Disclaimer: I do not own Soul Eater, nor do I own any other works or properties mentioned in this story
Editorial status: rough
For the sake of continuity, my old Christmas present to you all, Playing the Part, takes place on Week 20, Day 4. Due to some mistakes I made in that one, there will be a few inconsistencies, like some bad math as far as how far along Maka is and that they got a car. Other than that, it should still fit nicely.
Nine to Life
Chapter 26: It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Summer
Special bonus omake!
"Read it." Maka commanded.
"Really?" Her captive asked in irritation.
"Really. Now start reading." She poked the man bound to the chair with her Death Scythe.
The man stared at her and sighed deeply. "Alright, fine." He cleared his throat. "'My name is Apoc326 and I'm a dirty, lazy bastard who gets distracted with video games. Because I'm such a stupid nerd who is so pathetic that I get tired of using a computer all day at work and can't summon up the energy to write, my story is now very late again.' Seriously? Do you have to be so damned mean-"
The meister impatiently poked the man again. "Yes. Now finish reading."
"Whatever. Anyways, 'So I am very sorry for being such a big baby and not keeping up my obligations to everyone. Please have mercy on my pitiful, forever alone existence and enjoy this chapter. I was in no way forced to do this against my wi-' Oh bullshit! I did not tie myself up to read someone else's words! She's holding me cap-"
"Cut!" Maka called.
The screen goes black.
Week 20, Day 3
"So, what you're telling me is you refused to go present shopping with me, yet we're both at the same damned arcade at the same damned time, but we're talking on phones instead." Soul deadpanned as he paced the streets of the arcade. He did his best to ignore the Christmas music playing over speakers hidden somewhere overhead.
"Dude, I'm doing more shopping than just for Kid's party tomorrow." Black Star responded, his tinny voice coming over the speaker, still managing to sound on edge. "And while I would really like to have you with me right now, I don't think you want to help me pick out what I'm getting Tsubaki."
Soul cringed at the lecherous tone his friend had adopted. "Right, yeah. There's that. But I know you and crowds-" He eyed the crowds of Christmas shoppers moving from shop to shop, chatting happily and enjoying the holiday atmosphere.
"I've been getting better, dude!"
"Last year you murdered a topiary in the food court. With a fork."
"I keep telling you, there were a bunch of freshman chicks following us and-"
"Yeah, yeah. The phantom blowgun."
"It was not phantom! I saw it, and she was aiming-"
"Oh come on! It was behind you! I was looking at it! There were no freshman stalking us, just a janitor sweeping up trash. You just can't handle the crowds and you snapped and took the head off that reindeer."
"I do not have a problem with crowds!" The ninja yelled. Soul instinctively pulled the phone away from his ear to protect his hearing just in time to hear the same declaration echo through the covered streets. The hum of the crowd quieted for a few seconds.
Soul cleared his throat. "You were saying?"
"Uh..."
"Not quite sure they heard you at the other end. Wanna try again?"
"Screw you, dude!"
With a click the line went dead. Soul shrugged with a smile and put the phone back in his pocket. It's the little things in life that you have to enjoy.
The Death Scythe ducked into the fancy-looking tea shop he'd been loitering in front of. A bell chimed as he entered the shop and the scent of a hundred different kinds of tea wrapped him in a warm embrace. He took a moment to breathe deeply and gave a happy little sigh as he exhaled.
"Welcome!" A shop clerk greeted him. "How can I help you today?"
Soul looked around at the many tea sets around the shop and the massive containers of tea behind the counter. "Yeah, I'm looking for a tea set."
"Anything in particular?" The clerk asked as she walked around the counter. "We've got quite the selection."
"Something durable, preferably Japanese-style. Looking for a gift for a friend who doesn't want her best set to get destroyed when things get... energetic."
"Kids, huh?" The clerk asked with a knowing smile.
Soul tried to hide a smile. "Something like that." The image of a dozen mini-Black Stars running wild around a distressed Tsubaki flashed through his mind.
An hour later, the Death Scythe stumbled out of the tea shop looking overwhelmed. He was three hundred dollars poorer, but he had a good, durable set for Tsubaki, a set for himself and enough tea to turn an Olympic swimming pool into caffeinated sludge.
That calming herbal lavender tea was sounding real good right now.
"So, how was gift shopping?" Maka asked as Soul kicked off his shoes in the entryway.
"...expensive." He sighed as he set the bags on the kitchen table with a thud.
