Hey guys! So recently I've become interested in the anime Soul Eater, and the other day I found a song by Black Veil Brides called "Carolyn," and for some reason this oneshot idea popped into my head! Here you go, and enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own Soul Eater. All rights go to Mr. Ohkubo!
The day was warm and bright, and the Sun was shining high in the sky. It was the middle of the afternoon; that meant people swarmed the streets of Death City in search of some sort of entertainment.
But not Soul Evans.
He clutched the flowers in his hand tightly as he made his way through the crowd, swerving constantly to avoid being trampled. The happy atmosphere of the day did nothing to calm his nerves. He had to get to the hospital, and the chaos was only slowing him down. His crimson eyes were half-closed with worry, mixed in with a bit of fear. He gritted his teeth in annoyance, and he could feel a low growl wanting to escape his throat.
A few months ago, on a day just like this one, Maka Albarn, Soul's girlfriend and Meister, was having a date with Soul in the park. They were eating ice cream that Soul had bought, and they talked and laughed. That's when it started. Maka was sitting straight up on a bench, giggling at a joke Soul had made - the next minute, she was doubled over, clutching her stomach in pain, one hand over her mouth. Her ice cream lay half-melted on the ground. Soul dropped his own ice cream and rushed over to Maka, who was coughing fiercely. He patted her back, trying to soothe her, but it did nothing to help the hacking. Maka eventually stopped and pulled her hand away. Her glove was soaked with blood and spit. Soul's eyes went wide, as did Maka's. Soul helped her up and walked her to a nearby hospital, where they were told the news - a disease had been going around the city, and unfortunately, Maka had caught it.
Now, here Soul was, trying to make his way to his best-friend-slash-girlfriend.
As he entered the hospital, he turned a corner into the hallway that held Maka's room. He had been here many times before, so it was no surprise he knew the way. He found the room and gently turned the doorknob. When he opened the door, he was a bit shocked to find their friends there, all sitting in chairs around Maka's bed. They looked up when Soul entered.
"Oh, hello, Soul," said Kid. He had a sad expression on his face, as if he had just been told something horrible.
"Hey," Soul said. "What's wrong? Why's everyone so silent?" he asked. Maka looked down at her hands and sniffled. She was dressed in a hospital gown, and an IV stuck out of each of her arms. A monitor stood by her bed, keeping a close eye on her heartbeat and vital signs.
"I have bad news," Maka answered. Soul just looked at her curiously. "I... The doctor said that I'm..." She clenched the bedsheets tightly. "I'm dying."
The flowers fell from Soul's hand.
"What?" Soul sounded genuinely shocked and sad at the same time. His eyes were wide. "You can't be serious!" He tried not to shout, but he couldn't help but raise his voice a bit.
"It's true..." Black*Star trailed off. The assassin actually looked like he had tears in his eyes.
"Maka just told us," Liz said. Beside her, Patty was trying her best not to burst into tears.
"But... But how?!" Soul whispered. "How could this happen?!"
"I didn't know about the disease until that day in the park," Maka said. "By then, it had already become pretty bad." Soul hadn't noticed, but Maka's hair had been let down. Her blond locks fell around her shoulders, and her bangs hid the pained look on her face.
"So..." Soul's brain just couldn't register it. "No! No! I won't let this happen! I can't let you die!"
"Soul... It's too late."
"No, it isn't! We can still save you!"
"Soul!" Kid shouted, silencing them both. "Don't you realize the strain you're putting on Maka? At this rate, with you two arguing like that, you'll shorten Maka's life span considerably."
"This isn't your fight," Soul growled. Kid balled his fists.
"I understand that," Kid said. "And besides, it's not just my fight." Soul looked puzzled, and Kid swept his arm around the room at his friends. "It's our fight."
