SUMMER IS HERE! Sorry for the wait everyone, life gets in the way sometimes. I had exams and I finally finished my dual enrollment classes so I'm pretty much free. Hope you'll forgive me!
By the way, a talented user named WinterWhiteWhispers drew amazing art on her take of what happened last chapter! If the link below doesn't work then type in "zodiac-zea" in the search bar on Deviant Art. Check her art out!
art/Ignited-an-Awakened-Soul-446537988
Disclaimer: I do not own Soul Eater.
"How is she?" Father asked as soon as we entered his office; eyeing the two strangers as they bowed to him upon entering. Though they had already put up their Soul Protection, I was sure he knew who they were.
"Unconscious, but unharmed." I answered, glancing at the girl in my arms. The girl I kissed minutes ago. I could feel my face warm up at just the thought, but a part of me was more worried about how she'd react.
"You two sure caused a ruckus." He said to Dominic and air girl as they straightened up. "What are your names?"
"My name is Adria and he's Dominic." Adria said before giving him a look of apology, "We know; it didn't exactly go as planned, but we needed her alone, and we were pretty sure you all wouldn't hand her over to complete strangers. We apologize." She glanced at her brother standing next to her silently. "I'm sure you must've known."
"To an extent, though when the information was brought to me by my son I was still surprised; mostly because it's a bit late for her abilities to be showing up."
"Late?" Maka inquired, "What do you mean?"
"Usually Elementals awaken around puberty; thirteen or fourteen. At least, that's around the time he and I did." Adria answered her question.
The word 'Elemental' caught my attention; that's what Father muttered after he read the passage I gave him.
"Okay, so I'm assuming what you meant by 'awakening' was all the crazy fire crap?" BlackStar asked. This was probably news to most of them, though the caliber of her power caught us all by surprise really.
"Pretty much." Dominic spoke up, his tone coming off impatient.
"Thirteen or fourteen… she would've still been with Noah at the time, right?" Char asked.
I realized what this could mean as soon as Maka said, "That could be why Noah didn't have her killed as soon as her former Weapon died! If it were any other person they would be useless to him, but he must've known previously somehow that she was one of them; an Elemental. He wasn't going to kill her; he was waiting."
"She tried escaping with Kid a few months ago, correct? So when they caught her, he must've figured he waited long enough and, thinking he was wrong about her, decided to get Justin and the others to dispose of her…" Tsubaki trailed off. Maka and I glanced at each other; the pieces finally starting to fit.
"What is she? Sixteen? That girl is a late bloomer." Dominic gave her body a once over, "In all ways."
Adria nudged him hard with her elbow as I glared at him, a nasty retort on the tip of my tongue just as Father raised his hand to silence me. "Let's save the unnecessary comments for later, shall we?" he said, holding his hand in a Shinigami-chop stance in warning while Soul and BlackStar snickered.
"Please excuse him; he hasn't been the same since-" she paused before offering an apologetic smile, "We've been through a lot." Dominic glanced at her and she caught his eyes as she looked over at Kuro. "Expect there to be unwelcomed guests until we teach her Soul Protection. Dominic and I had to go through it all of the time; I hope it's okay if we stay until she's learned how to control herself, sir. We also have to be sure nothing shows up after tonight's events."
"Of course; just don't cause too much trouble." Father said.
"I'll make another wall in the forest; the trees will be protected from her fire and she'll be away from anyone that could get harmed or anything that could get damaged." Dominic said.
"Don't worry about those pre-Kishins; I'll get them and their souls too." BlackStar grinned.
"There's no way I'm letting you hog all of them." Char narrowed her eyes at him.
"There's not much you can do anyway; your Meister is gonna be training." He crossed his arms with a smirk.
Char was going to rebut, but Soul spoke up, "Speaking of which, when Kuro's fire attack threw Char away from her in the stone arena Char wasn't burned, but when Kid tried getting to Kuro he was burned."
Adria seemed to already know what he was going to ask, "I'm not really sure why he was burned while she wasn't. We never thought a Meister could be one of us. Could it have something to do with that?"
"It could be due to their compatible soul wavelengths." Father said, "When Char and her Soul Resonate, the fire doesn't harm her."
"And another thing," BlackStar said, "If you're air, he's earth, and Kuro's fire, where's water?"
"Dead." Dominic answered, the room growing silent.
