The next day at school, Maka and Soul were, of course, the last two students entering the room before the first period class started and the only remaining seats were the two with Kara right in the middle. Maka sat on the left side of her next to Liz while Soul sat on the right next to Black*Star. "She totally did that on purpose," both Soul and Maka thought. Maka was pretending to pay attention to the lesson while maintaining a keen eye on Kara. Every once in a while Maka would throw a casual glance toward her in order to assess what she was up to. Maka never caught Kara looking at her or the front of the classroom, for that matter. She noticed her eyes would drift in Soul's direction every time Maka observed her. "This is so awkward," Soul thought, "I really wish she would stop looking at me." Soul slowly shifted his eyes toward Kara. She smiled shyly when Soul made eye contact and proceeded to focus on the front of the class. Soul leaned far back in his chair and stared at Maka. Maka's eyes shifted toward him and then closed. It was unspoken but they both understood. Soul leaned forward so Kara was out of his peripheral and folded his arms out on the desk. I want out of here…
After the lecture, Soul and Maka got away from the usual group so they could privately talk about the events that have recently transpired.
"Do you see what I mean now? I'm not making this up. I mean, I'm usually pretty cool with stuff but she really needs to relax. I hate when people stare at me," Soul whispered.
"Yes, I saw. But again, she's just a crazed fangirl. You are the new death scythe. It is only expected people want to talk to you. You need to realize that you are going to be getting this kind of attention for a while," she replied. "It happened to my father too," she added.
"Yeah, I know."
"I'll admit the situation is strange and she's a little weird. But don't sweat it. I don't think you're used to having someone crush on you, Soul," Maka giggled.
"Shutup, Maka. I'll see you at lunch, ok?"
"Alright, see ya."
With that, Maka went on her way to her next lesson while Soul continued to Dr. Stein's lab. He didn't tell Maka he has been participating in secret lessons with Stein for about 3 months now. He told her he's taking an extra history class.
"Soul, you must concentrate. You must know exactly what frequency you are operating on." Soul concentrated harder, the tension in his body increased. All of a sudden he released all of the built pressure. Soul bent over and heaved, "I'm not feeling it today professor."
"Is there a lot on your mind, Soul? You seem to be having trouble focusing."
Sweat beads dripped from his hair as he answered, "You know I've wanted to tell Maka what I've been doing. I think after all we've been through, she deserves to know. But I don't know how to tell her. That's all."
Stein folded his arms. "That has been your concern since the beginning of these lessons and even then you weren't this stressed out. You sure there isn't anything else?"
Dammit, should I tell him about Kara? Soul stood upright.
"Uh, I'm just tired. How would you propose I tell Maka about my lessons without her getting upset?"
Stein smiled. "Unfortunately, I do not have a simple answer to that question. You never know, she may be enthusiastic about the lessons and would want to participate herself. She's an avid learner."
Soul grinned, "Yeah, she is."
"It's interesting...I've come to find that meisters and weapons will become a much greater team if they possess sincere respect for each other. Although it is moderately a factor, the personalities of the souls really do not matter. It all depends if the pair can develop an understanding and sustain a considerate and respectful relationship. You and Maka may have two completely different personalities but you consistently reveal your respect for one another. I believe this is the glue that holds you together and I believe she will respect you if you do decide to tell her." Soul smiled and nodded in agreement.
After the lessons were over, Soul turned to leave the lab and Stein called out to him. "Oh hey Soul, if there is anything else on your mind. Anything at all, feel free to come talk to me." Soul gazed at Stein, nodded, and hurried out of the room. He was heading toward the lunch room when he noticed someone standing at the end of the empty, long hallway, staring at him.
Great. Soul groaned in dismay when he saw Kara striding quickly toward him. "Hey Soul," She called. Soul managed to shine an awkward toothy grin toward her. "Oh hi, Kara. What's up?"
"Oh nothing…I'm on my way to see Dr. Stein to ask him about Perfect Soul Resonance."
