INVERTED SOUL

two months, three weeks after Asura

It was 3 in the morning.

Again.

Soul shifted out of bed, more like rolling until his legs dangled and his toes brushed the cool tile floor. He hauled himself up and began to pace. It was all he could do, for three weeks, this is what he did. He didn't want to wake her up by pacing in the living room, so he did it in here. He listened to the ringing silence and the soft sound his feet made when they hit the tiles.

He occassionally heard Maka talking to herself, alternating in pitches but always saying that it couldn't be real. Sometimes he would check up on her, and she would smile; but most of the time, she would scream at him to go away, that she knew what he was. She read her books and slept everywhere but her bed. She hadn't eaten more than two oranges and a sandwich in the time since she fell into madness; but she drank liquid like it was all there was. Sometimes, in the middle of the day while he was at school, he would wonder if she came out of her room.

It had been hard for him to be able to move forward, knowing that he had to leave her behind.

For some reason, even after being violently kicked in the stomach -by Maka, of all people, who had a stronger kick than Black*Star- Blair came back to help Soul care for Maka while he was out. Blair would hide when Maka left her room to stagger to the bathroom; but every time on her way back, Maka would stop in the hall and stare, wide-eyed at a specific point around her before running back into her room. Her behavior was getting stranger, and Blair worried for her safety. They could only keep lying to everyone for so long.

Soul had only gone back to school because Blair proved a good point - he didn't need to mope at home all day, he needed to get stronger, do missions, and learn everything he can about what afflicted his meister. It was hard to lie to all of his friends, but soon it was normal; they stopped coming to see her, though they wished her well. He was welcomed back by everyone, and he was surprised when Crona began speaking to him.

Apparently, Crona had been popular that week, as they had taken on a two-star mission with Agnes and Rudy. It was difficult, the meister had divulged to Soul, but it seemed like something else was bothering them. They seemed a bit more on edge than usual. Soul knew better than to question Crona, so he simply clapped a hand on their shoulder and congratulated them on a job well done. They went to find their seat with Rudy and Tsubaki after offering a small smile over their shoulder.

Another glance around the classroom told Soul that Black*Star wasn't in class yet, and decided to go find him istead of sit and watch Stein do another dissection. Quietly, he slipped out the door and was down the hall before the bell rang.

Black*Star could be anywhere, but Soul decided to check the mission board first; sometimes he would hang out here to try and find work. Unsurprisingly, the meister was absent from the barren board, probably reading comics in the library or off training in some outrageous location. It was only a matter of time before Soul would hear his buddy, so he decided to patiently read the few missions posted.

Spotting an easy one, he pulled it down and read it closer. There was a kishin egg in southern Utah; it was relatively new and as such, didn't have much power. Soul read it over once more before deciding to hault his search for Black*Star - it could wait until he finished this mission. He headed towards the Death Room, and after getting the OK, he set out for his first solo mission.

It only took four hours to get here, but his ass was sore from sitting on his bike seat for so long. He left it at the inn, preferring to survey the area on foot. It was mostly wooded, only a liquor store and a convenience store sat a mile or two down the road, and it seemed very suspicious, but Soul couldn't do much about it; the reports said that it kept to the same five-mile radius, which happened to run very close to this strange stop.

He let his thoughts wander back to Maka as he began to trek through the woods. He wished she was here, still a little nervous about his first mission by himself - what if he messed up and froze? Her bravado was usually what kept him alert, and her recklessness was what made him more cautious. There was no one watching his back this time, he had to rely on himself.

It was so damn lonely without her.

He sighed heavily, swinging his leg over a fallen log and using his scythe to chop down a precarious branch before it fell. She wouldn't have picked this mission - Maka liked to keep challenging herself, keep pushing herself until she got what she wanted. He immediately thought of Black*Star - and let out a loud laugh when he realized that Maka didn't get that ego from him, Black*Star picked it up from Maka, and then proceeded to shove it in everyone's face constantly.

He let a shiver go up his spine. What kind of mischevious duo must they have made in their youth? He could only imagine the pranks they pulled - he made a mental note to ask Black*Star about it, when he tripped and fell flat on his face. Letting out an annoyed groan, he pushed himself up from the ground and dusted himself off.

His thoughts shifted towards Rudy's visits with Maka. She thought he didn't know, but he was well aware that she would sneak around. Oddly, whenever the other weapon was around, Maka was very quiet. Neither of them spoke, but he knew that there had to be something going on. He just wished he knew.

The sun had gone down about an hour after he wandered into the woods, and now it was dark and he could swear he heard little branches cracking somewhere in the distance; he started to really listen now, focused on that one noise, when he realized it was getting closer. The kishin egg must have found him, but Soul was also sure that the monster couldn't see him. With a grin and light footsteps, Soul made his way around the noise until it was moving away from him. He broke into a sprint when he heard the kishin egg pause, and it only took a moment for him to cleave straight through it, leaving only a soul behind.

The problem was that this soul glowed a bright, innocent blue. It was such a bright glow that it was almost blinding against the darkness of the trees, and Soul felt the blood rush from his face and into his toes. He killed a human. He killed a human and he knew what happened to weapons who killed humans.

He had to do something. He couldn't allow anyone to find out about this - it would inadverdantly lead to someone finding out about Maka, then he would be endangering their partnership. If he learned one thing over the past few months, it's that he didn't want to lose Maka. Not to her mother, not to another weapon, and not to herself.

The soul continued to hover in front of him as he stared at it, still in shock. His heart was racing, his breathing was ragged. It was absurd - how could this have happened? He brought one hand to his face, ran it through his hair, and took a deep breath.

He reached out and gripped it; it was cold to the touch, but it seemed to vibrate with power. It was nothing like a kishin egg, which was warm and almost weightless. He brought it close to his face and Soul inspected it closer, squinting to try and look past the light. Finding his search futile, he took a shaky breath before dropping it down his throat.

It was smoother than silk against silk, and the taste of it filled his entire mouth and made him salivate. It was gooey, moreso than the normal kishin egg, and he loved the way it felt as it slid all the way down into his stomach.

Soul would never admit it, but he wished it wasn't the last time he tried one.