Chapter Fourteen

Author's Note: I edited this a bit, and the document went from 5 pages to 4. So I apologize if this chapter is short. Still, I hope you enjoy reading it after waiting for so long ^_^

Gopher used his wings to fire projectiles at Misao as she continued dodging them without going too far into the city so innocent people wouldn't get hurt. She did well at avoiding them, but soon came to the realization that she had to find a way to actually attack him. Misao quickly rotated her body around towards Gopher and charged at him. When she was close enough, she leapt into the air and caught him off guard by landing a blow right in his right cheek. Gopher landed on the ground right at Misao's feet. Misao quickly stepped back just in case he launched a sneak attack on her. "I told you I wasn't going to give up without a fight."

Gopher stood back up and glared at Misao. "Don't think you're tough just because you got in one lucky shot." He told her. "I still have a few tricks up my sleeves."

"That's funny…so do I." Misao chuckled while clenching her fists tighter at her side. "I told you I don't need anyone to save me or fight my battles." She charged at him, locking her palms together and condensing the air around her along with some of her soul energy. Once she was within range of him, she released it at Gopher. "SOUL COMPRESSION!" Gopher coughed up gallons of blood as Misao applied pressure to his chest. He then got pushed back several feet from her, smacking into a tree and collapsing in his blood. She was slightly drained from that attack, but used what little strength she had to run into Death City and straight to the academy. 'Sid…Nygus…I hope you're alright.'

"Misao, we're right behind you!"

She looked behind her to see Sid catching up to her. "You're okay!? But wait, is Noah following you?" She looked behind her to see if any figures were on their tail.

"Don't worry about him." Sid told her. "He retreated back to the fortress."

That news put fear in Misao's heart as they approached the school. Her body then gave out right at the steps. She knelled down and clenched her stomach, feeling an intense pain that went through her spine and into her head. 'The madness waves.' She grinded her teeth, feeling reality shift through her eyes. "Sid…I don't feel well. I can't…walk…anymore."

Nygus transformed back into her human form and picked Misao up, carrying her up the stairs. "You'll be okay, Misao." She then turned to Sid. "I'll take her to Stein. Class should be over by now. You go find Blood and tell him the news."

Sid nodded, running ahead of Nygus.

"Stein, Sid and I got Misao back…but something's wrong with her." Nygus came into the infirmary, setting Misao down in an empty bed.

Stein rushed over to her, examining Misao. "What's wrong, Misao?" he asked her. He put a hand to her forehead, feeling a slight fever she began developing. "Nygus, get me an ice pack." Nygus nodded and left Stein with Misao. He turned back to Misao and asked her the same question. "Misao, what's wrong with you? You have to tell me."

"M…Madness…wavelength." She managed to say through the pain. "It's…merging with my soul."

"Here's the ice you wanted." Nygus handed Stein a pack of crushed ice which eh placed on Misao's head. "Can you do anything for her?"

"I can, but it'll take a while."

"Sid went to tell Blood that she's here and safe."

"Find them and tell them not to come in here. She has a bit of the madness wavelength inside of her and it's eating away at her soul. I have to extract it. Hold Blood back until I get this situated."

"Understood. I'll leave you to it."

"Professor, am I going to be okay?" Misao asked, keeping her hands on her stomach and chest.

Stein examined her closely while turning his head screw and then adjusting his glasses. "There are definitely traces of the madness wavelength within you." He began as he looked through different medicines he had on the counters. "But it shouldn't be too hard to purify it. Most of it has already vanished from your soul; thanks to the orb you have."

"You saw that with your soul eyes?"

"I saw it was still trying to purify it. But its power is drained. Luckily I have something that will eliminate the madness from your system."

"You rescued Misao!?" Blood exclaimed, barely taking a breath at the news Sid told him.

Sid nodded. "Stein's treating her right now in the infirmary."

"I hope she's okay." Maka said with a concerned tone. "Is it okay if we go see her?"

"Right now, you can't." Nygus caught up to them just before they began to head towards Misao.

Blood and the others turned and stared at Nygus. "Why not!?" Blood asked.

"Unfortunately, some of the Kishin's madness has tangled itself around Misao's soul. Stein is working on extracting it. It may take a while, so until he finishes her check-up, you can't go into the infirmary."

"But…I have to be with her. I promised her father…"

Soul walked up and patted Blood on the back. "She'll be fine, Blood. Trust me; Stein knows what he's doing."

