Soul was not happy and Maka knew it but there was nothing that could be done. He was needed at the academy and she was needed to help Black Star and Tsubaki track down one of the new Kishin eggs that had developed over the last few years since the war on the moon. "Soul relax, it's only for a couple days."

"I don't care, you're not like Black Star." He said as he sat in the desk chair watching as she packed a small bag.

"Soul, you're being worse than my father." She put her hands on her hips. "you know I can take care of myself."

"No, you can't. you always get yourself in trouble and it's not like you can use your wavelength or be some super martial artist. What are you going to do without a weapon?" Soul stood and looked at her sternly. Maka sighed and threw her hands in the air as she turned away from him to finish packing.

"You know better. Why can't you just trust me?" She said getting more and more frustrating.

"I do trust you, Maka, you know that." He said moving closer and he heaved a heavy sigh as he ran his hand through his hair. "I trust you, I just…"

"Worry? Get scared?" She asked as she turned to face him, locking her green eyes with his. "Soul…" she let out a soft sigh and took his hand from his hair in her own hand. "We've been partners since we were kids and we've trained to be stronger together. We've been through some of the toughest battles and wars and always came out fine at the end because we trusted each other's abilities. We promised that when we started dating it wouldn't change anything about who we work."

"It's not." He said as he stepped even closer, using his free hand to gently push loose hair back behind her ear. "I never liked when you went off on your own, I just never had much of an argument to stop you."

"And you do now?" She asked watching as he shook his head and sighed again. "Soul." He looked back at her as she gave a little smile. "I'll be fine, I know enough to keep me safe, you taught me most of it." He gave a small smirk. "I promise that when the fighting starts, I'll get out of the way and let Black Star and Tsubaki handle it. Just trust that we'll be back together in no time."

Soul gave her a small smile and gave a nod. "I trust you completely." He said softly. "You just make sure to keep that promise."

"And when I get back, I'll make it up to you." Soul smirked before he pulled her into a loving kiss.

"Ew!" They parted to find Black Star making faces and Tsubaki trying to pull him away, apologizing. "Dude! You guys are so gross!"

"Then don't break into our apartment!" Maka yelled before she slammed a book into the ninja meister's face. "Don't go getting into too much trouble while I'm gone." She said as she turned back to Soul.

"You better come back safe and sound." Soul told her before she pressed another kiss to his lips with a small smile and a nod. She threw her bag over her shoulder and walked towards the door with Tsubaki as Black Star crossed his arms, mumbling about being a god and how he couldn't be defeated. "Black Star."

"Yeah?" He said as he looked at Soul leaning his arm on the doorway.

Soul glanced at Maka before looking back at his best friend. "Try to keep her from getting into too much trouble while you're out there."

"You know how she is." Soul sighed once again as Black Star looked at his friend. "I'll do my best to keep her safe." Soul nodded as Black Star turned to join the woman with Soul following him.

"Try to be nice to Kid." Maka smiled making Soul smirk. "I'll see you in a couple days."

"Yeah. Good luck guys." He said as they left the apartment and he was left alone in the little apartment. Left to his worries and fears.

Soul sat in the death room his hands behind his head as he dosed, bored as Kid worked on papers and Spirit was trying to keep Patty under control. Suddenly Soul felt a sharp pain shoot through his body like a electric shock. He gasped and sat up quickly grabbing for his chest. Spirit and Patty stopped running to look at him as Kid looked at him concerned. Soul felt his chest being squeezed, he was getting less and less air as he tried desperately to get oxygen into his lungs.

"Soul?" Kid said as he walked over becoming more worried. "Soul, what's going on?"

Soul shook his head; his head was getting fuzzy as he tried to desperately take back control of his body. Spirit knelt on his side looking at the younger death scythe concerned. "Soul, what's wrong?"

Suddenly another shock went through his body before he felt the air rush into his lungs. And he gasped, getting all, he could. He shook his head and pushed to his feet, Spirit and Kid had to grab him to steady him and stop him from falling. "Something's wrong." He said.

"Soul, what's going on?" Kid asked again worried.

Soul took a deep breath. "I just felt like I was being crushed." He shook his head. "Something's wrong. I have to get to Maka." He said and tried to start walking but his legs were still unsteady making Spirit hold him up.

"You need to collect yourself." Spirit said as he sat the young man down. He knew about the relationship between his daughter and her weapon. He never was happy that she was growing up, but he knew that she had picked the best guy that was out there. And although he and the young death scythe never saw eye to eye he had come to care for Soul, especially seeing how happy he made Maka.

