Chapter 11

The night had been so pleasant. Reliving her first date with the love of her life, it had been exhilarating, fun and mind-blowing. Never before had she thought she could relive falling in love with Soul again and date him again, but it was just as enjoyable as before. Her knees were weak and her heart speeded up seeing him just like when they started dating.

And the kiss! She didn't even know if their first kiss was better. The kiss was something she hadn't experience before. Going months just being around him and not being able to touch him was unbearable. She had tried to quench her thirst by taking care of herself while she took a peek at some of his nudes he had sent her before the accident and now when he had kissed her, it was like being reborn. The starvation she had carried for months and tried to quench with her fingers, it had finally been met. At least a little. Now she starved for more. She wanted to kiss him more and touch him and maybe if everything went well tonight, they could do something more.

The night couldn't come too soon. Especially when her mother-in-law offered to take her out to buy a proper dress for the dinner party since the first glance she set on her dress she had gaged in dismay at the look of it.

They were on rocky terms, especially after Christmas. She would rather sit on a beach and eat sand while she got a terrible sunburn than be around her. But… it would get her some time to straighten things out with her mother-in-law. If Soul was to study here, it meant she would be in contact with his family a lot. She was already in contact with his parents more than she ever had been during the years she knew him, but she needed to try to get along with Kathrine even though she was twisted with her own agenda. Kathrine was a part of his life, and she needed to accept that and get along with her for them to work.

"Then what about this one? It would bring out your lovely curves," Kathrine spoke gracefully as she held a dress to her body. It was a lovely dress, but it didn't appeal to me.

"I don't think so. Pink isn't really my colour."

"What? But pink would look really good on a lovely young lady like you."

"I've never really liked pink."

"Well then, we'll just have to find you a different dress."

It was weird. They'd been practically at war with each other the moment Soul wasn't present and here they were, pretending they were best friends shopping together. But an illusion of peace was better than the silent war going between them.

"Then what about this one?"

"Oh no, mermaid dresses aren't my thing."

"What about this one? With your lean legs you can pull off a cocktail dress."

"Everybody will probably have dresses covering their legs. I don't want to make a scen," Maka explained.

"If you don't want to be noticed, then I suggest you wear a classic blue silk dress. You've no idea how many I've seen on our dinner parties. I started wondering if that's all the city offered." A smile grew on her ruby lips. "But, a young lady like you needs something extraordinary. Something…" she circled her perfectly manicured index finger in the air, sharply turning and went over to a hanger, pulling forward a dress. "… like this one. Red silk, and it will hug your curves perfectly. There will be plenty of other red dresses tonight so you won't stand out but you will still look good as an individual as well."

She really wasn't feeling like shopping for a dress when she already had one, but she wanted to stay on Kathrine's good side. Even though she didn't deserve it. She was doing it all for Soul's sake.

She sighed, standing up from her seat and grabbed the hands from her. "I'll try it on."

"Good girl."

She headed for the roomy fitting room with mahogany and silk furniture. She started getting dressed when Kathrine spoke from the other side of the velvet fabric wall.

"I hope you brought the bracelet we gave you for Christmas, it will look really good on you with the dress."

The bracelet? She had discarded it in a drawer the moment she got home. She wasn't going to wear a symbol for the Evans family when they had done so much wrong to Soul. She wasn't going to wear something that represented the nights she woke up to him crying his eyes out or their first holidays together when he would be more gloomy than joyful. There was nothing good about wearing the name Evans.

"Oh no. I sadly forgot it in Death City," she replied.

Kathrine paused. "I know we haven't exactly gotten along."

"You think?" Maka spat.

"I'll see passed your rude remark, but I know you truly care about Soul and would do anything for him. You have already done so much for him. You wouldn't hurt a hair on his head and you wouldn't hesitate to punch the light out of the ones who did."

"I'm happy you're finally seeing it. You should've seen it months ago when we first met."

"A mother has her doubts."

Maka rolled her eyes.

"Anyway, I didn't mean to bring it up again, all I want to say is my husband and I are lucky he found such a fine woman like you. You're a great addition to our family and I'm proud to call you my daughter-in-law."

Her eyes fluttered in confusion and she stopped pulling the dress up her body. "You are?"

"Yes. You can be horribly rude and misses some manners, but you're successful, loyal and you truly love my son. My son chose well and I know you could fit in our family."

