Recommended Listening Music:

Blue Stahli - Regret
Emancipator - With Rainy Eyes


CHAPTER 7

Aftermath

1

It was late afternoon of the next day. Siegfried and Soul sat on chairs in the infirmary as Maka slumbered, her arm in a cast. She was indeed hurt, her arm broken in three places. The sun, which could barely stay awake, began to set; it flooded the room with a pale orange light. Soul had just finished telling Siegfried what had happened before he showed up; they were ambushed. They accepted a mission that was easy enough to complete and get back for the party; they ignored the fact that the mission was to be completed at a far-off location. Free ambushed them after the evil soul was collected and quickly incapacitated Soul and broke Maka's arm. A smart plan for such a comically challenged werewolf, Siegfried wanted to say, but he decided to keep it to himself for now; the damage was done. After the story, there was a long pause. The only sound that could be heard was Maka's light breathing as she slept. Soul broke the silence with a single word.

"Thanks."
"Hm? For what?"
"You know, for saving our asses."
Siegfried smiled wanly. "Don't mention it. You guys are comrades, it was our job to-"
"Spare me the bullshit, everyone knows why you really did it."
"Really? Why?"
"'Cause of your huge crush on Maka."
Siegfried caught his breath. "Shh! I don't want her to-"
"Relax, man, she's fast asleep."
"How did you find out?"
"Kid made the ultimate mistake of telling Captain Spaz'"
(Blackstar)
"and the word was spread just about everywhere. Maka's probably the only one who doesn't know."
"Jeez." Siegfried cleared his throat. "Since you brought it up, I've been meaning to ask you something."
"You're going to ask if Maka and I are a couple, aren't you?"
"Well... yeah. Are you?"

Soul rocked his chair back. He grinned a toothy grin, and Siegfried was hit by a flash of jealousy. He realized that regardless of Soul's answer, there was still the problem of Maka liking him. He wasn't surprised at all; Maka and Soul had been partners for a very long time and Siegfried could see how Maka would fall for him.
(The dude's got muscles while I'm flat as a board)
(He can play the piano... well, I'm good with a violin or a cello...)
There was even a moment- a quick half of a second where Siegfried actually hated Soul. If the time comes where she falls for you, then fine. I'll let it go. But you'll never love her the way I do. That's a promise.

2

Siegfried looked at Soul grinning with his chair leaning against the wall, waiting for an answer. All of a sudden Soul let out a soft chuckle.

"I can see how you would think that," he said finally, "but don't worry, we're not. Hell, we're usually at each other's throats. Not cool, as you can imagine."
"So... you're saying that if I were to try and-"
"That I would get mad? Nah, go for it. Honestly, I'd be happy if she found someone like you."
Siegfried's eyes widened at this comment and he smiled. "What do you mean by that?"
"Maka doesn't really care about her looks and stuff, but the fact that there's someone else who shares the same hobbies with her makes her happy."
"And you know this because...?"
"We were talking about you after she walked into class after lunch yesterday. She said she walked with you?"
"Yeah."
"Well, when she came back and sat down, I couldn't shut her up. She went on and on about how she was so happy that she found someone else who likes to read. She said she couldn't wait for the picnic that she scheduled with you."
"...You're not trying to bullshit me, are you?"
"I swear I'm not. You've got a good thing going here. Don't screw it up."
"Any tips?"
"Just be patient. She can be really boring sometimes."
Siegfried rested his chin on his palms and looked at Maka. "Nah. She's awesome..."

3

Siegfried had been called out of the infirmary the next day to speak with Lord Death. He asked Professor Stein what the message was, but all he had said was that it was very important. As he left, he saw Maka walking out of the EAT class. She waved with her good arm, which made Siegfried cringe inside. If I had just gotten there five minutes earlier...

Siegfried kept a smile on his face and approached her. "Hey, what's up?"
"Hi! You heading to the Death Room too?"
"Yeah. What's your reason?"
"I think I have a bit of an idea..."
"Care to fill me in?"
She gave him another cute smile, something that would remain in his head no matter how many times he would try to push it away.
"You'll find out."

4

"Siegfried! Maka! Good to see ya!" As always, Lord Death was in a very cheerful mood. "Tell me, how are you two doing today?"
"We're doing fine Lord Death," Maka replied.
"Things are just peachy," Siegfried said.
"Good, good! Now, about why I called you in here... Siegfried, I understand you've been wanting to start taking classes."
"Yeah, what about it?"
"Well, I've been doing some thinking, and I've come to a decision. You're first day begins tomorrow!"

At first Siegfried just stood there, his mouth hanging open. Lord Death cocked his head to one side. Maka elbowed Siegfried's arm and he snapped back to reality.

"Lord Death... do you mean it?"
"Of course!"
"I... I don't know how I could ever begin to thank you-"
"You can thank Maka; After all, she was the one who convinced me. After your fight with the werewolf, she thought it would be a good idea that both you and Jaxx start learning in the same classroom."
That's why she was heading to the Death Room, too, Siegfried thought.
"Now," Lord Death continued, "since you're so far behind the other students, you're going to need a lot of preparation..."

In his mind, Siegfried saw Maka inviting him over to her house to do some private studying. He saw her tutoring him, cheek-to-cheek, alone on a couch. He imagined Maka turning her head, sending a pigtail into his face and a hot blush found its way onto Siegfried's face.

"...So you're going to need some textbooks. These should cover the first few days." Lord Death broke Siegfried's illusion by handing him a tower of heavy books, which caused Siegfried to fall over. "Make sure to study up!"