Author's Note: So it's finally come time for the final chapter of Masquerade. I've really enjoyed writing this story and I'm glad that other people liked it also! The song Soul and Maka play is based off a jazz instrumental version of Piano in the Dark that I looked up. After this chapter, I plan to just finish everything off with an epilogue and then think about which story I want to write next that's in my profile.
Final Chapter, Chapter 26: Farewell to Masquerade…?
"Are you sure you don't need anything else Maka?" Soul asked, as he set down Maka's change of clothes and some of her favorite books.
Maka nodded her head and gave Soul a small smile. "You've already brought me pretty much everything I wanted from the apartment. You should go home now and get some rest."
Soul sighed and stretched out his arms. "I'm not that tired. I did get some sleep just hanging out with you here in the hospital."
Maka sighed and let out a huff. "You would get better sleep if you actually slept in a bed and not just in a chair."
Soul frowned and shrugged his shoulders. "I guess if you really don't need anything else, I'll head home now."
Soul stood up and gave Maka a quick peck on the lips and ruffled her hair affectionately.
Just as Soul was about to leave, Maka suddenly remembered something she needed to say.
"Oh wait Soul. Don't forget Professor Stein said I could be discharged tomorrow at 3 pm, so make sure to come by after school ends."
Soul grinned with his usual crooked smile and nodded his head. "I didn't forget. Don't worry I'll bring you your backpack and stuff so you can pack up everything."
Maka smiled back and waved goodbye as Soul pushed the curtain back and left down the hallway.
For the next hour or so, Maka kept herself busy by catching up on homework that she had missed and reading the rest of the books she had recently checked out from the library.
After catching up on her assignments, Maka began to lazily flip through the channels offered on hospital's limited set of channels until she heard the curtain pull open again.
"You look much better now Maka. I see that the nurses even stopped and removed the IV lines you had in you." Stein noted, taking a seat next to her.
Maka nodded her head and set down the remote. "I still feel a little nauseated at times, but you said that would go away in a few days right?"
Stein nodded his head and took out Maka's chart. "It's just one of those side effects from having to change the antibiotics and antivenin that you were taking. From the last check of your vital signs, it seems like your temperature and blood pressure is stabilizing even more, which is good news."
Maka sighed and leaned back against the pillows on her bed. "Do I really have to continue to take those medications for the rest of my life?"
Stein frowned and gave a slight nod of his head. "Yes, unfortunately none of the options I tried really helped to remove the remaining poison circulating in your blood."
Maka pouted and looked down at her bed sheets as she mulled over what Stein had told her.
'This wouldn't have happened if I hadn't lied about Emerald for so long and if I had just been more careful around Travis. Even though I have to live with this poison for the rest of my life, I won't let it stop me from still carrying out missions…'
Stein suddenly spoke up again, breaking Maka out of her thoughts.
"We did the investigation of Travis's apartment like you wanted us to. It turns out he had collected and hidden at least 50 human souls within those walls."
Maka growled under her breathe and balled her hands into fists. "It's crazy how he was able to go on doing that for so many months possibly years. I would hate to imagine what would have happened if he had actually decided to eat those souls…"
A sudden thought popped into Maka's head and she quickly turned her attention back to Stein.
"By the way Professor Stein, whatever happened to Rachel? I know she got sent to the intensive care unit, is she still in there?"
Stein thought it over for a minute, before shaking his head.
"I heard from some doctors that she is doing better than she was when she first came in, so she got moved to the Trauma Center. I think she could get greater care from the faculty there who specializes in the types of cases she's experienced."
Maka sat up at this news and moved to grab her change of clothes.
Stein watched her in confusion and arched an eyebrow. "What's with the sudden urge to get up?"
Maka carefully got off the bed and steadied herself. "I want to go see her to make sure she's okay."
Stein frowned and shook his head. "You're still too weak to just go wandering around the hospital."
