I apologize for the long wait for this chapter. To put it simple... I had no time on my hand. Since it's spring break, I'll be able to work more on this story.
I've decided not to do a rewrite. I don't have the time, and I'm pretty sure you all can tell I wasn't a good writer when I started the story. Do Re Mi WILL change its title, though. The new title is: Spinning Counter Clockwise. This change will take place upon the update of chapter ten.
So... I'm pissed with the anime. I hate how it goes off the manga, and I hate how it revealed all that stupid stuff about Eibon right after I released chapter 8. I just want to remind all my readers that this story does not follow the anime. It follows the manga. So there. Ha. In your face, Anime!
And this is a short chapter, and kind of an important filler. There is a shit load of foreshadowing in here, so you guys need to pay close attention to all the details. Thanks.
100 REVIEWS!!!! OMGSH!!!! YEEESSS!!! Thank you all sooo much for this, I really appreciate it. I've already started on the picture. It'll be a small one, cause I don't have the time for those fancy pictures on deviantart. Sorry. But it'll still be amazing.
And here is your dose of fluff...
Ki
It wasn't until three weeks later that Soul and Maka came home from their ninety-seventh soul from New York. That Friday, an unexpected surprise came.
"Class dismissed," the masked Shinigami declared to the couple, turning around to wait for their departure. Soul gave Maka a small smirk, reaching out his hand for hers. They exited the class area and through the guillotines, each step carrying them further away from Shinigami. He sighed, slipping off his mask. It won't be for a while, huh, Takara? He sulked, his head dipping under his cloak. But I'll see you soon. Maybe.
In the hallways, Maka and Soul kept in close distance, their arms wrapped around each other. Air streamed through their mouths, whistling without hesitation through those empty hallways. The bell hadn't rung yet, for they were let out of PR III early that day. And that day was early dismissal for pairing up leftover first year weapons and meisters.
The two hopped onto Soul's bike. He started the engine before speeding off towards the afternoon horizon. They arrived home safely, entering the quiet dim-lit apartment. Soul hung the keys on the hook next to the door while Maka carried herself to the dinning room. A huge sigh escaped her lungs as she stared in exhaustion at the fabric and sewing needles lying lifeless on the table. Another sigh shook the room, except his one came out of her partner's lips, and his breath tickled her shoulder. With his arms wrapped around her, he asked, "What about homework?"
"Already taken care of," Maka replied.
Soul snorted, "But the Halloween Dance isn't another month. If a simple dress is going to take you that long-"
"Soul!" Maka interrupted him. "I haven't even started my dress yet."
"Why can't you just buy one?"
She didn't answer. Instead, she fingered the corners of the five different fabrics. With her lips pressed together, she scanned the variety. There was a nice yellow fabric to her left. Yellow didn't come over her so well, but the floral design gave it a nice appearance. But lying next to the yellow one, was the white one. Its silky texture had caught her eye the other day, but it looked like it should be used for a wedding of some sort. Probably left over fabric from her parents' wedding. And Maka couldn't help but stare at the green one. Speckled with orange and white little dots. And the black one with red stitches, And the sky blue one with stripes of yellow and white. All belonged to her mother.
If Kami is good with the needle than why shouldn't Maka be? It was a traditional concept. Like mother like daughter, like father like son. Repeated over and over again to the children of those who once heard it in their youth. Of course, genetics can be one's excuse when one is clumsy or unintelligent. But when it came to talents and such, it was a thing to brag about. A thing to enjoy. Something to hope for. Especially when someone tries something new.
So when Maka sat down with the sky blue fabric, set herself up, and unintentionally pierced the fine outer layer of her epidermis with that shiny sewing needle quite a few times, she began to have second thoughts. She sighed, setting down the needle. She hadn't given up, but after an hour of aimless poking through fabric, she decided to call it quits for the night. This was something she'd need help from Tsubaki to do. Tsubaki was very excellent with the needle.