"How did you even get that here on your motorcycle?" Maka asked with a raised eyebrow, turning from a pot of stew that was emitting a heavenly smell.
"I carried it."
"How?"
"Well I had the bag in my hands and..." Soul paused and looked confused. "How did I do that?"
"Anyways, I'm guessing you got what you wanted?" Maka rolled her eyes, shrugged and turned back to the stove, giving the stew a stir.
"And then some. Figured I'd get myself a nice tea set. And some tea to go with it." He began pulling out the items meant for himself. "Lots of it, apparently." He surveyed all of the bags containing loose-leaf tea on the table.
"I never really thought you were the type to drink tea."
"Well, I had a good teacher. My dad loved the stuff. That's why I always have some of that Russian Caravan stuff he loves so much. Figured I'd explore and see what else there was."
Maka looked up at the ceiling looking a little wistful. "Tea and a nice book, curled up on the couch... Is anything in there caffeine-free? I might want to try some."
"Plenty." Soul smiled. "I can make some after dinner, which smells amazing, by the way."
"Thanks. Blair is bringing Rachael home for dinner again. Apparently the doctors are going to let her stay the night this time."
Soul grinned. "Cool. I'm glad she's doing better."
He felt a brief pang of sadness from Maka. "I know it's not really a good thing, but I wish that I had some kind of connection to her like you or Blair. To me, she's just a traumatized girl who comes over with Blair."
Soul chuckled. "Well, she held me prisoner. Not sure you want that kind of connection. Honestly, I think she scares me a little. And it's not like you don't get along with her or anything."
More ripples of sadness. "It's just that you met her, and got taken captive, on a mission that I should have been able to go on, and-" Her voice hitched.
The Death Scythe wrapped his arms around his meister from behind, his hands coming to rest on her stomach. "It's alright." Soul whispered in her ear.
Maka shook her head. "No, it's not. I should have been there. If I was-"
"You would have been off balance and taxing your body. And if you were there, I wouldn't have been captured-"
"That's what I've been trying to say!"
"-and I wouldn't have talked to Radix. And I wouldn't have figured out she was being controlled by that necklace and she would probably be dead now." Soul concluded patiently.
Maka sniffed, her tears subsiding at Soul's practiced, calming tone. "I know..."
The weapon gently nudged meister's hair away from her neck with his nose and kissed her neck. "Sometimes, things just work out." He stroked her bulging belly for emphasis.
Maka melted into his arms and pressed herself against him. "I know." A small smile creeping into her words.
The sound of the door opening and the shuffling of feet and clothes interrupted the moment.
"We're back!" Blair called happily. "Oh!" She said in surprise as she saw the two lovers embracing at the stove. Her expression turned lewd. "Are we interrupting?"
"Not in the least." Soul smiled, still holding Maka. Blair managed to not flinch at the irritation in the weapon's grin that seemed to say 'Not in front of Rachael, you perverted cat.'
"R-right. So, what's for dinner?"
"Stew." Maka answered simply. "I'm trying out one of Jen's recipes."
Blair's tail twitched.
"Is that... a good thing?" Rachael asked in a small voice as she partially hid behind her friend/big sister figure. Soul's smile had unnerved the girl, even though she wasn't the target.
Blair turned her head and looked down at her charge and smiled. "Only the best! Maka is a great cook and Jen can do magical things with food!"
"Really?" Rachael asked, awed.
"Oh yeah. Maka's kinda cool like that." Soul affirmed.
"Oh, right. Who's Jen?" The girl asked.
"My mom."
"I've got a picture!" Blair offered, pulling out her phone and bringing up a picture she'd taken the day she'd taken the unsuspecting Evans family out on their exhausting tour of the city. "She's on the left next to the big guy."
"Oh wow! She looks like a model..." Rachael looked from the picture to the Death Scythe standing in the room and back again several times, trying to work out some kind of problem.
Soul blushed hearing someone talk about his mom that way. "She's actually a concert pianist."
"And the big guy is your dad?"
"Yep. His name is Konstatin. He plays the cello."
Rachael looked from the picture to Soul again with a serious expression. "You really take after your mom."
The Death Scythe wasn't quite sure how to respond to that. He wound up giving a nervous chuckle.
"And who's the other guy?" Rachael continued on, oblivious.
"That's Wes." Blair answered with a smile, blushing faintly.
"So he's your boyfriend?"
