Second to last chapter. If you think you figured out why Soul can't have a miester, tell me in the comments. I really want to see if anyone guessed it.
Anyways, please enjoy.
Close
Soul was slouched over more than normal as he trudged on next to her towards the Death Room. He had been quiet the entire trip over, only grunting when she tried to start a conversation. Now he was completely silent, glaring at everything and nothing. Worried, Maka came to a stop, turning on the brooding weapon.
"What's wrong?" He shrugged, prompting her to use her more stern tone. "Soul."
He growled slightly, before letting out a deep sigh. "I'm just worried."
Maka cocked her head to the side. "About what? Lord Death just wants to see us. It can't be anything that bad."
Soul shook his head. "It just doesn't feel right. To call us in on a weekend?"
Maka gave him a reassuring smile, reaching out and grabbing his hand in hers before tugging him along behind her. "Don't worry, I'll be right here next to you."
Appeased, Soul gripped her hand tighter and allowed her to lead them down the hallway until they reached the large door that led to Lord Death's personal domain. Before either of them could move to knock, the large doors swung open invitingly. Glancing back to give Soul another encouraging smile, she tugged gently on his arm and pulled him into the giant room.
xXxXxXxXxXxXxX
"Maka! Soul! Hey, Hi, How ya doing?" Lord Death greeted, cheerful as always. "Thank you for coming so…."
"Hey! Let go of my Maka's hand you little pervert!" Spirit screamed, launching into the air towards the young pair. Without even a second glance, Death's oversized hand crashed into the Death Scythes hand and sent him sprawling to the floor. Not missing a beat, he continued.
"...on. Now, I'm sure you're eager to know why I called you here." Maka nodded, while Soul gave an uncommitted shrug. "Well, I actually have a mission for the two of you."
Maka felt Soul's hand tighten around hers for a moment before he stepped forward, letting her go. "What do you mean 'the two of you'?"
Death bounced up and down joyously. "I mean that you and Maka will be working together on this one!"
Seeing Soul throw back his shoulders, prepared to argue (most likely quite rudely) with the Death God, Maka quickly intervened, stepping forward herself. "I'm sorry Lord Death, but…but Soul and I…well, we aren't partners." Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Soul flash her a quick look.
"Yes, we are well aware of that" A new voice ventured from behind them. Turning around the pair saw Stein leisurely stroll into the room, taking his place by Lord Death. "But this mission will still require both of you."
"Why?" Maka asked, once again cutting off Soul.
Lord Death took the question. "You see, a certain couple have been making quite a ruckus in Italy, we need someone to go put an end to them."
"I can do that without a miester" Soul growled, "No need to send her, it's only going to slow me down, and probably get her hurt."
At his words, Maka felt her hands clench in anger. She was not some helpless little princess waiting for prince charming (something he was not!). She was about to mimic Lord Death and give Soul a good Maka Chop, but Lord Death had already begun talking.
"Yes, normally you would be able to handle this mission on your own, but without Maka you won't have much lucking finding them." He paused for a moment as he gained the full and undivided attention of the students at his cryptic words. "You are not after a pre-kishin on this mission. Instead, you will be hunting a weapon-miester pair…. of sorts."
There was silence as his words seeped into their young minds. Maka was shocked, but Soul was still unconvinced. "Why do I need Maka then?"
"Excellent question!" Lord Death clapped his hands, "Professor Stein?"
He lit his cigarette before answering. "Unlike most pre-Kishins you've fought. These two are quite intelligent. They aren't simply going to come out into the open to challenge you directly if they don't want to. Actually, I wouldn't be surprised if they ignored you all together."
Soul ground his teeth, "That still doesn't answer my question."
Stein took a long drag, letting out a long puff of smoke. "Maka has shown great promise with her advanced soul perception abilities. With her, you will be able to quickly locate the pair. Without her, you will stumble around Italy like an idiot." He waited patiently for Soul to protest. It didn't take very long
"But she still doesn't have a weapon!" Soul protested, thrusting a thumb towards Maka.