She still wasn't sure, it might be the back-handed compliment or her track record of being manipulative in general. For Soul, she would let the past be the past, but if they stepped out of line, the truce would be blown to the wind within a second.

"Thank you. I guess you aren't too bad of a mother-in-law yourself."

"That's really good." Kathrine sighed with relief.

Maka got dressed the ball gown and zipped it up. She pushed the fabric away and revealed herself. "I think the dress is too long."

The dress was beautiful. Kathrine was right. It perfectly hugged her curves just in the right places and flowed around her body like water. It was the colour of love and she was sure, it had to make Soul's blood boil. He did indeed have a preference to warmer colours.

"Oh no, it's fine." Kathrine kneeled down and pulled at the dress slightly. "When you're wearing heels, it will be a little shorter but it will still touch the floor, you'll have to make sure you kick the dress while you walk."

"Can't we just sew it up a little?"

"Oh no, we don't have time for that. Not if we want to buy some jewellery to match the dress now when you forgot yours at home."

"We don't need to do that. The dress alone will cost a lot and I don't want to waste money on jewellery."

"Maka darling," Kathrine smiled kindly and grabbed her shoulders. "I'll buy the dress and jewellery. It will be my wedding gift to you."

Her eyes fluttered with confusion. "Wow. Thank you."

"You're welcome. Now get out of that dress."

Maka grinned lightly as she pulled at the curtain.

Maybe a truce wasn't needed, but a peace had really fallen between them.

She looked beautiful. Felt more beautiful than ever with the help of Kathrine. Her makeup was natural, but it heightened the emerald in her eyes and her lips look absolutely kissable. All she wanted was Soul to smudge her lipstick with his lips. She prayed for it to happen again tonight.

Her eyes sought for the one she longed for, but among the guests, it was hard for her to find him. She had expected him to wait for her by her room or possibly by the stairs where the left and right wing met, but he wasn't seen. He had to be around somewhere, but the question was where? He had helped plan the whole dinner party, he had to be in some sort of hosting role, how absurd and so unlike him it may sound, she ought to have found him by the doors when the guests started pouring in alongside his mother.

It was strange. On the most important night, he was vanished. He wasn't in his room nor the dining area nor the kitchen nor the ball room. She couldn't put her finger on it, but something was definitely off.

Her eyes lit up when she found Wes walking toward her with two glasses of champagne. "I take it you haven't found him either?"

She shook her head. "I've checked everywhere but I can't find him." She accepted the glass he offered her, clinking their glasses together before she took a sip. Her eyes didn't leave the body of party guests mingling. Kathrine was right, there were plenty of guests wearing red, she didn't stand out one bit.

"It's odd. He has planned for this for weeks and now he doesn't show up."

Maka turned toward him hastily. "Do you think something has happened to him?" Her mind started going hundred miles an hour. "Oh no, his muscles were so tense this morning. What if he had a panic attack and―"

"Relax," Wes hushed as he placed his hand upon his shoulder comfortingly. "I don't think that happened. Or else someone ought to have found him passed out. I think he's hiding away somewhere."

A spark fired within her as she smiled at him. "You think… you think he's hiding away because there are too many people?" It would be so like him. Just like the old him. Maybe… maybe last night ignited something within him, memories and he was starting to remember who he really was, and who she was to him. This… he might remember her, all alone scared not knowing what the images was he was seeing.

She had to find him. Quickly.

"I don't really know anymore, but hiding is something I know he does."

"I need to find him."

"Woah, woah, slow your horses." Wes latched on to her hand the moment she was about to bounce. "Like you said, you've already searched everywhere."

"Not where Soul is." She tugged at his hand but he refused to let go.

"You need to think rationally. We both know when you get fired up nothing good happens." Wes sneered at her. "Now stay calm, mingle a little while I go and search for Soul. I'll go and find you as soon as I do."

She turned swiftly toward him, glaring at him. "You tell me as soon as you find him. If you haven't found him within half an hour, I'll go and look for myself and I don't care how much of a fool I'll be."

"Calm down," Wes growled under his breath. "I'm serious."

"And I'm serious too," she sneered back.

"Your level of seriousness is if he has been kidnapped. He's just hiding somewhere. He's fine."

She opened her mouth to yell back at him, but she halted.

