HEY, CH 6 IS NOW COMPLETE! I CHANGED SOME PARTS... GOLD STARS FOR THOSE WHO FIND THEM!
Our Story So Far...: Sarah, blah blah blah, may be more special than they realize, blah blah blah, saved their butts from the golem...oh and Arachnae has revived... And I've changed the rating from M because nothing "bad" really happens except for fighting, blood, and the occasional curse, so yeah...
Mal: Well, look at this! Appears we got here just in the nick of time. What does that make us?
Zoe: Big damn heroes, sir!
Mal: Ain't we just?
—Firefly, "Safe"
*Sniggers* just HAD to put that out there.
So: Can you or Sarah be serious for once?
Oh, you're one to talk, Soul!
So: What's that supposed to mean?
Just ask Maka what I mean.
So: (irritated) You're not making any sense!
Well you should stop being such a tease when I'm trying to chat on Facebook!
So: (blushes) Hey, I thought you wouldn't tell anyone about...
(face heating up) Um, sorry, kind of slipped out.
So: No more talk of what we do, okay?
What we do? But I didn't do anything and...you... just left me with that kiss still—
So:(panics) DON'T SPREAD PRIVATE BUSINESS AROUND!
Fine. (sigh) Can we talk about it later, then?
So: Sure, (looks over shoulder) just not here, it's too open.
You sound like we're selling drugs or something...What about at Ruby Tuesday's?
So: What am I made out of, money?
.... (raises eyebrow)
So:(facepalms) Oh, right, I forget I'm rich sometimes.
(smiles and sweatdrops) Yeah, sure you do.
Ma: (stares at us) Um...a sound soul dwells within a sound mind and a sound body?
Chapter 6: Duel Arts Lesson ! - The converging wavelength of four souls?
"Now, Sarah and Soul, Maka and Daniel, I want you to try this exercise." Stein made them all sit facing each other in that same dark room Soul and Maka had sat once before.
"I don't see the point." said Soul. He was looking evenly at the floor, tracing invisible paths in the warped concrete.
"Papa Stein, my knees hurt~" announced Sarah, looking down, away from Souls eyes.
"That's what she said..." he muttered.
Her head snapped up. "You just be quiet..." Sarah drew circles on the ground with a single wandering fingertip. "Papa Stein what are we doing here?"
"Maybe Soul should explain."
"It smells in here," Daniel offhandedly replied, observing the several rows of burning candles.
"We're supposed to insult each other," said Maka, rolling her eyes. "Me and Soul've done this before."
"Oh. I don't really like insulting people I like," said Sarah with a resigned sigh, "but okay. I'll start. What should I say?"
"Stop being indecisive and hurry up!" said Soul, the candles finally getting to him.
"Don't yell at me!" she screamed in shock.
"I'll yell at you if I want!" said Soul defiantly, reveling in his announcement and crossing his arms. A swift hand came down near his thigh, and a few short white hairs fluttered to the ground.
"What was that?" asked Sarah, her face darkening.
Soul gulped and tried to not stare into her eyes too long. "Y-you're impulsive just like your cousin!" He thrust a finger in Maka's direction, and Maka narrowed her eyes at him, an indication that she was definitely not amused. Sarah sneered, and pointed to Soul as well.
"And you're just like Sempai who rejected me!" No one understood what she meant, but they continued to argue. Daniel remained quiet, the candles had zero effect on the calm little boy.
"Sarah's not impulsive soul! If anyone is, you are!" Maka pounded her palms on the floor below. "Besides, I just get angry a lot!"
"Oh, shut up! You've got fat ankles and a flat chest, Maka!" Leave it to Soul to bring up such a thing... Maka felt her face reddening in more than just anger and embarrassment.
"No, you shut up, Soul. At least I don't get nosebleeds all the time!"
Sarah glared at the both of them, her voice filled with disgust at the childish display in front of her. "You both need to learn how to grow up!"
Both of their heads snapped around to glare at Sarah in full force. "This coming from someone who watches cartoons all the time!" Soul retorted. Oh, he struck a sensitive nerve there.
"Take it back, you jerk!" Sarah's eyes began to water. "Anime is not childish!"
"I won't, you can't make me!" refused Soul, his mouth pouting. "And it is!"
"Oh-Oh yeah? Well, you're an albino freak!"
"You pick the lamest anime songs!"
"You're a sulky little snot!"
"Your music is worthless and you're worthless!" said Soul, trumping all other insults.
Sarah blinked away tears as an angry blush rose to her cheeks as she stared downwards again."...that hurt," she whispered in a low voice.
Immediately, Soul felt remorse for what he just said. "I-I'm sorry.. I don't know why I'm acting so mean."
"Maybe you should clarify some more about your past.." said Maka suddenly calming down as well. "Why is it I remember William and not Sarah?"
"'Cause I'm not a memorable person.." replied Sarah in a hollow voice.
The white-haired youth nearly rolled his eyes, but decided against that. "Sarah..." he said, annoyance coating his voice again.
She was getting angry at herself now..Sarah clenched her hands into fists then released them slowly, flexing the fingers lightly, wondering if she was hallucinating again. "My brother wants to kill me, my parents are dead, and no one remembers me... Figures." Many memories of long past had already resurfaced, but she was too afraid to tell them about most of what she could recall.
Soul frowned. "See, that's another one of your problems. You beat yourself up too much. How do you expect to move forward if you're always putting yourself down!"
"But!"
"Have just a little confidence, will ya?
"Okay then..."she agreed. "B-but it's not like I'm doing that because you said so...stupid Soul..."
He only smirked and wiped the drool from his lower lip, taking in the stubborn face she had put on. At that moment she looked very much like Maka indeed; more like a sister than a cousin.
