Burdens Too Heavy.
-000-
The following morning Maka managed to sneak out of the house unseen. She had plans to meet with Tsubaki at the local café. It had been a complete relief to be out of the house and out from under Soul, especially now that things were awkward. She thought about the night before and blushed, he was such an idiot. That was a story she absolutely had to tell Tsubaki.
As Maka approached the Runninggo street corner, she could see Tsubaki through the café window and she smiled and waved at her. The smile has been far too welcoming to Maka, for she had missed Tsubaki so much and hadn't even realized it. She took a seat in front of her and greeted her excitedly, Maka couldn't remember the last time she'd been this excited about something.
"So good to see you, Maka!"
"You too, Tsubaki!" She smiled and ordered a french vanilla cappuccino. Tsubaki ordered a plain black cup of coffee. "How are thing progressing?" Maka had assumed she had been talking about her escalating plunge into madness, "Well, I really don't know."
"Well, Lord Death and your dad certainly looked excited for the new experiment."
"You mean Soul and me living together?"
"Yeah, that's the entire reason we came back."
"Wait, what? You came back because you were finished with your mission, right?"
"No, we actually didn't finish it. The night before all the action was supposed to happen Soul Eater answered a call from Lord Death. It was about you, Soul and Black Star had a disagreement but Soul ended up talking him into leaving. So, here we are." Maka looked at her, slightly shocked, "Soul Eater Evans came back for me?"
"Yeah, well, he probably won't tell you that, but he couldn't stand the thought of you going through what he did."
"Did he say this?"
"I heard the exact words coming out of his mouth when he was speaking to Black Star." The waitress returned with their drinks and excused herself. Why was Tsubaki telling her all of this? Was she telling the truth? Then again, why would she have any reason to lie to Maka?
"So!" Tsubaki clapped her hands together, "How have things been going." Maka had been pulled back from her thoughts quickly, "Well I hate to admit it but his presence has made my episodes all but die off in the past two or so weeks, I've only had maybe two nightmares. That's a miracle, but I don't know how to do it Tsubaki."
"Do what?"
"How did I ever get along with him well enough to resonate any kind of power?"
"You mean you guys aren't getting along?"
"Not really, all we do is fight…"
"But your eyes are green and you're practically glowing." Maka giggled in response. "So something must be working." Maka blushed profusely. Surely last night's event hadn't changed things that much.
"Soul Eater must be doing something right." Tsubaki continued. Maka blushed at her words, the memories all flooding back to her and she knew she'd have to spill the details. So she did so silently. "He what?!"
"Tsubaki, keep your voice down..." Maka hushed her loud squeaky voice in an attempt to keep everyone in the café from over hearing. "You're kidding me, Maka! Honestly, who would've thought seeing Soul Eater nude would bring back a fraction of your sanity."
"Tsubaki!" Maka hissed out. Tsubaki laughed and covered her mouth. "I'm sure that had nothing to do with it…! Besides, he's still a jackass."
"Why would you say that, Maka?"
"Because he is..."
"Soul Eater is actually a pretty nice guy, Maka, he really cares about his friends."
"No he doesn't, when the going gets rough he gets going."
Tsubaki hesitated for a moment before nodding her head, "Oh I see... You're upset with him for leaving."
"I didn't say that..."
"Maka, don't drag this out. Why don't you just talk to him? I'm certain that's the key to your treatment. You need some kind of closure. I mean even if you guys don't get back together it's good to talk things out."
"Back…together? No, Tsubaki, he and I were never together in that fashion."
"Then why are you holding his absence against him?"
"Because he was my friend... and he just left…"
"You love him."
Maka looked at her, not so much shocked but still not knowing what to say. "I do not..."
"The moment you realize it things will become a lot easier for you, Maka, I'm only saying this because I'm your friend. You have to get better. You know the risks of the situation. Even if you and Soul Eater reconnect there is no guarantee that it will be enough. Time is of the essence. Don't be stubborn, Maka, please?" Maka sighed and slumped her shoulders as she finished her cappuccino. "You sound like my dad."
"Well that's probably because he loves you and so do I." Later that evening Maka walked into Stein's office with a dreadful feeling. He called her there to meet with Soul and discuss their training strategy. "Alright, looks like I have you both here, well most of you anyway." Maka sent a glare his way, she wasn't in the mood for his lunatic jokes. "Did you bring me here to make jokes about my sanity?"
"No, no... have a seat." Maka sat down beside Soul and refused to look at him in fear of turning red and passing out from embarrassment. "I assume your living situation is still in question." Stein crossed his arms and awaited their response.
Soul Eater said nothing and only clenched the arm of the chair and tightened his jaw. Maka could hear his jaw popping from her position next to him and she couldn't help but look over at him. Oh man, he looked pissed. Really, what had there been to be mad about? She was talking on the phone with a friend...
"Perhaps I should light some candles and we should clear the air between you two?"
"N-no... I umm..." Maka tried to think of something to say but Tsubaki's words kept popping back up in her head. Don't drag it out.
