The death room was quiet as the clouds contained within it swept low through the air. The unnatural light was almost painful to keep eyes open in and the air smelled like ozone. Soul stood with his hands held behind his back, almost like a soldier. Standing in front of him, Lord death loomed over Soul with his large and comical frame.
"Hmmm" came the high pitched voice of the Shinigami "It seems like you have no other choice. I'm going to have to agree with you" His voice was child-like and overly happy, but this wasn't a cause for concern. Soul had never known the Shinigami to be any other way.
"But" he drew out and took a slightly lower tone "I do feel that you should patch things up with your old partner, Meister Maka. Even at my position at the academy (I don't get out much), I can see that you two had" he paused and seemed to be looking for the right word for the situation. "Something. You two had something that made you work well as a team, and you should at least try to regain your friendship". The shinigami reflected for a moment on what he said, humming to himself absentmindedly and rocking slightly from side to side. When this continued, Soul had no choice but to snap him out of it.
"Uhh... Sir?" Soul mumbled "Sir?...Sir!" he repeated, louder this time. Lord death snapped out of his daze and returned attention to Soul.
"Sorry about that! I was in my own little world" he chimed "Now, about your situation, are you sure there are no other meisters willing to take you as a partner?" he tilted his head to the side in question.
"I'm sure, sir" Soul answered "They're either too inexperienced or flat-out don't want me".
"Then it appears you only have one option left." the reaper's voice returned to it's sing-song quality "You become your own meister, I will have Justin Law begin lessons with you tomorrow. Make sure you're there!". The pair finished with their formalities and Soul left, walking along the corridor lined with guillotines to the double doors that gave entry to the death room. Soul was looking forward to his training, he had always wanted to weild himself but never really had the chance to learn how to. But Lord Death also brought up a very good point, and Maka hadn't left his mind since they ended their partnership ad their relationship. Reflecting on the good times, Soul walked home, hoping it didn't start raining again.
To Souls delight, the sky was clear when he left the academy, with only a few clouds seemingly bothering the sun. The warm air found its way into Soul's jacket and immediately he felt the need to take it off. Folding it over one arm, Soul headed back to the apartment, passing many others enjoying the sun. He wondered what the others were up to, the only people he'd seen since he and Maka broke up were Kid, Liz, Patty and Crona, and he still felt like he wasn't exactly being welcomed back with open arms. Deciding to check the basketball court, Soul stuck his hands in his pockets and took a slow stroll towards them, passing more people enjoying the sun. As he approached, the court seemed quiet, in fact Soul almost considered not checking it. He stopped in his tracks and contemplated heading back home. It was only then that a familiar shout sent the silence scattering. Soul smirked to himself as he continued towards the courts, knowing exactly who was there. Black Star's voice carried over the court.
"Come on Tsubaki! Have another game! Come on, how about best 36 out of 70?". He was holding a basketball in his hands and looking towards an exhausted Tsubaki.
"I don't know Black Star" Tsubaki managed between deep breaths of air "You've already won 35 times, how about we just go home?". Black Star laughed and Tsubaki half collapsed into a heap on the floor. Soul started to take strong confident steps towards the pair.
"Hey Black Star! If Tsubaki doesn't wanna play, how about you duel me?" he announced as he reached them. Tsubaki looked up and smiled a greeting. Black Star just looked at Soul blankly.
"Oh." he stated "It's you". Soul looked at him and tilted his head
"What's the matter? We always used to play, right?". Black Star gave him another blank look before looking at the ground.