Maka huffed and let out a sigh. "I'll be fine. Besides, I don't want to spend all the rest of my time here just sitting in my bed. "
Stein groaned and rubbed the bridge between his nose. "I really shouldn't let you walk around right now, but I can tell you aren't going to take no for an answer. I guess you can go visit her for an hour. It's about 5 pm right now, so come back no later than 6:05."
Maka smiled and nodded her head in agreement. "Trust me, I won't be long. I just wouldn't feel right if I didn't at least see how she was doing."
Stein sighed and nodded his head as he got up to give Maka privacy to change. "Just don't let any of the other doctors or nurses know I gave you permission to go out."
Maka quickly changed out of the hospital gown she had been put in and put on a plain pink shirt with blue long jeans that Soul had brought her.
Maka stretched and carefully put on the fuzzy white slippers that the hospital provided each of their guests with.
'Now I just need to find a hospital directory so I can find which way it is to the Trauma Center.'
~X~
Maka wandered around the hospital's floors for about ten minutes until she finally found an information booth.
"Great, I was walking in the wrong direction this whole time." Maka grumbled under breathe, as she turned around from heading south to start heading north.
Eventually, Maka finally made it to the Trauma center and walked up to nurse's station.
"Hi, I'm looking for a patient named Rachel Anderson." Maka stated, as she took a sweeping glance around.
The nurse at the front desk looked down at the chart and then glanced back up at Maka with a smile.
"She certainly seems to be a popular patient today. She's in room 204, I think some of her friends are already in there visiting." The nurse replied back.
Maka frowned and quietly thanked the nurse as she turned back around.
'I guess I shouldn't be surprised that Rachel's friends would eventually find out about what happened to her. Hopefully they don't start trying to pressure me for questions though…'
Maka sighed and came up to room 204 and knocked twice on the door. After waiting a few minutes, a voice called back that it was okay for her to come in.
Maka carefully opened the door and peeked inside. Rachel was sitting up sluggishly in bed with her usual group of friends surrounding her.
Kate gasped as she realized it was Maka. "Oh my gosh, It's Maka you guys!"
Megan, Ashley, and Nancy quickly looked up and gasped along with Kate.
Ashley ran up to Maka and gave her a hug. "Thank you so much for saving Rachel! Who knows what could have happened to her if that asshole Travis had kept her imprisoned any longer!"
"Oh, it was no problem really." Maka replied back, as she awkwardly returned the hug.
Megan came up to her next and patted her on the shoulders. "If there's anything we can do to repay you, please let us know!"
Maka stepped back, feeling uncomfortable by their sudden touchy feely attitude.
"If you really want to repay me, then you already know what I want." Maka stated calmly.
Each of the girls looked confused for a second before realization seemed to hit Kate.
"Wait a minute; don't tell us you want us too…" Kate stated, leaving her sentence unfinished.
Maka only nodded her head. "I want you to leave Soul and I alone. No more of your silly locker messages telling me to break off my partnership with Soul and no more harassing Soul when I'm not with him."
Nancy scoffed and looked away. "Look, we may be thankful that you saved Rachel and all, but that doesn't mean we want to give up on Soul!"
All of the girls voiced their agreement with Nancy and Maka felt the urge to simply just Maka-chop all of them until Rachel spoke up.
"Girls, just let it go. We've bothered Maka and Soul enough already." Rachel stated tiredly.
All of the girls turned their attention back towards Rachel in shock.
"You can't seriously mean that, right Rachel?" Ashley asked quietly.
Rachel only nodded her head. "I am serious. Maka and Soul have a bond that we can't break. All we've been doing over these past few months is just showing how pettily jealous we are of that bond."
Megan scoffed and turned away from Rachel. "I can't believe you would just give up on being with Soul just like that! You obviously must have been hit harder in the head by Travis than we thought!"
Rachel's eyes widened at Megan's insult and she looked down gloomily.
Maka growled and spoke up. "Hey, why are you talking that way to your own friend?! Don't you know how much pain Rachel's been in physically and emotionally over these past few days?!"
