Maka

Soul wasn't waking up and that was worrying me. Our friend's sympathetic looks and sighs weren't really helping. Even Stein was beginning to grate on my nerves with his never-ending chain smoking. So that's why I was standing here, looking at the decrepit building face of Soul's old house. It hadn't been long since we moved into the new place, but I knew no one was going to follow me here if they had nice clean furniture to sit on.

I dared to hope for just a little bit of alone time so that I could think straight and logically about what I needed to do. About what I really needed to work on. I made my way carefully to the second floor, my feet on autopilot as I studied my surroundings What had only been a few months since I first stepped into this building, lost and cold, felt like years. My eyes fell on the ruined painting of Soul and I wondered if he had done this himself. He seemed to carry a burden inside of him that he wasn't 100% ready to share with me.

I sighed and continued my climb up the stairs, deciding that the dress room would be the most comfortable place to continue my reading. The window was open, letting in a cool breeze and warm sunlight. I took my usual seat by said window and set my pile of books down next to me. I grabbed a pen from the side table and took out a clean sheet of parchment to begin my notes. I looked through my stacks of books until I found the one that focused on the methodology of Grigori abilities.

After hours of careful reading and note taking I took a break. My neck was stiff from bending over the pages of my books and my hand had a cramp in it from gripping the pen at an awkward angle. I haven't had to write in quite some time and was pleased my lettering didn't look completely terrible. My hand was just going to be really sore for a while.

I was pleased with myself for learning new things, like the fact that some Grigoris have the ability to take the shape of the weapon in their souls. When paired with Grigoris who don't have this special soul adaptation they make formidable teams. In fact it use to be common practice for there to be teams of at least two Grigoris. Using a partner instead of your own soul weapon keeps you safer and less likely to get struck down by madness should your weapon get destroyed. I smiled to myself as I stretched giving myself just a little time t think about all of the other things I could learn about what I was.

Something silver glinted in the sunlight and I was surprised to find Soul's mother's diary as I thought I had left it. Papers I hadn't noticed before were sticking neatly out of the side. I picked up the book gently, weighing my options in my head.

While I have been skimming through it for details I could begin diving in for more answers, or I could allow a dead woman her peace and find a good hiding place for it. My eyes trailed around the room, falling on all of the beautiful gems and gowns this woman had worn in life. I had been borrowing them for quite some time now, but I knew nothing of the woman I had been borrowing them from. I sighed at myself, throwing morals out the window for a moment to better understand the woman who had given birth to Soul and his brother Wes.

My fingers trembled a little as I opened the small book to he bookmarked page. I was confused at first because there were drawings very similar to the ones in the books I had just set down.

My fingers brushed against the pen drawings. They were very detailed, almost exact replicas of the drawings I had made in my own notes. My eyes skimmed the pages, taking in her careful scrawling lettering and her fears about what these things meant.

Once I turned the page the carefully placed papers fell into my lap. I set the diary down to pick the papers up, finding the same scrawling handwriting, only now it was frantic and messy.

'Who am I?'

'What am I?'

'The inky blackness goes away when I pray. It leaves me alone. The demon leaves me alone when I pray. But it never lasts long. He always comes back.'

I flipped through the pages, looking for more of her frantic notes when I came across a picture of a desire demon. Something in my stomach clenched as my eyes took in the description.

'Desire demons normally feed on the wishes made by humans and supernatural creatures. However, when one latches onto a Grigori demon the only way to get rid of one is to be completely plunged into madness. Only then are you given the chance to destroy the demon. Unless you have a healing wavelength or can resonate with someone who can this is highly ill advisable. The demon poses no threat as long as you don't divulge any weakness or desires to it.'

I sighed, staring at the page. This isn't what I was looking for.

I was about to return to my studying when careful wording at the bottom of the page grabbed my attention.

'I got rid of it… I finally got rid of it.'

'But I'm so very scared for Soul. Oh god what have I done?'

I ground my teeth and threw the pages at the floor.

She traded her sanity for her son's. Who could do something like that? I wanted to blame her for his spiral into insanity. I wanted it to be entirely her fault.

'I prayed and it went away,' the words bounced around in my head for a minute.

I prayed and it went away.

'But it always comes back…' I groaned at the pages on the floor. At the book sitting innocently on the chair. My mind was buzzing, full of anger and seething hatred for a person I had never met. I paced around the room, my eyes scanning the dresses and jewels, looking for something that wasn't here. For the woman who threw her son's sanity away for her own.

I'm glad she died.

The thought made me freeze mid pace.

I may have violent tendencies but I have never felt so ready to inflict real pain unto someone. A dead someone.