Tsubaki had been right earlier, she may not have come out and said it like she wanted to, but that had been because she loved Maka and wanted her to understand. She knew Maka was strong, even without Soul Eater, but that hadn't excused her actions toward him lately. It was time to act like an adult instead of a heart broken juvenile.
Maka took a deep breath and looked at Soul Eater, made steady eye contact with him, and apologized. "I'm sorry." She tried not to be taken aback by his reaction. A white eyebrow raised and his frown rippled to a straight line, "I'm sorry for the past two weeks. I've been taking everything out on you and...I know I've been difficult to live with. So, I'm sorry that really wasn't cool of me." She swallowed hard as the tears welled up in her eyes. Why was she upset? She couldn't cry now! Soul Eater opened his mouth to answer her, he wanted to say something about the night before, but he just couldn't do it. "Maka..."
She smiled and nodded her head to him, "You don't have to say anything, Soul. I know you suck at this stuff."
She had been right, he sucked at it so very bad but he felt like he needed to say something. Soul cursed himself for his lack of vocabulary and nerve. Instead, he gave her his trademark smile. It meant something only she understood and it had been the best he could do at the time.`
"Alright! Now that this is partially cleared up. I need you two to match wavelengths!" Stein announced and clapped his hands together. "It won't be easy so you'll have to practice like the good ol' days!"
Maka and Soul both sighed and rolled their eyes, "I see the two of you are off to a good start!" Stein pushed them out of the room and closed his door, "Don't come back until you've completed the task!"
Maka had the bright idea to use their old training grounds, so they drug their feet all the way there. It looked different, she hadn't been there since the last time they sparred, before he left. Vegetation had pretty much taken over everything and provided good cover for them.
"Well, where do we start?"
Soul shrugged and peeled his jacket off, then his shirt. "We'll just pick up where we left off last time we were here."
Maka blushed and turned away, "Is it possible for you to keep your clothes on? I think I've seen enough." She mumbled and Soul gave her a victorious grin. "Is me being shirtless going to distract you?"
"You're full of yourself."
"Am I?"
"I would just hate to cut up your pretty skin, is all." Maka turned back to him with a newfound determination in her eyes. Soul smiled and had a feeling he was in for a real fight.
Maka was pretty sure Stein had meant to match their wavelengths, not pit them against each other. But either way it had given her a perfect opportunity to show him how much of an ass kicking he had coming. They only hesitated for a moment, before throwing more blows into the fight. Soul seemed kind of surprised at how well she had been keeping up with him, he always thought a Meister went downhill without a weapon, but then again this was Maka Albarn.
"You haven't really changed at all, Maka!" He yelled across the field. "Really? You don't think so?"
"Still stubborn, quick on your feet, and weak." Maka smiled knowing he was trying to get her riled up. "Yeah, well, you still have a temper that controls when you swing and you're a loser." The two shared a laugh, "How long have we been out here?"
The street lamps were beginning to flash on and crickets were chirping around them. "Don't know, but if you're scared of the dark ,I'll protect you." Maka smiled at him smugly. Soul slid his hands inside his pockets and smiled, "sure, sure, nothing to worry about with you around, right?" Maka began to smile and retaliate but something stopped her. She and Soul made eye contact before they looked up toward the sky.
"You feel that, Soul Eater?"
"It's a witch."
"A strong one." Soul scanned the area with his sharp red eyes for the witch's location.
"I can't pin the location down, Soul," Maka looked around nervously, "I think we should go."
The two were back to back, "I think it's too late for that, Maka. She's all around us..." The air had turned humid, almost too humid. Neither of them spoke a word until their eyes landed on a figure standing on the farthest side of the training field. "Soul..."
The figure stepped toward them and Maka tensed. The power emitted from this single witch was both ominous and incredible. It was not a force you wanted to be caught out with when you had no wavelength correlation.
Another step.
"Soul..."
He grabbed Maka's forearm roughly, "Hope you're ready for this, Maka." His voice had turned serious and his eyes were glued to the figure before them. "We have to resonate."
"You make it sound like it's easy!" Maka began to panic and Soul jerked her to shut her up. "It's not easy if you sit and think about it! Just do it!"
Another step.
Maka knew there was no way she could do it without practice, she didn't know his wavelength that well anymore! He'd changed so much! It just wasn't possible to pull off. What had a witch this strong been doing near the academy anyway?! In the midst of her thinking, said figure stood before them with glowing yellow eyes.
"Maka! Do it or we die here! Don't choke, dammit!" Soul Eater shot his wavelength through his hand and into her arm and her body jolted in response. The rest had been done on an impulse. Her reflexes reacted naturally to his wavelength and the next thing she knew, she had been wielding a very heavy death scythe that she actually had no control over. What the hell was she doing?! How the hell was she doing it?!
It's not easy if you sit and think about it! Just do it!
Maka's eyes narrowed on the witch and she pushed all of her inconsistent thoughts to the back of her head so she could focus on their wavelengths. She could now hear Soul Eater's voice in her head.
"Alright! Let's play Maka!"
