Loud Pipes
by. Poisoned Scarlett
This was, simply put, insanity. It took her a few hours to reach this decision but Yumi was starting to have second thoughts. She had run out of options, true, but there was no need to resort to this. She should have just contacted the police and let them handle it. Perhaps she had lost her mind somewhere between searching for Soul and speaking to Maka because, as Maka changed into her jeans and t-shirt, worrying about them being a little too tight on her, Yumi questioned her own sanity at actually allowing someone as delusional and dangerous as Maka Albarn to search for her apparent lover Soul Evans.
"Let me get this straight... Soul is in the forest somewhere. Like in a cave of some sort?"
"Yes."
"And he is being held captive against his will by a...?"
"Kishin."
"Right. Of course," Yumi cleared her throat. She couldn't believe she was doing this. It was obvious the girl was in desperate need of a good therapy session! "And this Kishin... it eats humans?"
"Not necessarily. You see, there are different breeds of Kishin's. Some were once human, and others were not. This particular one was human once: meaning it underwent a transformation. As a result, it has an insatiable craving for human flesh. But, aside from that, it craves human souls – particularly uncorrupted human souls. The cause of transformation into a Kishin of this kind involves the consumption of human flesh, sometimes bones, followed by swallowing the soul whole. Eat enough of them and you're practically granted to undergo the change."
"That's incredibly stupid – why would someone resort to cannibalism and…swallow the soul? What for?"
"Power. The lure of becoming a Kishin is the power you gain as you change. At first, the consumption of souls improves your health. You gain abnormal strength, sight, smell, hearing," Maka finished clasping her boots on. Yumi glanced behind her, to the door of Maka's room, nervously. But no one came to check on them, not a single orderly or wandering doctor. "You're able to work for longer periods, especially if your job is laborious. You feel better than you've ever felt in your life. At that point, it's nearly impossible to be hurt. You feel invincible. That is, until you pass the beginning stages. Then the cravings set in and your body begins to lose its shape. You start to transform," Maka patted the pockets of her old jeans, the ones she had come in when she had been checked-in by one concerned Ox Ford. She would need to punch him for that when she saw him again. If he hadn't turned her in because he was concerned for her mental health when he heard her discussing these things over the phone with Soul, she would have already finished off the Kishin and Soul would be half-way across the country! "Then you begin to lose your humanity, delving into a sort of savage madness. It's an overwhelming, insatiable, desire for human souls. The flesh part of the deal isn't important anymore – it's only the soul. You lose your consciousness, whatever part made you human, and you become a soul-eating monster: a Kishin."
Yumi stared, wondering if this was all some sort of sick joke Stein set up for all those times she reprimanded him. She took a breath instead. "Alright. Alright, say these Kishin's do exist! Is there anyway we can reverse the change? Some way we can bring them back from their apparent madness?"
"No. All of those human souls cannot be taken back once they've been consumed. They've had their energy absorbed; they exist nowhere. They're gone. Once you reach that point, there is no going back. These people, they're not human anymore. They've sacrificed their humanity for something worse." Maka looked at Yumi solemnly, gravely. "They're monsters now." She then opened the door to her ward and stepped out.
"Wait, we're leaving now?"
"Yes, it's already nightfall. I need to go to his apartment and pick up a few things before we search for him. We'll wait until sunrise to start our search."
"Sunrise? Why – why sunrise?"
"If this thing is hard enough to take down during the day, it'll be near-impossible to kill during the night! They're at an advantage right now and with the weapon I use, I can't risk a mistake." Maka gestured for Yumi to follow and she did, forcing herself not to think about all the rules she was breaking. She was aiding a patient escape! What had gotten into her? But before Yumi could speak, Maka grabbed her hand and pulled her along the hall down to one of the exits. They managed to dodge past Stein's office without a sound, save for Yumi's quiet whimpers here and there.
"Maka, I think this was a mistake—!"
"Regardless, I'm not going back." Maka's grip on Yumi's hand tightened and Yumi suddenly knew this was a bad idea. "I'm going to find Soul one way or another, with or without your help. That idiot wouldn't be able to kill it even if he tried – he's not trained for these Kishin's. He's worked along the east coast too much, these sorts of Kishin's are a new breed for him! They work differently. They're definitely smarter than the ones he's killed before…" Maka muttered, annoyed.
"E-east coast? You mean there's more? Maka, wait, stop! This! All of this! This is insane! You're delusional—!"
"Is that your car, miss Azusa?"
"What—yes?"
"Give me your keys."