"Here," said Soul, holding out his hands so they could practice resonance once again. Sarah nodded, placing her dark hands upon his pale, outstretched palms. Maka grinned as she put her hands upon Danny's, watching the two ever so often from the corner of her eye...and so their extra lessons began on a better note than before, their wavelengths vibrating very closely together, humming. Like a melody.
**In class the next day**
"Maka, Sarah, how does it feel after coming to class for the first time after so long?"
"Perfect!" said Maka, "I'm ready to tear it up." She stretched her arms and wiggled her fingers out until they felt loose and comfortable. Maka gave her cousin a smile and Sarah nodded, a content look on her face.
"Yeah, I feel great," Sarah gave the air a swift punch, and abruptly her smile turned impish. Kid and Soul shuddered. "I feel strong enough to go on a rampage!"
"Hopefully you won't destroy anything on purpose?" said Kid wistfully. The young Shinigami actually looked fearful that Sarah would go true to her word.
" I can't promise that now," said the Meister, closing her eyes. "But I do know that I want to have some fun, am I right or what?"
"Then, do you want to come party at our place after school?" Liz suggested. Kid looked horrified and delighted all at once; on one hand: they were having a party, which would mean a mess he'd have to clean; on the other hand: Sarah and Maka were coming over. His face was having a hard time making a decision as to the emotion it wanted to display.
"Yeah! Yeah!" sang Danny and Patty, playing patty-cake in their celebration.
"Patty-Ane-chan," asked Daniel, "you think there'll be cake?" Their identical-looking sets of youthful baby blue orbs met joyfully.
"I'll make sure Kid gets us one!" responded the Demon Gun with an enthusiastic grin that lit up the entire room. "A big 'welcome back' cake for Maka and Sarah!"
"Oh, we should invite Crona too," suggested Maka, getting excited as well. But then she felt a cold sensation swimming in her heart. Maka glanced around, her eyes falling on Crona's empty seat. Where was he these days? She knew that Crona hadn't been feeling well after their last mission, and his behaviour had her a bit worried...but still...this was odd for the pinkette boy.
"Hey, Soul?" asked Sarah. " Can you bring some music we can dance to?" Soul shrugged, he kept his voice intrigued yet complacent.
"Yeah... I'll bring a few records." He gave a thumbs up and grinned. Sarah laughed in answer to his reply. Something was missing, though, from the conversation, as much as they all didn't want to admit it.
"Hmm," said Liz, looking around. It was strangely quiet without a certain annoying someone. "Where's Black*Star?"
Tsubaki sighed and shrugged. "The usual,"she replied. "He's always like this these days... "
...Suddenly the door slid open.
"My bad... I'm late..." Black*Star strolled into the room soberly, a smug smile stretched across his face; he waved to his friends and sniffed proudly.
"Another duel?" said Stein, he swiveled his chair to look at the hyperactive ninja. "Did you bring a witness?"
"Yeah, Marie-nee-chan," said Black*Star, thinking he had everything thought out.
"Marie, huh?" Stein heaved a sigh."Can you at least adjust your attitude enough so you don't fall behind in your lessons?" He rubbed the nicotine patch on his arm to replace that intoxicating puff of delightful-Stein shook his head. "So who won?" His voice sounded bored beyond belief, but it was actually closer to remorse than boredom
"I'm a man who is to transcend God! Of course I won!" And in an instant Black*Star found himself standing outside the classroom door.
"Well, you're late," stated Stein, enjoying the punishment he was administering. "As punishment, stand in the hall." He slammed the door and Black*Star looked at the closed piece of oak.
Damn it, he thought. How'd he slam it shut without sliding the door, huh?
...
"Okay," said Stein ribbing his hands together. He walked to the whiteboard and wrote on it in a smelly, black erasable EXPO marker. "As I said in homeroom this morning, I'll be teaching a new lesson starting today."
KATSUKATSUKA, was what the board read. "Today we'll be practicing Duel Arts." The professor turned to the class in search of victims. "Now does anybody know what that is? I believe that some of you are familiar with this already...anyone?" He poured over the blank expressions until he finally found Sarah to raise a shaky little hand. Stein pointed to his adopted daughter with glee, but kept his expression level. No need to be like his goofy Sempai Spirit...
"Yes, Sarah-chan?"
"O-Otherwise known as 'Team,' or even 'Chain' Resonance," she almost whispered.
The teacher nodded, adjusting his glasses."Correct...and would you care to tell the class what that entails?"
After almost a minute of silence passed while she leafed through the textbook pages in her head. "Basically," said Sarah more confidently this time. "Meisters ad Weapons resonate with other Meister and Weapon pairs."
Stein looked actually pleased with being a teacher. "Yes. How do you know so much, Sarah?"
"Oh," she looked down, This seems really nerdy, she thought. but in my free time I've been reading all the books on Phasmology I could find in the library. "Maka ane-chan told me!" she blurted out, lying. She pointed to her cousin accusingly, while trying to look innocent and dumb. I did? thought Maka, surprised. Her mouth twitched in an awkward smile.
"Well, let's get started." The professor's eyes roamed the classroom lazily. "Hmm...As there are some idiots in this class, rather than a verbal explanation, why don't we focus on practicing?
He's looking over here~ thought Maka nervously. Are we the idiots he means?
"Would the students I call please come to the front..."
Please be me and Ane, thought Daniel, itching to fight. Bloodlust sprang up in his normally calm aquamarine eyes as he leaned forward. Please be—
"Ox-kun and Harvar, and because you've just left the hospital, let's have Maka, Soul, aaa~nd..."
