Next chapter here we go!

"You're telling me an ancient lineage of master ninjas are hiding in the frozen mountains of Russia? Tell me you're joking," Liz gawked at the stack of papers handed to her by Kid. Patty had a copy too but was making a small army of giraffes with them instead. Kid was sitting on a tall backed throne centered in the Death Room, elbows resting on his knees, deep in thought.

"I wish that were the case, but unfortunately it isn't a joke. Maka and Soul are not too far from that area currently. Assuming their mission goes well, it may be wise to send them to investigate this. Black Star and Tsubaki are on missions as well." Kid explained before shifting his weight forward to a stand. "I would normally investigate this myself, but seeing as Father is gone…"

"We understand, Kid; I know what you're going through is tough. The students and citizens of Death City need you to take the reins and settle things down. Maybe then you'll be free to continue missions." Liz assured with a small smile.

Patty had amassed a large army of paper giraffes around her, a smile on her face as she observed her handiwork. It quickly turned devilish, and the weapon full body tackled the sea of defenseless origami. Kid felt his eye twitch as tiny animals bounced off his face as the massacre began.

"Agreed. For now, I'll help guide the DWMA students and faculty to fulfill their dreams and unleash their – PATTY WILL YOU AT LEAST THROW THEM SYMMETRICALLY?! THEY'RE BOUNCING OFF MY HEAD IN RANDOM ORDER, I CAN'T TOLERATE IT!"

Liz sighed and went back to reading the mission specs as Patty bombarded Kid with paper giraffes. It seemed lately that any requests coming in were sightings of pre-Kishins all over the world. Black Star was on one in Egypt, Soul and Maka were on another in Russia, Ox and Harvard were sent to Greenland. They were coming in tidal waves and the DWMA only had so many 2-Star and 3-Star meisters and weapons. Consideration had even gone into sending Professor Stein and Marie, but the duo had become a trio with their 3-year-old son, Hiroaki. After what had happened to Lord Death, Kid didn't have the heart to separate the parents from their child.

Spirit had willingly offered his services as Death Scythe to the new Death Lord, but Kid had politely declined, keeping him on a as-needed basis. Liz and Patty were more than enough for him, but the meister thanked him for the offer regardless. So, doing what he was infamous for, Spirit threw himself back into the lovely waiting arms of the Chupa Cabra ladies. Though according to Blair, he would often suddenly grow sullen, his eyes glassing over with no warning as he stared off into the distance.

"Patty, give me those giraffes!"

"Come and get 'em! Wheeeeee! GIRAFFE CYCLONE!"

Liz did her best to ignore the flurry of origami everywhere, a few bouncing harmlessly off her head in the process. Poor kid was buried beneath a mountain of the tiny things. A sentence within the mission spec caught her eye and she backtracked, pointing a delicately painted nail to the sentence.

"Although currently unknown, possible connection between the pre-Kishin and clan of ninjas. People who have claimed to gained access in or around the clan base have suddenly turned up missing days after reporting their finds. No witnesses were able to verify who the missing persons were. Some citizens mentioned they were jealous of people who went to a mountain retreat near Mariy Chodra National Park. 3-STAR MISSION HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. ADVANCED TEAMS ONLY."

"Kid…did you read what this says? People have gone missing and nobody knows who they were. It's almost like they never existed." Biting her bottom lip, the weapon quickly verified what city the disappearances happened in. "Something about a resort up in the mountains of a national park. Maybe we should send backup to Soul and Maka – wow," Liz finally looked up to see a 20-foot high pile of giraffes burying Kid, Patty dancing around the mountain praising its mightiness. "That's…pretty impressive, Patty. Just make sure you leave an air pocket for Kid."

"Ooooooooh, I forgot. Whoops!" Patty giggled before pile-driving into the center of the mass. She emerged a minute later with an unconscious Reaper, holding him up by his collar. "Found him!"

