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Lost Keys

Chapter 13

Winds blew at the poor green-eyed child's face. His body shivered from the cold. His tears mixed with rain drops as he whimpered and cried loudly like a baby. He had torn his eye-patch off and let the wind carry it away. He felt like he didn't need it anymore. He had no idea where to go or what to do, but at that moment, he knew one thing,

"I just want him to leave already."

Soul didn't like him. His words replayed over and over again.

What had he done wrong? Why didn't Mr. Soul like him? The child's thoughts went crazy that that topic. He stood under a street lamp that seemed friendly enough to shine some light at him. Exhausted, soaked, and lonely, Max hugged himself, not because he wanted warmth, even though he was extremely cold, but because he just felt like hugging someone at the moment. He didn't care that water was so high his feet were completely under water. He didn't care that he had nowhere to go. He didn't care that he felt like freezing to death at any moment. He didn't care that he had dragged himself through the bad weather just to cry in frustration.

His mind told him to keep walking randomly around the city.

But his heart wanted him to go back to Mr. Soul and Ms. Maka.

Ms. Maka and Mr. Soul… Even if Max is a child, he still noticed the similarities of those two and his parents. Sometimes when Max would call for Soul or Maka, he would accidentally call them Mom or Dad but then stop at the last second to change it to Mr. Soul or Ms. Maka.

"Hi there, little dude!"

Max looked up in surprise to see a tall person standing over him.

Still running, Soul straggled to keep searching. Strong winds were blowing cold raindrops to one side. Soul's umbrella flew away, but he didn't care. The wind got stronger by the second. Only now did Soul notice the water level raising. His shoes were beneath the water, making it harder for him to movie. His wet hair was flat and stuck to his forehead. Angry grey clouds swirled above. Not a good sign…

"MAX!" He called, but all he got was a rush of wind blowing at him. He was completely soaked. The rain started to flood the streets and the winds pushed the water forward, making the streets of Death City look like rivers. This wasn't just bad weather… It looked like a storm was about to hit.

That weather reporter should seriously be fired…

"MAX!" Soul continued desperately searching. "DAMN IT, KID! ANSWER ME!"

Something in the water caught his attention. A few objects floated down the streets. A few feathers, leafs, a plastic cup, and an eye-patch…

Wait… EYE-PATCH!

Soul quickly snatched it. Even though he had no proof that this was Max's, but he hoped it was. That would mean Max isn't far.

"MAX!" Water ran down his face and dripped from the tip of his chin. Shit, it's cold. He never noticed how cold he was until he felt his teeth chattering.

Using her Soul perception, Maka detected Max's soul. The child's soul seemed upset and not very happy. Maka was standing on a car to help her get away from the raising water and detect Max's soul. She had noticed that the storm wasn't normal. Was it a hurricane? If so, then she needed to find Max fast. She jumped off the car and landed on another one nearby. She did try to walk on the streets, but the waves pushing her legs the other way made it extremely hard. As a physically fit Meister, jumping on cars, streets lamps, even on houses was easy. She had left her umbrella behind because she thought she won't need it anymore. She's already drenched anyways.

She noticed that the water level was getting higher. Poor Max is short, he might drown! The thought made Maka's legs go faster. She landed on a house and ran at extreme speeds, battling the cold wind and rain that threatened to freeze her.

Black Star had done the same strategy as Maka. He was standing on top of a chimney where he got a good view, but the sight wasn't pretty. He could hear the waves splashing beneath.

"Max-kun!"

Black Star heard Tsubaki's voice. He looked down at the streets and saw her struggling to keep herself from getting swept away by the strong waves. The water level had reached her waist and the winds pushed the water to one side, making the water move like one huge river.

"TSUBAKI!" He called.

At first, she wasn't sure where the voice came from.

"UP HERE!"

She finally saw him waving at her from up on the chimney. She smiled, even though she felt like turning into ice from the cold.

"TSUBAKI, CHAIN SCYTHE MODE!"

"Right!" She jumped out of the water and a turned into her weapon form in the air. Black Star leaped, caught her, and landed on a building. He only ordered her to transform to help her get out of the cold water.

