Kuroi Chi no Yume 4

^^^^CHAPTER 4^^^^

He almost made it back to the apartment before Black Star caught up with him.

"Hey Soul! We're playing basketball, wanna join?" Before he could come up with a passable excuse to return to his apartment and hopefully catch at least a little sleep before the mission Maka was sure to pick out, the blue-haired ninja grabbed his elbow and practically dragged him to the court where Tsubaki, Liz, Patty and Kid were already waiting.

"Alright!" Black Star announced in his famously loud voice, "it's girls against guys! We can totally take these chicks, Soul." He added with a confident grin, nudging the scythe's ribs hard.

"Yeah, okay sure." Soul sighed, placating his loud-mouthed friend. He hoped Maka wouldn't pick anything too gruelling for their mission, but knowing how she liked to push her limits…

Maka examined the board, thoughtfully. She allowed herself to feel a moment of regret as the mission she had been eyeing yesterday had already been taken by Ox today. She should have come sooner.

"Oh well," Maka murmured to herself, "There has to be something else here…" She glanced at a newly posted mission near the top corner that caught her eye. Twin Kishin-eggs, thought to be responsible for nearly 20 recent murders in Germany. It was a bit of a way to travel and a bit of a difficult mission, recommended for a two star technician. Maka bit her lip. It did sound like a fairly difficult mission.

Especially right after their recent failure.

An image of Soul standing in front of her, arms spread, chest ripped open with the blow meant for her… Maka clenched her fist determinedly.

I won't let that happen! Never again! She ignored the fact that her hand was trembling as she draped her and Soul's marker over the card pinned to the wall. The "working on it" sash nearly slipped off when she pulled the information papers out from under it. Enclosed were two economy class tickets, a couple maps and some rough sketches of their prey.

I will become stronger! I'll never let Soul go through that again! Maka set her jaw determinedly. I can do this! Resolute, she spun on her heel and nearly collided with Dr. Stein.

"Oh, sorry," Maka apologized, moving to go around the man.

"Ah, Maka. Actually, I was looking for you." Stein said, turning his analytical gaze on the young technician.

"Huh?"

"It's about the black blood." Before the professor could continue, he had Maka's barrage of questions to contend with.

"Really? Is everything okay? Have you found a way to get rid of it? Is Soul-"

"Hey, hey one at a time," The doctor interrupted, holding up his palms. "I've just been thinking if you're planning on attempting another Soul Resonance you might want to rethink it."

"What? Why?" Maka frowned, confused. In honesty, she was really disappointed by this. Being able to use the Witch Hunter was an area of pride for her, plus it was their hidden ace to fall back on. And with the mission she had chosen, it very well might be necessary… she clenched her fist a little tighter, slightly crunching the details of their mission.

"As far as I can tell, the black blood is a tool used for developing a Kishin, like the Devil Sword you faced back in Italy," Maka flinched slightly at the memory, "The black blood had nearly completely eclipsed the soul of the technician. You could probably see the results for yourself." Maka nodded, remembering the strange attitude of the Devil Sword. "The effect on the meister seems to be loss of sanity. What worries me is the effect it might have on Soul." Maka felt her stomach clench.

"What's that?" She hoped her voice didn't convey the worry she felt.

"The goal of the black blood is to create a kishin by devouring any soul it can, including that of its technician. I noticed that the weapon and the technician never aligned souls in Italy. This would support my guess that opening your soul to the black blood like that would result in it being devoured."

"But Soul wouldn't-"

"He might not be in control." Stein interrupted, taking the pause to blow a puff of skull-shaped smoke from the cigarette he had lit during his explanation. "We really don't have much information on the black blood; we have no idea what will happen." Maka noticed a glazed look in the professor's eyes and could guess that whatever was running through his mind involved a degree of dissection. Stein snapped back to the present with another drag on his smoke and turned back to the young meister.

"At any rate, I would prefer waiting until you were in a more controlled environment so that the effects of the black blood could be observed." Maka sighed. It figured the teacher was more interested in research than in the well-being of her and Soul.

"Okay." She finally agreed, hoping it was a promise she could keep. If it came down to it, she secretly knew they would still have to go for it.

"Well then, good luck on your mission." Stein gave a jaunty wave and turned back the way he'd come. Maka glanced guiltily again at the mission she'd chosen. Another reason it would be wise to choose an easier mission…

"Hey Soul, what are you doing?" Black Star cried, "You practically just handed the ball off to her!" The blue-haired boy exclaimed pointing to a giggling Patty that was swapping high-fives with her older sister.