Megan looked a little shocked by Maka's outburst and turned away from her glaring green eyes.
"Come on girls, let's get out of here. I know when we're not wanted." Kate spoke up shakily, as she pushed Megan outside the doors. Ashley and Nancy quickly followed after her and closed the door behind them.
Maka scoffed as she gazed at the closed door for a few seconds, before turning her attention back to Rachel. "You're friends are complete snobs, you know that right?"
Rachel sighed and wiped a few tears from her cheeks. "They've been slowly acting worse and worse over the past few days they've been visiting me. I guess I kind of deserve their harsh treatment after going behind their backs trying to get Soul for myself."
Maka shook her head and took a seat next to Rachel. "Even if they are mad about that, you still didn't deserve those mean words that Megan just said."
Rachel nervously fiddled with her bedspread. "Truth be told, I've been having trouble speaking to all of them ever since the incident happened. I think they're going off the rumors that have been going around school that Travis raped me or something when all he did was tie me up and rough me up a bit."
Maka watched Rachel's shy behavior and let out a small sigh. A few weeks ago, Rachel was acting just as rude and self –centered as her friends. But her episode with Travis had seemed to cause a complete 360 in her personality.
'Rachel's behavior since her traumatic experience reminds a bit of how things were when I first met Crona.'
Maka frowned as she thought about Crona's sacrifice during the battle with the Kishin for a moment before shaking the thought away.
"Have any other people come to visit you besides your friends?" Maka asked.
Rachel sat up a bit and nodded her head. "Only one other person came to see me."
Maka looked at Rachel curiously to know who it was and Rachel started to blush and shift uncomfortably in her bed.
"It was Hiro." Rachel grumbled out finally.
Maka eyes widened in surprise and she couldn't help but smirk a bit.
"Oh, so that's why you no longer care about Soul huh? I didn't know you started a secret relationship with him!" Maka stated, with a chuckle.
Rachel blushed even deeper and shook her head rapidly. "I would never start a relationship with that loser! I can't help it if he came by to visit me every day, even when I told him to stop coming by after the first time!"
Maka only continued to give her a knowing grin before sighing and looking outside the window. The sun was already starting to set and leave the sky a colorful mix of orange and red.
"Where do you plan to go from here, Maka?" Rachel suddenly asked.
Maka looked confused by what Rachel meant, so Rachel continued on.
"I mean, I heard you were injured also by Travis. After you recover and stuff, what do you plan to do?"
Maka leaned back in the chair and pondered it over for a few minutes. "Well in terms of school, I won't let any of my injuries slow me down. I still plan take on cases that I can handle solo and continue to hang out with my friends in my off time."
Rachel looked surprised at Maka's answer before smiling slightly.
"It's no wonder Tsugumi and her friends look up to you. It seems like nothing or nobody ever slows you down."
Maka nodded her head and smiled back. "Don't let what Travis did to you slow you down either. I'm sure you'll find yourself a good partner in the NOT class in time."
Rachel sighed and twirled a finger in her hair. "How did you end up with Soul as your partner if I may ask?"
"I found him playing on the piano away from everyone else. I remember it was a grim and creepy melody that I found interesting. When he finished playing, he told me he was still looking for a meister just like I was still looking for a weapon and the rest is history." Maka replied back.
Rachel smirked as Maka finished her story. "And eventually in time you went from not only friends, but to lovers also, right?"
Maka blushed and glanced away, when she suddenly took notice of the time.
"Oh gosh, it's already almost 7 pm! I promised Professor Stein I would only be out for an hour!" Maka cried out, as she got up out of her chair.
Maka pushed the chairs back to their original positions and turned back towards Rachel.
"Don't forget what I told you and I hope you feel better soon!" Maka stated with a grin.
Rachel sighed and managed to give Maka a weak smile back. As Maka closed the door behind her, Rachel sunk back into the bed.
"I wonder if I really can find a partner knowing the reputation I built up…" Rachel whispered quietly to herself, as she glanced around the now empty room.
