Walking After You


Liz was getting really worried.

It had been too long since Soul had run off. When he'd sprung up like that, knocking over his chair in the process, her first thought had been that they were being attacked by a pre-Kishin. But as she'd whipped her head around to look for the threat, she'd caught sight of his facial expression.

Liz had been in plenty of battles with Soul and Maka before, and she had never seen such an expression of fear cross the young scythe's face. Stuck dumb by this realization, Liz could only sit there in shock as Soul turned on his heel and sprinted out of the café without so much as a glance in her direction. Had it been anyone else, she would've been deeply offended. But Soul…for Soul to act like that…although Liz often found him hard to read, she'd just known-something serious had happened to Maka.

She'd tried to follow him, of course. If Maka was in trouble, then she wanted to help too. But by the time she'd pulled herself together and made it out the door, Soul was already turning the corner at the end of the block. She'd raced after him, but when she'd rounded the corner herself, he'd been gone. And none of the shell-shocked pedestrians nearby seemed to know which direction he'd been headed when he'd torn past them.

Furious with them and with herself, she'd stomped back to the café to wait. To avoid the stares and whispers of the people she and Soul had knocked over as they'd left, she'd plunked herself down at a table outside and debated running back to the hotel to grab Kid and Patty.

Liz knew better than anyone else that the streets and alleyways of New York City were not suitable places to be wandering about alone. She was not concerned in the least for herself (after all, she and Patty had managed to carve out an existence in this very city before Kid had come along) but she definitely didn't like the idea of either Maka or Soul being out there on their own. Kid was good with the soul-perception bit; he'd probably be able to find them for her in no time. Just as she resolved to go get him, though, someone called her name.

"Kid!" she cried out in surprise and relief. What, has he developed mind reading powers now? She wondered. But no, Soul was right there with him. And Maka was walking between them. Liz was so glad to see all three of them that she forgot to feign annoyance with Soul for leaving her behind.

But…something was off. Before Soul had even opened his mouth to apologize for ditching her, Liz caught sight of Maka's disheveled clothes and tearstained face. Her mouth went dry, and she felt a horrible churning in her stomach-something bad had happened. That unpleasant churning feeling only intensified as the others filled her in on what she'd missed.


They stopped briefly at a police station to give a report of the assault. Liz, who'd glued herself to Maka's side, was allowed to accompany Maka into the cramped little interview room, and to sit beside her while she described her attack for the record. Kid excused himself after a few moments to head back to their hotel to make sure that Patty was still safely asleep, leaving Soul waiting anxiously in the visitor's area alone. He sat there clutching his technician's book and Liz's flimsy little bag in his hands, trying not to look as uneasy as he felt.

It didn't take very long to give her statement. The tired-looking detective that she'd been speaking to handed Maka a small white card as they walked back to the visitor's area, back to Soul. She murmured something as she held it out that Soul wasn't able to hear, and Maka simply nodded and tucked the card away in a pocket. On the rest of the walk back to the hotel, Maka was quieter than normal, and Liz kept on shooting her worried, big-sister type looks.

No one commented when Maka made a beeline for the bathroom the second she entered the hotel suite. She didn't emerge for over thirty minutes, during which time Soul and Kid lounged on the couch and discussed in low voices exactly what Kid had witnessed.

Meanwhile Liz and Patty, sitting on the other side of the room, carried on a frantic whispered conversation punctuated by wild gesticulations. They appeared to be arguing over a small make-up bag that rattled ominously when shaken. When Maka finally emerged from the bathroom, her skin fragrant and her hair still damp, Liz and Patty pounced.

"Come on Maka-chan!" Patty cried, grabbing her hand. "We're going to do manicures now!"

"Oh, but-" Maka tried to pull her hand away. She really just wanted to crawl into bed and forget this whole night had happened. But she didn't know who she was dealing with. Before she could shake Patty off, Liz had already entwined herself around her other arm.

"Please, Maka?" Liz put on her best pretty-please face, complete with pouting lower lip and innocently wide eyes. "We never really got to have sleepovers when we were younger, so we thought this would be a good opportunity for some girl time!" Low blow, Maka thought darkly. "It'll be just like a slumber party! Come on, I'll braid your hair while Patty does your nails," and she helped her sister drag Maka away, ignoring her feeble protests.

Kid and Soul exchanged looks. They wisely decided not to intervene.

"Maka should just be grateful that the malls aren't open at this hour, or they'd be gleefully spending her entire month's allowance all in one go," Kid said under his breath. Soul bit his lip to keep from laughing, and focused on choosing a pay-per-view movie to watch. They could hear an incessant stream of chatter coming from the bedroom the girls would be sharing. Patty and Liz were chirpily gossiping about all of their mutual friends, doing their very best to cheer Maka up.

She lasted longer than Soul thought she would, actually. After about an hour, Maka managed to slip out of Liz and Patty's grasp, pleading a nail-polish-induced headache and swearing she'd be right back. The boys heard the main hotel room door close quietly a moment later, and Soul gave her a five minute head start before going to look for her. He knew where she'd be.


She made quite the picture, standing on the very edge of the parapet, her ash-blonde hair loose and whipping about her face, long coat flapping out behind her in the wind. All around her, the city lights shone like jewels.

"If it were anyone else up there, I'd be checking to see if they were planning to jump," he joked weakly. She glanced back over her shoulder at him and offered him a thin smile. He saw then that she was wearing only her light cotton pajama shorts and a thin tank under the coat. Her feet were bare.

"I just…wanted to sort out my thoughts," she said. He frowned. Was she beating herself up over this still? He leaped up lightly to stand beside her on the edge.