"Soul" he said, after a moments hesitation "Remember what you always told me? What you've drilled nto me ever snice we've been friends?". Soul gave him a confused look and shrugged slightly. Black Star continued
"You told me 'Cool guys don't cheat on their partners'" He looked Soul straight in the eye "And you cheated on Maka"
"Black Star, buddy, come on~"
"Maka wasn't just your partner though, was she?" Black Star interrupted. Soul tensed up. He had never seen Black Star act like this before "She was your best friend, and your girlfriend". Soul was taken aback by the sincerity of his words. There was an anger behind them. A minute went by where nothing was said. Even the wind seemed to stop blowing. Soul looked at the ground in front of him and stammered for words. When he failed to find anything to retort, he hung his head and walked from the court, tears forming in his eyes as the brutal reminder of what he had bounced around his head. He fought the tears back enough so they wouldn't stream down his face as he walked back to his apartment. By the time he got there, they had passed, but the feelings still remained. Heartbroken and feeling alone, he slumped into his room and buried himself under his covers.
In the darkness under his sheets, Soul thought about the times he had with Maka. Swimming at the beach and how long it had taken him to convince her to buy a bikini, Maka taking him shopping for clothes that he didn't like and vice versa. They'd spend all day in the sun and talk. Just talk, about anything that came to mind. But the thing Soul missed most, was the feeling of Maka's skin against his, and her lips on his own. He let out a strangled sigh as he thought about what they'd get up to on a long afternoon away from school. Back then, as long as he was with Maka, nothing else mattered. He felt complete, but now, he felt empty. He didn't realise just how much Maka meant to him until he lost her. Sighing again, he let his head emerge from the sheets. After his eyes adjusted, he saw Blair in her cat form sitting on his chair.
"You were thinking about her again, weren't you." she said softly. Soul didn't answer, but he let his gaze drop to an undefined point on his bedsheets. Blair leapt from the chair onto the bed and, taking a second to appreciate her gymnastics, nudged Soul's chin with her head.
"You'll be fine scythey-boy. You're just going to have to win her back!". She curled herself around and lay in front of Soul's eyes, looking into them as she spoke. "She's coming back to the apartment early today, in an hour in fact" she nodded "and she'll be in a bad mood, so anything you do that's nice will seem almost heroic in comparison!". Soul closed his eyes and nodded before opening them and looking confused.
"Wait, how do you know she'll be in a bad mood?" he mumbled. Blair smiled and tilted her head playfully.
"She's on a date with her Dad! She's never happy when she comes home from those". She had a point, Maka hated her father and having to spend more than an hour with him was torture for her, or anyone else for that matter. Soul didn't like the idea of using Maka's bad mood for his gain, but it seemed like he didn't really have a choice. Blair moved to a spot easily reachable by Soul's hand and purred as he stroked her. The pair discussed what best to do to get Maka in a good mood again for a while before springing their plan into action.
Soul grabbed his phone and took a deep breath as he wrote a message to his former meister. He told her he had some dinner ready for when she got home, and timed the message so that she would be half-way home when she received it. Hopefully her mood would improve slightly by the time she got home. Soul pocketed his phone and turned on his heel. He heard Blair whisper her pumpkin chant and stood in bewilderment as an apron flew towards him and tied itself around his waist. He gave Blair a quizzical look and received a wink in return as her tail pointed towards the oven, which rang it's bell to signal the time was up. Donning the oven gloves, Soul retrieved the piping hot lasagne from the opening and set it on the counter. He cursed as the heat penetrated through the ageing oven gloves and scorched his thumb, causing the dish to hit the counter with a clatter. Blair hissed at the noise before returning her attention to cutting the salad, using her magic as usual. Soul checked the time. Maka should be home any minute. The pair made the final preparations and began setting the table, which Blair became human for. Neatly arranging the cutlery and setting a single flower in a vase, Soul stood upright and turned to the door just as Maka came through the door. She had a frown on her face, but seemed in a generally bright mood.
"Oh" she exclaimed "this is... impressive" her frown eased slightly at the sight of the food, and a smirk formed over her face at when her eyes centred on Soul's apron. "Nice outfit" she teased as she walked over to the table. She brushed the petals of the flower with her fingers gently, smiling at the feeling of velvet petals against her fingertips.
"A coronation" her eyes gleamed "my favourite, and red too" she looked wistfully at the beautiful flower as Soul fumbled with the bow of the apron, Blair had to step in as he went red in the face. He stuttered slightly as he spoke to Maka for the first time.
