Disclaimer: I do not own Soul Eater, its characters, or its concepts!

Chapter 37: Bitter-Sweet Departure

"Maka, it was no witch that begged for my memories to get spelled away. It was him."

Soul's words rang something Spirit had regretted, something that shattered the peace that the drinks he'd consumed given him from the very fears that haunted him. His world fell apart as they stood in front of Chupra Capra's. He could see the pieces falling apart before his eyes. The moment of passion between his daughter and her weapon partner, the jewel… and the now-open truth…

The only way this situation could have been worse was if it'd happened in front of Lord Death himself. Who knows what price he'd have to pay then? Instead, it'd only happened in front of the one person that mattered most to him, his daughter. He'd began to wish that he'd run off before Soul had gained the chance to confront him in her presence, but alas, he was just slightly too drunk for even that. His heart dropped into his stomach as his daughter turned to look at him in shock.

"Papa…? It was really… you?"

Spirit was unsure what to say. His fallen heart consumed him, finding no excuse. He reached forward with an arm, as if to grasp her, but he knew better than to approach her. "Maka, I…" No words could muster as he watched her world fall apart, too. The trust he'd gained, the moments of their happiness together in years, the hugs she'd actually been willing to give, they probably meant nothing to his little girl now.

Before he could find a reasonable response, a taxi drove up by the street, and Soul raised an arm to catch the driver's attention. As it pulled over to the side, he turned to look at Maka with another look of regret. Gently, he gave her one last small kiss as he held her face one more time, the kind that barely touched, the kind that came from pure love and nothing else. The kind that said 'Good Bye'…

"I'm sorry, Maka, but I can't stay here right now. I'm taking a break and going back home again," he said as he continued to hold her face close to his. His closed eyes were afraid to open and look at who he was leaving behind. His usual cool demeanor had turned into a serious one, the one that he typically wore when they were facing an opponent that could actually threaten their lives. This choice was one he had really made, not some spell or curse of black blood.

The meister grabbed his arms tightly, wanting to shake him into another sense. "What… why? Soul, you don't have to leave! We can still work together, regardless of who did what!" she said, gesturing an arm out as if to display the entire world to him.

"Yes, we can… when it's necessary. No matter what, though, I'll always be your weapon partner, Maka, and yours only… However, I can't live near a man that's willing to take my life away like that… Now, I…" The wavering hesitation in his voice spoke more emotion than she'd ever seen him display in the public. "…I have a concert I promised to play…"

Now was the chance to intervene, to fight for his presence, to say what she'd always wanted to say. "Soul! I love you! I need you here, by my side!"

Soul could only sigh as he looked at her in admiration, grabbing both her hands. "I love you too, Maka, so very very much. But you're strong enough on your own. Don't stop believing that." The weapon let go of one of her hands, dragging his own into his jacket pocket to pull out the keys to his motorcycle. Putting them into the palm he'd held on to, he closed her fingers over them firmly and looked back into her eyes, not letting her give them back. "Take care of her for me, will you?" This, too, was a painful separation, but she needed it more than he did.

Maka stood, frozen by what she was hearing. Was he really choosing to leave? Was he really choosing to go off by himself and serve a purpose other than DWMA? No words could come to her mouth as she stayed still in shock.

Soul let go, uncovering his hands off her clasped ones, motorcycle keys in her grip. Now he turned and made way to the cab that'd awaited him, the one he'd called just before left out that restaurant door. As the distance grew between them, Maka felt her heart break even more. Why was Soul giving up?! They'd spent years together, developed a partnership, no, a relationship that she'd never have with anyone else. They carried a faith in each other that no other weapon-meister team exemplified.

Before Soul stepped into the cab's back seat, he turned to look at her one last time. "You know where I'll be."

Maka's eyes swelled up with the tears she'd held back as Soul stepped into the car without another word, the door lingering open in a battle to opt out. "SOUL!" she shouted, leaping towards it to take advantage of the last chance she'd have to sway Soul's mind out of his departure. The door had closed and it'd left off before she could reach it, though. He'd gone through with his decision. She could have sworn she'd seen his hand against the window, though, possibly even a glimpse of watering, red eyes.

Scolding herself, the girl wondered why she'd stood so frozen the entire time, why she hadn't run after him before he could shut the door. What an idiot she'd been to not step into his way! Now that he wasn't in front of her anymore, she could think of a million ways to stop that car from driving off with the love of her life. Flatten its tires… take Soul's wallet… trip the weapon on his way… or even knock him out with her infamous Maka-Chop.

Clammy hands clung tightly onto the keys he'd given her as she turned to face her father once more, so tight she could have cut herself if her skin weren't as tough as it was.

Maka's brows furrowed in both confusion and anger. Her voice dropped down to a tone that Spirit recognized. How much it reminded him of when her mother had scolded him! It was silent, but deadly enough to put fear into him. "Papa? How…. Why…"

"I… M-Maka, I didn't know it would come to that! I can explain! That witch, she used me and… and I was drunk! I swear I only wanted to…" Spirit pleaded. He only wanted to do what, he wondered? Stop their love? No, he couldn't just outright say that. It was a hollow selfish desire that'd driven him to that irresponsible deal. When he couldn't come up with an acceptable excuse (not that one even existed anyway), Maka spoke up for him.

"You only wanted WHAT? You took away the ONE person I've ever loved and trusted like that, all because YOU couldn't keep the person YOU loved!? I'm never going to find anyone else like him, NEVER! It's… IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!" the young meister screamed. Tears flooded her eyes as she sent a hand flying towards his cheek with a slap that could echo through the streets.

Spirit was left silent, unable to do anything but stare at his only child, the child he'd let down. The words hurt more than he could possibly express. It gave him a gut-wrenching regret that reminded him of mistakes he'd made before. He attempted to open his mouth to speak, but nothing viable could come out, nothing that could possibly make any difference in the impact his mistake had made. He'd screwed up and there was nothing he could do to fix it.

Maka wiped the black sleeve of her cloak across her face, drying the tears of anger and despair that'd already fallen and grasped the motorcycle keys tightly again. Running to the vehicle, she threw herself on top of it and roared the engine as loud as she could in an attempt to alleviate some of the wrath that'd built up in the discovery and abandonment it'd caused.

"MAKA! WAIT!" her red-headed father shouted as his daughter let out one more sob that could barely be heard over the engine. He stumbled as quickly as he could to where the bike stood up with her in the driver's seat. But it was too late. Without a single hesitation or glance back at him, she'd sped off, leaving a trail of dust behind her.