Sorry for such a delay but please enjoy chapter five. ( While rereading before beginning chapter six I saw some typos so I fixed so issues. Sorry they slipped past me in the editing stage. I try not to let that happen.)
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"Maka please talk to me." Soul begged, he grabbed Maka's arm as she walked past the kitchen towards her room. She had just gotten back from briefing Kid on the events of the mission from start to finish and the number of souls the girls had gotten. She had forced herself to stay awake on the train so there weren't any incidents and she was exhausted. She was too tired to deal with Soul and his grip was a little too hard for her liking.
"I'm tired Soul. Can't you just leave me be for one moment?" The tone in her voice conveyed her sleep deprived and angry state. He froze for a moment but then let go of her and stormed out of their apartment. With a sigh Maka dropped her bags in her room, grabbed a change of clothes, and took a shower before falling asleep.
"Maka…" The voice called from the darkness surrounding her. There was a wave like pulsation echoing all around her and rocked her to her core. It was unsettling but she focused on where the voice was coming from. When she whipped to her side she found herself face-to-face with Asura. Her face paled and she ran from him. Panic and fear filled her to the brim. She kept running. She knew she was unable to fight Asura without help so she continued further and further from the voice that was pleading for her to turn back, fight past Asura, and help the girl who was in distress. Maka couldn't bring herself to turn around as the rapid steps of Asura gained on her. The floor under her leading foot didn't find solid ground to land on. Instead Maka ran straight into a pit and found herself trapped a good 20 or 30 feet below the ledge. She soon heard distant voices that soon were practically upon her. The voices soon began to scream as a fight began to break out on the surface. Screaming and crying soon reached her ears as did explosions and the familiar slicing noise of blades through the air. A rancid smell reached her and someone crying out her name in pain brought along a long period of silence. Maka tried to climb up the wall to the ledge but was unable to . The idea to get a running start came to mind but she landed on her butt before she even got the chance to try it. When she turned away from the ledge she came face to face with the shredded and disfigured bodies of 5 men and women.
"Maka… Why…" They cried out and reached for her.
Maka found herself once again drenched in sweat lying in her bed. Fresh holes were in her clothing. A glance to the window told her it was still night. The clock read 1 in the morning. She changed into a pair of red sweats with a jacket that zipped all the way up to her chin and decided she'd go out for a run. It was unnerving as she passed the empty streets of town at night but over the next two months she got used to the eerie feeling. Missions came fairly often and weren't so far away that they'd have to stay for more than one night wherever they led. Maka began to not feel so self conscious around Kid after the first week and she continued to help Kid with his work nightly. She tried not to sleep as much as she could and it slowly got to the point where she no longer would sleep. When she'd get back from helping Kid she'd go for a two hour run,would clean up and would read in her room. She constantly was trying to find some sort of explanation for what was currently happening.
"Maka this isn't healthy!" Soul shouted. He hadn't meant to yell it as harshly as he had but waking to Maka coming home at 3 in the morning like she did every morning was worrying him.
"I don't know what you're making such a big deal about. It was just a run." Maka said as she reached into the fridge for some water. Soul let out an exasperated sigh.
"You know it's not the run I'm talking about." He crossed his arms as he stood just behind the table. "You're not talking to anyone about what's going on." Soul stated.
"I'm handling it." Was all she said in reply.
"How by shutting yourself off?" He was only growing louder.
"I've been reading every book I can get my hands on." Maka slammed her water bottle down on the table.
"Have you even been sleeping?" Soul gripped his arms tighter.
"That's none of your business." The words stung him deep. He remembered saying those same words to her and realized her pulling away might have been slightly his fault. They'd tried giving dating a try after Death had died but they hadn't worked out. When it ended he had yelled them same words at her and more.
"Maka you are my meister and my friend. Please listen to me." Soul said in a slightly raised tone but not lacking any of the demand his previous one's held.
"It's my choice to tell the others. I will tell them when I'm ready. She began to walk away. "Fuck…" Maka hadn't even noticed the word had slipped her lips but Soul had heard it loud and clear as she walked towards her room. He swiftly grabbed her by her upper arms and gripped her tightly. Maka quickly stomped on his foot and broke his hold on her. "Who do you think you are to lay your hands on me like that?" She sneered. The disgust that her face held was only emphasized by the bags under her eyes and what remained of the bruising on her neck. Soul knew exactly why the bruise hadn't completely gone away yet. When a meister and their weapon lash out at one another physically it will leave a mark that is uglier and lasts longer. Soul once again grabbed for her only for a knock at the door to interrupt the two. Maka was about to go to the door when Soul quickly ran to get it himself. He never went and got the door himself.
