"How you feeling Maka?"
"Light headed…"
"Anything else?"
"No, that's it…"
"You sure?"
"Yes Kid I'm sure…I'll be fine."
"Alright. I'll be on my way then." With that, Kid leaves Maka's apartment, the gifts he had bought her left on her table. Sighing, Maka ran her fingers along her hair and blinked. "Two days since that game finally ended…"
Ever since she had returned to Death City, she hadn't really talked to anyone. She had stayed in her apartment and hadn't left since she came back. Even so however, she couldn't bring herself to go to Soul's room. That was the one room she couldn't find herself going into. Standing up, Maka shivered and held herself. She suddenly felt very cold and had no idea why. Biting her lip she shuts her eyes and makes her way to the bathroom where she starts the water and leaves it running, preparing a bath.
Sighing she sat on the toilet while she waited for the shower to fill with the warm water. Staring down at her feet she uttered a single word. A single name. "Soul." For some reason she couldn't make herself cry this time. She found it rather odd. She was crying all day yesterday but today she couldn't do it at this moment. It was as if her tears were exhausted.
Standing up, Maka began to undress herself as the bathtub finished filling up. Before she could get in however, a knock at her door stops her. Sighing heavily, Maka puts her clothes back on as she makes her way to the door. "I'm coming!"
Opening the door, Maka is greeted by Tsubaki who smiles kindly at her. "Hello Maka I hope I'm not disturbing you or anything." Smiling back, Maka shakes her head. "Not at all! Would you like to come in?" the young girl stepped aside offering to allow her fellow friend to step inside. Tilting her head to the side, Tsubaki shakes her head a bit. "No no that's okay. I actually wanted to ask you something."
"What is it?" Maka asked curiously.
"I was wondering if you'd like to check on Black*Star with me. He's in the hospital and I wanted to go visit him" Tsubaki replied with her usual gentle smile. "Ah I see…sure thing! I haven't exactly seen him the past day or so…it would be nice to see him" Maka agreed with a nod as she accepted the offer.
As she stepped outside, Maka looked around staring at Death City as Tsubaki talked to her. Death City appeared to be unscathed. Unchanged by the events that occurred over the past….days? Weeks? Maka already forgot how long it had been since she was in that death game.
"Maka are you alright?"
"Huh?" Blinking, the ash blonde haired female looked over at Tsubaki who had a concerned look on her face. Attempting a smile, Maka nodded. "Yeah I'm fine don't worry." Apparently the false smile didn't work since Tsubaki kept the worried look on her face despite nodding.
It didn't take long for the girls to find their destination. They approached the DWMA and walked up the steps in silence. Tsubaki's hands were both in front of her, clasped together a bit too tightly. Maka took note of that but decided not to say anything to her. She's just worrying about Black*Star…I'd do the same if it were Soul…
Standing outside of the hospital room, Stein stood leaning back against the door staring at the ceiling.
"Professor Stein?" Maka asked as she and Tsubaki approached him. "Hm? Oh its you two" Stein muttered quietly as he stood back up straight and stuck his hands in his lab coat to hide the cigarette he had been about to pull out. "We're here to see Black*Star" Tsubaki managed to whisper in a somewhat tense tone. Maka could tell from her voice that she had been wanting to check on him for a while.
Nodding, Stein opened the door for them. "Go right ahead. Although I'm not sure if he's awake or not."
"So how is he, professor?" Maka asked, wanting to know the extent of his injuries. "Well he sustained three broken ribs, a dislocated shoulder, a broken leg, torn back muscle, and slight head trauma" Stein explained in a cold tone. Biting her lip, Tsubaki stared at her feet at hearing the conditions of her mesiter's injury.
"But…he's still the same as usual" Stein said with a slight smile, as he twisted his screw. At this, Tsubaki looked back up and turned to Stein with a hopeful look. "Still the same as usual…?"
Nodding, Stein explained. "You know him better than anyone so you should know how he is. When I told him about his injuries he just laughed it off and bragged about how a Kishin couldn't kill him." Smiling softly, Tsubaki brushed her hair away from her eyes and beamed happily. "Good old Black*Star…"
"Well I suppose I should let you two in. Go on and see your friend" Stein urged as he stood out of the ay allowing Maka and Tsubaki to enter.
