Chapter 3

Are Things Ever Easy to Fix?

My Comments :

I'm glad this story is going so well! I hope enjoy chapter 3! My space bar is broken, so I apologize for how long this took! But in truth, by the end of the chapter, is was fixed ^.^ I hope you enjoy anyway! Anyone have an idea of relationship pairings? I have a few ideas, but I'd like to see what you all think!

My responses to some reviews I have received:

~ FunniFishFriends : Well, I don't think dying is a good idea! If you die, you'll never be able to read more!

~ The-Silly-Green : I'm not very original myself, so you'll have to hold your praise for my friend. She came up with the story! ^.^

~ 1112Black Rose2111 : What is up with everyone and dying? If you die, you'll never get to read more, so you might want to put it off until later.

That's it for today, I hope you enjoy!

The Story :

Maka bit her bottom lip, staring blankly over Death City. The events from before were clear in her mind. Tears welled up in her eyes as she stared at the cloudy sky. A sense of sadness entered her.

~ Break ~

"Asura! No!" The young Meister ran forward, tears threatening to burst from her eyes. She slipped on the wet stones as she ran, falling to her knees. Kid ran past her, easily catching the Kishin in his arms and breaking his fall. He set him on the wet stones, the sun beating down on Asura's pale face. Maka managed to stand again, running to his side. She knelt down beside him. "Asura! Please get up!"

Kid leaned down to the Kishin's face, listening intently. He quickly took in air, gasping. "He's not breathing!" Placing two of his fingers against Asura's throat, his eyes widened. "He doesn't have a pulse!"

The other students watched in horror. He had been calmed down, something they hadn't thought possible. Not only had he managed not to hurt anyone, but he had healed Maka. This Kishin of Madness had healed someone! The thought was something unheard of.

"Maka!" Soul came running outside, the rest of the group following. "What the hell happened?"

The Meister said nothing, just staring at the one she had promised she wouldn't hurt. "A-Asura," she muttered.

"Black Star," Kid called out, "get Stein!"

"Why should a God like me be subject to such a simple thing?" he asked, grinning widely.

"Because Asura isn't breathing! And he doesn't have a pulse!"

Black Star froze for a few seconds, his face becoming eerily serious before spinning on his heels and taking off towards the classroom, where Stein probably was. Kid carefully pressed over and over on the Kishin's chest, trying to get his heart to start beating again. Maka just bit her lip.

"What happened?" Soul demanded again.

"I-it's hard to explain," said the girl from their class. "Harely accidentally hurt Maka and Asura got real mad. He went crazy, gettin', well, crazy powerful. He tried to hurt Harely and Soraleigh, but Maka stopped him. The Kishin healed 'er, and then just passed out, mid-air."

Tsubaki ran over to Maka. "Are you sure you're all right?!"

The Meister nodded, running her hand over the cut on her shirt. "Yeah," she managed, her words catching in her throat. "B-but Asura isn't."

~ Break ~

Everything since then had been a blur. Lord Death himself had shown up with Stein and Spirit, ordering them to carry Asura to the Death Room. Maka had left, efficiently avoiding her friends. Doubtful they'd ever find her, considering where she was. The red spire under her was surprisingly wide. Sure, she'd seen Black Star standing on his from the entrance to the school, but from there, it seemed so tiny. Then again, so had Black Star. Another yell interrupted her attempts at distracting herself;

"Maka!"

The young Meister leaned forward a little, looking towards the ground. A figure with familiar silver-white hair had just run out of the building, with, what she knew to be red eyes, searching. Another figure joined him; black hair with a small amount of white on one side. She strained her ears to hear their conversation.

"We've checked everywhere, Soul. If she doesn't want to be found, she won't be." Kid turned towards the academy, studying the three symmetrical skulls that adorned the front.

Soul Eater snarled, glaring at the Reaper-in-training. "We'll find her! She can't just disappear like that!"

Kid said nothing, his gaze focused on one of the red spikes. He tilted his head. Was there something up there, ruining the symmetry?

"Hey, Kid! We don't have time for you to make sure the academy is still symmetrical!"

