I was supposed to have posted this chapter Monday, but I got lazy. But hey, here it is. This chapter isn't all that interesting, so just bear with me please? T-T The next chapter will be better.
"Is she okay?" That was me, hovering anxiously over Maka's pale body, which was lying in a bed in the infirmary. It hadn't been easy, but I had managed to get her back to the school on my motorcycle. That ride felt like it had taken forever.
Standing across the room from me was Professor Stein. "She's doing fine, Soul. But..." I stared at him. "But what?" He adjusted his glasses. "She's been poisoned." The room spun for an instant. "Poisoned," I echoed hoarsely. Swallowing thickly, I asked, "You can cure her though, can't you?" Stein reached up and started cranking the screw in his head. I looked down at Maka, then back at him. "Well? Can't you?!" He stopped turning the screw after it clicked. "Yes, I believe she can be cured. But since this is a new kind of poison, I'll have to make the antidote. It could take as long as a week, maybe even longer." He then gestured to Maka's cloak. "It's lucky she managed to inadvertently get some of the Kishin's blood on her clothes. I can use a sample of it to help develop the cure." "But what about her? Won't the poison kill her if it's left untreated?" I clenched my fists, staring down at Maka's unconscious form. She was sweating lightly and her breathing was shallow. Grabbing a towel, I gently dabbed her face with it. "Maka..." Her soul wavelength was weak. I couldn't stand seeing her like this. I placed my hand in hers. She didn't even twitch.
Professor Stein regarded me silently for a moment. "Of course she won't be left untreated. There's some medicine here that I'll give her to help alleviate her symptoms and slow down the effects of the poison. As long as she takes the specified amount everyday, she should be okay. In fact, after a couple of days, she ought to be well enough to go home with you. I'll send the medicine home with her once she's functional again." I nodded, squeezing her cool, clammy hand. "Alright," I said. Professor Stein adjusted his glasses again. "You should head home for the night. Don't worry, I'll keep a close eye on her condition," he said reassuringly. I gave another nod. Hesitantly, I let go of Maka's hand and placed a kiss on her forehead. "I'll be back tomorrow," I said softly, knowing she couldn't hear me. I looked at the spectacled man. "See you later, Professor." He waved once. "Take care, Soul. I'll start on her antidote tonight. She'll be back to normal soon." I managed a small smile. "Yeah. She'll be Maka chopping me in the head with her big ass books in no time." He chuckled and started examining the blood on her cloak. Without another word, I quietly exited the room.
The ride home was miserable. Although it lasted less than five minutes, it felt way longer. Maka wasn't with me, and it was awful. I was so used to having her close to me, whether we were walking home or taking my bike. Just knowing she was there made me feel better. Right now, I felt like a huge piece of me was missing.
When I made it through our apartment door, I was greeted by Blair. Thankfully, she was in her cat form. I definitely wasn't in the mood to get assaulted by her and her huge chest. "Hey Soul! Why are you back so late? I was starting to think you weren't coming home." She looked behind me curiously. "Where's Maka?" I kicked off my shoes and tossed my jacket onto the couch. "Maka's in the infirmary," I said in a low voice. Blair hopped onto the couch's arm. "How come," she prodded. I glanced at her small form. "She got poisoned while we were doing a mission. Professor Stein's working on a cure for her. There's no telling how long it'll be." Her ears drooped. "That's awful. I hope he finds it soon. Poor Maka..." She perked up. "She's a strong girl. I just know she'll be fine! Heck, she beat the Kishin, Asura! If she could do that, this is nothing," she said cheerily. I smiled a little and scratched under her chin, getting a purr in response. "That's true, Blair. She's really something else." Giving my hand a quick nuzzle, she jumped back onto the floor and padded down the hall toward Maka's room. "I'll keep her bed warm for her," she said over her shoulder with a smile. I made my way to the kitchen and looked in the fridge. Nothing looked appetizing. I realized I wasn't in the mood to eat anything. Sighing, I trudged to the bathroom to take a shower.
Letting the hot water wash over my body, I began thinking about Maka. I thought about how smart, brave, and stubborn she was, of how beautiful she had become. In my eyes, she had always been beautiful, even though I teased her from time to time, but she'd gotten even more attractive in the three and a half years that had passed since Asura's defeat. I then thought about how fragile she'd looked lying there in the infirmary. It hurt to see her like that. Shaking my head clear of that image, I started washing myself before stepping out and wrapping a towel around my waist.
Feeling a bit better thanks to the shower, I walked to my room and threw on a pair of boxers and sweatpants. Drying my wet hair, I tossed the towel in the dirty hamper and sunk into my bed. I already knew that sleep would be eluding me tonight. How could I sleep when my meister was in bad shape? Turning over on my left side, I caught a glimpse of the off guard photo of me and Maka together sitting on my nightstand. She was laughing with her eyes closed. I had my hand thrown over her shoulder, smiling at her. That picture had been taken about five months ago by Tsubaki. My eyes lingered on Maka's face for a few more seconds before I directed them up at the ceiling. This is gonna be a long night, I thought with a sigh.
Begrudgingly, I managed to drag myself to school the next day. I was exhausted. I didn't fall asleep until nearly three a.m. I had to wake up at seven. Even though I had expected not to get my preferred amount of sleep, it was still uncool.
I plopped down in my usual seat next to BlackStar, who was busy telling Tsubaki what he wanted for dinner. It's eight in the morning. Who the hell thinks about dinner this early? But she was listening to him, smiling. "Okay BlackStar, I'll start cooking it as soon as we get home," she said. "YAHOO," was his loud response. Then he turned to face me. "Hey Soul, I–" He paused. "Man you look like crap. Is it because of Maka?" I blinked. "How'd you–?" "Professor Stein told us," he said, cutting me off. "Me and Tsubaki were gonna go visit her after class." "Us too," announced Kid, who had walked in shortly after me. He placed a hand on my shoulder. Liz and Patty were beside him, both of them wearing smiles. "She'll be fine, Soul. This is Maka we're talking about," he said in reassurance, giving my shoulder a squeeze before letting go. I exhaled and nodded. Sid walked in the classroom as the bell rang, carrying a stack of paper. "I have your quizzes from yesterday graded. Professor Stein wanted me to pass them back to you so that you can see your grade. Please be sure to return them once you're done looking at them. Then we'll start class." I didn't care about seeing my stupid quiz grade. I was ready to see Maka.
After what felt like forever, class was finally over. "DAMMIT! I still can't believe I made a freakin' ten!" yelled BlackStar as we headed towards the infirmary. Tsubaki gave him a look. "Well, it would help if you actually studied." "Me? Study? Tsubaki, a god like me doesn't have to rely on some dusty old books to pass a dumb quiz," he responded. Kid scoffed. "You sure can't rely on your empty brain to help you if you don't fill it up with some knowledge," he said. BlackStar glowered at him. "How about I empty your face?!" "That doesn't even make any sense!" They were about to start arguing more, but stopped when they noticed we had made it to the infirmary. I opened up the door and my eyes immediately landed on Maka. She was sitting up, and she was staring at us.