So it's been a while because I've been sick with the flu (regular flu, I swear!) and had to do some make-up work and a film project. So I'm back on track, and here's Do Re Mi 11.
I would like to take a moment to thank all my readers, reviewers, and Cindy. And to apologize for the delay of the picture. I just can't decide what to draw, so I NEED opinions and suggestions, or else this will all go nowhere.
Check out Godsends by Sapphire Anime Bubble. I order you to! It's amazing, and the storyline will have you on the edge of your seat the entire way! Don't forget to review it. And Do Re Mi. You all better not forget to review my work, also. ;)
Ki
She'll meet him there. Surprise him with that stunning dress Tsubaki and she had been working on for a month. The blue one. With the yellow and white stripes. The doors of Shibusen seemed far, far away. He walked. Because he didn't wanna get his clothes dirty that night. It was their last Halloween ball at Shibusen as students. They'll go off to Enrollment College then. And after that, come back. Come back to the shiny symmetrical halls of the school. Maka would teach. And Soul? He'll be a Death Scythe. For sure. As for his attire, he had dressed in a red long sleeve shirt with a black vest and tie. And Maka would look stunning tonight. He drooled in anticipation. His patience had to withstand it, though, cause it wouldn't be cool to run there just to see Maka in a handmade dress.
Even though secretly, he wanted to see her, he waited outside the doors. Just standing there, listening to the music coming from up above relaxed him. Because he knew he wouldn't have alone time for the rest of the evening after this. Classmates were still uncomfortable with him after his birthday incident, and the thought of that caused him to hesitate even further. Enemy territory and ally territory happened to be in the same room that night. It wasn't that frightening… just really… frightening. He dealt with it at regular school hours because he had a few more advance classes than others, thus not seeing anyone special during the day. Especially not Mel and Thalia. He avoided them during Combat.
After a few minutes, Soul inhaled a long, deep, painful breath and pushed open the doors. He made way up the spiral steps to the ballroom, opening one more door. All the muffled noise he had heard became ten times louder. The colorful decorations caught his eye, and the music proved to be a lot better than last year. He grinned. Maka wasn't just his company here anymore. No… this time, she was his date. And he had to go find her.
The worst thing that could happen did. Someone grabbed him from around his neck and squealed in joy. A high-pitched girly voice said, "It's Soul!" Soul grabbed the wrists of the girl and twisted around, coming eye-to-eye with a sunny-haired girl with large orange eyes.
The girl was instantly pulled away from him by a taller silver-haired girl. A scar scratched the skin from her forehead to her jaw-line. The girl threw her to the side and shouted, "You've embarrassed me enough!" She turned to Soul and blushed. She said defensively, "She got into her Mom's secret stash of sake today."
"Mel," Soul angrily spat her name. "You and your sister are to stay away from me. "
Mel corrected him. "She is my half-sister. You know that." She pulled Thalia behind her and continued, "Look, we didn't mean to cause any trouble between you and Maka. You probably don't remember, but I told you about Dusty. How he's missing."
Soul scornfully said, "I don't care… Dusty was a bastard anyways…" He remembered the meister who used to pick Mel and Thalia up from Combat class. Dusty's dark orange hair spiked in front of his face, shielding his eyes. Around his neck was always this giant spiked collar and a bunch of chains decorated his black jacket. The kid always had a mysterious aura trailing behind him, and Soul had always kept his distance.
"What if Maka went missing, HUH?" Mel challenged. "What if your meister had gone missing! I don't know where the fuck he is, and there I was at your stupid birthday party getting as drunk as Thalia!" Her voice trembled and water began to leak from her eyes. "I just want to apologize. I hate you avoiding me during Combat. You and Tsubaki are my only friends in that class…"
Soul sighed without care for her and trudged off to the middle of the dance floor, Thalia's and Mel's voices arguing behind him. He didn't care. He didn't care at all. But his smile of the night finally reached his face when his meister looked up at him with those shiny emerald eyes. Those delicate hands of hers touched his face, and that smile of hers broke into a giggle. Soul gave out a half-hearted laugh, too. But Maka said in her most adorable, innocent voice, "Bitch."