Soul was pushing to get up again. "Kid get Stein." He said before looking back at Soul and setting him back down. "Soul, stop. Relax for just a minute. Why do you think something's wrong? Wy do you think you need to get to Maka? You know Black Star and Tsubaki won't let anything happen to her."

Soul shook his head. "I just…" He shook his head again. "I can't explain it. I feel like my soul was being pulled and ripped apart. I know Black star would do everything he can to keep her safe but Maka has a knack for getting into trouble. I just… I know… I need to get to her." He tried to get back up as Stein and Kid ran back into the room.

"Soul." Stein said as Soul pushed to his feet.

"Stein…" Spirit said as he caught Soul again as he grabbed his chest again. "He said he felt like his soul was being crushed."

"I don't have time for this. I need to find Maka." Soul growled as he pushed forward, pulling free from Spirit but stumbled and stopped.

Stein grabbed him. "Your wavelength is all over the place." He said calmly. "Take a breath, you need to get it back under control." He held his hand out, resting it on Soul's back as he sent his wavelength through Soul, helping to steady it. Soul was breathing easier now and he looked up at Stein. "your soul and Maka's soul is connected more than any other partnership. Its continually resonating even over long distances. It's what caused your soul to react."

"What did?" Spirit asked as fear began to really grip him. "What happened to Maka?"

Stein shrugged. "Probably just a bad injury."

"A bad injury? You say it like it's nothing." Spirit was now the one freaking out.

"She's still alive." Stein said looking at his old friend. "She's hurt bad, but her soul is still connected which means she's still alive. We need to get a hold of Black Star and Tsubaki and find out what's going on."

Soul looked at Kid as he walked to the mirror, touching it, it flashed, scanning the mirrors in the area that the team had gone, it settled on one where Tsubaki was leaning against a stone wall with blood on her. "Tsubaki!" Kid called making her look up weakly. "Tsubaki what happened?"

"Kid…" She sighed and climbed to her feet. "There was more than one and a witch came from nowhere. Maka was caught trying to help us and stay out of the way of the two eggs she shouldn't see the witch coming." She had tears in her eyes. "We took down one of the eggs bit the second one caught Black Star when he tried to save Maka. It all happened too fast. We took heavy attacks."

"Where's Maka?" Soul asked as he moved closer.

Tsubaki looked at him crying and shaking her head. "I don't know. We were stuck with eh last egg and hurt too bad. We were able to defeat it but by the time it was done Maka and the witch were gone." She explained. "I'm so sorry Soul."

He didn't answer, just turned and started out the door, on a mission to find his meister. "Soul." Kid said making him stop at the door. "I found her." Soul spun on his heels and looked at the mirror. It was Maka laying in a bed covered in bandages. "I don't know where she is or why the witch would bandage her wounds but… it looks like she's okay for now."

Soul walked closer to the mirror looking at the room, furrowing his brow. the room looked so familiar, he couldn't put his finger on it, but he knew that room. "She's alive." Spirit said looking angry. "That's a start. Now we need to find where she is and get her home."

"Spirit…" Stein said before nodding at Soul who stood staring at the mirror with his brow furrowed, he could feel his chest tightening again. "Soul, what's wrong?"

Soul shook his head. "I can't explain it, but I know this room."

"I'll work on locating the exact place, you go meet up with Black Star and Tsubaki and go from there." Kid told Soul who nodded and was gone.

"I'm going with him." Spirit said looking away from his injured daughter. Now was not the time to break down and weep, his daughter needed him to be strong to keep the man she loved from getting himself into trouble.

"I'll go with them. If Soul's wavelength goes out of control again I can help him regain control and if there's an enemy that shows up I can use Spirit to fight." Stein said watching Kid nod. "I'll let Marie know she's the standing death scythe." Again, Kid nodded, and the two men left.

Soul walked from his apartment only to find Spirit and Stein standing by his bike. He stopped and looked at them. "You won't stop me." He said as he climbed onto the bike.

"No, we're coming with you." Spirit said making Soul look at him quickly. "My daughter is out there hurt, she needs help. And I'm not leaving that to some octopus head." He smirked as Soul looked at him a moment longer before he smirked and kicked his motorcycle on and the three were off to meet with Black Star and Tsubaki.