C'mon...Danny looked almost hopeful he'd say him and his Ane-chan Sarah. He crossed his fingers and prayed. Say me and Ane-chan...
"Black*Star! Get back here! Oh, and Sarah as well." Danny banged his head on the table, which got him a few awkward stares from Liz and Kid. Patty and Tsubaki giggled.
"Get out, come in, make up your mind!" (A/N: *giggles* Why, Black*Star?) Black*Star opened the door with a loud bang which echoed and rippled over the room, making half the class jump in surprise.
"Since you'd destroy the lecture hall if you had a weapon, you'll be unarmed," explained the older Meister to the boy, which only got him a grimace for his troubles.
When everyone had assembled at the front Stein nodded approvingly and raised his eyebrows. "Good. Thus far, you've all matched your soul wavelengths to your partners. However, against big enemies, kids like you will only be crushed if you fight alone." Stein stood up from the chair ans smiled. "Well, maybe not all of you but you get the idea." He looked at Sarah and Black*Star specifically as he said this. "As this is the first lesson, attack seriously, as though you're trying to rip out my chest.."
"But...Papa I don't want to hurt you!" said Sarah, looking horrified. At this the class responded with a mushy Awwww~ that made Sarah only blush and frown from embarrassment.
"This is too sudden..." said Maka, becoming depressed. "He'll murder us..."
"Well then... Come on!" He turned the screw until it stopped with a loud click that drove fear every student's stuttering little heart. " I'll dissect you!"
Scaaaarryyy~ thought the class in unison.
...
Matching our "soul wavelengths" as a team...thought Maka uncertainly. She looked to Sarah, who was trembling a bit. With so many people in the classroom...watching, her pupils were dilated in terror.
"Sarah?" asked Soul, snapping the girl out of her uncertainty. Go ahead and kill him, hissed a voice dripping with malice. Sarah shook her head, trying to focus, but it was proving to be a feat...she kept on hearing these weird, demented giggles in her brain, and they were only increasing in volume and frequency within her sidetracked thoughts.
As expected, Black*Star's cry made everyone's head turn towards him. " Die! You crazy freak!" He appeared as only a flash of blue and black; Black*Star tried to punch Stein, who only ducked when the ninja brought his fist barreling towards his face. In the one motion that Black*Star missed his target, the momentum of the punch caused him to fly into the whiteboard, which only smashed it up.
"Hey, what are the other three of you doing?" said Soul, trying not to laugh at Black*Star's misguided attack. "Over analyzing the situation is bad too, you know?"
Ox and Harvar lunged at Stein as well. " I'll show you the power of the Lightning King!" yelled the nerd as lightning sparked across Harvar's staff. He tried swung, then missed, swung, missed. Stein snickered at the boys' enthusiasm, but just as easily avoided the slow jabs. Finally, Ox thought he almost had Stein right where he wanted him. Ox jabbed at the teacher, but was met by Black*Star instead, as he was on the opposite of Stein and trying to attack, the professor quickly had switched places with the boy, using him as a shield.
" Huh?" said Ox and Harvar when they connected with the entity that wasn't Stein.
" GYAAAAAAH!" exclaimed Black*Star as the lightning jarred his system. He recovered shortly though and turned on Ox. "You bastard! Ox-kun! Do you want to die!"
"You're the one who got in the way of my attack..." complained Ox lamely, as they began to duke it out verbally.
Meanwhile, Sarah and Maka were talking strategy. "Maka, let's try it!" said Sarah, her eyes flickered to the bickering boys then to Stein.
"I mean, uh..." mumbled Maka, trying to think. Leaf green eyes, looking desperately for an angle of attack that would suit them both.
"C'mon you can hear my wavelength, right?"
Maka looked confused again, like when they were in Luthe village. "Actually I can feel it just fine, the hearing part? Not so much."
"You and Soul have to trust me on this..."
"...I say we try it Maka," said Soul. "Sarah's good at wavelength control, she can even attack like Stein and Black*Star."
She huffed in defeat. Two against one was never really fair when it came to arguments."Oh...fine." Maka twirled Soul around and Sarah stood with her back pressed to Maka's. Both prepared for what came next. [G], thought Sarah, as she closed her eyes to concentrate.
"Soul Resonance!" the trio yelled. "AhhaHHAHHhaahhhh!"
Ox and Black*Star stopped their bickering to watch the event, astonished at the power they could now suddenly sense.
"Wait!" said Harvar, picking up the change through his partner's Soul Perception. "You can't be sensing what I think you are?"
"Amazing," yelled Ox in awe as he watched the wavelengths match up, resonating brilliantly. "How did we not notice before?"
"Notice what, egghead?" asked Black*Star, rolling his eyes, smirking.
"Sarah as two souls," replied Ox, adjusting his glasses and looking in disbelief.
"Wait, what?" Black*Star's mouth formed into a twisted grimace as he looked to the girls.
From across the room, Stein smiled, his face was shadowed by his mop of thick grey hair. "Bring it on children," he taunted "Show me what your resonance link can do!" His arms were in a defensive judo position, hands ready to protect any vital points on his body. And at the peak of their resonance, there it was again in Sarah's hands, that weapon from before, that scythe. The students stood and watched the fight in awe, their mouths hanging open. Sarah gripped the white handle and breathed out, as power flowed from her and the blade as if they were one being. But the question was: Where did it come from? But really, who cared? It was there and that was that. Maka could hear the faint echoes of giggling, but shook her head of the distraction.
Then the two girls opened their eyes.
"Maka," said Sarah, holding the scythe horizontally, one hand close to the blade, while she stretched the other as far as she could make reach. When it was parallel with the floor she crouched down and nodded to her cousin who understood the plan of attack.