Finally, Soul gave up and sank down into a chair. "I just..." His head was swimming with questions that he, for the life of him, could not find the answer to. A couple seats away, he heard Tsubaki sniffle, then start crying on Black*Star's shoulder. The assassin was the same, tears rolling out of his eyes, though he quickly wiped them away. Everyone was silent.
"Maka?" said the doctor, coming into the room and breaking the silence. "Oh, hello," he added when he noticed the others. "Are these your friends?" Maka only nodded.
"Well, then," he continued. "I suppose there's no harm in them being here, so I'll begin." He coughed, clearing his throat. "The results of the blood work have been returned. I'm sorry to say this, but..." The doctor's tone had become sad, even a bit regretful. "You don't have long to live."
They all gasped.
"How... much longer?" Maka asked, her voice shaky.
"Only a few weeks." The young doctor lowered his head in sorrow, his fair hair falling into his eyes.
Soul's chest tightened. No, this couldn't be right. A few weeks? Surely it must be longer than that. He jumped up suddenly, nearly knocking over his chair. "You're lying," he hissed, and the doctor gave him a sad look.
"I'm not," he replied. "Your friend is going to die."
"She's not just my friend!" Soul raised his voice. "She's my Meister! And my girlfriend! Don't you understand?!" His chest rose sharply with every angry breath, and his hands clenched and unclenched involuntarily. The doctor blinked, but said no more.
"Soul."
Soul turned around to look at Black*Star, who had just said his name. "What?" he growled.
"Don't do this to yourself."
Black*Star's words struck Soul like a slap in the face. They were going to give up this easily? Just let Maka die, and then carry on with their lives? They weren't going to try and keep Maka alive, even if it meant injuring themselves in the process? Cowards, Soul thought. They're nothing but foolish cowards.
"You... don't have a cure?" Soul asked, stumbling over his words.
"None at all," the doctor replied. "Even if we did, we wouldn't be able to save Maka. The disease has already taken down her immune system and is making its way to her heart. There is nothing we could do to stop it."
"Then it's over," Patty whimpered. The poor girl's usual cheery blue eyes were puffy and dull from crying. Her hair hung in front of her face, wet from the tears. Liz was the same.
"Come here, Soul," Maka whispered from the bed. It broke Soul's heart; she sounded so weak, so helpless. She slowly held out her hand, motioning for him to be by her side. Soul took shaky steps toward her. Even though she was only a feet feet away, Soul felt as if she was across the world. When he finally reached the bed, he let out a breath he didn't know he was holding and grasped Maka's hand.
Maka had grown pale in the months she'd been in the hospital, and Soul could see dark circles under her usually lively green eyes. She'd lost weight, too; her bones stuck out in some places, and her cheeks were hollow. Her hair was greasy from not being washed properly; most likely the doctors and nurses had forbidden her from getting up without assistance. Maka literally looked like a breathing, talking, and living skeleton - though not for long.
"Yes, love?" Soul asked.
"I want you to know something." Maka's voice was sleepy and hoarse, and her eyes drooped.
"What is it?"
"I love you, with all my heart," she said, forcing a smile onto her thin face. "I always will. Please don't forget." Then her eyes closed as she gave in to sleep.
The sky was dark that day.
People were coming from all over the city to mourn.
Mourn the loss of Maka Albarn.
Everyone was, of course, dressed in black, following the tradition. Even Black*Star had cleaned himself up; his suit and tie were neat, and there were no wrinkles in his shirt. Tsubaki wore a long strapless dress and high-heeled boots, and her pitch-colored hair had been let down out of its ponytail. Patty and Liz were matching: short slitted dresses, heels, and lacy fingerless gloves. Kid was wearing his usual black suit, though a handkerchief was stuck into the pocket of his jacket.
And then there was Soul. He wore the outfit he had been wearing on the day he met Maka: crisp red button-down shirt, black pinstripe suit, and dress shoes. He had taken his headband off, though he didn't look much different without it. His crimson eyes were sad and tearful, and his hands were shoved into his pockets. He walked slowly, as if the sorrow he felt was weighing him down.
