I am on a roll! It'll slow down again due to work, but you shouldn't wait long!
"Kid, what's going on? Why are we in such a hurry to the school?" Liz asked as they flew over Death City; most of its residents were enjoying their dinner around this time.
Kid had told them to immediately transform and rushed from the house, giving no explanation for the emergency. Thankfully they hadn't turned on the stove yet, saving them the worry of the house burning down or exploding while they were gone.
"There's a spy within Shibusen; a witch. I believe she's related to Arachne and Medusa. If it's anything like it was years ago, they'll be targeting Maka for her strong Soul Perception ability." Kid said as he forced himself faster; a perk of being a Shinigami was the lack of need for a skateboard. "And if it is like that, then Maka is without Soul right now and going against a witch who could be stronger than both Arachne and Medusa."
"Soul didn't come back yet? Is he still with Black Star then?" Liz asked anxiously.
"No, but I'm sure by now he's on his way to the school with Black Star. Hard to miss a Shinigami flying through the sky." Kid mused lightly before his facial expression slipped back to serious, his black Shinigami cloak flapping angrily in the wind.
This could be a major battle depending on the witches' strength. Even Arachne and Medusa were a tough battle, but someone possibly a lot stronger than the two combined spelled for a disaster; especially for a meister without her weapon on her.
"Kid, look!" Patti suddenly called out, causing the Shinigami to look down.
A massive plume of black smoke erupted from the roof of the school, rapidly darkening the surrounding sky. Fire began to lick at the building as Kid grit his teeth and armed the sibling Death Weapons in front of him, ready to launch himself through the school. A massive soul wavelength smacked full force into him, and he faltered briefly, eyes growing wide.
"Un-unbelievable…." He whispered in disbelief. "This soul wavelength….is enormous….nearly as large as Asura's was….no, it's still growing larger. Liz, Patti; prepare yourselves, this is going to get messy real fast." Kid growled as he landed on the ground outside of the main entrance.
"Kid! What's going on? Where's Maka?" A voice called out to the Shinigami.
"I've just arrived, Soul, but it seems to me she's battling a witch currently. A very powerful one, too." Kid called over his shoulder to Soul as he rushed to his side, panting. "I have reason to believe she's related to Arachne and Medusa."
"Wonder if she's the one in cahoots with that ninja clan in Russia." Black Star threw in as he landed silently beside Kid, Tsubaki in Shadow Star: Chain of Blackness form.
"Guess we'll find out soon enough. Here they come, get ready." Kid warned as he sensed Maka's soul moving rapidly towards them. He narrowed his eyes; she was moving too fast for it to be natural…
The front of the school suddenly exploded, shooting debris over the waiting meisters. A large red blur of an object flew from the middle of the explosion, heading straight up into the sky at a high rate of speed. As the dust and smoke cleared, it revealed a witch holding Maka by the throat, the meister scratching at her captors arms.
"MAKA!" Soul screamed as he transformed his right arm into a blade, red eyes blazing with anger as they narrowed at the enemy.
"Ah, Soul 'Eater' Evans, looking at me with such passion. Maka's told me so much about you," The witch purred as she brushed a long lock from her face, giving the weapon a once over before turning her attention to the rest of the company, Maka squirming under the tight grip against her throat. "Oh, Shinigami, I didn't see you there; what a pleasure to meet you!"
"Let her go before I slice your arm off!" Black Star yelled out. "Damned witch, I'll kill you!"
"Liz, Patti; ready secondary form in case I need to switch to Soul." Kid growled as he readied his stance, preparing to release the Lines of Sanzu to their fullest extent if need be.
"Death Cannon: Charged and ready!" Patti chirped from her weapon form.
"Got it, Kid!" Liz and Patti nodded to one another; if Kid needed a Death Scythe, it was about to become a serious battle.
"Soul, I want you to get Maka out of here as soon as she is cleared. She's most likely not in any condition to fight." Kid ordered his friend, eyes never leaving the levitating witch.
"Like hell I will; I'll kill her myself for hurting Maka." Soul clenched his jaw as he watched his meister beginning to tire, the lack of oxygen pulling her in and out of darkness.
Ametrine mocked a curtsy to Kid, a bemused smile on her lips. Kid tensed as he studied the witch. Her wavelength was immense, larger than Asura's was, and it nearly drowned his own with it. She was toying with them, Kid thought as he glanced over to Black Star; the ninja looked like he was about to use his Shadow Clone technique to grab Maka.