"Right." Maka jumped, using the blade of Sarah's weapon as a springboard.
"Papa~" sang Sarah malevolently, her eyes a solid purple. She was suddenly behind Stein, and he actually gasped, as a shudder of actual terror ran down his spine. "Surprise!" She giggled and elbowed him forward sharply. "Hya!" said Maka, delivering a slash to his chest, and immediately after, Sarah followed, her wavelength crackling along the surface of the blade.
"Soul Force Slash!" Sarah nonchalantly chimed, as the combo attack of slash and wavelength force blasted her Papa into the back wall, which crumbled upon his impact.
Slowly, with much wincing, Stein got up from the rubble. He gave them a lopsided grin and a wobbly thumbs up. "G-Good job," he said before passing out. Sarah's heart jumped and she ran over to the injured man. In an instant the resonance link was broken. Sarah shook im lightly and he came to his senses again.
"Papa Stein! I'm sorry! I'm sorry I hurt you!" She hugged his stiched face in despair and pat his wiry hair. "Papa," she muttered. "My poor Papa."
"I'm okay Sarah," he assured her in between coughs. "I did after all tell you to try and rip out my chest."
In all the commotion, Marie burst into the class room, knocking down the door, yelling and breathless. She was flushed with anger and her brown eye screamed I am mad as hell. "What on earth is going on here?" she announced with irritation. "I was try-ing to teach students about the internet and—," She spotted Sarah trying to help Stein to his feet. "STEIN!" The Death Scythe rushed over to her partner. "What happened?" Her face suddenly became furious. "Who did this?"
Stein rolled his eyes. "We were having a lesson that's all."
Marie looked to Sarah. "Do you know what happened?"
Now, Sarah scrunched her nose and squinted, hoping that she could. After she yelled "Soul Resonance" the rest of the fight was a blur. All she knew was that Papa Stein was hurt and it probably was because of her. She opened her mouth to speak, but Stein cut her off.
"I did this to myself," he explained.
"Really?" asked Marie. "How?"
"I asked the students to attack me and this is what I got."
Marie turned her eye toward the class. "You all will get punished," she threatened, "if you do this to your teacher again."
They nodded, understanding.
Kid and his friends had a hard time not cracking up as the Marie, Stein, and Sarah left the classroom.
"The id, which is the repository of the libido, the source of our psychic energy and our psychosexual desires, gives us our vitality. Because it is always trying to satisfy its hunger for pleasure, it operates without any thought of consequences, anxiety, ethics, logic, precaution, or morality. Demanding swift satisfaction and fulfillment of biological desires, it is lawless, asocial, amoral. As Freud describes it, it is "only a striving to bring about the satisfaction of the instinctual needs subject to the observance of the pleasure principle." Sarah read this aloud with slight distaste, keeping her voice low enough so that only she could hear. In her advanced placement Phasmology course, she had to learn snippets of Psychology as well.
"Obviously the id can be a socially destructive force. Unrestrained, it will seek aggressively to gratify its desires without any concern for law, customs, or ~values. It can even be self-destructive in its drive to have what it wants. In many ways It resembles the devil figure that appears in some theological and literary texts, because it offers strong temptation to take what we want without heeding normal restraints, taboos, or consequences."
A devil. Now, what was so familiar about that?
Sarah thought back to the Czech Republic, their latest big mission. Or even when she had resonated with Soul to fight against William, she knew that could sense another presence within both their minds. Two that she was aware of, in fact. Sarah closed her tired brown eyes and allowed the images to form, kneading her temples to allieve her headache. She was slowly receding into deep meditation, to scope out the deep memories hidden within her brain. Maybe they were connected, somehow.
A devil. The first she was sure of. A short red devil with big eyes and two horns bent sideways. He was dressed in a sharp black pinstripe suit, and had rows of jagged teeth that looked very familiar. Sarah decided he was kinda cool-looking. He reminded her of Soul for some reason. However the second was blurred in her observation, a shadow of mystery.
Perhaps it was, a girl? The image was clearing in her head. She even looked like Sarah herself. The girl stood in a long dark purple gown with black and white ruffles lining the bottom, tuning a ruby red Fender electric. Though, her smoldering purple eyes was what set her apart from Sarah, but it what she saw only seemed to be a moving picture in her mind. The image of the girl looked up from the guitar and stared directly at Sarah.
"Hey Sarah," she said. "You wanna play?" Her mouth stretched into a Cheshire cat grin, her mouth dripping violet, the liquid pouring down her neck in a sinister waterfall...
"Aaaah!" Sarah's head sprang up from the desk in the library. Several students gawking at her strange fit. The librarian wriggled his nose in irritation, which only made his short block mustache dance. Lazily, Sarah looked at her Hello Kitty watch on her wrist and gasped, she was going to be late for Duel Arts practice with the others.
*Practice*
"Yo, professor! We're here." On cue, Black*Star and Tsubaki arrived on the scene. Tsubaki laughed nervously while Black*Star tromped ahead.
"Where's Sarah?" asked Maka. "We were supposed to meet her as well."
It seemed Stein ignored Maka's question as he asked Black*Star about the Enchanted Sword. "Have you been training using the "Soul Absorption Potion" I gave you? Once you start using it you'll be able to better receive others' soul wavelengths..."
" Oh that," scoffed the boy. " It was bitter and annoying, so I just drank it all at once."
Stein appeared as if he was to faint. " What!" His mind was trying to wrap around the concept.
"It made me sorta sleepy," continued Black*Star, "but I ignored it."