Maka must have saw them talking. "Mel isn't actually that bad," Soul said. "It's her half-sister… Thalia… that girl can't get her paws off of sake. She gets such bad hangovers that she ends up ditching Combat in the mornings."
"Still," Maka said, "Anyone who dare gives a kiss to my weapon is a bitch." Then, she got up on her tippy-toes and gave Soul a kiss. When she pulled away, a loud grumble came from her stomach. She blushed. Soul laughed. "Oh… h-ho… oh wow. Well, I-I guess that means it's dinnertime!" Maka explained as she pulled Soul through the crowds to the long tables with plate of food on them.
That was when Soul noticed. Maka wore that night a white halter top and a purple skirt with a black choker. Her hair was bundled in a side ponytail, held together by a purple ribbon. No blue dress. No handmade blue dress. Soul instantly questioned himself… did she finish in time? He'd have to ask Tsubaki later, even though it was his least concern at the moment. Food was within a few feet from him, and getting closer by the millisecond. His stomach was starved. And he was tired, yet, the night hadn't even started. His eyes darted to the beverages and confirmed to him that there was no alcohol.
Food filled his plate and Maka dragged him to the other side of the ballroom where BlackStar and Tsubaki stood, chatting to each other. Soul glared at BlackStar, who instantly noticed Maka and pulled her into the conversation. They hadn't talked since two weeks ago. BlackStar began to whisper something to Maka. Tsubaki grew a blush. Soul became pissed. If BlackStar had something important to say, he could just say it out loud. Then, Maka unexpectedly whispered something back. She spent too much goddamn time at Tsubaki's house. But when she was finished, BlackStar sighed. Once again, Soul found himself being dragged to another corner of the room. This time emptier. BlackStar let go of him, then looked down at his black shoes and muttered something. Soul grunted. Whispering, and now muttering? Was he going deaf? But BlackStar finally turned up the volume of his voice and said much louder, "Dude, I'm sick of this."
Soul rolled his eyes and asked, "Then what do you want, man?"
"Maka's already forgiven me. Why can't you?" BlackStar demanded with the most serious tone he could give. He snorted and folded his arms in a grim manner. This kind of made Soul chuckle, even though he was extremely pissed at this meister. He shook his head and put his food down on a nearby table. BlackStar raised an eyebrow, "What?"
"I don't know what the fuck you're talking about," Soul pointed out. "You're the one avoiding me. I don't find that cool."
"COOL?" BlackStar questioned. "You think I give a damn about being cool? I just wanna know what's up. Was is that night?"
Soul sneered, "I just don't get how the two of us got so much of that shit in our system. We must have gone insane." They we're both ashamed. About that night. Neither of them wanted to admit it in front of each other. They were men. Minus a year. But if BlackStar asked for forgiveness, he might as well have been cooler than Soul. Soul didn't like that. "You've got my forgiveness, man, but I need yours, too."
"For what?"
"For being an ass and following you," he admitted bluntly.
BlackStar grunted and threw a smack at Soul's upper arm. The both of them laughed and gave each other a high five. Not too long later, BlackStar made eye contact with Tsubaki from the other side of the room. That's when Soul saw his best friend's face light up. BlackStar announced, "I asked her out yesterday."
"Oooh, congrats," Soul said, swinging an arm around his friend's neck and ruffling his hair. He sarcastically mentioned, "You're a real man now."
BlackStar shook him off, "Oh, shuddup!" He ran a few feet away and swung his arms upwards and announced to the heavens, "The great, superior BlackStar has finally gotten a girl! Cha-HOOO!!!" In the realization, he sped over to Tsubaki. Soul watched and he lifted her up and spun her around, her face now turning beat red. Soul shook his head again and rubbed his fore finger and his thumb against his forehead. Maka was right. Everyone was changing. And growing up. And it suddenly amazed him that they were already in their last year of Shibusen. They all would be graduating in eight months. Heading off to Enrollment College. Amazing. Absolutely amazing.
