Maka woke up the next day feeling terrible. Her head felt like she had hit it against the wall constantly. Her eyes were pink and puffy while her chest and throat still felt like they were on fire. Luckily, the bruise on her face was finally starting to go away. Also, her feet ached; obviously in need of more rest. Nonetheless, she couldn't skip a single day with her grades and attendance record. Besides, she was a very strong and brave person, so of course she could get through this. Her body protested as she got ready for the day; but she ignored it.
Yesterday, when Maka had gotten home, Soul questioned her on just about everything. She told him that she'd wanted to get some fresh air so she had taken a walk. After that, she said that the Demon Swordsman, Chrona, had come and attacked her. Maka added that Kid came and saved her, and lied about what happened afterward. She told Soul that after the fight she had chased after Chrona and left Kid there. As for the desperate look on Kid's face, she told him that it was probably because she was going after the Demon Swordsman without a weapon.
Maka was just finishing a few last touches as a shining glint on her dresser caught her attention. "Hm?" She turned to face it, and smiled. The mirror that Kid had given her was reflecting sunlight through the blinds. "Maybe I should call Kid?" On that note, she strolled over to it and picked it up; despite the pain. As she did the chant, she waited patiently for Kid to answer. It didn't come. Minutes passed and Maka decided he probably wasn't around to see it. She couldn't help the nagging in the back of her mind saying, He does have a pocket mirror, you know!
As Soul and Maka made their way to classes together, Maka fought the urge to cough; not wanting to have blood come out like the other day. Why didn't Kid pick up this morning? She pondered. "So you love him, huh?" Soul asked. Maka glanced at him to make sure that was him speaking and didn't respond. "I've been thinkin' about it and even if it makes me mad and jealous I don't want to make you unhappy… That'd be uncool, so, what I'm trying to say is… As long as you're happy, I'm alright," he smiled uncertainly. Processing what he had just said, Maka replied, "Thank you Soul!" She hugged him one last time. "Yeah," the slightest blush came across his face, but disappeared just as quickly as it had come.
They walked into their class and toward their seats. As soon as Maka saw Kid, she had decided to go talk to him. She ventured to where he sat and said, "Hello Kid." He replied somewhat coldly, not looking up from his book, "Hello Maka." She started feeling kind of nervous and stated, "I tried calling you this morning." Only after she had said this did she realize how sad and pathetic she sounded. "Is that so, I must've been busy," he responded casually, still not looking up from his book, "If you don't mind, I'll be getting back to my reading." "O-Of course," Maka obliged, moving back to where she usually sat. He seemed like he was ignoring me… Or acting rather distant. No one seemed to notice that Black*Star and Tsubaki were not present.
Obviously at some point Stein had come into the classroom, because he was threatening people with dissections to get back to their seats as Maka made her way back. Everyone started zoning out of Stein's boring lecture right after he had cleared his throat; preparing themselves for what they knew was about to happen. Maka did her best to pay attention, but even she had her limits. Plus, her aching chest was egging her on. At one point, it was really hurting, so she coughed; momentarily interrupting Stein. He didn't say anything, obviously noting that she didn't do it on purpose and continued. A few minutes later, she coughed again; much more hoarse this time. "Are you okay?" Stein inquired, suddenly noticing how weak her soul looked at the moment. Soul glanced at his partner worriedly as everyone else in class stared. "Yeah, I'm…" She suddenly felt very dizzy, and the pain in her chest came back with a vengeance. She coughed again, more blood than last time came up. Everyone looked over at her wide-eyed, not sure what to do. Apparently it wasn't over, and she coughed again, more blood coming up. Maka then passed out. "Maka!" Soul and Kid shouted in unusual unison.
"Everyone, calm down," Stein said as he quickly sprinted up the stairs to check on the unconscious girl. He picked her up and said to the rest of the students, "Study on something else while I'm gone." "Let me go! I'm her partner…" Soul implored restlessly. "Me too, we're close friends," Kid begged as Patti and Liz looked at him urgently. "Alright, alright, only the ones on her team; hurry up." Stein and the others practically ran to the Nurse's Office, the closest place for treatment. No one spoke; everyone was just hoping that she'd be alright.
"Naigus, trouble," Stein said into the Nurse's Office. "What's wrong?" Naigus inquired as her eyes immediately locked onto Maka. Just by looking at her, Naigus decided, "She needs to go to the hospital, right now."
Everyone rushed through the hospital doors and Kid practically shouted, "We need help right away!" Doctors instantly grabbed Maka and took her into the emergency room, followed by Stein and Naigus (since they're also doctors.) The nurses had to force the others to stay in the waiting room since Soul and Kid insisted on going with Maka. Once they realized that it was hopeless to get in there, they sat down, depressed. They were all in deep thoughts, mostly blaming themselves for what happened. Thinking things like, Maybe, if I had said something Maka would be okay… I shouldn't have promised… As for Soul, he was wondering why the hell this was happening to her and if it was his fault.
Not coming up with anything, Soul glanced at the other's faces in the room. They all seemed to have guilty expressions, and Soul wasn't pleased. "What the hell are you hiding from me? How did this happen?" Liz and Patti shuffled their feet in remorse as Kid avoided look Soul in the eyes. "It's happened before," Kid began, "Yesterday, after we left the Demon Swordsman, Maka coughed blood up… She made us promise not to say anything… So…" Kid didn't continue, not wanting to think about it anymore.
"Are you serious? You should've said something…" Soul looked very disturbed. "I know, okay?" Kid stated irritably as he covered his face with his hands. Soul sighed, and then said, "If she makes it out of this okay, you better be good to her. Or else I won't be happy." Just as Kid was about to reply, Shinigami-sama came into the waiting room. "What are you doing here Shinigami-sama?" Liz inquired, looking very distressed. "As soon as I heard about what had happened, I hurried over immediately," He replied. "Oh…" Liz responded. Patti was being uncharacteristically quiet as Kid was still looking very downcast. "Maka is a strong girl like her mother," Shinigami-sama began, "We know this." "Did you hear from the doctors when you came in here?" Soul asked. "Hmm, I didn't," he responded.
This is all my fault… I really should've said something. Coughing up blood can't possibly be healthy… I…I didn't stick to my promise…My oath… 'As long as she's safe, I don't care,' huh… A lie. How could I promise not to tell anyone about her internal bleeding? I never thought this would happen… I should've learned from my previous mistakes… Damn it! I'll never learn… Maka… Please forgive me…
The door opened, and the doctor walked in holding a clipboard. He seemed to be holding it tighter than necessary and had a grim expression, "I'm sorry…"