As much as she loved her sister, there were times she seemed to forget the human necessity of breathing. Still, Liz mused as Patty violently shook her meister around, origami flinging left and right, she wouldn't have it any other way. Her troubled thoughts subsided to the back of her mind while she worked on reviving her meister, the papers forgotten for the time being.

"Man, that was a lame battle. An old man turning into a Kishin and killing innocent people because someone stole the last of his favorite candy? Sheesh, he could've just gotten another one!" Black Star complained as he and Tsubaki made their way through Cairo, the city swarming with life in sweltering heat. Vendor stalls lined nearly every path, vendors calling out to locals and tourists alike. From fine silks to ancient medicinal treatments, if you needed it, they had it.

"Think of it this way, Black Star, we stopped another Kishin egg from fully hatching so that's a plus." Tsubaki reminded him lightly. "Besides, I'm sure there will be someone who is willing to challenge you back at DWMA. Oh, we should probably check in with Kid soon and update him."

Quickly scanning the area, the ninja weapons eyes landed on a shop selling various mirrors. She slipped through the crowds with ease and arrived at the stall. Dozens of intricate and shining hand mirrors lined the table, precious embedded gems reflecting brightly in the Egyptian sun. A local vendor with a splotchy mustache and beard snapped his eyes to his next target as she approached his stall, a devious dance in his dark eyes.

"Ahh, miss, you have good taste! These are the finest ancient artifacts around! This one here," The middle-aged man with missing teeth grabbed a slim golden mirror embroidered with intricate small gems. "Was rumored to have been used by Cleopatra herself! Very valuable item for such a good price. What do you say? Or –" He cut off Tsubaki's polite decline and grabbed a rounder mirror, large dull gems lining the edges. "Something with a little more bling to suit such a bright shining star as yourself?"

Tsubaki held back a gag as the man winked, his toothless grin widening as he slowly eyed her over. Before he could even reach the swell of her chest, an arm shot out and grabbed him by the neck.

"I suggest you keep your eyes on her face and nowhere else. Am I clear?" Black Star leaned in close and hissed to the man. His eyes flashed quickly to the Star Clan symbol then reverted back just as fast. The vendor quickly nodded before shoving the mirror in his hands to Tsubaki and ducked down below his stall in fear. Tsubaki sighed heavily but accepted the mirror before moving on. Walking side by side, the two remained silent for a few minutes, the loud chatter of the crowds washing over them.

"Black Star, you didn't have to go that far! You about gave him a heart attack!"

"Keh! He was about to start ogling at your boobs, how else was I going to stop him?" Black Star huffed as he linked his hands behind his head. "Besides, only I, the Great Black Star, get to look at those pup—!" A fist collided with the ninja's face, sending him sprawling to the ground. Tsubaki stood above him with a cold silent fury in her eyes, fists clenched tight. The meister looked up at her with surprise, his fingertips grazing his now swelling cheek.

"I am not a prize to be ogled at! Partner or not, you will respect my body and privacy! When will you grow up, Black Star? I suggest you go cool off for awhile since I'm going to check in with Lord Death." With one last death glare, the weapon vanished into the crowd, leaving a stunned Black Star on the ground. People whispered and a few took pictures of the ninja sitting sprawled on the dirt.

With a tch, the ninja leapt to his feet and crossed his arms over his chest. With a glare of his own, the people began to scramble away from him. Tsubaki had become more sensitive to her body as the years went on. She hadn't changed much physically apart from growing another inch or two, but her back bone grew tougher and she took little to no nonsense to harassing comments or looks. Black Star lowered his face to conceal it within his collar, an annoyed scowl on his face. He had screwed up. Again.

"Damn woman, I was just defending you…not like I care about you or anything."

Tsubaki quickly dispersed from the crowds, finding a secluded alleyway to use the mirror. Ensuring Black Star was still a ways off, she breathed against the mirror and began writing.

"42-42-564, whenever you want to knock on Death's door." The mirror rippled as the signal connected. It rang a few times before a familiar face appeared on the glass.

