Disclaimer: I don't own Soul Eater. I do own the plot. Any other sources used that are not of my own creation (poetry, lyrics, quotes, etc) or things that may not be common knowledge shall be cited and I will explain their relevance at the end. Anything not cited is of my own imagination.
Also, in this chapter, lyrics that are in bold and italics are sung by Kami solo. Just in regular italics will be Maka solo. Bold, italics and underlined are them together.
Chapter Fourteen
Maka looked at her calendar calmly and then looked back at the clock by her bed. Four days ago she had attended the funeral of Josephina Evans with Soul and held his hand the whole time, ignoring the harsh glares sent her way my Masumi. At one point, while washing her hands in the ladies room at the small restaurant the family went to so they could spend some time together and console one another, Masumi walked in and glared at her through the window. "You do realize you don't belong here, correct?" She asked snidely.
"Soul asked me to come here and support him; I'm not going to ignore the request of a trusted friend," She said simply, just briefly glancing up to meet the other woman's gaze through the mirror. Red spheres widened at her words before narrowing even more. "But yes, I do realize I don't belong as a guest at one of these fancy-dancy little get-togethers your family is so fond of throwing and attending. To you, I should be doing nothing more than walking around with a tray offering refills and to take away soiled eating utensils, right?"
Masumi giggled politely, a little smirk worming its way to her lips. "Well aren't you just a smart little girl! You really do know your place in society!"
"No, but I do know the place you feel fits for me," She answered back flatly. She then turned and glared at her. "I also know that I do deserve to pursue whatever it is I want to do with my life. Whether I decide I'd like to be a singer, or a writer, or even be something as simple as a wife and mother those are my calls. My social standing doesn't restrict what I can do with myself and my life. To be honest, I pity you."
"Pity me? And why, pray tell, do you pity me of all people?" Masumi barked out haughtily. Her eyes were glinting with poorly contained hatred and there was a small twitch to her lips that indicated weakness.
"Because you are so pig-headed and foolish that you'd rather try to force everyone around you to conform to the cookie-cutter shapes you've created for society," Maka said while picking up some paper towel and drying off her hands. She tossed it away before grabbing another. "That's exactly why you hate Soul; he is capable of doing the one thing you are too scared to be capable of."
"Wha- How dare you accuse me of being afraid?" She gasped, stepping back and clenching her fists.
Maka rolled her eyes and shook her head.
"And why is that what upsets you rather than me implying you hate one of your own children? You're just helping to prove my case in this argument even more and, really, it's rather pathetic," She answered flatly. She then stepped closer, her hand on the door, and glared right down at the older woman. "People fear and hate what they don't understand, hence your feelings toward Soul. And you know what? You could never see things through his world even if you wanted to; you're far too stupid to understand anything about your own son."
Maka had returned to her seat after that and left a fuming Masumi behind her. She hadn't told Soul what went down between herself and his mother because she didn't see a point. Although Soul acted all aloof and indifferent, she knew that hearing what was said would hurt him at least a little bit. No one wanted to think their parents didn't love them for who they were and she just couldn't bring it on to herself to be the one to hurt him like that.
It was also that conversation that had sparked this decision within Maka.
She looked back at her clock and saw that it was now six in the morning, rather than two minutes till like last time she'd looked. She picked up the small bag she had prepared the night before and slipped it over her shoulders. Inside was her bus pass, wallet, a few CDs in a CD holder, a spare change of clothes, her poetry journal and a small picture from when she was three years old of her parents and herself. It was one of the only happy family portraits she'd been able to track down over the years and it meant a lot to her. With a final look at her room, assuring that everything else was in perfect and tidy order, and headed out with a soft click of her door.
She crept down the hall to Soul's room and opened the door. She saw his figure all askew on his bed, small snorts coming from his blanket covered body, and released a few little giggles. She then walked over and shook his shoulder lightly. "Hey, Soul, wake up real fast. I need to ask a favor," She mumbled lightly while sitting down on a portion of the bed he wasn't occupying. He groaned loudly and she watched as his head poked out from the blankets slightly.
