Hello ladies and gentlemen and welcome back to another chapter of "The Few, the Brave, and the Broken." I hope you all enjoy yourself and give me your thoughts on what you think at the end. Thank you.

Delaying the Inevitable

It is always surprising how many things could happen in such a short amount of time, isn't it? In one day, fights were had, forgiveness was offered, and love had been realized. All in all, quite an impressive take for the Soul Eater gang, and yet there was still a matter that had yet to be resolved. The crimes of one still had to answered for and even the forgiveness of another could not quell the distrust of the many. Crona may have forgiven Soul but things were far from over. There was still no explanation for his assault, no reason for his actions. No matter how many times the others thought about it, the answer was still a mystery. Now that Maka realized her feelings for her Crona, the truth was needed more then ever. Soul had to answer for what he done and they were going to get to the bottom of it, one way or another.

"Attention passengers, we have arrived at our destination. Please leave the plane in an orderly manner and thank you for flying Death Airlines." The stewardess announcement signaled the chance to finally get up from their seats and get this whole thing over with.

Soul would not have the luxury of running away like last time. Death the Kid was the only one who knew the location of where they had to go and Soul had been seated the furthest away from everyone which meant they would be waiting for him when he got off. There would be no where for him to run.

By the time Maka had gotten off the plane everyone was already in a group and waiting. However things got a little complicated when Maka saw Crona standing awkwardly between Tsubaki and Kid. The memories of her erotic fantasies came to mind and she blushed from embarrassment. She was in love with Crona, she knew that now, and she would have to figure out how to deal with it in addition to this other drama from Soul. Maka could only suppress a groan as this worse turn of events and prayed for things to get easier along the way.

When Crona finally saw Maka walking toward them he could feel himself immediately smile. The comfort of Kid and Tsubaki was nice and all but only Maka could make him feel at peace. Maybe it was the anti-demon wave length from her soul or maybe it was just because she was an amazing person, but Maka could always make the bad things seem a little bit better.

Though just as he was about to welcome her he noticed something strange. Her face was blushing scarlet red and her eyes didn't seem to meet his. Was Maka sick? Was she embarrassed? Oh Death, he didn't know how to deal with this!

"M-maka? Are you ok?" Crona asked timidly. Maka willed herself to finally look her friend in the eyes and saw the look of concern on his face. He was worried about her, even though he had something more important to worry about, he was more concerned about her then anything. A part of Maka felt happy knowing that she felt this way about such a kind and wonderful person. Unfortunately, that small part of her was over shadowed by the nervousness that was slowly seeping in.

"Huh? Y-yeah I'm fine. Just a little tired from the jet lag." Maka tried to laugh off her awkward behavior but the looks on Crona's face revealed that it wasn't working. She didn't need to look at the others to know it would be the same. Quickly Maka came up with a more believable excuse.

"I'm just unsure about what to do with Soul now. I mean he attacked you when we were at school and he ran away instead of telling us the truth. It's all just a bit frustrating you know?" Crona looked more sympathetic as the excuse set in. It wasn't as if she was lying per say, just not the whole truth in this exact moment.

"It's alright Maka, I'm sure Soul had his reasons to do what he did. I don't mind though, really. I just want us all to be friends again." Maka wanted to tell him that Soul needed to state his case regardless if he apologized and that while she was happy that he would be so forgiving this was something that needed to happen, but before she could, Death the Kid had decided to cut in.

"Crona, I thank you for being the bigger man in this situation here but things are a bit more complicated then that. Soul has to tell us his side of the story or else something like this could happen again." Kid placed his hand on Crona's shoulder.

"This is the best way to stop future problems from happening, alright?" Crona seemed a bit hesitant but nodded regardless.

"Alright Kid, I trust you." The reaper smiled.

"Thank you Crona and don't worry, we'll get to the bottom of this." Crona relaxed more as he heard the genuineness of Kids words and felt a bit more confident in what was about to happen. It may not have been enough to remove the stress of the situation but at least it was better then before. With his friends beside him, Crona knew he could make it through this. He just wished he didn't have to do this in the first place. Unfortunately, life just wasn't always that fair to Crona. For in one moment, all the confidence he gained from his friend's kind words had disappeared. Soul Eater Evans had left the plane.

As the albino teen made his way over to them, Patty could feel her anger begin to surface. The fact that Soul had ran off like a coward really pissed her off to no end and if Liz and Kid weren't here, she would've sucker punch him the moment he got off the plane. This whole situation just didn't make sense to her. Crona was the nicest guy she ever met and he always tried to make his friends happy. Even though he was afraid and didn't understand how to deal with things, he still tried to play along with whatever they did.