"We'll outfit her with one of the sharp practice scythes, it should be more than enough" Stein answered easily, taking another long inhalation of smoke. "Now, if you don't have anymore question, you should get ready. You're leaving now."
Soul wracked his brain for another argument, but none worth mentioning came up. Growling, he turned on his heel and stormed out of the room. Idly, he heard Maka squeak out a slight thanks before running after him.
Stein watched them go, blowing a skull of smoke out. "Do you really think this is a good idea?"
Death nodded, "Oh yes. I believe this will be just what they need!"
Stein looked down at the still unconscious Spirit. "You do know what's going to happen if this goes wrong? It will be extremely messy."
Death was silent for a moment. "Then we have to hope that nothing goes wrong Stein. For both their sakes."
xXxXxXxXxXx
Soul hadn't spoken the entire plane ride instead opting to blast his music through his headphones. Annoyed, Maka had tried multiple times to engage the young weapon, but he had shrugged her off. She almost wanted to strangle him. Everything had been going so well this morning! And now, it was like she was back to square one. Well, there was no way in hell she was going to let that happen, not without a fight.
She was startled out of her angry thoughts as the small plane landed and Soul immediately stood, already heading for the exit. Letting out an annoyed huff, she followed after him. Again, he was silent until as they made their way to the hotel and to the room the DWMA had booked for them, allowing her to talk to the concierge. As they entered the elevator, Maka could take it no more. Leaning over, she ripped the headphones from his head.
"Ah damnit women!" Soul cried in pain. "What the hell?"
"Stop ignoring me!" She snapped, forcing him to meet her eye. "You're pouting like a little kid."
"Am not!"
"Are too!"
"Am not!"
"Are too!"
"Am not!"
"Are too!"
They both went silent as the elevator came to a stop and an elderly couple shuffled in. The awkward silence continued as they went up two more floors and the couple exited again. As soon as the doors closed…
"Am not!"
"Are too!"
"Am not!"
"Soul!" Maka finally cried, breaking the cycle as the elevator opened. "We both know I can fight! And I'm not going to slow you down, so what's really bothering you?" Soul didn't reply as he stormed over to their room and pushed the door open angrily, dropping his pack on the floor before throwing himself facedown on the bed. In a much more gentle fashion, Maka followed suit, choosing to perch next to him. "Soul?"
For fucks sake, did she always have to say his name like that?
"I-I don't go on group missions." He finally grumbled.
Tentatively, Maka reached out and started rubbing his back, feeling how tense his body was. "How come?"
"I can't take the responsibility." he sighed, rolling onto his back, his eyes boring into hers. "If you got hurt…I just can't let another person get hurt because of me."
She smiled down at him, "Don't worry, we'll finish this mission off tonight, then we can go back home." He gave a curt nod, settling into a less hostile silence, until, "Soul, about this morning…"
He rolled off the bed, not looking at her. "I'm going to take a shower."
"Soul!" She called out, but he had already shut the bathroom door behind him. She let out a sad sigh. It seemed that even though she had tried, the progress she had made with Soul was already starting to wane. She let out another long sigh, falling back into the soft bed and closing her eyes.
'Why can't Soul have a miester?'
xXxXxXxXx
Soul let the searing hot water rain over his body, his mind reeling. What the hell had he been thinking this morning? Telling Maka that. And then almost telling her… telling her that too. He growled, pressing his forehead against the tile wall of the shower. He was letting her get to close. Letting out a shaky breath, he felt his legs go weak and he sank to the floor.
"She's going to find a weapon eventually," He whispered, glad his face was already wet. "Then she's going to leave." He felt a tightening in his chest as he spoke. But he didn't try to deny the truth in his words. Maka was only with him because she thought she could change his mind. But she never could. Swallowing down the lump in his throat, he rose back up to his full height, shutting off the water.
