Meisters

Chapter 14: Burden

[ONLINE]

I land on my feet inside of Meisters and immediately I start running toward the mountains. As soon as I get out of Death City Eater emails me. "Finally you are online. We are waiting for you at the mountain as I said."

I smile gently at the message. He was keeping an eye on my icon in order to see when I logged into the game. That's very sweet of him.

I don't stop running. I run into the forest and keep running toward the large mountains that reach for the sky. They would most likely be at the bottom of the mountain by now so they could meet me half way. You never know what might happen, PKers lure inside of the forest and if I get into trouble they need to be quick to help me.

Now when the players know I and Eater are an item they are afraid of me as well. They try to avoid me as best as they can or else they might receive the wrath of Eater. No one wants to upset Eater or they are a dead man, well, except me. I could push his buttons but he was always so sweet with me, he never tried to attack me because of what I say. That is one thing I really like about him, I'm the first person to get to know him and see his sweet side. I really like that about him. That's why I have feelings for him.

I reach the edge of the forest and I see the whole group running toward me with Eater in the lead. "Maka!" Eater screams and before I know it his arms are tightly wrapped around me. "You are okay?"

Define okay. Physically, yes, emotionally, not so good. "What is going on? Why wouldn't I be fine?" I ask while I hug Eater back.

"We saw PKers inside of the forest." Camellia fills in. "We saw them heading toward you."

"Yeah, we thought they would find you for sure. They were literally going toward you." Death says. "We need to do something about them. We can't have them lingering inside of the forest for too long. If they start making traps inside of it then we might go into them later."

Eater nods and pulls away from the hug but keeps his hand around my waist. "Yeah. You are right. We can't have them inside of the forest. We need to scare them away."

"Is this really necessary? I mean, we could just walk around the forest when we are going back to Death City." Camellia suggests and Death and Eater are fast to shake their heads.

"If we don't take care of them then they will keep catching innocent players. That's why we need to take care of them before they kill and rob lower levelled players." Death explains and Camellia nods understandingly.

"I don't know why you had those nasty rumors, you are the good guys. Not the bad ones." She giggles and I can't do anything but smile. She is so true. They are the good guys. They always have been but other people judged them and took them to be bad ones with their red names. All PKers aren't bad.

"Okay, now for the groups." Eater says. "We will either split into three or two groups. We need to cover a large area and as soon as you see something suspicious or meet the PKers, you contact us immediately by using a signal gun. We will split into two groups and one will be alone or we have a group with three partners."

My heart starts to ache. Partners. My parents were partners. They were life partners and they broke that off. I feel like I'm about to cry when I get a feeling I will be in the group with tree people because I'm still the weakest in our group. They won't hesitate by putting me together with two other people. I'm so sick and tired of being hurt and being a burden.

"I can go alone." I quickly say and pull away from Eater. My throat tightens with sorrow. "I will send up a flare if I find something! I will see you!" I say and quickly start to run away from them into the forest. I activate gravity and push myself away from the ground so I soar through the forest quickly. I use my scythes to dodge trees, leaves and bushes by hooking them on branches and stubs to change my direction.

"Maka!" I hear Eater yell after me but I keep going, it actually motivates me of going faster. Tears are freely falling from my cheeks and I don't want anyone to see me crying. I don't want to be a burden to any of them. I'm already enough dead weight to all of them. I'm a wreck right now and I don't want them to be put in danger because of me. I've been in Eater's way too many times. He has recklessly thrown himself in front of me to say me from trouble. I'm so tired of being weak. I hate it.

I gasp loudly when I reach the edge of the forest where it meets the ocean. I immediately stop and I see a rock walling down the edge to then six seconds later dive into the ocean. I'm really high up. I back away from the edge and collapses on the ground and I really break down crying. I sob loudly while I keep wiping tear after tear away.

I need to get a grip. I see my parents so seldom so this shouldn't affect me like it does. I didn't even see them for Christmas this year. All they did was sending me gifts and gave me a call. We aren't even a family. I haven't seen my father in so long and I can't even wrap my head around the thought that my mother is sleeping on the couch. Why did she even have to come? Why couldn't she have just stayed away? They chose work over me, so I raised myself and that hurt me in more ways than one. I'm crippled because I don't know how a real family feels like. I don't know what love is and how to deal with it; I don't know how to deal with this. They never taught me anything like this. I had to learn myself; I had to learn to cook and how to clean. They never showed me how a vacuumed worked; I had to figure it out myself.

