With an explosion of smoke, the kishin-egg's body evaporated, leaving nothing but a floating red orb in its wake. Maka sighed and wiped her forehead as Lyssa changed back into her human form to claim the soul. Her eyebrows knitted together in confusion as she thought back to the last few battles.

"Wait, isn't this supposed to be my soul? Didn't you get the last one?"

Lyssa froze, her whole face wide with adorable shock as if she couldn't imagine the fact that Maka had asked such a thing.

"D-does Maka-chan think that Lyssa-chan would steal from her? Lyssa-chan would never be that mean…" The younger girl bit her lip and tapped the toe of her shoe behind her in a cute posture.

Maka frowned, but ultimately, she couldn't resist the cute puppy-eyes that the younger girl was giving her, and let the girl claim the soul as her own.

She turned away as Lyssa consumed her prize, and surveyed the battlefield that they'd just fought on. She couldn't help but think about how it felt to fight with Soul; the flawless meshing of their wavelengths, the way that his weapon form balanced evenly in her hands, the small verbal fights they would engage in as Soul would comment that he could see up her skirt from the angle she was holding him at… she missed him. She never would admit that out loud, but it was true. And it wasn't like Lyssa was a bad partner, not at all, but there was something different about her. Something that kept Maka from being able to totally connect to her wavelength. She would have to confer with Stein about this fact. But, for the time being, she would keep an eye on this little girl named Lyssa.

For it was true that Maka was beginning to distrust her. The lying about the souls was one thing, but small items had been disappearing from the apartment. Luckily, she kept her and Soul's rooms locked whenever she wasn't in them, because it seemed lately that anything of value that could fit in a pocket had gone missing. Of course, the girl denied any accusations, and Maka didn't have any proof… but things weren't going missing in the rooms that Lyssa wasn't allowed in either. She never believed that she would miss Soul… but she missed having someone she could trust as a partner.

.:S.E-*-M.A:.

Jack wasn't only an asshole; he was also a terrible meister. Okay, Soul got that it was difficult to wield a scythe. The balance was different than most weapons, and the oversized blade took some time getting used to. But honestly, the guy should have gotten the hang of it by now. Soul couldn't help but wince every time he was dropped onto harsh cobblestones, or when Jack slipped and cut himself by accident. It was a miracle (mostly of Soul's doing) that they managed to harvest any Kishin-eggs at all!

At lest Jack was honest about it; never trying to take too many for himself, and sometimes giving an extra to Soul when he didn't feel like carrying it back home in his hands to store in the special case Stein had given them. But, really, that didn't make up for all the other crap he had to wade through. Honestly, he couldn't help but think that, for all her faults, Maka had known exactly how to wield him.

Finally, Jack somehow managed to slice through the monster, which promptly imploded into the red ball. Soul flashed back to his human form, and tossed the orb at Jack. He didn't feel like eating tonight; for some reason, it just didn't appeal to him.

.:S.E-*-M.A:.

The walk home was always filled with silence. This was how Maka and Lyssa spent most of their time: both wary and unsure of the other. Lyssa had to know that Maka was on to her (there was no way she couldn't), but it seemed like neither side was actually willing to bring it up. Maka finally opened her mouth, about to lay it all out on the line, but then she froze. She knew the sound of those footsteps. Lyssa stopped to look up at her curiously, but Maka kept her eyes glued on the horizon, until the person had cleared the top of the hill. Maka's heart jumped into her throat as her suspicions were confirmed.

"Soul…"