DON'T TOY WITH ME ON A WHIM

one month and two weeks after Asura

"Maka, you gotta wake up." Soul was shaking her shoulder, and she hissed at him from under the covers. He pulled his hand back, fearful he had induced her wrath. He knew she was a bit slow to get up in the mornings, and so before she could grab a book he started explaining himself.

"Justin Law just came by to tell us that we have to meet him where you normally train."

"We?" She was sitting up now, rubbing her eyes tiredly. Maka still wore her hair in buns to sleep, and Soul found himself smiling at her state of disarray. She stood up, making him retreat to the threshold of her room. She was stretching, trying to wake herself up before she turned around at breakneck speed, her bun holders falling off. Her eyes were wide like she had been caught stealing from the cookie jar.

"Justin wants us to what?" She screeched. Soul opened his mouth to reply, but he was instead met with a pillow to his face. Maka was yelling at him to get out of her room so she could get changed, and he rolled his eyes before taking his leave. He heard something suspiciously like a book hit the door as he walked into their small living room, and he waited for her to get ready.

It must have been the fastest she's ever gotten dressed, because Maka came flying out of her room before he could even glance at the clock impatiently. She was ushering him out the front door before stopping again, looking confused.

"Wait, why does he want you to come?"

Soul only shrugged in reply, as the death scythe hadn't given him a reason. Maka crossed her arms and looked at him, irritated at his lack of an answer. Soul calmly reminded her that Justin had stopped by over an hour ago before seeing the panic flash through her eyes as she, once again, began corraling him. He stopped at one point, asking where exactly they were even headed before she gave him that same look of irritation - he grabbed her hand and pulled her to where he had parked his bike, and suddenly his questions weren't just to hold them up. She hopped on it more readily than he could ever recall -she thought it was dangerous, especially without helmets- and they were zooming through the city.

They arrived only twenty minutes later, in the forest that dotted the desert. He left his bike by the biggest tree he could find before wandering off with Maka. He was also beginning to wonder why Justin Law wanted him at Maka's training sessions, which were still supposed to be private. They came across him, sitting on his own bike and waiting patiently. When he realized they were there, he stood up and began addressing them excitedly. Soul held up a hand, which made him stop. Maka looked like she was ready to beat him for interrupting.

"Yeah, that's nice and all, but do you mind telling me what I'm doing here?"

"Why, yes! You see, Maka seems to be having trouble accessing her weapon soul. Since she had an established connection with you, I decided to involve you in her training!"

"That still doesn't explain what my purpose is."

"I'll have you work with her through resonace, and while you two are connected, you will go into her soul and begin to pull out the weapon side. Since you are also a weapon, you should be able to find it with relative ease. However, it can't be pulled out all at once or else she will never be able to access it again, and it will strain her spirit. Do you understand?" Soul really, really wanted to comment back, but with the glare Maka was giving him and the low-key berating that Justin Law had just given him, he decided to keep it to himself. He simply nodded while the death scythe smiled at him. He looked between him and Maka before telling them to join him tomorrow for training. Justin Law beat a hasty retreat and Soul was wondering why he made it seem so urgent that they show up today if they weren't even going to train.

"Soul! We gotta get back to Death City!" Maka was already running back to his bike, and he struggled to keep up with her. She secured her arms around his waist before demanding that he hurry it up.

"Sheesh, what's so important?"

"Rudy and I had plans to meet... twenty minutes ago."

After returning home and redressing, Maka was distressed to see that she was an hour tardy to her meeting with her new friend. Cutting through alleys had her standing at the doors of Death Bucks within ten minutes, and she entered slowly. Scanning the tables, she saw Agnes -who seemed to have aquired a skirt, strappy heels, and even a pretty yellow blouse- sitting with Kilik Rung; the Pots sitting with them, coloring and blowing bubbles in their milk. When Kilik noticed Maka standing there, he waved her over.

"Hey, what brings you here?"

"I'm actually here to meet Rudy, but it looks like she left."

"No, she's late too. She said something about a quick meal before coming here." Agnes supplied an answer for her, sipping on a steaming cup of tea. At that moment, Rudy came barreling through the doors, her hair a mess and her breathing ragged. Rudy was wearing a pair of cut-off capri jeans and a purple shirt, but her usual tennis shoes. She looked around furiously, trying to see if Maka had arrived before her.

"Maka! I'm so sorry! I hope you didn't wait all this time!" Rudy was in front of her, bowing in apology.

"No, I only just got here. Good thing we were both late, I guess?"

"Then our outing is on me, since I arrived later - Agnes? What are you guys doing here? Are you on a date?" She grinned lecherously at the two, and while Kilik blushed and sputtered out a half-reply, Agnes simply sipped on her tea once more and set it down on the table before fixing her sister with a stare that made Rudy grimace.

