Ohmygod do you guys hate me? I haven't updated in the longest time and I have no excuse. Well, no good one at least.
This is a really long one, so maybe that will warrant your forgiveness?
Either way! I'm sorry!
Cop Out.
.
The train bumped and shook lightly on the tracks, lulling Maka as she looked out the window at the scenery speeding past them. Soul's head was in her lap as he napped lazily, sprawled out and taking up the rest of the bench they were seated on. On the bench across from them, in a similar state, were Black Star and Tsubaki. The main difference was that Black Star was awake and whispering things to Tsubaki that was making her giggle and blush. He kept reaching up and toying with her bangs, making Maka feel like she was intruding on a very personal moment for them.
She would have to punch Soul later for falling asleep and leaving her in such an awkward situation alone.
A large section of the train was filled with her fellow classmates: Kid, Patti and Liz occupied their cart with Kilik and his twin weapons, while another was filled with Ox, Harvar, Kim and Jackie. The only other people she knew were her old teachers: Sid was with Nygas, her Father (she scowled at the thought) was on board, probably with some random girl, and Yumi was somewhere as well. The rest of the train was filled with people she didn't know personally, but generally had heard of.
They were all on their way to the same event: Marie and Stein's wedding.
It really was strange how it all came about; although no one could say they didn't see something like this coming. Everyone knew Marie and Stein had been living together for quite some time, but most just assumed was strictly to help keep Stein's insanity to manageable levels. Once the couple revealed it was more than just that, it wasn't long before an engagement was announced.
Honestly, Maka worried for Marie's safety, being married to such a man. But if she was happy, then Maka was happy. She was quite fond of the one eyed Death Scythe Hammer.
Soul stirred a little before waking, stretching his arms over his head and sitting up groggily,
"Are we there yet," He complained, slumping against Maka, still half asleep,
"No, not yet," She said for the thousandth time, "Honestly, you're worse than a six year old,"
"Ngh, I've been called worse," He nestled his face into her neck a little, wanting to sleep more. She slouched him off, not making him move entirely, but lightening him up a little. She was still a little weird about how touchy-feely the two of them had become lately. Soul grumbled slightly before getting comfortable against her,
"Why's it gotta be so damn far away?" He groaned, "Trains take forever,"
"I don't know," Maka sighed, admitting she wished they would just be married in Death City. Marie had insisted it be in a more suitable location, one that seemed more wedding-esk. I guess a town where Halloween was almost year round didn't seem a nice play to get hitched. Maka would never understand. But Marie convinced everyone to come by saying it would be a great vacation, and Lord Death could watch through a mirror, being involved as well. The fact that it was on a California beach suited everyone just fine, sealed with Stein offering to pay for transportation. Everyone accepted. It wasn't until the week before they found out it meant a train and not a plane taking them, and a train from Nevada to California was much too long.
Now they'd been on the road for quite some time, and were restless to arrive.
"Hey," Soul drawled, snapping Maka's attention back to him, "Does this mean I get to see you in a bikini?" He wagged his eyebrows suggestively before Maka pushed him off of her,
"Shut up," She said, now wishing she had brought a bathing suit that covered more of her,
"Whatever," he rolled his eyes, "Not like there's much to see any—OW!"
Where that woman located books at times like these he would never know.
"I like you better when you're asleep," Maka fumed,
"Would you two shut up?" Black Star finally addressed them, Tsubaki shushed him,
"S-sorry!" She smiled at them, "He's just grumpy from the train!"
"Like hell I am! God's don't get grumpy," He sat up from her lap and stood, walking towards the door, "I think we're almost there anyway,"
"How do you know?" Maka eyed him skeptically,
"God's intuition, you wouldn't understand," he laughed loudly and Soul joined in when Maka crossed her arms over her chest sharply.
Much to Maka's dismay, Black Star was actually right. They pulled into the station a short time after, and everyone left immediately to settle into their hotel rooms.
Soul dropped their luggage in the room with a loud 'thunk' before launching himself on to one of the double beds in the room. Maka followed behind him laughing a little, he rolled over to look at her before grinning stupidly. She sat on the edge of the bed and massaged a sore spot on her neck slightly. He watched for a moment before sitting up and kneeling behind her, his hands taking over for hers as he worked out the knot in her neck.
Maka let him do it graciously. He was always way better at this then she was anyway.
She gave tribute to his piano skills for that.
They sat like that for a while in silence before the weapon collapsed onto her, his chest against her back, head on her shoulder, his arms shadowing hers slightly.
"I'm so fucking tired," He complained. She laughed,
"You slept all day!"
"But it was train sleep, that doesn't count,"
"Well it's early! We can't sleep yet! This is our vacation remember?"