It took three hours before they came to a stop. Soul climbed from his bike and walked over to where Black star was leaning on the stones and Tsubaki sitting beside him, trying to clean his wounds. "Dude." He said as he knelt beside his friend. "You look horrible."

"I'm a god, I can't be held down." He said but couldn't hide the wince as he moved.

"You'll be up running after that witch in no time, but let Tsubaki take care of those wounds first." Black Star eased back letting his partner and Stein fix his wounds. "Did you see what way Maka went?"

"The most I remember was I saw her to the north then she was gone. Soul…" Black Star said looking pained, but not from his wounds. "I'm sorry I didn't keep her safe."

"I know how must trouble she can be, even for a book worm." Soul smirked before he and Black Star bumped fists.

"As soon as I'm up, I'll meet up with you." Soul nodded before he walked back to his bike with Spirit beside him.

"Soul…" Spirit said making the younger death scythe look at him. "We'll find her and bring her home." Soul just nodded and turned back to his bike. He took a breath and looked to the woods. He couldn't stop the feeling that he had been here before. Slowly he started walking towards the woods making Spirit and Stein follow him as Tsubaki started working on getting Black Star on his feet. "Soul, where are you going?"

"I don't, know." He said. "I know this place." He said softly as he continued to walk before he found another stone wall with an insignia on it. He reached out and moved the plants that had grown up the stones and he sighed. "That's why…" The two men walked to his side. "The Evans insignia."

"Evans?" Spirit raised his brow.

"When I was a little kid my grandparents used to take me here for the summer. It was basically my only get away from the crazy that is my family. Theirs a cabin a few miles in from here." He said as he started walking faster, reaching out with his soul, calling for Maka's.

After an hour they stopped at the run down looking mansion of a cabin. Soul walked to the door and slowly opened it as Spirit transformed into Stein's hands. Soul transformed his arm as he made his way through the dimly light halls. He stopped before he turned a corner, pushing someone up against the wall with his blade at their throat.

"Where is she?" He called as he pushed the person. Suddenly he took a step back as his red eyes recognized the woman.

"Soul?" Spirit asked seeing Soul's reaction to the woman.

Soul never took his eyes from the woman as Stein spoke. "Did an injured girl come here?"

"Y-yes." She turned her brown eyes to him. "What is this about? Soul, what are you doing here?" She looked at Soul as he turned his head and started through the halls again. "Where are you going?" She demanded as she followed him.

"Soul." Spirit said as they followed him while the woman complained about manors and just barging into someone's home.

"She's here." He said as he turned another corner.

"I told you she was." The woman said. "She's in here." She said stepping in front of Soul and opening the door. Soul paused only a moment before going to the side of the bed, reaching out and gently touching Maka's bruised cheek. "She stumbled onto the porch and passed out. We're too far from any hospital and all so we tried to bandage her up since it didn't look like she had any broken bones or anything. My husband went to the neighbors to get more bandages in case we needed them. Once we had her bandaged and she woke up we would try to get her to the city."

Soul sat on the side of the bed as Spirit transformed to his human form and ran to the other side. "Maka" He said as tears came to his eyes. "Maka." He started to sob.

Soul rolled his eyes. "Stop being an idiot." Soul said shaking his head. "Like Maka ever likes when you're a cry baby." Spirit sniffled and stayed silent looking at his hurt daughter. Soul felt his chest release as he saw her breathing.

"Soul…" She mumbled harshly. "Soul…"

"Hey, hey, relax stupid." He said trying to lighten the fear he still felt. He reached out and smoothed her hair from her forehead as she cracked her eyes and looked up at him weakly.

"You're… you're really here?" She whispered.

Soul nodded. "Of course I am."

"I'm… I'm sorry. You were right." She started to cough making Soul hold her hand as her body shook.

"Relax. Just rest, Maka. I'll tell you told you so later." He smirked as she laid back into the pillow, unable to keep her eyes open any longer. once she was back to sleep he looked at Stein. "Get Black Star and Tsubaki, we'll stay here until they're able to move to get back to the academy."

Spirit put his hand on Soul's shoulder. "You stay with Maka, I'll give stein a hand. Take care of my Maka." Soul only nodded as the two men left ignoring the woman standing in the corner watching.

Soul smoothed Maka's hair again. "Thank you for taking care of her." He said softly. He never got along with his parents, but he was glad that they had been here to help Maka when she needed it. He turned his red eyes on her as she stared at him. "You patched her up pretty well for no knowing what you were doing."