"Shh," mumbled, studying the spike. "I think someone is up there."

Maka froze, realizing she needed a new hiding place. She sat there quietly dangling her feet over the edge, only vaguely aware of her coat tails blowing in the breeze.

Soul sighed loudly, Maka just barely hearing it. "It's probably just Black Star or someone else. We need to focus on finding Maka."

Kid frowned, running his hand through his hair. "Look closer smart one."

"Huh?" Soul looked up at the spike. "What the hell are you talkin-? Maka?!" The Weapon gaped in surprise. "What the hell are you doing up there?!"

The Meister didn't respond, just watching. She didn't feel like talking. Besides, her voice was raw from crying.

"Soul," Kid said calmly, "we need to find someone who can get her down safely. Let's go."

The Weapon conceded, running into the academy with Kid at his heels.

~ Break ~

"Maka!"

The Meister sighed audibly, turning around so her back was to the end of the spike. One of her legs swung over the spike so her thighs were the only thing keeping her up. On the other end of the spike, her friends and papa stood, eyes wide in fear.

Soul stepped closer to the spike, looking, for once in his life, absolutely and utterly terrified. "M-Maka. You need to come this way. It's dangerous out there."

Maka just shook her head, trying to find her voice. "But," she said, her voice slightly hoarse as she thanked no one in particular that they couldn't see her tear-stained face, "I like the view." She started to spin around again, swaying slightly. Ignoring the gasps, she sat with her legs on one side of the spike. "I like it up here. It's so relaxing. And calming. It's almost like it's out of a story."

Soul inched forward. "You idiot! Are you trying to kill yourself?!"

Maka moved to turn again, but ended up leaning a little to far forward. "Shit," she muttered, realizing her mistake. The teenager spun, grabbing onto the spike with her two, gloved hands. "And no," she yelled out, glaring at her Weapon. "I am not trying to kill myself!" She struggled to climb back on.

The group stared in horror at the young, stubborn Meister tried to climb back onto the spike. Her gloves were offering almost no grip on the sleek object, and they kept sliding off. Soul started inching faster. As he got closer, he realized just how close she was to falling.

"Maka!" Soul lunged forward, missing his Meister by only half a second. His left arm wrapped around the spike while his right hung uselessly in the air. "N-no! Maka!"

Maka had never really fallen like this before. Her coat tails were on either side of her, reaching towards the sky and billowing in the wind. The long pigtails joined them, reaching up so high she could see them. Six heads poked over the side of the skull, each one screaming something incoherent. The seventh head was watching helplessly from the edge of the spike. It was strange, knowing there was nothing she could do as the ground neared. Not like she could see it. If she was going to die, right here and now, the last thing she wanted to see was the cloud-free sky. Her thoughts paused. There were clouds starting to fill the sky. Light gray clouds began to float into view. She frowned. If she was going to die, couldn't she at least get to see a perfect sky?

"Maka!" The young Meister felt something collide into the side of her body, wrapping its arms around her waist. "You shouldn't want to die," the voice said, sounding torn between sadness, anger, and pain. "Trust me. It isn't as nice as it sounds." As the duo neared the ground, Maka felt the 'something' shift so it was behind her back. "Brace yourself, Albarn. You promised."

Two and two finally connected as she felt the pressure of the body below her hitting the ground, acting like a cushion. She sat up almost immediately, instantly regretting it. Her head swam, but she could tell from the lack of immense pain that she hadn't broken anything. Rolling over, she managed to get off whoever had saved her life. She looked up. A window on the second story was open. Stein was leaning over, staring out. He was shaking his head. After her head cleared, she finally remembered the one who had saved her. Her head shot to her left, taking in her savior.

Asura.

Asura was still in his jeans and combat boots, but new bandages were covering his torso. The old bandages however, were still faithfully covering the markings on his forehead and hands. His breaths were shallow, but at least they were there. A wince covered his face. Saving her had obviously taken a lot out of him. But... There was only one thing Maka cared about. Asura was alive!

"Asura!" Maka lunged forward, wrapping her arms around his neck.

The Kishin coughed, opening his eyes. "H-hey there, Meister," he said weakly.