Maka walked on over to Soul, who continued to watch BlackStar spinning Tsubaki. When Soul didn't notice her, she cleared her throat, breaking him from his trance. Realizing he was staring at something other than Maka, he pretended he was just getting up, "Wha-wha? Who's waking me up this early?" He stretched his arms.
Maka smacked him in the same spot BlackStar had and giggled, "You are undeniably a retard."
"But you still love me."
"Right," Maka noted to herself. She patted Soul where she hit him and assured him that she'd be right back. Soul waited. He carefully adjusted his tie and unbuttoned his vest. Because, seriously, a vest can be worn buttoned or unbuttoned and still look cool. Unbuttoned just looked cooler. He ran his fingers through his white hair and leaned against the wall. Dancing at a ball didn't really suit him. Too crowded. Too formal. Too much unnecessary noise. A girl came through the entrance, and her friend shrieked and gave her a hug. First years. That kind of noise. But he'd sweat it for Maka. 'Cause that's what a cool boyfriend like him did.
But suddenly, he had an idea. And Maka would like this one.
So when Maka returned, she brought along a large brownie, the size of her hand. Soul eyed the brownie and commented on its enormous size. How much of a kid she was. Instead of a Maka Chop, he received a shrug, and a reply with a full mouth. And when she dropped her brownie, he offered to accompany her to the table. Maka did not decline. He snatched the last brownie for her, but ordered, "You can have it if you come with me."
Maka puffed her cheeks and followed him reluctantly. The two of them weaved through the dancing couples and chatting friends. Some of whom they recognized. Some of who they didn't. It wasn't common to run into a student they didn't know. The school had expanded, and more meisters and weapons had come to learn how to fight, since the previous kishin incident had frightened many. They wanted to protect themselves and the ones they loved. Shibusen added two whole hallways and thirty-three more classrooms last year to accommodate the expansion. So the first year class size was triple Maka's and Soul's class size, and the upperclassmen found it hard to keep track of who's who.
A gust of air blew through Maka's hair. Soul and she were outside on the balcony, where conveniently, no one was hanging out. A few kids came outside, but went back inside to protect themselves from the cold. Soul sat against the railing and patted the ground next to him. When Maka hesitated, he held out the brownie. Maka sighed and slid down to the ground, flipping herself over so she was sitting right next to him. He rested an arm around her shoulder and whispered, "Go to sleep."
Maka took a bite of her brownie and said, "I don't want to. Let me eat my brownie." They sat in silence and Maka slowly, but surely, finished her snack. Besides the music, they could hear the crickets chirping and the leaves swiveling in circles on the ground. October; the beginning of the cold, desperate months of autumn and winter. While Soul didn't mind falling leaves and hard winds, he wasn't too fond of the snow. Maka loved the snow. He didn't.
Maka shook off all the crumbs from her skirt. The bits of brownie fell onto the concrete floor. She then brushed them off the ledge, and the crumb fell to the ground below them. She asked, "So what's up?"
Soul pulled her closer and said, "I just figured maybe we could spend some alone time."
"That's what home is for," Maka pointed out, resting her hand on Souls shoulder. "Tsubaki and BlackStar are going to wonder where we are."
Soul pressed his cheek against the top of Maka's head and looked up at the constellations. Several twinkling stars glittered. There, on the roof, he found two figures with their legs dangling off the edge. He instantly recognized them. He replied under his breath, "They have each other."
Maka nodded and closed her eyes and focused on the music. It's soft tempo rang through her ears. It blocked out all the chatter. All the human noise. All the evil in the world. The music proved to be a very well-played piece. But it lacked the heart she heard in Soul's piano playing. Soul. On the piano. One of the best sensations she could ever experience. And without warning, she felt herself approaching sleep.
