Day 3 – Catharsis

In which Maka goes into the Shibusen woods to blow off some steam.

catharsis – the purging of emotions or relieving of emotional tensions, especially through certain kinds of art, as tragedy or music

Hit.

This was stupid. She shouldn't be so agitated and restless, being angry should have been enough. She shouldn't be feeling like an insecure little child. Shouldn't, couldn't, because that meant that she was still as stupid and naïve as she had been all those years ago.

Hit. Hit. Kick.

And really, why had she even thought that he would be different from all those other times? He certainly hadn't given her a single reason to and she'd still gone and believed him not to screw things up for once in his miserable life. That couldn't be so hard, could it? She wasn't messing her life up, why couldn't he just one time keep his own in check?

Kick. Hit. Block. Kick.

Was it because he'd promised her that he wouldn't screw this up, even if he'd broken countless promises he'd made before? Or was it because he was still saying how much he loved her, how much he loved her mother, how much his family meant to him, even if he'd broken it himself?

Hit. Kick. Hit.

Had she honestly expected Spirit Albarn to keep it in his pants for one single week just because Mama was visiting? Yes. Yes, she had. And how stupid she'd been to do so, too! He hadn't even tried not to flirt with the waitresses at the restaurant they'd gone to and every other female they encountered that evening. He hadn't even tried to hide it from her Mama's watching and distrustful eyes.

Block. Kick. Kick.

He hadn't even stopped when Kami had called him out on it, telling him that even if they weren't married anymore, that sort of behaviour was disgusting and she didn't want to see it. He said he understood. He said he'd stop. It didn't even take him another fucking minute before he was at it again, throwing the waitress ogling glances and lewd remarks.

Hit. Hithithithithit.

Couldn't he just – for one damn week – act like the normal father he was supposed to be? For the one week she wanted him to? Bad enough that he had practically made the moves on everything that walked and had a vagina when they were out eating with Mama, it had also sparked a fight of proportions she hadn't experienced since she was a child and her parents just short of a divorce. She'd left. She didn't need the reminder of her not so perfect childhood and her parents were so caught up in an argument that they wouldn't even notice she was gone.

Hi-

"What are you doing here?" Shocked, she turned around, suddenly facing Soul, who had probably not just decided on a whim to go for a walk in the Shibusen woods, which were gloomy and dark and generally not the best route to pick for a night stroll.

"Training", she replied with a clipped tone. She still hadn't gotten this evening wholly out of her system and it was making her irritable and unsociable. Even if her conversation partner was her weapon, who had very possibly been on the lookout for her and only concerned. But he interrupted her training and now she couldn't keep hitting the trees to sort her thoughts. Soul knew her much too well than to leave her alone now.

"I can see that. But you were supposed to be with your mom and Deathscythe." Supposed to. Not anymore she wasn't. "I was wondering what happened when you didn't come home. And when I got to the restaurant you were going to, you weren't there. All I found were your parents fighting like little kids."

Great. She really had worried him after all. This night just got better and better, didn't it?

Soul looked at her and if she hadn't known that he didn't have soul perception, she would have sworn he was looking right into her soul right now. But instead, she just knew that he knew her really, really well and that – soul perception or not – he could figure her out just as easily as she could see his soul, his jagged, protective, loyal soul that adored so much. He sighed. "Come on then, let's do some 'training' or whatever you wanna call it. I know you fight better with a weapon, so don't go and deal with everything yourself, bookworm." Wrong. She didn't fight better with a weapon. She fought better with him. But the alone part – he was probably right about that one. She nodded. Soul wordlessly took her hand and moments later he was grinning at her from the blade of the scythe in her hands. "Isn't this better?"

Yes, it was. A hundred times better. Just feeling the cold metal in her hand made her feel lighter and more confident. She smiled at him and mouthed 'better', to which he responded with the widening of his crooked grin.

Twirl.

It felt good, like a rush of adrenaline and power and relief all at the same time. She wondered why she hadn't asked him to train with her from the beginning on. "It's because you're a stubborn idiot.", Soul chided in her head. She agreed. There was no feeling more marvellous than this one and she should have gotten over herself and asked him to help her before blindly hitting the trees in a desperate attempt to forget the evening.

Slash. Slash. Block.

Why had she gotten so angry again? Her father's womanising was nothing new, she knew his antics, had known them long enough. He wasn't exactly obliged to only look at her mother, not anymore, not when they were long separated. Especially since he had been womanising even back when Mama had still been with them.

Slash. Twirl. Slash. Block. Slash.

And if he and Mama fought – that wasn't anything new either, was it? Papa was womanising like always and Mama didn't like it like always. They'd get into an argument about it and forget about it the next day to start a new one, just like they had always done so long ago. Wasn't it actually good to know that none of them had changed from the people she had known as a child?

Slash.

Maybe she shouldn't have overreacted that much. Maybe she should have just told them to quit it and behave like proper adults for one evening. Maybe she should really do that the next time they did something together as a not-quite family. And maybe then she would actually enjoy their get-together. "It isn't as if you normally take Deathscythe's crap, just hit him with your books like you do to me.", Soul snickered inside of her head. She scoffed. She really should have done that, shouldn't she? "Probably, yeah", Soul immediately commented on her thought, "but you definitely should do something about it. Or else you're really going to destroy the whole forest the next time something like this happens." Yeah, she thought back. I know.

Resonance.

"Thanks, Soul.", Maka said quietly when they were walking back home. She had really needed that and he had probably noticed the second he saw her abusing the trees in her frustration and anger. He could read her better than any book and Maka realized that she liked it that way.

"No problem. Just don't go off alone the next time you have problem. I'm your weapon, Maka, that means I actually want to help you with stuff like that." She knew. She knew so very well that he'd meant every word..

"I get it. I will."

She really couldn't have asked for a better partner.