"What is it? And why couldn't it wait until later?" He grumbled, rubbing one eye, and sending a sidelong look over at the clock by his bed. He flopped back down on the bed. "Just give me three more hours."
"No, hold on! I just wanted to ask if you had a portable stereo or something I could borrow," She said hurriedly, trying to catch him before he was dead to the world.
His arm was thrust out and indicated the desk on the opposite end of his room. "Check the largest bottom drawer; I think I still have an old walkman in there. Some loose batteries should be scattered around in there too, so take as many as you'll need," He said tiredly before his hand returned beneath its fabric cocoon.
"Thanks," She said sweetly. She was answered by another sleepy snort. She got up headed over, and found what she was looking for. She was even more delighted to find an unopened pack of batteries as well as a pair of ear buds plugged into the walkman. She shrugged off her bag, stuffed the new items into it, and then placed it back on. She smiled lightly at Soul's sleeping form from the doorway. "Bye." She mumbled, blowing him a kiss, and then heading out of the Evans manor.
She walked to the bus station downtown and then browsed the little shops, even investing in a few new books, around it until her bus arrived. It was going to be a good four hour ride to where she was heading but she was looking forward to it. This early in the morning she would basically be the only person on the train; it was for this reason she had decided to head out at this time.
She didn't want anyone she knew to be awake to question her in her motives.
"Maka, where are we going?" Kami's ghost asked Maka as she settled down into a seat in the far back of the bus. The younger woman replied by pulling out her journal, yanking out a blank sheet and scribbling something down on it. Although there were only two other passengers, and both had chosen the front half as their locations, Maka wasn't in the mood to be accused of being crazy.
"On a little trip," She scribbled down on the sheet of paper. Kami read it out loud and then looked at her with a raised eyebrow.
"What kind of a trip, exactly? You aren't running away, are you?" She asked suspiciously. Maka shrugged and jotted down another little note.
"I guess we'll see when we get there, huh?" She grinned lightly at her mother while the other woman scowled. It looked more like her mother was pouting than anything else, really.
"Oh, Maka, you are being so cruel to me! Why can't you just give Mama a straight forward answer?" She cried out indignantly while Maka just laughed. She started putting her things away while her laughter faded to simple giggles.
The bus driver pretended to not notice that cute little girl all alone in the back laughing at apparently nothing.
…
Soul had no idea what had possessed him to walk his happy ass down to Spirit Albarn's home this afternoon before practice but now, as he stood poised to knock, he was filled with concern that this may have been a terrible idea. He had figured that, since he clearly felt something more than just friendship with Maka Albarn, he should let her father know he wanted to pursue something deeper with the young lady. Despite the fact Maka had made it clear she wanted nothing to do with her father, he assumed that maybe now that she seemed to be turning her attitude around she may change her mind on the decision sometime soon.
Besides, cool guys always made sure that their girl's dad's liked them at least a little, right?
Soul finally brought his fist down to lightly wrap on the door. He was met with a haggard Spirit Albarn. The older man's hair was greasy, his eyes had heavy black bags under them, and he looked pale. The young albino briefly wondered if the other male had been so depressed he neglected eating after his daughter's biting words. "What do you want, Evans?" He asked in a bland tone of voice.
"I came to talk to you about Maka," He said and suddenly the other brightened considerably. He was yanked inside and the other male was in his face, eyes alive with joy and hope. Soul took a nervous step back. "Uh… You're kind of invading my personal space here, dude."
"What did Maka say? Did she say she wanted to come home?" He asked eagerly. Since he had been ignored, Soul reached out and pushed the other male back by his shoulders a little bit.
"No, she didn't say anything," Spirit visibly deflated at these words, "but I wanted to talk to you about her. Or, rather, I wanted to address a few things about her with you."
"And are these good or bad things?" Spirit asked, suddenly serious. Soul blinked, feeling a little dizzy from how fast this man was changing moods on him. How could this guy be some sort of notorious womanizer, let alone have the charms to get one woman? And, more importantly at the point, how had Maka lasted with this behavior for as long as she had? Two incidents with this guy and Soul was already feeling his patience dissolving fast. And Soul was friends with Black*Star!