"Soul's right." Maka chimed in with a smile. "As long as you have faith, Misao will make a speedy recovery."

Blood did feel a little better after hearing positive feedback from his friends. He regained himself and smiled at them. "Thank you all so much."

"We should all head back to class now. Misao may be done by the time we get out, Blood." Tsubaki told him.

"Nygus, will you give Stein my thanks? And tell Misao that I'll come by to see her soon."

Nygus nodded while resting her hands on her hips. "I'll be sure to do that."

"Misao's back in the academy. My mind is at ease for the moment." He said as they entered the classroom. "Still…it's my fault she got kidnapped in the first place."

"You know it's not cool to blame yourself for things that you can't control." Soul said as they took their seats. "Quit putting yourself down for past events."

"Soul's right." Maka said with a smile. "Like you said, the most important thing is that she's here and she's okay."

Blood smiled at both of them, amazed that the two of them were wiser than he was. He was embarrassed to have people younger than him lecture him. "You're right. I'm just super protective of her. All I've ever wanted for Misao is for her to smile and have no cares. I don't want her to fear anything in this world."

"Alright everyone, class is about to begin. Take your seats." Spirit entered the class and began taking role before getting into the lesson.

"How do you feel?" Stein asked Misao as he handed her a glass of water.

"Well I'm still in pain from the operation, but other than that I feel fine." She chugged some of the water and then set it on the counter. "Am I going to be okay?"

Stein smiled at her. "You'll be just fine. I managed to suppress the madness that entered you. But that orb of yours purified the rest of it, which amazed me."

"Umm…where's Blood?"

"He's in class right now." He looked at his watch. "It should be ending pretty soon. Blood has already been aware that you're here and he's just as anxious to see you just as much as you want to see him."

Misao chuckled. "I bet he's fidgeting so bad right now." She looked down at her stomach and rubbed it, thinking about the orb resting inside of her. She did feel some of its energy leak from her, but then in an instant it vanished. 'Father…what were you thinking giving me this type of responsibility? Do you really think I can control the orb's power, and fuse it with my own?'

"Are you alright, Misao?" Stein asked her.

She gasped and looked up at Stein. "Uh, yeah. I was just thinking about stuff." Misao could see that Stein was looking straight through her. But he didn't say anything to her. All he did was nod and go back to working at his desk.

Some time had passed. Misao looked at the clock and saw that class was letting out. In a few seconds, Blood was going to burst through the door and hug her tighter than before. Just outside the hall, she could hear footsteps approaching. As if on cue, Blood came through the door and stared into her eyes.

"Misao, you're okay!" Blood ran towards Misao and caressed her cheeks. He ran his fingers through her soft hair while she grabbed onto him and pulled him into her embrace. "I thought I'd never get you back. I'm so sorry I let you go."

A few tears shed from her eyes as she enjoyed every moment she spent in Blood's arms. That was the one thing she missed during her time as Asura's prisoner. "I don't blame you, Blood. I'm just happy to be here with you again."

Blood turned to Stein. "She is going to be okay, isn't she?"

"Yes. She's her old self again." Stein answered with a smile. "I'll give you two some privacy. I'll be back in a little while."

Even after Stein left the room, Misao and Blood didn't let go of each other. Neither of them dared to pull away. "I was so scared Blood. He was so close to me. His energy..." Tears swelled up in Misao's eyes. "...I couldn't breathe there. I couldn't stop thinking about you."

"I couldn't stop thinking about you either." Blood's embrace tightened. "You shouldn't have suffered the way you did. Master Isame would have scolded me for days if he was here right now."

Misao couldn't help but chuckle. "You're right, he would." The small bit of laughter that left her lips stopped the flow of tears. "Why would my father give me the orb in the first place? Did he ever consider the possibility of Asura coming after me?"

Blood pulled away from Misao, keeping a hold of her shoulders and looking her dead in the eye. "Misao, your father was a wise man. He always had a reason for doing what he did. Giving you the orb...well...he told me it was the wisest thing he could have done. Even though the Kishin would come after you, he felt it was time you were the guardian of the orb like he was."

"But I was only a child. I was still training to be a meister."

"Like I said, Misao, he had his reasons. All you have to do as his daughter, is trust his judgment." Misao nodded while holding onto Blood's arms as he knelt down in front of her. Blood kissed her hand and smiled. "I won't let you leave my side again."

Please R&R