"I thought you were dead!"

"I was starting to think the same thing about you. What the hell were you doing?!"

Maka separated herself from Asura, looking at him with new tears slipping down her face. "I was up there," she said, pointing at the spikes. "The others found me and I slipped."

Asura sighed, wincing from the effort. "You shouldn't have been up there in the first place," he growled. "Trust me here, Albarn. Dying isn't nice at all."

The Meister frowned, biting her bottom lip. She tried to ignore the small shiver that went up her back at him calling her by her last name. "I-I wasn't trying to die. It was an accident."

"Don't do it again," Asura said sternly, his relieved eyes betraying his voice.

"I won't," Maka said resolutely.

"Good," the Kishin said in exhaustion. "Honestly, Albarn. How many times am I going to have to save you and almost die trying?"

Maka ignored the second shiver. "Hopefully not again."

"Never again," Asura corrected, raising an eyebrow.

Maka moved closer to him, placing an arm across his back so he could use it as a support. His skin was burning, but she ignored it for the time being. His eyelids slowly fluttered shut as he succumbed to his body's desire for sleep.

"Thank you, Asura."

~ Break ~

Lord Death just waved as the group walked into the room, thoroughly exhausted. Maka was frowning, a combination of her appearance and the chewing out she had gotten when the group had reached her and Asura. Soul was pissed, though he wouldn't say why. Black Star was just moping, upset that he wasn't the center of attention. Kid seemed to contemplating just how Asura was alive, Liz following his example. Tsubaki was eying Maka carefully, deciding to never take her eyes off of the Meister. Patty seemed to be the only one not effected. She was cuddling with a stuffed Giraffe and talking to it.

"Hello, kids," Death called out happily.

"Mmph," came the tired response.

"Well," Death said calmly, "at least you can all take a nap on the place ride to your next mission." He ignored the whines of protest. "A large group of Kishin Eggs are currently residing in a small town in rural Spain. I figure it would be a good opportunity for all of you to get along!" He nodded happily, giving a thumbs-up with his over-sized hands.

"Wait," Soul said, his voice suddenly full of venom, "you said 'all.' Does that mean we're bring the Kishin along?"

Death nodded. "Of course! He's already at the airport waiting for you. Crona is there as well."

Kid raised a hand. "You made Crona go with Asura?"

The rest of the group froze, already imagining what was going on.

"We should probably get going," Liz said, gesturing towards the door. "We'll all pack and meet at the mansion."

Seeing no better option, and not wanting to leave Crona there longer than necessary.

~ Break ~

"H-he's the Kishin! I don't know how to deal with that!"

Crona trembled under the chair next to Asura. The Kishin sighed for maybe the twentieth time since they'd gotten there. Five minutes ago.

"Listen kid. If I wanted to hurt you, wouldn't I have done it already?" Seeing no reaction, he decided on a long shot. "Do you know Maka Albarn?"

Crona poked his head out from under the chair. "Y-yeah. I k-know her."

"She's my friend," he said calmly, avoiding looking the scared teen in the eye. "She actually helped me a lot. Got me enrolled at the DWMA. I've saved her life a couple times too."

"Really?" Crona gasped, crawling out from under the chair. He sat in the seat. "Y-you've saved M-Maka?"

Ragnarok emerged from the teen's back. "Don't be stupid," he growled, hitting his Meister in the head. "He's lying."

Seeing this, Asura tightened his jaw.

"L-lying?! I don't t-think I know h-how to d-deal with that! A-and please s-stop hitting m-me! I c-can't deal w-with that!"

The Kishin stood up, placing a hand on Ragnarok's head. "What the hell do you think you're doing to him?"

"Heh. None of you business."

Asura's blood red eyes narrowed, suddenly inspiring fear in the Black Blood Weapon. "I think you should stop," he said in a lower, commanding voice.

"I-I should stop," Ragnarok said slowly. He retracted back into Crona.

Asura sighed, sitting back down. What the hell was that? Where did that power even come from? Was it from what Death had said? He was discovering new powers because of the lack of Madness?

Crona stared at him in amazement. "Y-you made him stop."

