Chapter 8 – Kiss It Better


Soul yawned as he waved bye to Black Star, who in his opinion, was way to chipper for 5AM. He stretched his arms out above his head, they gave a satisfying 'pop' and he smiled as he made his way to the other side of the base. He'd never really been on this side of the base before, since it was where the hand to hand was always held.

He rounded another corner and there it was. A large metal building, seemingly like all the rest. Camo painted with a white skull painted next to the door, beneath it in white paint and big block army lettering was 'Training Room'. Looking closely beneath that someone had scratched into the paint 'Colonel Albarn's Dojo of Pain'. Soul smirked as he pushed through the doors.

There were about four of the soldiers Soul had graduated with, but what surprised him was the Major and Sergeant Major were there. Tsubaki, noticing him, waved him over with a smile on her face. He smiled back; there was just something... Sweet and motherly almost, about the bases resident nurse that made you smile.

"Good morning, Soul." He grinned. "Good morning Major..." He turned and saw Patty looking at him eyes narrowed. "Uh...good morning to you too Sergeant Major." He gave a nervous smile. She grinned. "Mornin' Corporal!" She sang.

Tsubaki perked up. "That's right, you were promoted, congratulations Soul!" He continued to smile; he couldn't help how he stood a little taller and a little straighter at the mention of his new rank. "Thanks, hey, where's the Colonel?" His eyes wandered the building. There were large square mats spread out across the room. The walls were lined with training equipment of all sorts. He even noticed some weapons on the walls. Nothing deadly. Wooden staffs, swords and the like.

Tsubaki gave a noncommittal shrug. "Were all early, but she'll be here right on the dot." She gave a small smile. Soul watched the soft spoken Major for a moment. He now understood in part why she had such high respect for the younger women. He would probably feel quite grateful to someone who took a bullet for him too.

Right as the clock read 5:30 the door swung open and Maka strode through the doors. One glance and Soul quickly noticed a change in her appearance. She wore the same boots, the legs of her camo pants tucked inside her boots, a sandy colored camo shirt tucked into her pants and a dark green belt cinched around her small waist. She was however minus her ever present hat and her signature pigtails were gone, replaced with a high and tight ponytail, and a pair of black fingerless gloves covered her hands.

"Alright time to get to work. We'll start with the basics for today. Everyone pair up." With only 8 people in the training room it was only a minute before Soul found himself as the only person without a partner. He looked back up at his CO who smirked before beckoning him over with a finger. He gulped before making his way to the center mat. He could hear Patty giggling, probably at him.

"It looks like you'll be my partner for your hand to hand, Soul." He swallowed the hard lump in his throat. This didn't seem like something he was gonna have much fun with.

Tsubaki gave a sad shake of her head. "Poor Soul, what a way to get broken into hand to hand combat..." Patty laughed. "She won't kill him, and if she does then he just wasn't tough enough." Tsubaki sighed as Patty laughed. She had the sinking suspicion she might be seeing Soul in her infirmary sometime soon.

"Alright, first off we'll start with basic attack and defense, pay attention!"

Soul gulped as she stared hard at the other newbies before turning her stone hard eyes on him. He stiffened. "Alright, Corporal, I'm going to attack you, I want you to fend me off best you can." Staring into her eyes, like green steel he felt his own resolve harden. He gave a sharp nod mimicking her stance and holding up his hands, palms open to try and catch or block whatever she was about to throw at him. She smirked at him, dark green eyes sparking and he faltered.

There was a flash of movement; he only just managed to bring his arms together to stop the kick to his gut. He cringed at the sting in his arms, but he didn't have time to worry about that as the same leg he had just blocked swung down, kicking his feet out from under him. His back met the mat with a loud 'smack'.

"Ugh. Did anyone see the truck that just hit me?" he mumbled quietly to himself. Maka smiled as she offered him her hand. He took it and she pulled him up. "Alright, those are the basic leg attacks were going to learn today, now I'll teach you how to block against them and you'll practice on each other.