"Oh, hey Tsubaki. How's the mission going?" Liz asked as she connected the line. "Kid is a little…preoccupied by Patty right now."

"Hi Liz, just wanted to Lord Death know that the mission was a success! We acquired the pre-Kishin soul and are returning to base." Tsubaki felt the smile on her face falter slightly when she saw Patty wrestling with Kid in a pile of origami. Liz noticed the look but just shrugged.

"Oh, nice. Good job on the mission. Oi, Kid, Black Star and Tsubaki are finished and headed back now." Liz called to the pinned meister; a delicate brow arched as Patty twisted him like a pretzel.

"Gyahahaha, squirm little man, squuuuuuirm!" Patty cackled as Kid called uncle, pounding his fist into the floor with tears in his eyes as his foot was nearly touching the back of his head. Complying, the younger Thompson sister released him before getting distracted by something else, bounding off to play with it.

"Sorry about that, Tsubaki, how can I help?" Kid coughed as he quickly dusted off his suit. He was still fairly new to being Lord Death, just shy of three years, but he had caught on rather fast and had proved to be an excellent leader to both students and citizens of Death City.

"We're finished with our mission now; a Kishin soul was acquired easily."

"Ah, good work. Where is Black Star? Usually he doesn't leave your side anymore," Kid mused as he looked at Tsubaki's surroundings, looking for the infamous blue haired ninja. He didn't miss the frustrated sigh that released from the weapon but apparently failed to see the tinge of pink on the weapons cheeks.

"He's somewhere cooling off. A vendor was ogling me, and he snapped and grabbed him by the throat and threatened him." She could feel a headache coming on and rubbed her temple with two fingers. "And he said something inappropriate to me and I…punched him." Feeling the regret and embarrassment heat up her skin, Tsubaki covered her face with her hands.

Liz let out a low impressed whistle, hands on her hips as she gave a cheeky grin.

"He probably deserved it anyways. We all may have grown up more, but Black Star still let's stupid shit fall out of his mouth every now and then. Besides," The weapon shoved Kid out of the way before whispering into the mirror. "Pretty sure he's got a major crush on you! I'm sure he was just defending you from harassment…and then doing it himself, of course, but that's because he's an idiot and doesn't know how to express his feelings very well! I think if you gave him the chance, he'd be a gentleman and treat you right! He's not that young boy anymore, Tsubaki, he's become quite the man! Slightly taller than you, more muscles, leaner body…"

Tsubaki was as red as a tomato at this point, steam practically radiating from the top of her head. Her mouth failed to produce full sentences and instead let out a garbled string of words. Patty laughed in the background while Liz stood there with a shit-eating grin; her work was done. Kid shoved the elder Thompson sister out of the way and cleared his throat; back to business.

"There is one thing I would like to ask you, Tsubaki. I'm sure you can relay this to Black Star when you see him again. Do you know anything about a cult of master ninjas located in Russia? Maka and Soul are near that area doing a mission and we've gotten strange reports of people going missing without a trace. Not even the villagers could describe who had gone missing. It seems like something is going over there, but I can't leave my post to check."

"Master ninja cult?" Tsubaki placed a finger against her lips in thought. "Hmmm, it does sound familiar but I'm not too sure. Black Star would possibly know but I'm not sure where he is right now. I'll be sure to remember it though."

"Very well, we'll see you here once you get back. Kid out."

The connection closed and Tsubaki let out a strained breath. Liz could see right through her tough act, exposing her deep feelings for her meister. It was only natural, of course, seeing as they had been partners since she arrived at DWMA all those years ago. Time had flown so fast that it seemed like yesterday she was meeting a smaller, more egotistical version of Black Star standing and proclaiming his greatness atop of the three massive spikes adorning the school. She let her memories wash over her, closing her eyes and leaning against the wall. Little did she know how much he would change her life from the instance they met.

