Soul

I pushed open the apartment door and looked around. Maka wasn't here. She usually came straight home after school to study. Closing the door behind me, I tossed my school bag on the couch and went to get something to eat from the fridge. That's when I noticed Maka's door was slightly ajar.

"Maka?" I called, walking towards her room. "Hey, you in there?"

I gave the door a light tap and let it swing open to reveal that no one was inside. Catching a glimpse of Maka's book bag on the ground, I knelt down to pick it up for her. It looked like she tossed it in here in a hurry before running out.

There was a flyer sticking out of the back pocket and, out of curiosity, I checked it out. A band called the Fear Factor was playing a show in Death City's underground club. As far as I've heard, that band's been everywhere, but people say their music isn't too good. There've always been weird incidents and a ton of crimes directly after the band left town, though.

Shoving the flyer in my pocket, I grabbed my motorcycle keys and ran out the door. Man, I really hope Maka hasn't done anything stupid.

Now that I think about it, it probably would have been a better idea to just talk to her. What's the worst that could have happened? We get into another argument?

After Maka had come out of the classroom, I had to wait a few minutes until Angel finally followed. She looked a little shaken, and at first, I was kind of scared about what Maka might have done to her.

"Soul, you can't let her void your partnership," Angel sniffled, taking me by surprise.

"Void our partnership?" I demanded. "What do you mean?"

She shook her head, trying to compose herself before speaking. "She was talking about terminating you partnership. She told me that if she decided to do it, she wanted me to ask you to be my partner, but I could never do that. Not after everything you've done for her."

I gazed into her eyes which were glimmering with tears. I knew I had to fix things with Maka, and I'd have to do it quick, but I just couldn't leave Angel in this state. That'd be lame.

"Okay. I'll do what I can. But first, we should get you home," I stated, leading her down the hallway.

Starting the engine, I kicked off and drove towards the entrance to the club. I've never personally been there, but I've heard rumors about it around campus, plus Maka's dad went there a lot.

I finally found it and ran in, taking the stairs two at a time in my rush. When I got downstairs, the place was practically deserted.

"Hey, we're closed, kid," said a gruff voice.

I turned around to see a man in probably his forties dressed in a white suit and white dress shoes. The gold chains around his neck indicated that he was probably the owner of this dump. Plus, the fact that he was flanked with two giant body guards made it kind of a dead giveaway.

"I have to see my friend," I answered. "She's about this tall, ash blonde hair, wearing a school uniform."

"If that's you're lookin' for, she's one of the band groupies," the owner replied. "You ain't allowed back there, so why don't you go wait for your slut girlfriend at home?"

"Don't ever use that word to describe her," I seethed, gritting my teeth.

"This is my club. I can say whatever I damn please. It's you who should get out while you can still walk," he sneered.

Grimacing, I hardened my hand into a blade. "I'm not leaving without my Meister."

"Now, why don't you fight someone on your own level?"

I turned to face the stage and the owner of the mysterious voice. A man in his early twenties walked out dressed in black jeans and a loose muscle shirt. What really caught my attention was the girl who followed him onto the stage.

"Maka?" I asked, squinting in awe at my Meister.

She had her hair in messy curls over her shoulders, her bangs brushed to the side. Her eyes were rimmed with black and she was wearing tight slashed jeans along with a top that revealed her midsection under a leather vest. It looked nothing like Maka, but I could faintly sense her soul there. Question is, why was it so faint.

"Soul," she uttered, her eyes seeming to look right through me.

"Maka, what are you doing here?" I asked. "Let's go home. This isn't like you."

"Don't you think her new looks is cool?" asked the man, draping an arm around her shoulder. "Although, that prep school get up was cute in its own way. I sure did enjoy taking it off though."

"Damn you," I growled. "Don't touch my Meister."

"Oh, haven't you heard? She doesn't want you anymore?" the man purred, gently stroking Maka's cheek. "She's my agent now."

"Shut your mouth. I don't believe a word you're saying," I snapped. "Maka! I know you can here me! Dammit, stop being an idiot and come home!"

"I'm afraid that's not possible. I, Fang, am now her master. She's under my control."