What a reckless thing to do, thought the professor, a bit of intrigue creeping onto his face.. I'm not sure whether even an average adult technician would survive if they did that.
" No big deal! I'm a god, after all! Hyahahahaha!" Everyone tried to ignore his obnoxious laughs, but failed. Before they began, Stein made an announcement: "Any team that can't perform team soul resonance by the end of the day will be cut from my lessons." He monitored their reactions carefully. All had level expressions. "Is that understood?" They nodded, it wasn't like they had a choice not to try. Just then Sarah arrived, panting. She had run from the library to the secondary training campus in under three minutes.
"Then begin."
"Do it properly, Black*Star," said Maka before closing her eyes.
"I do it right every time," protested the ninja before doing the same. Kid, Black*Star, and Maka had stood in a triangular formation, as Stein and Sarah stood by on the sidelines. Let's go, said Soul. The three Meister's souls expanded into three orbs of translucent blue taller than themselves. Yeah, agreed Maka. Kid. Her wavelength reached out towards Kid's with a tendril of light. Sarah heard the clear, wavering tone of [G] before it hit Kid's own arc of light. It blended with his sound, making it a whitish color. The tone leaped from [G] to [A] suddenly. Maka....confirmed Kid with a nod. We're resonating. So far so good... One single beam of light shakily worked over to Black*Star. Black*Star...
All of a sudden Sarah heard a horrible noise, like the feedback of a guitar amp, screech over her ears. [###!] The resonance broke, giving way to silence.
"It's no good," said Kid. " Let's go again,"
"Yeah," agreed Maka.
Again and again, the melody tried to weave itself, but each time it jumped from [G] to [A] then to Black*Star, Sarah was forced to cover her ears in pain. The last time it was the worst though, and she ended up holding onto the tree for support as she faltered. Sarah turned to Professor Stein who was also surveying the failure in disappointment.
"The cause is obvious at a glance," explained Sarah, peering into the discordant rhythms before her. Maka's clear tone was like a chiming bell, loud but "It's not working because Black*Star's soul wavelength is trying too hard to take the lead...it's noise is creating a feedback that rejects them."
Stein continued to look at the struggling team. "That may be true Sarah, however aligning soul wavelengths isn't all there is to it. Yesterday, when you and Maka accomplished it, what did you feel?" Sarah was about to consider this carefully when-
"Would you do it more seriously!" Maka was arguing with Black*Star once again.
" I am," said the ninja, somewhat defensively, staring down the Scythe-Meister and wrinkling his features into a very displeased look.
"It's because you're always just doing whatever you feel like! Try to match up with us, for once!"
" Why the hell do I have to match up with a blockhead like you, huh?"
" What! You!" Maka stepped forward aggressively her hand raised to smack the attitude off his little face.
"Stop it, all of you," said a cold voice. They all looked to Sarah, who's eyes were dark with menace. "Fighting isn't going to solve anything," she said in that same cool tone of voice.
"Look," said the professor, trying to ease the tension that was evidently building in the air. "There's still a long time before the day's up... Let's, take a break. Rather than discussing it any more, I think it'd be better to go cool your heads."
" As if I could have a discussion with a guy like that..." muttered Maka, turning on her heel and stomping away.
**After the break**
"Well? What should we do?" Tsubaki asked Liz. The long-haired brunette simply shrugged and placed a hand on Patty's shoulder.
"Somehow, we're getting the picture," said Liz a bit nervously, "but..."
It was then Maka returned from the forest, her head down, almost shamefully.
" Maka..." said Sarah and Soul together, breaking their discussion of the comparison of soul-waves to sound-waves. Black*Star took one glance at the girl and snorted haughtily. "You went to tattle-tale to the professor? Aren't you just doing whatever you feel like, too?"
And then Maka was on him like white on snow. "You-!" She raised a furious fist towards the younger boy, but everyone knew it was futile. Without even breaking a sweat, Sarah had came in and blocked the attack. Maka looked toward her with an angry, almost betrayed look; as usual when she was angry or afraid, her pupils large against the tea green irises. Her cousin looked back, her own eyes already turning purple, the darkness clouding over them quickly. her pupils were also visible. "Ane..stop this," ordered Sarah darkly, authority ringing true in her tone. "Fighting isn't always the answer." Somehow Maka's fist slipped from Sarah's grip as she attempted another attack. This one Black*Star caught with his bare hand and with minimal effort, sent Maka crashing into the floor onto her back.
"Uff-," grunted Maka, Black*Star's ever arrogant grin looming over her. Sarah was stunned as she watched the ordeal go down only inches from her face.
"I guess I can't say we're the same... I'd never get taken down like that..."
Kid tried to break it up. "Hey, you three... Stop it..." A firm hand gripped his left arm, and Kid looked back in surprise.
"Let them work it out," said Soul, holding the death god back. At least he had noticed that the aura around those three was dangerous at this point.
"But... Soul..." Kid stood by, scowling as he watched Maka attack Black*Star yet again, this time actually landing a punch. he shrugged away the injury as if it didn't hurt a bit. His face grew serious as little white stars replaced his pupils.
"Though it's you, Maka...if you want to continue this, you'd better ask for a duel, because I'll really want to beat the shit out of you!"
Both of them,thought Sarah bitterly, watching Maka leave. Need a serious attitude adjustment...
"You dumbass!" roared Maka descending the slope of the hill as she fled in tears.
Sarah's head snapped over to Black*Star. "Why are you such a jerk? You knew it'd upset her!"
"Why should I care? She was holding us back.
"No, you are! Your wavelength's tempo is too fast for us. How the hell do you expect us to keep up? This is about teamwork."
"What do you know? You don't even like me."
