Hey guys, sorry that the previous chapter was so short. This one's longer and more stuff happens. :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Walmart


Chapter 7: Trust


"Maka!"

Soul rushed forward, shoving screaming students out of the way. Sunlight bled through the wound in the ceiling and intermingled with the newly created dust, forming a smoky haze that irritated his lungs. Soul coughed as he breathed in sawdust and particles of concrete.

"Maka!" Soul cried again as he reached the pile of fallen rubble.

There was no reply.

Soul cursed and began tearing rocks off of the pile. The screams began to fade away as the crowds dispersed. Soul was the only one left.

"Maka! Answer me!"

He heard a muffled voice from within the rubble.

"Maka!"

Soul tore furiously at the concrete rubble to reach her. The cries became louder with every piece removed. Soul hefted a massive piece of concrete with all his might and threw it to the side. Something underneath moved.

"Ma-"

Soul stopped. It wasn't her.

A girl struggled out of the rubble, surprisingly with few bruises. She winced and then looked at her savior.

"Thank you so much!" she cried.

Soul only cursed and continued digging. The girl was startled by this.

"What are you doing?" she exclaimed.

"Go to Lord Death's room!" Soul shouted at her.

"Wait, but you-"

"Now!"

She yelped and took off. Soul cursed again and dug at the rubble with renewed vigor. He cut his hand badly on something but he didn't care. He continued to tear ravenously at the pile as if it were his worst enemy. Block after block rolled off, stained with his blood. At last, he saw something familiar.

A black coat.

"Maka!" Soul called, tearing what little pieces remained on his meister's body.

Thankfully, she wasn't too hurt. Two large slabs of concrete had fallen against one another so that a triangular pocket was created underneath. This sheltered her from most of the fallen debris. Soul carefully dragged his meister out and checked her pulse. There was a steady heartbeat. Soul breathed a sigh of relief.

Then another explosion shook the building, throwing Soul onto the ground.

He cursed and got back up, hefting his meister onto his back. Another explosion resounded, this time much closer. Soul stumbled and began to run.


Her head throbbed.

It hurt.

The pain danced in her mind, prodding her with its hot iron. It burned on as she drifted between sleep and reality. Slowly, she floated towards consciousness.

Where am I…

She struggled towards the surface- struggled against the pain. She fought the hands that grabbed her and threatened to pull her back down.

Help… me…

The first thing she noticed was the warmth. It was comforting and it soothed the pain in her head. Then her brain began to register the constant movement, and the hands that grasped her legs. Her eyes slowly peeled open. She was… being carried…

Who?

Her gaze drifted upwards, and she saw a familiar tuft of white hair.

"Soul…?" Maka managed feebly.

It was her weapon. Panting and running with her on his back.

"It's alright, Maka," he said. "It's alright, you're safe."

Maka opened her mouth to speak but found it impossibly difficult. She didn't even have enough energy to scream when the wall next to them exploded. Soul stumbled but kept on running.

"Where… are we going…"

"Someplace safe. Don't worry."

"Soul…"

"Trust me, Maka. Everything's alright."

Another explosion.

Trust him…

She was afraid. She was terrified. Her life was in danger, and there was nothing she could do about it. She didn't even have the strength to keep her eyes open. Her life was completely in her partner's hands. She had never felt this out of control before.

Trust him…

Soul stumbled again, but kept on running. Maka's eyes fluttered as unconsciousness began to take her once more. She tried to fight it- to stay awake. She had to. She had to.

Because-

Because if she drifted away-

If she lost control of the situation-

She could die.

If she fell asleep, she could die.

"Everything's gonna be alright, Maka. Everything's gonna be alright."

Trust… Soul…

And as deathly sleep approached, she realized what trust truly was. Trust did not mean living with the person. It did not mean being partners with him. Those facts meant nothing at all.

Trust him with your life…

And as it dawned on her what it truly meant, she found that in all her years, she had never trusted someone before. Not one single person. Not even the parents that she lived with. Because trust meant something different. It meant putting her life in his hands. It meant letting go, and believing completely that he'd be there to catch her. It meant giving him the power to break her, and hoping he would never use it.

Could she do it? Could she trust him? A boy?

His voice rumbled from in front of her. The words were barely coherent through his back. She struggled to listen in her hazy state.

"Everything's going to be alright. Trust me, Maka."

And that was all it took. She let her eyes close.

I trust you, Soul…

Another blast shook the building, and Soul fell.


Soul's head hit the ground with a crack. He cried out and lost his grip on his meister. For a moment, he lay there, dazed, but then quickly shook himself out of it.

"Maka?" he cried, looking to see if she was hurt. She lay beside him, unmoving. Soul cursed and moved to pick her up again, but before he could do so, he heard a cackle behind him. Soul whirled around. A witch approached him, wielding a broomstick.