~X~
"I told you to be only out for an hour, not two hours!" Stein said in a scolding manner, as Maka crept back into her bed.
Maka frowned and bowed her head in apology. "Sorry, I lost track of time dealing with Rachel and her friends."
Stein sighed and just gave her a good look over. "Well at least it doesn't look like you over exerted yourself doing anything. Just take it easy for the rest of the night now."
Maka nodded her head in agreement and walked into the bathroom to change into her pajamas.
The rest of the evening and night went by slowly as Maka kept herself entertained with her books, watching TV, and doing puzzles.
The following afternoon, Maka waited in anticipation for Soul to come pick her up and practically leapt into his arms when she saw him come in.
"Someone's excited." Soul noted with a grin, as he returned Maka's hug and took a seat by Maka's bed.
Maka nodded her gleefully. "It's because I finally get to leave the hospital!"
Soul laughed and watched as Maka hurriedly packed up her books and clothes and zipped everything up.
"Make sure you're not forgetting anything in your rush." Soul stated.
Maka looked around the bed and in the cabinets to make sure she hadn't missed anything.
"I think I have everything." Maka stated, as she turned back around to face Soul.
Soul nodded his head and stood up to go get Professor Stein. A few minutes later, Stein came back in and handed Maka her discharge instructions.
"Alright Maka, I can tell you want to get out of here as soon as possible so I'll be quick with the instructions. Make sure to continue to take 2 tablets, once in the morning and once before you go to bed. Don't do any extreme physical exertion for the rest of the week and make sure to keep up your intake of fluids." Stein stated, as he read over the papers.
Maka briefly glanced over the papers and nodded her head in agreement. "Thanks for all you've done for me Professor Stein."
Stein smiled and turned towards Soul. "Keep an eye on her to make sure she doesn't do anything too crazy please."
Soul grinned and nodded his head while Maka huffed next to him. "I don't need to be watched over! You don't think I handle following some simple instructions?!"
Soul sighed and grabbed Maka's head to lead her out of the hospital before she ended up causing a commotion.
Once Soul and Maka were finally back on the street, Maka let out a sigh of relief.
"It's nice to finally be outside again. We should do something to celebrate!" Maka suggested, glancing up at Soul.
Soul shook his head and pointed in the direction of their apartment. "I think I would rather go home and take a nap."
Maka frowned and began to look ready to start an argument over this matter.
"Stop being so lazy! We should at least do something now that I'm out of the hospital!" Maka stated angrily.
Soul grinned lazily and started to drag Maka towards the apartment. "We can take a nap together in my room to celebrate!"
Maka huffed and looked annoyed the whole way to the apartment until they finally stopped at their door.
Maka glanced at Soul in confusion. "Why aren't you opening the door?"
"My hands are full carrying your stuff. The key is in my right pocket." Soul replied back.
Maka rolled her eyes and dug her hands into his pocket while silently grumbling internally to herself that carrying one bag did not mean Soul's hands were full.
Eventually, Maka pulled out the small golden key to their apartment and opened up the door.
Maka allowed Soul to walk in and then closed the door behind her. Maka peered around and noticed the apartment seemed darker than usual for this time of day.
"Hey Soul, it seems kind of dark in here. Turn on one of the lights." Maka stated.
Soul nodded his head and flicked on the switch.
"SURPRISE!" A sudden group of voices shouted out that nearly made Maka jump back in fright.
Maka composed herself and quickly realized it was her friends greeting her.
"Whoa, what's going on?" Maka asked, watching as everyone came out of their hiding places.
"Soul wanted to throw a welcome home party for you! Hurry up and put your stuff down so we can get it started!" Black Star yelled out.
~X~
"Wow guys, this was pretty unexpected! Thanks for coming to see me!" Maka stated, once everyone was situated on the couch.
"Hey, it was Soul's idea. You should thank him for buying the pizza and setting the whole thing up!" Black Star said, before letting out a belch.
Maka gazed at him in disgust for a second before Liz got her attention.
