Episode 26: It's the thought that counts, right!
6:06 p.m., same day—barely an hour to go before the party starts and Shibusen officials were seen scurrying about making sure that everything was ready. With everyone i.e. the students, their parents, tourists, average citizens, and the media, all waiting anxiously for the so-called, "Party of the Year", everything must go off perfectly.
That was the plan, but at the Death Room, the atmosphere was anything but perfect.
"Where are they?" Azusa began to panic as no matter how much she focused and repositioned the cameras, she has yet to locate a single witch. Then, the communication lines opened up and Sid's voice was heard. "Sid reporting: No signs of them in the square." He was then followed by Kilik, Ox, and Kim—all of whom had the same disappointing report.
"I see," Azusa clenched her teeth. It would seem that despite her vigilance, the targets were still able to elude her…all thanks to the foolish actions of some people. She gave a long cold stare at Marie and the Shinigami.
"I-I guess I better get back to work," Marie smiled, walking slowly towards the exit.
"Well, I have to go somewhere too, so…" the Shinigami chuckled on his way out.
All of a sudden, a pair of hands reached forth and grabbed them by the shoulder. A cold chill ran down their spines as they turned to see Azusa, her cold stare now frigid, "After getting me into this mess…you don't plan on making me handle it alone, are you!" she grinned.
As the Shinigami and his accomplice face the frozen depths of hell, at Soul & Maka's apartment, the mood was a bit cheerier. Thanks to the loud and noisy activities outside, Soul woke up and found himself in his room. The lights were out and the window was open so it was a bit dark and cold…
Achoo!
He sneezed and then groaned, "What time is it?" He reached into the darkness and felt the lamp and alarm clock on his bedside table.
Click!
"I'm gonna be late!" he immediately got up as soon as he saw the time. But when he tried to stand, it was then that he felt just how tired and aching his muscles were. He forced himself to take a step, only to fall down on his face. Weak and tired, he couldn't help but appreciate how nice and comfy the floor was. To think that the cold, hard, wooden floor felt so good, no wonder Black Star and Tsubaki slept in futons. Wooden floors = awesome beds. Who knew!
As he slowly drifted into sleep once more, the thoughts of yesterday's hardships lingered in his mind: the difficulty of learning how to fight alone, spending all night training his newfound skills, and finally surviving Justin Law in a one-on-one fight. He heaved a sigh of relief as such worries were behind him now. All that was left was to enjoy his well-earned rest and dream of better days with none other than his beloved…
"Maka!" he gasped, shocking himself awake. "Darn it!" he hit the floor, cursing himself for almost forgetting why he went through all that hard training in the first place.
It was all for that girl. He wanted to show her how strong and dependable he was. You see, during the Kishin incident, he fell under the maddening influence of black blood and the person that risked everything to save him was Maka. From that moment on, he was always in awed by her. Despite her headstrong and stubborn attitude as well as flat-as-a-board body, she was undoubtedly the best thing that ever came into his life since the piano.
"I can't give up. Not now," he said to himself as he slowly got up to his feet.
With the lamp and alarm clock telling him there was still time left, he managed to get to the door. Half-expecting her to be on the other side, he found a glowing pumpkin instead.
Made of plastic with a small candle inside, it sat atop the table lighting only a small portion of the room. Looking about, nobody seemed to be around. "It figures, considering what time it was, she already went ahead," he thought. Then, as he approached the plastic pumpkin, something surprising caught his attention.
"What's this?" he wondered, seeing two gift boxes behind the pumpkin. One was larger than the other, but both were covered with the same design wrapping paper—black overall with shinigami skulls and crossbones.
"For Soul," read the card. It was probably from Maka. Opening the larger one first, he was surprised to find a crisp black tux complete with a dark red tie. Seeing this, there was no doubt in his mind that it came from Maka since no one knew his taste in suits better than that her.
"Wait a minute!" he gasped. If that was true, then this gift meant that she was expecting him to wear it which further meant that she wanted him to be at the party with her.
"Ha-ha-ha!" he couldn't help himself from laughing for being such a fool. Had he been a meister, he would've hit himself with his own weapon.
Opening the smaller box, he found a small red flask labeled, "Get well soon!" Considering the first gift, this might be a pain reliever or cure of some sort to help him get to the party in one piece. He smiled, thinking of how thoughtful Maka's gifts were.
"Bottoms up!" he drank it all down in one go.
Thirty minutes before show time, the Panting Sun finally sets and disappears over the horizon. With that, the Grinning Moon gracefully enters the scene and bathes the land with a gentle glow. In its wake, the city comes alive to greet the night with a magnificent show of colorful lights.
Looking at the spectacular view from one of the high balconies of the school, Death the Kid happily stood there smiling as he could see it all in flames…