"That depends on your stance, really," Soul said finally. Spirit let out a small, dark chuckle and walked over to the kitchen table. He sat down and looked at the young man from there. Slowly, the white haired boy headed over and took a seat across from the other.
"Maka is the only family I have left at this point in my life, and she's also my only child," He started to explain, his tone all business and seriousness. It almost seemed unnatural for such an expression to be worn by this man but Soul kept his comments to himself. "She may not… Be very forgiving toward me but she'll always be my little girl. It doesn't matter what mistakes or crimes she commits; if she needs me I will be here for her. So, before you tell me this news you came to deliver, please understand I am ready to go to the ends of the world for this girl."
"Maka's been acting different lately," Soul said after Spirit's speech. He didn't really know why the other male had assumed it was something bad he had to tell him but decided to ignore it. "She's let go off all the guilt and resentment she's built up over the years toward herself and you. She's been a lot happier and more pleasant to be around. The first thing I wanted to discuss with you was that, as long as you watch your steps, she may come back in hopes of rebuilding the relationship you two used to have. Now, I am not absolutely certain about this because she has specifically said anything about you since you came by but I think it's a certainly a high possibility."
Spirit smiled lightly and nodded. Soul was surprised to see relief shining in the other's bright sapphire orbs. "And the other matter?"
"I wanted to let you know that I am planning to ask Maka out," Suddenly, that light in Spirit's eyes disappeared. It was a lot like someone had flicked off a switch in the other man's head. "Since she doesn't really care what you think right now I didn't see a point in asking your permission, but I did feel you had some right to know what I'm planning to do. After all, she could laugh in my face and tell me she'd never date a spoiled rich boy like me even if I paid her to. Or, there is the chance she'll say yes to me; it could go either way at this point, really."
"You… You are right that I may not have the right to give you permission to date my little Maka," Spirit said after taking another deep breath. He suddenly slammed his fist down on the table, stood, and pointed his other finger at Soul accusingly. His eyes were alive again but with passionate dedication this time around. "But if you ever try to lay a finger on my little Maka when she says no than I will rain down the vengeance of a proud Papa upon you!" He declared bravely.
And Soul, being the little shit that he was, saw this as a challenge.
"And what if she says yes, or asks me to do naughty things to her?" Soul asked, tipping back in his chair. He was grinning almost wickedly at how the other visibly paled and his hand fell limp back at his side. "What if you little Maka isn't as sweet and delicate as you seem so desperate to believe? And it would be rude of me, as a polite young gentleman, to turn a young woman away if she comes to me begging to strip her down and make rough, passionate lo-"
"I'LL KILL YOU!" Spirit screamed, trying to launch himself across the table at Soul. The younger male easily jumped free from his chair and made a break for the door, laughing the whole way. He didn't get far, though, before he ran head first into a roadblock.
Or, to be more precise, he ran head first into Kid, who was also running.
The two boys tumbled over and Soul, not wanting to land in an awkward position, twisted onto his side and landed on his back instead. He let out a pained grunt when his head hit the hard pavement while Kid muttered a small swear when he landed rather gracelessly on his bum. "What the hell are you doing here, Evans?" He snarled out lowly, glaring at the other.
Soul was wincing and rubbing his head as he sat and faced the other male. "I was talking with Maka's old man. What are you doing here?"
"Maka's gone missing and we can't find her anywhere," Kid answered, a small stream of concern and fear creeping into his voice. Soul's eyes widened as he stared, slack jawed, at the other male. "I came here to see if she'd come home. Do you remember the last time you saw her?"
"She woke me up at like six o'clock this morning, asking if I had an old walkman she could borrow," Soul said with a small scowl. He hadn't really understood the request and hadn't thought much on it until now. "But after I told her where to find it I went back to sleep since I was dead tired. She didn't mention why and I didn't think to ask her."