The blush deepened and the smile intensified. "Yep."
Rachael studied the picture for a moment. "Nice!"
"He's so sweet, too." Blair beamed.
"You'll have to tell me all about him!"
Working off some unspoken cue, both Rachael and Blair began to chatter and move off to Blair's room for what Soul could only guess was a "girl talk" about Blair and Wes.
"Dinner will be ready in a little bit." Maka called as the door to Blair's room was closing.
"'Kay!" Blair called before she closed the door. Even then, the sound of the two giggling inside reached Soul and Maka.
Soul felt mild unhappiness radiating from his meister and gave her a look.
"It's nothing."
Soul sighed to himself. "Uh huh. Sure. Just tell me. I can find out anyways, you know."
"It's just that... she never acknowledges me. It's like I'm not even here when she's around. She talks to you and Blair just fine."
"Ah." Soul grunted. "From what Blair says, she's not sure how to talk to you. I mean, she feels bad enough for capturing and threatening me. I think she's just nervous, like you're mad at her for what she did to your partner."
"Well, I guess I am." Maka muttered pensively, staring up at the ceiling. "Well, not at her, but the witch she became when she was wearing that amulet. Rachael herself is pretty harmless and she's a good girl and all. But when I look at her, I see the witch that wanted to turn you into goo."
Soul smiled and shook his head. "I know how that goes, I guess. When I look at her, she has the same face as that really disturbed witch, but when I see her with Blair, I can tell she's not the same person." He struggled with how to put it into words. "It's like... there's a look in her eyes that's just not there anymore."
"Oh wow! This is amazing!" Rachael said as she put another spoonful of stew into her mouth.
"Thanks." Maka said, smiling at the praise.
"You really are an amazing cook, Maka."
"Mm-hmm." Blair agreed from around her spoon.
"So, how do you like Death City?" Maka asked after a moment.
"It's really neat. Blair's shown me a lot of places, like the shopping arcade and all the other fun places around town."
"I'm glad you're liking it." Maka replied.
Soul ate in silence, watching Maka try and get the young witch to open up. It was a little tense, honestly. He could feel Maka trying very hard not to touch a sore subject while trying not to air her own grievances.
"Well, I guess I'm making the best of the situation." Rachael said neutrally. "You know, not being able to leave and all." She took another spoonful of her stew.
The Death Scythe tried not to wince while chewing on a roll.
"That's only for a while, though." Blair stepped in, trying to stop her charge from going to dark places with her thoughts.
"That's true. I mean, it's better than the alternative." Again, her tone was neutral. Somewhat unnerving considering "the alternative" was her being dead.
"That's true." Maka agreed. "But you aren't the first witch that Lord Death has given protection to."
"Yep. Angela is really nice."
The conversation came to a crashing halt and a very awkward silence fell over them.
"Listen." Maka began, setting down her spoon. "I know that you aren't really comfortable around me and I think that we should talk about it."
Soul and Blair stiffened, but didn't say anything, afraid of what might happen next.
"Alright." Rachael said calmly and looked at Maka. "Where would you like to start?"
Maka hesitated for a long moment. "I just want to know why you're so uneasy around me. I mean, this is probably the most we've talked since you started coming over with Blair."
Rachael looked down into her half-finished bowl as though it held the answers she was looking for.
"Well, I think you hate me."
"No! Maka doesn't hate you-" Blair started.
"You're wrong." Maka's sudden voice was loud enough to make them all jump. "I don't hate you. I'm not thrilled about what happened in that town."
Rachael continued to stare into her stew, bracing for what she feared was to come. "I'm sorry!" She turned towards Maka, guilty tears welling up in her eyes. "I never meant to hurt-"
"But that's not you. That's not something you did. That's what happened while you were being driven mad."
Maka's words hung in the air.
"And that's why I don't hate you. You apologized to Soul until you cried yourself to sleep when you first had the chance. Those aren't the actions of a cold-blooded murderer."
Instead of being a comfort to the young witch, her words had the opposite effect. Tears began to flow freely from the girl's eyes now. "And I am sorry! I almost killed him!" Blair put a hand on her charge's back to comfort her while glaring at Maka.
"And do you know where that would have left me? My unborn daughter?" Maka asked sharply.
The question made a sob catch in Rachael's throat. She stared at Maka with wide eyes. Slowly they drifted to the meister's stomach. "Oh God." She whispered.