"Oh well don't let me hold you up."
"BUT I really wanted to talk to you about it, too! How did you achieve such a thing," she exploded.
Soul was annoyed by her sudden outburst. Trying to subtly back away and keep heading in his direction, he replied, "Yeah, I don't know. It was really sudden; I can't explain exactly what happened." Soul looked away from her overbearing gaze. She giggled. Soul looked at her, "what?"
"You are adorable when you are nervous."
Soul stared back at her in confusion. "What, I'm not nervous?" Adorable? Somebody please get me out of this situation.
"SOUL!" Black*Star pompously bounced down the hall calling his name. A sense of relief overwhelmed Soul. Soul smiled, "hey Black*Star, where you headed?"
"Lunch, fool. Exactly where you should be, right now."
"Oh right." Soul placed his arms behind his head and casually started to walk off. "See ya, Kara."
She giggled again, "Bye Soul! I'm going to head out to lunch in a few minutes so I'll see ya there!"
Black*Star watched her dance off down the hall and then turned toward Soul. "What was that all about, eh?" Soul rolled his eyes. "Absolutely nothing, don't get any ideas," Soul snapped. Before Black*Star could do any teasing, a voice came from the shadows. "Soul Eater." Death was standing in the mirror two feet away from their position. "Uh, yes Death?" "After school, could you come see me in my office? We have work to do."
"Yes sir."
Death disappeared as fast as he could get the words out. Soul looked over at Black*Star who was scratching his head. "Why don't we get to do important missions for Death? He should know how important I am!" Black*Star yelled. "Someday you will, Black*Star," Soul said.
It was a beautiful day so the group decided to have lunch out in the courtyard. Everyone was pretty happy, chattering to each other about the events of their day. While everyone ate and talked, Soul turned to Maka. "Lord Death wants me to go to his office today after school. Guess it's my first mission." Soul grinned his usual toothy smile. Maka, being disappointed that she doesn't get to go, slightly smiled. "That's awesome, Soul!"
All of a sudden a small boy ran past them seizing their attention. He was clearly a local freshman and he seemed heavy-winded and rather upset. Lex, a boy at the DWMA who had a dire reputation of being a bully, was standing at the other end of the courtyard. "Come here and fight me! Fight back for once in your life," Lex called out to the boy. The entire group was already on their feet, ready to attack. "Hey c'mon leave him alone!" Tsubaki blocked Lex from coming any closer to the boy. "Really girl? Move out of my way," shoving Tsubaki. This alarmed Black*Star who was immediately at Tsubaki's side. Even though Lex was a foot taller than Black*Star, Black*Star still snarled in his face. "Don't make me hurt you, kid," Black*Star said. Lex did not back off. "Oh please, with her as your weapon you wouldn't do much damage."
"THAT'S IT!" Black*Star swung but Lex caught his fist and threw him in the opposite direction. Black*Star landed in a heap on the other side of the courtyard.
He was about to hit Tsubaki out of the way when his swing was stopped. Soul caught Lex's fist. "Real mature," Soul said as he threw Lex on the ground. Everybody watched Soul in amazement. Soul turned toward the freshman and asked, "are you okay?" Suddenly, Lex threw another punch at Soul. "Soul, look out," Maka screamed. But to her amazement, the swing did not impact Soul at all. Nobody really knew what happened. Soul remained motionless facing them while Lex was sent backwards, flying rapidly into the bushes past the end of the courtyard. Everybody was in shock. They had no explanation of how that could have happened. They watched Soul in astonishment. "WHAT WAS THAT?!" Black*Star was the first to speak. Maka was in absolute shock and disbelief. She was transfixed on Soul's wavelength. It was firing rapidly with an abundance of energy. How could that be?