Her soul twitched slightly, and she knew it was him before he even landed silently in front of her. Cracking an eye open, she noticed he looked sheepish, maybe even a little nervous as he kept one of his hands behind his back, the other rubbing the back of his head.

"Something wrong, Black Star? It's not like you to be ner—" A bouquet of flowers was roughly shoved into her arms, fully startling the weapon from her youthful memories. Beautiful vibrant blue Egyptian lotus popped brightly against the dull brown of the dirt and houses. Bright purple Chrysanthemums adorned the empty spaces between the lotus flowers with smaller bunches of acacia and jasmine delicately tying everything together.

"I'm sorry for what I said earlier, I shouldn't have said something like that." Black Star apologized, rubbing the back of his head nervously. "That vendor shouldn't have treated you that way, that's why I snapped. 'Course I say the same shit…"

Tsubaki felt her heart swell at the sincerity of his apology and approached him as he ranted on. Placing a hand against his shoulder, she leaned forward and rested her head against his, sharing her feelings through her glowing soul.

"Thank you, Black Star, it means a lot to me that you stood up for me. And I'm sorry I punched you, I let my emotions get the better of me." It was Black Star's turn to become colored and he quickly ducked his face into his shirt collar once more to hide. Tsubaki thought it was the cutest thing, watching him become shy.

"S'okay, I deserved it anyways. But if you're done here, let's get going. I may or may not have started a street fight to cool off…"

"I'm not surprised, there's no keeping you down, is there?" Tsubaki giggled as she reached for his hand, pulling him back through the alley and towards the chaos that was (intentionally) raging on. "I suppose if you were to join in, I would wait here for you."

Black Star gave her his flashy smile and leaned in to press his lips briefly against her temple before launching himself into the fray. Men were flying left and right as he challenged anyone and everyone he could reach, gloating about his godliness.

Tsubaki felt her face heat up like a furnace and quickly went to find somewhere to sit before she fainted from all the excitement. Maybe it wouldn't be so hard to tell him how she felt…

"What the hell is that thing? It looks like a bear mixed with a giant burly lumberjack." Soul blurted out as the pre-Kishin burst through an explosion, razor sharp claws swinging down on the fighting duo.

The creature was nearly 10-foot-tall, easily surpassing 400 pounds with its heavy body. Snow white fur covered nearly every inch on the beast, easily making it seem like a bear save for the fact that it was very lanky; no doubt there were massive muscles just beneath the fur cover. Two-foot long claws protruded from each massive paw, the ends dangerously pointed tips; it had similar claws on its feet though not nearly as long, but still nonetheless deadly. Its face was the most disturbing part of the whole ensemble; it looked to be a mix between numerous human faces and various animal body heads, constantly shifting and morphing faces. Razor sharp fangs jutted out from its long snout in all directions, each one at least 6 inches long and covered in putrid red saliva; there had to be at least a dozen of them covering its upper and lower jaws.

"Is that…it looks like it also collected the souls of animals along with humans…" Maka breathed out, her eyes wide as her brain tried to process the bizarre creature launching itself at her with fury. Fear began to grip at her heart, the terrifying pre-Kishin like something out of a nightmare.

"Maka, don't just stand there and gawk, block damnit!" Soul snapped out, pulling his meister back to the real world just in time.

Maka grounded her stance and swung the scythe around, blade clashing against nails, the grating sound resonating for miles. It didn't take long for the meister to realize the creature was stronger than her and with a mighty roar, she was thrown from the roof of the house down to the streets below. The impact was softened, but the compressed snow did some mild damage; possibly broken ribs and a bruised shoulder were just the start.

"Maka, you alright?" Soul called out as his meister let out a wheezing cough, the wind knocked completely from her.

With a strained grunt she rose, using Soul as a support until she gathered her bearings. Her head swam and she closed her eyes to steady her vision, taking as deep a breath as she could to calm it. If she could get the black blood to stitch her back together just long enough to end this fight, they could win. But had they already reached their limit?