"What do we have here?" I gasp loudly and turn around finding three grown men behind me. Before I even have the time to grab my scythes, the man wearing a cowboy hat grabs my throat and backs me toward the edge. "Isn't it Eater's girl?" The man with the cowboy says.

"So it looks like brother." A man with many facial piercings says. "It would be a shame if something happened to her."

"Yeah!" The third man says. "After all, all the times he killed us; it is only fair for us to kill him! Sort of."

I can't breathe. The man with the cowboy hat is cutting off my oxygen with his powerful hand. My toes barely touch the edge and I hear how I accidentally kick off stones over the edge before they hit the water. My lips must be blue at this point since I'm having trouble focusing on my surrounding. I knew I would be in danger if I was in a relationship with Eater. Man why does it always have to be me who is the damsel in distress?! I hate it!

"Just drop her! Drop her! Drop her!" the third man edges the man wearing the cowboy hat. "I want to see the ocean colored in red with her blood!"

Do as he says! This is very weird thing to want, but if he drops me when I'm still conscious I will be able to activate Gravity to lessen the fall to the cling onto the wall. My Gravity isn't strong enough for me to fly, just float in the air.

I can feel how I slowly float into consciousness when his grip around my neck loosens before he drops me over the edge. I gasp loudly and take in quick breaths before I activate Gravity. Damn it. I'm too weak from riding on unconsciousness that I can't slow down my speed as fast as I want to. If I can't stop falling, then I'm going to hit the water and die.

"MAKA!" The next thing I know, I see a flash off black jumping off the edge and then a pair of arms are around me until I feel the twisting feeling of Warp. I can't breathe again and my stomach is being turned inside out. My limbs go everywhere and I find myself disappearing. The trauma of the Warp must have sent me into unconsciousness. It doesn't take long for me to feel Eater's strong and warm arms around me, pressing me to his broad chest. "Wake up." He whispers softly while he caresses my cheek. "It's lonely without you, you know."

Soon I find the energy to open my eyes and I feel unbearably tired. I guess it must be a mix of being choked and because it's late. It is time to go to bed.

Eater smiles gently while he caresses my cheek. "You were out for some time. They must have gotten you really good."

That's right. He choked me. And Eater had to come and save me again. I'm such a burden. He leaped over the edge in order to get to me in time. He could have died because of me. He's always in danger because of me.

"Why are you crying?" Eater whispers while he caresses my cheek with my thumb. I must never have stopped crying since tears are rolling down my cheek. So that is why he kept caressing my cheek.

I break down. I can't keep it inside of me anymore. All of these different kinds of feelings are killing me. I sob loudly while I bury my face in his shoulder. "My mom came to my apartment unexpectedly and then she just drops a bomb on me. She said my dad had an affair and just got their divorce finalized. She is now sleeping on my couch. I don't know why I'm feeling like this because they were never there for me when I was young and I had to raise myself. They never taught me anything. I was all alone this entire time. I don't know I would cry because of their failed marriage."

Eater listens carefully while he caresses my hair. "It's easy. They are your parents. Even if they were strangers in your life they are still your parents and that's why you are sad. They are your parents and you love them even if they weren't in your life that much."

I sob loudly. "They barely come and visit me. They didn't even come and visit me for Christmas. They only send me their gifts and a card. What kind of family does that?"

Eater chuckles lowly and I feel his chest rise. Even if this is just a game, I can feel Eater's heart just underneath my hand, beating soothingly and strongly. "Not the greatest family." Eater kisses my head and rests his head on mine. "But I have a feeling that isn't the whole story of you running away earlier. Why did you run away?"

I freeze. Why did I run? Many various things. It was just a combination of everything but mostly it was because of being a burden. "You want to know the truth?"

"Yes, I want you to be honest to me."

"It's because of a mixture of things. My parents' divorce, feeling lost and being a burden to you and the group. I'm tired of being the weakest one; the one that always needs to be rescued from death. I'm just so sick and tired of you risking your life because of me. I wanted to show you and the others I could take care of myself and I needed time to be alone. I didn't want you to see me crying like this."

