Finally, the end! :D A long time coming, huh?
Soul stood ridged staring stonily at the blonde that sat before the man he came to see who in turn glared back. "What are you doing here?"
"I could ask you the same," Maka mimicked his accusing tone, rising to her feet as if to meet his challenge.
"Why I'm here is irrelevant to you. But I am curious as to why you're here. I don't suppose your conspiring with this man? Trying to lure mutants like me out in the open?" He spat the word mutant as if it left a bitter taste in his mouth.
Maka's cheeks turned pink with fury. "What is your problem? I never told on you. I have morals unlike some. Did you even give it a second thought to what I'd have to do to survive when I was so ruthlessly thrown out?"
"For a deceiving woman such as you sleeping in the gutters is a just reward." Soul was appalled by his own words, but this woman seemed to bring out the extremes within him, and truthfully he felt ridiculous. It was true that he hadn't really thought about her situation after leaving the mansion which appalled him.
Maka felt the tips of her ears redden and wouldn't have been surprised if her head began to steam. She reached behind herself to grab anything she could, "You pompous moron!" She threw the heavy object she found, which turned out to be a thick hardback novel, which hit Soul who was too surprised to move in the face. The book dropping to the floor was the only sound to be heard in the room. Even Kid held his breath at her rash actions. Soul looked up at her from beneath his hair. Maka couldn't even feel sorry at that moment she was so angry.
"You're lucky I was taught from a young age how to control myself, Maka."
She glared, challenging him. "Well, I was self taught how to survive despite the awful conditions, unluckily for you." She stepped from around the chair, her arms out by her sides, "If you wish to kill me, now's your chance."
That threw him off. Even though he was angry he hadn't thought of killing her.
"That's enough, Maka." Death the Kid stood, attempting to defuse the tension in the air. "Maka and I were not conspiring, and neither of us are trying to, as you crudely put it, 'lure mutants like you' out."
"Excuse me?"
"I never told him or anyone in the Legion about you, Soul." Maka huffed, crossing her arms.
Soul, not wishing to get back into an argument, looked at Kid do explain more thoroughly. "It is true that we had not spoken before that day I offered you both a place at the Academy. In fact, I knew about you before I knew of Maka. It is only by coincidence that I met both of you to only find out you were, excuse my impudence, a perfect match." Soul felt slightly off balance. Information that contradicted what he thought he already knew was being thrown at him far too often.
He looked awkwardly at Maka, who refused to meet his gaze and whom was also regretting her harshness earlier, and cleared his throat. "My..." He breathed in deeply, "I would like to speak with Mr. Kid alone."
"Of course. It seems like everyone wants something from me recently." Liz who was situated at the back of the room, ignored by everyone, pursed her lips at Kid's slight sarcastic tone. She bit down on her laughter, pleased that Kid was loosening up over time. Kid indicated to Liz to escort the blonde from the room. "Maka, if you would kindly wait outside we will only be a few moments."
Maka was defused by Kid's polite request and compliantly left.
Once the door had shut Kid sat back down and gestured for Soul to do the same. "Now, what can I do for you?"
"I wished to know if you knew of my real father because of his..." Soul remembered how Kid reacted to their kind being called with negative terms, "peculiarities." Kid couldn't help but compare the situation to Makas. He hoped it wasn't becoming a trend for children to be purposely left in the dark about their heritage. That would complicate his job more so than already. "His name was Akio Hayato, and I was told he was a trader of sorts."
"Akio... I do recall a man by that name. I'm afraid to say that he died long ago and it was only a few months ago that we received a letter concerning you."
Soul sat up ridged, "He was the one to tell you about me? Why?"
"The letter was predated to be delivered just before your twenty first birthday, when you came of age. It contained the conditions of the agreement he made with your current carers and it expressed his desire for us to take you under our wing as he wished for you to be prepared."
"Prepared for what? What does the Legion even do? Why wasn't my father part of it if he was also a mu- man with abilities too?" Soul knew he sounded immature with the amount of questions he was tripping over to ask yet he cared more for the answers than upholding his cool persona.