"Alright Eater, attack me." After his trip to the mat you didn't have to tell him twice, almost as quick as Maka his knee rose to his chest and his foot shot out toward her midsection. Her arms crossed in front of her stomach blocking the kick. Reeling his foot back he let the momentum carry it down to try and sweep her legs out from under her. She side stepped him and the momentum carried him around, her leg flung out knocking his only grounded foot out from under him.

He landed flat on his back once more and groaned. He rolled over onto his stomach with a groan as she spoke to everyone in the room. "And that is how you counter attack." Soul drug himself to his knees. "Any questions?" She asked. There were, of course, none. "Alright, now practice that." Soul got himself to his feet and turned back to her. She cracked her knuckles and held up her fists. Now he knew, whoever had scratched 'Dojo of pain' out front hadn't been kidding.


"Ow, Ow!" Tsubaki mumbled 'sorry' as she applied the salve to Soul's busted lip. She pulled back inspecting the large split. "There... All done; now you just have to wait for it to heal." Soul nodded rubbing the section of his mouth that still stung but had no salve on it. Maka threw one hard punch. That was damn sure, and it had been an accident. He knew he was blushing as he thought about the moment his foot had snagged on the mat causing him to trip just as Maka was throwing a punch at his chest that wasn't meant too really do damage except as he tripped his mouth was where his chest had been.

He moved his jaw around experimentally. He was sore, but nothing seemed to be broke or out of place. Just as Tsubaki put away the salve Kidd stuck his head inside the infirmary door. "Tsubaki, it's Black Star again... He's had another... Accident..." With that he disappeared.

Tsubaki shook her head with a slight giggle. "Not many days go by that he doesn't have an accident." She turned back to him. "Whenever you're ready you can go." He nodded with a grateful smile. She picked up her medical bag and left. Soul got off the stool he'd been seated on picked up his hat. He turned at looked at himself in the mirror, his jaw looked to be swelling, and he'd just have to put some ice or something on it.

The infirmary doors opened and Maka walked through them. Looking around till she saw him. "Soul!" Despite the fact that not half an hour ago she had decked him in the jaw and dropped him to the mat he couldn't help but grin when she called his name. Though it hurt a bit to move his mouth.

"How's your mouth?" She was looking at it even as she asked. "Not bad, sore but not that bad." It didn't look like she believed him. "It's swollen..." He shrugged, eyes shifting away from hers. "A little." She grabbed his hand and pulled him behind her. "Come with me." He stared at her in a stupor as she dragged him along toward the mess hall. They went through the back door straight into the kitchen. Liz was nowhere to be found.

She finally let go of his hand and flipped the lid up on a one of the freezers in the kitchen, she dug around before pulling out as white plastic bag of peas. "Here." She pressed it to his jaw. "Keep that pressed onto it and the swelling should go down soon." His hand covered hers over the bag, holding it in place as she slipped her hand out from under his.

"Thanks." he mumbled, moving it to where it was the sorest. She nodded. "You wouldn't need it if I hadn't socked you." She looked away from him. He watched her quietly for a moment before responding. She looked almost guilty.

"Well, it is hand to hand combat..." He mumbled behind the bag of frozen peas. "I wasn't supposed to bust your lip open though, especially on day one." He smirked, but grimaced as it pulled at the split in his lip. "You wouldn't have if I hadn't tripped." He chuckled as he moved the bag around.

"Still..." He cut her off. "Maka, don't worry about it. It was an accident." He smiled, the twitch in his eyes betraying the pain the simple expression gave him. She looked like she wanted to say something, but stopped herself, her half lidded gaze seemed too look past him before turning away from him, nodding. "Well, were all done for today. I'll see you in the morning." She walked toward the door quickly.

"Maka..." He called but the door was already swinging shut. He frowned, ruby orbs staring after her. "I need to cook those tonight so put 'em back when you're done."

