I would have never thought that I would actually finish this second chapter.
I hope someone actually reads this, but if no one does that's okay too. :)
If there are any mistakes in this, please point them out for me? That would be extremely helpful and it would make this piece of work a lot less embarrassing (Yes I do check my work a lot but that doesn't mean that I spot every little mistake there is)
So. Shall we?
- Sinistrocity
IF SOUL EATER BELONGED TO ME I WOULD KISS MYSELF. But It doesn't.
*throws Soul Eater at Atsushi Okubo* TAKE IT, IT'S YOURS.
Soul Eater belongs to = Atsushi Okubo
Chapter 2: - Of Apologies and more than one type of blood (2 types to be exact)
"Good morning, Soul~" Blaire purred, and for the millionth time she landed on Soul's bed, her chest pressed against his face.
Hm… Soul isn't moving; so he's still asleep. Or maybe he's pretending.
"So-ul!" Blair meowed crossly. "Wake up and give Blair a hug!"
She prodded him a few times, pulling at his pajamas and pulling on his hair until he finally sat up, stiff as a plank, causing Blair to jump back in surprise.
"Wha-What-" His eyes were blood-shot and puffy.
His eyes moved slowly from his window to Blair. Then back to the window. Then back to Blair. He suddenly felt the urge to throw-up. Something wet started to trickle down his nose.
And here we go again. Soul thought. Oh no…
"B-Bla-BPfft!" Blood spurted from his nose, creating a huge arc of blood starting from his nostrils to the edge of his bed. The room was soon showered in his nosebleed, spoiling his pajamas as well as Blair's new outfit. She didn't seem to mind though.
"It's breakfast time!" she winked at him, pointing at the kitchen. Smoke billowed from the door, and the smell of eggs and toast were so strong it almost pushed him back into bed. In fact, the combination of Blair in half of her uniform, the sudden loss of blood and the heavenly, wonderful smell of eggs-
It was too much for him to bear.
"Please get off me." Soul said faintly, and fell back unconscious.
At that particular moment, the door burst open, revealing Maka in a plain white T-Shirt and a cooking apron. Her hair was tied into messy pigtails, and she held a pan in her hands, waving it jauntily in the air.
"Soul, it's breakfast- SOUL!"
She then proceeded to hit him squarely atop his head with a book that came out of nowhere.
"Ow Maka!" Soul woke up from the shock, and clutched his head in pain. "That hurts dammit!"
"Stop the nose bleeding!" Maka shrieked. "You try cleaning all the bed sheets!"
"IT'S NOT MY FAULT!" Soul screamed back at her. His head had a swollen red bump right in the center of his hairline.
"BLAIR'S THE ONE RESPONSIBLE!" he pointed to where Blair was – but she had already gone. Soul caught sight of a fluffy dark purple tail wavering in the air before disappearing into the kitchen.
"You're so immature!" Maka growled and walked out of his room, throwing the pan and catching it once again as she headed back to the kitchen. Bad mistake.
The bacon that was cooking got thrown into the air, and unlike all of those commercials that Maka had watched, the bacon did not majestically land back into the pan, but instead did a little flip, soaring through the air like a comical slow-motion cartoon. Maka watched in awe as the bacon continued its journey. The pan slipped from her hands but she ignored it.
A wet slap interrupted the somewhat 'beautiful' moment, and Maka realized that the bacon was not floating in the air majestically, but in fact it was slowly sliding down Soul's face, leaving a greasy trail of oil.
"MAKA!"
"Oops…" she cringed. "Sorry Soul. I didn't mean to-"
"MY HAIR DAMMIT! UNCOOKED BACON!? REALLY? AFTER ALL I DID TO TRY AND GET YOU WHAT YOU WANTED YOU JUST TREAT ME LIKE SOME PIECE OF C-" He stopped talking.
Oh great. Now what do I do?
"Just forget it, I have to go wash my hair now, thanks to your 'superior pan skills'." he grumbled and shook his head.
"Wait!" Maka's eyes narrowed, and she put down the pan, walking back into Soul's room. "What did you try to get? What did I want-" she stopped abruptly, green eyes widening as the realization hit her.
"It's nothing! Just - Just finish cooking breakfast!" Soul desperately tried to change the subject and got out of bed, grabbing a towel and running to the bathroom.
"No Soul! Tell me, please! Was it about the black blood?"
"Jus forget about it!" Soul murmured, trying to avoid question and hurriedly grabbing a pair of trousers. He had just made contact with the tiled bathroom floor when Maka grabbed the collar of his pajama top, and dragged him back to the bed.
"Maka I'm trying to change!" Soul snapped and wiped off the blood with his bath towel. "Great. Now I have to get a new towel thanks to Blair."
"I'm sure if you told me that it was about black blood, you're life would be a whole lot easier-"
"Well guess what?" Soul snapped. "My life isn't a whole lot easier. That stupid little leaflet took me ages to read and it was just a stupid little-"
Maka lunged forward, grabbing his shoulders. Her head was pressed against his and in the spur of the moment Soul thought he would faint once more.
"You-" she stuttered. "You- you found a book on Black Blood?"
Soul stared at her in shock. Her messy tangled pigtails seemed to glow. Those huge eyes of hers were shining like diamonds.
"Maka you look like a lost puppy-"
"I'm asking you if you found a book on black blood!" Maka hissed. "A book. On. Black blood."
"No, I haven't." Soul replied just as quickly. "Black blood is pretty new anyway, so I don't understand how I could find any book like that besides the one you were holding."
"Are you sure? If so, then what did try to get? What else did I want so badly?"
"I don't want to talk about it." Soul gritted his teeth. Maka was too close to him, too close for comfort.
