Destroying a Perfect Soul
Chapter 12: Visions
"I saw a vision of Soul this morning..."
"And he...He looked like he wanted to kill me..."
The room was cold the next morning. I felt it as soon as my eyes opened. Usually around this time of year I'd be warm while lying in bed. But, now it was different because Soul wasn't there to put his arms around me and keep me safe from the cold. My lip twitched from the thought of his kisses, and I sat up to pull the blankets away. I then reached up with my right hand and rubbed the sleepiness from my eyes. Though, instead of waking up to a peaceful silence, I heard something…What was that? I looked at the bedroom door and furrowed my brows in thought.
The shower..?
Odd…Was I just hearing things? I pulled the blanket away from my body and I swung my legs around to put my feet on the floor. For a moment it was cold, but the shock passed by and I was on my way to the door to leave the room. As it opened, I looked at the bathroom door and watched for a moment. The shower was still running…so maybe I wasn't imagining it? I still doubted it was real though…maybe another sign, possibly? With narrow eyes, I walked out of the room and made my way over to the bathroom where the shower was apparently "running". How was it even possible? Last I checked the front door was locked…Blair didn't know how to open doors on her own and I was sure the windows were all shut. Not only that, but the apartment was about five to six stories high!
"Hello?" I spoke in a light whisper as I opened the door to the bathroom. I could still hear the shower, but for some reason there was no steam. It felt warm but there was no steam—no sign at all that the shower was even on. Once more I narrowed my eyes and left the door wide open as I made my way over to the curtain. There was no clothes on the floor…there was nothing around that told me an actual person was there…and yet, the shower continued to run. "Hello?" I called out again this time a bit louder, as I reached for the end of the curtain. With a quick gulp, I pulled it aside and revealed what was inside the shower…
Empty. And the water…wasn't even running. Along with that…the sound left my ears and everything was quiet again…
Blinking, and actually a little disappointed, I dropped my hand and stared at the tile in front of me. Of course there was no one there…and of course it was really nothing. I've been paranoid, hallucinating things, day dreaming while actually walking. I've been thrown into a teenager's soul, tortured by sight and practically thrown around by Medusa's mysterious "Force". I was going crazy…insane maybe? No…insane was probably too much. But definitely a little paranoid and crazy…I threw a coffee pot at an innocent girl for goodness sake.
An innocent girl that Medusa ordered Eruka to abduct for her own little mind games…
My eyes found themselves looking at the ground for only a moment. I looked back up took a deep breath and turned around to leave…but in the mirror, something completely different was in the shower: something that caused me to scream at the top of my lungs. It was Soul. He stood there, the water running, soaked through his suit and his hair hanging in his face. There was blood running from his forehead and down to his chin and his shark toothed smile was so demonic…so crooked…that…he looked like he was going to kill me! The sight only came to my attention for a second since I had fallen to the ground and covered my eyes. It was frightening…it was 'terrifying'! Never in my life had I seen Soul look at me like that…He looked insane…crazy…as if he was going to enjoy ripping me to shreds. But why would Soul even 'think' of doing that to me? And more importantly…
Why was his blood...black?
"Illusions…or Visions?"
I nodded to Liz as she trimmed her own hair in the mirror in front of her since she had no clients to work on. After my response she lifted a brow and set the scissors down to turn and face me. "Why are you asking me this?" She then asked me with her thin brow still up high. I had rushed over as soon as I saw the vision of Soul in the mirror. I hadn't told her what I saw, but all I had asked when I arrived was if she had seen anything too. But…from the look on her face…maybe she hadn't. "Maka? What's going on? Why do you need to know—"
"I saw a vision of Soul this morning." I simply told her; my eyes darting to the floor as quick as possible. "And He…" I paused to take a gulp of whatever was left in my mouth, that had suddenly felt dry and I held my hands together tightly. "He looked like he wanted to kill me…" I couldn't see her face, but I could tell she had been surprised…she had gasped, and since Patty had been listening, her silly whistling had stopped and they were both completely silent.