"I, er, I made lasagne for us. Well, for you really I~" he was cut short by Maka holding up her hand as form of interruption. She smiled at him and took a seat and once Blair had finished taking off the apron, Soul joined her. Blair took her feline form and slunk off to Soul's bedroom. Maka picked up her fork and started to eat. Soul did the same and the pair began to eat in silence.
Soul glanced at Maka across the table, wondering if she was enjoying her meal. Whilst it wasn't the first time he'd cooked, it was the first time he felt like it mattered. Tasting it, he cursed himself mentally for not using more pepper, he knew Maka liked it. She seemed to be enjoying it none-the-less, causing Soul to relax a little.
"So" he spoke up "How was your afternoon with your Dad?". He lifted another forkful of food to his mouth as he waited for a reply. Maka rolled her eyes
"Ugh, it was horrible. All he wanted to do was buy me clothes". Soul raised an eyebrow.
"Well that can't be that bad can it?"
"Pumpkin Bloomers."
"Ah." Soul chuckled he took a sip of water. Maka smirked and waved her fork at Soul in a playful manner
"Hey your taste in clothes is barely any better" she thought back to the shopping trips the two had taken together, and the clotehs Soul would pick out for her matching his own. Soul was thinking of the same thing. The two exchanged a shy look and a wry smile before continuing to eat. After a while, Soul lay down his cutlery.
"Maka" he croaked before clearing his throat "Maka? I'm sorry for how I acted over the past week. It wasn't fair on you at all". Just by saying this, Soul felt a weight lift off his shoulders. The fact he could talk to her openly like this felt amazing. Maka sighed before smiling silghtly.
"It's okay, Soul. Honestly. We both said things we regret but it's in the past now. No use dwelling on it huh?" she smiled and started to drink. Soul sat dumbstruck. It wasn't the response he thought he'd get. Eventually, he smiled and continued eating, butterflies forming in his stomach. A question popped into his mind at that moment, and he saw it best to ask it now.
"How are things with..." he struggled to remember the name, "Megan? Mary?"
"Melody?" Maka interrupted
"Yeah that's it" he said sheepishly
"Oh they're great!" She smiled "She's a halberd, it's not too different from a scythe so it was easy to transfer the techniques". As she finished, she took another swig of water. "How about your training with Justin? I heard from someone that you were learning to wield yourself". Soul was surprised at how fast she had found out, but then again, she was the daughter of Death Scythe, and she had spent the whole day with him.
"Actually I haven't had any real training yet, but I have been teaching myself for a while" he said as he transformed just his hand into a red and black blade. Maka looked impressed and nodded her head slightly
"Alright, nice one" she said as Soul's hand formed back to normal.
"Yeah I'm hoping that Justin'll be able to show me how to make it run down the side of my arm" he gestured with his other hand from his wrist to his elbow, "seems like a pretty cool thing to be able to do". Maka smiled at him and wished him luck as she placed her cutlery on her empty plate. After complimenting Soul on the food, she skipped intoher bedroom with the excuse that she needed to study. Soul did the dishes and entered his own bedroom. Blair was sitting (fully clothed for once) on his bed.
"So, how'd it go?" she chimed as he closed the door.
"Keep your voice down" Soul replied in a hushed tone "Maka's in her room. But yeah, we're talking again. Thanks for your help Blair, couldn't have done it without you". Blair meowed in appreciation and left his room as a cat. Sitting where Blair once was, he heard the crumple of a paper bag as he lay down. Searching behind him, he brought the bag onto his lap and checked the contents. It was Maka's favourite perfume. A note attached to the side read: "Might be a good idea to keep this, just in case you become really good friends again." There was no name signed, but a pawprint sat in the corner of the page. Soul smiked to himself and placed the bag in a drawer in his desk. Stripping off his clothes, he closed the curtains and jumped into bed, finally smiling.