"Stein."
"Hm?" as his name is called, the professor turns to see Spirit holding a file with a rather serious look on his face. Yes what is it, Spirit?"
"I went ahead and finished up the reports from that day…there were a total of twelve confirmed deaths. Among them were several DWMA students…and Sid was one of the casualties as well" Spirit explained in a rather uncomfortable tone. Stein nodded as he stuck his hands in his pocket and gazed at the wall. "I see…Well what's done is done I'm afraid. There's nothing we can do about it now. And I'm sure Sid and the other kids are at peace now…we have to be strong for them and keep moving forward."
"Yeah…we do" Spirit agreed as he let out a heavy sigh.
"Yahoo! I see you girls came to check on your favorite pal!" Black*Star boasted as he sat up in bed and grinned widely. Sighing, Tsubaki smiled kindly and nodded. "Well of course…I was really worried about you after all. But I knew you'd be alright."
"Of course I'm alright! I'm the mighty Black*Star! Nothing can stop me!" the blue haired male yelled out proudly as he leapt up off the bed and smirked. Rolling her eyes, Maka couldn't help but smile. Despite the idiot he was, Black*Star always knew how to get on everyone's good side. "I'm really glad you're okay…" Tsubaki whispered as she planted a kiss on the male's forehead. At the sudden action, Black*Star felt himself turn red as he stumbled back. "W-What was that for Tsubaki!? W-What are you my mother or something!"
Looking down shyly, the male's weapon smiled softly and giggled. "Of course I'm not your mother. I'm your weapon, Black*Star." Folding his arms, Black*Star stared out the window to hide his blush. "Whatever…I'm still the one who has to protect you. I'm gonna transcend through God! And a God needs his Goddess…"
Blushing, Tsubaki looks up wide eyed and feels herself internally burst with joy.
"I'll be on my way now, you two. But good to see you again Black*Star. You too, Tsubaki!" Maka waved at the pair and smiled as she walked out with her hands behind her back. As the young female walked, she began to ponder about what she had heard professor Stein talking about earlier. She hadn't meant to eavesdrop but they had been talking about Crona. Of all the participants in the game it seemed that Crona's body was still missing.
What could this mean? Is there a chance that Crona is actually still alive?
The more Maka the thought about it, the more determined she was to go out and find him. I already lost Soul…I'm not about to lose another person I care about. Especially not Crona.
"Maka?"
"Huh?"
Blinking, the ash blonde haired female looked up to see Jackie approach her. "How you been?" the young weapon asked, looking at Maka with calm yet saddened eyes. And who could blame her, she had lost her meister; Kim. "I've been alright I suppose…could be better but…I'd rather not talk about what happened on that island" Maka whispered as she let out a sigh. "I see…well…have any weapons been asking you to pair up with them?" Jackie nodded as she folded her arms and looked to the side, not really wanting to get into the topic much herself. Maka hesitated for a moment. She didn't exactly like the mention of weapons. It made her think of Soul. With a sigh however, she responded. "Yes…I've gotten quite a bit of requests. But they all don't matter to me…I'll stay weaponless if I have to. No one and I mean no one will ever replace Soul…"
Jackie stares at Maka for a moment, surprised with what she just said. She opens her mouth to speak but no words come out so she just continues looking at Maka, unsure of what to say.
"So um…how are the twins?" Maka finally asks to break the silence. "Still pretty traumatized. I mean they did have to experience all that death plus they lost Kilik…." Jackie responded in a rather uncomfortable tone that told Maka that she didn't like talking about the subject. Before Maka could say anything however, Jackie went on. "But I think they're getting better each day. They have lessons with Stein and I think its helping them. Although they still have been rather clingy to me over the past days…whenever they see me they grab onto my leg."
Giggling, Maka smiled as she imagined the twin pots clinging to Jackie. It reminded her of how kids would act around their mother in a way. Pouting, Jackie narrowed her eyes. "It's not funny!" But Maka merely laughed even more as she smirked at the female. "Is too!"
"Ugh…you're such a pain, Maka" Jackie muttered as she rolled her eyes.
