Maka awoke to the view of her professor's face only inches from her own. She grinned lightly and examined his features. His silver hair gently just touched his eyes in jagged strands. His nose was smooth and short. His cheeks were a bit pale, but the center of them held a small hint of life with a pinkish tint. His lips were a brilliant soft pale pink that complemented his skin tone.
'I wonder...Can I...?'
Maka lifted herself up lightly as her heart rapidly thudded. She leaned in carefully and ever so lightly pressed her lips to his. Stein, while keeping his eyes closed, slowly lifted his arms to touch Maka's hips while he kissed her back gently. Both Stein and Maka's breathing accelerated slightly as they kissed several times.
"Mmmmm..."
Maka allowed the sound to escape through closed lips. With this, Stein broke the kiss lightly and kissed Maka's forehead.
"Thank you..." Stein murmured against her forehead as he kissed it again. Maka smiled lightly up at him.
"We have to get ready to go..." Stein said with a somewhat reluctant tone. Maka nodded and attempted to get up. Stein got up quickly and spun Maka around, grabbing her left hand and placing his right hand on her hip. Maka blushed immensely and looked up at Stein. He leaned down and laid his head on her shoulder.
"At the back of my room there's a door where you can leave through the backside of the laboratory so Marie won't see you. Go!"
He gracefully spun Maka around in the direction of the door.
"See you in class," He waved as he opened the door humming a tune.
'So much for a goodbye...' Maka thought.
'I heard that!' Stein replied. 'Our souls are still resonating and have been since yesterday. Don't worry, we'll see each other soon and I'll give you the gift that I couldn't give you yesterday. Be careful.'
Maka smiled and walked out of the back door and quickly ran to her house.
Stein walked into the kitchen and poured coffee into a stitched mug while humming a light tune.
"Hm? You seem to be in a good mood, Stein." Marie said approvingly.
Stein pondered for a moment.
"Do I?"
Maka ran as fast as her legs could carry her to the DWMA. Leaving late from Stein's and an interrogation from Soul made her late. Black Star decided to ride with Soul on his bike to school, leaving Maka without transportation. 'Damn...I can't be late...'
Stein began writing on the chalkboard the same lesson he wrote up the day before as Maka ran into the classroom. Stein casually peered over towards her.
"Ah, Maka, you cut it close. Be sure to be on-time."
Maka nodded breathlessly and sat beside Soul, who was eyeing her curiously.
"I have some news before we get started today. The DWMA has recently discovered that a powerful witch, Medusa, has come out of hiding."
The classroom fell to complete silence. Medusa was a witch who was well-known for her methods of trickery and her use of her powerful magic to manipulate and destroy people-not to mention that she also had extremely powerful followers.
"Based on past experiences, the DWMA will be bracing itself for an attack. Whether we'll be attacked or not is not the issue at hand...It's whether we'll be prepared or not. It's whether if we were taken on at this very moment, if any of you would survive or even stand a chance," Stein eerily concluded.
"Now that we're in the fighting spirit, let's all go outside and practice."
Maka wouldn't look up at Stein from her desk. Her hand tremored slightly then, she gripped it hand.
'It's okay...We can do this. We'll defeat this witch!'
~Once outside...
"Soul, Maka, Black Star, Tsubaki, Kidd, Patty, and Liz, you are all on one team. Together, you will supply the DWMA with a promising team in the effort to fight Medusa if she does ever pose as a threat to the DWMA."
They all nodded and the weapons transformed and were clenched into the meister's grasps.
Maka glanced over at Stein and he nodded in response for her to keep going. She firmly gripped Soul.
"Soul, you ready?"
"You know it!" He replied.
"Okay, everyone knows that Soul can control our wavelength better with the piano he plays-it plays the tune of all of our souls working at once. You all ready?"
Kidd nodded as Black Star yelled, "Hell Yeah!"
At once, they all commanded, "Let's go! Soul resonance!"
A fast spinning wind surrounded Kidd, Maka, and Black Star as Soul began to play the piano.
'I've got the tune, we're all good now! Let's go!' Soul said, as all of their souls became one.
Maka took a long deep breath, inhaling through her nose.
'Okay...Let's give it another try, Soul. Let's try to bring out Genie Hunter.'
'Ha, you still haven't lost your spunk. Let's go.'
Soul transformed once more, becoming the large swirling mystical scythe he was the day before. The wind kicked up once more as their soul reached their maximum power. Suddenly, Maka closed her eyes and swayed slightly.
'I feel dizzy...'
Stein's voice broke in abruptly.
'Maka, don't close your eyes. Open them and stay focused! The madness is at least weakened that way.'
She nodded in response and as she opened her eyes, she immediately became terrified. On the ground in front of her, Maka took Soul's scythe form and was gutting him in his human form, ripping out all of his organs and laying them beside his body on display. Suddenly, the Maka on the ground turned to her and gave her a wide grin before the vision evaporated.
'Maka...'
Stein saw the vision through Maka's eyes and had to brace himself.
'Maka, don't freak out. Stay calm! Please. The madness can take over so easily if you let your emotions run rampid. The madness apparently reacts strongly to the black blood Soul has...'
Tears welled up in Maka's eyes as her legs began to shake.
'I don't...I can't...'
'Maka, now!'
Stein said sternly, only sounding so to get her attention re-focused. She gulped hard and squeezed her eyes shut, the tears cascading down her cheeks.
"GENIE HUNTER!"
Maka cried out, swinging the scythe as hard as she could into the ground below her, right where the vision took place. An enormous crack rapidly ran straight from the scythe through three 30-ft. thick concrete walls and destroyed most of the trees behind it. Soul quickly transformed back into his human form, panting greatly.
"Maka! That was awesome, we nailed the Genie Hunter!"
Stein smiled and focused on Maka.
'So, the madness made them resonate better after all...With a price...'
Maka slowly got up and grinned brightly, giving Soul a triumphant thumbs-up. Black Star and Kidd were too speechless to complain they didn't get a chance to practice since their wavelengths were broken when Soul transformed back.
Stein clapped and said, "Outstanding. I think you two definitely seem prepared if we were ever threatened by Medusa."
Soul and Maka smiled back at him. Once her smile went away, Maka's eyes immediately hardened.
'What...I saw...Will I see these things every time I resonate with Soul..?'
"Oh, another announcement, I forgot to tell you. Tomorrow the DWMA is having a dance celebrating the school's 100th anniversary. Everyone is required to come, so dress up and put a bright smile on your dull faces for Lord Death."
Groans and excited giggles filled the practice field.