"That…hurt." Maka grunted as she placed a hand over her tender ribs, wincing with every move. "That thing is a lot stronger than us…what do you think, Soul?"

"The best option would be to lure it out of the village and try to take it down in an open area. I don't know how much longer we can strain the black blood before it starts to draw me down into the madness; maybe ten minutes max. Pretty sure you got some broken ribs there and it won't be easy to fight with them that way without the little red bastard's assistance. Our ninja friend there used up most of its time limit, "

Said ninja was currently dodging blows from the enormous beast, using the snow to his advantage as he kicked out one leg from beneath the pre-Kishin, the slick roof sending it crashing to the ground. He made it look effortless, almost like he could predict its movements…

"Ten minutes? I only need three," Maka smirked as she whirled the scythe around her, stopping it in a ready position over her shoulder. With a hiss of pain, the meister readied herself for the rushing heat of the Black Blood's healing abilities.

The creature let out another enormous roar. The power of it caused the buildings to shake, some of the weaker ones crumbling to the ground in massive heaps of debris and snow. Windows shattered from every frame in the area, exploding outward with such great force that they became deadly weapons. Maka spun the scythe around to deflect them. The bigger shards shattered noisily against the metal shaft while some of the smaller ones managed to slip through and slice through the meisters clothing and exposed skin.

She winced as she felt them slicing through her flesh, the cold air stinging painfully as it hit the open wounds. The black blood was still pumping through her veins, albeit at a slower rate due to the high drainage of it earlier. The wounds would still be there, but the pain stopped, and the blood clotted quickly. There would be time to worry about those later; they had a Kishin to hunt.

"Move out of the way before I slice you in half!"

The ninja shot his head up in time to see the meister wielding her transformed scythe, aiming directly for the Kishin crawling its way back up to the roof. With a curse he jumped backwards, not wanting to get wrapped up with the Death Scythe. He had researched everything about weapons and meisters years ago during his training with the monks, but seeing a Death Scythe in person was a completely different experience. The two worked in harmony together; the meister connecting her soul with her weapons then the weapon returning her soul's wavelength back to her with added power. Of course, this was on a whole new level with the scythe weapon having completed becoming a Death Scythe. Throw in the black blood and you have a nearly unbeatable team.

He watched in awe at how fast and powerful Maka Albarn was. Her effortless swings, jabs, and kicks made it look like child's play from his point of view. The Kishin swiped at her again but she was prepared for it and launched herself upwards over the beast, the scythe transforming once more. Rumors had been spread all over the world about the secret form passed down from her mother many years ago; the Kishin Hunter. She swung down with all her strength, catching the edge of the blade against the creature's neck, the blade sinking down several inches through its thick skin. But even he knew it wouldn't be that easy of a target to take down. The Kishin roared in anger before grabbing onto the scythe's blade and yanking it from its thick neck with little trouble. Its large teeth clamped down on the ginormous glowing scythe and began to crush it as if it were a gnat.

"LET GO OF HIM YOU ASSHOLE BEAR!" Maka screamed as she could feel the Kishin hunter form beginning to break, cracks running all along the scythe. Soul coughed up a glob of black blood, trails dripping from his lips and down his chin. It seemed that was the breaking point for the meister; her anger and determination radiated off of her body in massive waves.

Forgoing her grip on the shaft, Maka dropped down to the roof and pulled her arm back with a tight fist before launching herself at the beast, wild emotions fueling her attack.

"Maka, it may have worked once but it won't work again, idiot!" Soul screamed as he watched his meister run headfirst towards the creature.

Kishin Hunter was about to break, he could feel the electricity running across his skin like fire. Knowing it was risky to do so in the middle of a battle, Soul began to revert back to Death Scythe form and then onto human form. Luckily, Maka had distracted the Kishin quickly and it had released its jaws from the weapon. As soon as he was freed from the Kishins grip, he stood to go after Maka when it happened.