"For what we cannot be sure as he didn't disclose his beliefs of your future. The Legion, against popular rumours, protect the public from the creatures that you've encountered. There are other threats that we face in order to protect the citizens, but that subject is taught in greater detail in the Academy. And as for him being an official part of the Legion, he only possessed the 'mutant' gene which was recessive and it was a coincidence that you happened to rouse the gene." Kid relaxed into his chair, giving Soul a moment to digest. "We did offer him support after he contacted us but he refused on principle grounds and by the contracts agreement he couldn't see his son at all and he would rather be as far from you as possible than to be close and suffer." Soul sat quietly for a while, which Kid allowed and continued to fill in his paperwork.
Soul finally asked the question that was nagging at his insides. "Is the invitation still open?"
"Yes."
"Then I accept your gracious offer."
Kid laid down his pen and stood offering his hand. "I'm pleased to hear that. Welcome to the Academy, Soul Evans." Kid noticed Patty who had taken Elizabeth's place over Souls shoulder and indicated for her to bring Maka back. "Expect, there may be one complication."
Soul became wary once more, "What complication?" Soul was awe when Maka came back into the room; he just felt her presence under his skin like an itch he can't seem to satisfy. Maka deliberately stood a few feet away from Soul, still miffed that Soul hadn't apologised, though granted she hadn't apologised for the book to the head. She couldn't believe she had been so rash, she was shocked to her core, but she had to find the amusement to compare herself now to how she was so timid back in the mansion. Maybe being kicked out was inversely good for her... What was she thinking? She could have died or worse. She was not going to thank him for putting her through all of that.
"You cannot enter without a partner." Maka recognised the implications behind his words.
"No, no, no," she chanted.
"It seems like you have somehow imprinted on one another so it would be best if you enrolled together."
"No, no, no!" Maka fisted her hands by her sides. "I didn't come here to enrol, and for another thing I could not work with someone who wouldn't trust me."
"May I ask, what else do you plan to do? And can you ignore those creatures that stalk the night now that you are awe of their presence?" Maka pursed her lips, scowling at the floor. She was not going to be bullied into joining. "Can you ignore the urges you feel to wield and fight with a harmonious weapon in your hands?" Maka focused on the knowing eyes of Kid. She had a sudden thankful moment that it was not BlackStar in Mr. Kid's position over her. She had the picture of the smug face of the blue haired man with a ridiculous god-complex.
"There's still the matter than I can't work with an untrusting partner."
"You're compatibility would be very limited if you were to enrol individually. And as you would be joining the advanced classes due to your age, it would be difficult to pair you with a younger student who happens to enrol."
"But I-"
"I agree to the terms," Soul interjected.
Maka turned on him, momentarily surprised enough to forget her anger. "What?"
Soul looked at her dead in the eye as he continued to talk to Kid, "I agree to enter as Maka's weapon." Soul's expression changed. It was a look she knew to be a challenge. She could practically hear his voice in her head, I've made the leap, but are you brave enough to follow me in?
Maka had to remember to smack BlackStar upside the head later for bringing her competitive streak to the surface. She reluctantly agreed to try it out. Kid was scrutinising both Weapon and Meister as they stared each other down and upon seeing Maka's resolve waver he added that there would be an apartment given to them during their time of study at the Academy, and after graduation they could pay the rent through the money they would earn from missions.
"Living together?" Maka flushed.
Soul smirked at the girl's expression, "We've already lived together for years."
"That was different," she argued.
"It has been proven that partners who live together attain greater compatibility than those that live apparent, so the Academy encourages pairs to share an apartment as a trial. There are two rooms, if you are worried about decency." Kid reassured her.
Maka still felt her cheeks burning at the concept of living in such close proximity with Soul. "Fine," she huffed, crossing her arms. "But it's only a trial."
"If you say so," Soul looked on trying to stop the smile etching its way onto his face.