Wes was right. Oh, how she knew he was right. She was over the top on her emotions. When she got like this, nothing good would come just like Wes reminded her. Like the time when Soul suggested dropping out of college to support them better instead of taking loans and only working part-time. It was their first big fight. He had stayed with Wes for days and they hadn't spoken a word to each other for six days until Soul had crawled back to her and waited outside of her classroom. She had promised herself to keep herself level-headed from then on so no argument would blow out of proportion like that ever again, but she kept on breaking it over and over again. When she was high on her emotions, she only riled him up in the process.

For once in her life, she needed to stay levelled. For Soul. She knew very well she couldn't expect him to crawl back to her like before. She had to be the one to find him for a change and stay calm.

"Fine," she murmured. "But you better tell me where he is."

"If I didn't you would strangle me." Wes flashed a grin and he let go of her hand. "Remember, smile, be polite. These people aren't like the corporate people you meet at our company parties."

"Okay, fake smiles and pretend to like operas and Mozart. I get it."

Wes chuckled and nodded. "Something like that." He turned on his feet and left her.

Like she would ever let Wes search for Soul himself.

She darted in the other direction, lifting her dress as she hurried toward the exit of the ballroom. Soul had to be somewhere close. He had arranged this after all. He may be frightened somewhere, but it had to be close. It just had to be.

"Maka." She suddenly crashed into a body of meat, stumbling backwards in the process and a hand supported her from falling. "You're in a hurry," Mr. Evans spoke after he released her hand quickly as soon as she had regained her balance.

"Um, yes, I'm looking for Soul. You might've seen him?" she asked.

"Yes, in fact I have."

"Where is he?" She eagerly stepped closer.

"He's showing some of my friends around. They insisted on seeing the gardens even though it rains. He will be back shortly."

"I'll join him then."

"Oh no." Mr. Evans was quick to raise his arm to block her path. "You wouldn't want to ruin your hair and makeup."

"I'm not really too worried about that."

"Then how about I introduce you to some of my finance friends. I heard from Soul you're considering moving here. One of them could possibly help you getting a job. The competition here is certainly tougher than in Death City," he explained stiffly.

He had a point. The competition in Los Angeles was something else than in Death City. She had been lucky having Wes as a contact, but he didn't have the same contact network like Mr. Evans in Los Angeles. There were crawling with finance people at this party. This was a good opportunity to mingle and make connections. She would be in need of them if she was going to move here.

But she needed Soul too. Right now, all she wanted was to find him.

"It's a very generous offer Mr. Evans―"

"We're family. You can call me Alistair."

"― Alistair," she corrected herself. "But I'm afraid I need to decline for now. I really do need to find my husband."

"But I want you to meet my friends and Kathrine is looking forward to introducing you to Soul and Wes's babysitter when they were young. You might already have heard a little about her, but her name is Blair."

She had heard about her from Soul and Wes, but she could wait, Soul couldn't.

"I'm sorry Alistair, but I need to find him." Before he got any chances to retort back at her, she moved passed him and continued toward the exit of the ballroom in conviction. No more obstacles. She was going to find her husband if it was the last thing she did―

Her eyes caught a glance of a back and a perfectly combed brown hair too familiar for her. She came to a stop took a couple of steps closer. The man stood on the balcony with his back toward her, curtains a little tampered with as if someone didn't want them to look what was outside on the balcony, but at the same time blend in with the other curtains. The red velvet curtains hung droopily and the ropes tied around them were as loose as they could be. A guest could still look what was beyond the curtains and on the balcony, but not as inviting as the other balconies.

Her jaw tightened when she saw a woman with blonde hair standing beside him, hand placing on his back and instantly, he turned toward her and rested his face on her shoulder. Her fists clenched when she caught sight of the side of Soul's face.

What was he doing fraternizing with some woman? Especially after their date! He had kissed her!

The woman's arms snaked around him and patted his back comfortingly. There was only one woman she knew with blonde hair he would confide in like this, and she didn't like the woman at all. She had tolerated her before, but now she was boiling.

How could Anya try to seduce a vulnerable married man! They were over for a reason!

She growled under her breath like a lioness as she rushed toward the balcony doors when suddenly Soul and Anya broke apart and she caught glimpse of Wes appearing, veins on his throat and madly shaking his finger at Soul. She stopped as she watched Wes madly shaking his hands and before she knew it, Anya headed for the balcony doors.

It was time she handled a husband-stealing skank.