"Fine, fine. I'll leave you alone. Come on Maka," the meister led Rudy to the outdoor seating, smoothing out her skirt once she sat down. Looking up, she could see that Rudy was staring at her, a small smile on her face. The two didn't get to interact very much, as Maka's new training was still a secret and Justin always seemed to request her when she had plans. However, the few times they came into contact, Maka couldn't help but feel more at ease in her presence. Agnes and Rudy seemed to have blended well into their group of friends.

"I'm sure you're wondering why I asked you to join me here today." It was something she hadn't exactly thought about, but Maka was curious. Their friends had planned a group hang-out within the next few days, as was customary, but Rudy had specifically asked for Maka to join her without Soul. One of the waitresses came to take their order, and once she left, Rudy leaned forward and rested her forearms on the table, lacing her fingers together.

"There's a lot we don't know about each other, and I think we'd make great friends. So I wanted to talk to you in private and get to know you." Rudy's genuine smile lifted her foul mood and Maka relented, deciding that safety training wasn't a taboo subject.

A week later, Maka was feeling the strain.

Every time they trained, it felt like he was tearing her soul out of her. Like there were ropes tangled around it, keeping it firmly in place, as he tried to coax it out of her. They were going as slow as possible, since Soul didn't want to risk harming her. Still, this training was brutal.

Their training was helping, as she was now able to turn two of her fingers into tiny, sharp blades. But she was wearing thin, and she was sleeping less. Her heart was hurting, and something deep inside her told her it wasn't just another trial to get through that would make her stronger.

She had forced herself awake on a Saturday morning, before Soul was up and right around the time Blair was getting back from a wild Friday evening. The powerful cat waved half-heartedly to Maka before falling face-first on the couch, fast asleep. Maka took one of the blankets from the back of the couch and laid it over Blair, knowing she tended to get cold while she slept. She snuggled into the blanket and there was a small smile on her face. There was a knock on the door, short and urgent. She scuttled over, the floor cold against her warm feet, and she opened it.

Black*Star was standing there, huffing like he had just run ten miles - which he probably had, but there were no routes he could have taken to pass by her house. He must have realized that as he started smiling at her and rubbing the back of his head, like he had already been caught.

"Hey, wanna come for a jog? And get this, I'm such a big guy, I'll even keep it at your pace." Black*Star had been the most worried about Maka after she fell into a coma - they had known each other their entire lives, and it wasn't like her to not be stubborn. He was still worried about her, even if he didn't know about her current training. He had a feeling that she was being stressed by something, and he thought that some mindless running would help set things straight. She smiled at him before opening the door a little more and letting him in.

"Yeah, I just gotta get dressed. And be quiet, everyone's still asleep!"

He covered his mouth to show his good intentions, but they were ruined when he saw Blair sleeping on the couch. As he opened his mouth to yell, it seemed the magical cat sensed it, as she transformed into her feline form. He frowned, disappointed at being thwarted by someone other than Tsubaki, when Maka emerged from her room. She had on black running shorts and a tight tank top, and she had her hair in a high ponytail.

She began to walk towards the door when he reached out and grabbed her arm. She turned to face him, and to her surprise, he was looking away.

"Maka, are you good? Like, no one's messing with you, right? Cause if they are, you can tell me, I'll take care of it. I mean, you've been acting weird lately -you're always really weird- and-" There was no noise, no movement to indicate it. She whipped a book out from nowhere and whacked him on the head. It happened every now and then - he would start rambling and get off topic. He did it when he got nervous; all he knew how to do was talk, so when in doubt, keep talking.

"I'm fine, you nerd. I've been training a lot, is all."

"What the hell, you got special training? Maka, let me in on that!" He was shaking her shoulders and shouting so loud that her ears rang. The book was back, and he was on the ground again from another Maka Chop. He groaned before sitting up, and she was glaring at him.

"Sleeping!" He nodded before letting her help him stand up, and they were out the door.

He really didn't have any idea where he wanted to run to, so he let Maka take the lead this time. She kept turning suddenly, and when she stopped to take a breath, they were in the sprawling town that situated itself around Death City. He didn't need to take the break, but he stopped with her.

"Why did you come by?"

"A star's gotta watch out for his worshippers, right? Now dude, tell me more about this special training." He flexed, trying to make it nonchalant that he had low-key admitted to being worried about her. She let it slide, knowing that he didn't do well with emotions - especially negative ones. She told him to take the lead, and as they ran she told him all about the work she had been doing; how far she had gotten in a transformation, Soul's recent involvement. She struggled to keep up as they ran around the town before ascending the spiral road back up. He stopped outside of his house, bending over to take a few gulps of air before standing up straight to look at Maka.

