The latter half of this chapter fought tooth and nail against being written and I only finished it yesterday morning. Which also means I have nothing down for next chapter yet. PLEASE HELP!
Fair Warning: Next chapter may come out either ubsurdly short, or a week late...
No Magic Cookies as I received no inspiration-sparking reviews, but Zoete9 gets the consolation Enchanted Waffle (#) for being the longest and most thoughtful reviewer last chapter.
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Maka let out a sigh as she flopped face-first on her bed and her head hit her pillow with a muffled 'fwup'. It was easy to learn, yes. But it was also incredibly tedious. Tiring in a whole new way she'd never experienced before. She'd never thought she'd find herself giving in to mental exhaustion. Really, who did that?
And it wasn't only that, but her body was screaming at her with excess energy that she was failing to channel solely into her schoolwork. Maka could practically feel her muscles atrophy. Two times a week on the weekend just was not enough to keep her in shape. The whole situation was having a massive negative effect on her mood and personality in general. It made her irritable, and edgy, and wary. She'd started eyeing Crona earlier in class, it was that bad. She refused to believe it had anything to do with her fallout with Soul the previous day.
If something didn't give soon, someone was going to say or do the wrong thing around her or her brother, and somebody was going to end up dead. She didn't even want to think about the consequences of that happening.
Maka's head turned to stare at the pile of (not her own) homework resting on her dresser, wondering if she dared go back to the North wing after yesterday.
Maka pushed up from her bedding decisively. If she was never willing to take a step forward, she'd never get anywhere. She had to move forward to move on, potholes aside. So she grabbed the assignments, her notes from class, and, after a moment's hesitation, one last thing.
Then she left for Soul's room, finding herself there in less time than she'd thought (hoped).
Books hugged to her chest like a shield, Maka very carefully didn't think, not letting her worry cripple her, and knocked on the door, her heart dropping and pounding in nervousness form somewhere around her knees. Surprised crimson eyes blinked sleepily at her, "Maka?"
The expression was unguarded for only a moment before shadowing. I did this to him. Soul had obviously been asleep before she'd disturbed him. Maka thrust the books at him, "I brought you your homework. Again..." She fiddled for a moment before letting go and holding out the last thing.
Soul once again turned and tossed his work with absolutely no regard for it, plucking the offering from her hand and raising a brow, "Chocolate?"
Maka blushed at the tone of voice he used even as the small change in expression heartened her. But how to explain her reasoning?
It had been earlier that, leaving class late for lunch, thinking about how to apologize to Soul, ironically, when the answer appeared before her in the form of Liz and Tsubaki talking just outside in the hall. Not wanting to get caught, Maka had waited at the door, unwillingly listening in as Tsubaki started crying and telling Liz about how the boy she'd been seeing, still in Japan, had broken it off with her over a letter because he didn't want a long-distance relationship. Maka had only been half listening, too focused on her own boy troubles, when Liz had apparently hugged the other girl and invited her over to Death Manor with the promise of an all-night movie-session with girl-talk, ice cream, and endless amounts of chocolate. Tsubaki and Maka had been as confused then as Soul was now, until Liz spoke with authority and the reassurance: "Yes. Take my word for it: chocolate fixes everything, especially boy problems."
Apparently Soul had been as unaware of it as Maka had been, and now she felt like a fool as she tried to explain, "Liz... she said- she said chocolate fixes everything. Especially boy things. I- I'm sorry for-" she paused. How was she supposed to finish that? 'Hurting you'? She always got defensive when Crona asked if he'd hurt her: it made her feel weak, even if it was true. "I'm sorry I upset you. I shouldn't have pried."
Soul's cheeks turned pink, "Nah, it's fine. I just got mad because... actually, I don't even know. It's not important, though. Thanks for your notes yesterday, they really helped. Your writing is really neat, too; not at all like my kishin-scratch."
Maka shook her head, "Your writing is fine! I like the way it looks." her own face flamed and she looked away, "I-I should go..."
Soul caught her hand as she tried to slip away, "Wait, Ti- Maka, I'm sorry, too. It was uncool to close you out like that. I just... I'm not used to people asking."
Maka froze as those words turned to something completely different run through the translator of her mind: 'I'm not used to people caring.' they said. She knew, she wasn't used to anyone caring either, wasn't sure quite why (or maybe that was just denial) she cared. But...
"I do... ask, I mean. I- there's a lot I want to know."
She glanced back to see him grinning at her with sharp teeth, "Thanks. Anytime you want to know, just ask, kay? I'll do my best to answer, to not snap."