Anya closed the balcony doors behind her and that's when she pounced. She grabbed a hold of her wrist and swiftly pulled her out of the ballroom.

"Hey!" Anya protested, pulling at her wrist.

She let go off her as soon as they reached a corridor which was conveniently empty. Maka crossed her arms over her chest as she stared Anya down. "I thought you were getting married to someone not my husband," she sneered.

"I am." Anya massaged her wrist. "Geez, did you have to be so rough?"

"Only to those who threaten my marriage," she neared her. "Now tell me, what do you think you're doing with my husband?"

"First things first, stop yelling."

"I will yell if I want to!" she raised her voice. "Now tell me."

"I'm not your enemy, believe it or not. I love my fiancé and I've no intentions leaving her."

"Oh yeah? You looked pretty comfortable snuggled up with my husband."

"He needed comfort. Okay? He's confused and he wanted my company."

She raised her eyebrow. "Your company?"

"Yes, my company. He has needed my company since he moved here. It's not something new."

"What?" she spat. Soul hadn't told her this.

"Yes. He's been calling me and meeting up with me to talk since he was either confused or stressed out."

She didn't know what came first, the punch in her gut catapulting the air from her lungs or the heart-wrenching pain in her heart. She had never had this problem before. Soul had always been so loyal. Never hung out one-on-one with another woman and when he studied with friends, some female some men, it was never anything fishy. He always informed her of who the was meeting with and when. Never before had he done anything wrong or anything to set her off on a jealousy spree. Now… he had been cuddling up with his ex-girlfriend he remembered being together. And he told her nothing about her.

It hurt.

"Believe it or not, but when he told me he wanted to leave you and get together with me again, I was the one to always tell him to go back to you and fix things with you. He might not remember it or understand the reason we ended, but I do and it would only fall apart again," Anya explained calmly. "I've found the love of my life and it's not him."

The room felt cold. All the beliefs about him came shattering to the ground. He couldn't have said that… he just couldn't. He… he was her everything. The one person she wanted to her side forever. The one she wanted to start a family with and grow old together. And… he didn't?

"Did he…" she whispered. "… did he really ask you to take him back?"

Anya exhaled heavily, nodding slowly. "He did."

Stab!

Right to her heart.

"I think I'm going to go now." She gestured back to the direction of the party. The sound of Anya's heels clicked as she walked away.

"Are you insane!" Wes hissed as he pushed Soul against the railing. "What are you doing here with Anya when Maka's worried death about you!"

"Give me a break!" Soul pushed Wes away from him. "It's not like we were making out or something."

"You might as well done so. What the hell are you thinking? Are you out of your mind?"

Soul rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest.

He wasn't kissing her. He hadn't done anything wrong. All he'd done was share his thoughts on the night before with Maka. As much as he wanted to keep quiet about it since ever word he said to describe the date and the kiss felt like he was cheating on her. Anya was the only one who understood him. Maka and Wes just saw him for who he was before the accident. Anya… she was the only one who listen, really listened to what he was saying, not trying to decipher him from who he was before the accident.

"Listen to me." Wes grabbed a hold of his shoulders, shaking him madly like a doll. "You can't go and fool around like this when you have a wife! Doesn't Maka mean anything to you anymore?"

"Get off me!" Soul sneered and smacked his arms from him. "You know damn well after the accident she stopped being my wife."

"But you didn't stop being her husband." Wes's eyes were on fire as he glared at him. "You got married to her and you can't just pretend like she isn't your wife. You're disrespecting your marriage."

"If you're so damned in love with her then why don't you go ahead and marry her, huh?" Soul snapped.

Wes's eyes fluttered in confusion. "What?"

"Oh come on, don't pretend like you aren't." Soul sneered. "You love her. You couldn't handle she and I were going on a date so you got drunk. You're pushing me to her so you can make her happy. Why didn't you just marry her then?"

"I think you've it all wrong." Wes tilted his head and raised his eyebrow. "You know Maka and I are friends and partners in my company."

"Oh don't get shy on me now, I know you love her."

"Soul, I think you're projecting. I'm not in love with her."

Soul snorted. "Give me a break. You're doing awfully a lot for her to only be friends."

"Maybe you've forgotten I'm doing this for you too. You loved her before and I know you can love her again. All I want is for you two to be happy together again."

"I don't believe you." Soul pushed passed his brother. "You can have her. Get married to her for all I care."