Patty started to clench her hands. It was just so fucked up with all the shit he had to put up with! First, he got attacked by his so called "friend," then listened to everyone cheer as he was getting beaten, then he protected her when she tried to fight for him so she wouldn't get hurt, didn't fight back, and still had the balls to forgive! It...it...it just wasn't right. Crona might have been strong enough to forgive Soul but Patty wasn't Crona. She wouldn't forgive so easily.

When Soul finally made his over to them nobody said a word. Kid had maintained a perfect poker face, and Crona looked like he really didn't want to be there. The girls were obviously mad and Black Star and Tsubaki were off doing something that probably wasn't going to be helpful in any way since Kid just saw them walk away not to long ago. No doubt everyone had words to say but none of them wanted to make a scene out in public. None of them of course except Black Star apparently who had decided that he needed to remind everyone that he was in fact an idiot but deciding to bother a few passing girls nearby. After deciding to ignore Black Star's antics for the moment, Death the Kid cleared his throat.

"Well then, while I'm sure everybody wants to get to the bottom of what happened, I suggest we go someplace private first so as to not make a scene. Well, an even bigger scene that is." Before anyone could question what he meant, the young death god casually motioned to the awkward scene happening across from them. The girls that Black Star had decided to annoy obviously had no interest in what he was saying and just wanted to get on with their day. He was probably bragging about how he was going to surpass god and how he was greatest star in the world, all while flexing his muscles to try and impress them. Tsubaki was, of course, trying to apologize to the girls for her meister's behavior and stop him from making things worse before they got into trouble but didn't seem like to be making much headway. Not that it did much good since everyone could see airport security come in to break it up. Honestly, It was amazing how none of them but Kid even realized they were gone but at least it relieved some of the tension in the air. Some of it at least.

"Alright but what about those two? Are we just going to leave them there or..." The group watched as Black Star turned his attention away from the girls and start to goad airport security.

"We'll get them when they're ready. For now, lets find a quite place where we can talk. If you all would follow me please." Death the Kid walked a few steps ahead of everyone before stopping.

"On second thought, maybe it's best if Soul were to stand next to me. I'd rather not have to deal with a repeat of what happened." Turing around the group noticed Soul standing a few feet away from them, making to sure to keep his distance away. Probably to avoid getting attacked by both Patty and Maka but not exactly a smart move all things considering. Death the Kid walked over and grabbed him by the arm, bringing him over to the head of everyone else while at the same time acting as barrier between him and them. Leave it to the son of death to think ahead. Though even when both boys were in front of everyone else, the young reaper refused to let go of his arm.

"Alright Kid you can let go now."

"Sorry Soul but I'm afraid I can't trust you. You already ran once and I don't want that to happen again." Soul tried to pull away from his friends grasp but the reaper refused to let go. Unless Soul used his scythe form, he wouldn't be getting away anytime soon.

"Come on man this is so not cool." Death the Kid raised an eyebrow.

"Are you sure you want me to let go?" Kid pointed to girls right behind him. Somehow seeing their angry glares made him realize the dangerous situation he was in.

"Point taken."

"Besides, I'm the only one who knows the location for this mission, so even if you did run you wouldn't get far." With a sigh of defeat Soul stopped struggling against death god's grip and submitted himself to the awkward stares from the people that passed by. It was embarrassing to be sure, however in few minutes his worrying about the opinion of random strangers was going to be the least of his problems. Though finding a quite place in crowded airport was definitely easier said then done.

"Kid, I don't think we're going to find someplace private here." Kid sighed. It seemed as if no matter where they went or where they looked there was no place to get some privacy. Not surprising since they were in an airport but still...

"Yeah, I guess it was too much to ask for things to go so smoothly."

"What do we do now?" Kid put his hand on his chin as if to be deep in thought.

"Well the best place I can imagine is the hotel we'll be staying at but that would mean having to wait for Black Star and Tsubaki." The last time everyone saw them things weren't exactly going well. Security had already been called in to deal with Black Star while Tsubaki was trying to apologize and keep them from getting detained.

"Right~" After a few moments of thinking, Kid finally came up with an idea.