And she heard that beautiful piano.
Maka awoke on a grassy hill, almost as tall as a mountain. Below, a beach stretched on north and south for hundreds of miles. She stood at the edge of the cliff, looking out to the sea. The sun set and rose, shrinking into that line of horizon, disappearing to let the other side of the world have some of its sunshine. Patches of pink and purple clouds floated over the water, and bursts of oranges, yellows, reds, and rose expanded to sky, created an eye-catching aurora. To her left, that grand piano from the park stood on all four legs, pegged into the soil comforting the grass. A moistened breeze created a damp surface, causing the piano to reflect the colors of the sunset.
Maka pulled out her rubber bands and threw them over the edge. Instead of falling down, the rubber band floated downwards along the breeze, creating tricks in midair. Flipping. Spinning. Soul, at the piano, tapped a few keys. The sound of the notes drifted around her. And in her head, she repeated the names. Do... ti... re... mi... fa.. ti... la... so... re... do... ti... and soon, she felt a rhythm. She sat herself on the edge and looked out to the clear water. She inhaled the ocean air and began to sing so quietly, Soul couldn't hear, "I stare… out the glass door. I feel… like there's no more. Can you tell me how it starts?" She sighed and continued, "I sigh… when there's nothing 'round. I'm high… when everyone's down. Can you pull me to the ground?" She paused suddenly. She couldn't sing. Of course, her voice was okayish, but she didn't know how to actually sing right. Although, when it did come to art, there was no "right way", but to be honest, Maka just didn't have the talent.
So she whistled.
"Stop!"
Maka turned to the piano, where Soul continued to play, focused on a set of notes that could take him back to the beginning of to song. He smiled and shook his head. He spoke. "Sing, Maka. You've gotten much better than before." He stopped to create a fancy set of notes that echoed against the cliff, "Our piano lessons have helped you. Really."
Maka blushed and turned away again. She couldn't sing. There was no way. "No, Soul. I can't do it."
"You have to!" Soul encouraged.
"I won't," Maka replied sternly as she brought herself to the piano to sit next to him on the bench. He ceased his piano playing and finally brought the song to a close. He hit his palm against his forehead, a bit sore from the fast movements of his fingers. "I thought you couldn't hear me anyways," he heard her say under her breath.
Soul tiredly banged on a few of the keys and grunted. But his eyes widened. Somehow, he had created a chord that sounded nice. He turned to Maka and quickly asked, "Did you hear that? Did you see that? Did you see which keys went down? Tell me!" Soul magically pulled a pen and paper out from under the bench. This was their souls, where pretty much anything could happen or be done.
Maka smiled from ear to hear. She had heard it. She had seen it. She knew which notes they were. So she recited them to Soul, and Soul replayed them over and over again. Maka then figured out a melody with those notes. Soon, Maka had taken over the piano keys, and Soul had started to jot down notes in the musical language. And when Maka began to whistle it, she went on to whistle a whole song… one not thought of before. One not heard of before. A newborn melody, untouched by those not Soul and Maka. Because this was to be a song not forgotten until their deaths.
And finally, when the masterpiece seemed finished, Soul carefully set the paper and pencil down on top of the piano. He muttered, "Wow." He couldn't believe they had spent so much time to write a song. "I guess anything could happen here, huh?"
"Yep," Maka agreed.
The two of them retreated inside themselves, just awkwardly noticing how wonderful each other looked that night. The star began to twinkle, and the sun had disappeared below the horizon. A flash of pink lined up with the meeting point of the sky and water. Maka pulled herself up from the piano bench and inched her away towards the grassy end of the cliff. Looking out and down, she smiled. "Soul?"
"Yeah?"
"Do you think we could fly here? I've always wanted to fly, but I don't think we'd be able to fly in real life, right?" Maka asked, swinging her arm in the air, feeling the wind she created with those movements.