Soul grumbled, removing himself from his Meister and falling onto the bed, pulling out his cell phone and staring at the screen blankly,
"Vacation means relaxing: sleep is relaxing," he dropped his phone onto the bed lazily, "We have like a week,"
"No," she said turning towards him, "We have until Lord Death calls us back,"
"Can't the Kishin's just sod off for a little while? Until I feel like killing them again?" He grinned when she rolled her eyes,
"Okay Soul, I'll just let them know that right away,"
He laughed, but they both knew she was right. Having all the DWMA students and teachers in one place was so beyond risky. Maka was surprised Lord Death allowed it at all, but she trusted his judgement. At least California would be the safest place on the face of the earth for the next week.
She knew that if something came up, they'd rush out in a second. Soul had recently become a Death Scythe, and the only way for her to stay his partner was for her to agree to be shipped off whenever and wherever they were needed.
All this was fine; Maka probably wouldn't be worried at all, except for one thing: the Kishin they had been fighting that got away. His name was Steven.
It was probably a stupid thing to worry about, it had been about a month since they last saw him, but she couldn't shake it. This particular Kishin was obsessed with the duo. He was dead set on separating the two of them for the majority of the battle, and when he finally realized he didn't have a way of doing such; vanished. He had been off the radar ever since. It wasn't that Maka was scared for her own safety; it was that of the civilians she needed to protect. If Steven, or any other Kishin for that matter, knew about all the Weapons and Technicians being absent from their normal places, there would be chaos.
But then again, events like this happened in the past frequently, and there was a never issue then.
Maka shook her head, needing to relax. She lay down beside Soul and closed her eyes tightly, trying to shake the unpleasant thoughts. Soul noticed her grim expression, turning towards her,
"Stop thinking about him," he said softly, "He's not going to do anything right now,"
Maka nodded in response, her brows still furrowed,
"I'm just worried,"
"Well cut it out," he joked, smirking when she shot him a glare,
"Oh, that's a responsible thing to say," she got up wandering over to her suitcase, unzipping it. Soul watched her, amused,
"Listen," He said, swinging his legs over the side of the bed, "He won't do anything while we're on vacation, and we'll have fun, go home and then kick his ass, okay? I promise," She looked at him skeptically, but when he grinned at her for the thousandth time that day, she caved,
"Okay,"
The vacation was fun, Maka wouldn't deny that. How long had it been since they all got an extended period of time together where they could just goof off like this? No one could remember.
The beach was everyone's favorite spot to be, and almost everyone spent all their time there.
Maka had brought a Bikini, much to Soul's infinite delight, and after getting over her initial shyness about the whole thing, wore it frequently.
Patty and Liz forced Kid to buy them ice cream almost every chance they got, he grumbled about them becoming asymmetrical but gave in when Liz threatened to splash bleach on his laundry next time she did it for him (which was always now a days). The thought so horrified them that he bought them almost anything they asked for.
Black Star kept challenging everyone to beach volleyball, and winning repeatedly and with such arrogance that no one would play him anymore. He sulked for a while after that before Tsubaki cheered him up.
Ox chased Kim around the beach while Jackie and Kilik watched lazily, neither particularly enthralled with the cat and mouse, hard to get angle Kim wouldn't stop playing at.
It had been five days of pure bliss for everyone. They went dancing at night, they bummed around the beach during the day and it only rained once. Maka was excited to get some reading done, but Soul forced her to go into town with the rest of the group and go shopping in the large malls they had.
She had to admit, she did have fun.
The wedding was the next day; Maka couldn't believe they hadn't been called away. In fact, it worried her slightly. Soul noticed a few times and repeatedly attempted to quell her fears in his own charming way. It usually worked.
But tonight, as the group sat around a campfire on the beach, she couldn't shake the uneasy feeling that was filling her. She could feel something strange in her Soul Perception and it was bothering her beyond belief. She couldn't figure out what it was. She stared into the fire, her eyebrows furrowed, not listening to the story Black Star was telling as the others laughed. She was so focused on honing in on whatever it was; she accidently slipped her mind connection into Soul's.
What's the matter?
She jumped a little, his voice loud in her mind. She looked across the fire to see him staring at her intensely, his thoughts now inside her head as his grim expression matched hers.
Something's wrong.
She thought back. His brows furrowed deeper,
Well, what is it?
I don't know. I can't tell. It's weird.
She shook her head not able to explain in thoughts alone. He stood, knowing this to be true and strode around the fire, sitting down beside her,
"What's weird? What is it?" He said in a low tone, not wanting to worry the others,
"Something in my Soul Perception. It's probably fine; it's just a slight reading that I don't really understand." She closed her eyes, focusing again on the strange disturbance, it seemed far away. She exhaled sharply, feeling frustrated.
"Well, if it's fine…" He leaned back slightly, trying not to be worried about it. She stood sharply,
"I'm just going to go see if I can sort it out," She said, brushing the sand off her shirt. If the problem was that this strange soul was far away, going a little closer might solved the problem.