"It's alright guys, calm down," Soul said as he casually strolled back to the bench where he was sitting. Lex remained sprawled out in the bushes looking confused for several minutes. Everybody still stared at Soul. Kara rushed over to him. "Wow that was unbelievable, Soul!" Soul, annoyed at everyone's stares, got up to go inside. "Thanks," he said as he walked in the building. Everybody sat in silence. "What was that?" Liz said. Even Kid didn't know what to say. They all looked at Maka expecting an answer. She was just as confused as they were. Shrugging it off, she silently turned and followed Soul into the building. It was pretty awkward the rest of the day. Maka wanted to ask Soul what happened, but didn't want to annoy him. He remained silent until his after school meeting with Death.
Later that night, Maka was enjoying her night alone in the apartment. She made dinner for herself and cleaned the entire living room and kitchen. She kept thinking about the events that took place earlier that day. She was also worried about Soul since this was his first mission for Death. After dinner, Maka relaxed on the couch and reached for the remote. She really wasn't in the mood to do any more homework. She could finish it tomorrow night since it wasn't due until later that week. All she could think about was Soul. I really hope he's okay. She turned the TV on for a second and then immediately turned it off. The only sound in the apartment came from the ticking of the clock. This is ridiculous. It's already 9:30. Where's Blair? Maka got up and called out for the enchanted kitty. It ended in no avail; the cat was nowhere to be found. Maka decided she would get ready for bed, rather than stay up and wait for Soul. He's a big boy, he can handle himself. After her shower she sat back down on the couch and turned the TV back on. The noise seemed to drift into the background as Maka lost consciousness and fell asleep.
Soul was exhausted. He had worked really hard alongside Sid taking care of a cluster of kishin eggs all night. He walked up the stairs and lazily opened the door to his apartment. He groaned at the sight of Maka lying on the couch. He glanced at the clock and realized it was just past eleven. She is usually still awake. But Soul realized how tired he was when his eyelids started to droop and didn't question it. He picked Maka up and carried her bridal style to her room, placing her underneath the covers. He turned her lamp off, quietly tiptoed out of the room and slowly closed her door. He turned around to a pair of bright yellow eyes looking up at him. Blair stretched out in front of him, "What's up my little scythy boy?" She then transformed into a human while still on the floor. "Play with me, wontcha?" She smiled, pawed at her face, and winked. He rolled his eyes. "Not now, Blair. I'm really tired."
"Awh did soul-ly have a hard day today?" Soul staggered toward the kitchen and she followed. "Yes." He slammed a bowl on the counter and went to find the cereal. This alarmed Blair who responded seriously. "What's wrong?" Soul looked at her. "I'm pissed that I couldn't come home earlier. I'm tired and I'm hungry." Blair sat on the couch and watched him. "You sure that's all?" He took a seat next to her and heavily sighed. "I've been kinda stressed out lately. This whole death scythe thing has been nuts. I'm not used to all of it." He ate his cereal noisily, and she gave him an understanding look. "It happens. I'm sure other death scythes have gone through the same thing." He slurped up the rest of the milk in the bowl. "Yeah, guess I'll get used to it." He got up to put his bowl in the sink. Then Blair asked the most outrageous thing anybody could ask. "You aren't crushing on anyone are ya?" Soul about fell over. "What?! Why do you say that?" He stared at her, waiting for a reply. "Hehe, well you have been acting so strange lately and been stressed out and you ARE a teenager. I mean you just turned 17, isn't it about time you found a girlfriend? It would make sense."
"No. I told you why I was stressed." He turned to go into his room and she followed. "But you aren't always this stressed. Usually boys are stressed because of one thing: women. They seem to think they can handle everything else." Soul jumped and landed on his bed while she transformed back into a cat. "You are crazy. Women are the last thing on my mind right now." She curled up at the end of his bed. "Whatever you say, but it's just a matter of time…" He rolled over expecting her to be done with her conversation. "You know… Maka has turned out to be quite a catch these days," she continued. "Don't pretend like you haven't noticed." She was utterly delighted with herself as she said it, anxiously waiting for the reaction. "ARE YOU TRYING TO PISS ME OFF? GO TO SLEEP," Soul spat out. Not another word was said.