Hello again everyone who has stayed with me this far.
Before we get to the story I want to say sorry for being kinda moody the past week. I've been really stressed out with finals coming up soon and I've been kinda irritable.
Anyways, moving on to the story!
Disclaimer:: Riika does not own Soul Eater. If she did, well, I think you can probably figure out who'd be with who by now.
It was nearing dusk and he'd been running around the city for over an hour. He knew that the weapon wouldn't be back at the hotel yet. He knew Soul thought he was there, waiting for him to return. Still, he couldn't find the albino anywhere he looked. He was out of breath, panting. "Excuse me, sir, have you seen a boy my age with white hair and red eyes come by?" he asked of one shopkeepers he happened to pass by.
The elderly man shook his head and Kid took off again, not wanting to waste another second lingering. Soul, you idiot! He repeated in his head for the thousandth time. Never before would he have imagined he'd be running around such an amazing city in search of Soul Eater Evans.
He let out a sigh as he rounded a corner into an alleyway. He ran to the other side, pausing to look around, trying to get an idea of where Soul could be. His soul perception wasn't working right amidst his anger and shock.
"Kid."
He whirled around upon hearing the all-too-familiar voice of the scythe, but he was nowhere to be seen. He walked back down the alley. "Is that you?" he asked skeptically.
"Of course, who else would it be?" The confident attitude had him almost convinced, though he moved slowly towards the source of the voice.
"Where are you?" he called into the darkness. He felt something fall onto his shoulder and he took it in his hand.
"Right behind you." The voice changed to one more feminine and he barely had time to register that what he was holding was a rose petal before everything went dark.
The weapon sighed, leaning back against the bench. He'd found somewhere he was sure Kid wouldn't find him. If he had even been looking. He doubted it, though he couldn't be sure. He stared up at the sky, reflecting on whether it had been a good idea to take off like that. He'd probably confused the hell out of Kid. And not only that, there was the possibility of Kid finding the note he'd written.
Soul, you idiot. You should go talk to him. Be honest. What's the worst that could happen? He thought about it before answering himself. "I could lose him. He could hate me," he said with a sullen sigh.
"Maybe." He stiffened, shifting his gaze down and to his right. There was an elderly woman sitting on the other end of the bench. Her silver hair was tucked into a neat bun and she was pulling a threaded needle through a piece of fabric, turning it now and then to see which way to go next. "Or your feelings could be reciprocated."
He watched her as she worked efficiently but precisely on her embroidery. He hadn't realized she'd changed thread colors until there were already several rows of blue next to the green."I don't think so. He's never shown an interest before," he replied, sadness creeping into his tone.
The woman finished off the last row of blue and tied the knot before cutting the extra string. "You never know. He may have been more oblivious than you were," she pointed out. "Besides, if you don't follow your heart, how will you ever get what you want?" She gave a smile, handing him the small piece of cloth she'd been working on. "You should go to him."
Soul flattened out the handkerchief on his leg and his crimson eyes widened in surprise. Embroidered in the bottom left corner was the name EVANS in an elegant red script. There was a flower stem laced through it and off to one side there was an iris, pastel blue and dripping red. The red drops that seemed to be flowing from the fragile flower turned into a perfectly symmetrical heart. How did she know my name was Evans?
"It's amazing. Thank-" He turned to look at her, to thank her for the gift, but she was gone. He glanced around, not finding her anywhere. If it weren't for the perfectly real piece of silk he was holding, he would think he imagined her. She's got a point though. I'll never know the truth if I sit here doing nothing.
Steeling his decision in his mind, mainly so he wouldn't chicken out, he tucked the handkerchief into his pocket and set his course for the last place he'd seen Kid. Juliet's House.
It was dark by the time he got to the Capulet's house. Lucky for him, the gates weren't closed yet. He made his way into the courtyard, glancing around. No Kid. He let out a soft sigh. Figures he'd have gone back already. He skimmed the wall again, searching for the note he'd left. He saw that it was still in the exact position he had left it. He noticed that there was one beside it now, though, folded in a similar way and seemingly stuck there in a hurry. He was tempted to pull it out and read it, to find out whose it was. But he reminded himself that if it was folded it probably wasn't meant for just anyone to see.