"Okay, I'll go with you," Soul started to stand,
"No, no, it's fine," she smiled, "It's probably just one of the Death Scythe's soul's that I'm not as familiar with. I'm just going to go look for curiosity's sake," she grinned at him before his expression relaxed,
"Okay well, don't go far, yeah?" He fidgeted, not wanting her to go alone, but well aware that she didn't necessarily want him to go with her. He sighed, knowing his Meister liked time to herself like this to sort out her own specific powers. It was kind of like a weird sort of training. Also, they weren't far from the resort, where almost all the death scythes were staying. Tonight, this beach was the safest in the world,
"I won't!" She beamed before sauntering away from the campfire and in the direction of the large resort bar to find the disturbance,
"And call my phone when you get there okay?" He yelled after her, holding his cell up to her, illustrating his point.
"I left mine back in the room! I'll borrow someone's!" She shouted back at him she walked further away. He shrugged before stuffing his phone back into his pocket and gazing at the bon fire.
What Maka really wanted to do was to find Stein and ask if he'd felt anything similar, but it was the night before his wedding, and bothering him with something like this seemed rude if not boring. Then there was her father, but he was probably busy with a group of local women. Maka crinkled her nose at the thought. The man was growing more repulsive by the day.
She walked across the dark beach, the lit up resort in front of her, guiding her path, the dim light from the campfire behind her, her friend's laughter fading slowly as she walked. It wasn't necessarily cold, but the cool breeze accompanied by the sound of the ocean washing along the sandy shore somehow sent shivers down her spine. She suddenly wished Soul had come with her after all. She shook the idea from her head and quickened her pace; she didn't need to depend on a man for something as trivial as walking to the resort. It was stupid.
A cold wind ripped around her face as suddenly something in her Soul Perception clicked into place. Her eyes winded as she turned suddenly, her breath getting caught in her throat as she was struck from the side quickly, she flew through the air for only a moment before regaining her senses, turning sharply and landing with one knee bent, her leg extended to the side to keep her steady,
"Ever the pleasure, Maka Albarn: I see the time we've spent apart hasn't weakened your abilities any," A figure materialized from the darkness, his features only slightly illuminated in the moonlight. Maka's lip curled as she studied him: his black fedora tightly on his head, his unbuttoned dress shirt; the breeze catching it and showing the large black tattoos across his chest.
"Steven," Maka growled, standing to her feet. She wanted to slap herself for forgetting her phone tonight.
"In the flesh," He took a slight bow, but his nonchalant stature remained, as always: one leg crossed over the next as he stood with his hands on his hips, looking at her, an amused smirk on his lips.
Maka's eyes darted to the campfire, now only a glowing light in the distance where her friends were: where Soul was. Steven followed her gaze,
"Oh dear, left the weapon behind I see?" He chuckled darkly, "And here I was starting to think you two were inseparable,"
"The disruption in my Soul Perception…" Maka's eyes darkened as she realized she had fell right into his trap,
"Well, you know what they say: curiosity killed the cat and all that," He laughed loudly, the insanity only heightening his soul's strength. Maka could see it quadruple in size through her Soul Perception as she stumbled backwards,
"And you, kitten," He growled, "Don't seem to have anyone here to help you this time,"
A scream pierced through the night, echoing off the water as Souls head snapped towards the dark beach. In seconds he was on his feet, running headlong towards the resort. The others all stood and followed slightly behind, stunned and slightly confused. Black Star caught up to Soul first,
"Was that—" Black Star matched Soul's quick strides easily,
"Maka!" Soul shouted into the darkness, only pushing forward when there was no reply. Soul stopped abruptly, observing the sand around him quickly,
"Shit!" He roared, kicking the ground harshly before pacing wildly, his head in his hands, "This is bad, this really fucking bad,"
Black Star knelt and touched the disrupted sand lightly. There had definitely been some sort of fight here, however brief it was. He traced along the movements of the sand with his eyes quickly, recognizing Maka's distinctive movements: she had been hit, definitely regained her footing, but then…
"Black Star!" Tsubaki stopped, catching her breath as the others arrived behind her, "What's happened? What's wrong?"
"Maka's been attacked." He said darkly, standing and taking a few quick strides away from her,
"Attacked?" Kid questioned, "By whom? Who is stupid enough to attack a meister while almost the entire faculty of DWMA is practically around the corner?" Kid furrowed his brows,
"Someone cocky enough to think they could get away it," Soul growled.
"Over here!" Black Star said grimly, as everyone gathered around him slowly. Soul swore loudly as a snarl ripped through his chest. Blood was splattered across the sand,
"No!" Liz gasped, her hand at her mouth,
"I have to find her," Soul panted, his hands in fists, "This is so stupid! I shouldn't have let her go alone!"
