I know, this is really late. Sorry! I had my competition last Saturday.
Disclaimer: I do not own Soul Eater.
"No." I said after a long pause, "I highly doubt that."
"You don't understand."
"Then make me understand." I crossed my arms and leaned against the sofa across from her. I hoped in the end her talking about it would do more good than harm.
"Noah didn't assign him as my partner. Kaori and I met in middle school and we became really good friends and… I knew he would do anything for me… I never asked him to come with me, but I didn't stop him from coming along either! I didn't even try!" she clenched the book tightly, "My parents spoke about nothing but my Meister training, and I knew I would despise Noah and everyone there. I knew what was in store for me; I didn't want to be alone. I was completely selfish, and it ended in his death."
She raked shaky fingers through her hair and avoided my gaze. I didn't think anything of it until she swiped the back of her wrist across her face.
"Wait, Kuro-"
"He was killed right in front of me Kid! Right after a mission when I thought I ran far enough, he saw that bastard first and got in the way," the book dropped to the floor, and her hand flew to her mouth to try and stifle the cracking of her voice. She was speaking so fast I could barely understand her.
"He died in my arms and I couldn't do anything to save him-"
Before she even began sobbing I grabbed her arm and pulled her to me. Her reaction was slow at first, possibly just as surprised by my actions as I was, but then she leaned into me, her hands resting on my chest as she clenched my dress shirt.
"He was everything to me." a soft sob escaped her, but her tears fell silently.
"I know," I managed through the sudden hollow feeling in my chest, "Kuro, it was beyond your control. He agreed to stay with you because he wanted to." I said gently in an attempt to soothe her.
"I could've stopped him."
"Maybe, maybe not, but in the end you didn't force him to stay with you, nor did you force him to protect you. He cared about you, and I'm sure he knew you cared about him just as much." Slowly, her breathing regulated. She was starting to calm down but she didn't move away; I was completely fine with that.
Could she ever care about me like this? Even though her partner was killed and she had all these pent up emotions, I feel like she felt more for Kaori than she let on. They were obviously very close, but there was no kidding myself. I already knew the answer to my question. I'm a Shinigami with an unwavering obsession over symmetry. Who'd harbor feelings for someone who had a fit over a hallway being asymmetrical?
At that, I held her closer to me, feeling her warmth against the tight feeling in my stomach. I may be a Shinigami, but that didn't make me ignorant to human emotions. I still felt them, and I've read more than enough to understand them to an extent. What I was feeling, I realized, was something beyond my control.
"You don't have to be alone anymore," I said softly, stroking her hair, "We're here; I'm here." She pushed back an inch to look up at me and I tucked a few strands of hair behind her ear.
"I must look like such a baby right now." She tried laughing as she rubbed her red, puffy eyes.
"Don't worry. You always look that way." I laughed when she smacked my chest.
"Whoa." Liz blinked from the stairs, "Am I interrupting something?"
"No," I said, letting go of Kuro as she backed up, "We-"
"Wait, are you okay?" Liz asked, coming forward immediately at the sight of Kuro, "What happened? Why were you crying?"
"I slipped on the ladder and hit my head." Kuro smiled sheepishly and shrugged. I glanced at her, remarking how good a liar she was.
"Oh crap. Should we get you checked out? Soul wanted to see if we wanted to play basketball but I'll tell him to forget it-"
"Liz I'm fine." Kuro shook her head reassuringly, "Let's go play."
"...Alright." she said after a wary pause, "We need to find Char though. Death knows where she is."
"Is this place really that big?" Kuro asked as I walked ahead towards the doorway.
"Yes." Liz and I said in sync.
We found Char wandering around the dining room, and she looked more than relieved to see us. She didn't want to admit it, but it was obvious she had gotten lost, even though the living room was in the left hall. After gathering Patti, who gave Kuro an origami giraffe, we left to our usual spot downtown. After the pleasantries, BlackStar stole the ball from Soul's arm and ran off with it, laughing obnoxiously on his way there.
"Watch me make this shot!" he said, throwing the ball so hard the it bounced back on the backboard and ricocheted to hit his head. He fell back and we all cracked up.
