a/n; Thanks so much everyone! I know I've made some spelling errors, but I'm working on it and English isn't always my forte…

I'm slowly going to be making the chapters longer as I get back into the swing of writing. Also, I know black blood is overplayed, but I'm happy with how my plot is unfolding. ouo'

Also, sorry this took so long. I've been spending a lot of time with my boyfriend and also playing xbox. Ahem. -cough- AND I was at college orientation - _ -

I'm never this fucking slow oh man, oh man. -bows- u~u;

Soul Eater

written by caitcadaver 2011

Levitate

"Are you positive that it's black blood?"

"I'm sure of it, Professor."

Stein cocked his head to the side and grinned, a glare from the lights flashing across the lenses of his glasses. He reached up to toy with the bolt going through his head and arched a brow, looking at the young meister sitting across from him. He sighed and lit a cigarette; a nasty habit shared with her father. He cleared his throat and glanced over towards the classroom door which was still shut. Maka had requested to meet with him early – well before class had started. Stein looked her over and then scratched the back of his head, finally speaking up.

"How has his attitude been recently?"

"It has its ups and downs. The days he actually has the nightmares he acts very touchy and he's distant. Other days – especially today – he's cool, calm, and collected like he normally acted before the whole incident with Crona…" Maka gripped her skirt and stared down at the whitening knuckles, her lips forming a hard line.

"Nightmare?"

Maka blinked and looked up. Oh, right. She hadn't explained that at all, had she?

"I hear him during the nights, groaning and sometimes shouting rather loudly… a lot like the time he took the hit from Crona…" Maka squeezed the fabric of her skirt and looked down. "We were positive that after the fight against Asura… that the black blood had been destroyed. For months Soul had been fine and even now… with him being a Death Scythe…"

"It seems as though it was only suppressed. What has Soul got to say about this?"

Silence.

Stein blew a cloud of smoke into the air above him and cocked his head, looking at Maka from the side. She was trembling and it was something that he wasn't quite used to seeing from her. As he parted his lips to speak, Maka cut him off and shook her head side to side, on the brink of tears.

"He won't open up to me about it. He just brushes me off and acts like everything is alright." Maka looked up at Stein. "I only found the black blood on his sheets because of what I walked into when I came home. He had punched the wall and was sweeping it up as if it were nothing. Trying to ignore it, I busied myself with laundry and went into his room… considering he doesn't always tell me when he's got laundry to do." She sighed and rubbed her temples, calming herself.

Seeing that it was almost class time, Stein stood up and winded the screw in his head again. "Tell me Maka, what is Soul to you?"

"What is... Soul... to me?"

"I guarantee you, if you can answer that, you can help Soul. You can't help someone if you don't know what your purpose for helping them is. That was one of the first lessons I taught the two of you." Stein cocked his head to the side and smirked, slipping his hands into his pockets.

The meister parted her lips to speak, but stopped as she, too, realized the time. Maka sighed and pushed herself up to her feet, stretching before making her way to her seat.

The classroom door swung open and in walked the students. Unfortunately, after the bell had already rung, Soul and Black Star walked in. Maka sighed and rubbed her temples again. Not only was she stressed from Stein's last words, but now she had to deal with the fact that Soul was probably going to take his sweet time all day. "At least he didn't skip…."

"What?"

Maka looked up into the eyes of her partner who was staring down at her oddly. She arched a brow and quickly looked away. "You're late. I even woke you up early today…"

Soul grinned widely and sat down, throwing his feet up onto the table's surface. He leaned back in his chair and opened one eye, staring out at his partner. "I know. Black Star and I felt a little detour was needed today. No big deal, Maka." He looked away as Stein rolled across the room in his chair, falling over as usual.

The professor picked himself up and pointed into the air, his other hand adjusting his glasses. "Today we will be dissecting a cat…"

"AGAIN?"

"Soul is becoming a very fine Death Scythe, don't you think?"

"Yeah yeah… but he'll never be good enough for my Ma-" Spirit fell to the ground with a thud as Lord Death's hand came over his head. He curled into a ball and began muttering his daughter's name under his breath while Lord Death turned slightly to the figures approaching.

"Ah, hello hello! What's up, how you doing? Nice to see you!" Lord Death waved and tilted his head as Sid, Marie, and Yumi walked forward. The three of them waved and then looked over at Spirit who was still cowering like a little baby. Lord Death ignored him and bobbed his head back and forth, humming while the three of them adjusted theirselves and came to stand before Lord Death. He moved his hands behind his back and then looked towards Yumi.

"I've heard about your secret project, Yu-chan. How's that going for ya?"

Yumi's index finger pushed her glasses up while her other hand rested on her hip. She glanced sideways at Marie and then coughed into her fist, closing her eyes. "Yes, my students... they'll be arriving here this weekend. To help Spartoi of course." The black-haired Death Scythe opened one eye and looked over as Spirit finally came to join them.

"Ah, I see. Good, good!" Lord Death nodded and then glanced up as if trying to waste their time, but after a minute he chuckled and cocked his head to the side.