"I overheard from Spirit at school that apparently his precious baby Maka is growing up too fast! Want to give details on that?" Liz asked with a smirk.
Maka blushed and shrugged her shoulders. "You know my papa likes to blow everything out of proportion. He saw Soul and I kissing and he basically thought the world was ending."
Liz and Tsubaki squealed in excitement as Patty laughed.
Black Star yawned as the girls continued to discuss different topics that bored him and turned his attention to Kid sitting next him.
"Where did Soul go? I'm getting tired of hearing about the latest fashion or guy over here." Black Star stated with a groan.
Kid shrugged. "I think he went to the kitchen to get some drinks. I'll go check on him."
Kid got up and walked over to the kitchen and found Soul chugging down some soda. Soul crushed the can and finally noticed Kid giving him a smug smile.
Soul arched an eyebrow at him. "What's with the look?"
Kid shook head and continued to smile. "It's just odd of you to want to throw a party, especially since you usually don't even like to go to parties in the first place."
Soul shrugged, but gave Kid a small smile. "I figured it would be nice to have a small get together. Maka's been through a lot lately so it's the least I could do."
Kid nodded his head in agreement and as the two of them turned back to stare at their group of friends.
Maka noticed them just standing in the kitchen and stood up and walked over to them.
"Hey, why are you guys just standing around here in the kitchen?" Maka asked with a smile.
Soul grinned and threw his crushed can into the trash. "Kid and I were just discussing what you and I were going to do to make this party even more exciting!"
Maka gave Kid a confused look, but he appeared to be just as lost as she was.
Maka looked back towards Soul with a puzzled expression. "What are you talking about?"
Soul pulled Maka aside and gave her a wicked grin. "We're going to do the duet!"
Maka's eyes widened in shock and she shook her head immediately. "What, right now?! We haven't even practiced anything together. Plus, I've never even done a duet with the piano."
Soul simply shrugged. "We've had to come up with stuff spontaneously in the past. You can start things off and I'll come in when I find a way to match up with your beat."
Maka frowned, still unsure. "You don't even have a piano to play with though."
Soul held up his leg. "Did you forget that I can make my blade into a keyboard?"
Maka sighed, but eventually nodded her head. "I don't think we're going to sound very good."
Soul laughed and shook his head. "Don't be so pessimistic."
Maka and Soul turned back around and faced Kid.
"I'm going to go get something from my room. I'll be back in a second." Maka stated, as she walked off.
Kid watched Maka go with a bewildered look. "What was that all about?"
Soul only grinned and moved outside of the kitchen to go sit on the sofa. "You'll see."
Kid shrugged and followed Soul out to meet back with everyone else in the living room.
Liz noticed Maka was no longer around and looked around for her. "Where did Maka go? Did you make her run off Soul?
Soul shook his head. "She went to go get something from her room. She'll be right back."
"She better bring in something that livens up this party before I do something!" Black Star yelled out, as he sat up on the couch.
Tsubaki sighed and pulled Black Star back down before he could start causing any chaos.
A few minutes later, Maka came out of her room carrying a case in her hands. Maka sighed and plopped down in the sofa next to Soul who gave her an encouraging smile.
"What's in the case Maka?" Patty asked curiously.
"It's my saxophone." Maka mumbled back quietly.
Liz looked surprised at this. "I didn't know you played an instrument! Maka you've been holding out on us!"
Maka sighed and shook her head. "I haven't been playing it for that long."
"Since you brought it out today, were you planning to play for us today?" Tsubaki asked kindly.
Maka blushed slightly and nodded her head. "Soul's going to play with me though."
Kid smiled and nodded in understanding. "So that's what you two were talking about earlier."
Black Star grinned and sat up a bit from his place on the couch. "About time you played without that mask on."
"What are you talking about?" Kid asked Black Star.
"I'll explain after we finish playing." Maka stated, as she set the case down and opened it up to reveal her saxophone.
Maka smiled at her black and gold saxophone before sending a brief glance towards Soul who nodded in agreement.
