you? Is this just a joke to you?! Do you have any idea how much you hurt us?!"
"Ok! I'm sorry I screwed up! Is that what you want to hear," Spirit yelled back. "I admit I have done terrible things to you and your mother. But I'm not perfect; no one is."
"I didn't expect you to be perfect; I expected you to be my dad and take care of mom and me. But that wasn't enough for you was it," she spat out with venom.
Spirit knew this wasn't going anywhere; it seemed no matter what he said or did, it still hurt Maka.
"I have a problem, Maka. I would like your help," he said getting down on his knees.
Maka was a little bit shocked; for the first time she could tell he was being serious. Still a bit apprehensive but shocked and even a little happy.
"We'll do it together," she said as she placed a hand on her dad's shoulder. Suddenly, they heard screams at the far end of the square. Both Spirit and Maka ran towards the source to find a massive Kishin with two bodies already on the ground and gobbling up their souls.
"What's a Kishin doing out in the middle of the day," asked Spirit.
"I don't know but I need to call Soul to get this taken care of," said Maka as she was about to pull her phone out when her dad stopped her.
"There's no time for that!"
"But I need a weapon!"
"You've got one," he said extending his hand. "Come on, we'll do it together. Father-Daughter style."
Maka wasn't sure; she had never fought with her dad before. She wasn't sure if she could use him like she could Soul. But the Kishin needed to be dealt with and waiting for Soul to show up was not an option.
"Ok, let's go dad!"
She grabbed his hand and he turned into a scythe. They quickly jumped in.
"Maka, let's lead it away from the crowd. We don't want any more victims," said Spirit.
"Right!"
Maka swung at the Kishin to get its attention. It blocked her attack and began to chase her.
"Any ideas," asked Maka.
"It's quick and a lot tougher than I thought. We'll have to put in everything we got to bring this thing down."
"We need to find a weak point."
"I know, give me some time to find it. Try attacking its legs."
Maka took a quick swing for the legs and the Kishin dodged it effortlessly.
"Pretty nimble for such a big guy," said Spirit.
"Maybe we can cause it to lose its footing," said Maka.
"Yeah, a trip wire or something slippery."
"Something slippery?"
Maka looked around and noticed a food stall close by.
"Maka, that food stall," Spirit started.
"I got it," Maka cried. She ran to the stall and kicked the door down. She saw a worker huddled in the corner. "Do you have any soap or grease or butter," Maka asked.
"What," said the confused worker
"We need something slippery," said Spirit.
"Here's some dish soap," the worker said as she held up a bottle.
Maka grabbed it and began spraying the ground around the Kishin. She then stopped and whistled.
"Hey, ugly!" The creature faced her. "You need a bath!" She then squirted the soap at and took off running squirting soap behind.
"Ok, that was step one. What's step two," asked Maka.
"Uh...," said Spirit.
"You don't have a plan?!"
"Hey, your mother was the one who made the plans! Uh, Maka."
"What?"
"You might wanna run faster."
Maka turned to see the creature nearly on top of her. She managed to dodge it and it crashed into a wall.
"Now's our chance, Maka!"
"Alright! HIYAAAAAAA!"
Maka swung the scythe but the monster managed to avoid it.
"How is this thing still able to dodge," said Maka.
"There's only one thing to try," said Spirit.
"And that is?"
"A Soul Resonance."
"What?! Only Soul and I have been able to do it!"
"Your mother and I managed it! I'm pretty sure a father-daughter could do it!"
Maka sighed; she knew that if they were going to defeat this Kishin they were going to need some serious firepower and Soul Resonance was their best option.
"Alright," said Maka.
"Let's go Soul Resonance," they both cried.
At first, it was a bit difficult given how different their traits are but as they focused their wavelengths became more in sync with each other.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
With one swing, the Kishin was split down the middle; it's Kishin egg finally revealed. Spirit turned back to his human form.
"Well done, Maka," he said with a smile and full of pride.
"Maka!"
Maka and Spirit looked to find Soul and the others running towards them.
"We heard about a Kishin spotted nearby," cried Soul.
"Where is it?! I'll take care of that Kishin with one strike," yelled Black Star.
"Don't worry everyone; we took care of it," said Maka pointing to her dad. The others were surprised.
"You and your dad," said Liz.
"Working together," asked Kid.
"Yep; reminded me of the good times with her mother," said Spirit.
"We better do something about this mess," said Tsubaki.
"I will place a call to my father," said Kid pulling out a phone. After a few rings, Lord Death picked up.
"Hey there kiddo, what can I do for you?"
"Hello dad, we need a clean-up crew at Death City's square."
"Yes, I've already sent a team."
"I take it you watched the battle."
"Of course. It's a good thing Maka and her father were there to handle it."
"Yes, but why would a Kishin attack during the day?"
"No one really knows why Kishins do the things they do. Anywho, give my best to Maka and Spirit and tell them to report to me back at the Academy."
"Yes father, good bye."
After Kid hung up, Lord Death had his mirrors replay the battle for that day.
"There's no doubt about it. She becomes more like her mother every day."
After Maka's and Spirit's meeting with Lord Death, Spirit took Maka out for dinner to a place they hadn't been to in quite a while.
"It's nice to see the place hadn't changed much," said Spirit.
"Yeah," said Maka quietly.
"The last time we were here, was with your mother."
"Yeah."
"I can't make any promises, but I'm going to do my best to be a better father to you."
Maka seemed unsure; she's heard this all before. What was different this time? Did fighting together have anything to do with it?
"How," Maka asked.
"I don't know yet. We'll figure it out together."
He smiled the same smile she always knew; his goofy grin was pretty disarming. Maybe that's what drew her mom in. Dinner came to an end and Spirit walked Maka back to her home.
"You know dad, I actually had a good time today. Even fighting the Kishin."
"I did, too sweetheart. Have a good night."
Maka walked into the living passed Soul who was watching TV on the couch.
"Hey, you guys had fun?"
"Yeah, we did."
"Are you mad at me for making you do this?"
"No, actually I'm not. If you hadn't had made that bet I wouldn't have had the best day with my dad in a long time. Thanks."
Maka then headed back to her room; grateful for the chance to make things better between her and her father.