"It doesn't matter." He muttered softly as he roughly dried himself with the towel. "She's…she's just another stupid girl." Nodding to himself, he quickly pulled his clothes back on. It was time to reset things to the status quo. Maka was just another miester who was wasting both of their time. Nothing more. He swallowed another lump in his throat as he steeled his resolve, and walked back into the room.
xXxXxXxXxXx
Maka was roughly shaken awake. Fluttering her large green eyes open, she yawned. "What time is it?"
"Twelve" Soul replied softly, "Time to hunt."
Maka nodded, jumping out of the bed and grabbing the scythe Stein had assigned her before they had left. "Alright, let's do this."
Soul nodded, leading them to the elevator. As they descended slowly, Maka began to feel slightly antsy. "So, what's the plan?"
Soul didn't even glance at her, his eyes watching the floor counter. "You find them, I kill them. You stay the hell out of my way."
Maka's head snapped towards him, surprised. That was the same tone he used when he first met her. Her hands tightened around the scythe handle. This wasn't the time to argue. But she would deal with this after the mission was over. Soul wasn't going to revert on her. "Whatever, I need to get to a clear area so I can search for them."
Soul grunted as they reached the ground floor. Without waiting for her he exited with long, fast stride, forcing her to jog to keep up. Gritting her teeth, she simply followed him.
xXxXxXxXxXx
"So, what do you see?" Soul asked irritably after a few minutes of waiting, his red eyes scanning the horizon.
"I'm looking" Maka snapped back. Soul's attitude was really starting to get on his nerves. She was considering hitting him with a Maka Chop when she felt something twinge on the very edge of her sight. Snapping her head towards the unusual feeling, she felt Soul shift beside her. "Over there, maybe five blocks?" She turned to look at Soul, his eyes narrowed in the direction she had pointed. Nodding curtly, he launched himself off the roof, landing lightly on his feet. Once again he didn't wait for her.
Feet pounding against the cobblestone, he propelled his body faster, his mind running over the little information Lord Death and Stein had given him. Two targets. One male, one female. Not Kishin, but credible threats. Both to be considered highly dangerous. He grinned slightly, he would finish this quickly. Behind him, he could hear Maka keeping pace. He felt a slight tightening in his chest as guilt tried to force its way into his mind. Shaking himself slightly, he forced it back down. Now wasn't the time. Coming to the end of the block, he turned and prepared himself to transform.
And was met with nothing.
Mouth open dumbly, he stared down the empty street. He turned as Maka came skidding to a halt next to him. "Well?"
Maka looked around, looking just as confused as he did. "They…they were here, I know it."
Soul opened his mouth to reply, but someone beat him to it. "Who?"
They spun around, coming face to face with a smiling redheaded teenager. "Are you two lost?"
Soul shook his head, annoyed. Just Another stupid girl who would waste his damn time. He moved to turn around but next to him, Maka spun his scythe around menacingly.
"What the hell are you doing?" he yelled as she angled the blade at the girl.
"Her soul" Maka's eyes narrowed, "She's who we're after"
The girls pleasant smile stayed on her face as Soul did a double take. "Are you sure?"
"Positive"
"Alright" Soul nodded, letting his arm transform into a scythe. "We can do this the hard way, or the easy way. Your choice."
The girl only laughed. "I'm afraid I have no idea what you two are talking about. Really, this is quite rude."
"It really is" a new voice confirmed as a dark haired youth stepped out of the shadows next to the redhead. "Hello Gracie."
"Strad" she smiled, "you're late."
"Sorry" he smiled at her, before turning his attention to Soul and Maka, "and who exactly are you?"
As he turned his eyes on them, Maka let out a small gasp, and Soul let his other arm transform into a scythe blade. He had red eyes. They continued to stare at each other before he spoke again.
"This is the part when you tell me your names. Like this. My name is Strad, and this is Gracie. Now, you are?"
"Soul Eater" Soul growled out, holding his blades out in front of him. This situation wasn't cool. Should he just charge the pair?
"And I take it you're a weapon?" Strad continued, "Of course you are, I can see the blades."