"Like I said it didn't seem like she had injuries that needed the hospital right away, and we were too afraid to move her much, so we brought her in and did what we could." She said. She pushed from the wall and walked closer. "She's important to you." It was a fact not a question as Soul looked back at Maka.

He nodded. "She's my meister, my partner, my friend." He smirked. "My girlfriend." He heard an intake of breath from his mother. "I had work to do this morning, so I couldn't go with her and our two friends on the mission. We had a fight before she left because I didn't want her to go without me."

"Will she be alright?" She asked looking back at Maka.

Soul nodded. "She'll be fine now. Just have to get her to heal a little and she'll be back on her feet throwing books at people's heads." He smirked. "Once we get her and our friends on their feet you should leave too. There's a witch around here that got a hold of Maka, there's no way she's just going to walk away from that."

"Why? She got away, what's the use of chasing her now?"

"Maka, me, our friends… we're very close to Lord Death, we're advisors and friends and we're figure heads for the treaty between the witches and academy. You take us out and a war will break out. There's rogue groups of witches and humans all trying to break the treaty all over. it would be chaos. So, I know the witch is in the area still. She's just waiting for her moment to strike. So, when we leave you should too."

His mother looked at him as he fussed with Maka's bandages. "You've changed." He glanced at her. "You're not that boy who ran away from his life."

"No, I've learned a lot and gained an even better life." Soul said as he stood up hearing yells from the front of the house.

"It's just your father." She said watching as Soul relaxed his body that had gotten ready to fight. The door opened, and the man stopped in his tracks staring at Soul. "George…"

"What are you doing here?" George asked looking at Soul with hard rusty eyes.

"George, stop." She said making the man look at her. "Soul came to help. That girl who showed up hurt, she's actually his girlfriend."

"Girlfriend? And where were you that she got so hurt?" He asked walking closer to Soul who stood taller, his red eyes growing darker.

"Soul…" Soul jumped and turned to look at Maka as she reached a hand for him. He took her hand and sat back on the side of the bed. "Don't get into stupid fights, it's not cool." She said softly making him smirk and shake his head.

"Stop your worrying and go back to sleep. Your dad and Stein will be back with the others soon and you know you'll never get any sleep once that loud mouth idiot gets here." She smiled at him.

"And you still have an I told you so to give." She said her voice sounding a little stronger now.

Soul chuckled. "I would never." Feigning offence making her smile at him. "When they get back we can use the black blood to help heal some of the wounds and get you back on your feet. I'm sure that which isn't going to wait around forever. Black Star will be down for a day or so. That leaves your dad and the nutty professor and me to take care of things."

Maka's hand tightened. "Soul don't." He looked confused. "Don't go against her, please don't, not without me."

Soul smirked and nodded. "I won't fight without you."

"Yahoo!"

"And there's the idiot." Soul sighed before the door opened. Stein and Spirit looked frustrated as Black Star leaned on Tsubaki as the two walked in. "What are you running around yelling for idiot?"

"Oh man, I don't feel so good." Black Star moaned, holding his side.

"I told you to take it easy." Stein said as Tsubaki eased her partner into a chair. He walked over to Maka. "How are you feeling?"

"I'll be fine." She said as she tried to sit up only to wince and have Soul push her back down.

Stein watched and turned the screw in his head. "The black blood should clear up some of the wounds." Stein said as if reading what they wanted to do. "Once that's done, I'll look at the injuries that are left." He waved them off and went over to Black Star, glancing at the new person in the room. "Who's this, now?"

"My husband, George." The woman said.

"I never did catch your name." Stein said looking lazily at her.

She stood tall as she spoke. "My name is Margaret Evans."

"Evans?" Black Star was back to being loud. "Dude!" He looked at Soul who rolled his eyes.

"Shut up." Soul said as Stein poked the ninja meister's side making him squeak in pain. "You ready?" He asked Maka who nodded as she slowly pushed up to lean against the headboard. Soul sat on the side of the bed once again, this time he and Maka took each other's hands and interlocked their fingers and he brought his forehead to hers, both expanding their souls, connecting them.

"What's going on?" George asked confused, watching his son lean forward.

Stein turned the screw. "They're connecting their souls to use the black blood in Soul to heal Maka's wounds. It will only last a few minutes."

"What? What black blood, what is black blood? What are you saying they can heal magically?" Margaret asked completely confused.