They didn't understand him.

They never did.

He needed some time alone to think. All he wanted was to be alone. He didn't want to talk to anyone or be looked on by anyone. All he wanted was to hear the silence of the night, hear the rain splattering and not his brother's madly clenching and unclenching hands or his teeth grinding.

It was all so confusing. Before it had all been so crystal clear, but after Maka's arrival and the date it had all gone down the drain. Why had he even kissed her and why had he even liked it. They were best friends. It was solid. But now after the date Maka had blurred the lines and he was so confused. He didn't know anymore. They were best friends but… then the kiss and Anya… it was stressing him out.

It was driving him insane being around everybody. Having Wes pull at his arm and pushing him to go and be with Maka and her pulling at him to keep on kissing him and taking on the husband role she told him to abandon and walk his own path.

He just wanted to be alone.

He entered the ball room again and he rushed toward the entrance hall, grabbing an umbrella from the stand, pulling the door open.

"Soul?"

He halted, squeezing his eyes shut and silently cursing. Slowly he turned around seeing Maka walking toward him in the most gorgeous dress he had ever seen her in. His mother had done a good job. Her arms crossed over her chest as she stopped in front of him.

"Are you going outside?" she asked almost timidly.

"Yeah, just grabbing some fresh air."

"Can I join you? You still haven't shown me the garden and I would love to see your gazebo."

"I don't know… we haven't even started dinner and if you go out you'll ruin your hair and makeup." He excused, hoping she would understand and just leave him alone.

"I don't care."

"I could just show you it tomorrow―"

"No, I want to see it now," she interrupted him.

He guessed he had no choice. "Alright. Grab an umbrella." He opened the door and went outside, undoing his umbrella and before he knew it, Maka was right by his side, standing under his umbrella.

Okay. If she was going to play that game.

They went around the mansion, Soul pointing toward different trees, bushes and flowers, but she never gave him a response. Something was wrong and it was making him uneasy. She was even keeping her distance from him. She would rather have her one shoulder outside of the umbrella than have their shoulders touching. It was really… odd.

"There you've my mother's hyacinths. It's the only patch my mother insists on taking care of herself. She loves her hyacinths." Soul rambled, feeling his throat running dry. "Wes once pushed me into the flowers and that's when I learned two things, my mother's rage and the fact I was allergic to them."

She didn't make a single sound.

He gulped and he gestured toward the gazebo right by his mother's hyacinths. "And there you have it, the gazebo."

It was wide and pride with its white glory, able to fit a dinner party of thirty people still with space to spare. They went inside of the gazebo and Maka's heels clicked against the wood as he folded up his umbrella again, leaning it against the railing to let the rain drip off it.

"It was my mother's idea. She told me when Wes was toddler and I was just a baby, they attended a brunch with some of their friends and she saw the children play in their cute little gazebo. She was in love with the idea and the next day she had people digging up the yard." He watched her carefully as she wandered around, eyes examining the floor and the ceiling, her hand feathering over the moist wood. "Our father stormed out fuming in anger thinking some people was just digging in their yard until he saw mom sit on the porch, sketching on blue prints she wanted it to look like. He just needed to look at the sketch for all the pieces to fall into place and he laughed so hard mom started thinking he had finally lost it."

He didn't know what to say. He couldn't even read her. She was silent like the night and eerily unfamiliar as she held up her now stained dress hem. She was making him quiver with nerves and fear of the unknown that would arrive. His heart racing in his chest in worry.

So he settled on leaning against the railing, staying just as quiet as her. If silence was her weapon, it would be his shield.

He looked out over the garden, listening to the rain splattering on the roof and dripping down on the grass. The cool air chilling his body. The lanterns were lit just as his mother had wanted, lighting up the flowers, bushes and the trees, thankfully the ceiling protected them from the light so no curious guests from within the mansion could see them.

"Can I ask you something?" Maka broke the silence finally when she reached his side of the railing, joining him and looking out over the garden.

"Of course you can."

"Okay."

Silence.

"… you can ask me the question any time now."

"I know."

"So…?"

"Don't rush these things."

"Okay." This was even more painful than the silence. Couldn't she just tell him already? The anticipation was killing him.

"I saw you with Anya earlier," she whispered.

His throat knotted and his hands tightened on his sleeves. "That wasn't a question, but yeah, I talked with Anya."

"Seems like you two were quite comfortable."