...
Soul wasn't really known for his rash decisions, hell he wasn't known for doing anything he wasn't expect to do, so he was rather intoxicated by how much control he felt he had over his own life. He no longer felt like a caged freak of the Evan's family, kept out of sight to be kept out of mind. That may have explained his change in character. Personally, he liked feeling relaxed and carefree.
The changes in Soul really threw Maka off, but she noticed that the more she hung around this new nonchalant informal Soul the more she relaxed and acted like she did at BlackStars. It hadn't taken long for her to pack her stuff up and move into the apartment; in fact it frightened her how easily her scenes were changing. Since all of her possessions basically fit into one box it wasn't long before she had unpacked either. She had left a quick note thanking the entire household for their hospitality and telling them that she'd be back soon to explain things more but that she was fine so they needn't worry.
Soul on the other hand was mournful for leaving his piano, but the rest he was able to discreetly pack in a few boxes and walk out proudly carrying them. When he passed the guards at the gate he wasn't sure what surprised them more; that he was seemingly moving out by himself or his casual wear of jeans, a basic top and a brightly coloured jacket. He didn't leave a note besides a drawing of a floating soul on a scrap piece of paper left on his piano. He found it amusing but he doubted his family would.
In the chaos of moving in Maka hadn't felt uncomfortable about being alone with a young man, Soul at that. Now they sat on the supplied coach and she felt herself reddening by the moment for no apparent reason. It was ridiculous to think anything would happen. This was an Evans for heaven's sake; like he'd really be interested in a ex-maid. And she didn't care if he wasn't interested...
Soul had been watching Maka's face discreetly as she rambled herself into a tizzy in her head. "Maka?"
She blinked back into reality, "Yeah?"
"I know you don't feel the same, but I really do think we're going to be a great pair."
Her eyes grew large and her blush spilled down her neck drawing Soul's hungry red eyes down to the slightly opening of her shirt of the school uniform she had put on to test the size and forgot to take off. She liked the style and was please to get new clothes in general though she doubted she would be able to keep her perfectly white shirt... well, white. "W-what?"
"We're going to make a great team. I know you don't think so now, but I'll change your mind." He jumped up, oblivious to the storm in Maka's head and declared that he was going to try out the shower.
...
The darkness did nothing to sooth her. She swiped at her table, sending vials and papers scattering. She gripped the edge of her work table, trying to control herself. She had to have a clear head to work around the situation. Why her daughter hadn't charmed the boy beyond his limit she was too angry to investigate. She had sent her to her punishment room to think about her disastrous performance but she was beginning to think that the only way through was to send her out to take out the competition. If there was no other interest, surely he would turn to the nearest form of comfort? He seemed like a snivelling man to begin with, allowing himself to be controlled so completely by his elders', but he was a perfect specimen...
She stalked to the door to where her daughter was huddled behind and called sweetly into the infinite dark. "Crona, darling. C'mere." Her daughters purple hair was the first thing to immerge then the tear strain face and finally the bruised and cut body. "Oh, my baby." She opened her arms to embrace her. Crona stood perfectly still as to not do anything to anger her mother again. She couldn't face another moment in the dark. She couldn't do it. She... She...
"Crona, darling." Medusa tilted her face up with a single long nail, drawing a little blood in the process, "I have another job for you, and this time you won't fail me, will you? You don't like being in the dark with yourself do you?"Crona mutely shook her head to each question. Medusa so did love when her daughter was this obedient, but sometimes it irritated her. "That's my girl."
...
Soul flicked through one of the books his new roommate brought along, in its battered overly used state, in an attempt to understand her a little better. He didn't want to argue with her because he misunderstood her, especially in a life or death situation. Maka had gone in the shower some time ago and Soul was beginning to wonder what on earth she was doing in there when a knock sounded at the door. He knew none would know where to find him now, and Kid had said that he'd only pop over tomorrow after they had had time to settle in, so that only left neighbours or some of Maka's acquaintances.