Spirit looked dramatically from Yumi to Lord Death, then back to Yumi, his jaw dropping. "We're having more students arrive?" He scratched his head and sighed, his hand resting on his hip.

Yumi looked over at Spirit and cleared her throat again. "Yes, and I suppose your next question is why, right?"

Spirit glowered at her and then turned his head away childishly, folding his arms across his chest. No one said anything until a voice came up in the distance, sounding as though it was partially annoyed. The voice was none other than Stein; late as usual.

"Black blood."

Everyone turned as Stein put out his cigarette and stepped up on to the platform, his hands sliding back into his pockets. He looked up at Lord Death and then reached up, winding his bolt. "Sorry I'm late, but we've got to talk."

Shoving his tray to the side, Soul drooled and leaned forward, grinning as Maka rolled her eyes and pushed the rest of her lunch across the table. Her weapon dove in and left her with his face in her palm, staring the opposite way. Tsubaki and Black Star had skipped out on lunch for some special lesson and Crona was poking at his plate several seats down, looking more depressed than ever. Maka flinched and felt as though somehow it were her own fault, but that wasn't possible. She sighed and slammed her palms down on the table, looking into Soul's eyes.

"Damnit Soul, we need to talk."

Mouth full of food, Soul looked up and blinked. "Fwhy? (Why)"

"Now!" Her sudden demanding tone caused Crona to look up and Kid, Liz, and Patty to stop in their tracks as they came to sit with their friends for lunch. Everyone in the entire cafeteria stopped speaking and all eyes were on the Death Scythe duo. Maka's face was red, but she kept her glare on him and gripped the edge of the table.

She will never... feel... the same.

Soul growled and held his head. Maka softened her gaze a little and reached out to him, but he smacked her hand away and stood up, turning away from her. "Fine, if it's so important that it can't wait, let's go."

The young meister felt her heart skip a beat and it wasn't the good kind of skip. She gripped her fists at her side and muttered something under her breath before walking around to the other side and going on ahead of him. If he wanted to hear her out, he'd follow. She didn't need to order him around.

Seeing her walk out, Soul sighed and glanced back. Everyone quickly went back to eating and pretended to ignore him. He looked back at Kid, but he merely shook his head and went to go sit with Crona. Soul cursed himself and sighed, slipping his hands into his pockets casually. The white-haired teenager slowly followed after her and felt a chill run down his spine as the doors shut behind him.

You're making a mistake... you could have it all, Soul...

"Shut the fuck up."

You'll come around soon enough... ke ke ke...

Soul grinned and suddenly kicked the wall, his hands still in his pockets. "In your dreams, fucker." He brought his foot back and then settled himself, turning to walk after Maka who was long gone from the hall.

Leaning over the railing of the top of the academy, Maka looked out at Death City. Her hair danced in the wind behind her, causing her to tuck a few strands behind her ear. The meister smiled faintly until she heard footsteps behind her. Turning slowly, Maka blinked and looked into the crimson orbs of her partner. Something about him was off and Maka couldn't stand being in the dark any longer. She gripped her fists and then scowled when he stepped forward. "Stay where you are."

Blinking, Soul looked at her and then smirked faintly. He shrugged and slumped down a little, closing his eyes with a slight grin on his face. "Feh... so is this the part where you tell me what I did wrong... or is this going to be another guessing game?" Soul snapped his eyes open and pierced through her green orbs, trying to read her expression.

Nothing.

"Soul, what has been going through your head? What are you hiding..."

Soul sighed, shrugging. "Maka, I'm telling you. I'm not hiding anything, I'm fine." He opened one eye and looked at her, tilting his head to the side.

Maka looked down at the ground and gritted her teeth. She felt herself on the verge of tears and quickly turned around, hugging herself. "Soul, stop. I saw it."

"Saw wh-"

"The blood, Soul! I saw the black blood!" Maka leaned over the railing dramatically and sighed, rubbing her face. She looked out at the city again and glanced to the side, feeling a familiar hand on her shoulder. She ignored him and continued staring out at the city, frowning. "You can depend on me..."

The young Death Scythe gave her shoulder a squeeze and then moved next to her, resting his arms on the railing. He leaned forward and looked out at the city, smirking faintly. "You know... we should have known it would come back. After all, it was fused into my blood. Maka, there will never be an escape." Soul looked over at her and put a hand on her head, rubbing her hair slightly. He stepped away and shoved his hands back into his pockets and shrugged again as he walked away. "Don't go around saying I don't depend on you or trust you. You got it all wrong."

"Soul, we can get through this. We always do." Maka spun around and looked at his back, noticing he refused to turn back around. She reached out slowly, then brought her hand back and glanced away. "We've always made it through."

"Yeah Maka, you're right..."

That's right, Soul. Push her away... keep trying to lock it all away... you'll see how powerful you can really become...

a/n; that took so fucking long and it sucks because i kept re-writing it over and over and over again... like... ugh. but its up and now i can get chapter 3 up. ja?

Yahoo!