"How did this even happen?" Kim asked, Jackie close to her side,
"She felt something in her Soul Perception and wanted to ask a Death Scythe about it, so I let her go alone. I should have known that bastard would have tried something like this!" Soul started searching the sand for a lead of where he could have taken her,
"Who would have tried something?" Tsubaki chirped,
"Steven! That fucking Kishin!"
"The one you two were fighting months ago?" Ox scoffed, "She'll be fine: we've practically got an armada here."
"He's right," Kid said, clapping a hand on Soul's shoulder, he shrugged it off quickly and continued searching the sand, "Listen, let's split up and search the city: Kilik, you go inform the Death Scythes of what's happened, we'll find her before the wedding even starts, alright?"
"Yeah." Soul felt the pit in his stomach tighten,
"Call me or Soul if you find anything!" Kid barked before catching the Thompson's in their weapon state and dashing headlong towards the nearest group of buildings.
Everyone followed and took off swiftly into the city, most Meisters flying on their weapons to have an overhead view. Soul, refusing to go with any team, ran through the empty streets, his mind racing as he noticed a splash of blood on one of the cobblestones. He stopped abruptly, touching it with his hand lightly: still wet, still warm. She was close. His eyes scanned the street before he found another splash,
Better than breadcrumbs
He thought darkly, following the trail. It was convenient in a weird way; they were frequent and easy to follow. Soul skidded around the corner, seeing a smeared handprint on the wall. It was easy to follow.
It was
Easy
To follow.
He stopped suddenly, his eyes growing wide as panic hit him full force.
Of course: A set up.
He barely had time to think this before a dark figure darted at him from around the wall of one of the old buildings. His arm quickly morphed into a Scythe as he turned sharply to the side, blocking a swift attack. A flurry of sparks slid into the night air, illuminating the grinning face of exactly who Soul expected.
"Steven!" He roared, jumping backwards before charging the Kishin, his Scythed arm held high. He swung once, but Steven sidestepped him easily, bringing his elbow down hard into the crown of Soul's head. He fell forward, crashing into the ground with great force. He was only down for a moment before he rolled and was on his feet once more. Staggering a little, a thick stream of red blood started pouring from his snowy hair down the side of his face. Steven stared at him, the confident smirk never leaving his lips.
"Where is she," Soul growled at the Kishin,
"You don't have to be so mean," Steven pretended to pout as he and Soul began circling each other, "Maybe if you say please then—"
"Tell me now you son of a bitch!"
"I don't know who you're talking about," Steven smiled sickeningly,
"Tell me now or I will rip you limb from limb," Soul gritted. This was bad. He and Maka had tried to take this guy down before; he was tough and at the moment, Soul was a man down. He needed to get to his phone and call Kid, and he needed to do it now.
"Ohh, that sounds fun. We should try that out." Steven licked his lips slowly, "Or I could try it on dear Maka,"
All reason left his mind as his Meisters name was brought into it. Fury gripped him as he suddenly charged Steven head on, his Scythed arm raised high. It was just the reaction Steven planned to elicit, a fact made very clear to Soul as the Kishin pivoted quickly and slashed Soul's stomach. He quickly brought his knee up and caught Soul under the chin, sending him flying back across the cobblestone leaving a thick trail of blood against the dark stone.
"Tsk, tsk, Scythe boy. One should control their anger. It's so unbecoming, and especially for such a pretty boy like you."
"Shut the fuck up," Soul panted, rising shakily off the ground. He clutched his stomach and tried to focus his swimming vision,
"Still so hostile? And here I was planning on cutting you a deal. Oh well, c'est la vie!" Steven turned and begun walking away sharply before turning his head, "I'll go inform Maka of this recent development."
There was that name again. That wonderful, horrible, terrifying name: Maka. Soul knew he wasn't thinking straight, affirmed when he asked,
"What kind of deal?"
Steven stopped, turning slowly he smiled darkly,
"Why, you for her of course."
Soul froze; he hesitated for one moment before saying,
"Yes."
"Doesn't he want to know the context of which this is?" Steven was beyond amused,
"Tell me." Soul spoke in a low voice,
"Well! To the death!" Steven chuckled,
"You could have easily killed me a few moments ago Steven, why didn't you just—"
"And she watches."
Soul's breath got caught in his throat,
"Why!" He barked harshly, "Why any of this?"
"BECAUSE!" Steven howled, "You, cute little death scythe and your cute little Technician are sickening to me! People respect you but look at you! Separated you are NOTHING! You strive only on each other's strength! Not only will I kill you Soul Evans, I will break Maka. I will show all of DWMA how powerful I am! How much they should fear me! I can break any team of Meister and Weapon and I will start with you." His eyes had rolled into his head as he spoke, his smile stretching far too wide across his face as Soul got a good look of the insanity that had obviously taken control of him.