Maka sighed and quickly thought of a jazz melody she could play that she had practiced a few weeks ago. Maka eventually thought of something that she could play and began playing at a low tempo. Soul watched her play for a few minutes before matching up with her beat. As the song went on, Maka and Soul increased the rate of the tempo they were at until they reached the crescendo of the song and quietly slowed things down.
When Soul and Maka were done, all of their friends clapped for them cheerfully.
"That was pretty good! A little shaky in some parts, but overall it was nice. Did you guys practice that together?" Liz asked.
Maka shook her head. "Soul only just recently found out I've been playing the sax."
"Really? I had assumed Soul had been giving you some music lessons." Kid mused aloud.
Maka only continued to shake her head. "I know it might sound hard to believe, but it was actually Hiro who taught me most of the basic lessons about the sax."
Liz nearly spat out the soda she had been drinking which caused Patty and Black Star to laugh next to her.
"Are you being honest with us Maka?" Tsubaki asked, trying to hide her surprised expression.
Maka nodded her head. "A few months ago, Hiro and I made a deal with each other to help each other out with our weaknesses. He gave me music lessons and I gave him advice on how to get stronger."
"Why did you go to Hiro when you had Soul though?" Liz continued to question.
Maka sighed and gazed down at her saxophone. "Well I didn't like how Soul always teased me about music. I didn't want him to make fun of me even more if he knew Hiro was helping me."
It was quiet for a few minutes as everyone took in what Maka had said.
"Did anyone else know you were working with Hiro?" Kid finally asked.
Maka nodded her head and pointed at Black Star. "Black Star found out by basically following me around and Travis found out also."
"Well that explains mostly everything, but I still have one last question. What did Black Star mean earlier by your mask?" Liz asked.
Maka sat up and pulled out her emerald mask from within her case. "I play at the White Lily Pub and Café as Emerald and Hiro plays with me as Diamond.
This seemed to surprise everyone once again except for Black Star. A sudden thought came into Maka's head and she turned her head towards Soul.
"I just thought about it Soul, but maybe I should take a break from performing at the Café and playing my sax."
Soul frowned and shook his head. "You don't have to do that. I know you like playing there and it's good practice for you anyways."
Maka sighed and leaned her head back into the sofa. "Maybe so, but playing at the Café is starting to distract me from my studies and tire me out."
Soul turned his leg back to normal and placed his hands behind his head. "At least discuss it with Hiro before you make any impulsive decisions.
~X~
"Let me get this straight. You want our performance at the Pub today to be our last performance as Masquerade?" Hiro asked.
Maka nodded her head. "Or at least I think that we should move it from performing on Wednesdays to the weekend when we're both less busy."
Hiro eyes narrowed as he let out a scoff. "This wouldn't be because I told Soul basically everything would it?"
Maka immediately shook her head. "I invited Soul to watch us in the audience. Anyways, I have been thinking about this for a while that I don't want to hide behind this mask anymore. I think we should announce who we are once we finish performing."
Hiro looked even more shocked and looked at Maka as if she had lost her mind. "Why would you want to do that?! Part of the reason people like us so much is because they like the mystery that surrounds who we could possibly be behind the masks!"
Maka sighed, beginning to get annoyed. "Look, I know I'm kind of asking for all this out of the blue, but think about all the things that have happened since we first started this group. All it's caused me to do is lie to my friends and feel like I have to hide myself. I know you've gained more confidence in yourself since we first started playing too. Sure we're probably going to lose sales once people find out who really are, but I was never in this for the money anyways."
Hiro frowned before eventually letting out a sigh. "It was fun while it lasted huh?"
Maka smiled and held out her hand. "It really was. Let's give them a nice show Diamond."
Hiro grinned and shook her hand back. "I agree Emerald; let's make our farewell performance go out with a bang!"
Maka and Hiro walked onto the stage just as Jessica was finishing up the announcements.