"Maka, get off-"
"I won't let you go until you tell me what you're trying to hide!"
"I'M NOT HIDING ANYTHING!" Soul roared, and pushed Maka off him. "I'VE JUST WOKEN UP, GOTTEN A NOSEBLEED, A MAKA CHOP, AND NOW UNCOOKED BACON JUST SMACKED ME IN THE FACE! WHAT ELSE DO YOU WANT FROM ME?"
"I WANT TO KNOW WHAT YOU'RE HIDING FROM ME!" Maka screamed back.
"FINE! I DID FIND A BOOK ON BLACK BLOOD!"
Silence.
"You… what?"
"I found a book on Level 4." Soul spat. "A stupid, useless book on black blood that gave me no information at all. None. Zilch. Nada. My mind was playing stupid tricks on me."
"Don't lie to me Soul! You found something, I'm sure of it." Maka looked at him defiantly, hands clenched and eyes flashing.
"I'm not lying!"
"Why don't you tell me?" Maka pleaded. "Why don't you want me to know?"
"Nothing!" Soul closed his eyes. All this fighting, all this noise, it made him uncomfortable. All he wanted was – A good morning. A normal morning, where he would eat breakfast, she would eat breakfast, Blair would wish them luck on their school day-
And that's when the black cat went back to her human form, thinking that this was probably a good time to step in.
"Now then, why don't you carry on with cooking breakfast, Maka!"
Both meister and weapon stared at her. She looked at them, confused at why and what they were looking at. Then she herself looked down and realized that her towel was really only draped over half of herself. The top half remained naked and visible to the two students. "Oh… Yeah, I forgot. I just finished my early shower~"
"B-B-BFFFFT!" A long arc of fresh blood sprayed all over the place, splattering the walls and the floor.
There was silence. Again. Maka stared. Blair laughed nervously.
"Oops… sorry Maka." Blair said softly. "I guess I came at the wrong time…" then she returned to her cat form and padded away as quickly as possible.
"Uh… I'll clean it up. Sorry." Soul apologized, sniffing and wiping blood away with his sleeve.
"Why can't you- why can't you be like Kid?" Maka blurted out. "He's so much more mature then you!"
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Soul glared back at her. "Do you want me to be obsessed in symmetry? Fine! Oh, Maka you have the most symmetrical pigtails I've ever seen and-"
"That's not what I meant, and you know that you baka!" Maka yelled angrily.
"I'm not your perfect little boy." Soul scoffed.
"At least Kid doesn't spurt blood everywhere once every few minutes." she retorted sharply. He ignored her, pressing his hands against his ears and waiting for her to go away.
He heard the scratch-scratch of her bunny slippers fade away, and she was gone. Gone again.
Gone again. He thought numbly.
Why does she want me to be like Kid? What good is he anyway? He's just some stupid obsessed freak, and everyone knows it.
I'm better than him! My nosebleed problem is hardly anything compared to his weakness to stupid symmetrical enemies!
Soul shook his head, trying to forget about the whole argument.
But he couldn't. It bugged him the whole time he was showering, changing, and brushing his teeth.
"I'm sorry Maka." Blair apologized as soon as Maka returned back to the kitchen.
"No it's okay, it was Soul fault. He's an immature moron, that's all." Maka muttered angrily as she poked at the sizzling sausages rolling around in the pan.
"You know you don't mean that." Blair said soothingly. "It really was my mistake, I'll make up for it, I promise. I'll seduce the fish-man later…" she trailed off.
"If he's still there." Maka finished the sentence. She sighed. "All this mess is just so… infuriating!"
Blair leapt onto the kitchen table, next to where Maka was cooking. She gently placed a paw on the meister's shoulder.
"Just don't be mad at Soul, alright? It was my fault. I guess I came at the wrong time. And also," she added. "Don't compare boys to each other."
"Why not?"
"Because that causes boy rivalry - you know that already. Especially don't involve friends. That causes the most stress."
"How do you know all this?"
"I'm a cat. I have good ears, you know? Working at a bar helps as well." Blair winked at her and attempted to shove her playfully. It didn't work out as expected. "Anyway, I'm sure Soul is a whole lot better than whoever you just mentioned!" Blair said cheerfully.
"Yeah right."
"Well are you compatible with that guy's wavelength?"
"I bet it could work if I read the manual on wavelengths a bit more-" Maka hesitated.
But would it work as well as it could? She thought.
"No…" Maka shook her head. "Probably not."
"Exactly! Also, you don't see that kid you mentioned having a whole lot of beautiful fan-girls running around him, desperately wanting him to be their meister, right?"
"That's because-"
"That's because," Blair interrupted. "You're lucky to have one of the most popular – And caring – and don't forget handsome – boys on your team!"
"He's everything but caring." Blair's eyes lit up at the remark. She smiled cheekily and said, "So does that mean you think he's handsome~?"
Maka didn't answer, but instead carried on cooking.
The aroma in the air brought Soul to the breakfast table, and he sat there expectantly, waiting for his breakfast.
"Soul! Get your breakfast yourself!" Maka said roughly, and dragged him to the kitchen. "It doesn't just magically appear on your plate!"
"You've just read my mind." Soul rolled his eyes and carried his and Maka's plate over to the breakfast table.
"Yeah right." Maka shot back. "Don't think that I can't hear what you're saying just because you keep your voice down."
Blair sighed, sending a mental note to Maka.
Maka, I don't even know if our minds are connected, Blair thought. But if they are, please calm down.
As Maka and Soul had breakfast, both thought the same thing.
Is it my fault?
Is it his/her fault?
Is it… our fault?