The refrigerator blasted out cool air from its interior when Maka pulled it open. She grabbed a bottle of pulp-free orange juice, and then slid into Soul's old jacket and her white sandals. She didn't even tell Soul when she suddenly left the apartment. But when she came back an hour and a half later with her half empty bottle of orange juice, she found Soul's body spread out on the couch.
Maka giggled and ruffled his hair before reopening the fridge and storing the rest of her orange juice. She got in Soul's room and flipped through all his homework. Half was complete. She shook her head with a smile on her face. And it didn't take long for her to change into a large olive colored shirt with the number ninety-six on it and a pair of white shorts. The orange juice was again retrieved, and Maka made herself comfortable on the couch at Soul's feet. It was dark outside.
"Hey," Soul murmured, woken by the movement on the couch.
Maka grabbed his feet in a panic, "I'm sorry! Did I wake you?"
"Yeah, but it's cool," Soul reassured her, lifting his upper body of the couch, shifting himself to a sitting position. "I have to finish homework anyways, huh? Thanks." Maka didn't bother to say 'Your welcome.' He already knew.
She took a swig of her juice and contently exhaled her held breath. Soul disapproved this. He reached for the bottle, but it seemed to move further away. Maka raised an eyebrow. Soul looked at the juice. Maka smiled and gave him the bottle. He took a lengthened sip.
"Now you got my germs," Maka bluntly stated.
"As long as they're yours," Soul countered, taking another long sip. He drained the beverage quickly and tossed it onto the coffee table. The new one. Cause Maka broke the old one.
Maka gave Soul a disgusted look, also known as the damn-you-Soul,-you're-gonna-get-sick look. However, Soul quickly fired back a I've-kissed-you-so-many-times-now,-that-I'm-immune look. Nevertheless, he quickly gave her a small kiss and got up, complaining about his hunger. He hid in his room. He wouldn't be coming out for another hour.
"Finished?" Maka's voice broke through his door after that lonely hour.
Soul chewed at his pencil. Papers were sprawled all over his desk with drops of drool on them. Her knocking woke him up. Why'd this have to be so hard? Wasn't Combat II easy? It was like Physical Education, except it was for weapons to defend themselves without their meisters. Ones who weren't Death Scythes yet. Ones who hadn't reached ninety-nine souls yet. They had. Maka and Soul have collected ninety-nine souls before. In fact, they've collected almost twice the amount. And he knew how to kick ass. Why'd he need that class? Why did that first witch soul have to be a goddamn cat soul? But Partner Resonance III made up for it in coolness.
That weekend sucked, though. It sucked that he hadn't finished Combat homework, hadn't started Partner Resonance homework, and he got so frustrated with European Languages homework that he ripped apart his French poem and threw it out the window. But he had the weekend. He had the whole goddamn entire weekend. And he answered Maka by throwing the pencil at his door.
Maka grunted hugely. "Dinner's ready."
She cracked the new door open. Cause she broke that, too. Peeking inside in between the door and the doorframe, she saw him. Soul. He was beginning to stand, stumbling over his trashcan, catching himself by gripping the edge if the desk. He saw Maka and smiled, "I'm getting old."
"You're only seventeen," Maka pointed out.
"Not for another two weeks," said Soul, who finally reached Maka. His eyelids drooped down, shielding half his ruby eyes from the little amount of dust in the air. Warmth from Soul's arms surrounded Maka. Her confusion caused her to hesitate before hugging him back. Soul spoke, "Is it really only October?" Maka's head nodded into his chest, her face buried into his shirt. "Feels like June. School needs to end. Now."
"You hate Combat don't you? We'll getcha out of there in three month's time. You'll have a free block," Maka explained her plan. "But there's nothing I can do about your other classes."
Soul rested his chin on her head. "That's cool." He smiled and sighed, looking out his new door. Out to the hallway. Empty and quiet. Not for long. His arms pulled Maka towards his bed. He heard her mutter something about dinner, but he ignored it. Without resistance, one cannot take a statement seriously. It's like candy. A person can tell over and over again about their diet, but talking won't stop them from eating. You gotta put it down. Shove it away. But Soul felt no force. No reaction. Only meaningless words.
