Seven Deadly Sins

~Gluttony~

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Sleeping on Stein's couch was about as terrifying as Soul imagined. It didn't have to do with the tree branches tapping on the window, or the surgical supplies left out, still covered in whatever goo or fluid they had pierced into, or even the fact that random shrieks would sound in the night from whatever desolate hallway or closed door Stein decided to keep locked shut. It was the fact that the man himself would sneak up, with a silence that could match Blair's, and go digging through his hair, under his tongue, beneath his eyelids, in the darkest parts of the evening.

Stein had mentioned whatever disease Maka had contracted could be caught by anyone, so he just wanted to "ensure he was healthy". Like he couldn't have just asked that the next day.

Soul thought about just returning home to sleep as Stein kept an eye on Maka, but something kept him from leaving the house. He didn't want to go home, get comfortable. It didn't feel right, leaving Maka all alone, while she still slept in a cage and went through an experience he couldn't possibly understand.

The apartment would feel too empty, too, without her there.

So, Soul made do with the stitched couches and scratchy blankets and creeping scientists. All until yet another barbarian smashed open Stein's front door.

"You cheaters!"

"Hi, Soul."

Tsubaki and Black Star made their entrance. He could barely lift an eyelid before a blur of blue hair dazzled his face. "You knew we had a test today and made up this whole excuse, didn't you? That was my idea and you totally snagged it!"

Soul grimaced, "I didn't make it up, Maka really is sick."

"I told you Maka wouldn't lie about that, Black Star," Tsubaki said gently. "You know her and her grades."

Black Star straightened himself up, put on a thinking face. Then he grinned. "So my excuse is still useable?"

Soul threw off his sheets. He knocked Black Star out of the way and stood up just as Stein walked into the room.

"Who the hell is breaking down my door now?" he said around his morning cigarette. "Why doesn't this girl have any mannerly friends?"

"Beats me," sighed Soul.

"Can we see her? How is she doing?" Tsubaki asked.

Black Star nearly hollered. "Yeah, if it's bad enough to keep her away from her mid-term, it has to be pretty rough."

Stein came around and sank into his armchair, waving a hand. "Explaining it to you would no doubt go right over your head, and I'm tired of repeating it. Soul, if you wouldn't mind dumbing this down for them?"

He sighed. "Maka is going through the seven deadly sins again and she's basically gone crazy. She's been working out like a coked up MMA fighter since yesterday and the last thing she needs is to be faced with you, Black Star."

The ninja meister barely held back his smile. "You mean she's going all gung ho in there, right now?"

"We'll keep our distance, don't worry," Tsubaki assured. "Is she going to get better soon?"

"That's up to her."

The statement from Stein came across rather bleakly, and was another thing no one would rather explain.

"Well, we'll bring the news back to Lord Death and Kid." Tsubaki came forward to Soul and Stein and reached in her bag to pull out some books and papers. "Here's the homework she missed. I know that always makes her feel better whenever she misses school."

"Thanks, Tsubaki."

Soul took Maka's homework and set it down on the table. He looked up, and his face drained of color. "Where's Black Star?"

A crash thudded through the entire house. Soul gritted his teeth. "That dumbass!"

Everyone ran into Maka's room, the door wide open and sunlight shining through the window. Black Star sat sprawled in a heap of debris from the wall, planks of wood and plaster, and was brushing himself off. The door to the cage was cracked, and Maka was nowhere to be found.

"What the hell did you do, Black Star?" Soul yelled. He kicked his way through the room. "Where's Maka?"

"You lied to me! Again!" he retorted, "You said she was down to fight!"

"Down to—what? I told you she was sick, you moron!"

Tsubaki gave a hard slap to the back of his head as Soul ran to the window. The shades were pulled off its hinges and the glass was shattered open. There wasn't a trace of where she went past that.

"I thought she wanted a fight. I've been meaning to test myself on her since you guys became a death scythe, I didn't think she'd go all insane," Black Star insisted. "She was sleeping when I came in and then she woke up and started acting like she was starving or whatever. She said we could spar if I let her out, and she nailed me."

"Starving?" piqued Stein, suddenly very close to the boy, "What precisely did she say?"

Black Star shrugged to the crowd. "Just that she was dying in there and needed to get out. And that she needed something. It."

Soul looked to Professor Stein, with dismay. "Gluttony?"

"Appears so. Can't confirm without studying her firsthand, but that's going to have to be put on hold until we find her." He turned to face the children. "Which I will leave to all of you. I have some work here I need to finish that's important also."

"How the hell are we supposed to find her?" Soul exclaimed.

"You're her weapon. I'd assume if anyone knew, it'd be you." said Stein. He centered his glasses. "Get Kid and Liz on it, if it helps. Maka is too unstable to be out in public in her condition. She could hurt someone. I'd get on it, if I were you."