"You know who I am, but I have yet to make your acquaintance Witch…?"
"Oh, such a formal gentleman you are! Ahem," Ametrine cleared her throat. "Greetings Shinigami, my name is Ametrine, esteemed Mother of the Coven of Witches. Mother to Medusa and sister of Arachne, but I'm quite sure you've met them already." She waved a dismissive hand at the last part, clearly not bothered by their deaths.
"Witch Ametrine, I suggest you release my friend there lest you have a wish to be buried within Death City." Kid cut straight to the chase; his voice was frigid as he eyed her carefully. "You must be pretty brave to attack a high-ranking meister within the DWMA; but you've made the mistake of doing it under my watch."
"For now, this is nothing more than a social call. Oh, don't give me such a stink eye! No one was killed in our little…talk… though the poor girl refused to give up and she was roughed up a bit, she did insult me first just so you know, but she's alive…for now. I wouldn't dare start a war here, in a city where there are so many meisters and Death Scythes to come after me." Sugar dripped from every word that slipped past her lips, a hint of venom lying beneath as she pouted. She cast a nearly bored look at the fainted meister within her grip. "Besides, I've got bigger plans for her than just tossing her around a bit. But I suppose you'll find out about that once everything gets in motion."
"GIVE HER BACK!"
Black Star snarled as he shot towards the witch, shooting his Shadow Chain towards her hand. It connected and he pulled hard; the witch cocked an eyebrow before tossing the meister and effortlessly sending a blast of her soul wavelength through the chain and into his body. The ninja slammed through the walls of Shibusen with a thundering crash.
Soul sprinted forward to catch Maka, leaping to connect with her mid-air as they both went crashing into the ground. He could feel parts of his arms and back tearing open through his leather jacket as he slid across the concrete. They slid to a stop nearly twenty feet away, the battle now raging on in front of them. With a grunt Soul sat up, Maka clutched tightly against his chest as he tried to get his bearings. Black Star launched towards the witch, Tsubaki transformed into Leaf of the Moonlit Night while Kid readied his Death Cannon to fire.
"Liz, Patti, let's go!" Kid yelled as the weapons began to charge into the heaviest blast version of the Death Cannon. "Soul, get out her out of here!"
"Damnit! Don't die!" Soul yelled out as he tightened Maka against his chest and made to run down towards the stairs before stopping. "Give her something from me, will ya?"
Kid smirked at the request but nodded nonetheless, turning his attention back to the battle. As Soul ran down the stairs, he could hear the battle intensifying, the sounds off a cannon going off. He put all of his faith in them to take down the witch, the one who badly hurt his partner. Just from glancing at her, Soul couldn't tell if they were small wounds or not beneath the thick layer of blood. Her normally pristine white and blue school uniform was torn and tattered, leaving mere scraps to cover her body.
'Damnit, I should've just stayed with her. She wouldn't be injured right now if I had.' The weapon stumbled as he felt the ground shake, nearly throwing him from the massive set of stairs.
His bike was waiting for him at the bottom, still running from when he arrived in a panic. With ease, he straddled Maka on the front of the seat, keeping one arm around her as he cautiously swung his leg over to sit behind her. He could feel the blood soaking through his white shirt as he held her still body against his. Carefully, with one arm around her, he slipped off his beat-up leather jacket and wrapped it around her as best he could to cover her up.
Another explosion rocked the city and Soul looked back in time to see the witch shooting higher into the sky, her red locks wrapped protectively around her body as Black Star barraged her with attacks. It looked like she was just on the defensive; if she was as powerful as she seemed to be, then she could've crushed both Kid and Black Star with ease by now.
"Soul! What's going on?" A voice pulled his gaze away from the witch and he turned to see Spirit rushing over to him. The Death Scythe's jacket was wrinkled, and his tie was loose, indicating he was off having fun at Chupa Cabra's.
"There was a witch undercover in the school, and she targeted Maka. Kid and Black Star are fighting her now," Soul quickly filled him in, his grip on Maka tightening as the Death Scythe moved his gaze to his daughter. "Go back up Kid, I've got to get Maka urgent medical attention."