Time slowed as the two men watched Maka Albarn punch the Kishin in the center of its forehead, unleashing a battle cry as her fist connected with a crack. The sharp canines tore at the flesh of her hands and arms, but she failed to notice it. Some of the putrid and rotting saliva dripped onto her clothing, the material beginning to quickly melt away. For a moment nothing happened. The air was silent, not even the wind blowing. A pulse of energy rippled over them, vanishing as quickly as it had come. Soul eyed the scene for a moment before suddenly becoming very calm and relaxed, stuffing his hands into his pockets casually as he let out a held breath. He sent the ninja a smirk which grew into a toothy grin after receiving a startled look in return.

The ninja felt the hairs on the back of his neck and arms stand straight up, immense power running over his body. The wind seemed to pick up, surrounding all four of them, yet outside of that, the air remained still. Maka dropped back onto the roof before standing up straight, keeping her fist close to her upper body, waiting. The Kishin had only just moved to look at her when a crack appeared at the top of its head, quickly travelling down the length of its body. A bright flash of blue erupted from within the Kishin and it silently imploded into nothingness. Dozens of souls ascended into the sky, silently floating into the dark storm clouds. A red and black soul remained floating just in front of the meister with its tail flickering angrily at her.

"I'll be damned…apparently punching them really does work." Master ninja whispered as Soul walked over to his partner, placing a hand on her lower back as he checked in on her.

Maka turned her head and gave him a big smile before motioning to the hovering soul. He gave her a toothy grin before reaching out and grabbing the soul. The ninja felt like he was going to be sick when he watched the weapon open wide and chew on the soul, letting out a satisfied belch when it was gone.

"Now this is where I would turn my attention to you and fight you," Maka spoke calmly as she turned her emerald eyes to lock with snow white ones. "But I don't see a point to it at the moment. Just know that I have your soul wavelength memorized; meaning you can run, and you can hide, but I'll know exactly where to find you."

Those eyes nearly burned a hole through his soul; was she really this powerful, stronger than he ever had anticipated? Had her Soul Perception grown tremendously over the years since the battle with Asura? It took him a few seconds to snap out of it, but when he did, it was to let out a short laugh.

"Very well, I can tell by your eyes you speak the truth. I suppose this is where we part for the time being. I have everything I need to know." And with a smoke bomb he was gone.

"Was there even a point to fighting with him? All he did was pretty much waste time and then stand there and watch as we killed the Kishin." Soul growled out in frustration. Maka just let out a light laugh before grimacing in pain, torn and dirtied glove holding her ribs tenderly.

"He was testing us…seeing if we were strong enough to be useful for whatever purpose his leader ordered. Pretty standard bad guy protocol."

"So uncool…"

"42-42-564, whenever you want to knock on Death's door." Soul muttered to himself as he wrote the familiar number on the floor to ceiling mirror in the hotel's shower room.

Both had returned back to the hotel with good news, much to the villagers' relief, and requested showers to get cleaned up. The receptionist offered to assist Maka with the scrubbing, and the meister silently agreed, her face tinting red from embarrassment. Soul watched as the young woman whisked his meister away, feeling the uneasiness in her soul as he left her sight. He let out a loud sigh. What had happened in the Black Room hadn't left his mind for hours. The way she acted was…well, like a woman in love would be the best way to put. He knew for sure he loved her, he had for a few years now, but was she ready and willing to love and accept him? More than just partners?

"Ah, Soul, how was the mission?" Kid appeared in the mirror, looking sleep-deprived and disheveled. Soul could see Liz wave from the background, a mountain of papers stacked on the table she was set at. Patty was nowhere to be seen.

"Got the Kishin soul, but…"

"But what? What happened, Soul?" Lord Death was suddenly alert and very awake, golden eyes searching his best friends face for answers. Soul let out a heavy sigh, running a hand through his damp locks.