She was sweaty, and looked a mess, but there was something in her eyes that seemed relieved. He gave her a thumbs up before turning around to head up the stairs.

"Wait, are you done already?"

"Eh, I kinda ditched Tsubaki this morning to come get you. Now I gotta wake her up so we can go run some more!" She knew he was grinning by the sound of his voice and she just smiled at his back as he went up to his door, before she turned around to begin the walk home.

She passed the yarn store, the purse store, and the pillow shop. It wasn't a route that she took often, but the curio store was at the end of this long chain of strange comfort shops. She was almost surprised that it was open so early, but decided to chalk it up to luck. She entered, noticing the stale smell of potpurri and incense as she lingered around the snowglobes and jewelry boxes. One caught her eye and she reached up to grab it, but there was another hand already taking the box off of the shelf. She turned around, an arguument on her lips, but it died as her eyes looked up into a dark shade of green.

"Maka, I thought I'd find you here. Great minds think alike!" Kami Albarn was exactly as Maka remembered her - her dark, green eyes and her curly blonde hair, the laugh lines, even the little scar on the corner of her mouth. This was her mother. She was shocked, unable to form words, as Kami picked her up and spun her around, laughing as she did so.

"I'm so happy to see you, Maka!"

"Momma, what are you doing here?" Her tone was flat, and Kami quirked an eyebrow. Maka was happy to see her mother, but why now? Why here, in this rinky curio shop in Death City? She had hoped it would have been a bit more meaningul, a bit more memorable. But there it was again. That small morsel of disappointment, worming its way into her chest.

"Well, Maka, I came here to take you home with me."

Of all things she wanted, this was not it. Kami Albarn was sitting in Maka and Soul's living room, sipping a cup of coffee that Blair had conjured for her. Kami was eyeing the cat warily, the witch's hat discomforting to any meister who didn't know her. Soul set down a tray of cookies, cream, and sugar, when she pulled him down to sit. This was also something that Maka had wanted to avoid, her mother meeting her partner.

It wasn't that she was worried that Soul would leave her for Kami, but she knew her mother was a better meister. And while Maka could never escape that, she had wanted to keep the gravity of it from Soul. She always talked about how strong her mother was, but she never told him that she was bothered by it. Not for the fact that it was her mother, but there was someone out there who could wield Soul if they had to - it was someone else he could form a bond to, and in all honesty, she wanted to keep that number to a minumum.

"Is this your partner?"

"Yeah, his name is Soul."

"Soul, tell me about yourself. What kind of boy has been living with my daughter?" The look she was giving him could only be described as critical. He recognized the look from Maka, like she was expected him to answer incorrectly. Thankfully, Blair stepped in for him.

"Soul and Maka are my precious little kittens! All they ever do is work, work, work! They never have any time to play with me anymore." Blair pouted and Maka reached over to stroke her, and she knew her mother was irritated that Soul hadn't answered her. Her mouth was a thin line and she opened it to sip the last of her coffee before fixing Soul with a big smile.

"Well, if you won't tell me about yourself, mind if I take a peek at your soul?" Before he could formulate an answer in his head, he could feel her eyes roaming around him. He hated the way it felt, and a quick glance at Maka showed that she wasn't happy about her mother's intrusive behavior. He saw a quick frown marr her features before she covered it up again by turning to Maka, who had called out to her.

"Mama, why are you here again? I thought you were out seeing the world."

"Well, I missed you so much that I had to come back. And, I knew you must be going crazy with your father." Maka couldn't deny that Spirit was a constant bother, but her mother's appearence was much more irritating than her father.

At that moment, the doorbell rang. Soul was up and opening before anyone could say anything, and it revealed Spirit on the other side. He was trying to pose cooly, but had failed to realize the door was open. His back was facing them as he muttered to himself.

"If Kami's here, how will I ever see my precious Maka again?" Kami frowned deeply before joining Soul at the door. She closed it swiftly before joining Maka on the couch again, as if nothing had happened. Kami was telling Maka all about her travels when Soul opened the door again and for the first time, he invited the older man in. He would much rather listen to Spirit's mindless prattling than Kami's elusive answers.

"Well, Kami, you're looking lovely as always."

"Oh, Spirit, begging was never a good look on you." Her reply was cold and Soul saw where Maka got her death stares. He was absolutely positive that Death Scythe had just died in front of him, but when the man began to walk again, he was amazed. Kami's aura screamed 'get away' but Spirit sat down adjacent to Maka, beside Blair.

"So, what brings you to Death City?" His voice was small, and Soul was sweating bullets. He wondered who would leave first - Kami, out of irritation, or Spirit, in a body bag.