Spirit puffed up and looked like he was about to retort when Soul kicked the bike off, peeling out of there as fast as he could. The glare hitting the back of the weapons head could've burned a hole through it, but Soul would deal with verbal abuse later. If he could get to Sid and Nygus' house, they would be able to stitch Maka up before she lost too much blood. But then again, if they had heard the explosion, then they were bound to be headed towards the school. For now, it would be safer to take her back to the apartment.
It took him less than three minutes to get home at the speed he was racing through town at. Some people were yelling at him as he swerved dangerously around tight corners, nearly clipping a few pedestrians. None of that mattered to him, not when his meister was bleeding out and still unconscious. The tires screeched once more as he slammed down on the brakes, the back of the bike lifting at nearly a 45-degree angle. It landed with a hard thud, jerking Soul back a bit. Just as he was getting off, a large shadow flew overhead and a pop sounded moments later as Blair landed with her cat reflexes next to Soul.
"Soul, what's going on? There was an explo—." Blair turned her large cat eyes to the meister lying motionless in his arms. "Maka! Does this have to do with that large explosion a few minutes ago?"
"Good timing, I'll need you to help clean her off in the shower. Kid and Black Star are handling a witch at the school. I'll fill you in more once we take care of Maka."
"Right!"
"You children really don't learn, do you?" Ametrine drawled as she effortlessly blocked every attack that was thrown at her. "I'm about to draw a sweat this is so hard."
Black Star struck as fast and hard as he could, aiming for every weak point all over her body. Tsubaki had even transformed into Shadow Star Zeroth Form: Masamune but the witch was still untouched.
"We'll keep going until we drop dead or you're defeated; from my perspective, it'll be the latter of the two options." Kid shot back as he provided ground support for Black Star. "I'm afraid you don't get to come into my city, my school, attack my friend, and expect to just walk away? You've pissed off the wrong Shinigami."
Ametrine let out a chuckle as she lifted her palm outwards as Black Star neared. A condensed beam shot from her hand towards the ninja, a lethal blow if it landed. With a split-second margin of error, he dodged it before flashing behind her and swinging down his katana full force. Locks of fire red hair shot up and knocked him away, his body slamming into another wall of the school. Kid felt the familiar sensation of the Sanzu lines beginning to release; the wind began picking up, swirling violently around the area as it turned into a twister.
"Play time is over, little boys, time to go to sleep!" Ametrine shot both hands out to the side, mouthing an enchantment as wind picked up around her. "I'm done being nice. Now the whole city can suffer for your ill-manners!"
The two forces of the wind collided together, energy dangerously sparking between them as the force grew stronger. As loose dirt began to lift, the wind propelled them into small missiles scattering in any direction. A small rock nicked Kid on the face but he paid no heed to it as the second and third Sanzu lines glowed with power, his own swirling energy pushing Ametrine's back as it grew. The witch forced more of her wavelength out to compete with the Shinigami's level, the vortex growing enormous and out of control.
"If that thing gets any bigger, it'll destroy the whole school and more than half the city." Stein appeared out of nowhere next to Kid, his eyes locked onto the witch rising to the sky. "We need a way to get her out of Death City and fast. Spirit and I will work on pushing her back, keep your attacks narrowed to avoid collateral."
"I may not be that young boy anymore, Professor Stein, but somehow I'm still being guided by you." Kid joked as Ametrine's soul grew larger once more, nearly identical in size to the Shinigami's.
"Someone's gotta keep you monsters in line, may as well be a monster itself to do the job." Stein shot back with a crazed smile as he swung Spirit around to rest along the length of his arm.
"Enough of the talking, start kicking her ass!" Black Star shouted over the howling winds. "Kid, you feelin' a little mad?"
"More than a little, Black Star; let's go: Madness—."
A ripple shot through the air and Kid faltered as time seemed to slow; Black Star's dizzying fast shadow movements were slowed down to about the pace of a fast snail before freezing. Stein was moving no faster, in the process of swinging Spirit from his arm to his front, the scythe's blade materializing as it moved. Kid eyed the scene with confusion.
"What…time slowed down? No, it stopped." The Reaper muttered to himself as everything around him froze. So why wasn't he frozen?
"Nyamuu~" Came a familiar chirp from behind him and Kid turned to see the witch Mabaa and her feline-resembling assistant standing there.