"That's not true. Maka's stronger than that!"

"Oh, I'm sure she was. But it's the confused, lost, and lonely souls that are easiest to control," Fang smiled. "And I wonder who hurt the poor girl so much that she'd want to forget."

That couldn't have been me. Could it?

"Maka, listen to me! This isn't you! Stop this!" I cried.

"Soul... Shut up," she said, her voice coming out flat and emotionless.

"No! I'm not gonna leave you like this!"

"Well, now. What a nuisance," drawled Fang. "How about you show him your true power, my dear? Kill Soul Evans and erase the darkness forever."

Maka's arm glowed before turning into a blade. "Gladly, master."

She ran off the stage and lunged at me, her eyes glassy, her movements all clearly saying she had every intention of skewering me. This was the opposite of cool.

"Cut it out, Maka," I pleaded, blocking her attacks as best I could without hurting her. "Come on, what are you trying to pull here?"

"Why are you here?" she asked, her attacks not missing a beat.

"I'm here..." I trailed off. I'd come here to apologize, didn't I? So why couldn't I say it out loud.

"Die, Soul." She plunged the blade extending from her arm into my left shoulder and I cried out in pain. Pulling it back out, she kicked me in the stomach, sending me flying back against the wall.

"Maka..." I coughed, getting back to my feet. "I'm sorry."

Something sparked in her eyes, but it was gone before I could say anything else as she attacked again, hooking my stomach with her arm and throwing a punch that sent me crashing onto a pool table, breaking it down the middle. This wasn't looking very good for me. What was I supposed to do?

She lunged at me again and I managed to roll out of the way and avoids getting impaled with her arm, but she caught up in the ribs with a hard kick, knocking the wind out of me. Not missing a beat, she kneed me in the face and ga e me a hard kick in the side.

"Alright, that's enough," Fang drawled from the stage. "Is that enough to prove to you that your Meister is no longer yours?"

I furrowed my brows and got to my feet. I've never wanted to kill someone more than I did this guy. "No. I'm never going to give up on her, do you hear me? Maka is my Meister and I'm her Weapon partner. We're a team and I can't —" Before I could finish, Maka had spun around and landed a punch in my left shoulder where she'd stabbed me, causing pain to shoot down my arm.

"Some people never learn," Fang said, shaking his head. "Finish him."

I ducked out of the way to avoid a kick and let Maka push me to the floor, pulling her down along with me and shoving her on her back as gently as I could. Holding her arms down, I looked into her eyes, holding her gaze as she tried to get free, and well, kill me.

"Maka, you have to listen to me," I told her. "You're in some sort of trance and you need to snap out of it! I know you're there. I can feel your soul. Just let me in!"

"What do you want from me? You love Angel, don't you? So why are you still trying to get me to go with you?"

"No. That's not true." Her eyes widened as I leaned down and pressed my lips against hers, reaching out with my soul. If we could establish even a weak resonance, I could get my thoughts across to her.

After a few seconds, she stopped struggling and lay still underneath me, her eyes slowly closing.

Feel in my soul how much I love you Maka. Don't leave me. I need you. I know you can come back. I believe that you have the courage to fight your fear, so do it.

Pulling away, I waited for a few seconds and her eyes finally fluttered open. The glazed look was gone, replaced with the determined and convicted look that I was used to.

I slowly got off of her, half afraid she'd start trying to cut me open again, but she stood up and extended a hand, her gaze softening. "Thanks."

I grinned letting her pull me to my feet. "No worries. What do you say we take out that guy that's been playing doll with you?"

"My pleasure," she smirked. "Transformation time, Soul. Let's go."

I smiled as I did a full body transformation into a scythe. I was glad to have Maka back. For now, we'd have to focus on the task at hand, and the rest we'd deal with later.

However, our attempts were kind of in vain, considering the dude disappeared while I was trying to get Maka to come back to her senses.

"Can you use your Soul Perception to track him?" I asked.

"No, it seems like he's completely disappeared, and I'm not familiar enough with his soul to track him long distance," she sighed, gently placing me on the ground. "I'm such a screw up."