"That's enough, Maka."Soul cut in, his own voice sharp like a blade.
"Oh God." Rachael repeated quietly. "I'm so sorry."
Maka stood without a word and approached the young girl who watched her with eyes wide in abject terror.
"And I forgive you." Maka knelt and hugged Rachael, pulling her tight to her. "And I want to thank you for not doing that."
Soul and Blair watched, stunned, as tears once again sprang from Rachaels eyes. She returned the embrace and held onto Maka for dear life.
"Thank you." Maka whispered over and over, fighting the powerful, conflicting emotions that had been swirling inside of her since she'd first met the girl in her arms.
Soul and Blair traded a look, unsure if this was a good thing for Rachael and Maka or not.
After a while the tears began to subside. "It really is good stew, though." Rachael said, her voice muffled by Maka's embrace as she gave a shaky laugh.
Maka laughed and hugged the girl tighter before releasing her. The meister wiped her own moist eyes and smiled. "Have as much as you like."
The two observers finally released the breath they'd been holding while a smile. Maybe it was a good thing after all.
Week 20, Day 4
[1]
Week 20, Day 5
Soul shivered in the mid-morning light. It was colder than he expected, even if it was almost Christmas. What the hell? Maka keeps enough blankets around to smother a yeti. He opened his eyes and looked around. He was in Maka's room and he still felt pinned down by Maka's weight as she slept on him but...
"Oh son of a bitch." He muttered as he looked at his meister. "All of the blankets? Really?"
Maka had cocooned herself in the various blankets that had been on the bed. Including the sheets. Understandably, this left Soul lying naked on a bare bed only covered by her blanket fortress.
"It's cold." Maka mumbled defensively from within the bundle, not an inch of her flesh exposed to the cold.
"So you left your personal heater outside, to freeze."
A long pause. "I've made a terrible mistake."
"Yeah, I'd say so." Soul grumped as he folded his arms, trying to keep warm.
"Wha-!"
Suddenly, like a living thing, the cocoon split and expanded to cover him. "Ah..." Soul exhaled at the warmth. Then the cocoon began to contract, pulling him into the warm interior. "Oh what the fu-" The covered closed in over his head.
Suddenly the world was dark and warm and he felt the warm flesh of his lover on his own chilled skin.
"Hi." Maka greeted him, her face popping through a layer of blanket to stop right in front of his. She planted a gentle kiss on him.
"Hey." Soul grinned back. The blankets and warmth were nice and all, but being entangled with his lover, in the nude no less, was one of those little pleasures worth freezing for.
For a long moment, the two simply looked at one another, enjoying each other's proximity and the memories from the night before began to trickle back to them. A combination of the surprising heat inside the blankets and the memories from the night prior made the two blush.
Remembering the night before, the close proximity and the wonderful phenomenon of morning wood went a long way to put the two back into an amorous mood. Soul saw the small, innocent smile on Maka's face and returned his trademark grin.
"So..." Maka prompted him as she positioned herself to straddle her lover and grind herself against his morning erection.
Soul slowly sucked air in through his teeth as she ground against him. "You really know how to tempt a man into early morning nookie." He took a moment to savor Maka's growing belly pressing against him and her enlarged, but very tender he hastily reminded himself, breasts pressing on his chest.
Maka giggled and wiggled her ass playfully. "As if you ever need any tempting." She rolled her eyes in mock irritation.
"Well," Soul grunted, trying to carry on the banter while Maka squeezed his cock between her groin and thighs. "It helps when someone as horny as a bull keeps sending her horny mind waves at me."
"'Horny mind waves', huh?" Maka rolled her hips to run herself along the entire length of Soul's manhood. "I'd prefer to call them 'sexy vibes'."
"Either way, I say this counts as a kind of nngh-" He bit back a sudden moan as she raised her hips slightly and slid his cock within her incredibly warm walls. "-some kind of mind control."
Maka hid a shiver of bliss, kissed him, running her tongue along his lips. "You know you want it." She grinned at him.
"You know, this could count as some kind of molestation." Soul grinned back as he slowly ground his hips upwards, deeper into his fiancé."
"Your mouth and hips seem to be saying contradicting things."
"What are you gonna say next? That I shouldn't have been dressed this way?"
Maka whimpered softly. "Well, you are naked..."
"Oh, fuck this shit." Soul grunted as he grabbed Maka's ass with both hands and thrust up into her again while forcing her hips down on his. "Pillow talk after."