This time it was Spirit who answered. "When they were younger there was an incident and he became infected with black blood, it was created from the demon sword and used to revive the Kishin Asura. There is no cure for it but Maka has a unique soul wavelength that can cancel it out. So, between the two of them, they've been able to control it and make it work for them. One of these things is the ability to stop bleeding and heal smaller wounds completely."

"Infected?" She asked looking back at Soul before the two parted and everyone could see Maka's face was no longer cut and bruised. "Oh my…"

"Papa." Maka smiled seeing him move closer.

"You look much better." He said as she took a deep breath and winced.

Soul shook his head. "It only heals the little stuff; those ribs are going to take a little more time." He smirked as she looked at him. Stein walked over as he and Soul worked on taking the bandages off to see what injuries remained.

"Looks like it's a few deep gashes, cracked ribs and deep bruising." Stein said looking over the remaining wounds. "I'll need to stitch these." He said as he pointed to the large and rather deep gashes on her side, stomach and arm. Soul and Maka nodded as Stein pulled his sewing kit from his pocket. "Spirit would you mind getting Black Star to a room to rest? If he resists, knock him out." Spirit paused a moment looking at Maka who nodded that she was alright before the older death scythe went about his work of helping Tsubaki get Black Star to cooperate. Soul held Maka's hand as Stein went to work. Maka winced, slamming her eyes shut and biting her lip as tears fell from her green eyes while Stine worked not having anything to numb the areas.

"Shouldn't you go to the hospital or something?" George spoke up watching as Maka squeezed Soul's hand.

"That would mean moving around with open wounds that could become infected, let alone the fact that the witch is still out there somewhere. All it takes is her figuring out where Maka hid and it will be even worse." Stein explained.

"It's nothing we haven't done before." Soul said as Stein finished his work.

"There, let the wounds have some time to rest before you go moving around." Stein said as he stood and wandered out to find the others and finish his care on Black Star and Tsubaki.

Soul helped Maka shift to lay down. "Get some sleep and stop your worrying about everything else." He told her as she shook her head and held tight to his hand. "I won't go anywhere. I'll be right here when you wake up. I promise." She nodded and looked over at the two still standing to the side. "You rest." She slowly let herself dose off before Soul stood and walked over to his parents standing against a far wall, not sure what to do or say. "Thank you for taking care of her. You may have saved her life."

"What's going on? Why are you here?" George asked.

"Maka was on a mission with the other two who are hurt. It was supposed to be a simple one to stop a Kishin egg but turned into a brawl with two of them and a witch. I here because Maka's hurt." Soul said simply.

"Those two, they seem pretty hurt too. How did they get a hold of you, there's no cell service for miles?" Margaret asked looking at Soul who sighed.

"There's a lot you don't understand, and it's because you never wanted to understand what was going on, you never wanted any part in what I am, I don't expect anything different. Just let Maka sleep a few hours and we'll be gone." He turned only to have someone grab his arm and stop him.

Margaret looked sad as tears gathered in her eyes as George looked ashamed. "We were afraid, Soul. We had never heard of something like that happening, we were a family of musicians not…. Fighters. We didn't know what to do, and then you ran away, and we thought it would be better if we just let you go. Please, understand. We… we…"

Soul sighed and ran a hand through his hair as he glanced at Maka sleeping and then back at his parents. "You let me think you hated me and what I was for all these years. You never even tried to get a hold of me or anything."

"We're sorry." She said.

"We thought it was best for you." George defended.

Soul shook his head as he took a breath. "It was." He looked at their confused looks. "Because you never tried to be a part of my life I learned how to cope, I learned to make friends and I learned to be a part of something more than just fame. It was never what I wanted." He looked at Maka. "It made it possible for me to meet Maka and our friends."

"Tell us what we can do." Margaret said watching as Soul looked back at Maka.

He stood thinking. "There's nothing right now. We need to let the wounds settle and heal, we just need to keep an eye out for anything coming our way. Once Stein gets Black Star to settle down we'll do a walk around the place and see if we can figure out where the witch went. There's really nothing else right now unless you know how to use a weapon."

Stein wandered into the room with Spirit beside him. "Stay with Maka."

"What's going on?" Soul asked furrowing his brow.

"Stein saw a flash of the witch's soul before it was protected. Without Maka's perception we don't know where the witch is or will be coming from and without a meister, there's not much you can do. Keep her safe."

Soul nodded and the two left. "Why don't one of them watch her?" George asked before looking at Soul who shook his head.