"No. No, Maka. Come with me, we're going back inside. I'm sorry, this was a terrible idea from the start and Stein would be appalled to know that I let you go—AH! MY KEYS – no, wait, give those back! Maka!" Yumi gaped after Maka as she ran to her car, throwing the drivers door open and slipping inside without another word at her. "Wait! Don't leave me behind – that's my car, young lady!"
"Then hurry up! I'm running out of time!" Maka checked the time on the dashboard and cursed. It was already four in the morning. The sun would rise soon and Maka wanted to reach Soul while his soul was still inside his body. These Kishin's had a tendency to save their meals for the next day, next week even. With any luck, Soul would just be tied up somewhere in its lair until it grew hungry again. Which, all things considering, would not be long. Maka hadn't read about any recent kidnappings or murders, a definite bad sign for her companion. Hopefully Soul would hold up until she reached him.
"If you're wrong—!" Yumi began, furiously.
Maka pulled out of the parking lot and floored it. "I'm not."
Maka could drive decently despite being holed up in the hospital for the past few months; with only her books to keep her company, and Soul when he dropped by. Although she gave Yumi a few mini-heart attacks every time she made a sharp turn, they arrived at Soul's apartment with little incident. But now there was another problem...
"How are we going to get inside?" Yumi questioned, watching Maka try the knob on Soul's apartment door. Maka reached for the chain around her neck, holding out a single silver key. "That key - he gave it to you? You said your mother gave you that!" She accused, as it had been the only reason Maka was allowed to keep it on her person in the ward.
"Sorry, miss Azusa," Maka apologized, guilty. "He thought I was going to break out eventually so he said it would be a good idea to give me a key to his apartment just in case I needed a place to stay. I wasn't going to leave the hospital, of course. This is a small town. Word of my escape would spread like wildfire and it wouldn't be long after that before someone knew where I was hiding and they informed Doctor Stein of my whereabouts. I wanted to avoid all that trouble, but maybe I should have gone through it after all..." Maka opened the door to his apartment and crossed through the relatively clean living room to his bedroom, where she knew their weapons were kept. "All of this could have been avoided if I did."
"What are we doing here, exactly?" Yumi poked a stray sock on the hall floor with her heel. "Maka?"
"Picking up some necessary equipment."
Yumi wondered over to Maka when she got down on her knees and reached under Soul's unkempt bed. The sight that greeted her both amazed and horrified her.
"What is all of this?" Yumi awed, staring at the weapon arsenal kept under Soul's bed. A variety of weapons were kept in their own cases: they ranged from shotguns to curved sickle blades, their razor edges glinting under the awakening light of the sun that poured through the windows. She had never seen so many weapons in her life; such a wild variety of knives and daggers and pouches of things Yumi really hoped were legal...
"His arsenal. That moron," Maka shook her head, smiling softly. "He doesn't even use half of this! It's all for show, he thinks it's cool." Maka continued to dig under his bed, her eyes shining when her fingers bumped into a familiar wood casing. She pulled out a very long box, about seven feet in width and bearing no other sign as to what laid inside. However, when Maka pulled it open, Yumi felt her stomach drop to her ankles. If that boys collection of guns and knives was unsettling, this was absolutely horrifying.
"I…that…is that a scythe?"
"Yep! I had him hand-crafted by a good friend of mine!" She beamed, oblivious to Yumi's nausea. "It's unlike your traditional scythe, everything about him is customized! I had the shaft made out of a special type of metal in order to prevent breakage—!"
"That – that can't be legal! There is absolutely no way you can wield something of that magnitude! It's twice your size!" She shrieked.
Maka frowned as she pulled out her scythe, marveling the familiar weight of it. It had certainly been too long since she last wielded her scythe, having been kept under tight security in that loony bin. Soul, as he promised, kept her scythe in top condition. She would even swear he had recently gave it a little polishing, as the tip of the curved blade glinted without being told to. If he had, perhaps she'd forgive for going out and getting himself caught like this.
"I assure you, miss Azusa, that I am proficient in wielding a scythe. I had a good teacher," Maka briskly said. She grabbed one of the shotguns and picked up a box of ammunition while she was at it. Although she was reluctant to use something as noisy as a gun, she did not know what to expect from this Kishin. Without a doubt, it would be far more powerful than the others she had faced before. After all, it had had more than enough time to gather souls while she had been kept under surveillance at the hospital. "It's time. I know where it is – I can sense it."
"Sense? Wha...?"
"Let's go!"