"Great," Kid growled out before perking up. His cell phone suddenly started buzzing and he picked it up. "Hello? Liz, what is it? An emergency, you say? Does it have to do with Maka?" There was a pause before he stood and took off running, snapping out orders into the phone.
"Wait for me, you- Gah! That guy is such a pain in the ass!" Soul cursed. Just as he had gone to pursue Kid the other male just has to jump into a pure black car that takes off speeding in a screech of tires and rubber! Soul turned around to see a confused Spirit standing in the doorway of the house. "Hey! Can you think of any places Maka may go to if she's really distraught or something?" He asked, darting over to him.
Spirit closed his eyes for a moment, brow furrowed in concentration, before nodding. "I can think of one place she may go to. Come inside and I'll write down how to get there for you," He said, letting the other male walk in before closing the door behind him.
…
Maka took a deep breath as she relaxed against the warm sand of the beach. This had been where her family would go to for family vacations when she was a child and always had the greatest memories attached to it. She picked up the walkman, skipped around on the tracks until she came to the instrumental piece she was looking for, and let out a happy little sigh. "So this was where you wanted to go," Kami commented beside her. They were the only two present since the swimming season had yet to start up; it was too cold for the beach but also too warm to be bundled up.
"Yeah. I… I wanted to come here so that we could have one last conversation," Maka said gently. She doodled a little kitty face in the sand then swept it away with her hand. Kami leaned forward and raised an eyebrow at her curiously. Finally bright emerald spheres locked with muted jade ones. "I want you to move on and enjoy your afterlife Mama."
"Maka," Kami said softly. She then turned on her heels and walked closer to the tide lightly lapping at the sandy shore. "Do you remember that musical we used to listen to over and over because you loved the music? And no, I don't mean Chicago." She giggled lightly, looking back at her daughter with a smile. Maka blinked then smiled and nodded as well.
"Yeah, I remember. It was Wicked; you played the role of Glenda the Good Witch in that musical when you were younger," She stated gently. Her mother nodded peacefully.
"And you liked Elphaba more because of how tragic her story was. We could always agree on one thing though; our favorite song," She mused happily. Maka skipped through the CD she currently had put on and cranked the volume up as loud as it would go. Her mother's eyes came alive as the background sounds of the song she was mentioning blared out.
"Let's sing it together one last time," Maka said happily as she stood up and moved so that she was beside her mother. The other woman took a deep breath as she prepared for her first lines (though they both knew she didn't really need to.
I've heard it said
That people come into our lives for a reason
Bringing something we must learn.
And we are led
To those who help us most to grow
If we let them
And we help them in return.
Well, I don't know if I believe that's true
But I know I'm who I am today
Because I knew you.
It was such a rush for Kami to be singing again. Sure, she and Maka had sung together a few weeks ago but this was so very different. This brought back so many memories and her daughter's cherubic face smiling up at her without a care in the world. It reminded her of the pureness of her own child and made her wish thing had been a little different for her beautiful, incredible, strong and precious baby girl.
Like a comet pulled from orbit
As it passes a sun.
Like a stream that meets a boulder
Halfway through the wood.
Who can say if I've been changed for the better?
But because I knew you
I have been changed for good.
Maka was having her own little trip down memory lane with this song as well. She had always loved it when her mother would sing with her simply because it was such a rare occurrence. And as she listened, coming to the painful realization this would be the last time they would perform as a duo, she felt her heart constrict a little bit. Who would be a better singing partner than her mother?
It well may be
That we will never meet again
In this lifetime
So let me say before we part
So much of me
Is made from what I learned from you.
You'll be with me
Like a handprint on my heart
And now whatever way our stories end
I know you have re-written mine
By being my friend.
Like a ship blown from its mooring
By a wind off the sea.
Like a seed dropped by a skybird
In a distant wood.
Who can say if I've been changed for the better?
But because I knew you.
Because I knew you.
I have been changed for good.
And just to clear the air
I ask forgiveness
For the things I've done you blame me for.
But then, I guess we know
There's blame to share.
And none of it seems to matter anymore.
Like a comet pulled from orbit
As it passes a sun.
Like a stream that meets a boulder
Halfway through the wood.