"Soul, is she here?" Maka knew exactly who was at the door. Soul let Professor Stein into the apartment and he gave Maka an understanding smile and Marie was close behind. Her stomach showed just how pregnant she was. "Maka, I hope we haven't woken you." All four of them knew that wasn't the case.
"No sir. Is something wrong? It's late." Maka didn't know how much Soul had told Stein and she felt uncomfortable.
"Soul brought some information to our attention and we decided we should pay you a visit to see if you're ok." Stein wanted to get right to the point but Marie believed it be better to gently ease into it.
"I'm fine. There's nothing wrong with me. I'm sorry for the wasted trip." Maka said with an awkward smile on her face. She felt like she was suffocating as the walls could close in on her at any moment. She tried to keep her breathing even but Stein went to step forward and Maka stepped back an equal amount of distance. "Really." Maka added in response to the questioning look on Stein's face.
"Maka please let us help." Marie said as she saw that the girl's fear was clouding her judgement. "It'll be easier if you cooperate." Marie tried to reason with the girl but Stein knew that the girl wasn't in her right mind as she hadn't slept in at least a full week. When Maka looked over at the caring expression of Marie Stein shot forward at Maka and used a concentrated burst of his wavelength to knock her out.
"I'm sorry…" Was the last thing Maka heard and it was from Stein as he wrapped his arms around the young girl's form. This was the hardest thing he had ever brought himself to do. He cared for the girl deeply. Her father had asked him to watch over her and help protect her.
"Better get her to her bed quickly. When she sleeps she don't stay asleep long." Soul said as he guided the two towards Maka's room. "And you don't want to be holding her for too long because it happens before she even starts screaming."
Everything was hazy as to where she was or how she got there but as she looked around she immediately knew where she was. Looking down at her hands she saw Soul as a scythe in her hands. Everything happened quickly and she soon found herself being helped by soul out of a hole and onto the brick street as chaos was everywhere. The town was in ruins but the moon was still white. It was just before Asura was defeated. She watched as her memory continued. All the lives that were lost and all the destruction was sickening. Soon she watched the battle with Asura and when it got to the point where she passed out she found herself once again engulfed by darkness and recognized it as the one she'd constantly dream of.
"Maka…" Someone called out to her. It was the same female voice she'd heard when ever she slept. She kept walking towards it but when Asura showed up again she was prepared. One solid punch made the apparition disappear and she began to make her way towards the girl. She didn't get to her though because she found herself face to face with Crona.
"Crona?" Maka was confused. 'Why was he there?' Maka couldn't help but ask herself.
"Maka." He smiled at her and she rushed forward and pulled him into a deep hug. "What are you doing here?" He added. "It's not time yet. "Your not ready yet." His words confused Maka even more than him being there. She held him in her arms and wouldn't let go.
"Where is this?" Maka asked as she finally let go but didn't go more than arms reach away.
"This is where the Insanity was trapped. I think... How did you get here?" He asked as he looked around to make sure that the version of Asura was still not back.
"I… I don't know… I've been having nightmares… Some one's calling me…. Was it you?" Maka played with the edge of her shirt with her hands as she thought of how to answer his question. There's no way this was the moon. She knew that it was physically impossible to travel to the moon via her dreams.
"I wasn't calling for need to leave this isn't safe for you. She will come find you. Don't seek her out." Crona continued to speak but his words would not reach Maka's ears.
"What do you mean? Who's she? Crona…?" Maka called out but soon her vision grew fuzzy and eventually completely dark.
Maka awoke to both Stein and Marie sitting by her bed and much to her relief Soul was not in the room. Light was pouring through the window signalling it was now daytime and was much closer to noon than sunrise. Marie looked openly worried while Stein held a look of interest. Not his normal dissection interest but more of uncertainty. A quick glance at her clothing told her that she would need to change.
"I need to clean up. I'll meet you in the kitchen once I've finished. Maka locked herself in the bathroom for a good 20 minutes dreading the upcoming conversation. She didn't have any information that brought her any closer to figuring out what was happening. With a sigh, she exited the bathroom with her hair wrapped in a towel and a pair of basketball shorts and a tank top on. The two had been whispering but had stopped when she entered the room though she wished to be anywhere but there.