"You know," Both Liz and I looked over to Patty as she began to speak; a finger on her chin as she thought. "The other day…on Tuesday, I think…" Trailing off, she looked our way with a small smile and pointed in the direction of the store's entrance. "I totally thought I saw him walk by." She then said; causing my eyes to widen slightly. Could Soul really send signs to them too…? "I was like "WHOA!" and I ditched mah client and ran outside screamin' "SOUL-KUN! SOUL-KUN!" But he wasn't out there! So…all I got was a bunch of funneh stares!" After that she cracked up into her usual laughter as Liz turned to face me again.
"Now that I think about it…" She began; catching my attention almost immediately. I looked away from the laughing Thompson sister and saw Liz smiling lightly as she picked up a comb to brush her hair out a little. "I haven't seen any "illusions" or "visions" but…" I saw her eyes shift within the mirror and I saw that she had been looking at the pedicure seats where people would sit for massages and pedis. "I can't help but keep thinking about the day you dragged Soul in here to get a massage while you were getting your toe nails done. It was cute~ His face was so pink, I wanted to pinch his cheeks! I would have taken him home with me if you hadn't owned him." She let out a soft laugh as I smiled lightly in her direction. Then I saw her shrug and eye me again. "Sorry…but that's all that's been…out of the ordinary for me…I don't normally think about that…"
"It's ok…" I breathed with a small sigh as I stepped away from the two sisters. "I think I'll go ask the others…" I then said with a wave to them both. I saw them wave back as I made my way out of their workplace and once the nail polish smell disappeared and I was outside, I took in a deep breath and shut my eyes. Patty saw a vision, but Liz didn't…All she did was think about him…a lot. Did that mean anything? Maybe not…it was just two of them out of the other five besides Soul and I. Maybe if the other three saw something…I would probably have to ask them just like I had asked Liz and Patty.
The same way…every time I ask…
It was the simplest way possible…
So…I decided to go to Kid first. He and Black*Star were in the same building, yes, but he was closer to the entrance than the gym was. So, asking Kid 'then' Black*Star would be much quicker than the other way around. "Visions?" Kid asked me after he let his students go to get into groups for some kind of worksheet. He eyed me for a moment with curious golden eyes before he had set a finger on his chin to think about it. Knowing him he probably did see anything t all…he and Soul weren't necessarily close, but they were still good friends…Let's just say they weren't as close as he and Black*Star were….that was for sure. But that still wouldn't make much sense for the sisters because only one of them saw a vision of him…he knew one as much as he knew the other…he wasn't better friends with Patty than he was Liz…or was he? …What in the world did 'I' miss?
"Hmm…let's see," Kid's voice brought me back from my thoughts and I saw that he was done thinking. "Well, I haven't seen any of these so called "visions" but…" As he trailed off, I let out a silent sigh. Like I had expected…no vision at all… "As you know, Patty throws a game night at the mansion every Monday night and it's always Black*Star, Soul, and her that play." I nodded to him as we both sat down; he at his desk and me in an extra chair from nearby. Then, he continued. "Well…last Monday Patty wasn't really willing to do it, but Black*Star convinced her to. So when he came over…I prepared some drinks for them like always and set each cup down onto the coffee table…" His eyes narrowed as I wondered where he was going with his story, but soon he spoke up again. "It wasn't until I was about to leave that I had noticed I had prepared three drinks instead of two…as if…Soul was still there…"
Ah…so that's what it was… "I see…" I breathed out; narrowing my eyes as well. It was the same case as Liz…Just as she was thinking about him, Kid had subconsciously brought an extra drink to the living room when as if he had been thinking about Soul without even realizing it… "Well…thank you…" I then said to him as I stood up from the chair and put it back aside. I had already told him the story about my vision with Soul…he had been mortified…he wanted to tell me everything was going to be fine, but I had already said… "What Soul feels, is what Soul feels…it's not my choice or my decision when it comes to his feelings for me…"
Because obviously, Soul hated me now…because I haven't saved him in time…He wants to kill me…because I have failed him…
"Maka,"
Snapping back into reality, I saw that I had been standing in the same place for awhile and Kid and his students had been watching me. "Your eyes," Kid breathed out as I looked up to him; his own eyes wide in puzzlement. "They…they looked so lifeless…I thought…" He seemed to gulp down a lump in his throat. "W-'We' thought…that we had lost you for a moment…"
"I'm fine," I said in my defense as I took a step back. "R-Really," I then told him; trying not to look into his golden eyes anymore. He seemed to not believe what I had said, but I was going to keep going and get over to Black*Star before anything else happened. I opened the classroom door and began making my way down the hall and in the direction of where the very man worked. I knew Kid was worried…but he needed to stop…It was either my paranoia saying this or it was the "insanity" …but…they all needed to stop and worry about something other than me for once.