He answered the door and was stunned into stepping backwards. "Miss C-Crona?" The once shy girl he knew giggled and pushed her chest out. Her chest that was barely covered by her... Soul wasn't even sure it could be called an outfit. It looked a little like lingerie, from the glimpses of magazines in Wesley's room, but it had the thinnest straps holding the thin see-through material up. It was a daring black in colour aside from the dark blue bow, cups and... thong she wore. Involuntary heat rose from his cheeks.
"Soul," she breathed heavily, her tone was filled with pure need. Soul backed up as she strutted towards him. He put out his hands as if signing her to stop but all he achieved was cupping her hot generous chest in his palms. He jumped backwards and ended up sprawled on the floor, haven tripped over the damn coffee table by the sofa. He groaned as his back burned with pain but he quickly forgot it when Crona straddled her thin frame over his groin and began pushing down, jerking her hips a little.
"C-C-Crona! S-stop!" He gripped her arms attempting to gently remove her but she pressed herself further down and he was surprised enough to weaken his grip. She pressed herself against the length of his and purred his name again. She kissed his neck and followed a trail up to his jaw and along aiming for his mouth. He jerked his head to the side so she attacked his ear with precise kisses and Soul groaned in forced arousal. How did she know what she was doing to him? Soul would have never pegged her as a closet minx; she seemed so shy and reserved. She had blushed when he had barely brushed her hand and met her eyes.
"Soul," she purred. "Soul, I need you."
"What?"
"Now." She sat up and began working on the buttons on his shirt. He jerked as she ground her hips again into him and grabbed her furiously working hands. She had somehow opened half of his buttons and he felt the chill on his exposed skin.
"Crona, stop!"
"Soul," she whined back, grinding against him further. He jerked into her and huffed at the spark of pleasure that radiated all over his body. Damn, that shit was good, he admitted. He got an abrupt image of Maka straddling him and mewing in his ear. When Crona ground down on him again even she was surprised at the hardness between them. Soul groaned, the image of Maka staining his mind.
"Soul?"
Soul groaned again, his mental manifestation of Maka groaning his name. Then his rationality, which had not been completely overrun by lust, realised that the voice was a little too real to be just in his head. Soul opened his eyes like a shot and stared up at a dripping Maka, clad in damp clothes clinging to her thin form, who was so shocked she was mid-step. She blinked a few times, droplets of water falling from her lashed that were darkened and lengthened by the water, rimming her moss green eyes beautifully. Rational Soul was able to pry the body who was pleasuring him from the girl he was imagining whom was now shaking in rage with her head bent away. Get up, moron. Now, Rational Soul growled. Lust filled Soul complied grumpily, shifting Crona from him gently. There was no way of covering his hardened length in his trousers; little Soul was pushing out demanding attention and almost pointing in accusation at its origin of arousal. Big Soul attempted to pull together a rational story, but without Rational Soul who had left him to his fate he was doomed. "M-Maka, its n-not what you think!"
Soul watched as she reached behind her and felt an overwhelming sense of doom. Before he could react a book flew at his head leaving a stinging mark on his cheek and forehead where it double bounced with the corner. "It's exactly what I think. You're just like them! You typical promiscuous male!" Maka turned to storm down the corridor to her assigned door but she was caught by the arm.
"Won't you listen to me? You have to believe me when I-"
"Are you serious?" She twirled back at him tugging at her arm. His grip was strong. "After your mistrust you're going to expect me to believe you when I saw you groaning on the floor under-"
"Well, if you'd just hear me out you'd understand-"
"Let go of me Soul."
"Not till you listen."
"Get off, you Neanderthal!" Maka yanked harder, practically leaning at a sixty degree angle from the floor that if Soul did let go she'd go head long into the opposite wall of the corridor.
"Maka, stop being stupid-"
"Yeah, I'm stupid for giving you a chance to prove me wrong!"
