A/N: I watched the anime first, but now I'm reading the manga. I've just gotten to the point where things start to diverge a bit in the manga, so I'm sort of using elements of the stories from that to continue with enemies and stuff.
Sorry the update took a bit. I got incredibly sick for a couple of days with the flu.
Warnings: some language, tons of internal monologue in an effort to imitate manga/anime style, spoilers for anime/first 50-ish chapters of manga
Sid knelt across the low tea table from Lord Death, watching him sip tea through his mask. Somehow he never spilled, either. It wasn't something he'd thought about til he died and drinking got to be more challenging.
"Have you been by Dr. Stein's apartment lately?" Lord Death asked, his cheerful, doddering voice rising on a hopeful note. "Ms. Mjolnor has been going straight from class back home, so I haven't been able to talk to her."
"Well," Sid began. He and Stein were colleagues, but they didn't exactly hang out together. To be fair, no one hung out with Stein, except perhaps for Marie, but he couldn't honestly be sure what that was- care-taking or cohabitation or even dating. He didn't ask, either, because that would be rude and that's not the kind of man he was. "No. I haven't been over there."
They lapsed into silence for a moment. Sid had no idea what Lord Death was thinking, and it was impossible to read facial expressions when someone wore a mask. The quiet wasn't helping much, either.
"Have you talked to Death Scythe?" Sid asked. Not that he was trying to shove that responsibility onto someone else, but- yes, yes he was.
"Of course. He's been keeping tabs on Dr. Stien since the Kishin was first released. Since our battle with Arachnophobia, though, Stien has been holed up in his apartment and not even Spirit can get in."
Silence again, this time far more awkwardly. "So you want me to sneak in and look around," Sid deadpanned.
Lord Death clapped his hands and chuckled merrily. "Wonderful! I'm so glad we're on the same page." He waved cheerfully. "Let me know what you find out!"
Sid slumped. So this is what it's come to... without the Kishin or Arachnophobia to worry about, we're reduced to sneaking into our faculty's apartments. Stein had come back to them. He was still recovering, or so Nygus said, and Sid took her word for it. Being driven over the edge of by the Kishin's madness had to be terrible, but at least Stein had been brought back. As far as Sid was concerned, the man deserved a bit of peace and quiet.
"I've been meaning to ask you, Sid," Lord Death continued. "When the barrier disappeared after Maka defeated the Kishin, did you see what happened to him?"
"Wha- what are you talking about, Lord Death?" Sid asked, jerking upright. His heart pounded, suddenly anxious. Is that why he wants me to check on Stein? Did the Kishin somehow escape?
But Lord Death wasn't paying much attention to Sid's reaction at this point, plowing on without acknowledging it. He sipped his tea. "He sort of unravelled, didn't he? All of the madness, just coming undone." Sid focused on the immobile white bone of the mask. "It was almost as if the bandages were holding him inside, wasn't it? And then everything unravelled."
Holy crap! He does think that Asura escaped. Is that even possible? Then again, none of them had seen the battle through that barrier. The overwhelming insanity wavelength had flickered and then snuffed, and he had been too busy being relieved to start checking for signs of escape immediately.
Oh, he had checked, of course. They all had. To do otherwise would be idiotic. But they hadn't checked right away- which was just as idiotic. How could we be such fools?
"Don't beat yourself up, Sid. We all made mistakes that day." Lord Death rose from the table, his movement considerably slowed after taking the Kishin's blast full in the face. His injuries had recovered rapidly, but that he was recovering at all was only due to his incredible power. "All of us..."
"Uh... don't beat yourself up, either, Lord Death," Sid answered awkwardly. Dammit, I'm a zombie and he can still see right through me. "I'll go talk to Stien and Marie. Was there anything else?"
After a long moment of hesitation, Lord Death nodded. "Yes, Sid. Asuza has taken over as Chief of Oceania, as you know, and she reported something strange in her area yesterday." The silly white skull mask continued to stare at him, but Sid could sense there was no cheer behind the dark eye sockets. "She hasn't reported back yet."
"But that's not like her," Sid burst out, catching on a moment too late that this was precisely the point. His perpetual grimace tightened and he instinctively hunched his shoulders. "Nygus and I will get on the first flight-"
"Not necessary," Lord Death interrupted. "I've already sent some students over to investigate that matter. There are other things of concern close to home, and that's where I need you right now."
Dutifully, Sid bowed his head. He'd carry out his orders, even if he wasn't too thrilled with the way Lord Death was doing things. "I understand, Lord Death, but... students!" Sid frowned. "Who did you send?"
"I can't believe you two tried to corrupt Crona like that!"
Soul's head throbbed with the words, which Maka had repeated every time he had so much as looked at her for their entire flight to Melbourne. It began or ended one of her rants about how all men were perverts and bastards and cheaters. He ground his teeth and clenched his fists at his sides whenever he saw tears filling her eyes over the hot flush on her cheeks.
