Chapter 30 Part 1: Moonwalk
It's time... I've prepared myself as much as I could, in case this mission will be my last. Calling home has always made me homesick, but I needed to hear your voices' one last time. I hope big brother gets to make fun of me for being sappy for writing this when I get back. If I do die, I'm sorry but know that I love you all. I hope I at least managed to make the world a better place with my final breaths.
The mission to defeat the Kishin Asura had begun. DWMA's forces had been loaded into their ride to the moon early in the morning. Now they were hurtling upward through the air to their destination. On their way to the cargo hold, Tsugumi and Maka ran into Death the Kid and his partners. Tsugumi looked out the window as the blimp burst through another cloud as Maka and Death the Kid exchanged greetings. "It won't be much longer. Once we breach the last of the clouds we'll have arrived." Death the Kid said. Tsugumi's stomach churned at the reminder. She didn't feel ready to fight.
"It really feels like we're going to fight the final boss doesn't it?" Tsugumi said, turning to look at him. Her hands clasped together to hide the fact she couldn't get them to stop shaking.
"We're going to clean that boss's clock!" Patty said. She put her hands on her hips and laughed.
"Don't fret too much or you'll get wrinkles Tsugumi." Liz said. She poked Tsugumi between the eyebrows. Tsugumi pouted and covered her forehead with her hands. She wished she could be as calm as them.
"I would have thought you'd be down in the Cargo Hold already Kid." Maka said. She was smiling from where she was leaning against the wall. "No last minute speeches to bolster the troops?"
"There's still time for that. If I do it prematurely their enthusiasm will burn out." Death the Kid said, shrugging both shoulders. "Besides I needed to speak with you privately."
"What did you need?" Maka said, her smile vanishing.
"I want you to hold onto this during the fight." Death the Kid said. He pulled out Brew from his back pocket and held it out to Maka. Tsugumi and Maka's eyes widened looking down at the cube they'd retrieved months ago.
"Why? I don't even know what Brew does. Let alone how to use it..." Maka said. Death the Kid took Maka's hand and put Brew in her palm.
"Brew's use changes depending on the will of the person using it. Father gave it to me in hopes of furthering my development as a Reaper but I don't need right now." Death the Kid said. He pulled his hands away from Maka's. "If nothing else, just indulge this whim of mine. I want to see what use you find for Brew." Tsugumi wondered if that was because Death had clued him into what would happen when he became a true reaper. Spirit had claimed they needed a new reaper to be born to win against Asura but Tsugumi could respect Death the Kid not wanting to pay that price.
"I guess it won't hurt to keep it Maka. If Asura tries to steal Brew he'd think Kid had it before us." Tsugumi said. She put a hand on Maka's shoulder. Her partner looked up at her, mouth set in a firm line.
"Fine, fine... I'll keep the cube." Maka said. She stuffed Brew into her trench coat. "Just don't go expecting any miracles from me. We'll beat this boss without needing any key items, mark my words."
"Excellent," Death the Kid said, clapping his hands together once. "Liz, Patty let's go. It's about time we went down to the hold. The mission will begin soon and I still have a speech to make." Maka snorted at that. The three partners made their way down the corridor towards the Cargo Hold.
"I guess we'd better head down too." Maka said. She put a hand on her hip and sighed. "It won't be much longer until the aerial squad will be needed. I can sense the enemies on the moon getting restless."
"Sure, let's..." Tsugumi said. She paused seeing a hand waving at her around the corner. Her eyes widened when she recognised who it belonged too. "I'll catch up with you in a minute. Go on without me?"
"If that's what you want." Maka said, raising an eyebrow. Tsugumi sighed as her partner walked away. There was no way Maka didn't know who was here. She just hoped there wouldn't be time for Maka to tease her about it before the fight.
Tsugumi rounded the corner and looked up at Akane. "Fancy meeting you here," Akane said. He smiled at her as she raised her eyebrow.
"I didn't hear anything about you being assigned to this mission." Tsugumi said, crossing her arms. "Please don't tell me you snuck on board."
"I might have." Akane said. Tsugumi snorted and he let out a laugh. "I never said I was alone. I'm helping Sid on a little side mission. Need to know only."
"If it's that secret why'd you wave me over? Shouldn't you be hiding in a cupboard?" Tsugumi said. If she had to guess, Akane was here to try and assassinate Asura while they dealt with the clown army. Sweat dripped down her back at the thought. She wouldn't bother praying he wouldn't do anything reckless. But hopefully it didn't bite him in the ass.
