Chapter 11

Soul was awakened by loud banging on the front door. He was loathe to disentangle himself from Maka's limbs but when he hear Blackstar yelling through the door, he knew there would be no ignoring him. Soul got up, pulled on a pair of sweatpants and stomped to the door.

"What do you want?" Blackstar grinned and brushed past him with Tsubaki in tow.

"In case Maka didn't make herself clear, we don't need you two as babysitters, so get out."

Tsubaki looked around, "Where is Maka? She's usually up by now."

"She's still asleep actually."

Maka made her appearance. "It's kind of hard to sleep with all the yelling going on. Good morning you two."

Blackstar and Tsubaki looked at the pair, especially Maka. She was wearing one of Soul's shirts and a pair of shorts. Blackstar was about to make a snarky comment, when Maka produced a hard cover encyclopedia just inches from his head.

"I don't think you want to make that comment." Soul and Tsubaki laughed while Blackstar pouted.

Soul held the front door open. "Well it's been fun but, seriously, get out."

Blackstar held his hands up as a sign of truce. "We're here to back you up. If you are going to go against Hiroshi then we are here to help."

Maka smiled at the pair. "I guess we have some training to do."

Hiroshi's house was becoming more crowded than he would like. He'd found the Thompson sisters lurking around his new hideout and he didn't want them telling anyone where it was. The twin demon guns might have been formidable as street thugs but they were no match for him, with or without Kid.

He lugged their unconscious bodies into the basement and injected them with a powerful sedative. It should keep them knocked out for a few days.

Thanks to a couple of well placed spies, Hiroshi learned that the blue-haired ninja and his demon sword had been recalled from their mission. That was unfortunate, but not wholly unexpected. Everyone seemed determined to keep Soul and Maka away from him. That just told him one thing. That pair was very important to the DWMA and it made him want them even more.

Kid was finally beginning to come around. This excited Hiroshi. He planned to tell his brother about their father's true nature. Hiroshi would either gain an ally or would have to kill an enemy. Before he started this quest, killing his father and brother had seemed to be a daunting task; one that he didn't think he would have the heart to complete. However, as he ingested more souls, the idea became more appealing to him. His father would pay for abandoning and replacing him with Kid. Hiroshi was resolved to take away Lord Death's precious son and everything else he held dear. Hiroshi had been left when nothing when his mother died.

His father had orphaned and Hiroshi demanded payback.

"Again" said Maka, as she brushed the dirt off her skirt.

She had several cuts on her arms, legs, and face. Some of them were bleeding.

"Maka this isn't working." Soul grimaced when he saw all the scrapes and cuts, all because he couldn't get this technique right.

"Come on. We can't give up now. You almost had it that time." Maka transformed into her weapon form.

"Soul Resonance!" the pair shouted.

Blackstar readied himself with Tsubaki's ninja blade mode. Soul charged at the ninja. Blackstar dodged and Soul managed to complete the swing without tripping over his own feet. After trying the move a few more times, Soul felt confident enough that he could perform it without screwing it up. Everyone agreed to meet up at the same time the next day before going their separate ways.

Maka was extremely happy with the progress they'd made. Soul, on the other hand, didn't look as happy. He plopped on the couch while she headed to the bathroom to clean herself up. She winced when she saw her reflection. No wonder Soul looked so down. Maka did her best to clean the worst cuts, but found there were a few she couldn't reach. She was going to need Soul's help.

"Hey Soul, could you give me a hand?" He sighed as he heaved himself up from the couch.

"Which ones do you need help with?"

"The ones on my back." Maka tried to remove her shirt, but it stuck to the previously bleeding cuts. She hissed in pain as he gently pried the shirt from her back.

"Sorry."

She smiled at his reflection in the bathroom mirror. "I'm fine."

"Then why am I peeling your shirt off your mutilated back?"

"Stop being dramatic. You did wonderfully today. It took me months to get techniques that have taken you a few hours."

"But you are still…"

Maka put a finger to his lips. "Don't say it. We protected each other. Right now I'm the weapon, so I protect my meister. Plus, every weapon needs a few battle scars."

A/N: Sorry about the filler chapter, but the plot bunnies must be obeyed. Thank you to those who have reviewed/read/favorited/added as a story alert. You guys are awesome! After this one is finished, I'm thinking about doing a MakaxBlackstar fic. Thoughts, comments, ideas? Let me know. REVIEW PLEASE! Thanks.

~Dawne-Sharlotte