Soul hissed a curse and ran to find some clothes. Black Star rested his hands behind his head and coughed up a wicked laugh. "Don't worry Doc, when I find her, she'll gets what's comin'. She got a lucky shot."

Black Star shrieked at the harsh slap to his head again. Tsubaki scowled at him with an unnatural fury, even for her. "You keep talking like that and you'll get what's coming!"

"Any ideas on where to look?"

Soul had managed to wrangle up Kid and Liz and Patty with the group and was now at the basketball courts near town. With an even more half-hearted explanation of the problem at hand to those three, whatever hope Soul had at finding her grew dimmer and dimmer.

"Well, in Eibon's book, the gluttony chapter was all about food. We should check local restaurants, cafes, that sort of thing." Kid advised. "Black Star did say she was craving something."

Soul knew that interpretation made sense, but it didn't sit right with him. Maka was experiencing these chapters differently than the book; they were wildly personal and intense, and he had a feeling whatever gluttonous feelings Maka had, didn't include food.

But, since he had no other plans, that's what he agreed to.

Everyone split up into teams and went searching all over town, keeping an ear out for any disruptions or scenes Maka might've induced. She was incredibly overpowered and completely vapid of all thought. Two things that should definitely not be mixed together.

Soul decided to look on his own without anyone else slowing him down. He let the others search whatever eateries they wanted, but he knew better. Maka craved a lot of things, he knew what she was passionate about and all the tiny things she enjoyed. The answer was staring at him in the face and yet he couldn't see it. It was driving him mad.

What did Maka want more in her life?

Soul stopped to think. To be the best.

Right then and there, it clicked. He ran to the first window he saw and exhaled over the glass. 42-42-564 Anytime you want to knock on death's door.

The glass moved and breathed, and a familiar mask popped up, sporting a huge grin. "Soul Eater Evans!" Lord Death laughed, "What can I do ya for?"

"How easy would it be to shut down every library in the city?"

The words consumed her. She felt them when she breathed in, soaked through her pores, stuffing her to the brim. Oh, it was a frenzy. She couldn't stop.

"M-Miss Albarn," came a voice. Maka turned to look at the librarian, crouched behind her, sweating as the looming shadow of her scythe threatened him from above. She had him trapped, brought under her wings, so to speak. Books were piled around her, papers thrown, some shredded even, when they didn't give her what she wanted.

"I know this isn't all you have on them," Maka said, turning to him. She threw the book down at him as he shielded himself with his arms. "Show me where the rest of it is!"

"That's everything I can show you, you're still only rank 3 according to Lord Death..." the Librarian attempted to explain. He began to sweat at the look Maka was giving him. "B-But I'm sure I can find something. What exactly are you looking for?"

The way Maka approached him was entirely unhuman. The winged scythes protruding from her back flanked the poor man, her chest still only covered by a sports bra, skin sheen with sweat, eyes gaping holes of a demonic madness unknown to man. She bent down to bring herself close to the man.

"Witches," she whispered. Her nails grabbed his jaw, forced their gaze to meet as her eyes lidded ravenously. They were the foundation to everything, everything in the world. And she wanted to know it all.

Soul thought it was too obvious for her to go to the DWMA library, but it appeared even in this state, Maka was beyond caring about who would find her. The teams had met and split again, this time heading to all the libraries across town that Lord Death had kindly shut down in a state of a small emergency. The only one who didn't reply to the issued statement was the school's library. Both a good, and very ominous sign.

Soul had never stepped foot into the school's library before, except for the times all those years ago he would get detention and be sent here against his will. Despite his time away, he surely knew that no library would ever look as it did here.

It was like a tornado had come through it. The shelves were knocked over, massive piles of books laid around, torn to pieces—it looked post-apocalyptic. Whatever urge Soul had to call out Maka's name died peacefully on his tongue.

The lights were out, all except one. On the second level, near the corner of the restricted section. Soul stealthily made his way up the stairs, noticing the lack of any work personnel, and prayed he wasn't about to get his ass handed to him again doing this.

Down, behind stacks of leatherbound, ancient novels, Maka sat. Crouched, worn, breathing. The scythes that tore through her back, stretching her skin, had caged in the Librarian, who had nearly cried out with relief as he saw Soul.

"Maka?" he called.

She didn't move. He inched closer.

"Maka, what are you doing here?"

A page flipped. He was close enough to feel her soul; gods it was huge. It was suffocating, panting, getting bigger and bigger.

"This is all bullshit!" she yelled suddenly. She threw the book in her hand and smashed it against the wall. Her back hunched over as she buried her face in her hands, and the Librarians cage became smaller. "All of these books say the same thing, over and over and over, it's useless. Pathetic. How did we possibly defeat witches knowing this little about them?" Her hands were clasped on her pigtails, until the rubber bands finally fell through. She yelled out again in frustration and began clawing through books around her, "One of these has to have something useful."