"She's dead," the witch laughed.

"No she's not!" Soul shouted.

"Oh? Well, now she is," the witch smirked, pointing a sharp-nailed finger at Maka. Soul cursed and grabbed his limp meister. A blinding light flared from the pointed finger and flew towards the defenseless girl. Soul gripped Maka by her arms and leapt to the side with all his might. The ground exploded where he had been only moments earlier. The force of the blast, however, knocked Soul over. He gritted his teeth as he hit the floor, wrapping his arms around his meister to cushion her fall. For a brief moment, he lost consciousness, but quickly came to. The witch was readying another attack. Soul didn't have enough strength to get Maka away in time. He crawled out from underneath his partner and leapt to his feet, transforming his arm into a blade.

The pointed finger glowed white hot as Soul placed himself between the impending attack and his meister. Another flash of light speared from the finger. Soul took the brunt of the blow with his blade, but the ensuing explosion threw him against the wall. He collided with the hard surface with a thud and coughed up blood as he felt several of his ribs break. The pain screamed in his head and his eyes fluttered as he struggled to remain conscious. But it was no use even if he stayed awake. He didn't have enough strength to stand. He knew it, and the witch knew it too. She cackled maniacally as she took deliberate, taunting, slowness to raise her hand and point her finger at Maka.

No! Soul thought, cursing his own weakness.

Move, dammit!

He tried to pull his legs underneath him, but slumped back down. The hand rose with agonizingly slow motion.

God dammit! Move, Soul Eater!

The witch giggled as she watched his futile efforts.

"I'm getting ready," she taunted. "Closer and closer!"

Then she broke out into fits of sadistic laughter. Her arm rose further. It was pointing at Maka now.

No, no, no, NO!

"Time's up," the witch smiled evilly. The finger began to glow, burning in an intoxicating color.

No!

The witch cried out in pain. Immediately, the blinding light vanished. Soul's eyes readjusted to the sudden lack of light and found with utter surprise who their saviors were.

"Get back, you bitch!" the fat meister yelled.

"Yeah! Get back!" the club echoed.

The witch snarled and turned to face her new foes.

"Foolish children," she hissed. Then she fired a bolt of light from her finger. The club blocked it, but both of the upperclassmen were thrown back. The fat pig recovered after a moment and threw himself back at the witch. Soul struggled to shift his weight onto his legs as the battle continued. He gritted his teeth as pain lanced up his side. The club meister fell down next to Soul.

"We can handle it from here," the fat boy said, recovering to his feet. "You can rest."

"Oh hell no," Soul shot back. "It's already uncool enough that you two are saving me."

"Fine," the fat boy replied.

The two struggled to their feet and readied to attack. The witch spoke a syllable, and in an instant, the three students were blown back by an invisible force. Soul hit the ground hard, wincing in pain. Unconsciousness threatened to overwhelm him. He began to see darkness at the corner of his eyes. He could barely register what he was seeing as his eyes lolled about. The fat pig and the club were out cold. The witch's hand was raised, her finger pointed at Maka. The finger glowed once more.

No!

A strength that he did not possess before pulled him to his feet. He took one step.

Two-

He had to make it in time-

The finger glowed brighter-

Another step-

Brighter-

Soul lurched forward, but he was still yards away. The light illuminated their surroundings, blinding Soul.

No…

Brighter-

No!

In a flash, it was over. The witch screamed and fell to the ground.

"What…?" Soul breathed. From the smoke came a voice.

"That's enough."

The witch gasped when she saw who it was.

"L-lord Death!" she cried.

"You made the wrong decision coming here," the grim reaper said, more furious than Soul had ever seen him before. "But before I destroy you, you are going to tell me exactly why you attacked this place."

At this, the crazed witch only screeched with laughter.

"Just you wait! I will release the kishin!" she screamed.

Thunder struck, and the witch was no more. In her place floated a glowing soul.

In an instant… Soul thought with wonder, sinking to his knees. Lord Death turned to face him, the fury from before seemingly vanished without a trace.

"You did well, lasting for this long," he said soothingly. "You're safe now. The witch is dead."

Soul breathed a sigh of relief as his last vestiges of energy left him. He was out cold before his head hit the floor.


Maka awoke to the sound of an irritating beeping.

She looked around slowly. She was in a peaceful white room illuminated by soft sunlight that streamed through a window to her left. She was lying on a white bed with white sheets. On her arm was a wire attached to a machine that beeped at a steady pace. Beside her were rows of empty beds. She was alone.

The infirmary?

Memories of the events of before came flooding back.

Calling his name-

The ceiling falling-

And him carrying her-

Telling her everything was okay-

And then falling-

Falling-

Falling...

What happened? Where is everybody? Maka thought. She began to panic.

Is everyone okay?

