"Kim maybe? No...she likes Ox.." Maka mumbled under her breath. "Well maybe Jackie then? No..she might like Harvar.."
"Maka? What are you rambling on about?" Liz inquired.
It was the wonderful period of lunch, and the gang had all sat around a large table to eat in peace. Maka had been spacing out, randomly mumbling the names of girls she knew. Her food was steadily growing cold, and her friends were the tiniest bit concerned for her.
"She's trying to find me a girlfriend," Soul sighed. "She thinks It'll make Blair leave me alone."
There was a collective look of confusion from the people sitting at the table. Kid, Patty and Liz stared at him like he was stupid, Black*Star raised his eyebrows, and Tsubaki gave him a nervous smile. Soul looked away, shoving his hands into his pockets. There were a few seconds of pause before Liz spoke again.
"Ummmm... A girlfriend? Really?" Liz sputtered.
"What's the big deal?" Soul demanded, his temper rising.
"It's just-" Liz began.
"I thought you liked Maka and Maka liked you," Patty chimed in before she could be shushed.
Maka snapped out of her train of thought and slammed down on the table roughly, shooting up from her chair. They couldn't possibly be serious. "Wh-what?! That's insane! I don't like that lazy idiot!" she shouted, pointing at him
"Pfft! Who'd ever date a flat chested girl like her anyways," Soul muttered, staring across the room, chin resting on his palm.
"I think you would," Black*Star teased, smiling.
The synchronization of their movements was close to perfect as Soul and Maka chopped him violently on the head. They regained their composure quickly, sitting down with equal amounts of red on their cheeks. Patty started to laugh uncontrollably at Black*Star twitching on the floor.
"Now now," Tsubaki squeaked, trying to calm the group down.
"I kind of agree with Patty," Kid remarked, folding his arms. "You do seem to care about each other at a higher level than regular friends."
"You too Kid?!" Maka whined. "How are you guys even coming to these conclusions?!"
"Yeah!" Soul backed her up. "How does that even make sense?"
"Oh, I dunno.. You're only straight, best friends and tell each other practically everything," Liz joked sarcastically. "You live in the same house, not to mention you both have sacrificed yourselves for the other countless times."
"That's what a weapon's supposed to do for his meister," Soul growled. "Nothin' out of the ordinary."
"So what you're tellin' me, is that you wouldn't mind if Maka dated someone that wasn't you?" Black*Star asked. "Like Kid, or Kilik... Or me?"
The idea of Black*Star dating Maka, hugging her, kissing her, touching her... Soul felt powerful anger stir within him. It was similar to the black blood, but it felt worse. Way worse. Possessiveness, jealousy and protectiveness swirled themselves into his emotions. He didn't want anyone to touch her, or love her like that. It just seemed wrong to him. The thing was, he didn't understand why.
"I would mind," he admitted solemnly. "Only `cause you wouldn't deserve her."
He excused himself from the table and gathered his stuff. Everyone watched him silently as he retreated from the table into the depths of the DWMA. The spotlight resumed, this time on Maka.
"D-don't look at me!" Maka pouted, her cheeks red. "I dunno what's up with him!"
"What about you Maka?"
"What about me what?" She really was confused about this whole conversation. What did her bond with Soul have to do with anything?
"How do you feel about Soul?" Liz's remark was stunningly direct. "I'm sure you're not exactly thrilled about a bunch of girls sending him partner request letters".
"Ummmm.." Of course she wasn't okay with it, he was her weapon! on the other hand, it seemed pretty normal to her what she felt for Soul, but now that she was being asked, it felt difficult to relay the bond they had.
"Soul's my weapon! Of course I'm mad about the letters..." Maka began. "I don't want him to belong to anyone else. I wouldn't be able to fight without him! He's...He's my best friend.."
"C'mon Maka!" Liz confronted her. "Tell us the complete truth. What you feel isn't supposed to be logical, not like writing a paper."
Maka stared down at her less than room temperature food. She'd never really been at a loss for words like this. She'd fought kishins, witches, and tons of evil things that inhabited the earth. Yet, here she was, reduced to silence by a simple question. The more she thought about it, the more she was unable to define whatever it was she was trying to grasp.
"I...I don't know.." she whispered.