"That may be so, but I at least try to get along with others."
"You mean you're just a follower. Listening to orders, getting good grades like your cousin, wearing the same clothes...always following. Damn, Sarah you're just like a silly little sheep. What if you get lost? What will you do then?"
"Lost little sheep, where are you?Alone in the clearing, alone?"
"Go away!"
"Everyone is waiting."
"Isn't it all your fault, dear?"
"Shut up!"
"It's your fault they died..."
"Sh—," said Sarah, tears streaming down her face, as the new memory asserted itself."Shut UP!" He didn't even see her fist coming, though sure did feel when it connected with his thick skull, that's for sure...
"Oof!" said Black*Star, flying into the trees behind him, slamming into a massive oak and snapping it in half when he did.
"That idiot bastard!" wailed Sarah, running in the direction opposite Maka had gone. Women, thought Soul, shaking his head. Tsubaki helped her Meister to his feet and scolded him severely before conking him on the head with her fist. Her face was flushed pink with a sort of angry frown, but it looked really out of place on the usually kind countenance..
"OW~!" said Black*Star surprised at her reaction. "Ok, Tsubaki, OK...I learned my lesson..." he pointed to the thicket of trees. "Can you take care of it for me though?"
Glad to help, Tubaki stopped frowning, giving a kind smile before she went off in search for Maka first.
For her, it was turning out to be the worst night since forever...
One by one all the other students had walked over to that same judge of character, spoke in that same language of dancing fingers, and left with meager applause.
She looked at the sheet music in her hands. It figited as if it were hyped up on sugar, wait... no. That was only her hands shaking. The papers were clammy and warped with the sweat from her palms so she wiped them on her dark mauve gown. Everyone seemed to be buzzing around her as if she was transparent, one student after the other, taking their turn. She barely noticed, though. Her petite fingers were nervous, and so she drummed them on her thigh, practicing the piece in her head.
What if she messed up? What if they didn't clap for her? What if they laughed?
'YEah~ ,'said that scolding voice in her head. It echoed around, mocking the tone of her worried thoughts. 'You're only Seven...technically Eight. Today's your birthday, right? What if? What if? You worry far too much, just play the stupid song...'
"Really?" said the girl sardonically. "You think it's so easy? You play it."
'I never said it was easy,' responded the voice lightly. 'I simply said to let go.'
"I need to control the notes, not let them go," corrected the girl.
'Ah, that's where you're wrong,' it said before falling silent.
Silence.
She only realized now that the silence scared her even more than the voice did. Oh, what was she going to do? It all seemed so futile to fight the craziness that was raging forth. The girl nearly rent her papers in two trying to calm down.
"Hey."
She looked up solemnly. "Wes," said the girl, identifying the thirteen -year old in front of her. "Sempai, are you up next?"
"Nah," he replied casually, patting his violin case with his free hand. "Violin follows after piano. Besides, I'll be up right after you...Hey did you see my little brother play?"
Of course she had heard him; Soul had been simply amazing with his recital piece The Evans family was full of spectacular musicians, and their youngest son was no exception when it came to piano. She nodded dumbly before Wes gave her a wink. "Break a leg," he whispered. "Oh, and..." he reached into his pocket and gave her a red, heart-shaped hair-clip. A smile bloomed in her heart as she held the beautiful item she had longed for in the store many a time. Wes fastened it in her dark curly hair and smiled.
A second later her name was called, and her head was put under the guillotine...The bench was unforgivably uncomfortable, but she tried to retain good posture, sitting up straight, fingers curled but relaxed...
'Smile,' she told herself. 'Smile...' Her serious frown remained...
'Play,' commanded the voice. 'Play...'
"Shut up," she muttered.
'Are you listening to me?' it asked. 'I don't hear any music! Play!'
She knew not of what came over her. IN that single command, it was as if her mind snapped into two halves. She knew what she was playing was NOT what she practiced, that it was wrong, beyond wrong, nut her hands, her fingers moved on their own...
The first note that begun the madness...was "G#"
No, it was actually supposed to be "A," and the major chords had all of a sudden switched to minor, her foot even went into the insanity, using the pedals ever so freely. Every time the dampeners went up and the notes blended, it only added to the strange, dark melody blossoming below her hands at an exponential rate. The simple, light, whimsical tune...had been replaced by a moody nightmare...
When she was finished, the applause was deafening, but it was lost upon her swirling thoughts of bewilderment. She did not bow, she did not smile, she did not even see the marvellous standing ovation. As she fled the stage, the girl could not even hear Wes calling her name.
"Sarah!"
And it was only a week later Medusa made a house call...
Maka sat by herself on a ledge over-looking the city... If only I were strong like that, not caring what happened..., she thought glumly. From behind, there was the rustling of leaves but Maka didn't look up.
"Is this seat taken?" Tsubaki pat the empty spot next to the blonde. Maka shook her head in the negative and continued to look at Death City as the sun shone brightly, casting rays of gold en over the entire landscape. The sunlight pooled around the light strands of her pigtails and bangs, making her face seem shadowed despite the abundance of light.
"Hey, Tsubaki-chan... Don't you dislike being swung around like that?"
Tsubaki sighed. How to explain this? "Maka-chan." Maka pouted as she figited in her seat uncomfortably under the shadow-weapon's kind stare. "What do you think of Black*Star?"
"He makes me sick," said the short girl without hesitation.
"Really?" Somehow Tsubaki thought it very amusing. "I didn't want to say anything, but you see...Black*Star may not look like it but...he studies in advance for tests..."
Maka nearly fell off the ledge from sheer disbelief. "No way... Why does he always get zeroes, then?" Tsubaki gave a shrug of her slight shoulders and closed her eyes.