Then she noticed Soul. Maka yelped, because her weapon was sleeping right next to her. He was sitting on a chair next to her bed and his head rested next to her arm. An IV attached his arm to a stand by the empty bed next to hers, the covers tossed about carelessly. At the sound of her voice, Soul stirred, but did not wake.

"It's okay… Maka…" he murmured. "Safe…"

Maka couldn't help but giggle. Soul was all cool this and cool that but he could be so cute when he slept…

Until he started drooling.

"Ew, Soul!"

WHAM!

Soul groaned sleepily.

"Oh, you're awake?" he asked, rubbing his eyes. "How are you feeling?"

"Soul, stop drooling on my bed!" Maka cried, hitting her partner again.

"Ow! Feeling fine, I see."

"I was fine until you started drooling!"

"Damn. That's uncool."

Soul sat up, wincing as he did so. Maka noticed her partner clutch his side in pain. She immediately felt concern for him.

"Soul, are you alright?" she asked fearfully. Had she hit him too hard? She shouldn't have hit him in the first place. All he did was drool in his sleep.

"I'm okay. It's just a couple broken ribs," he said.

"What?! Soul, I'm so sorry-"

BAM!

The door swung open with a crack and in jumped Black Star.

"Soul! Maka! Are you guys alright?" the blue-haired ball of energy shouted. "Your god is here for you!"

He tackled Soul from behind. Soul cried out in pain.

"Black Star! You're hurting him!" Maka exclaimed. Tsubaki rushed into the room looking worried.

"I'm so sorry!" she cried. But she was too late.

"Maka chop!"

The infirmary had another patient.

"I'm sorry," Tsubaki apologized again. "Black Star was just really worried that you and Soul were injured."

"Wait… Soul, how did you break your ribs?" Maka asked.

"You don't know what happened?" Tsubaki asked, surprised.

"She just woke up a minute ago," Soul explained.

"Oh," Tsubaki said, then smiled at Maka. "He fought off a witch until Lord Death came to the rescue."

Maka's eyes widened as she turned to look at Soul with wonder.

He blushed and turned away.

"You fought a witch?" Maka exclaimed.

"It wasn't as cool as it sounds. I was barely surviving, and I had help too," Soul mumbled.

"Help? Who?" Maka inquired.

"That's the uncool part," Soul sighed. "It was those two upperclassmen that attacked you."

Maka sat there, surprised, for a moment.

"Some upperclassmen attacked Maka?" Tsubaki asked.

"Yeah," Soul answered.

"Why?"

"Something about her father molesting their girlfriends-"

The door suddenly swung open. A distraught nurse entered and saw Tsubaki and Black Star.

"Please stop disturbing the patients," she said. "They need rest."

"Oh, I'm very sorry!" Tsubaki exclaimed. She quickly dragged her unconscious meister out of the room. The nurse turned once they were gone.

"Soul! What are you doing out of your bed?" she exclaimed. "You're still wounded!"

Soul opened his mouth to protest but the nurse would have none of it.

"Get back in bed now!"

Soul grumbled and did as he was told.

"I can't believe you," the nurse sighed, shaking her head. "We've already moved you to the bed right next to hers. How much closer do you want to get?"

Soul's face turned red.

"It's not like that!" he sputtered. "She's my meister!"

"Whatever. Just don't get out of your bed until your bones have fully healed, except when you need to go to the restroom. Then you call for one of us to bring you a wheelchair."

The nurse replaced Soul's IV drip with a newer one and then turned to face Maka.

"Maka, you had a minor concussion and some bruises on your back," she said. "You're fine, now, but we'll keep you in the infirmary for another day just to make sure everything's okay. Is that alright with you?"

Maka nodded.

"Yes ma'am," she answered.

"Good. Is there anything that you need?"

Maka glanced at Soul questioningly. He shook his head.

"Nothing, ma'am."

"Alright, then. I'll bring you two breakfast. Don't try anything funny while I'm gone, Soul," the nurse warned.

"Hey! I said it's not like that!" Soul shouted, but the nurse was already out the door. Soul was as red as a tomato.

"Damn," he muttered. "So uncool."

Maka giggled. Soul frowned at her.

"Hey Soul."

"Yeah?"

"Thanks… for protecting me."

"Whatever."

Soul turned away, still blushing. Maka giggled again. Her partner looked so adorable when he tried to keep his cool act together despite it all falling apart. She couldn't help but laugh at his predicament, at which his blush only grew deeper.

And as the bubbly sounds of joy escaped her, Maka felt a happiness that she hadn't felt in a long time, because here, at last, she had found someone she could truly trust.

You can stop trying, Soul. You're already the coolest partner in the world.

"Stop giggling, Tiny Tits."

Never mind.

"Maka chop!"


There you go. I said there would be mild fluff. Well, this is about as fluffy as it gets.

And it took Soul seven days to do it, but he finally has Maka's trust. XD