"Stupid question" Gracie agreed, turning her attention on Maka. "And you must be his miester, strange that you would bring another weapon."
Maka was quite sure this wasn't how this was supposed to happen. Weren't they supposed to be fighting? But these two, they seemed…friendly?
"Maka…Maka Albarn" She replied, "and he's not my weapon."
Gracie gave her a curious look. "Interesting, but no matter. What are you two doing here?"
Soul ground his teeth. These two's politeness was starting to get on his nerves. "Like you don't know."
Strad snapped his fingers, turning to Gracie. "Oh, they're here to stop us."
Gracie let out another laugh. "Oh, well then, that changes things. I supposed I'll take the girl then?"
Strad nodded, "Fair enough. If things get to difficult, we can always change the plan. But I doubt it will come to that…they don't seem to hard to handle." Gracie nodded. And it was that which sent Soul over the edge.
"Enough!" he roared, jumping forward and slashing both his arms down towards the unprepared Gracie. But just before his blades could connect with her pale skin, they stopped as they connected with a third blade. Eye's wide, he looked at Strad, whose transformed arm was now protecting Gracie. He smiled at Soul before pushing the blades away and charging him, his thin straight rapier blade clashing loudly with Souls much larger curved blades.
"I guess that leave us then?" Gracie smiled at Maka, waiting.
Maka returned the smile with a determined line set in her mouth. "Gracie! You're Soul is mine."
"We'll see"
Spinning the blade around, Maka charged forward, swiping across to snare Gracie. But she easily flipped back, avoiding the blow. Landing lightly on her feet, she lunged forward, driving her fist into Maka's cheek. Letting out a grunt of pain, Maka flew back, slamming the scythe blade into the ground to stop her flight. Using the leverage to spring herself back into the air, she brought the scythe up high for another strike. But almost faster than she could process, Gracie leapt up to meet her, ducking past the blade and slamming her knee into Maka's exposed stomach.
Letting out a small cry, Maka doubled over, still in the air. Without batting an eyelash, Gracie lifted both her hands high, and then slammed them down into the other girls back, sending her crashing back into the ground. Easily, she landed next to Maka, waiting patiently as she struggled back to her feet. "Done yet?"
Maka narrowed her eyes, spitting a small amount of blood from her mouth. Cracking her neck, she dropped the scythe to the ground. It was to heavy, and Gracie was obviously fast. "Not even close!"
Charging forward, she threw a punch at the redhead, which she easily blocked. But she didn't let up. Bringing her foot up, she landed a kick to her midsection. Side stepping, she avoided a kick from the other miester, and returned by slammed her fist into the girls chest. Gracie let out a small grunt of pain, but the pain only seemed to double her efforts and soon Maka was pushed on the defensive again. But she weathered the blows, and forced her fist through, connecting with the other girls face. Desperately, she wanted to check on Soul, but she knew if she looked away for even a second, Gracie would dominate her.
xXxXxXxXx
Soul let his back blades wrapped protectively around his chest as Strad found an opening and tried to impale him through the chest. "You're going to have to do better than that!"
Pulling the blade back, the black haired weapon spun around, slashing low, forcing Soul to stumble back to avoid losing the use of one of his feet. Taking advantage of his foot, Strad lunged forward, slashing Soul across the stomach. "How's that?"
Gritting his teeth against the pain, Soul let out a growl before charging. Angry fueling his movements, he formed a virtual web of steel around the other weapon as he tried to find an opening. Strad's rapier blade was fast, but he simply couldn't compete with the sheer number of blades Soul was attacking with. Finally, one broke through his defense, and pierced his arm. Letting out a small cry, he leapt back, pulling the metal from his flesh with a sick-sucking noise.
"You should just surrender!" Soul called out, grinning evil as Strad pressed his hand against the bleeding wound. "It will be easier for you that way."
Strad grimace last for another moment before his face cracked into a smile. "You are good Soul Eater, very good."
"Tell me something I don't know?"
"You're friend is about to die."
