Disclaimer: I do not own Soul Eater.
Last Time: Tsubaki and Black Star return to Tsubaki's home to rest and regain their strength from their last battle. Angela has managed to form a complete team while also learning more about Kay's unknown past. Osam makes a wager with Tia that perks her interest, Soul continues to calm Maka with her disturbing figure, and a mysterious person in the background is planning something sinister.
No Matter What…People Will Return
Tension is building inside steadily,
Everyone feels so far away from me
Heavy thoughts forcing their way out of me…
~From the Inside by Linkin Park
His body was sore and it quivered with exhaustion. He held back an angry curse. He was smart enough to know that it would do no good to wake up the whole city, especially not in his current predicament. Shinigami may have allowed them permission to stay there but that still didn't mean the old Grim Reaper would approve of their…new methods.
His head felt like it was being squeezed, and he let out a hiss. He would have been angrier if he was the only one going through all of this bothersome pain…but he wasn't.
Crossing the tops of the roof tops, something between slithering and flying, he headed towards Shibusen, the yawning sun peaking just over the horizon behind him.
And then, finally he was there, inside one of the guest rooms, black scales on his body constantly changing from prominent sharp edges to blurred, almost liquidly, oozing edges. Ignoring the bed, he crawled straight to the corner that was just behind the door where a figure, neither moving nor breathing was balled up, skin dry like wrinkled leather stretched thinly to its limit along sharp angles of bones. The body was completely sucked dry.
But, it was still there. The soul. And that was all that mattered as he leaned back, before shooting it self at the mummified figure's parted lips. And for a long moment, there was silence before two soft sounds of synchronized rhythms filled the room.
"Ow…" and the figure's blood pumping.
Maka looked from Shinigami-sama, to Ox, to the boy in front of her.
"This is Alec-kun. He's from one of Shibusen's international branch schools and will be one of your students and joining you for this mission."
She looked at the boy with the multicolored dreadlocks and easy going visage and she almost shivered as she looked into his eyes. His pale, pale eyes that looked ever so familiar.
"It's nice to meet you Alec-kun," she greeted, smiling timidly as she stuck out a hand wondering why she felt like she was an awkward student herself all over again.
"Yeah, you too teach!" he grinned taking a hold of her hand and for a moment, Maka thought she felt some familiarity from this boy but she pushed the thought away, her smile growing more genuine as she explained the basics to the boy.
"WHY THE HECK IS IT RAINING SO MUCH?"
Soul rolled his eyes, pulling his hood further up. "It's a rainforest, brat. What did you expect?" he said over the pattering of the rain. Tia simmered at his comment but held back a retort as she struggled to push through the thick foliage around them.
They were placed into two strategic lines, with Maka and Ox in the front, followed by the chattering Alec and the ever silent Kay, shivering Angela and the hovering Lucius, the steaming Tia and timid Maso, with Soul and Harvar brining up the rear.
"It's cold," Angela shivered, the hem of her rain cloak already caked in mud. She gasped as Lucius suddenly took her cold hand in his. "Wh-" She cut herself off when she felt heat radiate from his softly glowing finger tips to her.
"Better?" he grinned softly.
She nodded, taking back her hand, her already flush cheeks getting redder.
"Hey you're a freaking lamp!" Tia pointed out, poking Lucius's shoulder. "Can't you make some light? I can barely see my hand!"
"I can't," Lucius responded with curt politeness. "Maka – sensei told me not to."
Tia suddenly turned towards said teacher. "Why the hell not?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Ox answered, surprisingly not only Maka – who was about to respond to her student's repeated question – but everyone else. The lightening meister had barely spoken since they left Death City. Even at the headquarters of the South American Death Scythe belonging to the Tezca, the Mysterious Bear, and his partner Enrique, the Mysterious Monkey, he had only spoken a few words, leaving Harvar to do most of the talking. They waited for him to continue but when he didn't, Harvar picked off where he had left off.
"We'll be an easy target out here. Tezca-san warned us about strange disappearances happening deep within the forest."
"Honestly, is that bear head even sane?" Tia snorted. "He's a grown man wearing a teddy bear head!"
"T-tezca-san," Maso murmured softly, so softly that only Tia could hear, "is very strong. E-e-even Osam respects him t-to some degree."
Crossing her arms, Tia snorted once again, ignoring the chill that crept up the back of her spine at Osam's name, before murmuring under her breath. "Still a bear head."
"Ginger's a little firecracker," Alec chuckled, nodding towards Tia while elbowing Kay in the side. "Isn't she, brah?"
Kay silently stared down at the offending elbow until Alec stopped before replying. "I wouldn't know."
The new student frowned before lighting up. "What about Little Dudette and Sparky?" he said just low enough so that Angela and Lucius wouldn't hear. "They together?"
Kay took the liberty not to respond and Alec took the liberty of coming up with his own conclusions.
"It's getting late don't you think, Ox?" Maka pointed out. "It probably won't do us any good continuing on like this."
He frowned, as if mulling over something, holding back a disagreement but Ox nodded, pushing his own selfish reasons aside. "Ok," he said. "There looks to be a decent place to set up camp over there." He pointed towards a canopy of trees that were so old and tall their branches began intertwining themselves with others creating a canopy that took away some of the hash rain.
Maka nodded, turning back towards the others to give out camp assignments.
"And here."
A throbbing vein could be clearly seen on Liz's temple as Spirit gave her the looming stack of papers Kidd was responsible for doing in exchange for the meager three pages he actually managed to finish.
"Make sure Kidd-kun finishes these, on time," Spirit said tapping the pile.
Liz held back from snapping at the senior death scythe. He was only doing his job; unlike a certain young Shinigami holding himself up inside his mansion. Still not trusting her mouth though, she nodded, shifting the large stack in her arms before turning and leaving the office.
"Honestly," she muttered, shifting the stack of papers in her arms as she weaved among the throng of students on their way to class. "They should find a better way of doing this."
So deep in her thoughts, Liz jumped when she heard the late bell ring and she watched as the papers drifted down lazily around her.
"Damn it!" she growled, quickly getting to her knees to grab the fallen and still falling papers.
Once again preoccupied by her irritated mood she didn't notice the set of footsteps coming up behind her. She rolled her stiff shoulders back, leaning her head from side to side before she noticed that a stack of neatly collected papers were being held in front of her.
"Look like you needed help," a familiar deep voice greeted her.
"Kilik…"
He grinned down at her giving her a hand to her feet before she took the remaining papers from him. She was just about to thank him before continuing on to the mansion before he stopped her again with a question.
"Can I ask you something?"
Sigh. I want to apologize for the long wait guys. I wont bore you with the details other then I had a tough year with grades and stuff but otherwise I honestly wouldn't change this year.
Anyway, this chapter isn't much. Hopefully the next one will be longer. I might also need a new beta reader because I haven't been in contact with mine for months now and I know she's in college now so I don't want to bug her with my story unless she's willing. But anyway, if you're interested in being my beta please send a private message to me.
I usually say please review right about now but at this point I'm just hope people still want to read this.