If only- If only-
Stupid, stupid me.
The Death Weapon Meister Academy. Front gates.
"Good morning academy." Soul whistled. Maka looked on, with a blank expression on her face. "Still upset about this morning?" She didn't answer.
"Don't be so grumpy."
As they walked up the stairs to Shibusen's front gates, both could hear some sort of riot going on.
"Fight me!" Maka heard someone shout.
"Oh great." she sighed to herself, shaking her head. "I bet it's-"
"I won't lose." another voice called out.
"Is that-" Soul ran up the remaining steps, ignoring the cries of his meister as he reached the top. Kilik, Pots, Ox and Kim were watching scene next to Stein who was supervising the duel.
"So that means…?"
Black*Star was amidst the crowd of other students, in the center. His whole body swayed back and forth, and his eyes were narrowed and serious. Tsubaki was clenched tightly in his hands, in shuriken-star mode.
His opponent on the other hand, was stumbling to and fro, in a ridiculous suit of black, holding the twin pistols- most likely Elizabeth and Patty.
Lord Death? What the- That's Lord Death's costume! Who's in- Kid?
"Take that!" Black*Star lunged forward, one hand outstretched. "My superior wavelength!"
"Missed me." Shinigami Kid ducked, pushing Black*Star off him like he was nothing but a rag doll. His opponent went flying into the air, only to do a sophisticated flip and land back on his feet.
"It'll take more than a puny push to bring me on my knees, Kid!" Black*Star laughed.
The boy in the Shinigami suit – which Soul now guessed was Kid – still seemed to have the upper hand, but was very, very clumsy and his technique was quite sloppy. He obviously wasn't used to fighting in a suit like this.
Why is he fighting in Shinigami's suit anyway?
"Woah! I almost got hit there!" Black*Star shrieked in glee as he purposely let the compressed wavelengths leave a cut on his shoulder.
"Please be more careful Black*Star!" Tsubaki cried out miserably. "You can't just play around like this during a fight!"
"Don't worry Tsubaki!" Kid's muffled voice sounded through the mask. "He's not playing around, I'm sure about that."
"Is that Lord Death?" Maka asked curiously. She had finally finished running up the steps and joined Soul to watch the match.
"Nice one, Black*Star." Kid grunted under the mask of Shinigami-sama. "But these fat white hands of mine seem to absorb the attacks pretty well."
Kid? Maka thought. What kind of costume is that?
"Tsubaki! Enchanted sword mode!" Black*Star yelled.
"H-Hai!" The shuriken glowed and transformed into the demon blade. Her meister grinned, and then charged towards Kid. Energy crackled all around him, and an aura of darkness seemed to engulf his body.
"Liz, Patty!" Kid shouted in his Shinigami suit. "Human forms!"
"What!?" They shouted incredulously.
"You heard me, human forms, now!" Kid shouted as Black*Star advanced toward him.
"You better not lose to him!" Patty cackled. Kid threw both of them into the air, leaving them to transform back into their normal selves.
"GET READY FOR THIS!" Black*Star roared.
"Like Patty said; I WON'T LOSE TO YOU!"
Black*Star's wavelength and Tsubaki's sword clashed with the Shinigami's hands. Both their souls expanded, and a huge boom sounded as the two of them pushed their limits. Black*Star screamed, pushing more strongly than ever. Kid on the other hand, was finding it difficult to hold his stance, and the demon weapon was pushing him down with incredible strength.
"Shinigami's skull shields!" Two large transparent flat skulls suddenly appeared between the two fighters and blasted Black*Star backwards, sending him tumbling and landing on his butt, just a few feet away from Kid. Kid too, wobbled and fell to his knees. His skull shields faded from sight and disappeared. The two opponents sat facing each other, panting heavily.
Both stood up at the same time.
"I'm going to win… I will…" Black*Star panted.
"That shield…it drained my power…"
There was a sudden flash, and Franken Stein came between the two of them, stopping any further actions involving fighting. "You two have done very well. Why don't we call it a tie for the day?"
"Never!" Both competitors said simultaneously.
"Too bad, because this fight is officially finished. Back to class- Oh wait, I forgot." Stein shot both of them a dirty look. "Class is already over."
"And also," Stein added. "You're going to have to spend library time with me, on dissection books. Dissecting whatever you choose."
"But sir-"
"No arguing, or the next thing you'll be dissecting will be yourselves."
"Will we be able to-" Kid started.
"Asymmetrically."
"Yes sir…" Both dropped their stances and walked back to class.
"Professor? May I ask you a question?" Stein turned his head and caught sight of two messy pigtails.
"Oh, sure Maka. What is it?"
"You said that class was already over… How long have they been fighting?"
"Oh yeah, you guys were late, I forgot about that."
"Five minutes after class started, Black*Star wanted to have a duel with Kid. And… Kid accepted, because he wanted to test out Shinigami's suit. And the hands." Stein pointed to the clothes that Liz and Patty held. There were two huge white gloves that resembled the old Shinigami-sama's Shinigami Chop hands. Shinigami's mask also seemed to be repaired and good as new.
"So… Lord Death didn't actually have like…" Maka gestured to her own hands.
"Oh no, well he did have huge hands. What I mean is they were sort of part of him. But Kid just doesn't have those, so we had to make a separate pair of white gloves that looked like Shinigami sama's. Of course, they aren't as good as the old ones, but it'll do."
"Oh wow…" Maka turned to look at Kid and Black*Star, who were chatting and laughing while their weapons walked hand in hand. "Both of them are amazing. To have that much stamina and endurance, well, it's just…" she trailed off.
"It's just astounding." Soul finished. Maka whipped her head around, just in time to see Soul raise a hand in greeting.