Dammit, Maka, can't you see I'm not like your dad? He had been showing her otherwise since they'd met. He was better than Spirit, but no matter how many times he proved himself, she just didn't seem to believe it. What would it take for her to trust him?
"He's not all perverted like you and Black*Star. He's sweet and gentle and-"
"Shut up about how sweet and gentle he is," he snarled. "He's the one who gave me this." Soul yanked up the hem of his shirt over the long scar crossing his torso. As always, Maka flinched when she saw it.
"You asshole," she said, her face turned aside and angled so he couldn't see it past her hair. Her voice sounded choked, though he wasn't sure if it was rage or tears.
Part of him was horrified, as always, at the prospect of tears, even hers. Especially hers. Nothing got to him like Maka crying, nothing made him feel more terrible and more helpless than when she cried. And he was also... shaking. Angry with her, upset that she was crying about this. Didn't she see what he was going through right now? Between Crona liking her and falling into the bathroom and now Maka shouting at him, he was starting to feel overwhelmed.
Stay cool, Soul. Stay cool.
She turned, and he saw the tears and the fury both shining there in her green eyes. "It's one thing to use your scar against me, but holding it against Crona... what the hell is wrong with you?"
"I don't hold it against you, Maka," he argued. "It's my own damn fault I have this scar. I'm the one who jumped in front of you, I'm the one who stood in front of Ragnarok in human form on purpose. Just like I did with Asura, just like I'll do with anyone else if I have to."
Maka inhaled sharply and stared at him, eyes wide in surprise, pupils dilated. There was a long moment of silence and Soul felt a surge of tension racing through him.
Had things ever been so off between them? When they had first partnered up, there had been the usual hitches and miscommunications as they got adjusted to one another, but now things seemed to be getting more and more confused. What had happened in the last few months? Had the Kishin's madness wavelength gotten to them? To him?
She took a step toward him and he relaxed for a moment. Now she would step into his arms and cry a little on his shirt and he'd get that strange warm feeling in his stomach where she was leaning against him. There would be that whiff of her shampoo under his nose as her pigtail slid along his cheek. He'd never tell her, but when she'd been paralyzed after their first encounter with Arachne and Giriko, he'd used her shampoo while she was in the hospital. The apartment didn't smell right without her there.
But she didn't hug him. She just stopped and stood there, her arms hanging limp at her sides as she stared at him. "You can't keep risking yourself like that, Soul," she said quietly. "You can't be so selfish."
"How is that selfish?" he burst out. Seriously, what the hell is wrong with her? "I'm willing to die for you, Maka."
Her chin lowered toward her collarbones and her eyes closed. He heard a soft sigh whisper across the space between them. "Well, maybe you shouldn't be so ready to throw your life away."
Soul jolted, from his very core all the way to his skin. "So I should just throw yours away instead?" he snapped, taking a step forward. He siezed her shoulders, and as always, he was slightly surprised at just how fragile she felt in his grasp.
No matter how many times he hugged her, held her hand, lifted her up, it always shocked him to realize that she was so delicate. The way she fought, fearlessly swinging him and leaping into action, he often forgot. He knew she could beat the crap out of him- she did it pretty regularly- and it wasn't always easy to resolve that with these skinny shoulders.
As always, when his hands closed around her, he instinctively eased up on his grasp so as not to hurt her. He felt her flinch anyway, felt her tense up and knew she'd clenched her fists at her sides.
"I'm supposed to protect you, Soul. I'm your Meister." She looked up, her green eyes meeting his, startling him with their intense sadness. He'd done it again; he'd made her feel worse.
"Maka..." he said. His hands tightened around her shoulders just a bit.
He stared at her face, realizing her skin looked incredibly soft, especially around her lips. It startled him, but somehow he managed not to flinch or gasp or twitch as he stared at her. Crona wants to date her or something.
What about you, Soul?
What about me? You're getting really annoying, you know. He didn't want to consider the possibility that he had been hit too hard with the Kishin's wavelength, that he really was going insane. But hadn't they defeated the black blood together? He still had dreams about it, about the pure golden warmth of her soul pressed against his in a protective embrace.
Soul didn't realize that he had started to lean forward until he heard her catch her breath, her eyes widening as they met his, startled.
I'm really gonna do it, he thought, the steady inching forward turning time into an infinite slow crawl. His fingers crinkled the fabric of her coat as he held onto her, his heart pounding in anticipation.
But she turned her head away.
"Soul..." she said, planting a hand on his chest. He wasn't sure if it was meant to stop him, but it did, and he wondered if she felt how fast his heart was racing under her gloved fingers.
Shit, I really messed up this time.
"I'm sorry, Maka-"
She wasn't looking at him at all, though; she was staring at something down the runway. Slowly, he turned to stare in the same direction, gasping at the horrible beast that was clambering toward one of the planes.