"Oh Maka." Eater's arms tighten around me and he rocks me slowly. "You will never be a burden. You never were. Just because you often get yourself in trouble doesn't mean you are weak. That just means we are pressuring you enough that you easily get into trouble. You might be the weakest one in levels, but you are the strongest one in our group otherwise."

My eyes widen and I pull away from his chest so I can look into his eyes. I'm met with only sincere and his unbearable soft crimson eyes. "Really? How is that?"

Eater chuckles and cups my face with his left hand and I lean into his touch. "You are the bravest character I have ever met. Not many people would throw themselves into danger like you would and be able to handle it mentally. For many this isn't a game, it feels so real to them they can't take it for fear of being dead. But you, you can take anything. I'm far from being as brave as you are and I know Death is even farther away from your braveness. Your courage is something you should hold dear and never lose sight of because bravery is your strongest move. Not Gravity, not your two scythes, but your courage."

I blush a bright red and I swear my face must have become a bonfire because it is so warm. I'm surprised Eater hasn't hauled back his hand because of my heat. "I-I don't know what to say to that. I'm so embarrassed." I try to avoid his eyes but his hand wanders to my chin and tilts it back up to his eyes.

"Then answer me this question, how do you think I found you at the cliff?"

I shrug my shoulders. I don't have a clue. He followed me but I know that can't be it since I was way too fast for him.

"I found you because of us being a couple. When you are in a relationship in Meisters you will always know where your partner is even if you aren't in a party." So that is how he found me. "Why haven't you broken the relationship? We both said it was only temporary for that one quest."

I blush even brighter than before and now I must be on fire. "I-I-I-I… I… I thought… Um... I thought you were going… you know… break it off?" I stutter and I sound so unsure about my own words. I sound pathetic.

"I think it is time for us to talk about that kiss we shared." Eater says seriously while he keeps looking into my eyes. "We both have avoided that subject far too long."

"D-Don't Death, Camellia and Black*Star need our help?"

"No, they are capable of taking care of themselves and don't change the subject. You know we need to talk about it." Eater cups my cheeks and pulls me closer to him. "I will start then. I liked that kiss a lot. I like you. That is as simple as it is. I like you not just as a friend but in a relationship way. You are god damned amazing and I like you so much."

My heart stops beating. Eater likes me. Not in a friendly way but he really like me! I can't help but smile wide because I don't have to know how to handle my feelings because I don't need to hide them or learn to suppress them. There is no reason to suppress them because Eater likes me! "I-I like you too. And I like you in a relationship way."

Eater smiles wide and before I know it, his lips are on mine and I kiss him eagerly back. My fingers find his hair and I pull him closer. Eater pushes me closer to his broad shoulders while he runs his fingertips along my spine. His mouth tastes just the same, spicy with a touch of mint. I really like that taste. It is addicting tasting the spiciness of his skin with that fresh mint. It is almost like a hot summer day with a breeze cooling you off a little.

I swear Eater's lips are heaven because he tastes so good. Kissing him makes my heart speed and my body heat up to an unbearable temperature. Is this how it feels to kiss in the real world? Is this how Tsubaki feels when she kisses Black*Star? I want to find out. I really want to find out how it feels like.

I pull away and rest my forehead on Eater's shoulder. "That was amazing."

Eater chuckles and kisses my head before he rests his on mine. "Yeah, I never thought kissing in a videogame would feel this good."

I giggle and kiss Eater's neck. It feels so good not to hide my feelings for him. Now I can do what I feel like doing to show him my feelings. "Eater?"

"Yeah?"

"What are you doing tomorrow?"

He makes a low hum in the back of his throat. "I don't really know. Kid and I might play some basketball before we will study for the upcoming exams before summer break."

"Do you think me, Tsubaki and Black*Star could join you for basketball?"

Eater freeze a little before I feel him smiling wide. "Of course you can. We could do something else if you want. We could go and grab lunch and watch a movie."

I smile wide and pull away from Eater so I can look into his eyes. "Are you asking me out?"

He smirks wide. "You know I just don't like this Maka, I like the Maka you are. I might not have met you yet but I damn sure like you and I want to take you out on a date."

I blush madly. "Could Kid, Tsubaki and Black*Star be included in that date? I mean, we haven't met yet and you know what they say about meeting an online friend for the first time."

Eater nods. "They can tag along. If you are comfortable having company the first time then I'm okay with it as long as I get some time to get to know you."

I giggle and kiss him quickly. "Deal."