I took a deep breath and tried to calm down. It was difficult. Blood was pumping hot and angry through my veins. My body wanted to do something. My soul was buzzing, ready to summon magic or a scythe or a black hole to get sucked up in and get away from this gigantic disaster my life had become.

The longer I stood there, just breathing, the calmer I became and my adrenaline rush finally dwindled down. But my soul was restless, buzzing with more urgency, like I needed to expend some of this pent up power immediately or else I would end up driving myself crazy.

I took calm steps out of the room, leaving the scattered papers on the ground to be picked up later. I let my feet guide me, walking the now familiar paths of the dark forest. Something other was buzzing in the forest, messing with my senses. I was on my way back to Soul's new place when my 'soul perception' (As Stein likes to call it. All of the Grigori books have a really technical term for it that I didn't pay any attention to) picked up a very powerful soul nearby. I whipped my head around, my eyes searching for what they couldn't really see. But my soul could detect it and would bounce the image to my eyes. That's what I've been seeing this whole time.

It was actually kind of nice to know the information about the weird things going on with my body.

Whatever being was producing this immense pressure building in my head was well hidden. I rubbed at my temples, hoping that I could simply will the pressure to go away if I rubbed hard enough. Instead it continued building. Sun light was streaking through the trees as finally the culprit decided to show itself. Or herself.

A woman in black stepped out of the shadows of the trees, Her light brown hair twisted and braided under her chin and her face was flat, almost like a snakes. A cackle escaped her lips as the pressure became unbearable.

"Oh the things I have planned for you and your little friends," Her voice slithered out as my vision began darkening on the edges. A vile smile spread across her face as she bent down and grabbed my chin, forcing me to look into her glowing amber eyes. "You'll never make it to the Kishin and madness will coat this world, allowing witches to finally take our place at the top of the food chain."

Tsubaki

"Are you sure it's alright to leave her alone this long?" Liz was worried. They all were. Tsubaki especially. The girl felt responsible for Maka wanting to be alone. After all if she could just keep Blackstar occupied long enough to be quiet Maka wouldn't have felt the need to run off in the first place. Now it was sunset and they were beginning to really worry. It was true Maka could get lost in books for hours, even days. Sometimes she even forgot to eat. She always remembered to check in though. Maka hated when people worried about her. Especially her father.

"Maybe I should go check on her," Tsubaki offered, feeling her stomach twist in knots at all of the terrible thoughts running through her head. Everyone had been on high alert when Stein and Spirit detected a Witch's magic near the mansion, but no one could pinpoint its exact location. They had discussed all of the possible causes, seeing as the witch didn't release her soul protect in order to cast whatever spell had gone off. It was either an extremely powerful witch or a spell that was triggered by someone after being set for quite some time.

Both thoughts were terrible with Maka being missing for so long.

"I'll come with!" Blackstar offered, a wide grin spread across his face.

"No, this is something I should do alone," Tsubaki shook her head. His grin instantly fell but he gave one curt nod.

"Just be careful," His voice was very serious and She responded with a quick nod of her own before leaving Soul's place. Tsubaki had a good idea of where Maka was, but there were other possibilities. Maka could be quite adventurous at times, but Tsubaki knew first hand that the closest places to explore wouldn't peak Maka's interest. She ran as fast as her human feet would allow her towards the now familiar woods, enjoying the feeling of the air rushing by her. She wanted to transform and feel her wolf instincts take over, but now wasn't the time. It was true that transforming was painful, but the more you transform the less pain you feel. Instead you're filled with adrenaline and endorphins and all of the things that would drive someone to want to do it again and again. And Tsubaki was very good at it.

Better than quite a few of the wolves born into it.

Tsubaki's newly heightened senses picked up Maka's scent as she neared Soul's abandoned home, replacing her thoughts of running with her worry for Maka. It shouldn't be this strong.

Tsubaki slowed her pace from a run to almost a full stop, but she continued to take small steps forward as her eyes scanned the surrounding area. Everything was silent.

And that wasn't right. These woods were packed with wildlife. It shouldn't be this quiet. The wind picked up, sending Tsubaki more of Maka's scent. It was mixed with something else. It smelled wrong and sick, almost like the scent that clung to Stein and Soul. It was weaker in Stein most of the time, but it was always there, lurking.

Tsubaki's stomach tightened as she made her way forward, letting her feet guide her to where Maka's scent was coming from.

She found her friend lying face up in a small clearing. Her green eyes were open, but vacant. The usual light shining deep within them was misplaced. Tsubaki wanted to scream until her ears picked up the weak beat of Maka's heart. Instead of lying next to her and crying like she wanted to, Tsubaki swallowed the lump forming in her throat and steeled her resolve. She hoisted her friend up onto her back and ran as fast as she could in her human form back to Soul's current home.