"Wow. It's really pretty up here," he murmured, scanning the view and tucking his hands in his pockets. It was cold up here too. Maka had to be freezing in those thin cotton thingies, he thought, coat or no coat. "Maybe we should have done the Empire State building at night time instead. I bet the view is amazing."

"From up here, it sorta reminds me of Death City," she said softly. "Except, you know, way bigger." She'd always liked climbing to high places so she could look down on the cityscape below. Like the roof of Shibusen. Soul knew that was one of her favorite places to go and think.

"Mm-hm," he said noncommittally, watching her from the corner of his eye. She could feel him staring at her.

"I'm fine, Soul. Really," she insisted, brushing her hair out of her face. It was still slightly wavy from the braids she'd just taken out.

"I didn't ask you how you were," he smirked, trying to hide his concern with sarcasm. "Bit self-centered to assume I wanted to know, don't ya think?" She punched his arm, and he yelped dramatically.

"Don't be a jerk," she sniffed haughtily. But she was smiling genuinely now. For some reason, that made him feel a lot better.

"So…what are you doing up here by yourself? Liz freaked out a little when you left." In fact, her anxiety had been tangible even to him. He wondered whether it was more intense for Maka and Kid with their abilities.

"Yeah, that was part of why I wanted to be alone. Don't get me wrong, she was being really sweet and all, but…she was kinda making me nervous, with the fussing and hovering and pampering. And she tied my hair really tight," Maka winced, raking her fingers through her loose hair again. "I came up here before she could rope me into a pedicure, too," she added, and she held up her hands for his inspection. Soul was amused to see that her nails were a sparkly candy pink. He glanced suspiciously at her naked toes, and wondered how long she really thought she could hold out against a determined girl like Liz.

"Maka…" Soul really wasn't sure how to ask his question, and regretted opening his mouth as soon as she turned to look at him. His insides were twisted in knots just imagining how violated she must have felt in that stupid alley. Given how oddly Liz was acting, Soul had started to wonder if there was more to the attack. After all, Liz had heard more of the details than he had. "Maka, that guy, did…did he-?" Her eyes lingered on the lines in his forehead and the clenched muscles of his jaw. She knew what he was struggling with, what he was trying to ask, and she touched his arm gently.

"He didn't do anything other than grope me, Soul. Although having his disgusting hands running all over me was bad enough…" her eyes flashed in indignation, and Soul released a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding. "That was it—he didn't get any farther than that." She shivered, remembering how the creep's hand had slid up her skirt. "I am really glad I took Tsubaki's advice, though." Soul raised his eyebrows at her, and she hastened to explain. "The tights. Tsubaki is the one who suggested I wear tights under the new uniform skirt. If I hadn't been wearing them…" She didn't finish the sentence. She didn't need to.

"Maka…" he said softly, uncertain again. Watching her profile, Soul wished he had some of her soul perception ability. Was she really all right? She seemed to sense his question and smiled at him again. She always saw right through him.

"I'll be fine, Soul. I'm just…I'm just feeling a little shaky right now, that's all." He silently slid am arm around her waist, gently pulling her against his side. They stood together like that for several minutes, listening to distant sounds of traffic and watching the city lights twinkle below them.

"We should go back down before Liz comes after you," Soul finally said, squeezing her side lightly. Maka huffed a little. Soul jumped down and looked up at her expectantly, his hand extended to help her down.

"I suppose I should submit to the pedicure quietly, huh? As punishment for making her worry about me?" Maka placed her hand in his and leapt lightly down from her perch. Without dropping her hand, Soul led the way to the stairwell.

"Well, all that girly stuff cheers her up when she's upset, so…she's doing the best she can to make you feel better." He's insightful when he wants to be, Maka thought with a smile.

"Yeah, I know," she agreed. "It also has something to do with being here, and with how her old way of life was. Liz still remembers all too well what it was like to be the only thing standing between her sister and certain death. Having a friend attacked by some scum-sucking thug probably brings back unpleasant memories for her. I guess letting her paint my toes is the least I can do for dredging up her past," Maka sighed, following Soul back down the stairs.

"Mm-hm. At least she and Patty had each other. I'm willing to bet that the thugs learned really quickly not to mess with the Thompson sisters," Soul smirked. Maka grinned at the thought of Patty laughing maniacally, shooting wildly at the bastard from the alleyway as he ran screaming in fear and pain. That would have been a sight worth seeing. But the smile slid off her face as she thought of something else.

"Yeah…but still. They had to have known other girls who weren't so lucky…ones who couldn't transform into weapons…ones who didn't have a neurotic shinigami friend who just so happened to be looking for them at the right time, in the right place…" she trailed off, her face sad and thoughtful.

"They didn't have it easy out here, that's for sure." Soul was silent for a moment as they clomped down the final set of stairs. Or rather, as he clomped, and she padded silently on her bare feet. He glanced at her with a twisted little grin. "Makes you grateful even for a father like Spirit, huh?" Soul laughed aloud at the disgruntled look on her face.

"Ugh. I never thought I'd be grateful for such a lying, cheating, womanizing…"

"The point is," Soul interrupted Maka's rant casually, pushing open the door at the bottom of the steps and holding it open for her, "You weren't on the streets as a child, were you? And yeah, you should let Liz fuss over you since you made her worry about you tonight. And I also think you should ask Kid to order room service for us all. You know, as punishment for making the rest of us worry about you."

"Soul! How is making Kid pay for obscenely expensive room service food going to punish me?"

"Do you want a free meal or not? Quit using your logic, woman, and get us a pizza!" And she laughed the rest of the way to the suite.


A.N. Hmm, this chapter mutated into something I didn't foresee when I started…but Liz insisted on having her say. Anyway, thanks for reading! And thank you all for the reviews/alerts/favorites! Much obliged :D

~Janieshi