"Hey Soul." she smiled.
"Sorry about this morning… I uh…" He fidgeted and stared at his shoes.
"It's okay. You're still a baka, but a good one."
"Thanks Maka. And you're awesome as always." Soul grinned and winked at her. Maka's heart skipped a beat.
"I'm also sorry… Er… I shouldn't have-"
"It's okay. He is better that me in some ways and I guess I could never really compare myself to his superior-ness and all. And again, you have to see all those amazing skills that he can-"
"You're better! I was wrong about you!" The words tumbled out of her mouth so quickly she didn't even know what she had said until she well, said them.
"Eh?"
"You're better then him! I think you are, that is. I think- I think-" Maka started to blush, her cheeks reddening every second of the moment.
"Hey love-birds!" Black*Star called out from behind them. Both turned, startled by his appearance.
"Aren't you supposed to be in the library?!" Soul said, clearly annoyed.
"Yeah, but you better come along. I'm treating you guys today because I feel like I've won that fight by a hair."
"What?" Kid screamed. "Make that eight hairs if not none! An even number is always better than an odd! Unless of course… that number you're talking about is an eight. Then of course…"
"Here we go again." Liz sighed.
Soul shook his head, turning away from the crowd.
"Sorry but Maka and I have to go grocery shopping-"
"We can join you!" Maka interrupted. "In fact, let's go now!"
"But what about dinner- Maka!" his meister grabs his hand and pulled him along with her.
"Maka the grocery shop closes down at like- Ouch!" She yanked him closer to her.
"The book on black blood." she whispered.
"What? Oh, just forget about that already!"
"I won't forget!" Maka hissed. "I'll never forget, until the day I die."
The Shibusen library.
After Kid and Black*Star finished reading their dissection books and Stein started getting bored, he went off to dissect some endangered creature on his own, leaving the children to do whatever they wanted in the library. The librarian seemed to be absent today.
"Hey Kid, check out this manga!" Black*Star launched the book into the air. "It's friggin awesome!"
"Black*Star," Tsubaki cried out. "Stop throwing books at Kid-kun!"
"It's- It's alright." Kid sighed, arranging the books by himself. Black*Star was never good at doing that.
"Now let's see… Oh this book and that book are now exactly the same height and same width! Perfect, I'll just put this one here, and that one there, and... perfect." Once finished he stepped back to admire his work: the books on the two shelves were now arranged to be completely the same height. Books that didn't fit any height were left on the floor.
"No, no, no Kid!" Liz groaned, pulling at her hair. "Kid, you look at the title and arrange them in that order!"
"Is that so? Well, I'm the new Shinigami so I guess it doesn't really matter, does it?"
"Kid, please." his weapon snorted, shaking her head and placing her hands on her hips. "If you can't arrange them right, then I guess I'll have to do it for you."
"Sure." Kid gestured to the remaining pile of unsorted books. "Do it yourself."
"Fine."
"But make sure it's symmetrical!" Kid gasped. He had almost forgot- oh dear. Liz sighed, before calling out to her little sister for help. She clapped her hands twice, and Patty came running to her assistance.
"Big sis! Watcha need?"
"Since Kid has no idea how to arrange books, we'll do it! And help from Tsubaki would be much appreciated."
"Of- Of course!" Tsubaki smiled; glad that she could finally help get things done.
"Okay Patty! You sort the books over there, and I'll sort the books over there, and Tsubaki you- Tsubaki!?"
"I'm done!" Tsubaki smiled. Behind her the bookshelf stood tall and proud. The books were all clean and neat and tidy, each in their correct section.
"How- How-" Liz gaped.
"Oh, I just did as told… hehe." Tsubaki giggled and blushed.
"Wow! Even the books are glowing, sis!" Patty gazed at the shelf.
As the trio continued to sort out the library, Soul and Maka went through the level 4 books.
"We're not supposed to be here." Maka hissed.
"It's not like you've never broken a rule before Maka. Besides, I already asked the librarian like, yesterday, and he told me that I was allowed to." Soul whispered back.
"Look, there!" He took out a thin, tiny pamphlet, the very same one that he found yesterday. "It's this one, the tiny book."
"It's just a leaflet, Soul. It's not a book."
"Well it said black blood on it! Look, I don't want to get your hopes up, so just to let you know, the light played tricks on me."
"If you say so…" Maka huffed, clearly annoyed and dissatisfied.
"Okay…" she squinted, peering at the cursive letters on the page. "Er… Black Blood – You were right Soul! Uh… Black Blood originated in the time of class, lesson 6. Our essays on souls and witches are due tomorrow, so don't forget to complete them. What? What?!"
"I told you it was useless." Soul muttered.
Maka shook her head, blinking and rubbing her eyes. "It must be because of this morning."
"Okay. Here goes. Black Blood originated in the lab of Medusa. There we go! It wasn't that hard." Maka read out.
"No, it said storm troopers a few minutes ago, I'm sure of it!" Soul gritted his teeth, yanked the leaflet out of Maka's hands and tried to read it himself.
"There!" he smirked, pointing at what he saw.
"I don't see anything there." Maka glared at the leaflet. "It says Medusa."
"Oh."
"Anyway, let's keep reading. Here: I have watched her for several guinea-pigs, and she has traded her transformer card for an Optimus Prime."
"…"
"What the hell did I just read!?" Maka shrieked.
"I told you it wouldn't work." Soul sighed. "It's useless. This book-"
"Leaflet."
"Leaflet is too small to read. Just give up on it already."
"No, wait, here's a little bit more writing underneath the title! Maybe it's like a little information about this leaflet. Gosh it's small. Soul, do you have a magnifying glass on you?"