"That Kishin…it wasn't normal, Kid. It looked like a combination of both human and animal souls. Beat the shit out of Maka; she's got possible broken ribs and a banged-up shoulder, cuts all over. She'll be alright, though. Is that even possible for someone or something to take animal souls and use them to become a Kishin?"

Kid was silent for a few minutes, his hand cupping against his chin as he thought.

"I may have read at some point that while it is possible, it's very rare; only one or two confirmed cases of it happening but that was maybe a couple of hundred years ago."

"So now we get to deal with animal Kishin hybrids that are stronger than the human version? Great," Soul groaned as he slid a damp hand down his face, the stress evident. "Would explain why we got the shit beat out of us so easily. That thing threw Maka aside like she was nothing more than a fly. It even clamped down on Kishin Hunter and nearly broke it."

"It nearly broke Kishin Hunter? Has that ever happened before?" Even through the mirror, Soul could tell Kid looked very tense.

"The only times Kishin Hunter has been broken was when we fought Stein during those extracurricular classes and during the battle with Asura. This thing was breaking it with its teeth," Soul looked down at his hands, the memory still fresh in his mind. "Maka was reckless again; she released me to punch the damned thing in the face. Worked, but stupid idea nonetheless." His fists clenched tightly.

"Seems she's got a bad habit of doing that," Kid mused with a chuckle, some of the tension easing. "Listen, Soul, I was considering sending you on another mission roughly in that area, though a little more to the North. Something about a ninja clan hiding up near the mountains. We've got a copy of the mission that says there have been people vanishing after going to a retreat near there. I understand that since Maka is unfit to battle so soon after receiving injuries, we could postpone it until a later time."

"Funny you mention ninjas, Kid, because we ran into one claiming to be a master before the Kishin found us."

"W-wait are you serious? How did you…?" Kid stuttered, clearly surprised at the coincidence.

"Guess he was here to monitor us for some reason, and he attacked us, so we fought back. Used quite a bit of the black blood and barely managed to scratch him. When he fought the Kishin, it was like he knew how it would move…"

It didn't add up. How could that man know how to avoid the fast and unpredictable movements of the Kishin? There was more to the story than they knew…

Soul ended the call with Kid after an elderly man had entered the room and was proudly parading around showing off his… assets…Soul took that as his cue to leave with a disgusted shudder. Kid requested a follow-up with him after a few days once Maka was up and moving around more. A blast of cold air hit the weapon as he left the steaming shower room, a chill running up his spine. He could sense Maka was back in the room, and his body automatically made a beeline for it when he was stopped.

"You were the one to defeat the creature, no?" A middle-aged woman from behind the desk stood from her chair and walked around, her short heels clicking softly against the worn wood.

Her brown hair was streaked with silver, placed in a slightly messy bun at the back of her head. Her crisp work uniform was slightly tattered and dirty, a sign that fearing for her life was more important than laundry. Soft brown eyes stared at him with such gratitude and love that it made the weapon falter in his steps. The fine lines on her face had deepened, giving her the appearance of someone twice her age. Within seconds Soul found himself trapped in a tight hug, the woman sobbing against him quietly, shoulders shaking. Stunned, the weapon just stood for a while as the woman bawled into his shoulder, letting out all of the pent-up anger, grief, frustration and sensation of helplessness.

"You have avenged my husband and child, thank you, young man. They can rest in peace now, bless their souls." She pulled back and cupped his face, placing her lips briefly against either cheek, her eyes shining with tears. With one last hug, she pulled back and wiped at her face with the back of her hand. "Your partner, she is waiting for you in the room. I have food ready whenever you want it, deti. Please, have a good rest and thank you, again."

Maka drowsily opened her eyes at the sound of a door opening and closing, her mind still fuzzy. Pillows propped her up against the head of the bed, making it difficult to sleep comfortably. The mattress sank next to her and she rolled her head in that direction, a lazy smile on her face knowing who it was.

"How are you feeling, Maka?"