"I came here for my daughter. It was time she was raised by someone competent." He could see the pain in Spirit's eyes, because as much as anyone could agree that Spirit wasn't the best father, he had always looked after Maka. He hoped this arguing would stop soon. He could remember when his parents fought, and he knew it couldn't be easy for Maka to watch.

"Where do you plan on raising her?"

"Isn't it obvious? Away from you."

Maka stood up, her eyes wide as she stared at her mother. "You don't mean... I have to leave Death City?" At Kami's nod, Maka sat back down. It seemed like her knees gave out more than her voluntarily sitting back beside Kami, and it was quiet in the room for a few moments before she began to object.

"No way."

"Excuse me?" Spirit and Kami spoke in tandem, resulting in that same ire being directed towards him. Soul took a step forward, not sure where the sudden outburst came from. But these past few weeks had him thinking more and more about Maka and him being separated. The thought itself was preposterious, but the actual notion of other people considering it really ticked him off.

"Maka hasn't had any say in this. While I'm sure that in your cozy little adult world where you do whatever you like, it's logical to put more stress on her than there already is, and you're also effectively cutting her off from everything familiar. You might be her mom, but I'm her partner and as far as I'm concerned, Maka isn't going anywhere without me."

Kami's mouth was open, ready to tear him apart with every word uttered, when Maka stood up. She was clenching her fists, her head bowed the entire time, before she raised her eyes to meet with Soul's. He was still standing between the kitchen and the living room, and he was the only thing she could look at without getting angry.

"I'm not leaving. This is my home. Whether you like it or not, I'm not going to become part of your life, mama. You'll have to become part of mine; these are my friends, this place is my home." Kami's eyes went through a series of emotions, half of which were displayed openly. The first one was disbelief, and it left her silent for a solid two minutes. The second or third emotion, anger, fell across her face like a veil. She stood up, almost too fast, before she leaned down and grabbed Maka's arm. It wasn't hard, but it was still firm enough for Maka to turn her glare onto her mother.

"I've been doing fine without you and without papa. Soul and I live together. I want to stay with him, and Blair!"

"You are legally-"

"You're just trying to force her into something she doesn't want to do. She isn't ready to leave here yet, what's your deal, making her rush?" Soul's frown deepened as she glared at him. He hated the fact that Maka's mother was being so bull-headed about her daughter's well-being just so she could get away from Spirit faster. He knew Maka wanted to be with her mom, but he also knew that she needed her friends and their support right now.

"If it's an issue, I can talk to Lord Death." Spirit's presence was almost forgotten, and for three people in the room, it was a blessing. Kami wheeled around, unable to handle the fact that every single person in this room was now against her. But what really did it was Maka's weapon speaking so casually with her.

"If it's what Maka wants, and if it's what's best for her right now, than she should stay here. You forget, she just went through the most difficult battle of her life and the people who were there for her all the way, they're all here. You'd really want to take her away from that, knowing that she still isn't better?"

Kami was quiet. The whole room was absolutely silent. She stood up slowly and let out a heavy sigh before turning and walking calmly towards the door. Soul took a step to the side to avoid her, and she paused before throwing him an indecipherable glance. She began to head towards the door again before turning around, her face soft and all of the anger gone.

"For once, Spirit, you're right." Her gaze turned towards Maka and Soul could swear that her eyes were starting to water.

"Whenever you're ready, if you're ready, I'll always be waiting for you to join me. We can have our own adventures." Maka smiled a little at her mother, whose own smile brightened, before she left. Their door was still open, which prompted Spirit to follow.

"Papa!" Maka stood up, her posture meek. He turned around, trying to look cool, before giving her a thumbs-up. He left without a word and Maka didn't know what to say, if there was anything to say. Soul walked up beside her and ruffled her hair, supplying an answer for Spirit's actions.

"Lame." She weakly Maka chopped him before smiling up at him. She looked exhausted.

"Why don't you get some sleep, you look terrible." Her whole posture turned hostile as she began to beat on him; after an abundant beating, she started to head for her room. She closed the door with a soft click and Soul let out a long sigh. Blair padded towards him before transforming into her human form, and she was grimacing.

"Well, that wasn't awkward or anything."

"I guess you could say we all have our problems." Blair smiled brightly and hugged Soul to her chest, prompting a nosebleed.

"But you were pretty cool back there, Soul!" He pushed her away after a few minutes of enduring her breasts in his face, before heading into the kitchen for a paper towel to clean himself up. He wet the paper towel and blotted his nose, tossing it once all the blood was gone. He looked at it for a long time, thankful that all of it was actually red and not black.

"Nah, I just couldn't lose her again."