Disclaimer: I do not own Soul Eater nor the song lyrics to Human by Civil Twilight.

Ripchord
by. Poisoned Scarlett

It's all the things you can't explain
That make us human

"Maka?" Tsugumi whispered, clutching the back of her shirt as Maka stared out the window. The sun filtered through the glass with deceptive calm and the city was tall and dark against a backdrop of clear baby blue. "What's wrong? Do...do you see something?"

One thing Tsugumi Harudori absolutely admired about her new guardian was her amazing sixth sense. It was that gut instinct that had gotten them out of tight squeezes many times before and it was something that the little girl no longer questioned. She liked to think Maka was something like a superhero because of this; like Wonder Woman or, more accurately, Cat Woman, since she would swear her eyes would glow an iridescent green whenever this happened. Maka would always know what to do and all of her instructions were always so crisp and clear! And her voice—it was so steady, calm. Secure unlike so many things.

Maka was her hero–one that Tsugumi wanted to grow up to be like—and she didn't care if Gopher thought she was stupid or Clay made fun of her for it. She admired Maka and as she watched the one person who'd she give anything to be like glance down at her, she knew in her heart it was sound and true. They would get out of this alive and everything would be okay, just like Maka always told her before they went to bed.

"I have a bad feeling about this. Something's wrong. There were never any Walkers nearby before yet they're here now and something…." Maka stilled suddenly, her sharp ears catching the sound of wood splintering downstairs. "Is everyone in the room?"

"Yeah, they're napping, why?" Tsugumi hesitated. "Maka?"

"You keep them in the room! I have to go check something downstairs," Maka told her and turned and grabbed her bony shoulders. She met her eyes firmly. "You know what to do, right?"

Tsugumi nodded, determinedly.

"If anything happens and I don't come back..." Maka swallowed. Tsugumi refused to look up, always hating this part, but because she knew Maka would have done it in her position, she looked up and stared into imploring green eyes bravely. "You take the emergency pack from the closet, get the rest, and run. Don't stop for anything."

She sent Tsugumi into the room and took a breath to prepare herself. Maka picked up her trusty bat from the wall and closed the door behind her silently, walking down the hall as quietly as possible. She stood still, listening, and when she heard faint grunts, she steeled her resolve and made her way to the first floor landing.

Very soon, she could hear it wandering around and once more she thanked her gut feeling for being right. Her knuckles whitened around the handle of her bat. It was sniffing around. It didn't make hasty movements nor did it snarl ravenously to voice its frustration. It only prowled the lower hallway, scratching its jagged nails against doors, and deemed them boring when nothing moved on the other side. Maka was on the first flight of stairs, her baseball bat clutched in her hand, and she sucked in air when she heard it snort and continue its prowl.

It was a Biter, only Biters were this calm before the attack. She needed to keep her guard up more than ever now – no doubt its horde was close behind it, the mindless ones that followed whatever could bring fresh meat into their mouths the fastest.

It did not happen often but the undead did break in from time to time; be it because the boards were loose or a Biter like this one smartened up and figured out another way inside. That was why she had the kids situated on the third floor. It made escaping up to the roof, where they would be able to move to the building next door, much easier and kept them from danger like the one she was facing now. Adrenaline coursed through her veins when she heard it grow closer, stopping to sniff the air. It would smell her soon, Maka thought with dark anticipation, and she'd be ready for the bastard when it did.

"Nnn….grahhHHHHH!"

"HA!" Maka swung the bat when it barreled into sight, the bat crunching against skull. It was thrown back but it came at her with more ferocity than before. Maka stumbled up the stairs but swore when she saw that anymore and she'd place the kids lives in danger. She had already told Tsugumi to hide in the bedroom and ignore anything she heard downstairs. She didn't need to remind her to absolutely not come out no matter what happened. She already knew that.

And, of course, Tsugumi knew that if Maka failed and there was no saving her, she needed to take all the kids and escape. They needed to leave her and not look back because those were such human gestures and, in this new cruel world, abiding to such touching and sentimental things would only cause her heartache and most likely get them all killed. And she could not let her death be in vain, she'd told Tsugumi one dark night, she had to be strong and avenge her by living – living past this despair and horror to a more hopeful future.

"Never give up hope. Because the instant you do, you know what's going to happen? You'll die, and then everything we worked for – everything everyone has worked for – will go along with it."

Maka swung the bat back at the Biter, screaming when it pounced on her. The steps dug into her back, bat clattering by her side, but she kept the Biter off her with her knee, digging it into its hard stomach and forcing her hand into its neck to keep its teeth away from her skin. It was so much stronger than she expected a Biter to be; just how it lunged at her, its black eyes crazed with hunger, incredibly strong despite its dead-hardened muscle, she thought she would not be able to fight against it for long.

"Let go of me, you bastard," Maka snarled out, sounding almost as inhuman as one of the undead. "I said, LET GO!" She shoved her other knee into its ribs and threw it against the metal rail, her fist colliding with its nose. Black blood spurted and it howled but its eyes stayed wide and wild. It was a Biter alright and it was pissed. Maka grabbed her bat and threw herself down to the hall floor, kicking away from it.

The Biter snarled, crouched and ready to spring.

She would not let it attack again.

She wouldn't survive a second attack like that, no matter how strong her will to live was.

"ARRRGHHH!" Maka swung her bat so hard her shoulder popped but the metal collided with the Biters skull in a sickening crack. This time, the crack drove deep, splitting bone and skin and she saw black blood explode from the side of its skull. She rose the bat again and slammed it down on the Biters head – again and again until it no longer moved, much less growled at her, much less did anything except bleed out black on the carpet.

"We have to try to change this world because it's messed up really bad. That's a sidekicks job, to help the hero."

Maka panted, her baseball bat clattering on the floor.

Home run.