Kuroi Chi no Yume 6
I'm on a roll with this story! Thanks to everyone who took the time to review! You guys brighten my day :D
Oh, and to Major Session I think technically the "Oof" in that line was also supposed to be spoken by Maka so it was the same person, but looking back at that line now it does look weird. I really appreciate the time you took to critique and review my story, thanks! :)
^^^^^^CHAPTER 6^^^^^^
Despite knowing she really should go to bed and being rather tired, Maka found it impossible to fall back asleep. Part of her knew that something was really wrong with her partner, she could feel the distress coming from his soul, and another part of her really just wanted to ignore it.
He says he's fine, so I'm sure it's nothing. Maka snorted to herself. Right, because clearly nothing is wrong. I'm sure he wants to talk all about it to you considering this is all your fault…Maka sighed. She may as well forget all about sleep this night since it wouldn't be happening anytime soon. A few doors away she could make out the sounds of her partner pacing his room. Apparently the weapon was also having trouble sleeping this night. Maka rolled onto her back, staring at the ceiling.
This whole thing has turned into such a mess. And it's my fault for being so weak… A sense of apprehension washed over her and meister wondered for the umpteenth time whether this mission really was a good idea. Shoving that feeling from the forefront of her mind, Maka clenched her fist until her knuckles cracked.
Not this time! I will be stronger! I will never let that happen again…never! I will be stronger like Soul… With her resolve strengthened, Maka was surprised to find she was actually drifting off to sleep. Her peaceful slumber was interrupted far too soon by the incessant beeping of her alarm clock. With a reluctant sigh the sleepy meister hit the off button on the alarm. Stretching and yawning loudly, she swung out of her bed and trudged sleepily to the bathroom. She had planned to review the mission details on the plane but she now disregarded that idea in favor of a nap.
Even so, she thought suppressing yet another yawn, I still get the feeling today is going to be a long day…
Flying normally made Soul rather nervous for some reason. It just seemed impossible that a giant metal machine like this could defy something as absolute as gravity. Despite these normal feelings of apprehension however, he ended up falling asleep almost the moment his head hit the disposable in-flight pillow. One last conscious thought entered his head before falling into the sweet bliss of sleep.
Oh crap…I think I left the pills Medusa-Sensei gave me in my other sweater…damn…
The next thing Soul was aware of was being rudely jolted out of his surprisingly dreamless sleep.
"Wha-?" He muttered, still half asleep.
"You were seriously sleeping through that?" Maka asked incredulously from the seat next to him.
"Huh?" He turned blearily towards his meister to find her gripping the armrests with white knuckles and a face to match. He was about to ask what the big deal was when an enormous burst of light came from the small window next to Maka. Following on the heels of the giant flash of lightning was a bone-rattling clap of thunder. The plane shook and dipped perilously. Soul felt his stomach clench.
Oh crap…we're going down aren't we? Where are we? We're all going to die…!
"What's going on?" He asked, mentally patting himself on the back for keeping his voice steady.
"Bad storm," Maka answered, pausing as the plane rattled again, "it just came out of nowhere…." Soul tensed as another brilliant flash of lightning illuminated the plane's tense passengers. A deafening roar of thunder shook the scythe down to his bones. The plane suddenly dropped and Soul held his breath feeling the uncomfortable sensation of falling in his stomach. The plane leveled off again and a collective sigh of relief could be heard from all the passengers. Soul gripped his own armrests, waiting anxiously for any more flashes of lightning. The plane rocked slightly in the wind and he tensed again, but there was no sudden dropping feeling again. Even the pounding rain, which Soul had only now become aware of, was finally tapering off.
"I think we're past the worst of it…" Maka whispered softly, as if the storm outside could hear her.
"Good, I-" Soul was loudly interrupted by a blinding light from the window and a sickening screeching sound that had definitely come from the plane. Maka and Soul swapped wide-eyed looks, but before they could say anything the plane lurched wildly and tilted horribly.
"Oh God, we're going down!" Someone a few seats back screamed. And then the cabin was a cacophony of panic.
"I don't wanna die!"
"This can't be happening!"
"We're all going to die!" The hysteria was contagious and Soul could feel the panic washing over him as well. He turned to his partner who also didn't seem to be immune to the fear.
"Soul!-" Her head was bleeding from banging into the seat in front of her and ran into her eye now. Wiping the red liquid away in annoyance, she reached for his hand now, gripping with all her might. The plane spun crazily and Soul struggled to keep his stomach contents where they were supposed to be. It didn't help that someone nearby had lost the same battle. And then it was over. As suddenly as it had all began, it ended. The plane leveled out, and everyone was left grasping armrests for dear life, eyes squeezed shut, some still screaming. It took several seconds for the reality of safety to actually sink in. Soul's eyes darted around, surveying the chaos that had been caused by that horrifying moment. Luggage compartments had opened, spewing suitcases and briefcases in every direction, in some cases the carry-on bags had actually opened, littering the cabin with various items of clothing. But it was over. Soul sank into his chair with a shaky sigh of relief.