Adria cleared her throat, "Pre-Kishin… he ran off by himself and we couldn't find him in time, but we got to the pre-Kishin before it got to the soul. Of course, water's soul is now inside a random newborn human. We'd have to wait until that newborn hits puberty for it to really be a big deal, though." she shrugged, "Dominic and I already decided that when the time comes, we'd handle it accordingly. Most of the information we know now is from the former Water Elemental, which brings us to another topic," she said, "It may be wise for her to come with us when we leave."
I felt my chest tighten, "We're more than capable of protecting her ourselves."
Dominic boldly met my eyes, "Sure you all are, but it isn't just about her. It's about the civilians as well-"
"I believe we should talk about this another day; it's rather late and you all have class tomorrow." Father interjected as politely as he could, most likely sensing how tense things got. "Goodnight everyone." The Meisters and Weapons met each other's eyes before beginning to file out.
I woke with a start, my eyes grazing the white ceiling before sitting up and looking around the familiar room. I was in the infirmary. What happened? I thought as I caught my breath, relaxing. I barely remember what happened last night...
"Nygus?" I called out, running my fingers through my hair to get some strands out of my face.
"I was just about to check up on you." I heard her as she came into view, holding a clipboard. I noticed something in her eyes as she looked at me, but I wasn't too sure what it was that caught her attention, "How are you?"
"Groggy." I said, rubbing my eyes and looking out the window to my left. It was daytime. "How long have I been asleep?"
"Approximately fourteen hours." she said, as she wrote notes on her clipboard. "You were extremely worn out. I suggest having something to eat. Any preferences?"
"Something small, please." I said, taking a look at the clock. Class was almost over.
"Will you be fine on your own for a few minutes? I'll go ahead and grab you something."
"I'll be okay." I gave her a reassuring smile, and she pointed to the end table beside me.
"By the way, your friends brought in some clothes and some other things for you this morning. I'll be right back."
When she left, I lifted myself out of the cot and took a second to catch my balance. After knowing I'd make it, I grabbed the folded clothes, toothbrush and toothpaste before making my way into the bathroom. It was only when I glanced into the mirror as I brushed my teeth at the sink that I realized why Nygus looked at me the way she did. I almost dropped my toothbrush at the sight of my eyes.
Instead of the deep copper I was used to seeing, my eyes had brightened tremendously. The edges of my irises were a vibrant red, and closer to my pupil the red faded into an orange. I blinked, once, twice, then several times, and it took me a long time to understand that I wasn't imagining my reflection. I thought about the other two; the earth and air one. Both were brunette but his eyes were... hazel. Yeah. And hers grey. They were the first features I noticed, but were they like this? I didn't remember paying that much attention.
Eventually I finished brushing my teeth and walked out of the bathroom just as Nygus called for me. "There you are." she said, holding a fork and plastic container with fruit salad in it. "Natural sugars and vitamins; should help get rid of your grogginess." her bandaged covered cheeks lifted in a small smile.
"Thanks," I said, smiling back and taking the food and fork before settling onto the cot. "Hey Nygus? Any idea what happened to my eyes?"
"Not a clue; it may be because of the whole deal with your soul."
I took that into consideration as I bit into a strawberry, and she went into her office after a few moments. I struggled to remember the fuzzy details of last night. All I remembered was pain, fire, anger... and Kid. Suddenly my face started warming up and I touched my cheeks. Why was I blushing? I heard a knock on the door then, and told whoever it was to come in despite my face. I could just say I was sick.
"Hey." said Kid, coming through the door and smiled at me. He looked nervous; something about the way his shoulders were set. It was then that I glanced at his lips, and it all rushed into me like a tidal wave. I woke up on the ground, Char was thrown into the wall, the fire was everywhere and Kid...
He kissed me.
My face was burning as I remembered everything before going unconscious last night and I looked down to focus on stabbing a chunk of pineapple with my fork. He walked forward and sat in a chair next to the cot, a few moments passing before he spoke again.
"How are you feeling? You look red; do you have a fever?" his tone urged me to look at him.
"I'm fine, but are you okay?" I asked him, moving grapes around the container. "I burned you..."
"I'm okay; Shinigami remember?" I heard a smile in his voice.
"That's good."
There was a pause. "Are you sure you're okay?"
"Yeah."
"Why aren't you looking at me?"
I struggled to look for some excuse. What happened to protecting him? That kiss may have calmed the fire, but not my feelings for him...
"My eyes." I said.
"What's wrong with your eyes?"