"Look," he turned toward her. "I didn't have my tongue down her throat or anything. It's not like I was cheating on you or something."

"Oh yeah?" She faced him. "How come you didn't tell me you've been meeting up with her all this time you stayed in Los Angeles? If nothing special happened between you and Anya, you could've told me. After all, you were hanging around your ex-girlfriend," she growled out the word.

"She's getting married―"

"But you still begged her to take you back!" her voice rose in power and she yelled right in his face.

He backpedalled, staring at her.

"Your beloved Anya told me. I can't believe you've been asking her to take you back," she growled. "How could you do that to us!"

"It's not like I even remember us. I was in a motorcycle accident." He tapped madly at the spot on his head where his hair hid the scar. "Remember?"

"It's not about that!" she screamed. "It more than a half year since the car accident. You've gotten to know me― you know me. You know how much you mean to me and how much I treasure what we have, and you still chased after Anya! Even tonight when you're supposed to be my date, you ran away and spent it with Anya!"

Soul sighed and massaged the bridge of his nose. "I didn't exactly ask you to be my date for the evening."

Her lips tightened and her eyes suddenly went glossy. Now he felt like shit.

"So you didn't want to be my date for the night?"

"… Maka."

"Don't play around. Give me an honest answer!"

He looked away from her. "… No."

"Tell me." His heart was tearing just at hearing her trembling voice. "You know me. We're not strangers anymore. Can you see yourself falling in love with me?"

He grimaced as he massaged his aching shoulders. "You don't need to know―"

"Yes I do," she insisted. "We promised each other no more secrets or lies between us."

He faced her and his breath was taken. She was trembling, tears on the verge of spilling over as she stared at him, waiting for his answer.

"I don't want to hurt you," he said.

"You're only hurting me more by not answering."

He bit his lower lip and he opened his mouth. "… no."

She squeaked, hands slapping over her mouth and the tears spilled over. She sobbed loudly and his heart was twisting with pain just looking at her.

"You're the last person I wanted to hurt. It's tiring disappointing you all the time. I've tried to be the husband you married, but I just can't," he whispered.

"I-I know," she hiccupped, breathing fast. "I should've seen it earlier. You've changed for months and… and you were never even close to being that man. Now you're finding yourself and…" she sobbed, shrugging her shoulder. "… and I don't fit in your life anymore."

"Maka…" He bit his lower lip, trying to hold back his own tears as he looked at her.

She took a deep breath. "Tell your parents I had to go… I'll have the divorce papers send to you once I get home." Her voice cracked and she sobbed loudly, quickly walking passed him and exited the gazebo, running through the rain back toward the mansion.

Tears fell from his eyes as he watched her leave. His heart was racing and hurting, still hearing her cry out her pain even now when she was twenty yards away. His body trembled and his knees gave him. He let out a sob and he hugged his own body. The cold was stabbing through him and taking away the little warmth he contained.

Why was he hurting so? He didn't love her, but the pain was unbearable. He still cared about her. She was his best friend. His safe haven he could always count on. She always knew how to make him laugh and she was always willing to be there for him no matter what.

He let out a cry of pain as he repeatedly punched the floorboards of the gazebo.

He didn't want to hurt like this. He didn't want to be without Maka. She was his inspiration and the best god damned thing in his life. She was so god damned selfless and she always put his miserable ass before her own. How does he repay her? By going behind her back and talking to Anya when he should've confided in her.

How could he be so stupid? How could he do that to her?

He didn't want her to go.

What was he going to do without her?

He gasped for air as he got up on his trembling legs, almost falling when his world tilted and his vision was growing darker. His breathing was quickening and with shaky hands, he ripped at his tie.

Fuck. He couldn't breathe. Was he having a heart attack? It didn't matter.

He had to go after Maka.

His muscles screamed as he stumbled toward his umbrella, unfolding it and he hurled himself out of the gazebo. He tried to take deep slow breaths, but it was in vain. It was like breathing through a straw.

He was having an anxiety attack.

He couldn't. Not now. He needed to find Maka. He needed to find her. He couldn't live without her! He needed her to function!

His eyes searched to name five things he could see just like Maka had taught him, but his vision was too blurry and dark to be able to see anything. He stumbled forward on his noodle legs, air refusing to fill his lungs and before he knew it, the umbrella left his hand and he came crashing down and the world he had come to know was no more.