"Uh, sorry." Soul muttered.

"Geez, what's up with you, the girls are going to kick our butts at this rate!"

"Going to? I think we already are!" Liz taunted the prideful ninja while Patty made a face at the boys team.

"Soul-kun, are you okay?" Tsubaki asked, peering closer at the scythe weapon. She was the one to watch out for.

"Yeah, fine!" He coaxed out a lopsided grin, hoping that line of questioning would end with that.

"Maybe you should take a break or something, man." Black Star frowned, looking a little closer at his friend.

"Yeah…well, I guess I'll head home then, sorry about throwing the game."

"What! Who says the game is over!" Black Star exclaimed. "Without you, that means the great me will have the ball more, which means that we'll kick some serious ass now! Hahaha!" Black Star tilted his head back, laughing heartily.

"Is he serious?" Liz whispered to Tsubaki who only sighed and shook her head in reply.

"That's just how he is…"

Soul stuffed his hands in his pockets on the way home, fingering the clear plastic bag of pills.

Man, I hope I can get some sleep tonight. No doubt Maka picked out a nice difficult mission for us tomorrow. I really hope we don't have to travel too far… He opened their apartment door surprised but not unhappy to find Maka already making supper.

"Hey, I thought it was my turn…"

"Yeah, well you weren't home and I was hungry already." His meister replied, setting plates on the table.

"Oh, sorry," it seemed like he was saying that a lot lately, "Black Star dragged me into a basketball game."

"It's fine," Maka shrugged, using a pot holder to lift the dinner off the hot stove. "But we're going to have to get to be early tonight, our flight for Germany leaves at 6am tomorrow morning."

"Germany?" Soul felt his stomach clench, what kind of mission had she chosen now?

"Yeah," Maka replied, tossing him a slightly crumpled set of mission details. Soul felt his stomach tighten more just looking at the mission.

Twin Kishin-eggs? One wasn't enough? Geez Maka, you had to pick to toughest mission there was? Soul allowed himself a small smile. Then again, this is Maka we're talking about…it figures she would pick the hardest one…Still…

"Hey Maka, are you sure about this mission? Doesn't it seem like a bit much for a one star technician?" As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Soul knew he'd lost all hope of trying to convince his stubborn meister to change missions. If he had said it was too much for him, she would have considered it, but no, he had to go and act like she was the one who wasn't ready for this. Her pride would never let her switch missions now. Ironically it was his pride that refused to say the mission was too much for him.

A rock and a hard place.

"It's not so bad. I'm strong enough to handle it. I know it." The determined glint in her eye dared her partner to tell her otherwise.

"Right." Soul sighed, tucking into his dinner without another word. Maka frowned at her partner's unenthusiastic response.

"Really, I think we can handle this, Soul. And we always have the Witch Hunter-" Maka paused a moment as if considering something and the scythe weapon glanced up, questioningly.

"What?" He asked. Maka bit her lip a moment and looked as though she wanted to say something before shrugging it off.

"Nothing," And before the topic could continue she added, "Pass the salt." He obliged, handing her the shaker. The rest of the meal continued in silence and when it had concluded, Soul stood to clear the table without a word. The unspoken agreement that Maka had cooked, so he did the dishes still stood.

"Well, I'm going to go pack then." Maka told her partner, stretching her shoulders.

"Okay, see you tomorrow." Soul replied, without glancing up from the pot he was scrubbing.

"Night."

"G'night."

You should have told him! Maka chided herself as she tossed a change of clothes into her suitcase. She bit her lip, thinking again of Stein's warning to them. Synchronising souls with her partner could activate the black blood and risk Soul trying to devour her soul. Maka shook her head as she rifled through her closet looking for another sweater.

There is no way he would ever try to devour my soul. He's my partner and I trust him. Maka paused a moment, considering that thought.

"I trust him." She murmured aloud. It felt odd to say, but at the same time right. Trust was something she struggled with as many people in her life had let her down before. For someone to make it past those barriers she had put up around her heart and earn her trust was truly a feat.

How could I not trust him? He jumped in front of a sword for me…he saved my life… The girl shook her head, pigtails flopping against her chin, holding back the tears building in her eyes.

I trust him. That was enough. Everything would be fine.

I trust him.