"I can ask for one." And he ran off to find the librarian. Maka watched him go, and then turned back to the booklet.
"I can just make out a few of these words but…" she squinted, pressing her face closer and closer to the leaflet until she couldn't get any closer.
"Only the fools… and the fun… can… have a… chance. At reading?" Maka read out aloud. "Huh. That's weird. What kind of book would that be? Only idiots can read this leaflet?"
But if my brain keeps messing up like what Soul said earlier, she thought. How am I supposed to know what I'm reading is actually what it means? What if the 'fools' can't read it at all? What if it really is just the light, or the writing is too small? What if-
"Hey Maka, I'm back." Soul held out the magnifier glass to her.
"Oh thanks, this'll help." She put it close to her, but the minute she laid eyes on the next page-
"Eh?" Black. Everything on the next page was completely covered in black.
"I- I can't read it." she stuttered. "The next page is covered in ink."
"What? What do you mean by that? Baka, I can see a whole load of words here! Er… Oh great, not the ragin' hamster thing."
"What- What does it say?" she asked him.
"The same thing. Er… that stupid ragin' hamsters and a couple of midgets… no wait…"
Maka blinked once. Twice. Once again. She closed her eyes- no, she didn't even know if she had closed her eyes or not. Did she have eyes?
Do I have eyes? How do I use them?
Soul? Soul? Where are you?
"Soul!" she shrieked. "Soul where are you?"
"I'm here! I'm right next to you, so stop freaking out!" Soul bent over to look at Maka, who was staring at the leaflet. Her whole body was stiff, and she was holding the magnifying glass with an iron grip.
If this is some kind of lame joke, I've got to admit, she's executed it pretty well.
He sighed, turning away from her.
And if it's a joke, it's definitely not going to work on me. I'm the coolest of cool! I'm not going to fall for a boring prank like that.
Maka tried to turn her head away. It seemed impossible. She tried to lift her leg, or shift her body weight. Again, it was impossible. It was as if there was an extremely strong magnet tied to the magnifying glass and she was a piece of metal.
What is this? She thought.
By this time, Soul was getting extremely tired of Maka standing completely still at the corner of the library.
When is her hand going to get stiff?
"Maka, stop looking like a complete idiot!" she didn't respond.
"Maka?" Soul tapped her on the shoulder. Her muscles tensed even more.
"Maka, if this is a joke, it's not funny. It's uh… pretty lame."
"Soul," Maka croaked. "I can't move."
"Eh?"
"Help me up." she coughed. "Straighten my back or something. Move one of my arms."
"And… why would I do that?"
"Because I uh…" Maka desperately tried to think of an excuse. "I pulled a muscle and my arm's gone weird."
"Very funny. As if that's going to work."
"I'm not kidding Soul." Maka gasped. "I can't move a thing. I don't even know if I'm blinking or not."
At this point, Soul's suspicions began to fade away.
It all seems so… genuine. Maybe it isn't a prank after all.
"Then why are you still breathing?" he asked suspiciously.
"How am I supposed to know?" his meister hissed. "Just help me up already."
"Uh… sure." Maka felt two strong arms grip her torso, pulling her back up. Slowly but surely she felt her back relaxing, but it wasn't enough. Her body felt like a rubber band tied to a stick and Soul was stretching her the wrong way.
"No, don't try to straighten my back it'll only make it wor…seh..." she felt a funny tingling sensation crawl up her spine. The sensation lingered, and her whole body seemed to shake.
"Just. Take. The. Magnifying glass. Away." she wheezed.
"O...Kay." she felt his fingers pull at the 'magnet', and then he tried to pry the handle from her hands.
"If you would just let go, my job would be a whole lot easier."
"Just help me." Maka pleaded.
"Guys, what's going on?" A black mess of hair poked out from the shelves.
"Ahh!" Maka screamed. She could feel some funny thing brush against her head. "Soul, help me!"
"Calm down Maka, its just Kid." Soul rolled his eyes, sighing to himself.
"Oh." Maka felt her face grow hot. The fluffy messy hair brushed against her cheek.
"Er… sorry Kid, I didn't mean to freak out."
"It's fine."
"Kid. Would it be possible if you revealed yourself completely and not just your head? Because that's really freaking me out." Soul winced and pushed Kid's head away from him.
"Oh." Kid glanced down. "I guess you're right."' his head disappeared from the bookshelf and went around it. He glanced at Soul and Maka, trying not to laugh at them. "So, how's-" Kid stopped in mid-sentence, holding a hand to his mouth.
"What's so funny?" Soul growled. "Help me already!"
Kid stifled a laugh. Soul and Maka were all tangled up; Soul had one arm around her waist, using his right leg and pushing her body up. His other arm was pulling at the magnifying glass that Maka had in her fist. Maka on the other hand, looked as stiff as a plank of wood. Her breathing seemed harsh and only her eyes and mouth seemed to be functioning.
"Maybe I should give you some privacy-"
"NO!" both of them yelled.
"Pervert." Maka muttered under her breath.
"Maka's stuck." Soul said.
"I can see that."
"No, I mean she can't move or anything." he let go of her hand and stepped back. Kid watched in amazement as Maka's body jerked and went back to its original position.
"Is this some new asymmetrical trick?" Kid asked suspiciously.
"Ask Maka."
"Just help me." Maka coughed. "I can't breath, and I can't see."
The two boys looked at her, then at each other.
Soul looked away. "I've done as much as I can. You fix it, Kid."
Kid turned away, his face reddening. "I'm not her weapon, you are. Now go help her up."
"Guys, I don't care who's helping me-" Maka started.