He looked up and out of nowhere Liz was standing at the large stove in the kitchen. Grinning at him over her shoulder, cigarette hanging on her lips per her usual.

"How long have you been there?" He demanded. She shrugged, turning back to the stove. "A while, not long, who am I to decide the relativity of time?" He scowled at the ambiguous answer. "But forget about me, what happened to you?" She hopped onto the counter next to him, taking a long drag, waiting for an explanation.

He snorted. "I became acquainted with the Colonel's fist, but it was an accident. She gave me these." He motioned to the frozen vegetables. Liz looked skeptical. "Are we talking about the same Colonel?" She asked. "Colonel Albarn...about this tall, pigtails, green eyes?" Soul rolled his eyes. "Yea, yea. That Colonel..." He grumbled. "I find that hard to believe..." She mumbled blowing out a cloud of smoke.

Soul watched her curiously. "Why?" She shrugged. "The Colonel is kinda like Patty in that regard; she'll kick your ass and tell you to stop whining about all the blood." She barked out a laugh. Soul blinked. That didn't really sound like the Maka he'd come to know.

She stubbed her cigarette out in the sink before slinging a dish towel over her shoulder. "Honestly though, she's been acting kinda weird lately, not as harsh as she was before, which is weird considering the competition this year..." She seemed to be mumbling to herself as she walked through the doors out to the dining area. Soul watched her go quietly.

'Competition? What was she talking about?"

He pulled the peas away and touched his jaw gently. It felt like the swelling had gone down some. He dropped the peas back into the freezer before walking out of the mess hall and shoving his hands into his pockets. As soon as the feeling returned to his jaw it was gonna hurt like hell. He suppressed the scowl that tried to rise onto his face, best to try not and move it to much.

He walked in silence back to the barracks, she said they were finished for the day, no reason to stand outside in the heat or go back to the 'Dojo of pain'. He yawned shedding his hat and jacket the second he got to his bunk. He threw them down and lay on his bunk. He spent the next few hours dozing in and out of sleep. Only to be woken up by Black Star.

"Soul! Get up!" Soul screamed rolling off his bed. He curled into a ball, growling. "Damnit Black Star, you asshole." He grumbled under his breath. He sat up and rubbed his head, flicking his white bangs out off his eyes as he glared up at Black Star who stood over him grinning. "Dinner time!" He cheered, fists pumped into the air. Soul rolled his eyes tiredly. "Ugh... Right." He grumbled standing up and pulling on his jacket and cap.

He and Black Star walked out of the barracks toward the mess hall. Black Star talking animatedly the whole way. Soul only stared ahead of him. When he finally noticed it was quiet he turned to see Black Star looking at him.

"What?" He asked irritated by the sudden attention. "What happened to you?" Black Star asked, indicating his mouth, which now sported a large black bruise in the shape of a fist. Soul couldn't help but blush. "I got punched." He grumbled, clearly not wanting too talk about it. Black Star didn't catch the hint. "Was it a really big dude in your hand to hand class?" He asked excitedly. Soul looked away cheeks flaring up. "Uh...not exactly...it was the Colonel." Black Star stared wide eyed at him, mouth hanging open. Soul scowled, before speeding up and into the mess hall away from Black Star. He grabbed a tray and stepped into line quickly. He sighed in relief when a few people got in line right after him separating himself from Black Star.

The line moved agonizingly slow. Soul sighed. "Soul..." Red eyes jerked up from the empty tray. He glanced around, spotting the spiked up blue hair of his friend. He frowned as Black Star leaned over to be seen. "Psst! Soul." He whispered loudly. Soul ignored him. Moving up in the line.

"Hey, Soul." He was talking normally now. He rolled his eyes, continuing to ignore him as he got to Liz, who smiled at him, then frowned as Black Star called out again. "Soul!" He was starting to shout.

"I could be wrong... But I think Star is trying to get your attention Soul." He grumbled under his breath. "I know..." He threw over his shoulder as he went to sit down. He looked around quickly before spotting Tsubaki waving him over to the officers table. He smiled. Black Star couldn't follow him there.