They flopped onto the bed, their limbs now tangled and their tongues twisted, no more meaningless words escaping either if them. For minutes on end, they rolled and danced to their own rhythm, with innocent limits. This was show, not tell. This was action, not words. Their head spun, their touches in untouchable places. Soul's hand on the bare skin of Maka's back under her shirt, and Maka's breast against his chest. A position they didn't seem to mind. And when Maka was tired, Soul gave her a break, trailing kisses on her collarbone. When he reached the collar of her shirt, he groaned and pressed his forehead against it. Maka giggled hysterically. He said, "I'm surprised we're still clothed."
"You can't pluck off a Blue Jay's feathers, now can you?" Maka sat up with him. "Wouldn't be a Blue Jay anymore."
Soul argued, "It'd still be a Jay."
"But I like the color blue," Maka argued back. "That won't change for a while." She rolled off the bed and straightened out her clothing – that olive shirt and white shorts. Wasn't much to unwrinkle. "Well, like I mentioned about five minutes ago, dinner's ready. And it's getting cold."
Soul cleared his throat as he got off the bed himself, "I'm going to take a… very cold shower first."
Maka froze in her footsteps. Did he just say… cold shower?
Soul laughed hard, "Kidding! Kidding! How can I get horny if whenever I try to squeeze you, there's nothing there?"
"MAKA CHOP!!!" A loud crash, bang, and yell. Maka gripped her book tightly as she slammed it onto Soul's head.
"AAAAH, GODDAMN! I thought you were getting too old for that!" Soul hissed as he cautiously rubbed his split head. But then again, he had missed the Maka Chops for a while. He hadn't gotten one since school started. Which was really unusual. Maybe because that was the first sexual joke he had made in a while that actually made fun of her.
Maka grinned and rubbed the dust off her hardcover book. "Never too old for Maka Chops. We'll be seventy years old, sitting in the living room together. You'll insult my breasts and I'll whack you with a copy of Seldom Hearts. Now, it's time for dinner. You can take your cold shower afterwards."
"Aw… damn," Soul cursed under his breath. "I'll be disappointed if they're not as big as Blair's by then."
Maka swung the book over her shoulder and threatened, "Don't push it." Before exiting Soul's room, she glanced over at his desk. She knew she'd have to help him with his homework later, but now was dinner time, and her growling stomach hurt. Whistling, she got to the end of the hallway, closing her eyes and inhaling the scent of dinner. It wasn't until she opened her eyes that Soul heard her scream.
"AAAAAAHHHHHHH!" Maka dropped her book, tears of anger washing her eyes, "MY DIIIINNER!" Soul rushed to Maka's side to take a peek. He gasped. In broad evening-light, a violet cat tumbled in the food, her mouth stuffed with noodles and chicken. Maka stood frozen, staring at the mess on the dining room table.
Soul lifted a finger towards the cat. "Speaking of Blair…"
The cat giggled, jumping off the table, "Yep! Blair took the weekend off from nursing!" She raised a paw to her mouth and began to lick.
"…"
"…"
"Oh my…" Maka said angrily.
"Oh fuck…" Soul replied.
Ignoring Soul, Maka sighed and said, "Well, I should've locked the front door, huh? Welcome back, but please knock before you enter next time." There wasn't anything she could do about the food, and she couldn't get that angry with Blair. She was just a cat. With lots of magic. But that was besides the point. No way she could get mad at a cat. So she turned to grab the phone. It was too late to make another dinner, so pizza would have to do. "Soul. Blair. What kind of pizza would you like?"
After ordering, Soul and Maka cleaned up the dinner table with calming music playing from the radio. Blair curled up on the couch, obviously pooped. Her eyes drooped. She rolled her head against the back of the couch. Maka gave a weak smile from the dining room and set down her rag. She moved over to the couch and sat next to the cat to pet her back. Blair closed her eyes and purred. Maka suggested, "You must be tired."
"Blair is very tired," she purred. "The hospital has been getting a lot of patients lately. Blair actually became a certified nurse last week."
"Congratulations."