Praying my cheeks were cool enough I looked up at him, and he couldn't help but stare at them for a moment. "Wow."
"I woke up and they were... like this." I shrugged, "I have no idea what happened; I don't remember anything happening to them."
"Do you remember anything from last night?"
I knew why he asked; he wanted to see if I remembered... if I remembered the kiss. I paused and took a breath before saying, "Not really."
He nodded, glancing at the comforter before looking back at me. "We could always ask Adria about it."
"Who?"
"The others like you. The guy is named Dominic, but he's not the nicest."
"Wait, so they're good guys?"
"They just had a really bad plan. They needed to get you alone so that when your soul awakened the power wouldn't harm anything."
"When did you guys talk to them?" I asked, not remembering any of that being discussed.
"Last night in Father's office while you were unconscious."
"Is there anything else I should know about?" I asked, just in case.
There was a second's pause, "No."
I narrowed my eyes slightly, wondering why it seemed like he was hesitating, but then he said, "They're beautiful."
I blinked, my heart fluttering. "What?"
"Your eyes."
"Thank you," I looked at the fruit. Maybe it wouldn't be so hard getting used to them. He chuckled softly, and my face got warm again.
"Kuro-"
"Yo." I jumped and looked up towards the door, the hazel eyes finding mine before glancing at the Shinigami next to me.
"Dominic." Kid said as if in greeting, but it didn't sound very welcoming. What exactly did I miss last night?
"We tried stopping him..." Patti said from behind him and Liz shook her head.
"You." he nodded in my direction, catching my attention, "Tomorrow your training starts."
"Wait, what?" I blinked.
"Her name is Kuro." I head Kid say.
Dominic looked at Kid. "Have you told her anything?"
"Yes, just not the training part. I thought that could wait until tomorrow; after she rests." Kid gave him a look of indifference, "Is that all you wanted to announce?"
There was a moment of silence, "Did you tell her everything?"
I looked at Kid, his eyes still on Dominic. "Yes."
Dominic gave Kid a once over then said, "I'm sure if you forgot anything Adria and I'll fill her in." he turned to leave.
"Wait," I said and he looked over his shoulder.
"What?"
I ignored the slight annoyance I felt at the way he responded, "Are your eyes supposed to change color? You know, after... awakening?"
"Yeah." he said, glancing at Kid before I spotted a faint smirk on his lips. "Two toned; usually a brighter color the closer to the pupil. Adria's are grey and white." he sauntered to the cot and leaned forward until I could clearly see the color of his eyes. The proximity made me slightly uncomfortable, but I was taken in by them. They were like a hazel from afar, but up close the edges of the iris were flecked with a deep forest green, then it would go into a shade of brown before fading into a sandy beige. "The eyes are the window to the soul, you know."
"Yeah." I said as he backed up, and I noticed his smirk had grown as he stole a look in Kid's direction. I turned to Kid, who didn't look amused in the slightest. I didn't blame him; Dominic already seemed like an ass.
"Be up early tomorrow." Dominic said before walking out into the hall with his hands in his jean pockets.
Liz and Patti watched him leave before Liz rolled her eyes. "Ugh," she groaned, crossing her arms, "I know they must've had it rough but jeez..."
"What a jerk!" Patti huffed.
"Is everything okay?" I asked, my attention going to Kid as he stood up, and he nodded.
"Yeah, I just think since you'll be training tomorrow I should leave you to rest while you can." he smiled at her. "The others may come to visit you later though; I know Char was going to pick up some things before coming."
"Oh, okay." I said, not really wanting him to leave yet, but knowing I probably wouldn't be able to change his mind. He was smiling at me, but I knew that Dominic guy bothered him in some way. Besides, I probably wasn't going to get any rest; I just slept fourteen hours apparently. "I'll see you tomorrow?"
"Sure." he said, "Maybe I'll stop by while you train."
"I'd like that." I said, knowing that being with Dominic was going to be exhausting, just because of his attitude. Kid smiled softly and reached over, tucking a few strands of hair that were in my face behind my ear. I wanted him to kiss me, but he pulled his arm back and walked to the door, leaving me at the cot. It's for the best anyway. I told myself, but how long would I keep listening?
"Bye Kuro." the sisters waved as he shut the door, and I was left with the feeling that things were going to get a lot harder before getting any easier.
End of Chapter XXII
You guys probably hate me right now huh? Teehee. I'll be working on the next chapter tomorrow lovelies.
- Limiterlys