I opened the gym doors and looked into the large room to see if I could see the blue haired man or even…maybe Jamie… For a moment I didn't see anything, but once I heard the light noise of talking and a basketball bouncing I took another step in and looked over to where I couldn't see at first. The whole gym was empty but for two people: Black*Star—who I was looking for—and Tsubaki—which was convenient, but…also made me a little curious… She was sitting on the bleachers as she was telling him something that was obviously making him smile while he bounced the ball. Though as I looked around, I began to wonder where his students went…it was second period…wasn't it?
"Oh! Hey, Maka!"
Tearing my eyes away from a random spot in the gym, I looked over to the couple from the doorway. Looks like they had spotted me… "H-hello," I muttered out as I stepped away from the hall to go walk over to the two by the bleachers. As I did so, Black*Star had dribbled the ball again a few times before shooting it towards the basket. It swished in the net and he gave Tsubaki a high-five that was surprised didn't break her fragile hand… "Uh…where're your students…?" I asked him as I sat down next to my best friend on the bleachers. He set his eyes on me and gave me a smile.
"Second period prep for all P.E teachers," He told me with a shrug. Then he gestured over to Tsubaki with his head and set his hands on his hips. "Since I don't have a class, Tsubaki usually comes to see me." He then said to me; causing me to look in the other woman's direction. On her tan colored shirt she had a visitor's pass that had her name printed in it in her handwriting. "So…What brings 'you' here then?" I heard him ask me as I stared at the square yellow pass next to me.
"Oh…" I turned my head to look at the P.E teacher again. "Well…" My eyes narrowed and I tried not to remember all of the details of the vision I had that morning. "Uh…well…this morning…I…Uh," Black*Star crossed his arms as I stuttered out my words while looking down. A hand—obviously belonging to Tsubaki—was set on my own. I knew she could tell this was a bit upsetting… "I saw a vision of Soul…and I wanted to know if…you guys saw anything too?"
"A vision?" Black*Star asked me curiously with one brow lifted. I nodded to him and waited for him to think about it. He looked up to the ceiling and hummed something to himself as I saw Tsubaki in the corner of my eyes begin to think as well. "Well…yesterday on the way home from work, I walked by the old basketball courts where we used to play all the time." He said to me to get my attention one hundred percent on him. "And…I thought I saw Soul shooting hoops by himself…but, when I did a double take…" He fell silent and finally looked down to me again. "It turned out to be a kid with a similar hair cut, but totally different hair color…I don't know how I got Soul 'outta it…"
"A date…"
Black*Star and I both looked at Tsubaki as she thought about the subject at hand. Looks like she had remembered something, but what exactly was it…? We both lifted our brows as she looked at us and lightly smiled. "The other night when I was at work I saw something too." She told us; making Black*Star and I exchange looks. "It was a sweet moment…I almost thought it was real." Her eyes narrowed and fell to the gym floor as she thought about it a little more. "It was as if the two of you were on a date at my restaurant…I thought he had come home and you were celebrating alone…and I was about to go say something but, the table ended up being empty as soon as I left the kitchen."
"Interesting…" I muttered as I looked away from her and over to the side of the gym. The only people who saw visions of him out of our group were me, Patty, Black*Star and Tsubaki. And the ones that only thought about him were Kid and Liz. Why would 2 out of the 6 of us only 'think' about him? He was just as friends with Liz and Kid as he was Tsubaki and Patty. I could understand Black*Star and I because we were both his best friends…not to mention he loved me…but he had pretty much an equal relationship with both the sisters, Tsubaki and Kid. It didn't make any sense.