"M-Mabaa…you…stopped time?" Kid balked as he tried to wrap his head around what was happening.
"Be grateful she arrived in the nick of time," the second witch huffed out, taking a drag from her pipe. "If you had continued your battle with Ametrine, then your entire city and its people would've been wiped from this earth. She is a sneaky, conniving snake of a woman who has long been banished from the Coven for abuse of her powers onto others and countless innocent souls collected."
"She's really that powerful, huh…" Now it seemed more like divine intervention that Maka survived a solo battle against her, without a weapon no less.
"Nyamuu~!" Mabaa chirped again as her right eye began to shine, emitting a blinding flash of light that covered the entire city.
Kid slammed his arm over his eyes, still seeing the light force its way through skin and bone. An immense heat followed, causing him to instantly break out in a sweat. After a few intense moments, a loud crack echoed in the silence of frozen time and with wariness, he lowered his arm to take a look. Massive lines of incantations were spewing from beneath Mabaa's cloak and wrapping themselves around a still Ametrine before tightening down hard. Her form began to move sluggishly through a pocket of space and the witch soon found herself bound together on the ground in front of the current Mother of the Coven.
"Mabaa, I should've known you'd pull a stunt like this, aiding the Reaper just before his demise. What a shame; you've fallen so far since having that lovey eye of yours ripped from your skull." Ametrine spat at her sister witch, venom oozing from every word as she tried to wriggle around in the constraints.
"Silence, you wench. You are privileged to even still be alive after your crimes against the Coven, so I suggest you hold your tongue lest I burn it off slowly with fire slugs." The second witch snarled back, with just as much, if not more, venom. "Reaper, you are now indebted to us, remember it well."
"I graciously thank you, Mabaa, for coming to the aid of my city and its inhabitants. Call upon me whenever you wish for your debt to be repaid." Kid crossed his right arm over his chest and bowed to the Mother, grateful for the assistance.
"Nyamuu~~"
"Just you wait, Reaper, I'll be out of there soon enough. Maka Albarn; I'll be back for her soul!"
They vanished in a cloud of smoke just as time began to turn once more, the gray haze melting into colorful surroundings once more. Black Star, who was in the middle of a Shadow Star afterimage jutsu, stopped mid-air once he realized the witch was gone. The images absorbed back into his body as he floated to the ground, rubbing his hand against his head in confusion. Stein, who was mid-swing with his scythe, stopped abruptly and placed the end of the weapon to the ground, knowing eyes darting to Kid.
"What the fuck just happened?" The ninja quickly looked around the area, searching for the witch he was battling just a moment ago.
"Seems we have a very good ally," Stein casually remarked, adjusting his glasses. "This is going to lead to bigger things, Kid, Black Star. I get the feeling they won't be able to hold her for very long with her level of strength."
"Agreed." Kid felt a trickle of dread slide down his spine. He had the feeling another full war was going to break out in the near future. But for now, he had a school to repair and a meister to check up on.
'Father, guide and protect us on the path of fate we are about to partake.'
Tremors were no longer shaking the city as Soul peered out from the kitchen window. Blair had taken Maka to get cleaned up and while in the process of drying her off, the meister awoke. She was confused at first, wondering how she got back to the apartment in the first place, though the gears of her mind soon aligned, and she became pissed. Soul had bandaged her up the best he could all the while scolding her for being an idiot. For the past five minutes though, the meister had been ranting and raving from the couch about how that witch would've been punched harder had there been the chance. Even while Soul set a steaming cup of tea down in front of her, Maka was still going on her rant, punching a pillow with renewed vigor.
"I should've known something was up with that girl! How she was always stalking you, glaring at me whenever she noticed us together. Gah, thinking about it makes me want to—!"
Soul grabbed her cheeks and pushed them together, earning a softened glare from his meister. He kept messing with her face until she gave in and went quiet.
"Will you chill out? You just survived going against probably the strongest witch alive, alone, and all you want to complain about is how you didn't get to punch her harder? I can't leave you alone for a second," Soul sighed as he released her face before plopping down heavily next to her, letting his head drop back as he closed his eyes. "I shouldn't have left you alone…you wouldn't be like this if I had just stayed there."