"What?" Soul's head snapped over to Maka, who was still fighting with Gracie. It had been a trick! Turning back, he made to move his arms protectively across his chest, but it was to late. Strad plunged his blade into Soul's shoulder. The exact place Soul had pierced him. Desperately, Soul tried to hold in his cry of pain, but he couldn't as Strad twisted the blade around slowly, increasing the pain tenfold.
xXxXxXxXx
Maka's throat leapt to her throat as she heard Soul let out a scream. Completely losing her focus, she turned towards her friend. Instantly, she was struck by a volley of blows, finished by a vicious kick to the side of the head. With a cry, she hit the ground. Letting out a painful cough, she forced her head up. She felt her blood go colder than ice.
"Soul!" She screamed, watching in horror as Strad twisted the blade again, before pulling the blade out and stabbing Soul through the stomach. He watched Soul wither in pain for a moment, before finally planting his foot into Souls chest and kicking him off the long blade. With a laugh, he leisurely strolled back over to Gracie.
"Shall we end this?" he asked, reaching up to wipe a speck of blood from her face. She nodded, holding out her hand. He took it, and in a flash of light, Gracie was left alone holding an elegant rapier.
"I suppose I should kill the weapon first" she mused, slowly walking over towards Soul who had managed to get to his knees. "It's a shame. You're quite a fighter. Not many people can cut Strad."
"Fuck you" Soul spat, trying to gain his strength back. It was not cool to die on your knees. He closed his eyes. Guess he wasn't going out cool.
Gracie smiled, lifting up the blade for a moment, then brought it slashing down for the kill.
Clang
Soul's eyes snapped back open. Maka was in front of him, scythe holding back the rapier.
"Leave Soul alone!" She screamed pushing Gracie back and swiping wildly at her. But the redhead easily avoided the blows.
"Still got some fight left?" Gracie laughed, "Ready Strad?"
Maka stayed protectively in front of the blooding Soul. What were they going to do?
'Let's go, Soul Resonance!"
She watched in horror at the two souls fused together, and then began to grow at an alarming rate. In the physical world the rapier blade began to glow before growing, the thin blade growing thick, and extending out further. Swallowing down her fear, she spun the scythe around before letting out a battle cry. Jumping into the air, she brought the scythe down hard. But with barely a flick of her wrist Gracie deflected the blow, sending Maka flying back, the scythe shattering from the immense power of the impact. Once again, Maka found herself on the hard ground, only this time she had no more energy to move. Panting, she watched through hazy eyes as Gracie slowly approached her, the blazing rapier still in her hand. She clenched her jaw, waiting.
She would not scream.
xXxXxXxXxXx
Time was moving painfully slow for Soul.
Maka had protected him. Him! He had been so sure he would have to protect her. That he had to protect everyone. But she had stood up for him. She had put herself between him and death. Even after everything he had done. He felt his fingers tighten into a white knuckled fist. He had been the stupid one. Maka was not just some girl. Make was the perfect girl. He hadn't realized it, but she had already become his best friend. She was stubborn, she was annoying, and she was bossy. But she was also kind, caring, and compassionate. She had kept trying when he had tried to push her away.
And now she was going to die. All because of him.
NO!
Forcing himself to his feet, he charged forward. He didn't have a plan. All he knew was that he couldn't let her die. He needed her.
xXxXxXxXxXx
Maka watched the blade of light move closer and closer to her face. She so separately wanted to move, but her body wouldn't comply. She felt a tear break past her eye. She hoped this would at least give Soul enough time to escape. It was so close, so bright. And then it was gone.
Blinking rapidly, she rolled her eyes around. The light was still there, but it was now quite a distance away. What was going on?
"Get up idiot!" Soul gasped, grabbing onto her hands. "We have to get the fuck out of here, right now!"
"Soul?" She mumbled, gripping his hand tighter as he tugged her to her feet. She felt him wrap his arm around her waist. "What happened?"
"Knocked her over. No time, go!" he growled. She nodded, and together they took off, hobbling as fast as they could in their sorry state.