"Yeah, but we do." both boys muttered.
"I'll go get Liz and Patty. They'll help you out." Kid ran off.
"I'll go get Tsubaki." Soul disappeared around the corner, leaving Maka to stare blankly in the darkness.
"Honestly! What's so bad about helping me up?"
A few seconds later, Liz, Patty, and Tsubaki came running to the level 4 section.
"Oh Maka…" Tsubaki gasped. Liz and Patty shook their heads gaping in surprise.
"Looks like a job for big sis and I!" Patty squealed. "C'mon, let's go!"
"We got it Maka. Don't move a muscle." Liz grinned and cracked her knuckles, moving closer to the said target.
"Careful, okay?" Maka squeaked. "I think I'm losing air over here."
"Don't worry Maka, I'll definitely get you out of this mess!" Tsubaki said determinedly. Maka smiled. At least there was one person who wasn't insane in here.
"Let's do it!" Patty fist-pumped and raced over to where Liz was.
"Here Maka, take this." Tsubaki held out a piece of long, thick jerky. Maka, who currently couldn't really see anything, could only smell some sort of rancid beef. Her nose wrinkled and she tried to move away.
Maka sniffed at it curiously, then looked up to stare at her friend – well, where she thought her friend was.
"Uh… Soul asked me to give this to you. He said that you don't like gnawing on wood."
"Gnawing on wood? Why would I gnaw on… oh." Her thoughts immediately went to Liz and Patty. Her imagination went wild, and she had a feeling that after this, her body would never feel the same again.
"It's okay, Kid told us not to stretch you out… too much."
"Eh… Tsubaki? Please help me." Maka whispered.
"But first off, we're going to have to take off that puffy sweater of yours. It's getting in the way, and it's going to get hot in here~" Patty cackled.
"Please, Liz." Maka whimpered. "Stop Patty."
"I can't help you with that unfortunately." Liz whispered, and both shivered in fear as Patty hurriedly undid Maka's coat and sweater. "No one can stop Patty once she's determined to do something."
But finally, with the help of the Thompson sisters, Black*Star, and the enchanted demon blade, Maka managed to remove herself from the magnifying glass and the book. Unfortunately for her, there were more bruises than she thought she would have. Dark black and blue spots speared everywhere that hurt. And there were a lot of places that hurt.
But wait. Black*Star helped?
Let's have a look at what happened before that…
When Kid, Soul, and Back*Star returned to the library, they witnessed one of the weirdest possible events that they had ever seen in their lives. Before their eyes were a series of girls tangled in a strange looking knot; Patty was using a book's cover to dig into Maka's stiff hands. The magnifying glass was almost out of her grasp. Liz on the other hand, had her arms around Maka's torso, using one of her free hands to push into Maka's back. Both of them were sweating tremendously due to the awkward jerking movements that Maka's body made (The jerking made it hard for the Thompson sisters to push Maka back to a normal position). Liz and Patty had taken off their jackets (since Patty was feeling a little stuffy and Liz couldn't object), leaving the sisters in nothing but identical black tank tops and hot pants.
Tsubaki stood on the side, holding the beef jerky that was wet with Maka's saliva. There was no way she would get involved in this.
It was… weird.
"I'm glad I'm not part of this…" the boys whispered to themselves. Black*Star and Soul reached into their pockets hoping to find some sort of napkin to wipe off the small streams of blood that were running down their noses. Kid absentmindedly handed both of them a few tissues. He was staring at the combination of 3 girls entangled together. Unlike Soul and Black*Star, not a single drop of blood fell from his nose.
"Pervert." Maka glared at the boys in disgust. "Stop staring at us!"
"Sorry." Kid shrugged, turning around. "But you should have put something less revealing on."
"And why would we be staring at you, Maka?" Soul teased. Maka fumed, blushing a bright red.
"Just get out of here!" she yelled at them. Black*Star laughed and went over to the girls. "Hey Tsubaki, are you okay?"
"Hai! I mean, yes, I'm fine! Tsubaki smiled. "I think Liz and Patty are enough to get Maka back up on her feet, that's all."
"Nah, I could do way better!" Black*Star grinned. "Move outta the way, girls. I'll do this myself."
"Um… okay, if you say so." Liz and Patty got off Maka, who 'jerked' back to an awkward position.
"Ow…" Maka mumbled.
"Go, Black*Star!" Patty fist-pumped again.
"I got this!" Black*Star ran up to Maka, lifted his foot, swung his fists-
"HEY HEY! This doesn't seem like a great idea, what's going on!?" Maka said hysterically. Anything that had to do with Black*Star was not a good idea and would always end up in chaos. Especially when he tried to help someone.
"Maka!" Soul screamed. "Don't get killed by this idiot!"
"AHHH!" Black*Star yelled and kicked her in the back – as well as hold her shoulders firmly in place. Her body jerked once more, and she coughed up blood. Funny cracking sounds came form her back. Black*Star jumped back, and waited for the results. Maka was still stiff as a plank, but this time her whole body was stiff and straight. Blood was running down her mouth, and her hands started to twitch. A few seconds later she crumpled to the floor, crashing into the ground.
"I- I can see." Maka gasped, staring at her hands.
"That baka's kick actually worked?" Liz grumbled. "Great, so our hard work was for nothing."
"I HAVE A FIST OF A GOD!" Black*Star yelled at the sky.
Soul rushed Maka to the nurse's office, and Kid joined the rest of the group.
"How did you do it?" Kid asked.
"I TOLD YOU, I HAVE THE FISTS AND FEET OF A GOD!"
Nurse's office.
"Are you alright?" Soul asked for the 3rd time. Maka rolled her eyes and waved him away.