"Yeah. He's was being a jerk. You don't need that bugging you when you've got other things on your mind." Asura shrugged, straightening his leather jacket.

"T-thank you. I," he paused. "I-I know h-how to d-deal with t-that," he said quietly, like he didn't believe his own words. "I know how to deal with that," he said, sounding happier and more sure.

"That's good, kid."

~ Break ~

"Hey! Get off me, kid!"

The group rounded the corner to quite the interesting scene. Crona had his arms wrapped around Asura is a huge hug. The group froze.

"Are we all seeing the same thing right now?"

Soul nodded at Kid. "Yeah. I think Crona likes Asura." He growled low in his throat, clenching his sharp teeth.

With Maka at the lead, they walked towards the duo.

"O-oh, the others a-are here. I don't know how to d-deal with that."

Asura tapped him on the head. "What the hell did I tell you?"

The group's eyes widened. He never reacted well to physical contact, let alone any word that sounded remotely bad.

"R-right," Crona muttered. "I k-know how t-to deal with t-that."

Ragnarok came out again, grabbing his Meister's face. "Liar! You don't know how to deal with anything! You can't deal with anything without me."

Asura's eyes flashed red and he turned his gaze upon the Weapon. His voice lowered again, "Ragnarok. What did I say earlier?"

Ragnarok flinched in fear. "R-right." He looked upset as he went back into Crona.

The Meister attacked Asura in a hug. "I can deal with that!"

"Oi! Get off me, kid!"

Liz started snickering, causing the entire group to lose composure. They fell to the ground laughing.

"I swear I will kill every one of you if you don't stop laughing right now."

The laughter paused for a second, but after seeing the twinkle of happiness in the Kishin's eyes, they went right back to it. Even Crona joined in, though he had no idea why they were all laughing.

"At this rate, I'm gonna kill myself before this mission is over." Asura sighed loudly, randomly handing out tickets to the group. "Here. Stein gave me these before I left. The plane should start boarding soon."

The group looked at their tickets. Maka shrugged, not really caring who she sat with, as long as they let her read. Liz checked everyone else and, with a sigh, realized she was between Soul and Black Star. Kid was between Tsubaki and Patty. Not to awful for any of them. Crona was next to Maka. The group glanced up.

"Where are you?" Liz asked, glancing at Asura.

"Oh please. I bought my own ticket." He lifted up two first class tickets. "Accidentally got two, but there was no way I was sitting in those crowded seats. First class is awesome."

Liz stepped forward. "Who are you gonna give the second one to?"

Everyone else, other than Soul who just looked pissed, perked up.

"I don't know. Let's play a game for it. Close your eyes and raise your hands with your guesses. I want you all to guess what the number I'm thinking of is. Number is between zero and ten. Whoever gets it will get the ticket."

The group shrugged, deciding the play along. Even Soul joined in. He may hate the guy, but a free first class ticket was nothing to pass up.

"Okay, raise your hands. If you open your eyes, then you automatically lose."

'Ten,' he thought to himself, studying the answers. Kid had four fingers on each hand raised, eight. No surprise there. Soul had nine raised. Black Star was five. Crona, 6. Tsubaki, 3. Liz, 10. Patty... Giraffe? Asura shook his head, deciding to ignore the stuffed giraffe she was raising as her answer. He turned to Maka. 'Zero, huh?' He smirked. 'Close enough.'

He carefully slipped the ticket into Maka's hand. "Alright. Game's up."

Liz looked really upset to see that neither her nor Asura was holding the ticket. Kid just sighed, seeming for sure that the symmetrical number would work. Soul didn't seem to really care. Black Star was torn, kneeling on the ground and muttering something about gods never losing. Tsubaki merely comforted her Meister, smiling. Patty just played with her giraffe, who's name was apparently 'Garfield'. Crona just stared at the ground. Maka just stared at the ticket in surprise.

"M-me?"

The group rolled their eyes, staring at the confused Meister.

"Flight 24 to Leon, Spain is now boarding."

"That's us," Asura said, grabbing his suitcase. "Let's get a move on, shall we? I'd prefer to not miss the plane."