Maka arched her back and gasped in surprise and pleasure at the sudden assault.
Soul giggled. "What, after all that talk you just-" He broke off his taunt as he started making incomprehensible noises. "Bweah!" Momentarily stunned, he stopped thrusting.
Maka smirked as she attacked one of his nipples with her lips and tongue. "Weren't expecting this, were you?" She asked.
"Oh that is just playing dirty." Soul grunted as he resumed his thrusting, harder than before.
Another devious giggle came from Maka, the act adding a new layer of pleasure to Soul's senses. "Now you know what it's like when you do it."
"Then I guess I've been doing my job." The Death Scythe responded by moving his hips in circular pattern, taking care to hit all of her sweet spots
In reality, beneath their banter, both weapon and meister were nearing their limits. Their actions the night before still leaving them sensitive. The unabashed sharing of sensation and pleasure over their soul resonance as they competed to make the other climax first played no small part to sped things along, too.
Maka tilted her head back and let out a long, contented sigh as her partner continued gyrating his hips. For his part, Soul groaned from the back of his throat. Moving like this never failed to drive Maka wild, but damn if it didn't feel amazing for him as well.
With his lover briefly stunned, Soul moved in for what he hoped would be the finishing blow and kissed her beautifully exposed throat. The move sent a jolt of electricity down her spine, making her sit bolt upright, throwing the blankets back.
The sudden movement and the intense tightening of his meister's muscles forced another groan from Soul as he instinctively ground his hips upward as hard as he could.
The positive feedback loop of each other's pleasure from their shared bond became too much and both of their bodies were gripped by intense orgasms. Neither of them were able to make a noise as the waves of pleasure crashed over them.
After a long moment they both gasped and relaxed, Soul slumping back onto the bed and Maka onto his chest.
As the two lovers lay gasping, trying to catch their breath, they heard something from the doorway.
"Um..." Rachael began, trying to find her voice. "B-Blair says that breakfast is ready."
Soul and Maka glanced towards the doorway where the girl stood. Her face was bright red as she stood very pointedly not looking in their direction.
"Oh my God!" Maka shouted. "We're so sorry! I thought the door was closed!" She fumbled with the blankets, pulling them up over herself and Soul.
"I-i-its fine!" Rachael stammered. "I'll close the door!"
Her arm shot into the room, grasped the handle and pulled the door closed with a slam.
From outside they heard Blair's voice and Rachael's stammered reply. For a moment there was silence and then a dual squeal from the both of them.
"Well." Soul grumbled, letting his head fall back onto the pillow. "Breakfast is gonna be awkward."
Maka glared at him. "Ya think?"
Soul bit into a slice of toast. He'd never thought that eating toast was such a loud sound before, but it sounded like reality shattering with each bite.
Blair wore a perverted grin as she kept looking from Soul to Maka, never bothering to look down at her plate. A slight blush on her cheeks. Her tail moved restlessly, conveying her excitement even more obviously than her face.
Maka just glared at her plate, wondering whose fault the morning's embarrassment was. She ferociously stabbed the sunny side up eggs with her fork and let the yolk leak out.
Feeling her ire, Soul winced.
And Rachael was looking between everyone with furtive glances, like she was expecting one of them to explode and didn't want to get caught in the blast. She'd been nibbling on the same piece of toast, for the last five minutes.
Soul sighed. "So..." He ventured, but failed to find anything to say.
Maka stopped stabbing her eggs and Blair and Rachael looked at him expectantly.
"This is awkward." He finally managed.
Blair's grin intensified as she made a preening hum, trying to prompt him to continue.
"Sorry about that. We kinda forgot that the door was open." Soul said. He looked at Rachael who immediately blushed and looked elsewhere.
"You guys were doing naughty stuff." Blair taunted.
"Yeah, I think we all know that." Soul growled. "But thanks for restating the obvious."
"In the morning too! With a guest over!" Blair continued taunting.
"It's not my fault!" Soul whined, caving to the teasing. "Maka started it!"
"Maka chop!"
Never before had junk mail been used as an offensive weapon, but Soul deliriously began to wonder why the military hadn't explored the possibilities as he flew out of his chair. Thankfully, the floor was cold, which helped to dull his new headache.
The doorbell chimed over the sounds of gunfire, explosions and Black Star shouting at the TV. Tsubaki looked up from the mass of textbooks and notes spread across the coffee table in the living room.