"We can't make it to the hotel" she gasped as they started to slow down form exhaustion and pain.
"I know" Soul panted, pulling her towards one of the dark buildings that lined the street. Transforming his finger, he quickly picked the lock with his scythe blade. Letting out a sigh, he pulled her into the darkness and closed the door behind them before falling to the ground, pulling Maka down with him. "Are you okay?"
She nodded, pulling away to look at him. "But you aren't"
"I'm fine" he sighed as he put pressure on his stomach wound "Blade didn't go to deep, don't think it hit anything important. Shoulder isn't bad at all, I'm alright"
Maka bit her lip, taking his hand in hers, ignoring the blood. "I'm so sorry Soul."
He let out a soft laugh. "Smy fault. I thought I was strong enough to fight them alone, remember?"
"What are we going to do?" Maka asked softly, looking out the widow. She couldn't feel them anymore. They didn't seem to be pursuing them.
"We need," Soul winced, "We need a plan."
Maka let out a pathetic laugh, "A plan? They are a weapon and miester pair. Unless you're willing to be my weapon, we can't exactly fight that Soul."
Soul reached his other hand up and gently cupper her face, turning her to look at him. "It's not that I don't want you to by my miester…Maka."
Maka shook her head, "Then why Soul? Why can't you have a miester?"
Soul nodded, it was time. It was time to tell her. "Maka, what did Strad do?" She gave him a confused look. "When he went to Gracie."
"He transformed" she answered simply, mind going back to her many textbooks "Into his weapon form. Together they're strong than on their own."
Soul sucked in a pained breath. "Exactly."
"Soul" Maka brought one of her bloodied hands up to squeeze his that was still cupping her face, "Why?"
He let out a bitter laugh. "Because I can't Maka. I can't transform!"
Maka stared down at him, confusion etched on her pretty features. "What?"
"I can't fully transform. I'm completely useless as a weapon to a miester. I can partially transform, but I've never been able to…to fully transform. That's why I've never taken a miester." He let go of her face, turning away from her, "I'm broken Maka. I'm not a real weapon. I'm just some freak who can make blades come out of his skin."
Maka felt her heart break at his tone. He was right, without being able to fully transform, he couldn't be any miesters weapon. But…but…
"It doesn't matter," she whispered. Surprising both of them. "I don't care if you can't transform Soul." And she truly didn't. She didn't care if her mother had been a great scythe miester. She didn't care about making a better weapon than her father. All she cared about, was being with Soul.
He didn't look at her, his eyes stubborn set into the wall. He didn't believe her. How could she say that? He was fucking useless. She just felt sorry for him. He felt tears form in the edges of his eyes. If they made it through this, she would leave for sure now. He should have just kept his fucking mouth shut.
Maka gently reached down and turned his face to look at her, moving even closer to him. "Soul, I want to be your miester. And I want you to be my weapon."
Soul wanted to break eye contact, but he couldn't. Those perfect green eyes, they made everything feel too much better. He felt so much safer. But still… "I can't be your weapon. I can't…" he went silent as she put a finger to his lips.
"I don't care" She whispered, her breath hot against his lips. "Will you be my weapon Soul?"
"I-I…" Soul stammered, completely intoxicated by her. She was so close he could practically taste her. "I want you to be my miester." She let out a sigh of relief, resting her forehead against his. "But I still can't transform Maka…I'm useless."
She pulled away, staring him in the eyes. "I promise Soul, I don't care." Then painfully slow, she lowered her head, and pressed her lips gently against his. For a moment he was in shock, but almost instantly his instincts took over. Wrapping his arms around his miester, he pulled her closer. Together, they ignored the blood and the pain as they simply melted into the kiss.
As they finally pulled away, there was a soft flash of white light…
Hope you enjoyed!
Woo, long chapter. Anyways, please review and tell me what you think. This will be the second to last chapter I believe. Remember, this was a request story, so once it's finished; I'll need a new story to work on! I also do one shots. Anyways, see you guys soon.