He set his tray down, Tsubaki smiling at him. "Hi Soul, how is your mouth?" She asked, looking truly concerned. He sat next to her. Patty sat next to her, Chrona and Ragnarok sat across from him one poking at his food and the other shoveling it down by the handful, respectively. "It's pretty sore, but I think I'll live." He smiled. Tsubaki returned it. "That's good." Next to her Patty giggled. "The Colonel clocked you good, Eater" Across the table Ragnarok looked up and snorted. "That definitely looks like the Colonel's work." He grunted. Chrona looked up at him.

"Didn't she do that to you, but to your eye?" He asked quietly. The other man scowled and started rubbing his knuckles into the sides of Chrona's head. "What'cha say, you punk?" He growled. "Ah, no, don't!" Soul watched the scene quietly. Ok, so his fellow Corporals were crazy too, good to know. Patty snickered again. "Yea, but she did it to Ragnarok on purpose." Ragnarok looked up and scowled at the Sergeant Major, who smiled back almost sweetly, hand wrapping around her gun. Soul and Ragnarok both gulped nervously, Ragnarok quickly going back to his food.

Soul looked around. "Where is the Colonel?" He turned to Tsubaki. "She usually eats in her quarters, but I haven't really seen her since after today's lessons. Even though the competition isn't for another 8 months she's still all stressed out." Tsubaki sighed.

"What competition?" Soul mumbled around a mouthful of peas. Tsubaki looked back up at him. "That's right; this is your first year here so you don't know. Every year in July, Fort Shibusen and Fort Stone hold what we call, 'Army games'. The best 6 from both bases pair up for three army events. A shooting competition, a team obstacle course and a tag team hand to hand fight." She explained. Soul chewed thoughtfully 'Fort Stone? Wasn't that the base Maka's father was in charge of?' Tsubaki continued.

"For the past 4 years...we've lost every time, and this year Stein made Maka the captain of this year's team, but she's missing two people. She needs someone to compete in the obstacle course with Tsubaki and hand to hand with her, she wants to win badly." Patty jumped in. Soul nodded. "She wants to beat her old man..."He mumbled under his breath."Huh?" Patty didn't seem to catch his mumbling, but Tsubaki gave a sad smile, and small almost unnoticeable nod. Soul stood from the table and picked up his empty tray.

"Right, well I'll see you guys later." He gave a small wave and they nodded. He dumped his tray, giving a two finger salute to Liz behind the counter, who waved him off with her ladle. He hadn't made it very far out the doors before Black Star ran up too him.

"Soul, wait up man." Soul frowned but stopped and turned toward his short friend. "What Black Star?" Black Star stopped a few feet from him, scratching the back of his head. "I just wanted to ask how your mouth felt." Soul stared at him warily before answering. "Sore, but ok." Black Star crossed his arms, eyes closed and nodded. "Well, that's good. Let's go back to the barracks." He started walking, not waiting for Soul to follow. Soul watched his back for a minute before following. He'd been 100 percent sure Black Star was going to make fun of him. He merely followed Black Star back to the barracks, more confused than ever.


Soul finished tuning his guitar and gave it an experimental strum. He smiled when the sounds came out perfect. The sound faded away to be replaced with Black Stars snoring. Soul glanced at the bunk above his with a roll of his eyes. He stood up off his bunk and shrugged on his jacket and plopped his hat onto his snowy head and headed out the barrack door to his spot by the firing range. He slid onto his ass, leaning against the wall. Not a breath of wind, but being January, even in the desert, it was still cold.

He stared up at the moon, his mind wandering. He'd sent his letter to Wes off first thing this morning before breakfast. It would be a day or two before he got it. He wondered how he'd react to his promotion. Soul stopped and thought.