"Some god; can't even shoot a damn basketball!" Soul laughed while BlackStar glared at him.
"Watch it, spiky!"
"You're one to talk." Soul said, gesturing to his pointy blue hair.
"I bet I can one up both of you." Char challenged.
Soul smirked, "Huh. Okay. I'll take that."
"Please," BlackStar scoffed, "No one can beat me!"
"My team beat you last time." I chuckled at his arrogance.
"Can it!" Soul grabbed the ball from BlackStar, "Let's figure out teams."
Once we figured out who was playing, we ended up with an uneven number. BlackStar wanted to have a rematch with me, so I decided to take the lesser number. It was Liz, Char, and I against BlackStar, Soul, Patti, and Tsubaki. I wasn't entirely focused on the game; I kept glancing at Kuro and Maka sitting together at a bench. Kuro was reading but at times she would look up at the game, then she and Maka began talking, seemingly about something important. Once the game ended we lost by two points, with Char having helped us keep up.
"I won!" BlackStar whooped.
"At least you'll shut up now." I said.
"Char, cool skills though." Soul high-fived her while she thanked him.
"How about another round?" Kuro came to stand beside me with, to the group's surprise, Maka.
We made up different teams but this time the game was for fun, seeing as Maka and Kuro had no idea what they were doing. After the game we were all exhausted from laughing at Kuro and Maka and sat against the cement wall under a tree.
"Hey, Kid," Kuro threw me a bottled water. I nodded in thanks. "Can I ask you something?"
"Of course."
She lowered her voice to a whisper and got closer to me, "Do you think… Soul may have any feelings for Maka?"
"If he does he's hiding it well," It occurred to me that this was what they could've been talking about earlier, "Why?"
She hesitated for a second before continuing, "Don't tell anyone yet but… Maka has certain feelings for Soul. It was hell trying to get it out of her, but I knew she was hiding it."
"Did she say she did directly?" It didn't seem like Maka to openly talk about her emotions.
"Well… no," she said, knowing it sounded weird. "But I just know. Have you seen the way she looks at him? How she gets all jealous when Blair gets all…" She shook her head, "I was gonna ask all the girls to help me hook them up but we need to figure out Soul's feelings first."
"Well you're gonna have some trouble getting it out of him too," I said, unscrewing the bottle and taking a drink, "I'll talk to BlackStar and then we'll chat with Soul."
"No! Don't tell BlackStar… he's got such a big mouth."
"He'll stay quiet." I hope.
"Okay-" suddenly she yelped when Char jumped on her back, causing her to have to catch her balance, "Char!"
"Let's go get food!" Char laughed; successfully startling Kuro.
"Food sounds great!" Tsubaki exclaimed.
"Food, food, food~" Patti sang, holding her sister's hand.
"There's a pizza place right down the block." Maka suggested.
"Let's go, let's go!" BlackStar rushed, "The god needs nourishment!"
"Shut up." Soul slapped the back of his head.
Kuro laughed as Char started to pull her away. We were possibly the craziest group of people she's ever met - with Noah and his lackeys taking first place in every way - but I think to her, we were the closest thing to family. If she were with Noah any longer, I don't think she would've lasted. Not because Noah would have her killed. She's got a fire in her, but it was smoldering before she escaped; strength can only last for so long. However, it sparked; it sparked when we met the second time in the infirmary. I could see it in her eyes; hope, happiness, and freedom. It's now that I realize why she's never made a big deal about what occurred and what she did for me that night; it's now that I realize that I saved her too.
She was asymmetrical; the embodiment of imperfection in my eyes. The scar on her face defiled her complexion and features, but she is Kuro; a stubborn and sarcastic, but strong, intelligent and courageous girl. As much as the scars on her body irked me, I find my eyes search for her anyway. How someone so imperfect could catch my attention was beyond me, but she caught it, and I couldn't stop it. As much as I didn't want to, as much as I knew how hopeless it was, I have slowly grown feelings for Kuro Bara.
End of Chapter XIII
Thanks for reading!
- Limiterlys