"Let's keep looking," He said before jumping to another building.

"This is tougher than I thought." Stein scratched his head. He had tried almost everything to get that object off of Mo's leg, but all field. Whatever material that thing was made of, it was very strong.

"Keep trying, human!"

Stein sat on his chair "We've been at it for four hours. Let's just rest for now." He looked out the window nearby, only to see the flooded streets. He did hear rain for the past few hours, but he didn't expect a flood. Some of the cars were half underwater, and the waves were so strong Stein was pretty sure he saw a bicycle get swept away…

"This cannot be..." Mo shivered in fear. He knew exactly what was really happening. "Lady Blue is at it again…"

"What does Lady Blue have anything to do with the weather?" Stein asked.

Mo kept his eyes on the river-like streets, "It is not the weather," he spotted it. A large green fin showed itself from in between the waves for a second, "It is one of Lady Blue's pets… Wherever it goes, water follows."

While everyone kept searching from above, Soul was kind of in a bad situation…

"FREAKING COLD!"

Okay. There's no way this much water can be produced by rain. The water was up to his stomach by now! This is Death City! It's a freaking desert! Where the hell did all this water come from? Soul tried to ignore the cold that made his feet feel numb and called for Max again. He had to find him. He had to! The water level kept rising – It was now up to his chest. What if the kid had drowned? He's obviously not tall enough to survive this! He felt like everything was out to attack the defenseless child.

"DAMN IT, KID – ANSWER ME!" He screamed.

Soul suddenly saw a fin slid beneath the water from a distance. He's eyes winded. Was that…? No. it can't be. There are no sharks living in Death City. There's no way it's a shark. It must've been some kind of an item that sunk down.

"Stay cool, Soul... It's nothing. It's just your imagination –"

A huge, scaly, reptile-like head surfaced right in front of Soul's face. It grinned widely at him, showing the sharp teeth that looked similar to Soul's. Its eyes were so big Soul saw his own reflection on them. Its head was as big as a horse's head. It had a fin on top of its head. In shock, Soul froze. The thing was only inches away from his face. It was so close Soul could tell that the reptile had fish-breathe. It giggled to itself. From behind it was a house-sized wave. The reptile dived back down.

Soul's brain was still blank… until he realized that the wave was coming towards him.

"HOLLY SHI –!"

Too late.

The new layer of waves covered the street like a blanket. Soul was thrown around like a doll in a washing machine. A group of bubbles escaped his mouth. As soon as the waves settled down, Soul quickly swam back up. He grabbed on to a flouting object on the surface to keep him from sinking back down and gasped loudly, trying to catch as much air his lungs can take in. He suddenly coughed out the water that managed to get in his throat. He noticed that he was holding on to a large piece of broken wood. It must've been someone's backyard fence that broke off.

Even though Soul had just seen the weirdest looking lizard, he was too cold and exhausted to think about it. The piece of wood helped him float to wherever the wind blew. Soul couldn't feel the tips of his fingers anymore, and the water that managed to get inside his ears felt uncomfortable.

"Oi, you there!"

A voice called. Soul looked around, but all he saw was water.

"Up here, dude!"

Soul looked up and saw a girl waving to him from her window on the third floor of a red building. The water level was so high the door to the building was completely under water. When Soul looked back at the window, the girl had disappeared. He climbed up the piece of wood and dipped his hand in the cold water, rowing himself forward to get closer the building.

"Head's up, dude!" The girl suddenly called again.

The second Soul looked up to where the girl was "Wha –TA!" something smacked him in the face. Poor Soul held his nose that quickly turned bright red. His red nose throbbed in pain. What the hell did she… wait, is that a rope ladder? She threw a rope ladder out the window!

"Climb up!" She yelled.

Cold and tired, Soul just wanted to get as far away from the water as possible. As he started climbing, the piece of wood floated away. The rain made the steps slippery, but Soul managed to slowly climb up. When he reached the window, the girl immediately grabbed his hand and pulled him in. Surprised, Soul flew and landed head first, hitting his head against the hard floor.

"You okay, dude?" a female asked.