"Stein's the meister. He's also susceptible to madness which can be exploded by the black blood. If Stein used me the black blood would just cause more issues so it's best if death scythe goes out there with him. besides Maka needs someone to keep her from charging out there too."

"Soul!" Maka sat up quickly, wincing but looking around quickly.

Soul moved to her side. "It's okay, Maka. Lay back down."

She shook her head. "The witch…."

"Stein and death scythe ware handling it." He said hoping she would cooperate, but he knew better as she pushed to try to get out of bed. "Maka." He stopped her making her look at him. "Are you sure?"

Maka nodded and gave a small smile. "I have you with me now." Soul smirked as he took her hand and pulled her to her feet while his parents protested, saying how Stein had told them stop stay here.

"Maka knows her limits, for the most part." Soul said as she took her own weight and took a slow breath.

"I'm sure Black Star and Tsubaki are getting out there too." She smiled as Soul smirked. "Let's show this witch what happens when she messes with us." Soul nodded as they walked to the front where Black Star and Tsubaki stopped and smirked at her before they all went out the door leaving his parents to look out the window as Soul transformed, landing in Maka's hands and Tsubaki doing the same, landing in Black star's hands.

They could only watch as Maka shifted and spun blocking a sharpened rock from hitting Black Star. She smirked as she twirled the scythe around her and she took her stance. "so, you can still move." The witch laughed as she walked from the trees. "That's a shame. I thought I would be able to watch you fade away if I found you. no matter now I'll have even more to add to the breaking of the treaty." She laughed again before charging and the battle began. Stein ran from the side of the house to join the battle. George and Margaret could only watch as the three teams worked in perfect unison throwing the witch back.

The battle took twenty minutes until Maka threw Soul in the air while Stein and Black Star distracted the witch. Soul landed beside her, startling her only seconds to realize what was happening before Maka grabbed Soul's hand and pulled as he transformed, slicing the witch in half. The weapons transformed into their human forms as they all took a breath, relieved that they didn't have to worry about the witch wandering around ready to attack at any minute. Soul wrapped his arms around Maka as her legs gave out and he pulled her to him, lifting her and walking back into the house and laying her on the bed without a word to the others.

"Is she alright?" Margaret asked as she and George stood at the doorway.

Soul looked at them and nodded. "Yeah, just was too much for her after the injuries she had. She's just passed out." He said as he covered Maka back up.

"You're hurt." Margaret said as she moved forward grabbing his arm. "It's… black…"

"It's nothing." Soul said shrugging off the concern. "Just a scratch. The black blood took care of it." He glanced at Maka before looking at his parents again. "Would it be alright if we stayed the night and left tomorrow? It will give everyone a chance to rest and heal before we head back to the academy."

"Stay and rest as long as you want." His mother said watching as he nodded and looked at Maka as she shifted and whined. He walked over to the bed. "Goodnight." She said as she and George left the room, pulling the door behind them. She turned around in time to see Soul smirk at Maka as she spoke softly. She leaned up as he climbed into the bad and laid down with her cuddled into his side, using his chest as a pillow. Soul pressed a kiss to her head before the door shut all the way and the partners dosed off.

The next day Soul walked out to the kitchen and looked around at what food there was in the little cabin. Finding eggs and bacon he started making breakfast for everyone, something he had gotten used to over the years, and the last few years of managing to wake up before Maka. He jumped when he heard his mother's voice.

"You're up early. You never used to eb up before noon if you could help it." She smiled as he shrugged.

"After so many years with Maka threatening me if I didn't wake up on time for school I learned to get up at a decent time, and the last few years with her teaching and me just helping out Kid, she needs more sleep than I do." He shrugged again. "I figured I'd make it for everyone."

She nodded. "That's nice of you." They fell silent as he cooked. "I'm really glad you're here, even though it's not the best circumstances, I'm glad we have this time to talk. I've missed you. I had hoped that you would come back one day but seeing you now… I understand why you didn't." Soul looked at her from the corner of his eyes. "Your father and I were not the best parents, we did everything wrong and we ran away from you. Instead of helping you we made you feel like a monster and we let you keep thinking that because we were afraid. Soul, I can't tell you how sorry I am that you had to feel that."

Soul nodded. "The academy fixed that." She looked at him. "I was taught about my ability to transform, I was taught about what I could do with this ability, and I made friends. After the first year we were told to partner up and start our work. Maka found me, she listened to me play a song that summed up who I was, and she still wanted to be my partner. She's stood by myside and she's fought alongside me every day, not just doing missions but just our normal everyday stuff. She showed me that even after I was infected I was still me."