He turned to face the statue of Juliet. She looked vaguely similar to the woman he'd just met. "You didn't let anything stop you from being with your true love. Was it hard?" he asked. He'd never actually read the story, but he'd heard Maka talking about it. True love, secret meetings, mixed messages, they died in the end. It didn't really sound interesting to him, but he was starting to understand it a bit better.
He turned abruptly, heading back in the direction of the hotel. It was possible the reaper was already back there, waiting.
He never made it that far.
As he turned into an alleyway, hoping to cut off a few minutes of the walk, he stopped dead in his tracks. There was something hanging from the wall and it seemed all too familiar to be coincidence. He walked closer slowly, recognizing the shape as a jacket. Standing just a few feet away, he could see the black outline of it and the glint of something white on the shoulders in the half-light. His heart stopped and he could feel his blood go cold, freezing him in place. That's...!
He struggled against the weight that threatened to drag him down and forced himself closer. There was a dagger stuck into the exact center of the collar of the jacket. He knew if Kid could see it, as upset as he would be about his jacket being torn, he would be happy about it. Pinned between the jacket and a flower he didn't bother to focus on was a sheet of paper. He plucked it from its place, sending a few loose petals floating downwards.
I know your name now Evans. Do you want to play a game? Meet us at midnight in the arena. Have fun sneaking in! It was signed with a letter B and a quick sketch of a rose. He didn't need to think to know who had sent it. He growled, tossing the note aside and ripping the dagger from the wall. He caught Kid's jacket before it could hit the ground. He shook the rest of the rose petals from the dagger and crushed them underfoot before slipping the dagger through his belt-loop. He may be a deadly weapon, but it couldn't hurt to have back up. Right?
He checked his phone. 9:18. He had a lot of time before he had to be in the arena. He threw Kid's jacket over his shoulder, heading back out the alley the way he'd come. He felt as if fire was burning through his veins, pushing him to move forward. Everything about this screamed trap, but he didn't care. He wanted to-no, needed to-get Kid back. And there was nothing that was going to stop him. Especially not a psycho witch and her infuriatingly bipolar weapon.
"Ow," he muttered as he tried to sit up. His head was pounding and the sickeningly sweet smell of roses hung thick in the air. It took him a few tries before he managed to push himself up so he was half-sitting and half-leaning on his arms. He glanced around in the darkness, even though he knew he couldn't see anything. "Where am I?" he wondered.
He heard a click and a door opened, spilling light into the dark room. He glanced away from the light, shielding his eyes. "He'll be here soon, Kid. Are you prepared?"
"Prepared? For what?" he asked in confusion. He peeked through his fingers to the person in the doorway, but all he could see was the silhouette of a girl.
Laughter echoed around the little room. "For your final match, Kid. Don't tell me you've forgotten that you've participated in death matches all day. You're a finalist, Kid. All you have to do is defeat the Evans boy and you'll be champion. Don't you want that?" she told him sweetly, the lie slipping off her tongue easier than the truth ever would have.
Champion...? Do I want to be champion? he pondered. His head felt fuzzy and he turned his body back towards the darkness. The absence of light was easier to deal with than the brightness behind him. He inhaled sharply as the breeze swept through the room, stinging his arms. He assumed they were battle wounds, recognizing the coppery scent of blood even amidst the floral perfume. Something flashed before his eyes and he could see himself with a weapon in each hand tearing apart his enemies. "I want to be the best."
"So you'll fight the Evans boy, then?"
A devilish smile crept onto his face as he tilted his head upside-down to see the shadowed figure in the doorway. "Yes, and I will kill him."
So you know how last chapter I said this would be the last?
I lied. There's another! I didn't plan this I swear! It just turned out longer than I thought and it's enough to make into two chapters.
The next one's the last one though. Seriously this time.
Ready for the end? I am! I've got a bunch of one shots planned for a few different couples and I'm excited to get to them.
Reviews and requests are always loved.
*yawn* Riika's got some kits to take care of for a while. See you next chapter, nya~