Heyyyy guys, I'm finally back! OMG, I'm sooooo sorry! I haven't updated in forever! But I have reasons as to why. First off, I've had some major writer's block. I just couldn't get inspired, no matter how hard I tried. T~T Secondly, I've been focused on school and work. And let me tell you, it has NOT been easy. Thirdly, I've been dumped twice within the timeframe that I haven't updated. Fun times, fuuuun tiiiimes. *insert huge, forced smile* But I hope y'all had an awesome Christmas and a happy New Year! This chapter might be a little disappointing, especially since I haven't updated in months. But at least y'all know I'm still alive. Hope you enjoy!
Chapter 4
"M-M-Maka?" That was all I could utter. I couldn't believe my eyes, which I'm pretty sure were as big as saucers. She had just been pale and sickly yesterday. Now here she was, sitting upright and staring at all of us, rocking some messy hair. She gave a small smile. "Hey guys," she said quietly. "MAKA! Thank goodness you're okay! It's all because of my godly presence, isn't it?!" hollered BlackStar. Everyone winced at his overpowering voice. "Geez BlackStar, could you get any louder," asked Liz, rubbing her temples. "You just gave me a freaking headache." BlackStar blinked. "I mean, I can if you wa-" Tsubaki immediately clamped her hand over his mouth. "No thank you, please. We've heard enough." He protested against her grip before finally giving up, with a faint blush staining his cheeks.
I walked over to Maka's side and took her hand. She still looked somewhat pale, but at least she was a bit warmer. "How are you feeling," I asked, rubbing my thumb over her knuckle. She smiled slightly. "I'm fine. Just a little weak, that's all." She trembled for a moment. "And chilly." Kid cleared his throat. "Maka..." She looked up. "Yeah, Kid?" He inhaled. "I'm glad you're feeling well and all, but...how can you stand to be in this room?! It's so...unsymmetrical! How could Stein do this to you?!" He gritted his teeth and set about to rearranging various items around the room, emitting a giggle from Maka. "There he goes," murmured Liz, while Patty snickered behind her. "I'm so happy to see you're up. You're a strong girl, you know that," said Tsubaki, still holding onto BlackStar. Maka blushed softly. "I'm nothing special, really," she replied, looking away. I frowned. "That's so uncool of you to say." "Soul-" I waved her off."No, it really is. How could you say that? Yesterday, you were unconscious because of some weird, unknown poison from some ugly ass Kishin. Yet here you are today, sitting up and managing to have a conversation with us, almost like nothing happened. If it were me, I'd probably still be unconscious. But you...you're a fighter, Maka. A strong one." I took a moment to rest my hand on her cheek, noting that the swelling had gone down a little. She stared at me with her large emerald eyes. "Soul..."
"Ahem." Everyone, including Kid, spun around to see Stein standing in the doorway, holding a cup full of blue liquid. "Sorry to break up your little romantic moment there, but I need to give this medicine to Maka." I felt my face heat up at the word "romantic." BlackStar, who had been silent for longer than he had possibly ever been, guffawed behind Tsubaki's hand. "BlackStar, stop blowing your breath on my hand!" Stein walked in and stood on the other side of Maka. He handed the cup to her. "It's good to know that our little scythe meister here has such caring friends," he said while adjusting his glasses. "The bond you kids share almost brings a tear to my eye." He paused. "But not quite." I could've sworn I saw a huge sweat drop appear on the side of everyone's head. "Well, drink up Maka," Stein insisted. He looked at me. "By the way, this isn't exactly an antidote. This is almost like a prototype cure. It's just keeping the poison at bay for now. I'm still developing the real cure for her. Until I finish it, this is what she'll be taking once she's well enough to go home. You can come back tomorrow for her. She ought to be well enough by then to go with you." I nodded. "Okay." I watched as Maka swallowed the blue stuff, making several unpleasant faces in the process.
When she finished, she wiped her mouth with her arm. "Ugh. Professor Stein, couldn't you at least make it taste better?" He shook his head. "Sorry. I tried to make it as bearable as possible." She sighed. "Okayyy..." She blinked slowly and looked around at all of us. "Thanks guys for coming to see me. It means a lot to me," she said, still blinking lazily. She leaned back into the bed. "It's no problem at all," Liz said kindly. "Exactly. What kind of friends would we be if we didn't come to make sure you were okay," asked Kid. "Bad ones," Patty chimed. BlackStar removed Tsubaki's hand from his mouth. "That's right! And a star like me needs to shine to make his friends feel better!" Tsubaki smiled sweetly. I looked away from everyone else and back at Maka, only to see that she had fallen asleep, wearing a small smile. I gave Stein a confused look. "It's a side effect from the medicine. I'm trying to work that out of there." Nodding, I brushed some of her hair off her forehead before stuffing my hands in my pockets. "Tomorrow, right," I asked. "Yes, tomorrow," was Stein's reply. "Cool." I walked over to the group. "Alright guys, I'm heading home for the day. I gotta figure out what I'm gonna eat." We all told each other goodbye and went our separate ways. I could barely contain myself. 'Maka's coming home tomorrow,' I thought, my face breaking out into a grin. It felt like she had been away for 3 weeks, yet it had only been a day. The loneliness and smallness I felt yesterday would disappear as soon as she stepped over the threshold with me. I was so happy I could've giggled. But I didn't, because that would've been so uncool.
Glad to be back home, I immediately kicked my shoes off and sat them by the door. "Hey Soul. How was school today," asked Blair, resting on the arm of the sofa in her cat form. "Meh. Pretty lame until I went to visit Maka with the others. She's doing better. In fact, she was up talking to us." She perked up. "That's great news! I knew she'd be okay." "Yeah..." I paused for a moment and sniffed. "Have you been cooking?" "Yep, there's lots and lots of yummy fish! You want some?" I glanced over at the platter full of charred fish she gestured to. "Um, no thanks. I think I'll just have some ramen." Blair shrugged. "Suit yourself. More for me." She hopped down from the couch and helped herself to some fish. I shook my head before walking to the kitchen to fix my ramen.
After eating, I decided to watch TV for a bit. Nothing good was on, which sucked. So instead, I started thinking about Maka again. I thought about her for so long, I didn't realize I had fallen asleep on the couch until I woke up to Blair prodding me in the cheek with a paw. "Soul, it's after 1 in the morning. You oughta get in your own bed now." I murmured something incoherent and somehow managed to drag myself to my room. Maka's return home drifted into my mind once more before I fully dozed off again.