"I'm fine." she huffed. "It's not like I almost got ripped in half or anything-"
"But you were hurt. I couldn't protect you." Soul glanced at her, and then looked down.
"Oh please. Protecting me? I'm capable of taking hits myself, thank you very much!" she scowled. "And you couldn't help me anyway. That book was probably cursed, or charmed or something."
A sudden knock and the door startled the two, and Soul hurried over to open it, revealing Nygus and a couple of bandages.
"Why are you here?" Nygus demanded. "Go home already."
"I can't, she's my meister!"
"Your meister needs some quality time, by herself." Nygus motioned for Soul to get out, and he glared at her before leaving. "Hey Maka, I'm going to go back to the apartment, okay?"
"Uh… sure." she replied.
"I'll be back, don't worry." The door shut, leaving Nygus and Maka alone in the nurse's office.
The nurse sighed, and went over to where Maka lay.
"It's okay Nygus, you didn't have to send him off."
"You need rest Maka." Nygus stretched out the bandages and wrapped them around the bruised areas. "There, I've applied some cream on those. It should help the pain go away."
"Thank you miss." Maka smiled. "And sorry about uh…" Nygus sighed.
"It's fine. The librarian didn't stop you, so why should I?"
"Oh... The librarian wasn't here today."
"What? He always comes, at exactly 8 in the morning." Nygus stared curiously at Maka. "He's never late. He's never injured or sick."
"That's funny." Maka frowned. "He wasn't there."
"I'll go check it out." Nygus stood, and passed some of the bandages to Maka. "Here, just in case you need some more."
Maka watched Nygues leave the room.
A few minutes later, Black*Star, Tsubaki, Kid, Liz, and Patty entered the room silently.
"Maka!" Tsubaki whispered. "Are you still hurt? Are you okay? I brought this for you." she held out a glass of lemonade.
"Thanks Tsubaki!" Maka said cheerfully.
"Are you okay?" Liz asked. "Sorry about the pushing and stretching that you went through. I thought it would work…"
"Don't worry, I'm fine!" Maka winked. "I'll be good as new in a few hours."
"Maka." A silky low voice turned her head and Kid handed her a thin leaflet – the one on black blood.
"I supposed you found that. Why were you in the level 4 sections anyway? You know that only some privileged level 3s and I are allowed to access that area."
"I…" Maka faltered. "I just wanted to help Crona."
Silence.
"It doesn't work." Kid murmured. "I can't read a thing on there. But this leaflet, may I have it?"
"Why?" Maka asked.
"It's…" Kid took the leaflet and gazed at it happily. "Each word on one page of the leaflet is reflected on the other page, making them perfectly symmetrical!" A tear slid down his cheek.
"Oh god…" Liz face-palmed and pulled it out of Kid's hands, ignoring his weak cries of protest. "All I see is… Ooh, there's a sale tomorrow? This is like, something from the newest magazine!" She pressed her face closer to it and squealed in delight, eyes scanning each page.
"Guys." Black*Star interrupted. "Can I see?"
"Oh sure." Liz handed it over, and Black*Star eyed it suspiciously. Tsubaki looked at it over his shoulder.
"It's just a instruction booklet on karate moves." he grumbled.
"No, it's a cooking recipe!"
"Guys. GUYS." everyone turned to Maka.
"It's different for everyone." Maka grumbled. "That's why I couldn't find out. I read some sort of little inscription at the bottom, and it said something like, only the silly and fun can read it or something."
"Silly and fun?" Kid wondered. "Are you sure it said that?"
"Nope, not at all. Since the leaflet always plays tricks on me, that inscription should be incorrect according to what I learned."
"I think it's probably a trick." Liz said, raising her eyebrows. "It just sounds really, really suspicious." The rest of the group nodded their heads in assent, apart from Tsubaki who seemed to be lost in her thoughts. Suddenly she looked up, eyes alert and shining.
"No, wait!" she cried out. "Let… Let Patty have a look!"
"Ehh?" Patty tilted her head and looked at Tsubaki sideways. The rest of the group slowly turned their heads towards Tsubaki.
"And why exactly," Kid said in a low voice. "Would we do that?"
"Because- Well you see, I was thinking that Black*Star should have been able to read it as he is quite funny and nice to be around."
"He's funny?!" Maka said incredulously. "He's anything but funny!"
Tsubaki ignored her (perhaps for the 2nd time in her whole life) and continued with her little hypothesis. "And you see, I realized that he probably might not have been able to read the page partly because he is too determined and too serious because he has his own goals to achieve – hence the 'only the silly and fun' I guess he wasn't 'silly' enough-"
"And definitely not fun enough." Maka grumbled. "Don't forget that."
"Anyway," Tsubaki continued. "I was thinking that since you and Kid couldn't read it that was probably because both of you guys aren't really…"
"It's ok, Tsubaki." Kid smiled. "I know I'm not funny."
"That's not true Kid!" Patty laughed. "I think you're the funniest guy in the world!"
"Well, not to everyone." Liz reminded her little sister. "Why don't we continue listening to Tsubaki, okay?"
"Thank you Liz! Anyway, as I was saying, that leaves You, Patty and I. I don't think you're that silly, but Patty, what do you think?" She turned to the younger weapon, who replied with enthusiasm.
"Sis is very, very serious, and dangerous. And cool! She can fight anything!" Patty smiled and clasped her hands together. A little image of her 'big sis' popped up above her head. Her fantasies were a little too much for everyone, and all except Liz turned their heads away.
"Patty, please don't over-estimate me… It makes me feel guilty for some reason." Liz said, cheeks flushed red.
