It would take too long to thank you all personally but I'd like to give a big thanks to all of you who review, favorite and even those of you who have added me to your favorite authors. I really appreciate your support and comments. (P.S. Please excuse the extra amount of misspellings, my spellcheck isn't working)
Chapter 9 – Hell's Kitchen
4 AM.
Soul yawned. He grumbled to himself. No living person should be awake at this ungodly hour. He stretched his arms out over his head from where he sat on the counter in the mess halls kitchen. Liz stood next to him stirring a pot of thick nasty looking goop. He yawned again and Liz looked up at him with a smirk.
"What's a matter Soul?" She smirked "Not used to being up this early huh?" He scowled and she laughed.
"Welcome to my world, Eater." He sighed.
"I don't know why but I woke up kind of early today." He grumbled.
"Rough night?" she asked curiously looking up at him from the thick goop she was stirring. He turned away from her gaze, the blood rushing to his cheeks as he thought about what had happened last night with Maka. He could still feel it. The brief contact of her lips on the side of his mouth. His hand reached up subconsciously and touched his mouth. He didn't notice Liz watching him quietly.
He shook himself out of his stupor. "Uh...not really...just woke up early this morning. Everyone else is asleep so I figured I'd come keep you company." He mumbled rubbing the back of his head. Liz gave a nod.
"Well I appreciate it; it's usually pretty quiet around here when I get up. Patty is still snoring like a bulldozer back in our quarters." She shook her head and went back to her stirring. He smirked.
"Well it must be tiring shooting people like a psychopath every day." He snorted.
Liz grinned at him. "Oh, it is." Soul gulped at the sadistic grin on her face.
"Ahh...yea...hey, don't all officers get their own quarters too live in?" He looked over at her, effectively changing the subject. She nodded.
"Usually yea, we live in pairs, like how Patty and I bunk in the same quarters together, and Chrona and Ragnarok share too." She yawned before going back to what she was doing.
"Why haven't I been moved out of they enlisted barracks then?"
He didn't mind living with everyone else even though he was the only officer living there. Liz shrugged.
"There isn't enough room for all officers to have private bunking except for Stein Maka and Tsubaki."
"Why them?" He could understand Stein. The man was a Brigadier General. There were only about 4 in the whole country. One was Stein and the other was Maka's old man.
"Well Stein and Maka are the highest ranking officers on base, and Tsubaki lives in a separate section of the infirmary, so she's always close by if you need her. The only person you could live with right now is Kidd, and Maka didn't think you'd get along well with Kidd; he's nice enough but... Well his OCD would have been a problem, that's why he's the exception to the rule." Soul put his hands behind his head and leaned back against the wall.
"So there's nowhere to put me right now." He sighed. She nodded
"Pretty much... You could move in with Kidd if you wanted... But do so at your own risk." She warned, picking up the pot and moving it onto the stove to heat up.
"I'll keep that in mind." He mumbled jumping off the counter and walking over to look inside the pot.
"What the hell is that?" He made a face at the bubbling grey slop. It smelled funny and it reminded Soul of something he saw in an old black and white horror film when he was young.
"Porridge." Soul stuck his tongue out. "Eww."
A ladle whipped into his line of vision. "No one's making you eat it, Eater" She growled. Soul held his hands up in defense.
"I'd like to see you make halfway edible meals with the shit they give me to work with..." She paused, and then grinned. "Actually now that the paper works gone through and you're officially a Corporal you'll be assigned a job to work around the base." A brow arched.
"What do you mean job?" Liz twirled her ladle around. "Like Chrona and Ragnarok work the mail room, and when new recruits are done with Patty works the shooting range, and I'm the cook." He listened closely. More work. He frowned.
"Why don't you sign up to work in the kitchen with me?" She grinned. "It would only be for breakfast and dinner." He looked skeptical. "Unless you think you can't do it." She challenged with a smirk.
He scowled. Flashing pearly white rows of razor sharp teeth. "Alright, I'll be your kitchen boy." Liz gave a grin, extending her hand, which he grabbed and they shook.
Soul jogged down the sandy trail leading to the training room. The closer he got the more nervous he felt. She didn't know that he knew she kissed him, so if he just acted like he didn't know everything would be fine. He ran his tongue over his busted and now dry lips. He couldn't stop thinking about it though. Her face just wouldn't leave his mind.
'Sure, she's friendly...helpful...understanding...cute...pretty eyes...hot...WHOA THERE!' He stopped himself. Reaching up and grabbing two fistfuls of his snowy locks he gave a vicious tug. 'Stop those thoughts right there'. He chided himself. Surely thinking about your commanding officer like this was wrong. He shook his head before walking into the training room.
'It was just...a pity kiss.' He reasoned, sighing. 'Cause mom never did it.' He nodded. Reassuring him. He walked in and spotting Tsubaki and Patty as he had yesterday he walked up to them. "Morning Tsubaki, morning Patty." They both smiled at him.
"Oh, good morning Soul, does your mouth feel better today?" He smiled back.