"And being you is the best in the world." They heard, turning they found Maka walking out with a small smile. "I always loved who you were and that you never changed who you were for anyone. You were stronger and smarter than you ever gave yourself credit for."

"You're one to talk." He scoffed as he turned back to cooking.

"Move out of the way before you burn it again." She smiled as she pushed him out from in front of the stove. "cut the bacon and potatoes. I'll finish this."

"Still a pain in the ass." He said giving her a look.

Maka giggled and smiled at him. "But you still love me." She said as she leaned her head on his shoulder.

Soul smirked. "If you say so." He told her as he kissed her head and went to work on the bacon and potatoes.

"Can I help?" Margaret asked Maka.

Maka shook her head. "Don't worry about it. Soul and I do this all the time, besides it's the least I can do for you saving me." She smiled brightly.

"We didn't do much." Margaret said shocked that the young woman was considering bandaging her as shaving her.

"Helping when a weapon or meister is hurt badly is more than most people do. To do it in the middle of nowhere, not knowing who I was and what happened… I really appreciate it. And I heard what you were telling Soul." She looked at Soul who gave her a quick smirk as she faced the woman. "I know all about Soul's childhood. Neither of us has had the best parents growing up but seeing that you understand what you did, and you truly are sorry… I can forgive you for it."

"How do you know I'm truly sorry?" She asked as Soul smirked and looked at his mother.

"Maka can read souls better than anyone in the history of the academy." Soul explained. "She's able to see through things that even lord death and his father had never really grasped. She can read everything about you."

Maka gave a small smile. "I'm sorry, it can get a little personal but when I heard you were his parents I had to." She looked at Soul. "And last night, I told Soul what I saw."

"Food!" They heard as Black Star charged into the kitchen only to have a book land on his head and he was on the ground.

"You know better." Maka scolded him with a hard glare. "Go sit down, I'll let you know when it's done." Black Star walked over to the table mumbling and grumbling, sulking as the others joined them.

"Oh, my Maka is so talented, and such a good cook." Spirit smiled as he walked over to her.

"It's not going to get you any extra food or anything before it's done." She said without even looking at him. "Go sit with Black Star." He drooped and made his way to the table as Tsubaki joined the two partners and Stein took his seat with the others. George silently sat beside his wife watching as Soul helped the two women before Maka put her hand on his chest, pushing him back causing Tsubaki to laugh. The parents watched as Soul handed Maka plate after plat that she put food on before handing it to Tsubaki to take to the table. Once everyone had their food Maka handed Soul a plate of food with a smile making him smirk as he handed her a fork and they stood leaning against the counter eating as their friends started their loud nonsense.

"Thanks for not saying told you so." Maka said softly making Soul smirk at her.

"It wasn't something that really could have been avoided." He shrugged. "Besides you owe me when we get home." Her cheeks tinted pink as she looked away making soul chuckle softly. "Next time you go running off on some mission you better take a weapon to protect you while the other time is doing the mission."

"Don't worry, I won't be doing any missions without you. at least for a while or until you make me mad." She said making he grin at her. George gave a small smile as he watched the son who hated everything and was always so alone smiling bright. The look of love clear on their faces as they looked at each other, teasing and talking softly as they finished their food. He knew he had been a horrible father, but he was glad to be able to see his son truly happy.

After they finished eating Maka made Black Star help Tsubaki with the dishes and the group was ready to head home. They had found their missing and hurt friends and it was time to report in and see what the next step was with the rogue witches. "I'm sorry." Margaret said to Soul again.

"You don't need to keep apologizing. Things won't be perfect but…" He rubbed the back of his neck. "Maybe we could talk."

"I'd really like that." She smiled and pulled him into a hug.

George held his hand out and Soul shook it. "I would really like to understand."

Soul nodded. "Any time you want to come out and visit." Maka walked over to him as the others argued over how they were going to make it home.

"It was good to meet you and see that things are going to be better." Maka said looking at the two. "Thank you again for helping a stranger."

"Thank you for being there for our son when we weren't." Margaret said

Maka looked at Soul. "Ready to go home?" He gave a nod and they joined the others who were still arguing. Maka broke up the argument, they said one last goodbye and were gone, heading back home, Maka still waiting for the I told you so from Soul.