With the maniacal sun glaring down on Soul, Spirit, and Maka the next morning, it was hard to believe that only two days ago the roads had been ankle deep in slushy snow. Soul helped Maka onto the back of his motorbike, minding her bruised arms and legs.

"It feels good to be going home, huh?" Maka talked over the vehicle's running motor as the pair of them rumbled down the streets of Death City towards their apartment complex. Soul gave a muted nod. "You didn't go home this whole time right? I'll make some special soup when we get back, ok?"

"Don't worry about it." Soul finally spoke up, "I'll make it. You have to rest more."

"But I feel fine, seriously!" Maka poked him playfully in the back with her finger.

"No."

Maka frowned at Soul's lack of conversation, but did not press the matter as they reached their front door a few minutes later, only to be shooed off to her bedroom to await her bowl of soup. As she climbed into her bed, she pulled her blankets over her body, propped herself up on her pillows, and grabbed a book from her bedside table.

As she opened her book and stared down at the lines and lines of words however, a few tears slipped down her face without warning. She put her hand to her cheek, confused. All this time, since waking up in the hospital, she had felt a strange presence of extreme sadness clenched over her heart, but she didn't understand the cause for this overwhelming emotion. Even there in her room, she could not decipher the reason for the sobs escaping her lips.

"Maka." Soul had entered her room carrying a steaming bowl filled to the brim with an appetizing looking liquid that sat resting on a tray. Maka felt she should wipe the tears from her eyes, but knew even if she did, more would replace them anyway.

"S-Sorry, Soul, I just-I don't know why I'm like this-everything's fine…" Maka sniffed, her voice shaky as her partner sat on the edge of her bed and placed the bowl of soup on the nearby table, all the while staring her directly in the face. He remained silent, and watched the girl carefully as she asked, "Soul, I-I know I should remember on my own, but I really need to know…what happened to me?"

Soul's heart sped up, beginning to feel the pressure under his meister's steady stare. He swallowed before answering, "Let's not talk about this. You're just tired. Eat your soup and go to sleep."

"I know you know, Soul. Tell me." Maka's voice cracked, as she looked at him with bloodshot, watery eyes.

"Man, why is this so important, huh? Just figure it out yourself." He stood up to leave, turning his back on her.

"You can't keep a secret like this from your meister!" Maka shouted angrily.

Soul paid no comment and disappeared behind her bedroom door, pretending he could not hear the resumed sound of weeping now echoing in his ears. He threw himself onto his own mattress and covered his face with his arm, then turned on his radio and tweaked the volume as loud as it could go, then promptly fell asleep, exhausted from the past two nights spent worrying about his meister.

The next time Soul opened his eyes, his digital clock read 7:32 p.m. He yawned widely and rolled over so he faced the wall. All was quiet except for the low buzzing of his overhead fan. The moment was perfect, until a loud crash issued from somewhere in the apartment. He sat up, bewildered at the outbreak of noise.

"What the hell-?" Soul muttered as he made his way sluggishly from his room towards the illuminated kitchen. When he rounded the corner so he stood in the living room's threshold, he found Maka picking up shards of what had once been a glass filled with water off the floor.

"Sorry, did I wake you up?" Maka didn't look up from what she was doing, and Soul approached cautiously, minding the sharp fragments strewn across the floorboards.

"Don't worry about it." Soul shrugged, grabbing a dustpan to scoop up the larger pieces of the mess and dump them in the trash can. When he turned around again, Maka was staring at her index finger that now bore a small, bleeding cut. "Hey, be more careful, Maka." He reached for her hand, but she jerked away, almost unconsciously, continuing to gaze at the running blood that slipped down to her palm.

"I wonder…why it is that I feel this way all of a sudden…" Maka whispered, more to herself than to Soul.

"What are you talking about?" Soul frowned, nonplussed.

"Blood. It's like I'm forgetting something that happened…something important."

Soul hastily grabbed her hand and dabbed a napkin over her bloody palm, unable to meet her eyes as he then tied it around the tiny cut, "You don't have to remember yet, Maka." He muttered, "Don't try too hard."

"That's what that doctor said yesterday." Maka giggled at Soul's words. "You sounded just like her."

"Really?" Soul gave a forced smile. He still felt partially close-minded towards the woman who had nursed Maka in the hospital, not to mention called him out as mere "child".

"Anyway…" Soul sighed, replacing the lid over the trash can a few minutes later, "how are you feeling?"

