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Prompt #9: Leader - In their partnership, it depended on the situation.

Words: 1,189

Don't necessarily avoid sharp edges. Occasionally they are necessary to leadership. —Donald Rumsfeld

This was absurd. He was a scythe, and that was the main reason she picked him as her partner. She'd been trained specifically to handle a scythe.

So why couldn't she pick him up? What was stopping her?

His tone was a combination of irritable and impatient. "You gonna pick me up anytime soon?"

"Shut up," Maka snapped as she eyed him carefully. Her fingertips nervously tapped against each other, the only outward sign of her unease.

No, it wasn't uneasiness that had her unwilling to touch Soul. It was fear.

Fear that trusting a male, any male, after her father's betrayal. Fear that Soul would betray her as well. Fear that such a betrayal would be her breaking point, that it would cut too deep for her to heal.

But she was the meister. She had to take control, to lead this partnership. Without her, Soul couldn't be trained, couldn't be used, couldn't become a Deathscythe. She couldn't let him down just because she was afraid.

So, swallowing her fears and doubts and nerves, Maka reached out to grasp the shaft of Soul's weapon form.

You don't lead by hitting people over the head—that's assault, not leadership. –Dwight Eisenhower

The first time she slammed him with a Maka Chop, Soul lost his temper. Corporal punishment had never been a feature in his upbringing, and he sure hadn't expected his new meister to brain him with a dictionary pulled from friggin' nowhere because he made a comment about her lack of figure.

Okay, maybe he had it coming, but what sane person uses a book to hit people? Seriously.

Fortunately, he learned that those Chops weren't just limited to him; her idiot father and Black*Star were fellow recipients, and for far more idiotic reasons. Unfortunately, she had a hair-trigger temper and the ability to yank large books from seemingly nowhere every time that trigger engaged.

It should've been a deal-breaker. Nobody would have thought less of him for it. But she never brained him to prove her leadership, and he really had to learn to watch his smartass remarks anyway, and most importantly of all, she was his meister.

So he dealt with the random bouts of physical assault.

He who has learned how to obey will know how to command. —Solon

She might be the one calling the shots while hunting souls, but Maka knew that on this battlefield, she needed Soul to take the helm.

She was waltzing with a man who clearly had no idea that she was not used to this scene. He talked while dancing too fast, forcing her to think, talk and waltz at the same time while changing direction with the abandon of a spinning top. Panicked and already unsteady in her high heels, Maka had no choice but cling to this fool and try not to trip, or worse, step on his foot.

C'mon Soul, where are you? she thought helplessly. Please, please, PLEASE save me from this joke of a -

"Excuse me." Maka almost sighed in relief when she heard that familiar lazy drawl over the music. She and her dancing partner both looked over to see Soul extending a hand to Maka like the proper young gentleman he'd been brought up to be, a grin twisting his lips upwards. "Mind if I cut in?"

Her current partner tightened his grip on Maka's hand and hip. "Excuse us, we're trying to dance here."

"Clearly." Red eyes flashed from Maka's to look at the guy. His grin widened to a full smile, displaying his unique teeth. "Why don't you find some other lady to yank around like a pulley train."

"Why you rude little - "

"Walk. Away." There was no mistaking the commanding edge in Soul's voice, like an ice-cold blade being pressed to the skin. "Or you're going to lose a hand."

Her lame-o partner hightailed it out of there faster than a cat fleeing a bath. Maka swallowed hard as Soul took her hand and led her back to the dance floor. "Just follow my lead," he whispered in her ear, and the bottom of her stomach dropped away.

His taking control like this...honest to Death, Maka thought it was kinda sexy.

Lead me, follow me, or get out of my way. — General George Patton

Their latest mission was a joke and a disaster, with extra stupid and a side order of pathetic. Soul couldn't think of another time he'd been so badly injured thanks to meister incompetence. (He didn't count that affair with Crona, that was his own damn fault for jumping in front of Ragnarok) Now, to make matters worse...

"She said WHAT?" he barked into the mirror as he reported to Kid (he just couldn't call him Lord Death, even though he technically was now)

"She says that you overstepped your boundaries as her weapon," Kid said. There was no blame in his voice, just the calm of a man delivering facts. "She claims that your actions directly resulted in the mission's failure."

He had ended up with a broken arm, shattered shin, a gash across his back and a concussion, and the bitch dared to say he was the reason their mission had failed? "Bullshit!" Too indecisive for the big decisions and too hung up on the details, Marjorie Kwill had no sense of propriety and whined whenever her clothes got stained in mud or guts.

And this was supposed to be what passed for a three-star meister nowadays?

Kid tilted his head questioningly. "So you gave the order to retreat? Marjorie claims you could have taken the witch out."

"And I knew that witch had a twin sister, Kid. We weren't prepared to take both witches, so I gave the order. When Marjorie tried to force us to fight, I knocked her out and we got the hell out of there."

The young Shinigami chuckled. "That sounds like something Maka would do."

"If Maka had been my meister, five men wouldn't be dead."

"So what are you saying?"

"I might not be as useful a lone Deathscythe, but I won't be led by some idiot too stupid to lead or who won't follow my advice." Red eyes bored into gold ones. "I want Maka back."

"You know that's not - "

"I don't care. I refuse to partner with another incompetent." Soul channeled every scrap of leader-esque strength he'd ever seen from Maka into his ultimatum. "It's Maka or nobody."

People tend to have different opinions on leadership. Some believe that it is earned, while others believe that it is an obligation. A few believe that leadership can be a burden or a blessing, depending on the circumstances.

But with one particular pair of meister and weapon, the position of leader could technically be considered a tag-team role.

I like this! How about you?

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