Like a ship blown from its mooring
By a wind off the sea.
Like a seed dropped by a bird in the wood.
Who can say if I've been
Changed for the better?
I do believe I have been
Changed for the better.
And because I knew you.
Because I knew you.
Because I knew you
I have been changed for good.
Maka felt tears stinging at her eyes as she noticed her mother becoming even dimmer in the light cast by the sun. She had thought that by coming here her mother would finally be able to reach eternal and she had been right; it was a double-edged blade. She was glad to know her mother was finally able to let go of the feelings that had been holding her back but it also heart to realize that this really was good-bye. "I love you," She whispered through little sniffles.
"I love you too, Maka," She said with a smile, reaching out and taking Maka's hand. The younger woman wasn't sure if it was a trick of her mind or an actual fact but she swore that for that one moment, that brief gesture, she actually felt her mother's warm hand in her own. And then, like a released breath, her mother's presence was completely gone.
She swallowed hard past a lump developing in her throat and let out a long drawn out sigh. "What the hell were you thinking?" A voice suddenly screamed, jarring her from her thoughts and forcing her to twirl around in surprise. Standing up by the railing near the stairs that led down to the actual beach was Soul, an annoyed scowl on his lips and his shoulders heaving frantically with his breathing.
"Soul? How did you know that I came here?" She blurted out in surprise. He darted to the stairs, took them two at a time, and didn't stop until he reached her. He skidded to abruptly that a little bit of sand splattered in between her sandal-clad shoes.
"I asked your old man," He said after taking a deep breath. He watched her through narrowed eyes. "He was surprisingly forth-coming of that information; probably because Kid had already run off at that point and he knew he could never get you to come back."
"Come back? Of course I was going to be coming back! I came here to say goodbye to my mother and let go of the past!" She stated with surprise. He blinked a few times, a stupefied expression suddenly playing across his features. "If you don't believe me I have a bus ticket for seven o'clock tonight in my bag. I was going to take the bus back into town and then hitch a cab back to the manor since it isn't safe to walk around alone at night."
"You aren't taking a cab since we'll be going home together now," He said flatly, pulling his cell phone from his pocket. He scrolled through his contacts and sent a quick text. "There. I asked Wes if he can have one of the family vehicles pick us up when we get back in town."
"You are so damn spoiled," Maka laughed lightly as she sat back down. He sat next to her and stuck out his tongue.
"I'm rubber, you're glue, yadda yadda," He remarked in a childish tone. It earned him a small giggle from the other teenager. He then looked out at the sea and took in a deep breath. The salty air, despite being somewhat bitter, was surprisingly soothing to the senses. "So, I wanted to ask you to be my girlfriend."
She glanced at him in slight surprise then smiled lightly and looked out at the glittering ocean. "I… I would very much like that," She said gently. Soul's hand slithered across the sand and gently laced together with her fingers.
"Cool," He said simply and then just let the silence wrap them up in a peaceful silence.
End
(1) For Good from the musical Wicked. This musical, like Chicago, is one I haven't seen but have heard pretty much the entire soundtrack to. I also felt this song can be pretty well adapted to defining Maka and Kami's relationship, as I portrayed it in this story.
Alakauthoress ramble!:
Maka's better at making enemies than friends, isn't she?
Another lengthy chapter… I actually intended to include a small piece from the next chapter in this one but didn't want to overload this chapter. Plus I liked the ending for this scene more as a chapter concluder too; hope you all agree~!
Poll is still uploaded; need it answered so I can start the planning Not Quite Twilight. Please get to it as soon as you can, ladies and gents~! :D
Oh, and don't forget my Sunday Q&A sessions! I'll be doing those from now until about August when I start my new semester of college~!
Next Chapter:
Maka and Soul decide to do something nice for Tsubaki and Black*Star, since they're good friends like that. The most unholy of all tag-teams is developed; Medusa Gorgon and Masumi Evans start to plan ways to take down our little pigtailed protagonist! I take the time to wrap-up the side drama with Stein and Marie, just since I kinda neglected to focus on any of that.