"It's been a while since we've last heard from you Masquerade! I know the audience is happy to see you again! Emerald informed me that Masquerade has a surprise announcement to give once their performance is over." Jessica stated, as the crowd roared with excitement.
Soul frowned from his place in the audience as he gazed at some of Emerald's so called fanboys.
'Wow, I never realized how popular this group truly is. I just thought it was only a small group of people who liked to come here, but the whole area is full.'
This time to change things up, Maka started things off by playing her saxophone for the first few minutes alone with Hiro coming in about midway through the song. The songs they played seemed to be a combination of the classical and romantic melodies they had played throughout the past weeks.
As their final song came to an end, Maka grabbed the microphone Jessica left on the stand for them and waited for the applause to die down.
"Thank you everyone for stopping by to hear Diamond and I play today!" Maka stated, as cheers started to erupt again.
"We love you Emerald!" A few guys yelled out from by the bar, while a few females next to them cried out the same thing for Diamond.
"Thank you. Thank you. We know a lot of you have been wondering for the longest time who we are behind these masks, and we figured we put that secret to an end today." Hiro stated, speaking up.
A resounding amount of gasps filled the audience as people started to whisper to each other.
"Oh my gosh; are we actually going to find out who Diamond and Emerald are?!" One girl whispered in excitement, that Soul managed to hear.
"Man, I hope Emerald is just as hot as she sounds!" Another guy stated that caused Soul to glare at him.
Maka sighed and turned her attention to Hiro. "Are you ready to reveal our identities Diamond?"
Hiro nodded his head in agreement. "We'll take them off on the count of three. 1…2…3…"
Maka and Hiro took off their masks and gazed around at the shocked expressions of each patron.
"Behind this mask, I am Maka and I attend the DWMA." Maka stated, proudly.
"And behind my mask, I am Hiro and I also attend the DWMA." Hiro said.
It was quiet for a few seconds around the whole pub until Jessica started clapping which eventually lead into the whole audience applauding them.
"We still love you!" Cheers sounded out as Maka and Hiro let out a sigh of relief.
Maka and Hiro walked off stage and first greeted Jessica. "It's nice to finally know who you guys truly are! Whatever happened to Platinum by the way?"
Maka shook her head to signal that it was a long story. Just as Maka started to turn around, she was suddenly surrounded by some of her fans.
"Maka I can't believe you're really Emerald! Can I get a picture with you?" One girl asked.
"Hey Maka, are you going out with anyone? I can teach you a few lessons that go beyond playing music." A guy asked, with a suggestive wink and smirk.
Maka frowned and stepped back in disgust, when suddenly she felt an arm go around her.
Maka looked up and smiled as she realized it was Soul. "Some of your fans are crazy." Soul stated with a sneer.
Maka smirked as Soul's grip seemed to tighten around her. "Are you sure that isn't just your jealously talking?"
The guy who had been coming on to Maka frowned as he watched the scene between Soul and Maka play out.
"Uh, so I take that you're dating this guy then huh?" He asked quietly.
Soul scoffed and turned his attention back towards the guy. "I'm not just any guy. I'm the last death scythe: Soul Eater Evans and you don't have any chance with Maka because she's with me."
The guy quickly ran off and Maka blushed in embarrassment. "Your little cool speech there isn't going to win me over."
Soul grinned and moved Maka away from her crowds of fans into a quieter area of the pub. "Are you sure about that? Your cheeks are looking a little red there."
Maka huffed as she felt her cheeks redden even more when Soul lifted her chin up.
"You know, I'll always prefer Maka to Emerald any day of the week." Soul whispered, as he moved in for a kiss.
Maka smiled and wrapped her arms around Soul's neck. "Good, because I don't want to pretend to be anyone else from now on." Maka finished with a grin as she met Soul halfway in the kiss.
Author's Note: Well friends, this is the final chapter of Masquerade. The next chapter posted will be the epilogue which will wrap up things. Thanks again to everyone who reviewed, followed, and put this story in their favorites. Let me know what you think with a review and as usual Thanks for reading!