"One moment!" She called over the din. She stood and picked her way through the minefield of snacks and other bits of chaos that Black Star always managed to generate while he was playing games.
"Hello?" Tsubaki greeted the person at the door.
"Hi, can Black Star play?" Soul asked with a pained grin.
"Oh, hello Soul. What brings you- oh my." Tsubaki stared at the ice pack Soul held on top of his head.
"I got kicked out of the house for the day." Soul explained. "Something about 'girl time' and 'get out of here before I hit you again'."
"Please come on in." Tsubaki smiled warmly.
"You sure?" Soul peered around her at the blue-haired ninja screaming at the TV. "Kinda seems like Black Star got unbanned again and I don't want to impose."
"Oh, it's no problem. I'm just doing my homework over break while I have the chance. And I think that Black Star could use some company. He's been wrapped up in this new game."
"Alright, as long as I won't be a bother. I've already had to leave one place today because I pissed off the lady of the house."
Tsbubaki stifled a laugh. "That's fine." She assured him.
"Thanks a lot." Soul grinned wider.
Soul entered and kicked off his shoes by the front door as Tsubaki walked back to the table to resume her homework.
"Hey dude." Soul greeted his friend. "'Sup?"
Black Star quickly glanced over and saw his friend before returning his attention to the TV. "Woah, hey Soul! The hell happened to your head?"
"I may have pissed off Maka and gotten kicked out." Soul replied as he walked over and slumped into an armchair.
"Nice. What'd you do?" Black Star asked without looking away.
"Told the uncomfortable truth at the worst time."
The ninja loosed a long stream of obscenities as the round ended before backing out to the main menu of his game. "Ok, this I gotta hear." He turned to face his friend.
"Well, We may have left the door to the bedroom open last night, and this morning..."
"Yeah?" Black Star prompted with a lascivious grin.
"Really? You're gonna make me say it?" Soul asked incredulously.
"Oh yeah."
The Death Scythe blushed and looked away. "Rachael saw us being intimate this morning when she came to tell us breakfast was ready."
"And that got you hit and kicked out?" Black Star laughed.
"No. Blair was being..."
"Blair?"
"A perverted cat, yes. And kept giving us crap until I gave in and said Maka started it."
"That explains the ice pack. What did she use?" The ninja managed to ask, rolling on the floor now.
"Junk mail."
"And that gave you the lump?" Black Star asked, wiping tears from his eyes.
"Felt like it was wrapped around a brick."
"Ouch. Well, it sounds like you need some distracting. Here," He tossed Soul a controller. "You can help me teach these noobs a lesson."
Soul grinned as he turned on the controller. "Sounds cool. Haven't played this one yet."
"It's not bad. Just gotta teach 'em that cheap tricks won't defeat the man who's gonna surpass God."
"And that's ban number fifty seven." Soul deadpanned as he stared at the notification on the screen. "At least this one's only for two weeks."
"Oh, that's bullshit!" Black Star shouted, throwing his controller down. "All I did was tell them the truth!"
"Well, maybe, but I don't think going into detail about how that kid's mom had him was a bit much. Looks like the mods agree on that one, at least."
"Oh please! This is just how people deal with the man who's going to surpass God! They can't handle my skills and-"
"Spawn camping the entire enemy team while quoting Duke Nukem at them isn't really fair."
"What? That's their fault for letting me do that!"
"Well, yelling at me won't change the mods' decision."
"Yeah, I guess. But still."
Soul took a deep breath. How the hell does Tsubaki do this every day? I swear she let me in so she could focus on studying more...
"So, what do you wanna do now?" Black Star asked.
"Well, there's always-" Soul's phone chirped. "Hm?" He reached for the device to check his messages as Black Star and Tsubaki's phones went off a moment later.
The three shared a look as the room seemed suddenly colder.
"This can't be good." Soul grimaced.
"And once again, here we are, the seven of us-" Soul began.
"Called into the Death Room about to be sent off on another mission." Maka interrupted irritably. "But wait! We have guests tonight." She amended upon seeing a group of younger students clustered together off to the side.
"Nice to see you, too." Syed. Greeted Maka as he and Soul approached each other for a bro hug.
"Maka!" Elena burbled as she rushed over to her former mentor. The two girls hugged as Maka's anger subsided. "Can I?" Elena asked, looking at Maka's stomach.
Anger forgotten, Maka smiled and thrust out her belly. "Sure." She smiled.