Steven was slipping. Soul needed to do two things: get Maka to safety, and call Kid. His arm still clutched his bleeding stomach, his head spun and blood was now covering the entire left side of his face,
"But Maka lives?" Soul asked evenly, breaking Steven's state slightly,
"Maka lives if she watches you die!" He laughed wildly as Soul nodded,
"Fine. Do it! Bring her out here now!" He shouted. Steven roared victoriously with laughter,
"Wait right here. Don't you move now!" He spun on his heel and vanished into the dark night. Soul stood anxiously for a few moments, his eyes darting around to make sure Steven was gone before pulling out his cell phone. He fumbled through the contacts before landing on Kid's name he was just about to press the call button when he heard,
"THAT WAS NOT PART OF OUR DEAL SOUL EATER EVANS!" Steven roared behind him, slapping the phone from him roughly. It skidding across the cobblestone and landed about six feet away from them. Steven threw a very dishevelled Maka against the ground roughly before turning and having his second attack blocked by Soul's Scythed arm,
"I was just calling my mom," Soul lied, "Telling her I loved her and all that,"
"LIAR!" Steven roared, reeling and attacking again, Soul blocked it but was sent to his knees in a defensive position,
"Maka!" Soul called, "Maka, talk to me!"
"I'm okay Soul!" She croaked at him, trying to stand,
"NOW SHE DIES TOO!" Steven turned and took a few fast runs towards Maka; she could tell right away he was going for her throat. She evaded his attack at the last second, sending him flying towards the ground with the force of his undelivered blow.
"Soul!" She yelled to her partner who quickly turned into his full scythe form. She caught him and delivered a swift blow across Stevens back.
The Kishin howled in pain, flailing forward before turning, now on all fours, his face twisting into distorted expressions,
"I will kill you," He gurgled, "I will kill you both!" He charged at the duo, his movements sloppy and uncontrolled. Maka had taken serious damage while in the care of Steven, but even still knew she could defeat him. She closed her eyes as she and Soul resonated together quickly. Her eyes flew open as she shouted,
"Witch hunter!" The bright light from Soul hit Steven square on, tearing his left arm and much of his torso from his body.
It didn't slow him down.
Maka's eyes widened as she watched the crazed Kishin continue his approach. She was so stunned she didn't hear Soul yell for her to move, she didn't hear anything. She just saw Soul leave his weapon form before sweeping her legs out from under her. She seemed to fall in slow motion to the ground as Steven collided with Soul, sending them both flying only inches above her and into a solid brick wall of an industrial building ten feet behind her.
Everything was still.
Everything was so still.
Maka staggered to her feet,
"Soul?" She squeaked, somehow finding her voice, "SOUL?" She shouted, now running sloppily to the destroyed wall. She moved rubble away searching,
"Maka," Soul groaned quietly, "Here," he tried to raise his arm but couldn't.
"Where are you?" She was frantic now,
"Calm down," He choked out, "I'm here,"
She finally found him, half buried under rubble. She started pulling away brick, small sobs escaping her as she shook slightly.
"Find Steven," Soul ordered. He knew things weren't looking good for him. He couldn't feel his lower extremities; it was becoming impossible to breathe and keeping his eyes open was more of a chore then anything. Maka quickly scanned the room before finding a crumpled form of a used to be Kishin, as she approached it she saw a large red Soul now glowing underneath it all,
"He's dead!" She shouted running back to Soul's side, "He's dead." She panted, finally looking at her partner. Her eyes widened as she realized the extent of the damage he had taken.
"Good," Soul mumbled. He tried to move but just hissed in pain,
"Don't move!" She ordered, "Where's your phone?"
"Outside… on the ground," Soul could feel his eyes rolling back into his head,
"I'm moving you out there!" Maka shouted.
"Yeah," He groaned.
She hooked her arms under his shoulders and pulled him through the rubble. He tried his best to suppress his screams of agony, but a few escaped. She placed him on the cobblestone gently before locating his phone. She punched in Kids number frantically and screamed into the phone when he answered,
"Kid! You get here now! You get Kim and Stein and everyone else! Soul's hurt badly! Steven's dead. Yes! That's not important now! No, NO! KID! NOW!"
Soul felt his eyes shutting,
"Soul Evans you stay with me now! You don't close those eyes!" She shouted into his face. His eyes opened slowly and looked into her deep green ones, leaning over him she turned her attention back to the phone,
"Kid. This is bad. Yeah. I'll stay on the line,"
"Well shit," Soul groaned, forcing a crooked grin on his face, "This doesn't look good," a trickle of blood fell from his mouth as he spoke and he coughed involuntarily, sending a thick stream from his mouth and down his front.