"Yes much better, thanks." She nodded.
"That's good." Patty smirked at him.
"Try not to let the Colonel knock your socks off again." She laughed. He scowled at her.
The door flung open and Maka, dressed the same as yesterday walked in. "Alright everyone, today I'm going to teach you some moves that break bones, and you'll all be giving training weights." Maka walked onto the center mat and a moment later everyone with their partners scurried off to their own mats. No one wanted to anger the Colonel after they had seen her drop Soul the day before. Soul took a deep breath and joined Maka on the center mat.
"Are you sure you want to keep working with me, Soul?" She mumbled quietly so only he could hear. He smiled.
"Why wouldn't I?" A look of surprise flashed across her face briefly, but as soon as it came it was gone and she gave a nod, turning away from him. Maybe he imagined it, or maybe it was the lighting but he thought her cheeks looked a little red.
"Alright, the Corporal and I will demonstrate." She turned back to him.
"Punch me." She commanded, slipping into stance. He did the same before giving a curt nod. He cocked his fist and let it fly. She grabbed his wrist and twisted so she was behind him, arm held straight out behind him. She pressed the index finger of her other hand into a point just above his elbow and he immediately felt the pressure. He growled, grinding his teeth before dropping to his knees and the pain vanished. He panted as Maka explained that you could easily with very little strength break there arm with one finger. Everyone began to carefully practice the technique as Soul got back to his feet.
Maka sent him an apologetic look for not warning him. He just grinned, and she sent a small smile his way. He rubbed his arm.
"Alright, now try it on me." She instructed him. He gave a nod as they returned too stance. Her punch flew at him like a bolt of lightning, which he deftly caught, spinning her around and pressing his finger into the pressure point just above her elbow. Maka let out a gasp of both surprise and of pain. She hadn't held back anything, and he'd not only been able to see it, but grab her fist and do just as she had instructed. He pressed and she gritted her teeth before giving a sharp nod and he immediately let go.
"Very good, Corporal." She nodded. He gave a sharp grin. And she couldn't help but smile in return.
"Alright, everyone, you're to wear these at all times, except for showering." Maka instructed them as everyone tightened the training weights around their wrists and ankles. She gave a nod and dismissed them.
Everyone began to file out, talking amongst themselves.
"Corporal." Soul stopped and looked back, Maka waved him over and he swallowed before going up to her, the rooms now empty save for the two of them.
"Soul, did you get back to the barracks last night?" Soul tensed up. He mentally slapped himself. 'Relax' he told himself.
"Yea, I don't think I was out for that long really." She nodded. "That's good, I didn't think about it till this morning that you may have slept outside all night." Soul watched as her shoulders relaxed and she took a breath. 'She really was worried about me..." Soul let an easy smile slip onto his face.
"Yea, no I'm fine, thanks." she smiled and a nod. Soul gave a wave as he turned and went out the door. "See ya at dinner." he called back. Once out the door he stuffed his hands into his pockets as he trotted to the mess hall. He had to get started on dinner. When he walked in Liz was slipping on her apron.
"So you actually came." Soul scowled.
"I said I would, didn't I?" She tossed him a stark white apron.
"That's yours. So you gotta wash it yourself." She called to him as she started pulling pots out and setting them on the stove. Soul slipped it over his neck and tied it around his waist. "Oh, this too." She threw something at him. He caught it and looked into his hand.
"Seriously uncool." He moaned, and Liz laughed.
Soul stirred the giant pot of soup; he stood chopping up onions and various other ingredients that looked less then fresh. So being a cook for more than a 400 people wasn't as easy as he'd imagined. The food they had to work with was tasteless at best, nasty at worst. He would never take food or Liz for granted again.
He had already cut his finger no less than 3 times and he still wasn't finished yet. He looked to his right and watched in amazement as Liz chopped a whole onion in no more than 5 seconds.
"How the hell do you do that?" He marveled. Liz just grinned around her cigarette.
"Lots of practice, Eater. After a while you don't even have to think about it." She said as she slid everything on her cutting board into the industrial sized pot.
Soul grumbled as he nicked his finger again. "Damnit!" He yelled taking his knife to the sink again to wash it.
"Not as easy as you thought it was, is it?" Liz laughed. Soul shook his head.
"It doesn't really help that I've never really cooked in my life." He grumbled.
"Nothing ever?" Liz questioned.
"Does instant ramen count?" He looked over at her. She frowned and shook her head. "Then no, never."
"Well good..." Liz said clapping her hands together. "Because army cooking is much different from real cooking." She smirked. "The less you know the better, It's time for me to give you a lesson in Army Cooking 101." She grinned.
Soul ladled bowl after bowl of soup and set it on the trays of tired, hungry and whining soldiers. It was so boring, and he was so tired. Liz had gone over probably everything he would ever need to know about working in an army kitchen. His hands were cut up and his brain hurt trying to remember everything Liz had taught him. She said he had only one thing left to do before he was officially her little cooking protégé, and when he asked what she had just smiled and walked off.