"Uh, Soul?" Maka asked from the seat next to him.
"Huh?"
"Er…" His meister glanced meaningfully at her hand which was still clutched in Soul's death grip.
"Oh," Soul released her hand, pulling his away quickly, "uh, sorry…"
"It's fine." Maka replied almost too quickly.
"Hey your forehead is still bleeding." Soul commented, changing the subject quickly.
"Oh, right." The blonde pressed her hand against the wound, wincing.
"How bad is it?" Soul asked, watching Maka's face carefully.
"Ah, it's nothing," Maka replied with a grin, "really, I get worse all the time when we're fighting, and this is really nothing."
"Let me see," Soul insisted, leaning closer now.
"No, it's really not that bad!" Maka answered firmly, pushing her partner back.
"Well then just let me see!" Soul persisted trying to pull her hand away from her forehead.
"No! Hey that hurts! OW!"
"Well if it hurts then it's not alright, is it?"
"No, it hurts because you're shoving me…"
"Then just let me see…"
"I already said its fine…"
"Then prove it…"
"I'll give you your own head injury if you want to look at one so badly…"
"Uh…are you okay, Miss?" A nervous flight attendant questioned, interrupting the argument that had evolved into Soul climbing out of his seat and pinning Maka down in an attempt to lift her hand off her head. Maka for her part was far from losing the fight however and been just about to knee her weapon in a very effective spot when the flight attendant had come. Suddenly aware that their argument had turned into quite the spectacle for the other passengers of the plane, Soul quickly climbed off Maka and slipped back into his seat, trying to ignore the barrage of stares directed their way. He could feel the back of his neck heating up.
This has to be the worst mission of all time. Hell, I'd take the mission in Italy over this… The thought nearly brought a smirk to his lips as he watched Maka assure the attendant that everything was fine. When the young attendant refused to be so easily dissuaded the meister finally accepted a towel from her to stem the bleeding.
"Are you sure you're okay?" The worried attendant asked for the millionth time.
"Well, if you have some Tylenol or something I guess that would be nice too." Maka answered, more to give the other girl something to do than anything else.
"Of course!" The attendant replied enthusiastically, "I'll see what I can do." The rest of the flight was thankfully uneventful and Soul had never been so relieved to have his feet back on solid ground.
She couldn't believe how exhausting one flight could be. After finally finding their luggage and arguing with a taxi driver that didn't speak English they had finally made it to the hotel. Her head injury hadn't made things any easier. Despite assuring everyone that it was merely a bump on the head, Maka could feel a powerful headache building. She glanced at the clock on the bedside that read 7:21. They were supposed to do reconnaissance before nightfall and look for the Kishin egg tonight. Their plane home left in two days which only gave them two nights to take out their target.
"Man, I am exhausted." Soul proclaimed, dropping the bags on the floor and flopping into the nearest double bed.
"We're supposed to do recon yet this evening." Maka reminded him. Her partner turned to her in disbelief.
"You can't be serious."
"We only have two nights-"
"Then let's worry about it tomorrow. I just want to eat and sleep, is that too much to ask?"
"We really should at least look around…" Maka attempted weakly. This was an argument she really didn't want to win anyway.
"And if we run into the Kishin? We'll never be able to defeat them like this." It was a good enough point for Maka to concede and stay in the hotel room. Room service was promptly ordered and consumed; the idea of TV was brought up but discarded in favor of turning in early after a long day. Goodnights were said, teeth brushed and lights extinguished. Almost immediately after, Maka could hear snoring from the bed next to her. Despite the exhausting day she'd had and the pounding from her head, the girl found it surprisingly difficult to fall asleep. With a start she suddenly realized how normal things had been between her and Soul today. Other than the whole near-death thing, this could have been any other day. Their conversations had come easily without the strain that had become the norm lately. The young scythe technician smiled to herself in the darkness. She couldn't believe how good it felt to be on good terms with her partner again.
Maybe he's forgiven me then… The thought lifted such a weight off her mind Maka nearly laughed with joy. With a satisfied smile on her lips, Maka finally felt her eyelids growing heavy. The soft breathing from the bed next to her lulled her closer to the peaceful slumber that beckoned from the edge of her mind. With a deep breath, Maka relinquished her consciousness to the blackness of sleep.
Just as quickly she pulled it back, viridian eyes snapping wide open.
Nooo…! Before she could properly react the window to her left shattered revealing a familiar pair of shapes. Even in the dark the young technician immediately recognized the silhouette before her from the information package that had come with their mission briefing. Standing at the foot of her bed were the twin Kishin eggs, smiles twisting their soulless faces into deadly looking curves.
So this chapter was a bit of a filler chapter, but I hope you enjoyed it anyway. Also, am I getting the characterizations right? It's one of my biggest pet peeves as a reader to find a story that's totally OOC so please let me know if I'm doing that. On that note, please feel free to leave a review on your way out:)