Yumi rubbed the bridge of her nose but she trudged after Maka. Kishin's, souls, now she could sense these things? Yumi didn't know what to believe anymore. As Maka carefully brought the scythe out into the hall, hurrying down the stairs to the car before anyone could spot her, Yumi once more contemplated the validity of her arguments. If she were telling the truth, that meant they were about to barrel head-first into utmost danger with a giant scythe and a shotgun...
"Be careful with the seats! I just got them refurbished a month ago!"
"Don't worry! I'll be extra-careful!"
"Thank you," Yumi sighed, exhausted. She could use a cup of coffee and a couple of hours of sweet, sweet sleep. "Where are we going again?"
"You mean me," Maka shut the door to the trunk and set her hands on her hips. When she looked up, her expression left no room for argument. "You're not coming with me. It's too dangerous. You should stay here at the apartment until I come back."
"Excuse me?" Yumi sputtered, furiously. "No! As your primary doctor, I am liable—!"
"After this, I'm expecting a clean check-out from that place," Maka coldly stated. Yumi hardened her eyes. "I am not mad, I'm not insane. I'm possibly the sanest person you know and you should be more grateful for the work I do around here!"
"Work you do –? You were a waitress in a bar before you were committed!"
"I work as a hunter!" Maka snapped. "The job as a waitress is a cover, and my primary income for the matter. I don't get paid for being a hunter, not around these parts, but Death City is a hot spot for these things. I can't afford to leave. Kishin's come from all over the place to settle here and I have made it my duty to keep them at bay and protect the citizens from this town!"
"Preposterous—!"
"Whether you believe me or not is not my problem," Maka flatly said. "Right now, I have to go save Soul." She rounded the front of the car and opened the door to the drivers seat, ignoring Yumi's gawking at her audacity. She was only partially surprised when Yumi ripped the door to the passenger seat open and seated herself inside with a stubborn cross of her arms.
"I'm coming with you."
Maka stared at her for a moment then gunned the car to life. "Okay but stay behind me at all times – I don't know what to expect from this Kishin."
"Don't you hunt them?" Yumi taunted. "Surely you have experience?"
"This one has had time to grow. It's different now," Maka grimly answered, and they didn't speak while Maka drove them to the location she knew Soul was being kept at.
He felt like utter shit.
He wouldn't lie: it was a pretty shitty move on the Kishin's part. Then again, Kishin's were chock-full of shitty moves; he would know, as he'd been outsmarted by them a few times during his early years as a hunter. But, at his age, he almost felt embarrassed by how easily he had been snatched off the steps of the hospital. He hadn't even had time to stash his wallet in his pocket before he was being whisked away by this ugly thing, which was now staring at him from across the room. It had been staring at him for the past few hours now and it was really starting to bug Soul.
He fingered the chain that hung him from the ceiling and clamped his jaw shut to withhold a growl. His arms felt numb and his joints screamed with pain every time he moved. He had been knocked out for the majority of the trip but, wherever he was, he was royally screwed if he didn't think of an escape plan fast.
"What're you starin' at?" Soul sneered. "If you're gonna' eat me, then do it, you ugly fuck!"
The Kishin snarled lowly, baring its teeth at him. It was a gaunt thing, with desiccated ash gray skin pulled taut over its stretched-out, bony, frame. It's glaring yellow eyes were pushed into its sockets and what lips it had were tattered and bloody and pulled back along sharp spikes of needle teeth. It's tongue lashed out to lick its raw lips and Soul grimaced when it started to gnaw on its fingers again. It seemed to be some sort of anxious habit it had and Soul had reason to believe it did it often, given the bloody and shredded skin around the tips of its dirty fingers. Not to mention the chipped nails that...it was starting to eat now.
"Dude, that's gross."
The Kishin licked the blood off its hands, its black eyes sparkling brighter with bloodlust. Perhaps not the best comment Soul could have made so he started over:
"So, this what you do for fun 'round these parts?" He just watched dryly as the Kishin gnawed on its fingers faster, slurping up the blood that fell down its arms. "Fuck me, you're not even playing the part right…" He sighed, tiredly. "The hell you waiting for..." He dared to move and hissed when his muscles ached in protest, the chains rattling. The Kishin hissed like an enraged cat, a warning for him to stay still or else.
Maka, she was truly his only shot at getting out of this alive. Unfortunately for him, she was interned at the hospital. But surely she'd know something was wrong when he didn't arrive like he usually did? Then again, he got her locked up in that place in the first place. He wouldn't be surprised if she just left him here, with this big ugly thing, for being a total jackass this entire time. He could have treated her a lot better than he generally did. He wasn't quite sure himself why she persisted with him, though; he would have given up on himself a long time ago if handed the task.