While Meister and Weapon were shouting at one another, Crona sat dejected on the floor. She wasn't listening to the row that was occurring but to her mother's voice within her head. Crona, you only have one option left. Kill the meddling girl. Bring Soul back home, unconscious or not, just don't kill him. Kill the girl, darling. Kill her. Crona nodded obediently, glancing up at the pair who was now screaming into each other's face. She rose from the ground, swaying at the after effects of the alcohol she had injected into her system. Her system was too stable to feel the effects of alcohol when ingested but directly injected in her heart and liver allowed her to feel the light headedness and boldness it brought if only for a while. The girl shoved Soul and began walking towards the door; clearly intending to leave yet she was still dripping wet and would undoubtedly catch a cold. This was Crona's chance. Crona opened her hand wide, calling Ragnarok to her palm. He begrudgingly answered and formed into his Demon Sword mode.
Maka didn't have time to be surprised by the fast form of the girl that had been seducing Soul rush at her with a blurred black object in her hand. She froze and watched as the specks of blood floated into the air as if time was slowed down just to force her to watch the agonising scene for longer. Soul coughed, blood splattering onto the astonished face of his former fiancé. He fell to his knees, holding his chest in bewilderment as the blood dripped down his front staining his new carpet. Funny he'd be so worried about a carpet he'd own for barely four hours. He felt Maka's arms encircled him to keep him upright. He would have liked being in her arms if he wasn't now bleeding over the both of them. He could distantly hear Maka in his ear repeatedly calling him a moron. He smiled, which was a chilling sight with his bloody eyes and now bloody mouth to match.
Crona back off, muttering to herself that she couldn't handle this. The black sword that she once held blurred and soaked back into her body and she held her blood hands to her face staring at Soul between her fingers horror-stricken. Maka shouted at her, but Crona didn't hear her. Soul didn't hear her. He had passed out from blood loss. Crona looked at Soul once more with dismay before rushing out the door, crying why he would do that.
Maka held Soul like an infant, soothing him knowing that he was already unconscious but feeling powerless to do anything but. She pressed her towel that she'd dropped when seeing Soul under the practically naked woman onto his wounds seeking to stop the blood flow as best she could. She had to press blindly as his whole chest was a bloodied mess that she couldn't pinpoint the wound. She hugged him to her chest and called for help praying to any god that'd listen to save him.
...
Maka held onto Soul even as the medics shoved her around to get to him. They finally gave in and allowed her to ride in the ambulance holding onto his hand. She didn't remember the questions they asked her, she didn't even remember that she had been in the shower moments before the havoc occurred and she was shivering in wet clothes. She was entirely focused on Soul, so when he shifted and woke for a few minutes she was the first to notice.
"Soul? Soul!"
"Yeah," he replied weakly.
"What the hell were you thinking? Are you a complete moron or had the blood not returned to your head yet?" She wanted to badly to hit him, with a book, hard. Just to get her scared frustration out.
He laughed, "Did you make a joke? Ladies and Gentlemen, give the lady a hand!"
"Soul, this isn't funny. What were you doing? We were having a fight and then you... Why Soul?"
"I couldn't let something so beautiful be scarred because of me," he whispered.
"I said no more jokes, Soul." She glared.
"I'm not joking," he blinked droopily up at her.
Concerned by his somewhat lovable responses, she turned to a nurse dealing with his drip, "Has he been given some drugs?" Soul laughed, clearly drugged up for none with a wound that long and deep on their chest could laugh without crying in pain. When he passed out almost directly after Maka squeezed his hand harder. Hold on Soul..
...
The first thing Soul noticed when he woke was the tightness of his chest, the pain of every breath he took and how thirsty he was. He groggily looked around, hoping to fall on a glass of water, but he was drawn to the figure by the window. He observed the blonde for a while. She was staring out but was absorbed by her thoughts and Soul couldn't help but notice how beautiful she looked. Her hair had dried into soft curls which draped around her shoulders, and she had changed into what looked like nurse scrubs. Maybe they offered her a clean uniform because walking around covered in dried blood might alarm others.