Transforming back into my human form, I stood up and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, don't say that. You're not a screw up, okay? If anyone messed up, it's me."

"I'm sorry," whispered Maka, tears streaming down her face. "I... I should have just been happy for you guys. Instead, I acted like a complete jerk."

Wait, did she not remember...?

"When you snapped out of the mind control...what do you remember?" I asked hesitantly.

"W...well, I could sense your soul... You were really determined to...to get me out of there," she replied, her voice trembling. "It took me a while, but..."
She suddenly stopped, her eyes widening as she turned her gaze on me.

I gave her a crooked smile and scratched the back of my neck awkwardly. "Yeah...well..."

"You said... You said you loved me," she said in a soft voice.

I only nodded, hoping for the best. The worst thing that could happen is she rejects me, right?

"Did you mean it?"

I blinked before stepping forward and pulling her body against mine. "Of course I meant it, you idiot. You know me better than that."

She wrapped her arms around my waist, burying her face in my uninjured shoulder. "I love you too, Soul."

With those three words, she suddenly erased all the fears that I'd had before. I knew exactly what I had to do now. I'd tell Angel and her pushover father the truth. That I loved Maka, and that was my final decision.

Maka took a step back and looked into my eyes, searching for an explanation. "What about you and Angel?"

"I'll explain everything," I promised, taking her hand in mine. "But we should probably get out of this dump before anyone else decides to start a fight with us."

She nodded and followed me up the stairs. I never thought I'd enjoy the sensation of fresh air so much, but after being in that musty basement they call a club, I couldn't get enough of it. I could tell Maka thought the same thing since she was breathing in as much air as she could, too as she sat down on a bench and looked over at me.

"Alright, spill," she snapped after a few seconds.

"You know how my family owns some of the biggest industries in the states?" I asked, sitting down next to her.

"Yeah, you've never really given me much detail on that, though."

I sighed. "That's 'cause I don't really want to be considered an Evans. When people looked at me at those fancy parties I used to get dragged to, they saw the future head of the Evans family, not me. But when I came here to Death City and I met you..." I met her gaze and I could't help but give her a small smile as I put my hand over hers. "You didn't care about that. You always told me to take back the expensive gifts and got mad at me when I paid for your stuff."

"And don't forget that time I Maka Chopped you for saying you were going to buy me a car for my birthday," she giggled.

"Yeah, I wasn't joking about that," I chuckled. "But anyway, anyone else would have been all over it. I guess I got into a habit of doing that sort of thing for my so-called friends before I came here. The reason I brought up my family is because Angel's father, who unfortunately happens to be ranked the second most powerful under my father, just so happened to find out about who I am. The dude invited me to dinner and I kinda asked you to go, but you said no... So he told me to date Angel. Listen, the guy's really powerful and you don't have a clue what kind of blackmailing they do to each other... I couldn't risk him going after my family for something stupid I did. I guess I have to give you props for all the quick thinking you do during battles."

Maka stared at me, a small smile playing on her lips.

"What?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

She laced her fingers through mine, and it felt so much better and natural than when Angel did it.

"It's just that that's the longest I've heard you continuously talk. Ever," she giggled.

"Yeah, well, I'm not exactly one for speeches. I think that's more down Black Star's alley. Speaking of which..." I trailed off, not knowing if I should ask her.

"Soul, I don't like him in that way," she stated, reaching over and tilting my chin up so she could look me in the eye. "Believe it or not, I've only had feelings for you for the past year."

My jaw dropped so low, I was surprised it didn't end up halfway to China. "S...say what?"

"I've liked you for over a year now, okay?" she repeated, blushing. "I'm not going to say it again."

My shocked expression turned into a grin as I gently pulled her onto my lap, hearing a small squeak escaping her lips.

"It wasn't cool to just keep it to yourself," I chuckled, wrapping my arms around her waist. "But, I guess we're even, since I've been crushing on you for a while, too."

"Promise me something?" Maka requested in a soft voice.

"Anything," I replied, meeting her gaze.

"From now on, we tell each other these things. Seeing as to how much damage has come from leaving them unspoken, I think it's a fair deal, right?"

I thought about it for a second before nodding. "You're right, Maka. I swear I'll always talk to you if something's up."