"It should be fine. You're cute after all." Akane said. Tsugumi choked, her ears turning. Akane reached out and took Tsugumi's hand in his own. "You've been so busy lately that I didn't get a chance to say goodbye. One shouldn't leave behind any regrets before going on a dangerous mission."
"Regrets? What are you saying...?" Tsugumi said. Her mind was blank as she struggled to understand what was happening. Her heart was beating fast and loud. Akane lifted her hand and placed a kiss on her finger tips. Tsugumi shivered, she was sure her entire body must be turning red.
"I can explain it over coffee after the mission if you like?" Akane said. His smile widened as he lowered her hand, though he didn't let go. "It's a date."
"A date... You...?" Tsugumi said. Her whole body was trembling. Was this real? This was too much. She needed to retreat. "You're making fun of me again." Tsugumi pointed at Akane with her free hand.
"Would I do that?" Akane said, his eyes crinkling. Tsugumi's eye twitched, she could never tell what he was thinking. Of all the times to bamboozle her he picked now? She puffed out her cheeks and pulled her hand free.
"You would," Tsugumi said. She turned around, crossing her arms. Akane laughed, long and hard. Tsugumi clamped down on the giggle trying to escape her. She wondered when the tension that had built up in her had vanished. Akane may be tease, but at least she wasn't worried anymore.
Having parted from Akane, Tsugumi made her way to the Cargo Hold. The majority of DWMA's fighting forces already gathered. Tsugumi made her way over to the rest of Spartoi, elbowing through the crowds until she was by Maka's side. "About time you got here," Maka said. She grinned at Tsugumi wiggling her eyebrows.
"It's not what you think!" Tsugumi said. She clenched her fists as she began to blush. Hoping Maka wouldn't tease her had been a fools bet.
"Since everyone's here, gather round for a second." Soul Eater said. He held up a paper bag for them to see. Beside him Tsubaki was holding an identical bag. "We got one for everyone."
"What is it?" Kilik said. He held out his hand to accept the black cloth Soul Eater offered him. Soul Eater and Tsubaki handed one to every member of Spartoi.
"I bought them before we set off." Tsubaki said smiling.
"My hair was starting to get annoying, so I went looking for a headband and ran into Tsubaki." Soul Eater said. He pushed his long bangs out of his face.
"Even if we're all in this mission together, we'll be separated once the fighting gets serious right? So I was thinking we could all have something in common. That way our hearts would be together even apart!" Tsubaki said. She was blushing as she smiled at everyone. Tsugumi smiled in return, she loved the idea.
"Then why does Soul Eater's have something drawn on it?" Meme said. She pointed to the drawing in white pen on Soul Eater's cloth.
"I drew this myself earlier..." Soul Eater said. He stretched out the cloth to show his drawing to everyone. Tsugumi's lips twitched recognising the fact he'd drawn his soul's appearance on it.
"Show me that!" Kim said. She leaned in to look at Soul Eater's drawing with a smile. "That's pretty cute!"
"Then we should draw that on ours as well!" Kilik said, pumping his fist. Tsugumi pouted, she'd rather something cuter.
"We should draw something representing ourselves instead." Anya said. She had her hands on her hips. Tsugumi nodded in agreement, everyone else agreed as well.
"Thanks," Tsugumi said, accepting a white marker from Soul Eater. She hummed as she drew a picture of her own soul on her band. The cheeky wink her soul was always making brought her courage. On a whim she added a small love heart on each side beside it. "You want me to do yours Maka?"
"I'll be fine!" Maka said. Huffing as she snatched the pen away. Tsugumi grinned as her partner stared down at the black cloth. Her hand was shaking as it hovered over it. Maka huffed, pushing her band and the pen into Tsugumi's hands."Draw it!"
"Tsugumi, I want stars on mine." Black*Star said. He pushed his own band into Tsugumi's hands as well.
"Alright, don't push. I can't do them both at the same time." Tsugumi said. She smiled as she drew on their bands. Maka's got angel wings and halo, while Black*Star's got the stars he wanted. She handed them over to their owners and got grins in return. They all slipped their bands onto their arms over their Spartoi uniforms. Putting the bands had raised the morale of Spartoi. Everyone was smiling, their earlier tension gone. Even Death the Kid had agreed to the armband, his reaper emblem worn proudly on a single arm. He was resisting the asymmetrical nature of his clothes better than she'd ever seen. Tsugumi smiled as she looked at everyone, showing off their own drawings. Their wait until arrival got that bit brighter.