Soul allowed himself to come sit down beside her. It was like she didn't even know he was there. He recognized that look in her eye—drained, lifeless, consumed with something other. She was completely losing it and he couldn't do a damn thing.

"Maka, Maka!" he called. He grabbed her hand from reaching for another book, "Can you cut it out already! Just slow down for a minute?"

Soul hadn't meant to raise his voice, but it slipped out. Anger was the last thing anyone in the room needed, and he understood that fully when Maka tore her hand back. It was in one frightening motion that that same hand came to clasp around his neck, pushing him back against the bookcases that lined the walls. It was animalistic, how she moved. She was completely gone of any self-control.

"What do you know?" she uttered, warily. She brought her face close to his, as if trying to shatter him with one look. "What don't you want me finding out? Tell me."

Gulps of dark energy poured out of her. Soul could barely breathe, but he kept his head on. He thought furiously of what to say. "I...can't..."

"You do know something," she gasped. She shifted quickly, releasing the Librarian from his scythe-prison to turn and point them right at Soul. The man whimpered and scurried away. The hand that cupped Soul's neck turned nearly gentle, harsh but firm, as it came to brush along his cheek. Her thumb drew circles on his skin. "You have to tell me what it is."

Do not indulge her, Stein's words rang bells in Soul's mind. He couldn't tell her what she wanted, but perhaps he could stall long enough for her spell to end.

"I told you, I can't," he breathed.

Fury flared in her eyes, but her hand only tightened slightly. She gripped his jaw, nails digging into flesh. "And why is that?"

"I know it's totally uncool of me, but," he suffered through a small smile, "I think I forgot."

Maka blinked. She was overtaken in a hostile, childish confusion. "What? How do you forget?"

Soul felt her hand leave his neck and relaxed against the wall. He gulped in as much air as he could. "I don't know. You know me, always forgetting stuff. It's why I do so bad in school."

Maka couldn't make sense of left and right. Slowly, without notice, her scythes began to retract. "But—But how will I know—if you can't remember, then—" She began looking around frantically, digging through books and papers. "I'll never know it, I'll never—"

Suddenly, she whipped around. On all fours, she climbed back over to Soul, desperate. "You have to remember! What was it about? The topic, the author, anything?"

Soul couldn't hide the smile that curled on his lips. He only shrugged. "Sorry, no idea."

"But—! But..." Maka's breath caught. She coughed. She attempted a few more words, but they dried out in her throat.

Soul's smile slowly dropped as it worsened and she began gasping for air. Maka collapsed on top of him, her voice raw, hands panicked as they grasped onto him for help.

"Maka?" Soul's voice cracked as he pulled her to the ground. Her muscles tensed viciously beneath him and she squirmed like every bit of her skin were on fire. The hand that once grasped Soul's neck was now clenching her chest.

Tears pricked her eyes. She exhaled, painfully, and for one terrifying moment Maka was back to normal, and all the fear and confusion and the horror of it all shone through. A shining second and she was just Maka, unaware and scared and knowing that this nightmare was nowhere near finished.

It lasted a second. The light faded and her eyes sunk, further and further down until her body stilled. Her eyes fluttered to a close.

"Maka?" Soul breathed. She didn't move. His heart lurched at what this felt like. He knew it had happened before, but this time felt different. She had never looked at him like that, so...hopelessly. Had she been aware of herself this entire time? Her actions, her words, all said and done by a force that wasn't her own?

And here he was, smiling at her as if it were a game he had to play. Jeez, he couldn't be more of a dick if he tried. So uncool.

Soul brought his ear to her chest. The thumping brought a great deal of relief to him. She had her hand still clenched in his shirt, still rigid and frightened, but she was sound asleep now. Maybe she could rest peacefully, for a while, until she woke again.

Soul unclenched her hand and laid it on her lap. He pulled his T-shirt over his head and put it on Maka for her. If she knew how long she'd be out and about without a shirt on, she might just implode once she got better.

Soul picked her up to bring her back to Stein's. Maybe he could convince him to give her a bed this time. He started his trek down the staircase of the library and heard a moan come from his arms.

Soul stopped fully when he heard her laugh, a deep and raunchy tune. He looked down to Maka staring up at him, already awake. It hadn't even been a few minutes.

Soul felt her weight shift and body turn and before he knew it, his legs were being swept from under him. He crashed on his shoulder and fell down the rest of the stairs, landing in a heap of sharp-angled books and wooden flooring. He gasped of pain, stars exploding behind his eyes.

"Oh, poor baby," Maka sneered from the stairs above. Her grin grew wide and long, and twice as wicked. "Did lil ol' me scare the big, bad, death scythe?"

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Listen...I know it's been years and no one cares about this now, but I had an urge to write this haha. Enjoy!