"And I promise I'll always tell you if something's up," she responded, kissing me on the cheek.

A grin spread across my face as I got an idea. "Since you weren't fully aware of the last one..." I gently placed my hand on her cheek and leaned forward to press my lips against hers.

I could feel her smiling against my lips as she began to kiss back. Suddenly, she was all that mattered, right then and there. Her closeness, her scent, the feeling of her lips moving with mine. Damn. For a girl who's never had her first kiss, she sure was doing pretty good.

She was perfect. No, not Kid's sense of perfect where everything's symmetrical and that shit, but perfect as in perfect for me.

We pulled away after a couple of minutes to catch a breath and I was surprised to see a tear rolling down her cheek, glinting in the moonlight.

"What's wrong?" I asked, wiping it away with my thumb.

"That's not it," she replied, shaking her head. "I think I'm crying because everything's right. What are you going to tell Angel's father, though? I don't want to be the reason trouble ensues your family."

"With a brainiac like you on my side, I'm sure we'll come up with something," I grinned.

She softly kissed me again before smiling almost triumphantly. "Well, next time someone rich tries to set you up with their daughter, just tell them you have a girlfriend."

"So does that mean you'll go out with me?" I asked.

She twisted her mouth into a tight line before shaking her head again. "Not until you break it off with Angel. Then you can try asking again."

"Cool. Let's go home. I'll talk to her about it tomorrow, okay?"

Maka nodded and I scooped her into my arms as I got up.

"Hey, let me down, Soul," she protested, wriggling in my arms. "I can walk."

"What fun's that?" I laughed, setting her down on my motorcycle before getting on in front of her.

Starting the engine, I pushed off smiling to myself when I felt Maka's arms wrapping around me, her head leaning on my shoulder.

Once we got home, Maka immediately sat me down and ordered me to take off my shirt as she got out the first aid kit.

"Soul!" she scolded when I chuckled after she told me to take my shirt off.

I held up my hands apologetically and let her dab disinfectant on the wound before working on bandaging it. Noticing the sad look on her face, I placed a hand on her shoulder.

"It wasn't your fault, Maka. I'm the only person to blame for what happened, so don't beat yourself up over it," I reassured her.

She kept her eyes downcast as she continued to wrap my shoulder up. "It's because I was so blindly jealous. It consumed me and left me weak. If I'd just been able to be happy with you being happy..."

I shook my head, kneeling down next to her. "Listen, it's okay to feel that way. It's cool to know you care enough to. I felt how much pain your soul was in. And I'm so sorry."

She threw her arms around my neck and I hugged her back. We stayed there for a minute or two before she pulled away, smiling slightly. "You did what you thought was best, and that's okay. What's important is that we understand each other now. And if you don't want to say things out loud, you can just resonate souls with me, that way we can snoop around in each other's heads," she laughed, poking my cheek.

"I've got nothing to hide," I grinned, pressing my lips against her forehead. "We'd better get some sleep, though. We've got school tomorrow."

Nodding, Maka finished bandaging my arm and told me to go ahead and take the bathroom first.

After I was done, I knocked on her door and found her curled up on her bed, fast asleep. Smiling, I tucked her in, making sure not to wake her up, before heading over to my room to get some shut-eye myself.

When morning finally came, I sleepily got out of bed and followed the smell of eggs and bacon into the kitchen. Maka was humming happily as she worked on breakfast. It already kind of felt like we were married.

Wrapping my arms around her from behind, I kissed her on the cheek. "Morning."

She smiled and pecked me on the lips before returning to cooking.

"Thanks for making breakfast," I said, opening the fridge for something to drink.

"Don't get used to it," she told me. "I owed you one for saving me from being a living doll."

"Touché."

We both ate breakfast and I gave Maka first go at the bathroom since she usually took longer to get everything done. She actually came out dressed like she used to in her plaid skirt, sweater vest, and white blouse. The only thing different was that her ash blonde hair was now in a ponytail and her bangs were to the side.

"Do I look okay?" she asked, noticing my stare.

"You always do," I replied as we grabbed our stuff and walked out the door.