"But that's when everything became chaotic…" Blair sighed. "The world gets complicated, and Blair isn't able to keep up. Blair knows better know. Seeing all the wounded rebels has Blair terrified." She shifted her position and laid her head down on Maka's lap. She swallowed and buried her head in Maka's clothing. "I… I don't know anything anymore. I don't feel like just a cat."
Maka looked down at Blair sympathetically and gave her a small squeeze. "You aren't just a cat. You're a cat with a lot of magic."
"I don't know, Maka," Blair said. "All I know is that there's going to be a lot of work ahead for me."
"What do you mean? What's going on?" Maka asked.
Blair started, "Just a lot of tension over Amperial Island. That little island that just gained its independence. It's not doing so well. Both Spain and we want to make it a territory, especially the Spanish, and the Americans' troops are in there protecting it. So there's been a lot of internal conflict – those who want the island and those who want to stay out of Spain's way."
"What's so great about this Amperial Island?" Maka asked another question curiously.
"Blair doesn't know," Blair said. "Blair hasn't heard a lot of specifics, though Blair does know she'll be getting a lot of patients soon."
"Hmm…" Maka groaned, leaning her head back against the cushions. She stared at the ceiling. This was the first she'd heard about this. It just goes to show how isolated Death City is from the rest of the world. The last thing she had heard about the world was several years ago, when she was ten maybe. North Korea and South Korea had united, and cancer was cured. That was it. Her mother was her only connection to the world. Maka said to Blair, "Well, good luck to you. You'll do fine."
"Thank you, Maka," Blair smiled and curled up again.
The outside became darker when Soul and Maka left Blair alone and retreated to Soul's room again. The two felt a little too relaxed and tired to continue Soul's homework. His arm wrapped around her waist and both of them remained silent for a while, watching the birds through the window sit themselves on the telephone lines. When the sky was a navy blue, Maka said, "I don't know where Mom is right now."
Soul took a deep breath and pressed his cheek against Maka's head. They hadn't heard from Kami in a month or two. Her last postcard was from Hawaii, but she would be long gone from there by now. Soul whispered, "It'll be fine. We really should be doing homework right now."
Maka said, turning her head, "Oh, really? Can't I just relax?"
"Does my Blue Jay need rest?" Soul asked.
"Since when was I your Blue Jay?" Maka rolled her eyes half-heartedly, her question left unanswered as Soul pressed his lips against the back of her neck. His breath lingered against her skin. What was she asking? Of course she was his Blue Jay. It just felt so corny. Like her father. He was corny, too. She had seen him at school today, delivering some papers to Professor Stein's classroom. Thank Shinigami-sama he didn't know she was with Soul. Had he figured out, she'd have to kiss Soul's corpse goodbye. But, he hadn't talked to Papa recently either. She was disconnected from her parents. And suddenly, Maka became lonely.
Soul slid a finger through one of Maka's rubber bands and pulled it loose, letting Maka's hair fall onto her face. Maka groaned and reached behind her to ruffle Soul hair. She sat up and pulled out her other pigtail. Then, she curled up against Soul's chest again and fell asleep.
On Saturday, Maka woke up extra early. She changed into a pair of blue jeans and a yellow loose-collared sweater. Blair was still curled up on the couch as Maka made herself and Soul some coffee. She placed a bowl of milk on the floor and headed out the door, coffee cup in her hand. A small breeze shook the trees, autumn leaves falling to the ground. Maka took one step at a time. Down the stairs. Down the street. Down the alley. She wouldn't go back home for another hour. And when she did, she didn't bother to go inside immediately. Maka sat herself down at the bottom of the stairs to people watch. The paperboy rode by on his bike. The mailman delivered a package to her neighbors. Some birds came to her feet to beg for breadcrumbs. She didn't have any. Chilly gusts of winds tickled her nose as she left it unprotected to tie her hair back in a messy bun.
October was to be a long month.
REMINDER: Do Re Mi will now be 'Spinning Counter Clockwise'. Look for 'Spinning Counter Clockwise' within the next week.