Maka clutched his arm tightly, her other hand on his face,
"Shut up Soul! Just shut up!" She sobbed as she moved the hair from his forehead, the only action of relief she knew to offer at this moment, "Just hold on a little while, okay? Kim and Stein are on their way,"
"Man," He said weakly, "It's not cool of me to make you worry," He tried to smile again but couldn't muster the energy. He was dying. He knew it, she knew it.
"You're so stupid!" A hot tear spilled from her eye and landed onto his face, "Why do you always have to do stuff like this!" She was crying heavily now, "Stop! Just… don't die! They're on their way!"
"Sorry," He said softly, not sorry at all. If he dying meant her living, he was fine with it. He didn't care. She had saved him from so many things throughout his life; he'd die for her in a second. It seemed like the only correct way to repay her anyhow. The thought ran morbidly through his mind and Maka heard every syllable of it in her own. Her gaze suddenly turned angry,
"You are not dying for me!" She shouted roughly, "This isn't—you can't—" She sputtered indignantly, refusing to let him do this.
He struggled to maintain consciousness,
"Soul Evans!" She roared, "You dying won't repay anything! If you leave me here alone I—I'll—" She didn't know what she would do. She didn't have an answer to the end of the statement, "I won't be able to do it anymore!" She broke down, sobbing loudly she lay her head onto his chest, yelling things he couldn't quite make out.
Somehow, the words stuck with him.
I won't be able to do it anymore
He didn't even really know what it meant, but he was suddenly filled with resolve. There were things he couldn't do if he died, obviously, but it seemed like he never realized them until that point. There were so many things he didn't want.
He didn't want Maka to be sad. Although an egotistical thing to think, he knew that if he died she'd take full responsibility, as she was prone to do, and fall into a state that would be near impossible to get her out of. It would take him a century to get her out of, and he wouldn't be around.
He didn't want Maka to have to live alone. Although it seemed stupid and trivial, it was genuinely something he worried about. If she woke up with her nightmares and he wasn't there to hold her until she silently drifted, who would? When her stupid hair filled up the shower drain, and she was too grossed out, who would snake it out for her? When she studied for way to long, who would force her to goof off for just a little while? Maka Albarn needed a great deal more looking after then she thought she did.
He didn't want Maka to end up with some loser guy. For some reason a large cast of men scanned through his brain quickly. Hiro: he hated that guy, Kilik: he wasn't bad, but not Maka's type, Kid: he was surprised when this one came to his mind; he had nothing against Kid, in fact, he was best friends with the guy, not to mention he was quite preoccupied with Liz anyway… That was probably when he realized it wasn't that he didn't want Maka to end up with some idiot guy, he didn't want her to end up with any guy apart from himself.
The rest of his reasons for living seemed to dissipate with this one, and he clung to it, fighting everything to stay conscious. Maka was still screaming through tears when he finally let the weight overtake him and he drifted into blackness.
She saw his eyes close slowly. Watched in horror as his body went limp, the blood from his chest now all over her hands as she touched his face gently, not knowing what else to do,
"Soul?" She squeaked, unable to process what was happening, "Soul!" She cried louder,
"Hurry up!" She roared into his cell phone, "I think he's—I don't know if he's—" Maka tried to speak, her words racked with sobs, "I think he's dead!" She finally screamed, grabbing her weapon by the shoulders she shook him gently as she heard Stein in her ear,
"We're close Maka," He said calmly, "Stay where you are,"
Like she could go anywhere else. She looked down at her weapon, his skin pale, splotches of blood on everything; she couldn't even tell if he was breathing anymore. She felt sick. She was still trying to wake him when Kim fell from above her, jumping off of Jackie's Lantern form,
"Move!" Kim demanded, pushing Maka off of Soul in a quick movement. Maka tumbled back, disoriented as Kim tore Soul's shirt open. Maka scrambled towards her weapon, only to have Jackie hold her back,
"Relax," She said, clamping her arms on Maka's shoulders as she tried desperately to get to Soul, "You'll only be in her way,"
"Soul," Maka chocked out, her body going limp in defeat as she watched the light from Kim's hands move over the large gash in his stomach and chest. Moments later Stein rounded the corner of an old building, running quickly, accompanied by Kid, Patti and Liz. Kid paled when he saw Soul, his expression dark as he held Liz and Patti's hands as they watched in horror. Stein marched directly to Soul and spoke quickly to Jackie as she tried desperately to heal him. Maka watched the scene in a blur from her spot on the hard cobblestone. Kim called Jackie over and she came immediately, giving Maka a chance to crawl slowly towards him.
It wasn't happening. It couldn't be happening. Somehow her hand found his and she held it tightly as they all worked over him, her gaze fixed on his face.
How many times had she had this nightmare? Him lying there… it being her fault.
At some point Black Star arrived, she heard Tsubaki's voice. Stein was yelling something, they were lifting him. Tsubaki had her, held her back as they took him away.