Rubbing the painful spot on his head, Soul looked up to see two teenagers. The girl had red hair, brown eyes, and for some reason, she has a white medical mask covering her mouth and nose. She was also wearing a red skirt and a purple jacket that was zipped up.

"What's up, shark boy? Name's Kiki." She grabbed his hand and shook it violently. She was exited to meet shark boy, and she also seemed like a fast talker. "And this is my neighbored, Eddy," She pointed to the teenager next to her. He has brown hair, golden eyes, seemed to be shorter than Kiki, and was shirtless…

"How's it going, man?" Eddy said and dropped his arm around Soul's shoulders.

BIG MISTAKE!

Soul immediately held his breathe. His hands quickly grabbed his nose to prevent himself from inhaling. His eyes watered. His stomach flipped. What is this lethal stench?

Eddy noticed Soul's reaction and removed his arm. "Sorry man. I forgot I'm still winning the bet that I made with my friends." He folded his arms behind his head, spreading his perfume from his armpits. "The one who stays without bathing for the longest time wins money!" He laughed.

Even though Soul was holding his nose, the smell somehow managed to get through. It felt like dynamite was shoved up his nose and blew up his brain from the inside.

"Put your arms down already!" Soul begged in his own head. No wander Kiki was wearing that mask… this guy smelled worse than a skunk.

"Are you trying to kill him?" Kiki growled.

There is a flood outside and those two were acting like idiots…

"Fine, fine." Thankfully, he dropped his arms.

She turned to soul, "Sorry about him. He lives downstairs, but…" she walked over to the stairs and looked down. Soul wanted to see what was downstairs so he did the same. Soul gasped. The room was completely flooded. He saw some furniture at the bottom and some books, potato chip bags and a plastic box flouting. The water had drowned the whole room, and it covered half the stairs.

"Yeah... not very pretty, huh?"

Soul didn't say anything. The water level's this high? Max was still out there. Probably Calling for help… drowning… cold… alone… helpless… He needed to go back outside to find him.

Out of nowhere, the girl grabbed his mouth and pried his jaws open. What in the world is she doing? Shocked, Soul froze by the sudden act.

"Dude, I was right. You have shark teeth too! Awesome!" She released him, "I just fished out a kid with teeth like that!"

Soul flinched.

"A kid with sharp teeth…?" he asked nervously.

"I was on my way home from Granny's and saw him out in the cold. I couldn't leave him out there so I brought him home with me." She said and smiled, but then gasped when Soul grabbed her shoulders roughly.

"WHERE IS HE?" He shouted.

"Wow, hay – calm down, Dude!" her sweat dropped. She wasn't expecting Soul to react this way. "His in the piano room – wait…" She halted, "He looks just like you… Are you two related?"

"WHERE'S THE PIANO ROOM?" Soul yelled louder, trying to see if it will get her to answer faster.

"Okay, okay. It's over there," she pointed to a green door nearby.

Soul bolted to the door, his wet shoes squeaking against the floor. He kicked the door so hard it broke off the wall and landed somewhere in the room. "MAX!"

The room was clean and bright. There was a dusty piano in the center, a white cat sleeping on the floor, and a little boy sitting in front of the piano. The boy quickly turned away from the piano. His green eyes widened in surprise. "Mr. Soul…?" he whispered.

Awkward silence…

Soul didn't say anything. Kiki and the smelly idiot showed up in worry, but didn't say anything.

Soul stared at the boy.

The boy stared at Soul.

Kiki stared at both.

Eddy stared at the defeated door on the floor…

"Max?" Soul whispered. He couldn't believe it. The kid was okay and unharmed. His eyelids were swollen, it was obvious he had been crying, and his hair and clothes were wet, but other than that, he seemed fine.

The child's eyes widened and his mouth fell open with a big smile. He ran and was about to give the older male a hug, until he saw Soul's face, Max automatically stopped. Soul's fists were tight, eyes burned with both worry and relief.