Maka stayed quiet for a few minutes, playing with the hem of the over-sized sweatshirt Blair had given her. He felt guilty about being dragged away, probably because of how she was treating him poorly over something that neither had control of. Tears welled up in her eyes and her heart ached; she never should've acted so childish, pushing him away because of a small interruption. Just as she lifted her head to speak, she noticed his white shirt was stained heavily with blood.
"Soul, did you get injured? Why is your shirt soaked in blood?" The weapon opened his eyes and looked down, remembering it was soiled from his fall.
"Oh, yeah. No big deal, a few scratches here and there. My jacket took most of the damage, so don't worry." He gave her a tired toothy smile and ruffled her hair gently. "Your wounds don't look so bad after getting cleaned up. You want something to eat? Not sure what we got, haven't been to the store lately…"
"Take your shirt off and let me look at the wounds." Maka spoke quietly as she slowly got up from her spot, wincing and grabbing her shoulder gently as she opened the heavily used medical kit once more.
"Maka, I'm fine. You're the one who needs to sit down and rest. Seriously, they're just some scrapes, they'll heal in no time." Soul tried to argue but just received a pointed look before sighing and giving in.
Pulling his torn and bloodied shirt off, the weapon shifted to sit sideways on the furniture, feeling the cushions sink behind him as Maka kneeled down. He waited patiently while she slowly worked, hissing every now and then when she rubbed alcohol over the wounds. Her soul was stable, for the most part, but it seemed to be trembling a little while she moved around. He reached his out in comfort and she hesitated before taking it, the two souls resonating in harmony. All the worry, anger, fear, regret, and guilt flowed into him and the weapon felt it all hit him square in the chest.
Maka tightened the last of the bandages around Soul's arm, her fingers lingering lightly over the wound. She felt awful that he had gotten hurt again because of her recklessness. If she hadn't gotten so upset over something so small, something so stupid…
Without her realizing it, Soul had pulled away and shifted on the couch, so he was facing her, arms pulling her in against his bare chest.
"It's not your fault, so stop blaming yourself for it. If anything, it's my fault for leaving you alone like that."
"Soul…"
"It'll be alright, just let it all out…"
Maka felt the tears overflowing as she wrapped her arms around Soul, sobbing into his shoulder as the emotional dam she had built up suddenly burst wide open. Everything she held in for the past week flowed out as she cried into her partners shoulder, the heavy weight lifting from her chest. Soul kept silent while she cried, rubbing his hand rhythmically up and down her bandaged back. He knew she needed the release just from how tense her shoulders had become.
The two sat there for nearly an hour, just holding each other in silence. Maka's face felt like a giant marshmallow as she used the back of her hands to wipe any remaining tears away, her eyes red and stinging. Pulling back, she noticed Soul had his eyes closed, his mouth slightly open as he slumped against the back of the couch. He had fallen asleep sometime during her outburst, his arms still tightly wrapped around her. Maka stared at his peaceful form. With a delicate finger she traced his jawline, his cheek, down to his lips that were just barely parted.
How could he always be so calm and collected while she was….well, reckless and strong headed would be the best way to describe it. The man in front of her had always been her support, her friend, partner… maybe it wouldn't be so bad if they were something more.
Maka gently cupped a bandaged hand against his cheek as she leaned towards him, licking her lips tentatively as she angled her head slightly to line their lips up. She closed her eyes the rest of the way as their lips were nearly touching, heart pounding hard against her chest. Just as she lightly touched his lips, movement threw her off guard as his lips pressed back against hers and his hand gently pressed against the back of her neck. Her face flushed brightly as she pulled away, slapping a hand over her mouth as she stared at Soul with wide eyes.
"Maka Albarn, did you just kiss me while I was sleeping? Such a pervert…" Soul teased with a toothy grin as he watched Maka go from embarrassed to mock annoyed, her face bright red.
"S-Soul you—!" Soul snatched her hand away before silencing her with another kiss, keeping her hand locked in his.
The meister gave in after a few moments and relaxed against the new unfamiliar sensation, running her free hand into wild white locks. Soul took that as an invitation as he wrapped his free arm tighter around her waist, pulling her into a straddle position on his lap and flush against his chest. She could feel that toothy grin against her lips and she couldn't help but smile back.
'Jerk…I love you…'
'I know…'
O.M.G. I love this story so much! Cutest couple ever! Sorry it took so long, I had to rewrite it a few times before I was happy with it. Enjoy and look forward to the next chapter!