He sighed wishing for something to lighten the monotony. Just as he thought it a loud howl rang out in the line.
"The great Black Star is hungry!" Soul hung his head. "Why... Why me?" he moaned looking up at the ceiling. Sure enough a few more people went by before Black Star stood in front of him, waving his tray around like an idiot.
"Soul?" he looked floored to see Soul behind the counter.
Soul sighed. "Hey Black Star..." There was a drawn out silence before Black Star burst out into peals of laughter.
"What the hell are you wearing?" He bellowed. Looking not only at the apron but the hair net Liz made him wear. Soul scowled as Black Star continued to cry with laughter. Soul didn't notice but Liz was watching from the corner of her eye, waiting.
"What are you? An old lady?" He managed to get out between his laughing fits. Soul growled. His grip on the ladle turning his knuckles white.
Black Star took a breath. "Oh Oh, I know! You look like the lunch lady from high school!" He roared with laughter. Soul snarled. Taking a ladle of soup and flinging it into Black Star's face. Carrots, onions, chunks of meat and hot broth slapped the blue haired idiot straight in the face.
Black Star let out a strangled yell, as his hands shot up too his face.
"GAH! There's a carrot in my eye!" He howled before running off and out of the mess hall. Soul in his apron, and hair net, brandishing his ladle like a weapon, one foot propped up on the counter like he was about to leap over it and lips pulled back revealing his menacing teeth, snarled.
"Who else has something to say?" He glared at the line and tables in the hall. The hall was deathly quiet and when his eyes roamed over someone they immediately averted there gaze.
Soul gave a snort, before motioned the next person in line to come on. The soldier scurried up to him quickly and was served his soup. He quickly scuttled off to a table.
Liz grinned, clapping Soul on the shoulder. He glanced up at her. "Welcome to the kitchen, Soul."
Soul scrubbed angrily at the dirty pot. "This shit just won't come off!" He huffed, throwing his rag into it angrily. Liz, standing next to him spraying hot water into another pot nodded.
"It never comes completely off" She grunted. She picked it up and started to dry it.
"Isn't that...I dunno...unsanitary or something?" He mumbled. Liz shot him a deadpan look. He just lifted his hands up in a sign of surrender, and they went back to picking up the kitchen.
They were just finishing up when Soul smelled something wafting through the kitchen. "Hey, what's that smell?"
"Oh crap!" Liz ran straight to the oven a pulled out, to Soul's surprise, a cake.
"Where the hell did that come from?" He asked, watching her place it on the counter with a grin and start to cut it up.
"Made it, every once in a while I can pull enough stray ingredients together for one of these bad boys, usually everything comes frozen or half made, it's tough to get raw ingredients. A little treat for the forts only cook." She handed him a plate with a piece of cake. "Or cooks." She smiled at him.
They sat down and ate it. Soul was slobbering all over himself at just the smell. He ate it slowly, savoring every last bite. Taking Liz's words seriously that they couldn't make them often.
"This is awesome, Liz" He grinned. She smirked. "I know, I wish I could make it more often, the Colonel has a huge sweet tooth. She'd do anything for stuff like this." Soul looked at the cake thoughtfully as Liz brushed crumbs of her lap and pulled her apron off, hanging it on a hook next to the door and yawned.
"Well, I'm getting out of here. Have another piece if ya want, see ya at 4AM for breakfast, we get to make gravy and biscuits. Whoo!" She gave a sarcastic call about breakfast as she walked out of the kitchen and through the dark mess hall.
Soul placed his apron and hairnet next to Liz's before he rummaged through the cabinets until he found a paper plate. He cut off a piece of cake and set it on the plate with a fork. With that he plopped his hat onto his head and left the kitchen. He'd clean the knife in the morning.
He walked toward the back of the fort, where the officer's barracks were. He found the one that read 'Albarn' and stood uncertainly in front of the door.
He was here now what the hell was he supposed to say? He scratched the back of his head and blushed. He was about to turn around, berating himself for being stupid when the door swung open.
"Soul?" She asked questioningly, squinting to see him in the settling darkness.
"Ah, hey Maka." He cleared his throat.
"What are you doing here?" She asked. He was so glad it was dark. He knew his face must have been bright red.
"I thought... You might want this, Liz mentioned you had something of a sweet tooth, and we had some left over." He thrust the paper plate into her hands.
"Oh, thank you, Soul." He nodded. "Yea, well... I have to get up at 4AM so... Goodnight." He turned and walked quickly too his own barracks.
"Good night." She called after him. Maka walked back into her room, closing the door behind her and leaned against it. She looked down at the simple orangey colored cake with a small smile. She picked up the fork and took a bite.
"Hmmm."
I'm sorry it took so long I got quite busy when school started, and the past few days have been busy too as Thursday was my 18th birthday. I went to the casino Friday and yesterday I went and got a tattoo, and went to the casino again, haha. Anyway despite its lateness. Here's chapter 9 ~ Malthazar LOS