On our way to school, Maka brainstormed different ways to help me out with the whole Angel situation, but that wasn't really necessary because we ran into first thing, and she didn't let either of us say a word before talking.

"Hey, Soul. Maka. Listen. About our relationship Soul, I'm breaking up with you. If we were ever really dating. I mean..." she paused for a few seconds as if trying to find the right words. "In order for it to be a relationship, the feelings have to be mutual. I can tell that you love Maka and I know now that I can't change your mind. And Maka, I'm really sorry I took him away from you," she added.

"I understand," I responded. "But what about your dad?"

"I already told him that I wasn't interested in you and that you were completely different from what I'd expected," she stated. "I hope you two will be happy together. I do love you, Soul, but I realize that my feelings for you are dwarfed by Maka's and I can tell that you care about her a lot. Thank you, though."

She gave me a quick hug before running up the front steps.

"Erm...what just happened?" Maka asked. It wasn't very like her to blank out, but it looked like she was totally lost.

"I think Angel just solved the rest of our problems," I said, a little awestruck myself.

"Well, most of our problems. We still have to find out where Fang is and defeat him," she pointed out.

"One step at a time," I told her, giving her hand a gentle squeeze. "So, how about it? Will you be my girlfriend now, Maka?"

Before she could answer, we were interrupted by a loud "YAHOO!" coMing from behind us.

Black Star was running towards us with Tsubaki on his heels.

"Hey, you guys!" he grinned, waving.

Tsubaki, on the other hand, looked completely deflated.

"Hey, what's up?" I asked as Black Star and I did our customary handshake.

"We failed another mission," Tsubaki groaned.

"What was it this time?" asked Maka, rubbing her friend' snack comfortingly.

"We decided to go for a Witch's soul early, you know, so we wouldn't have to worry about it at the end," said Black Star. "There was one right in Death City! Can you believe that?"

"And?" I questioned.

"Well, we got to the place, and Tsubaki chickened out and refused to go in."

"That place is horrible. I couldn't go in there," his Weapon pointed out.

"Where was it, anyway?" asked Maka.

"The underground club. We were after some guy named Fang. She chose it," he added, jabbing a thumb in Tsubaki's direction. "But whatever. No big deal."

"Where were you guys yesterday? I didn't see you at school," said Maka.

"Oh, we got excused to track down the Witch's soul," Black Star replied. "And Kid took a mission somewhere in the Amazon. Man, I can only imagine how much Liz must be complaining right now."

We all laughed as we went up the stairs towards the Academy's entrance.

Classes ran normally, except now, I noticed Maka would sneak glances at me, too, always looking away when I caught her. I couldn't help but laugh a little and when class ended, she wanted to go talk to Stein about something.

"Professor, I'd like to transfer the souls I collected on the mission to Seattle to Soul Eater's account," she stated, approaching him.

"Oh? Normally, I wouldn't allow it, but I'd like to ask why you would want to do that?" the doctor asked.

"I realized that Soul and I are a team. And we'll stay a team until he becomes a Deathscythe, and maybe even after, like you and my dad," Maka responded. "Therefore, I'd like to give Soul the Kishin eggs I collected and remain as only his Meister."

"And you have no intention of becoming a Deathscythe yourself, Maka?"

I watched as she shook her head. "No, sir. I want to follow in my mom's footsteps and be a top notch Meister. Learning to use myself as a Weapon is just a precaution. That's my final decision."

Stein didn't answer for a few seconds before slowly nodding and pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Well, if that's how you feel, I suppose I can make an exception this once, considering you learned a valuable lesson. That is, if Soul is content with it."

They both turned to me expectantly and I broke into a grin. "It wouldn't be very cool of me to turn down such a nice offer, would it?"

Motioning for us to follow him, Professor Stein led us to his office and told us to sit down facing each other on the floor.

"Alright, in order for this to work, you have to resonate with each other at full strength. You cannot hold anything back, nor can you try to hide anything. Let your partner's soul blend with yours completely and feel their presence. The rest, I'll take care of," he instructed.

Maka and I looked at each other and smiled before mouthing in unison the words, "Let's go, Soul Resonance."