She was screaming his name, she was fighting Tsubaki, she needed his hand back in hers. She broke free of Tsubaki's grasp and ran towards the group transporting him; Kim was riding Jackie, floating as she worked. She was almost to him with Liz stepped in front of her quickly, her arm moving fast as she slapped her in the face.
The sound echoed in Maka's ears as she froze.
"Stop it!" Liz shouted. Maka's eyes filled with tears as all the sounds returned. Stein and Jackie were shouting orders, Black Star was swearing, Patti was grave, Tsubaki was crying. Liz was staring her in the face, "Stop." She repeated. Maka's eyes widened before her knees buckled and she fell into Liz who caught her easily. She started crying again, frantic as she gripped the female gun weapon.
"Why!" She kept repeating, Liz held her tightly cooing into her ear,
"I know Maka, I know," She said, smoothing her hair as they both fell onto the ground slowly, "I know,"
Soul's eyes opened quickly and darted around. He looked down to discover he was garbed in his usual pinstripe suit, sitting at his usual grand piano in his usual Black Room.
"Well, well, well," The imp crossed his legs politely, Soul turned to see him sitting in the arm chair behind him "If it isn't exactly where we always end up," he took a swig from the glass of wine he was holding, smiling devilishly at Soul,
"And where exactly is that?" Soul replied, turning to face him,
"With you needing my help," His expression darkened, "And not taking it,"
"I don't need your help," Soul scoffed, turning back towards the piano,
"Oh really?" The imp replied, arrogance dripping off each word, "So you're okay with dying now? That wasn't the thought that ran through your mind before you ended up here. Involuntarily I might add," He smirked when Soul's eyes grew wide, suddenly remembering his most recent worldly events,
"Wait, am I-?" Soul looked down at his hands,
"No, no" The imp sighed, "You're not dead. Yet,"
"What do you mean, yet?" Soul stood sharply,
"No need to get fussy," The imp put his hands up defensively, "I'm not the one who got you into this mess," he clicked his tongue when Soul said nothing in reply, "Now as I am well aware, you are stubborn. At times even more so than that damn girl you bring in here," He shook his head as if remembering something painful, "So I would guess you don't want my help?"
"No." Soul replied quickly,
"Well then," The imp slit his eyes, "You will die,"
"Then I guess that's that," Soul shrugged trying to look nonchalant,
"And the girl?" The imp cooed, not missing the visible reaction it got from Soul,
"What about her?"
"You're okay with leaving her?"
"I—" Soul paused for a moment, never feeling so conflicted in his life,
"Listen," The imp growled, annoyed, "I hate that it had to come to this, but since you will not accept my help, there's only one thing left for me to do,"
"And that is?" Soul glared at him while the Imp shook his head slowly,
"Convince you to decide not to die," he said it as if it physically hurt him,
"What?" Soul wasn't expecting that answer,
"As much as I hate you, and believe me, I do, and as much as I desire to be in control of you, there is one thing that is, unfortunately, standing in my way in this specific instance,"
"And that is?"
"I can't survive if you are dead," The imp tapped his foot, annoyed, "So if you won't accept my help, I'm going to have to help you. Because I am simply an extension of you, that's why I drive you mad. I'm everything you hate, but that still makes me a part of you."
Soul furrowed his brows,
"So, you'll help me live through this?"
"I'm doing that right now," The imp exhaled sharply, "At this point all I can do is convince you that you should fight to stay alive,"
"Well then fine, done," Soul said, crossing his arms,
"I should warn you," The imp grinned wickedly, "If you do not accept my help, this will hurt. A lot,"
"Luckily I'm tough as shit,"
"Unfortunately for me,"
"So let's live," he said, tugging on his snowy hair, his crazed, lopsided grin returning as he understood fully the implications of the situation.
"Yes," the imp sighed, "lets."
There were many things he was aware of before he was aware he was conscience. He noticed a monitor, beeping obnoxiously, he noticed his hand was in someone else's, he noticed how much bloody pain he was in with every inhale and exhale and he noticed a small voice, it sounded almost like they were crying.
His eyes opened slowly, everything was so fuzzy before they finally focused on a dark room. He was in a hospital bed. Everything hurt so much. He couldn't move, he didn't want to move. His eyes moved slowly down to a figure, leaning on his bed, holding his hand tightly as little sobs escaped through her shaking shoulders.
"Soul," she said quietly, "Soul, wake up," She cried silently some more before he had enough sense about him to realize it was Maka.
He tried his voice but it didn't seem to work, trying to speak only sent spasms of pain all through his torso, so he simply squeezed her hand gently.