"So they really won't tell you anything?" Lord Death asks as he sits at the end of a round table with all the staff members around him. Azusa nodded as she adjusted her glasses. "I'm afraid so, Lord Death. No matter what we told the kids, they simply wouldn't tell us anything. They refused to talk about what happened on the island."
Nodding, Lord Death looked at the remaining staff to receive a unanimous agreement that what Azusa was saying, was indeed true. "Very well…I suppose we can't make those children tell us anything and that's okay. A lot has happened considering twelve corpses were found and some of them happened to be students who went here as well…"
"But what happens now? Are you going to pretend like this never happened?" Marie asked as she suddenly stood up. "Hmm? Well in a way, yes…We can't do anything about this I'm afraid" Lord Death explained to the death scythe. "B-But those kids need our assistance! We can't just blow this over without supporting them after all they've been through!" the blonde female protested.
"There's nothing we can do that's going to help them Marie," Lord Death said calmly. "After all they've experienced I doubt there's anything we can do. And support them? Those kids are stronger than that. They don't need to rely on us that much. This is something they have to get through on their own."
Sitting back down, Marie gives a slight nod and stares at her feet. "I understand, Lord Death…"
"Oh and one last thing Lord Death," Spirit began as he looked down at the files in his hands. "There were two others that survived whom aren't members of the DWMA."
"Who might they be?" Lord Death asked as he tilted his head and looked at the files curiously. "They were allies of Medusa, the snake witch. Free the immortal werewolf and Eruka the frog witch" Spirit replied. After thinking for a moment, Lord Death shrugged. "Ah well, those two aren't our problem as of right now. Medusa is dead and if she was who they looked to for leadership surely they don't have any more plans. We'll leave them be."
Far beyond the walls of the DWMA and exiting out of the DWMA, two figures began walking away while holding hands. One was male and the other was female. Both had long tan cloaks that covered their faces so no one could know who they were. "Are you sure about this?" the male grunted with a rather nervous look on his face. The female nodded. "Yes. I want to leave this place and be with you, Free. I may still have snakes inside of me but Medusa is dead now so there's nothing to be done about that. I just want to leave and forget about everything."
Nodding, the male werewolf looked up and gently squeezed the witch's hand. "Alright. I'll do whatever you say, Eruka. Let's get out of here." With that, the two looked at each other and shared a passionate kiss before continuing on, and leaving Death City.
Liz and Patty both sat on the steps of the DWMA, admiring the view when suddenly a familiar looking female walked past them. "Maka? Where are you going?" Liz asked as she stood up and took a step towards her friend. Turning around and noticing the sisters, Maka gave them a determined look. "I'm going to find Crona."
"You're kidding, right?" Liz asked with her eyes going wide at Maka's words. "No, I'm dead serious. I have to do this, Liz. I have to search until I find him. I heard Stein and papa talking about him…he's not dead! He's still out there somewhere…And I won't rest until I find him" Maka responded.
"Are ya dumb or something! We're coming along too!" Patty suddenly piped up to Maka's surprise. "Huh!? We are?" Liz looked at her younger sister dumbfounded. "Yup! And Kiddo is coming along too! And so is Tsubaki and everyone else! We'll find Crona together!"
Maka paused for a moment, her eyes wide and her mouth hanging open. After a moment though a smile soon appears on her face. "I can't make you stay behind, so I guess its okay if you all join me."
Giggling, Patty raised her fist in the air. "Yay! Super awesome adventure time!"
Sighing, Liz smiled and looked over at Maka. "I guess I'll go and find Kid and the others. Don't you go anywhere without us, Maka."
Smiling softly, Maka nodded and put her hands behind her back. "Don't worry. I'm not going anywhere without you guys."
END
Note: and there you have it! The final chapter to this epic and long series! I knew the last chapter would have been a bad place to end it and probably left a lot of you grumpy so I had decided to make this. Sorry it took so long though! I will say that if you guys want….I can even add a bonus chapter of Maka and the gang searching for Crona! So keep your eyes peeled for updates! With that in mind…thank you for all the support, everyone. You've all helped me make this series something great! Make sure to check out my other fanfics if you get the chance to and with that, see ya next time folks!