This is completely unnecessary filler since I decided to come up with and include the letters that Liz and Serena sent to Maka. You can totally skip this if you're looking for just pure continuation of the story. I'm just a sucker for useless development.
Maka!
Being without you is incredibly weird, especially without you to balance out the boys. Black Star is obviously too much, and while Tsubaki does a great job of trying to temper him, he's a complete loss right now especially with his focus being Soul, Soul, Soul. Except, to be honest, I'm not sure our boy needs it. If he didn't tell you, which I really hope he did because it's kind of braggable, he's been staying with his parents and actually talking to them. No lie. And you should be able to guess that alone is HUGE.
Speaking of Soul, you didn't tell Spirit? I stopped by just to check-in and all he would do was ask about who Soul was and how the hell he snuck into your life. It was super overprotective, but I tried to give the best Soul report I could without giving away your personal stuff. Which means I told him the best story which I realized I never actually told you, so here goes:
I know you got a taste of what Black Star and I call "Guard Dog Soul" when he threw a couple of punches, but let me tell you about the first time I met that side of him. I started in his class for elementary when we had to finally move in with our aunt and uncle. We'd been living on the streets for a while, so the nicest way I can put it is that Patty and I were a little feral. That being said, playground politics always dictates that the new kids get their proper hazing but when you're a little weird that behavior never ends and by the first month it was wearing us down.
Patty had learned not to cry, but by the first month, she couldn't keep it together anymore. The first time tears dripped down her cheeks I freaked, but my words meant nothing to the schoolyard bullies. Now, Soul had never been a part of that. His usual position during recess was sitting in the tire swing, his chin resting on the hard black rubber while Black Star zoomed around him endlessly. I never asked him why, but once we hit that one month mark, it was like the quota had been reached because he was suddenly nowhere near his tire and instead was meandering around maybe two or three feet away from us.
As soon as the assholes walked up it wasn't two or three feet but right in front of me, blocking their view of us completely. Black Star was already crouching next to Patty, talking stupid stuff just to make her smile but my mind was all on Soul, this itty bitty kid. It wasn't like he was some giant elementary student and if anything he was halfway to runty. But as soon as the first kid opened their mouth, Soul threw the first punch. I remember being floored because at that age, who the hell punches someone else?
He did get in trouble - suspended for like a week and I'm pretty sure the only reason he came back to school was his parent's money - but it didn't matter to him. When he came back it was like we'd been friends for our entire lives and Patty and I settled next to the tire swing. Within a week, Serena had us over, paid for my aunt and uncle's custody lawyer, helped send me and Patty to a therapist, and just all around adopted us without question, all because of "Guard Dog Soul."
Now, I swear to God he better have done what he said he was going to do because if not I'm totally ruining it, but that's what you have to look forward to when Soul loves you. Just be ready for it because he totally does and if that idiot didn't tell you I'm going to wring his neck. He is the most devoted person I know and he will fight for you until he dies. Honestly, I always thought that was what really got him about his brother's death because as far as I know, that was the first time he gave into any kind of selfishness and now he can't let it go. Maybe the more opportunities we give him to go back to that, the more he'll move towards forgiving himself. But who knows.
Anyway, miss you so much! Please get better soon. We still have so much of the summer to enjoy.
All my love,
Liz
Dear Maka,
I hesitate to write this letter, mostly because I'm sure my son will be mortified at me adding to the pile without being able to know the contents and more so because I lack the intimacy with you that Liz or Tsubaki can claim. I hope neither of those leaves you too embarrassed to give me the opportunity to write to you while you're taking care of yourself.
Soul has only told me a few things about you, that you're an avid reader, that you've somehow, magically trained him in some form of cooking, and I'm sure he will let a few odds and ends trickle down in the coming months. I hope that, in time, you and I could actually get to know one another. I admit that part of it is because I am a nosey mother - I will admit to that fault - but it's also because I am convinced that there has to be something special about you. As I saw with my son when he was hospitalized, I'm sure there's nothing in your head right now that would incline you to think that you are special, but please, accept my logic on this.
I hate to once again default to Soul, but since he is the only thing in this equation that I am actually well-versed in, I must use him. Through no fault of his own, or at least I refuse to place blame on him for this, Soul had become very closed off since his brother's death. I've had various doctors tell me myriads of different reasons for this, but I always thought it was the fact that he was now no longer sure he could love other people, that his want for his brother's love had driven him to his death and thus the way Soul loved must be flawed.
Miraculously, he hasn't hesitated with you. When he brought you to the office, while I believe the two of you were still just friends, he had the opportunity to let you go. You were going to be angry at him for lying but he dismissed the chance to easily let you walk out, something my very hurt son had been liable to do for the past few years. There's something about you that has breathed a kind of new life into him, and for that, I have to be convinced that you are special.
I'll admit that I am still worried. Heartbreak doesn't suit Soul, and I am keenly aware of your age and your similar struggles. All the textbooks would say that perhaps what you have is more of a recipe for disaster than an eternity of bliss but I am going to try to trust that this thing about you negates all of that. I, instead, will hope that you will continue to support him while he loves you. In the meantime, if there's anything you need, don't hesitate to ask.
Take care,
Serena
P.s. As is very typical of him, Scott has insisted I sign his name to this as well even though he has done none of the work of writing.