"Mmmmmm, good. They gave me somfthing for the pain. You should try it, Thoul, it'z relaxing…" The meister slurred as she tried to shake the drowsiness off, only succeeding in making the room spin faster.

Soul noticed and placed a hand on the top of her head, gently resting it back against the pillows. She gave a loopy smile before closing her eyes, letting out a happy sigh.

"You sure can't handle pain meds, can you?" Soul teased as she began wiggling her fingers around uncontrollably on top of the heavy wool blanket that practically swallowed her body. She cracked an eye open and stuck her tongue out at him before resuming her entertainment. This could be some good blackmail for the future…

"The nice drug man told me I had frac-fractured some… some…" Maka repeated, her brows furrowing in confusion as the word escaped her brain. "These things here, Soul, here, here, and here." She pointed to her ribs twice on the left and once on the right.

"Three ribs? Man, I can't take you anywhere without you punching Kishins around and getting injured. Not cool," Soul gave her a toothy grin as he lightly shook his head, moving his stare away from her and towards the wall.

Maka fully opened her eyes to look at him, the haze fading momentarily. She lifted her hand, which felt like a ton of bricks, and rested it on his. He instinctively grabbed it and held tight, red eyes darting to lock with her hazy green ones.

"I couldn't stand to see you hurt again, Soul; that night still haunts me a lot. I failed to protect you and I regret it every day. If I have to do stupid shit to protect you, I will. If I have to throw you down and face an enemy head-on to save you, I will. I'll gladly give my life in exchange for yours, Soul. Always, I promise." She still slurred slightly but the words came out strong.

Soul was speechless. Maka was always too proud to share her feelings out in the open like that, though she usually shared them with her actions instead, but nonetheless it caused butterflies in the weapons stomach, his heart filling with adoration. Shifting his body so he was facing her, he guided her hand to rest over his heart as he leaned forward, pressing his head against hers. He could feel her soul vibrate happily, syncing perfectly with his own as they shared an intimate moment.

"You're too cool for me, Maka, you know that, right?" Soul whispered after a few minutes of reveling in the pure bliss.

"Mhmm. Coolest partner ever, you shed?" Maka slurred as sleep threatened to drop her into the awaiting darkness. She didn't want to ruin the moment by falling asleep, that'd be so uncool.

"Coolest partner ever." Soul responded. He could tell she was trying to stay awake as long as she could, but sleep was quickly pulling her under.

Pulling away from her, Soul kept her hand briefly against his chest before removing it and gently setting it back on the bed at her side. She made an annoyed grunt and twitched her fingers at him to come back. She could be so demanding…

"Hold on, let's get you comfy first." What would she ever do without him?

Carefully slipping his hand beneath her head, the weapon used his other hand to remove some of the other pillows, making the angle more comfortable. Maka winced a bit at being shifted, but otherwise made no complaints. Once she gave a nod of approval, Soul let her down gently before pulling the blanket up to her shoulders. The meister squirmed a little before flopping her arms out from beneath the hot blanket.

"Hot…" The meister whined before relaxing into the soft pillows, her breathing evening out once more.

Soul chuckled to himself as he finished getting ready for bed. He quickly changed into an old pair of shirt and sweats, tossing his battle dirtied clothes on the floor. Exhaustion hit him like a brick wall and he finally resigned himself to the welcoming bed. Flopping gracefully face-first on top of the scratchy blanket, he felt his eyes droop as sleep began to drag him under. Something twitched against his hand and he reluctantly opened his eye to see Maka's finger reaching for him. Slipping his hand into hers, he intertwined their fingers together. With what energy he had left, he brought her fingers to his lips and pressed against them lightly.

"I'll protect you always, Maka…I promise."

Holy. Freaking. Shit. I even got emotional writing some of these Soul X Maka scenes! The love between them…one of a kind. Black Star being less of an asshole? What's this world coming to? Thanks for reading!

*Deti is like child, children, kids, etc.*