"I wonder about that myself. Though I do know for a fact that it's harder to get 0 points than to get 100. He's someone that's hard to explain, much less understand."
Now Maka looked even more confused than ever.
"If even you can't understand Black*Star, Tsubaki-chan, there's no way I can synchronize my wavelength with his..."
"Is that really so? You two always get along so well...is it so bad for friends to misunderstand each other once in a while?"
"This lesson is about sensing something more fundamental..." was what the professor had told her. Wait, why hadn't she seen it before? She was always wrapped up in her own feelings to notice things like that! How could Maka call herself the best student in her class if she couldn't understand something so simple..?
"I... was in such a hurry, there was something I missed..." murmured Maka. She looked to Tsubaki, who blinked, slightly puzzled. "That's it!" Maka stood, her boots firmly planted on the ledge, a confident smile on her face, touching her eyes. Her longcoat flapped in the breeze as the wind rolled over the city, stirring the desert sand. "Tsubaki-chan, c'mon!" she said, pulling the other, much taller girl to her feet.
However over thirty seconds later it was Maka who was the one being dragged by Tsubaki. "But what kind of expression should I put on when I go back?" mewled Maka.
"Arguments happen all the time," assured Tsubaki cheerfully. Her wavelength turned mellow, calming Maka a bit. "So don't get caught up on something like that. Anyway, Sarah ran away as well, any idea where'd she go?"
Her question was answered when they heard a loud, guttural yell echo through the trees, followed by a loud crash and the snapping of wood. Both girls ran towards the source of the commotion, only to find several piles of splintered trees snapped from their bases.
"Damn~," said Maka in awe, observing the damage. In the middle of the demolished section of the forest was Sarah, sniffing as she wiped away some more tears. "Sarah!" The younger girl turned and when saw Maka, her expression softened, but when she looked around her cheeks became flushed from embarrassment.
"Ane-chama? I, um..."
There was no way to explain the trees without sounding like an insane hothead.
"Hey, we need to talk..." said Maka, walking over the felled trunks and stopping in front of Sarah, hands on her hips. " I want to know: why do you and Black*Star not get along?"
Sarah looked a taken aback by the sudden question, but surprise was replaced by fury. "How the hell should I freaking know? I don't have all these damn answers!" Maka blinked. Sarah never really cursed unless she was majorly p.o'ed, so this was really new to her.
"Well, it seems that sometimes..." began Maka again, trying not to get derailed by the sudden outburst.
"Sometimes what?" Sarah nearly barked, her tear-streaked face pitifully angry.
"Well—I—," Maka cleared her throat. "Ahem...Look Sarah, you may not like Black*Star. We get that. He gets on my nerves at times too, but...I Tsubaki told about 'learning to understand'...and I think you should come back with us..."
After thinking this over for about twenty seconds Sarah sighed and nodded, her tears ceasing."One one condition," she said so quietly Maka had to lean forward to hear. "Me and Soul get to go on a mission together later on."
Maka mulled this over a bit, mischief present in her strikingly bright eyes. That could definitely be arranged. Besides, Danny was closer to being a Death Scythe, and considering the fact that Sarah needed a partner (though technically she really didn't), Maka had a request of her own.
"Sure," said Maka, nodding at the reasonable request. "In fact, you can have Soul as a partner one day if Danny replaces him as my weapon." She waited for the response for what seems an eon. At first Sarah's mouth twitched in what seemed to be annoyance, but it actually turned out to be in amusement. She nearly laughed herself to death right there and then, tears of mirth rolling down her cheeks. "We have a deal?" said Maka, nearly failing at not getting caught up in the hilarity herself. She held up a gloved hand. Sarah stopped laughing to look at the beige piece of leather offered out to her and wiped her face with her sleeve, a grin now on her mouth.
"Deal," agreed Sarah. "But we got to make sure the boys don't catch on...I bet they don't like being treated like objects."
"They are boys, after all, that can turn into objects..." said Maka, cracking up as well.
Sarah bowed deeply, her hands folded across her lap as she dipped her head forward. "I'm sorry I hit you Black*Star!" she sputtered. "It's just...It brought back a memory. Gomen-nasai!"
"It's okay," he said easily, scratching his head. "A big guy like me doesn't get hurt that easily! But, um, Sarah, you know I didn't mean those things, right?"
"A-and I'm sorry as well!" said Maka. "For screwing up the mood!"
"Well then," said Stein. "It seems you've made up nicely. Going to try again?"
"Oh, Papa, can I join in as well?" said Sarah hopefully. "I think I have a way to smooth out the wavelengths clarity."
He nodded in consent and she joined in their little formation. She stood at one end of the quadrangle, Kid to her left, Maka to her right, and Black*Star right across from her.
From now on we're comrades entrusting each other with our lives... thought Maka It's obvious that we're going to have to care about each other...
I can feel it......the power of the three soul wavelengths...!
Black*Star and Kid's wavelengths matched up, the blue of their souls turning aqua colored.
...
Sarah was in her soul, the Mahogany floorboards shining beneath her feet under the lone spotlight above her head. She was dressed in a floor-length silk gown made of various shades of violet. The top resembled a kimono, except for the sleeves, which were long and draped over her arm, but short enough that they stopped just past her elbow, white ruffles lining the bottoms of them. The rest of the dress fanned out Gothic style, layers of black lace overlaying the lolita-cut bottom. White ruffles were on the bottom of the dress as well, and she wore purple knee length converses on her feet. Around her (except for the one spotlight) it was mostly dark, but she looked around anyway. In front of her was a dark purple curtain that reached upwards as far as she could see. She yanked back the curtain, and a familiar, sarcastic weapon turned around in surprise.