I frowned and let out a long outtake of breath. Man did my head hurt. "Ok…well…" I stepped away from the bleachers and rubbed the top of my head with my right hand. "My head is starting to hurt a little so…" My hand fell to my side and I waved them both off before turning around. "I'll be on my way, see ya."
"See ya, Maka…"
As soon as I got home I heard the house phone going off. I shut the door, hung my sweatshirt up and made my way over to the counter where the phone should have been charging. But as soon as I did, I realized that I had thrown the phone across the room last time I used it. I panicked as soon as that realization hit me and I turned to look around for it. I stepped over the glass on the ground and moved the fallen chair to the side; thinking the phone would be under that. But it wasn't, so I kept fallowing the sound and made my into the living room. The sound was coming from behind the T.V, so I knelt down and reached my hand into the space between the wall and he entertainment system; finally touching the house phone with my hands. I picked it up and looked at the caller ID, and as soon as I read it, I ran into the kitchen for better service and pressed the answer button to speak to the very man that was once my science teacher. "Hello?" I said into the speaker. "S-Stein?"
"Yes, Maka…" I heard him say from the other side of the line. "I was able to contact the prison Medusa was put into."
"And?"
There was silence on the other end for awhile and I could already feel myself shaking. Why did I have the feeling I wasn't going to like what I was about to hear. "Medusa, escaped from the prison the Thursday before Soul's kidnapping." My eyes widened as soon as he spoke these words. That…that was 3 days before the kidnapping. 3 'days'! How...Why…No… "Not only did she escape." He continued since I hadn't spoken in awhile. "She seemed to bring someone along with her. A prisoner named Free. He was found missing Thursday evening along with Medusa."
"So that means…She really does have Soul…" I breathed to myself as I stared out the kitchen window with wide green eyes. Stein seemed to keep talking but I already knew what I wanted to know. So, I hung up and set the phone down on it's charger. So…that vision I saw when I touched Rachel was real, and Medusa had actually been torturing Soul this whole time. An unwanted tear slipped by and I quickly wiped it away. I needed to find out where she was keeping him! When I tried to find his soul, I found a building somewhere in the middle of the desert. I needed to get there as soon as possible, but I had no idea where it was!
-"What does this have to do with your disappearance?" I asked him as politely as I could. I didn't want to seem rude. "It almost sounds like your saying Soul was the one who disappeared."
"Ah, that was only the beginning…" Wes told me; still looking out the window. Then, he let out a soft sigh and looked down to the ground near the coffee table. "Since I hadn't found him in his room, I decided to keep looking. I hadn't told anyone to walk with me, so I was alone…" His eyes shut again and he held his hands together; letting out a soft laugh. "Silly me…I hadn't realized that he had gone to school…I didn't realize it was Monday morning. So, I was foolish to walk outside by myself and walk up to the hill where he usually sat to think. He wasn't there, and by the time I finally remembered of his school…someone had snuck up behind me and knocked me out cold." As soon as I let out a gasp, he looked back up and at me. "By the time I woke up, I was in the very lair that belonged to my kidnaper. The woman who had killed our parents…"
"Medusa?"
"Correct."-
"That's right!" I snapped as I looked up from the ground. "Wes had escaped from this so called "lair"…so he probably knows how to find it!" I then said as I grabbed the phone again to go through the past calls. I finally found Wes's number and pressed the call button before holding up to my ear to listen to the slow and almost agonizing ringing as I waited. I almost lost hope….that maybe he wasn't going to answer, or maybe it really wasn't his number. But as soon as the thenth ring went by, it clicked and the very man I wanted to contact spoke up.
"Hello?"
"Wes!" I called out happily with a smile, even though he couldn't see it. "It's me Maka," I then told him as soon as I could so he wouldn't be left to wonder for too long. I heard him say something like "how are you" after I had said that to him, and with another smile, I answered. "I'm fine," I simply said as I turned around and eyed the broken glass all over the ground. "Can…can we meet up somewhere and…talk about some things regarding…Medusa and…well…pretty much everything…? I have some questions I want to ask you…"
"Yes…why don't you come by tomorrow whenever you'd like."
"Thank you…"