Soul knew he wasn't easy to deal with: it was why his relationships went to hell and he hardly had friends. Then again, in this grim job, friends were a liability. He supposed relationships were, too, especially since you'd be hiding almost everything from your partner. He guessed he hadn't missed out on much; women were overrated, anyway. Except Maka, she was special; very special. He had first met Maka when he caught wind of this small Nevada town, appropriately dubbed Death City. To his pleasant surprise, he had caught Maka in the middle of heated battle against one of those ghouls and had been impressed by her moves. He hadn't seen anyone move like that since Black Star, which was saying something. Black Star was infamous around Japan for his unorthodox fighting methods and, of course, loud mouth and huge ego. If the Nakatsukasa clan hadn't taken him in at the tender age of ten, someone would've shot his mouth off his face by now...
They had gotten off to a rocky start, he and Maka. Perhaps because he had absolutely no filter and he had a penchant for picking fights or because of plain old bad luck. But he figured it was because he had mentioned her boobs, her undersized boobs. They were undersized compared to the women back in New York, anyway. But the comment hadn't sat well with her and he'd gotten his first taste of pure hunter-strength when she punched him.
Then she got thrown into the padded room – technically his fault, as she had been bitching at him to go back to where he came from because he wouldn't be able to handle these types of Kishin. Although he had proved himself to her when they fought alongside a few times, she didn't trust him with this particular monster. She, herself, had been hunting him down for a good two weeks before Soul arrived.
But it was good riddance until he realized he needed her more than he wanted to admit. She knew the territory like the back of her hand, she knew the habits of the Kishin's that lurked around Death City, and she had the proper weapons and strategies to dispose of them. She also had that handy, overdeveloped, skill of hers: being able to sense them when they were nearby. He'd only heard a few people being sensitive to their presence but Maka's sensitivity was off the charts. Just his luck.
She was practically his ticket to getting rid of this monster which had been prowling the streets during the darkest hours of the night; searching for a few souls to harvest. So Soul had done what he always did when he needed something: he donned a disguise. Two days later he was aspiring musician Soul Evans, Maka's loving and absolutely normal boyfriend slash future fiancée. That Doctor Stein had bought the act, Yumi Azusa was only an obstacle when he wanted to meet with Maka. And Maka? Well, she didn't need to know. Ever.
Soul looked up through the fringes of his hair when the Kishin suddenly moved, its nostrils flaring. It stood up at full-height, a growl ripping its throat as it sniffed the air. Its caved in stomach reminded Soul of his own neglected one and the hunger pains came back. If he managed to undo the chains the Kishin had wrapped him in, the first place he would hit would be a burger joint. Then he would go check on Maka, maybe sneak in some fries and a strawberry milkshake to appease her wrath at his own carelessness. Maybe beg a bit; Maka was terrifying when she was pissed. Then Soul frowned, not liking how he bent to her will so easily. That was another thing about Maka: she made him do things no one else had ever succeeded in making him do. That unnerving power she had over him... it couldn't be good, that's for sure.
"OH GOD WHAT IS THAT THING?"
Soul started at the shriek, stilling a groan afterwards when his exhausted body protested against it. Wait a sec, I recognize that voice…Maka's therapist?
"Yumi – get back, it spotted you! Get behind me now!"
"OH MY GOD IT'S MOVING! MAKA, IT'S MOVING – !"
"I know it's moving but if you don't move then it's going to come after you!"
"Maka?" Soul hoarsely called, finding some strength to pull himself up at the mention of her name. He was met with one worried Maka Albarn, clad in tight-fitting black jeans and a white v-neck shirt. Despite the bad lighting, he couldn't help but stare just a little longer than he should have: she didn't look half-bad. He strained his sight, trying to drink in more of her. Actually, she looked great. Honestly, she looked hot, especially with that scythe and— "Hey! Is that my shotgun? What the hell, Maka, that's mine!"
"I know!" Maka snapped, breaking her worried thoughts of him. If he had enough strength to bitch, he was just fine. She pointed at him using her scythe. "I'm borrowing it. Now shut up and—a-are you hurt bad?"
He managed a crooked grin. "Nothing I can't sleep off. You?"
"Same," she nodded, steeling her tone again. "Then try to free yourself! I'll take care of this thing while you do!"
"Don't kill yourself!"
"I should be telling you that!" She shouted back, swallowing down anymore comments when the Kishin roared and barreled right towards her. She deflected a blow with her scythe and ran straight at it, relishing the freedom of being able to fight again.