Had Wes told their parents he was still in contact with him? If so, did he tell them what he wrote, did they care? Or did they truly not acknowledge that they had ever had another child? He scowled. If that was how they wanted to be then let them. They had Wes. Older, more mature, more sophisticated and a better musician. Soul thought sourly. It must have showed.

"What's with that face?" He looked up and standing next to him, hands shoved into the pockets of her coat was Maka. "You look like your sucking on a lemon." She observed. He scowled. "Nothing, just thinking." She nodded, sliding down the wall to sit beside him. They sat quietly for a few moments.

"How's your face?" She finally asked. Looking over at him. Her mouth drawn into a sad frown and her eyes seemed to shine with guilt. He rubbed at the black and blue bruise gently, careful of his split lip. "It hurts, but not as bad as when you actually punched me." He grinned trying to lighten the mood she seemed to be in. The corner of her mouth twitched. And his grinned widened a little.

"Tsubaki said I'll be fine soon. So no need to worry, from what I've heard you have enough to worry about." She settled her confused look on him. "The competition with Fort Stone." He face lit up with understanding. "Yea... That..." She grumbled. "You want to beat him badly don't you?" He asked. She gave a firm nod. "That's all I want." He nodded.

She glanced at him from the corner of her eye. "Bet you wish your mom was here now." He jumped surprised by the comment. "Why the hell would I want my mother here?" He growled. She smirked "To kiss your booboo and make it all better." She giggled, tapping her own mouth to indicate his battered and bruised one. Soul stared at her, clearly confused.

"Huh?" Maka looked skeptical. "What? Your mom never did that when you were little and got hurt?" He shook his head and her jaw dropped open. "Is that a normal thing?" Soul asked stupefied. He really hadn't seen his mother a whole lot when he was really young, mostly maids and nanny's had watched over the two Evans brothers.

"Seriously, Soul? It's almost a universal thing." Soul shrugged. "My parents weren't around a whole lot when my brother and I were little. We had nurse maids, nannies, etc ya know." Maka stared at him as if he had two heads. "Now I feel bad for you." She mumbled. He scowled at her.

"Well, don't, even if we hadn't been raised by nannies I still doubt I'd know what you were talking about. My mother isn't really the..." He paused. How would he describe his mother? A women he knew, but at the same time didn't. "...the loving type."

"Oh." Maka mumbled pulling her knees up to her chest and resting her chin on them. He glanced at her from the corner of his eye and sighed. "Don't feel bad, I think if I can get over it you can too, 'sides, they're not part of my life anymore and you got your own old man to worry about." He yawned turning to her. She looked up and emerald met ruby for a brief minute.

"Yea, your right." She smiled. He grinned and they fell into silence. Soul felt his eyes begin to slide closed. He stifled another yawn before letting his head lean back against the wall and his eyes slide shut. It seemed at least twenty minutes had ticked by when he heard the quiet whisper.

"Soul?" He wanted to reply but his lids felt too heavy to open and his tongue wouldn't move. Another minute passed when he felt warm breath flutter against his cheek and warm soft skin was pressed against the bruise on the side of his mouth. It lasted only a moment. His heart sped up and it was all he could do to keep his breathing under control. He barely caught the quite muttering near his ear.

"Maybe that will make it a little better." The soft but clear voice of Maka broke the silence. There was some quiet shuffling followed by the soft sound of fading steps. When he was sure she was gone Soul jumped up and ran back to the barracks and into his bunk. He laid back in a stupor, the only noise in the whole barracks being Black Stars obnoxious snoring. His hand reached up to gently touch where her lips had brushed against his skin. The feeling, soft and warm, lingered on his skin and in his head till he drifted off into a deep, peaceful sleep.


Alright. Chapter 8. I'm quite happy with this chapter.

The Kiss, perfect? Or too soon?

Anyway. Today's Monday, and I wanted to let all my readers know that I go back to school Thursday for the start of my senior year, so updates may get a little more spread out. Ima try and get one more in before Thursday. No promises though. ~Malthazar LOS