Maka smiled back, the expression foreign in a place without her brother, not hidden from the world at large, "I will..."
Soul let her hand slip from his, and even through her glove, Maka found herself missing the heat as she walked away.
Crona peeked into his sister's room with his books clutched to his chest, heart skipping a beat in panic when he didn't find her, "Maka?" She wasn't in his room, he'd just come from there, but she'd come from class with him...
It's okay, Crona, just stay calm... A complete search of the rest of the suite from top to bottom found nothing, and it was then that he began to panic. Lady Medusa wasn't there either so he couldn't ask her. The edges of his books were leaving marks on his hands they were held so tightly. Staring anxiously at the front door, Crona hesitantly approached and opened it, peeking out into the (empty) hall and hastily ducking back in, his heart pounding against his ribs.
That hadn't been so bad. Another three looks later, the pink-haired boy stepped into the hall, the door at his back as he looked up and down the empty hallway, "Maka?" he closed his eyes and hugged his books, "Maka!"
Nothing. Not even anyone else yelling at him. Well, that was different... Normally Crona couldn't talk to anyone except Maka, and maybe Lady Medusa, without getting hurt.
Feeling braver, Crona set off down the hall in search of the ash-blonde, though not daring to knock on any doors. "Maka! Sister! MAKA! Sisterrrr!" he took a particularly deep breath: "MAKAAAAAA!"
It appeared everyone was either busy doing something important... or they'd all been abducted by aliens. Maybe devoured by Kishin. Crona's increasingly frantic calls not even getting anybody to peek out of their rooms.
Crona sighed. While it was nice to be able to walk about without worrying about how to act around people, he'd much rather have put up with others if he could just have his sister back with him. It wasn't even for the sake of his school work anymore, he just wanted his sibling back. Tears in his eyes, he closed them and took another deep breath, "Mak-"
"Hey, Short Stuff."
"Aaaah!" Crona's back hit the wall and he flinched, "Don't do that! I don't know how to handle being snuck up on!"
Ragnarok smirked, "Screaming works. It's the popular response, as a matter of fact. So you did just fine, really..."
Crona blinked, not being hit for shouting, or for telling the older teen what to do, then being praised... How was he supposed to deal with that?! "I-I did?"
"Yup." Ragnarok said, popping the 'p' at the end. "So what are you doing all the way here near South tower?"
"I'm-"
"No, wait, let me guess: looking for Maka, right?"
"Y-yeah. How'd you know?"
"Lucky guess. You really ought to get a beeper for that girl. So why were you looking for her this time?"
Crona looked down where he held his books, "I... I need help... w-with my work."
Ragnarok leaned down closer, "First level second-tier work, huh? I can handle that with my eyes closed. C'mon, I'll help ya." the elder turning on his heels and motioning further down the hall.
"R-really?" Crona struggled to catch up.
"Yeah, you have to pass all that and more to get to second-level. I never was the best student -I hated studying, always more physical- but that's beginner stuff so there shouldn't be any trouble with it."
"Wh-what about-"
"Can't Maka find you? I've noticed you two have an almost freaky connection about that."
Crona perked up, "Uh-huh!" Maka could just find him when she wanted to, she was amazing like that. All he had to do was stay in one place so she wouldn't have to chase him. And if he could show her he could do his work, too... Maka would be so proud of him!
Maka entered her room, expecting to see her brother, only to find it empty. Curious (she wasn't worried!) she checked his room, too, finding it also lacking the pink haired boy, "Crona?"
Scouring the rest of the apartment turned up nothing, either. No Crona, and no Lady Medusa that she could even ask. She didn't do it often (she never had to), but Maka closed her eyes and let her soul wavelength build up before releasing it, the echoes of her soul ringing out like ripples in water across the DWMA, minorly pinging off of people she'd come into contact with. Liz, Patty, Lady Medusa, Soul, and... There. Two of them.
Maka opened her eyes, confused. What was Crona doing with... Ragnarok? Frowning, she set out again, taking dozens of turns with confidence, her brother's soul leading her flawlessly. Finally, sensing them around the next corner, Maka put her back to the wall and barely leaned around, watching as Crona and the taller teen went to a door, recognizing it as someone's personal suite by the designs on it. Crona wasn't struggling, wasn't even afraid. His soul was slightly uneasy: shy, but otherwise calm.
Maka watched as they went inside and sat down with her back to the wall, waiting for whenever Crona came back out. Except he didn't.
Maka sat there all night, glaring out over the tops of her knees, constantly monitoring her brother's soul. It never wavered, never went scared or angry, and eventually evened out into what she recognized as sleep. He never left the room that night. Maka watched.
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