Soul made a noise of distaste in the back of his throat at the idea of letting her fight alone but did as he was told, grimacing when his arms ached with the pain of holding his full weight for so long. He had only managed to make himself more uncomfortable when Yumi Azusa appeared in his peripheral, pale-faced and shaking. It gave him some satisfaction to see her so out of her element: that doctor had been a pain in his ass since they first met. Haughty, uptight, and strict, she reminded him of his tightass piano instructor when he was thirteen. And like his piano instructor, she usually got the full brunt of his sarcasm. But, unlike his piano instructor, she bit back. Hard.
"Th-that thing that's she's fighting...is it really a – ?"
"Kishin. Demon. They're interchangeable," Soul watched her grow paler, if possible. "Look, I know it looks crazy, but you're not imagining this. It's real, it can hurt you, and if we don't take care of it now, it'll continue to hurt more people. And probably kill us while it's at it."
"Crazy?" Yumi laughed, humorlessly. "Maka—she was telling the truth all along. We forced her to take all sorts of medication, we made her question her own reality…if I hadn't decided to let her find you, you could have died because of me!"
"Don't sweat it, I don't expect everyone to believe that the monsters under their beds are real. Definitely not a licensed crazy doctor," Soul grunted when Yumi undid one of the chains. Her eyes ran down his bloody chest: he had definitely gotten into a scuffle with that thing, judging by the tears in his shirt and the crusted blood on his skin; nicks on his cheek, his neck. "You'll be alright. The important thing is I'm not dead," he managed a quick smirk at this before it was replaced with a grim line, "and the murders stop today." Soul snarled and dropped to the floor when Yumi finally undid the final chain, sucking in his groans when his arms seared with pain. His fingers dug into the skin of his shoulders and he rose, gradually shaking off the aches in his joints.
"What are you doing?" Yumi asked, hushed, when he moved away from her. "You're hurt! You shouldn't move around too much!"
"I'm fine. Maka! You alright – ?" He cringed when she shot him an acidic look, dodging another attack from the rabid beast. "…Yeah, you're fine… Hey, you, follow me!" Soul gestured to the dark hole she and Maka had walked through previously. "You need to get out, now!"
"But—!"
"It's dangerous, you'll get in the way if you stay!" Soul pushed her towards the veil of black she would need to wad her way through to reach the exit. "C'mon, move it!" Yumi felt as if she had spent years in that oppressive black before they made it to the mouth of the cave and Soul directed her to the car, ordering her to turn it on and await further instruction.
Kishin's…they're real. They're real.
Yumi sat in the car, trembling, pale with the knowledge that Kishin's were very real and she had held a perfectly sane girl against her will in the psych ward. Other thoughts, frightening thoughts, began to arise. Just how many of those things roamed Death City, the country, the world? Just how many people had to die because Stein and she restrained Maka onto a bed when she shouted to be set free, when they believed she was hallucinating? The thought haunted Yumi and she almost didn't notice Maka holding up one limping Soul because of it.
She was only made aware of them when Soul slammed his palm on the hood of the car, hollering for her to wake the hell up and drive.
"The hospital?" Yumi offered, still numbed from the days events.
"Nope – my place. My place, now!" Soul strained, shutting his eyes. Yumi nervously glanced at the rear view mirror, only catching a glimpse of the blood running down Soul's shoulder and Maka staunching the wound with his jacket.
"Hospital!" Maka ordered, ignoring Soul's burning look. "Now, before he bleeds out!"
"I'm not gonna' bleed out, it's not as bad as it looks - ow, sonofabitch! Drive right, dammit, I'm wounded here!" Soul barked at Yumi, sucking back another whine when the car lurched.
"Suck it up! If you hadn't thrown yourself in front of me like that we wouldn't be in this mess right now! Why did you do that?" Yumi heard Maka hiss although her efforts to sound furious faltered with the worry that rushed her words. "What you did was so stupid, so reckless, why did you—?"
"I did it cuz if I didn't, you'd be dead right now. I told you not to get yourself killed…I meant it."
"But that doesn't mean you had to go throw yourself in front of me!"
"Maka, later…when I'm conscious enough to give a fuck."
"You're so stupid," Maka whispered, tremulously. Her fingers gripped his arm, her shaky breaths brushed his cheek. She was shaken up, probably because she never imagined him pulling such a shitty move. Perhaps Kishin's weren't the only ones with crap moves, Soul thought faintly. "You could have died."
"Still alive," Soul reminded weakly.
Yumi gave them privacy when she saw Maka lean her head against his, her hand holding his as tightly as she could.