"You…" Soul growled, "You were here all this time?" for some unknown reason, Soul felt something warm in his chest…

Max did not answer, or maybe, he didn't want to answer. Why would he? It was Mr. Soul. Mr. Soul hated him. He gave his back to Soul and walked back, sitting in front of the piano. Soul raised an eyebrow.

"Kid?" Soul called, not sure what to say. Something felt wrong. This wasn't Max that used to annoy him back home. "You alright?"

"Uh-huh." Max nodded, but didn't look back at him.

His behavior was suspicious and Soul decided he had to act. Sighing, he walked over, sat beside the boy and gently rested his hand on the child's shoulder. "Something wrong?"

"No." Max said half-heartedly.

Soul sighed once more. He risked his life looking for this kid, and when he finally found him, this is the treatment he receives. He wasn't very sure what to say at the moment. He wasn't good with children, in fact, he scares them away.

"I…" Kiki started nervously, thinking of a good excuse to escape, "I… I'm just going to go see if I can fish out someone else. "She said and skipped away. Eddy's sweat dropped, "I'll go help her." He quickly disappeared, not wanting to be in the middle of an important conversation.

Soul took a deep breath, "Kid, if something's bothering you just tell me." He whispered, trying his best to sound friendly, or at least, not scary.

The child looked down, not saying a word.

Shit, it wasn't working…

"Why did you leave? We've been looking everywhere for you." Soul said, trying another strategy.

"Why?"

"Huh?" Soul blinked.

The child looked up at him with sad green eyes, "Why was Mr. Soul looking for me?"

'SHIT! Say something, idiot!' Soul thought to himself, "Because I want you back. It's dangerous out on the streets on your own." He wasn't lying.

"But…" The child looked back down, "Mr. Soul said he doesn't want me."

"What?" Soul tilted his head, "Who'd you hear that from?" he asked. He doesn't remember telling the kid something like that.

"From Mr. Soul."

Soul's eyes widened. "I… I never said that!"

"Yes you did!" The child yelled louder, "Mr. Soul said it when he was talking with uncle Black Star."

"Uncle Black Star? Huh? I never told –"

"I just want him to leave already."

Soul stopped. Crap. He did tell Black Star that. Was the kid listening? If so, apparently Max hadn't heard the whole conversation. Soul sighed, "That's not what I meant…"

The boy looked up and tilted his head.

"What I meant was… Yeah, sure, you're annoying, but I won't hate you." He explained it truthfully, fast and simple for the child to understand.

Max looked at him as if the whole universe was right in front of him. "Mr. Soul… doesn't hate me?"

Soul shook his head.

The boy looked down, and sniffed, holding back tears. He didn't know why he felt like crying. Was it because he thought Mr. Soul was a mean person? Or was it because he made Mr. Soul worry about him? "I'm… I'm s-sorry… I d-didn't mean to… I'm sorry Dad I… "

Max broke down into sobs before he could finish. He tried rubbing his eyes with his sleeve to clean them from the tears, but it was no use, more tears would replace them

Even though Soul heard the word 'Dad', he brushed it off. The kid probably said it without thinking. Soul smiled and gently patted Max's back, encouraging him to keep it together. The boy's sobs slowly faded, but he was still hiccupping.

Soul looked at the piano keys in front of him. Untouched and dusty, it was begging to be play music. Soul's hand automatically reached for it and pressed his fingers on a few keys, sending out a random, but soft tune that only lasted five seconds.

"Cool…" Max whispered, "C-can I try?"

Soul smiled, "Go ahead."

Interested, Max attempted to copy what the older male did. He reached out and tried to play the same note, but he only got 20% of the notes right. Soul ruffled Max's white hair, "Not bad for a kid."

Max gave a big smile, showing his sharp teeth.

To Be Continued...

Review please :3 Next chapter will be up soon!

If you find any spelling mistakes please tell me so I can fix them :3

YEAH! NO SCHOOL FOR ME! XD I missed you all! Thank you so much for waiting this long!

Am I the only one who noticed how high they jump? xD I reread the manga and re-watched the anime... DAMN they jump pretty high! lol

I am drawing the reptile/shark thing :3 I will upload it as soon as I finish it X3

Eddy the skunk guy XD lol