Maka felt his bloody gaze on. She took in his complexion, still deathly white in spite of the blood transfusions. Maka took the guest chair besides Soul's bed trying to think how to phrase her question. "Soul, what were you thinking?"
Soul didn't have the energy to tease her so he answered simply, "I wasn't."
Maka shook her head, "The why? Why did you... We were fighting!"
"I don't know what to tell you, Maka. It was instinct to protect you."
"You mean it was foolish to protect me."
"I won't contradict you. If had been thinking I would have turned and blocked."
She bit the inside of her cheek. "Who was that woman? Was she your..." Maka scarcely recognised her, her attitude was so different from the girl she once saw in the Evan's home.
"Crona was my former fiancé."
Maka had guessed it was something like that, although she still found the woman's promiscuous behaviour perplexing, especially for a lady of her class. "Did you..." Maka couldn't believe she was asking this, "Did you want to marry her?" She didn't care for his answer so why was she even asking?
Soul watched her expression with curiosity. "No, I didn't." Maka let out the breath she didn't realise she was holding. "Hey, Maka?" She hummed. "I'm sorry for throwing you out, for blaming you, I... I'm sorry for everything up until this point."
Maka was taken back, haven forgotten the anger she had felt at him for not apologising earlier. "Thank you." Soul smiled at her. A smile that was not condescending, not amused at her expense, not even a smile of a Master to a servant. A genuine youthful smile. She pouted and looked away, "I'm sorry I threw a book at you. Both times."
Soul laughed, "Thanks. Just don't make it a common occurrence. My head may be thick but not that thick." Maka smiled and casted him a quick glance.
"No promises." Her smile quickly spilled away to leave a serious frown on her face. "If we're going to be partners you can't be so reckless. We'll work together to get stronger to protect each other, not one being the hero and the other the stupid damsel."
Soul gave her a serious look. "I cannot assure you that I will not do this all over again," he quirked a smile, "but I'm willing to train together to improve." Maka decided not to debate him into promising her not to throw himself in front of her again, at least not at the moment. After all, they had a hell of a lot of time to argue over the matter in the foreseeable future.
Days passed while Soul was confined to his bed to recover with Maka visiting him every day. He learned many things during that time, one interesting fact was that he was required to ingest the souls of the creatures they defeated to rise in the ranks to Death Scythe status. He was delighted when he found out that as a new student he could legally change his name; to create a new identity for himself and because he was so amused by Maka's disgusted face at the concept of eating someone's soul he wrote on his papers Soul Eater. He found the pun very funny but Maka wasn't so thrilled by his rash decision.
...
"Tsubaki! This came for you," Sid called. Tsubaki, who had recovered tremendously since Maka had left her, dodged her way over to Sid. It was unheard of for a servant to receive mail so most commotion in the kitchen had slowed momentarily listening intently. Sid quickly passed over the letter and called to everyone to get back to work. Tsubaki smiled to her co-workers as she passed them to find a more private area to open the letter. She didn't know what she was expecting when she opened it but she was still thrown by it. Maka?
...
BlackStar had been in an awful mood ever since Maka had disappeared with only a lousy note left on the table to explain her absence. So when a letter was delivered addressed to him he was surprised out of his terrible mood. The Shinigami Legion formerly invites you to join their ranks and help protect the general public through your unique skills... BlackStar scanned to the end to find a very familiar signature. Maka Albarn? BlackStar frowned. He knew Maka wasn't one to be drawn into a scam, or a criminal group like the Legion was rumoured to be. If Maka was brave enough to check it out, an aspiring god like he should be able to. He smiled to himself; he couldn't let his future worshipers down now, could he?
Damn, Crona. You're one fine seductress! Bet you can't guess who my inspiration was for her character change... *Cough* Blair *cough* ;) Too bad Soul already has his mind filled with a particular blonde ^^ I really enjoyed writing her like this. It was such a twist on her character that it made it that much more interesting and amusing :D
I hope you guys enjoyed this story :)