He saw her freeze for a moment, illuminated only by the blue screens of the monitors and computers set up all around his bed. She sat up to look at his hand before her eyes slowly moved up his form and to his face. Her gaze finally met his and he saw her mouth drop open slightly. He tried again to speak but with no success, he tried to grin stupidly at her but he felt too weak. His mouth twitched into a small smile before she leaned in,
"Are you really awake?" She whispered, tension thick in her voice. He blinked slowly at her before deciding the pain would be worth words,
"Maka," he muttered, pain splitting his ribcage, he groaned, gritting his teeth, his eyes squinting shut,
"Soul!" Maka stood up briskly before running out of the room. He was worried for a moment, needing to see her face again, needing to apologize and comfort her.
Luckily, she came running back a few seconds later, pulling a very tired looking Stein behind her.
"Well that's interesting," he said, leaning in to see Soul's face better. If he could speak Soul would have told him off or called him a personal space invader or something like that. The doctor opened Soul's eye wider and shone a light into it. Hissing an intake of air Soul tried to move his head, only causing more waves of pain.
"Is he really…?" Maka stopped, walking towards the bed as Stein moved away to read the monitors, placing her hands on either side of her snowy haired partners face and looking into his crimson eyes, "I can't believe you're awake,"
"I'm sorry," he breathed, feeling the pain immediately, her eyes shone with tears as she grinned at him,
"I knew you'd be okay," She said quietly, moving slowly to place a soft kiss on his cheek, he found the strength to smile a little,
"Is that all?" He said weakly,
"What?" she blinked at him,
"That's it?" he said, ignoring everything in him to stay conscience still. He saw her blush and glance at a preoccupied Stein who was scribbling something down onto his notepad before leaning over and gently pressing her lips against hers. She pulled back; obviously afraid of hurting him and he smiled weakly again,
"I'm going to give him morphine now," Stein interrupted, not looking up from his note pad as he wrote things down, "And then I'm calling Kim down to do her round of healing early and more intensive today, okay Maka?"
"Yes, that's excellent, thank you," She took Soul's hand in her own as Stein injected a vial into the bag of fluids attached the IV in Soul's arm.
He felt his pain diminish slightly and his eyelids close slowly,
"Just hang on a little longer," he heard Maka say before he was out again.
The next weeks were, as the imp promised, painful.
It seemed like Maka never left. Each time Soul regained consciousness, she was either there or very close by. Not that he was complaining, in fact, quite the opposite. He hated the thought of not seeing her. Of feeling this pain and anguish without her there beside him. It was on one occasion she had stepped away that Soul got a chance to talk to Stein privately,
"So," Soul said, exhaling a sigh, "Give it to me straight doc,"
"Hmm?" Stein turned to him, his eyebrow arched,
"Did I ruin your wedding?"
The professor laughed out right before shaking his head,
"No, Soul, if anyone ruined my wedding I'd say it was Steven. And between you and me, please God never tell Marie this, a Death City wedding was what I wanted all along. It just feels more… right." He shrugged,
"Did you gotten hitched while I was out?" He wasn't sure how much time had passed, but he knew it had been a few weeks,
"No not yet," Stein sighed, "Marie wants you there, and she doesn't trust another doctor to take care of you," He chuckled slightly, "That woman needs to learn a little selfishness now and then,"
"Well, I appreciate it a ton," Soul grinned, more than overjoyed that he was well enough to do that as well as converse normally now. He had even started walking around a little again.
"Not at all Soul, I look forward to you seeing me get married. Finally."
It was a month before he was out of the hospital. An entire month before he could continue his life from where he left off, but the thing was, he really only had one thing he needed to finish.
The door to their apartment shut behind him loudly,
"Oh! Tsubaki is that you? I can't study today I'm just about to go see Soul!" his favorite Meister called out to the hall,
"Awh that's too bad, I was really in the mood for some good old learning." Soul called back. There was silence from the other room before her heard a series of very quick footsteps, followed up by a pig tail clade Maka.
"You're here!" She shouted, running to him. She was about to embrace him when she stopped suddenly,
"I'm here," He laughed, "Are you scared of me now, or what?"
"I don't want to break you," She pursed her lips and he laughed,
"Trust me," He stepped in closer to her, "You won't,"
"I'm so glad you're home," She let her arms snake up his and rest on his strong shoulders,
"Yeah," He grinned, "No more nosey doctors,"
"Yeah," She grinned and something within him lit up like a match,
"Now let's do this properly," he said, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her into him. She tripped a little and laughed as he caught her, meeting her blush with his trademark grin before ducking his head down and kissing her with all he had in him.
Yeah. He was glad he was home too.
There you goo! Please tell me what you think! I love reviews :D
Also! I am getting around to writing the requests for this series. If any more of you guys have some, give er', I'll see what I can do!
I promise I'll update again very soon. This one was just on my mind and I needed to get it out before I did the requests.
SOON THOUGH. soon.
LOVE YOU GUYS!