"Hey, guys," he said when he caught up to Kid, Liz, Patty, Black*Star, and Tsubaki. They all turned and gave him a low-spirited "hey."
"Are you okay, Soul?" asked Kid, who could see that his friend was on the verge of tears.
"I... I'm fine," he replied, wiping his eyes with his arm. "This is so uncool..." he muttered.
"I can't believe that Maka..." Tsubaki trailed off, her tone full of despair. She turned away from them, and they all heard quiet sniffles coming from her. Wordlessly, Black*Star walked over to his weapon partner and stood beside her.
"It's as much a shock to the rest of us, Tsubaki," Kid muttered, stuffing his hands into his pockets and looking down at the floor.
Soul said nothing and looked around the rest of the room. Giant stained glass windows ran from the floor to the ceiling, and dim sconces were set at intervals on the walls between them. Rows of pews sat in the middle of the room. A long scarlet carpet extended from the heavy oak church doors to a set of stairs that led up to a marble podium. Behind that podium sat a coffin, painted with black lacquer, half-covered by a red sheet. Soul had to turn away to keep from bursting into tears, which would have been so uncool.
In the front row of pews sat Maka's father, Spirit. His blood-red hair hung down, concealing his wet face. He had his arm looped over the back of the pew as if he was holding Maka around the shoulders, which made Soul's chest tighten. He obviously missed his daughter, even more than Soul did. Spirit had always seemed like such a careless and cheating man; a womanizer, some might say. But seeing him like this only made Soul feel sympathetic for him. Soul walked over to Spirit, who was crying.
"Hey," Soul said, and Spirit looked up at him.
"Oh, hey, Soul," he said, and scooted over to let Soul sit down.
"Where's Blair?" Soul asked, but immediately regretted it, knowing that Spirit's mind was on other things.
"She said she couldn't make it," Spirit replied. "Apparently, she's not a big fan of funerals."
"Can't say that I don't blame her."
"Yeah." Spirit leaned back, clearly exposing his tear-stained face. "Well?"
Soul blinked. "Well what?"
"Aren't you going to go pay your respects to my daughter? If you don't, then it'll be my duty to kill you."
"Oh come on, you can't mean that," Soul said, standing up. "I don't think we could deal with another funeral, could we?" Spirit only gave a sad smile. Soul trekked up the steps toward the coffin which he knew held his Meister. The thought of seeing her dead body was heart-wrenching, and it made his legs turn to lead. Finally, he made it to the coffin and looked down, gasping at what he saw. Maka was lying there, her hands folded over her stomach, loosely holding a red rose. Her green eyes were closed, and her fine blond hair spread out across the pillow like vines. Someone had dressed her in a beautiful, long, purple dress with ruffles at the bottom. Soul could clearly see that she wore makeup. Her face seemed darker in color than the rest of her body, which was as white as a sheet; black eyeliner and violet eyeshadow rimmed her closed eyes; and blush had been applied to her rosy cheeks.
"Maka." Soul inhaled her name sharply. He cupped her face with one hand and leaned down to kiss her forehead. "It's me, Soul. Your weapon partner. Remember? I hope you do, 'cause I'm also your boyfriend." Soul paused when he realized that he was rambling a bit. "Listen. I just want you to know, wherever you are, that you're safe. You'll always be remembered down here on Earth. Me, Kid, Liz, Patty, Black*Star, and Tsubaki are so sad you're gone - so is everyone else. But we know you're okay. Just stay cool, alright?" Soul smiled, despite the grieving atmosphere. He turned away and went down the steps, giving a nod to Spirit, and walked over to a corner. There, he let his silent tears fall as his friends paid their respects to Maka.
"Just know, guys," Soul whispered, "that you're not alone."
Oh God, I was in tears while writing this. I'm now officially depressed at the moment...
Yep. That's all I have. See you guys later.
Signing off,
~FanFicWriter102