"Okay, so that leaves you, and Patty. You're a lot more serious than Patty, I'm quite sure of that." Tsubaki nodded. "Okay. So that only leaves her, right?" There was another silence as the group slowly went over Liz's conclusion.
"I don't get it." Patty frowned. "But I really want to read whatever you want me to read, so lets do this!"
Maka slowly handed her the leaflet. Patty immediately snatched it out of her hands, raising it above her head. She then had a closer examination of the pages, and narrowed her eyes, sharpening her vision in the process.
"Uh… Oh! I got it!"
"You did it?" the whole group gasped, amazed that both Maka's and Tsubaki's theory was actually correct.
"Well it says here… 'This is the account of Medusa Gorgon, sister of Arachne and Shaula Gorgon."
"Oh my god…" Maka breathed.
"Patty you did it…" Liz stared at her in awe. "I never thought you would actually be better than me in something."
"Ooh!" Patty cried out excitedly. "Ooh, it says more: 'I know that by the time you, Crona, will have found this you will most likely have killed me or you will most likely be dead. Could be both. Either way, I want you to know that I am very, very proud of you. You killed for me, and that is all I will ever ask of you. Insanity is the key to the Kishin."
Maka glared at her bedsheets in anger. She grabbed at them and clutched them with such a grip that her knuckles started to go white. "Medusa..."
Patty suddenly launched into a different voice, mimicking Medusa.
"Maka."
"What?" said girl cried out. "How did she know that we would-"
"Maka Albarn." Patty read out in Medusa's voice. "Hello there."
And slowly but surely, Patty read out each and every word of the first page. Very, very accurately.
Very, very creepily.
Let's have a look.
This is the account of Medusa, sister of Arachne and Shaula Gorgon.
I know that by the time you, Crona, will have found this you will most likely have killed me or you will most likely be dead. Could be both. Either way, I want you to know that I am very, very proud of you. You killed for me, and that is all I ever ask of you.
Maka. Maka Albarn. Hello there.
I know you have found this. I also know that since you will never be able to read this (since I enchanted this little diary of mine) so you will have made someone else read it for you instead. You wicked little girl, always looking into my secrets. Always wanting to reveal them.
I also know, that you've probably brought your little gang to investigate as well. Probably by accident.
Oh, I bet the look on your visage is going to be devastatingly confusing. Probably a touch of anger, a touch of hatred, and a touch of curiosity all mixed into one, then slapped into your pretty little face. Gorgeous. I love it when people are mad at me, makes me feel all giddy inside.
I'll get straight to the point.
Someone else is watching you, another witch I'm guessing. There are so many different witches in the society that I couldn't possibly know, could I?
Then again, you don't trust me.
At that moment Maka sat up with a jolt, slamming her hands on the bed sheets, creating a loud muffled thump.
"TELL ME WHO IT IS MEDUSA!" Maka screamed.
Oh, I don't want to ruin all the fun of guessing. If you keep glaring at your friend impatiently, then I guess you won't get to know who's stalking you.
So, let's start by giving you some information.
By the time you have found this, you'll have killed the Kishin. You'll have just started to go back to class. A few months later, maybe. You discover my lovely secret. I don't know who else has discovered this, but what does it matter? Only you will truly understand my goals. I won't be the only one who's plotting.
There are more witches out there who want to create Kishins. For the first time ever, I fear for Crona's safety. And maybe even yours to a certain extent. I may still need you, and you may still need me.
What is that? You don't understand?
Why might I still need you? Vice Versa?
Oh darlings, all of you are so pathetic. I do wish it were Stein who was reading this, not this pathetic little girl in a pathetic little cowgirl hat.
Oh and yes, I do know what's happening right now. I will always know what is happening, no matter what happens to me, I'm everywhere.
I bet you're breathing in me, wishing I was alive so you could kill me ten times over.
Shall I taunt you a little more?
The pathetic little cowgirl doesn't know she's being insulted, and her pathetic sister doesn't understand a thing – obviously. Both of these so-called demon pistols have brains the size of walnuts.
Oh, and that enchanted demon blade? Don't make me laugh. Someone so soft like her can only be laughed at. No matter how many stones you throw at her she won't fight back.
Again, I use my favorite word in the dictionary – Pathetic.
At this point, Liz snatched the leaflet out of Patty's hands and crushed it in her palm, her face a pale white.
"How dare she treat Patty and Liz like this!" Kid said angrily. "This woman- This woman I just-"
"I'm going to kill her." Black*Star said coldly. "I'm going to rip her in half."
"Black*Star-"
"She insulted you, Tsubaki! I'm going to bash her skull right in!"
"Guys! Stop!" Maka shouted. "I know you're angry, I know you're upset." Maka said shakily. She clenched the bed-covers even more. "But she's Medusa. What else would you expect from the wickedest woman in the world? Patty, please keep reading."
Patty looked up, nodding and smiling. She placed a hand on Liz's shoulder, and gently took the paper from her hands.
Then smoothing out the leaflet, she began to read once more.
Oh, I love the looks on your faces. Anger feeds me well. I would love to taunt the little boys as well, but I guess I won't be able to or else they won't allow this little girl to continue reading. Oh, how I love the fact that you all look at me so furiously! Makes me want to laugh. In fact, I'm laughing as I read this.
I'm sure you've all found out.
I'm sure you probably don't want to realize this, don't want to accept it, or whatever. But my next statement won't shock you.
I'm alive.
However, my next statement probably will.
Crona is alive as well.
Ughhh... Took me forever.
It's not perfect and will never be. . Sorry about that, I'm trying to explain everything but when I do that I end up having to explain more than I need. So I'm sorry about that.
R&R would do me good. :)