Soul looked her way, dumbfounded, "Uh… no. But I wouldn't try it-!" Suddenly, without looking back at him, Maka fell forward off the cliff, her skirt trailing behind her. Soul stood up, knocking the bench down behind him. "MAAAKA, YOU IDIOT!!!" He ran towards the cliff, swiftly jumping off after her. He expected her flying trick to really work, but he instantly felt gravity pull him down. Screaming in terror, he was falling down head first, his stomach behind him. Air filled his lungs as his life flash before his eyes.
But then, he felt a hand wrap around his wrist. It stopped him from falling. He looked down, noticing he was still in midair. And then he looked up. There was Maka, hovering in space, taking him higher and higher. She giggled, "See? I can fly! You try!"
"No! Wait!" Soul shouted. But despite his protests, Maka let go, and Soul continued to hover in space. Once he noticed he was flying, he chuckled while pointing to the water far below them, "H-hey! I'm doing it!"
"Yep!" Maka acknowledged. "Isn't this cool?"
Soul flew upwards and scooped Maka into his arms. "Yes, only cool guys can fly with their girlfriends in his own soul."
"But you're the only one who can!" Maka pointed out, poking his chest.
"My point exactly," Soul muttered light-heartedly. He let her escape from his gasp. She span around in the air, doing summersaults and backflips while keeping a constant giggle. Soul floated stilly, watching Maka have the time of her life. He sighed, and suddenly began to wonder. Would she be his forever? Would their relationship last them through their lives? And then, the awfully dreadful question hit him: what would happen if he lost her? What would she do if she lost him? Suddenly, he blurted out, "I won't lose you!"
Maka stopped her spinning and gave a confused, "Huh?"
Soul turned away with a slight blush. That was not cool. It was his true thought, but saying it out loud was just embarrassing. Then, he felt two hand on his shoulders. Maka. Behind him. She whispered, "Ditto. I don't know if I could live without you."
Soul couldn't respond. He didn't want to think about it. He didn't want to get into this. It was too deep of a subject for him to talk about. So, instead, his turned and kissed her. He felt his feet, but no ground under him. That made him smile. Were they the first couple to ever kiss in midair? It was kind of cheesy, but things happen the way they happen, right?
The kiss was broken when they felt ground under their knees. The cold night outside on the balcony of Shibusen hit them hard. Both pulled away fast and gasped. What happened? What had interfered with their personal moment? In midair? Soul heard Maka lose her breath. She saw her looking to her right. So he looked the direction her eyes were pointed at.
There. There was Spirit standing above them with the sourest face a father ever gave. A good portion of the dance was out there, standing behind them. They all knew what was going to happen. Spirit would murder Soul. End of story.
Maka shouted, "I can explain!"
"No, Maka!" Soul held her back. He made eye contact with Spirit. But that was a bad idea. Because he saw an emotion in the Death Scythe's eyes he had never seen before. Hurt. Betrayal. Confusion. Emptiness. Emptiness. Lots of emptiness. Soul opened his mouth, but couldn't speak. Everyone around fell silent. The music had been turned off. Neither Spirit nor Soul broke eye contact. It was a silent war. Bringing more pain than violent, bloody war could ever give. And Soul began to throb in the heart. The guilt spread like wildfire through his body. We should've told him before hand. Spirit finally looked down at his shoes. Everyone knew what was going to happen. Spirit would murder Soul. End of story.
But instead, Spirit slowly turned away and disappeared into the crowd. Soul immediately pulled Maka closer as her eyes began to swell with tears. The crowd of people whispered amongst themselves as Maka pressed her face on Soul's shoulder. She said, "I'm so sorry."
Soul stroked her head. "It's not your fault."
The night ended with confused students, a happy oblivious couple on the roof, and the return home of Soul and Maka after a stressful evening.
And that night, Sprit went missing. No one saw him again.