"How about the girls go get Black Star and Tsubaki while Crona stays here with me and Soul? As if someone insulted her mother, Maka glared at him with an intensity that would rival Lord Death himself. It made sense that she'd take offense to his idea considering the closeness she has with Crona but when Patty and Liz started giving nasty looks as well, things really started getting uncomfortable.

"What? No way! I'm not leaving Crona here!"

"Maka just-"

"She's right Kid, what if this bastard tries to run away again?!" While the possibility of Soul succeeding in getting away did exist, the odds of it happening were still quite low. Not that Patty wasn't in the right to think such a thing after what happened.

"I'll be here the whole time Liz, trust me. Soul won't be going anywhere." Liz looked as if she was about to argue against the plan but Kid cut her off before she could.

"Plus, I think it'll be easier for you guys to make sure Black Star and Tsubaki don't end up in jail." Not exactly the nicest way to convince his friends to leave them but at least it was believable.

As the girls walked back to Black Star and Tsubaki Kid sighed in relief. Trying to convince three angry girls to give them some privacy was a bit stressful but it was important. With everybody being on edge it would only be a matter of time before another fight broke out and since they were still on a mission things would only get harder the longer this problem went unresolved. Hopefully with the girls gone, he could get some answers.

"Alright then, now that the girls are out of the way I think you should start explaining yourself." Soul looked at Kid, a sense of discomfort etched on his face. It was obvious this was unpleasant for him but if he had any chance of mitigating the back lash then he needed to have an ally. Unfortunately, Kid and Crona could only do so much being kept in the dark.

"Staying quite isn't going to make things easier Soul. If you tell us now then we can help you avoid the worst of what's about to happen but we can't help you if you don't help us." Kid was starting to get frustrated with his friends attitude. He was honestly trying to help Soul, he really was, but this continued silence was only making things worse for him. Couldn't he understand that by telling the truth he could avoid this whole problem with the girls? It seemed obvious to him that it was the best chance he had so why was he refusing to speak?!

Kid turned his attention to his pink haired friend only to see the boy holding his arm and looking at the ground. Having Soul so close was probably making the poor kid feel more uncomfortable the necessary, but if he wanted any chance of this going smoothly then they needed to understand the situation, both of them. Soul had assault on Crona, that was all he knew, that's all any of them knew but it wasn't enough. This entire incident was weighing on everyone's mind and he was afraid that it could interfere with the mission. This monster had already killed two teams of students already, one from the N.O.T class and another from the E.A.T class. Dealing with their own personal drama was the last thing they needed and the sooner they got it over with the better. He had hoped that having Crona with him would help make Soul more comfortable with telling him what happened since Crona had already forgiven him and therefor could be an a potential ally to help calm the girls down. If Crona knew the details, then him standing up for Soul would seem more legitimate to the others and it would make it easier for them to listen. It wouldn't be Crona simply forgiving Soul because he didn't like conflict but instead an actual moment of forgiveness. After that Kid could focus on helping everyone get passed this drama so they could focus on the mission at hand.

"Soul I understand if this is personal but the longer you put this off the harder it will be. Just tell us why and we can help you." The death scythe shifted uncomfortably as Kid pressed him for information. He opened his mouth to say something but thought otherwise and closed it again. It was clear Soul wanted to say something, he just couldn't do it, and something told him that he wouldn't be saying anything anytime soon. Whether it was out of pride or fear he wasn't sure but it didn't matter now. Soul made his choice.

"Fine, if that's how you want to be then I won't force you. Just remember, the others might not be as lenient as I am." Soul was unable to meet the eyes of with the death god. Was it guilt that stopped him, or cowardice? Before he could dwell on the matter further he noticed the girls coming back along with an unconscious and bloody Black Star.

"I'm guessing things didn't go so well?" Maka rolled her eyes.

"Let's just leave before things get any worse please." From behind her Kid could see a small group of security guards eyeing them cautiously. Whatever Black Star did really put them in bad standing with the airport but he'd deal with that when the time came. They had other things to worry about.

Alright, let's head to the hotels we'll be staying at and pick things up from there." With that said the group made their way to the entrance of the airport and called for the taxis that would take them to the hotel.

Holy crap that took forever. More then a year right? Sorry about that, I just had other things going for me. Things like a job, college, the destruction of my old computer, and so much more. I'm sorry that you all had to wait so long for this but I'm back and I'll TRY to post more regularly from now on; emphasis on the word "try." I've actually have written all the dialogue for the next chapter already and right now I'm writing the action to go along with it. Please comment and message me with thoughts and opinions and thank you for reading.

Peace!