"Look, I feel fine already!" Maka pouted in a half-annoyed manner. "And I don't need any more rest!" Soul bit back what he was about to say about going back to bed, and rolled his eyes.

"What do you want to do then?"

"Let's just watch some T.V. for now, until we can think of something better to do."

"If you say so…" Soul shrugged, making his way to their couch that rested before their television set.

As Soul flipped aimlessly through channel after channel, he eventually landed on a music station playing nothing but jazz instrumentals that relaxed him even deeper into the cushions. At one point, it occurred to him that Maka wasn't even remotely fond of jazz, or any kind of music for that matter. He glanced down warily at the girl, who had nestled her head against his forearm halfway through the marathon of clarinets and trumpets, before realizing that she had fallen fast asleep, her breathing almost inaudible to him.

"You big liar…" Soul muttered, looking closely at the dark circles under Maka's eyes, "You haven't slept at all…" His gaze drifted over the meister's face that bore the fresh bruises from those couple of nights ago, running a finger over the bluish blotches, as though he could heal the injuries faster with just his touch.

The phone rang out in the resounding silence, breaking Soul from his dazed state so he reached over to the table to the left of the couch.

"Yeah?" Soul spoke into the phone crudely. The voice that replied from the other end of the line was none other than Black Star, who bellowed loudly into the receiver if he and Tsubaki could come for a visit.

"Maka's asleep right now." Soul answered simply. "Call back tomorrow."

"We're already outside your door!" Black Star continued as though Soul had not spoken, and sure enough, a demanding knock sounded at the door. Soul laid Maka's head down, pushing one of the cushions under her head.

"You freaking idiot." Soul glared at the blue-haired boy that stood pompously in the doorway, Tsubaki, looking apologetic, at his side.

"Sorry, Soul, I tried to stop him but…" Tsubaki twisted her fingers together in embarrassment.

"He doesn't mind!" Black Star barged into the living room, his eyes sweeping the surroundings before landing upon Maka's huddled form on the couch. His fiery stare was put out considerably at the sight of the girl, and he turned to Soul, who had followed the boy with Tsubaki at his heels.

"Is it true, Soul?" Tsubaki whispered aloud.

"Is what true?" Soul snapped, already not liking where this conversation was going.

"About Maka, and what happened that night." Black Star filled in the blanks, his tone monotonous. Soul flinched, and clenched his hands into tight fists.

"Yeah, probably. What'd you hear?"

"That she was hurt really badly, and that she could have died." Black Star looked Soul in the eye now, turning away from the sleeping girl.

"Yeah."

"So, what's going to happen to her?"

"She'll heal…eventually." Soul explained shortly, feeling unable to travel much further into detail.

"But she doesn't remember anything, right?"

"No."

"So you're just going to sit back and watch while she ambles around in the dark, with no idea of what went on that night?"

"I have no choice."

"No choice?" Black Star's voice suddenly shook unevenly. "Asshole…" He shoved his way back toward the door, but was suddenly pinned against the wall by Soul himself.

"What do you suggest I tell her? That she was raped on the side of the street? That I wasn't by her side and couldn't save her? That the whole town knew of her situation and she, the victim, didn't have a clue?" Soul pushed away from the wall, his hands now limp by his sides as he stared Black Star down. "No. I don't think so. In fact, I'd rather never speak of it again."

"Not talking about it doesn't make it go away." Black Star hissed in his friend's face, a dark look in his eyes.

"You can't fully comprehend the magnitude of how delicate a state Maka is in right now. Don't speak of what you know nothing about!" Soul suddenly shouted, causing the girl lying on the couch to stir in her sleep. Soul glanced over his shoulder at her before pointing the house-guests to the door. "Now get out."

Tsubaki, practically dragging Black Star by the ear, managed to get a few words out before Soul proceeded to slam the door in their faces.

"Listen, Soul," She spoke quickly, as her meister was now cracking his knuckles together threateningly, "no matter how all this may turn out in the end, she'll know that you were with her every step of the way. Guiding and helping her. Don't forget that."

"I wasn't with her when it really counted though…" Soul stared, almost shamefully, at the floor, his grip tight on the door knob. Tsubaki shook her head.

"That's not true."

"What do you mean! If I had been there when it happened, Maka wouldn't have-!"

"You'll understand eventually." Tsubaki smiled kindly at the boy before nudging Black Star forcefully along the hallway. "I'll be by to visit Maka every few days. Don't worry, I won't bring him next time."


sry about that you guys! had a bit of a weirded out double chapter accident! didn't realize it, thanks 2 those who pointed it out! . i will update this weekend!