"Wow..." The weapon breathed as she felt the small bump on the meister's stomach.
Soul and Syed merely shared a look. Girls.
The Death Scythe looked over the younger boy's shoulder at the four other students behind him. "Your new team?" He asked, trying not to bring up what had happened to the last team Syed had been a part of.
"Yup. Iskandar and Alta, Alta's a Demon Pollaxe. And Lilavati and Frey, Lilly's a Demon Longbow."
"Good team?" Soul asked.
Syed shrugged. "Could be worse. Iskandar is loud and a hothead. Alta's not much better, but a lot smarter. Usually gets him to be more calculating. Lilly and Frey are quiet but aren't above getting in close. They can be a bit scary sometimes."
Soul grinned. "Sounds like a decent group. You get along?"
Another shrug. "When it counts. Trying to study is a pain, but we get it done."
"Cool."
"Well, heya everybody! How's Tricks? How are things?" Lord Death greeted everyone as he entered the room flanked by Kid and the Thompson sisters.
"Could be better." Maka replied sourly, her earlier bad mood returning. "This is the part where you say Soul is going on another mission and I get to stay home in the kitchen, right?"
"Oh my, no." Lord Death responded, his cheerful mood undaunted.
"Wha-? Well, maybe better, now, then." Maka corrected.
"We've got another doozy for you kids!" Lord Death continue. "Care to take over, Kid?"
"Certainly, Father." Kid said coolly as he walked into the center of the room. "We have another case of a pre-kishin who's causing problems. This time in Australia."
"Please tell me it's not a drop bear."[2] Soul grumbled.
"Thankfully, no. But it is Australia, so you could be forgiven thinking that." Kid answered, letting the sarcasm roll right off him. "There's a criminal named Ned Kelly going around with a gang terrorizing small towns in the state of Victoria. They basically rob banks and shops, raise hell and eat the souls of anyone who gets in their way or just happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time."
"Criminals who just happen to eat souls." Liz added sourly.
"We have reason to believe that this Ned Kelly may actually be an evil spirit, along with those of his gang." Kid supplied. Liz winced, much to Patty's delight.
"Which explains why the local police can't do anything, right?" Tsubaki asked.
"Correct." Kid said approvingly. "Which is why we've been called. For this mission, we," Kid gestured to the older students. "Will be taking an advisory role. Black Star and Tsubaki will use their speed and agility to act as scouts. Liz, Patty and myself will act as backup if needed. Soul and Maka will work to coordinate everyone and provide any intel to us in the field."
Kid paused to look at each of the older students for comments. A small grin ghosted across his face as he saw Maka beaming.
"Syed will lead the underclassmen in both the search and combating the evil spirits."
"When do we leave?" Maka asked eagerly.
"The plane will take off tomorrow morning at ten. Plan on arriving at nine." Kid responded. "We'll be going over all the information on the way. It's about a twenty hour trip, so we'll have plenty of time."
A chorus of groans arose.
The young reaper furrowed his brows. "Are there any further questions?"
There were none.
"Very well. See you all tomorrow."
"Goodbye, now! Everyone have a good flight and a safe trip!" Lord Death cheerfully called after the retreating group of students. "Try not to get eaten by any drop bears, now!"
[1]: This is where Kid's Christmas party takes place. It's covered in my story Playing the Part. As I mentioned at the start, there's some continuity errors that I don't feel like going back and correcting, but it's still part of the story. Take a moment and read it if you want some Christmas party fun and some sexy smut.
[2]: An Australian mythical creature used to scare tourists and get them to do stupid things like pour urine on their head, neck and shoulders. They look like koalas, but drop from the trees onto hikers below them, cleave off the top of their heads and eat their brains. Again, these things don't exists.
A/N: Well howdy fuckin' do? Yes, I'm alive. Yes, I'm late. It's been months and I missed my Christmas special. I know, I'm a monster. In my defense, a lot has happened since I last wrote a chapter, like my grandfather passing on, but that's no real excuse two months after the fact.
So, another pre-kishin hunt is on and this time they're going to the land where all of the fauna and most of the flora will try and kill them. This should be interesting, I think.
I know that a lot of you are getting uneasy about Rachael and her taking the spotlight. Worry not, that won't happen. But sometimes, we need some drama and sometimes we need some action. And smut. All the smut. More plane sex? Maybe. Maybe.
Anyways, thanks for reading, now please review!