"Sarah?" asked Soul. He looked to the little devil in surprise. "What is this? We're not even resonating yet!"
"Who said you weren't?" replied the devil settling comfortably into the chair he was sitting in. "You both know you have a special bond."
"Soul? Where are we?" she looked at him in confusion at his own surroundings. There were black drapes everywhere, the floor was an alternating pattern of red and black marble, and a magnificently polished black grand piano stood menacingly in the corner right next to an old fashioned gramophone on a stand.
"It's a long story," he said, his rouge eyes evasive.
The combined wavelength of Kid and Black*Star made its way over to Maka...
"You can hear it, can't you?" said Sarah suddenly, noting the way Soul tapped his hand on his thigh. He looked at her astonished as if she had read his mind. (Though with her it was a distinct possibility.) Sarah nodded. "I can hear it as well. I can feel the beat. The soul wavelength, It's become rhythmic. That sound..It's like a chord." She closed her eyes and swayed to the sound.
"Can you really hear it too Soul?" said Sarah, her expression whimsically delighted.
Soul nodded once in agreement and smiled. "Yeah, something like that..."
" Why won't you let me help you?" said the devil, interrupting their shared moment of understanding.
"Yeah," said another voice. The girl that Sarah had seen earlier stepped from the shadows that concealed her own soul. "Let us help you."
"The piano could speed things along quite nicely," added the devil, pointing to the instrument.
"Wait, who are you?" said Soul, staring at the girl. "And," he turned to the devil. "You're a rude little troll, aren't you? This is a really good sound. Shut up for a second."
"I'm Kikami," said the girl, grinning at Sarah, who glared back, not liking where the conversation was going.
"Same to you," replied Sarah angrily. "Shut up." With a defiant look, she turned her head, her loose curly hair unhindered by hair-ties bounced indignantly.
...
"There's no need to struggle to understand each other... We should appreciate the space between us, and just believe..."
When the combined wavelengths of her friends finally met at Sarah, the sound became even more uniform, all the background noise fading away as power surged throughout her being and resonating in her bones.
"Even if you gather similar people together," said Soul, "you can't just build a sound like this..."
Stein looked at the end-result with a slight smile. "You pass," he announced with a bit of pride. The group's resonance link swayed this way and that, as their uncertainty grew stronger in anticipation of the next statement they knew was coming. "The leader of this team... Is Sarah..." Sarah opened her eyes in surprise, but didn't break the resonance link just yet. She looked down at her hands, they had been unbandaged for a couple days now. She followed the scars with her eyes, but smiled from the happiness that reeled within her heart. Within her soul... She was needed. She belonged.
She had friends.
...
Maka and the crew were walking back home after Duel Arts practice, muscles raw but hopes high. Sarah, however was still a bundle of hyperactive energy...hopping from cobblestone to cobblestone on the moonlit path to the apartments. Liz yawned, and leaned on Kid while they walked, with Patty holding her hand.
"Sarah is the leader of this team, huh..." mused Black*Star, somewhat disappointed. His hands were behind his head as he walked ahead of the group.
"Thank goodness we passed," whined Liz. "I don't think I can take the pressure of going through so much drama!" Kid chuckled as he rolled his eyes in amusement at the entire situation that had unfolded.
"This time I made Maka cry was really serious, though," pointed out Black*Star, who would just not let the matter drop as of yet. "I guess women have a lot of stuff on their minds, y'know?"
"No," corrected Maka, insulted at the comment, fiery disposition back. "That was just me roaring! Who'd cry in front of all those people! That's downright shameful!"
Sarah grimaced. "Well, I cried..." she admitted, none too proud of the show of weakness. Maka 's hand flew to her mouth and she pat her cousin on the back in apology.
"Oh, well, if it's you Sarah, then it's ok." She turned to Black*Star. "All that aside, Black*Star!"
"What?"
"Hit me."
He stopped walking, and turned around. His jaw was nearly on the floor."Huh! Are you crazy?"
"It's payback for when I hit you earlier." explained Maka. "I feel bad leaving it this way."
"Wait a minute, Maka," said Soul, hesitant.
Black*Star suddenly grinned evilly and cracked his knuckles. "I'm not gonna do it half-assed."
"That'd be meaningless...You know how to throw a punch?"
"Who the hell do you think you're talking to? You'd better grit your teeth."
And before anyone else could react, Black*Star had socked her in the chin. Maka sailed over their heads and into some trash cans, sending garbage flying. She lay in the dirt and smiled, despite her throbbing cheek.
"You... hold back a little, will you?"said Soul. "Ah, man... that wasn't cool at all..."
"Ouch..." muttered Maka getting up.
"Same here Black*Star.." said Sarah, "hit me as well, I deserve it!"
Black*Star sighed and folded his arms."You're not just following your cousin, are you?"
She giggled. "No... But to be fair, I punched you father than Ane did." Sarah stood and waited for the punch..Black*Star sighed again and attacked the girl head on, but when his fist met her face he froze. Her head snapped to the side, but she had remained where she was. Black*Star gripped his hand and Sarah opened her eye a crack.
"Hmm?" she said, confused.
"DAMMIT THAT HURT!" said Black*Star, pain shooting up and down his arm. Hitting her felt like punching lead. Everyone burst into laughter as they walked back home, Sarah glancing up ever so often to see the moon giggling silently to itself. But...was that blood dripping out of its mouth?
"Nah," she said, stealing Soul's headband right off of his head and waving it like a banner behind her as she ran. "Catch me if you can, Soru-chan!"
He scowled playfully, taking off after the crazy chick he called a friend.