Soul Eater is my current obsession right now, so I bring you a story that got caught in my head and needs to be free. It also spawned another idea of stories that would come after this saga, which I at first did NOT want to fall into, but I couldn't say no to all those adorable little faces and then...bah! You'll see eventually. I am also working on a manga/doujin/whatever dealing with the universe this story created. It will be uploaded onto DeviantArt under this same name. :3 So without further ado, let's get to it!

{This is mostly a Maka centric fic. It will include pairings both canon and fanon. Warning: hard core emotional trama ahead. Drama, Comedy, Angst, Comfort, Romance, Lime/Lemon and slight chance of OOC ahead. }
{Follows both Manga and Anime}
{Also, this is my first time writing a story with this kind of fast to slow pacing, and percpetive switching. I hope it flows alright. Lastly, I wanted to make this one big ass long story, for I feared chaptering it would be its death. However, my need to finally share this story won out. Pray for me! XD}

Disc: I do not own Soul Eater or any part thereof.

Transition of Transcendence

_x_x_x_x_x_

She had always been told by her papa and mama that she was their little angel. She had a bubbly spirit, inquisitive nature and charming disposition that were all the things angels had. This led her to believe them. She would smile and say 'I'm an angel!' when she met someone new for the first time, no matter their age. The adults would laugh and agree, further enforcing her tiny child like reality that it must be so.

She had always looking into the sky and wished she could be up there amongst the clouds and fly. Since she was an angel, she smiled and knew that one day she would; she just needed to grow her wings. After all, she was still just a baby angel.

Years passed until her mama decided to leave. She was very sad, and hurt. She understood why, but at the same time she didn't. Angels were supposed to make people happy. Why would mama leave her little angel? Her papa promised her that mama loved her little angel very much, and that it wasn't her that caused mama to leave. She blamed him as the reason mama left.

He never disagreed with her, nor dissuaded her belief of this. After all, she was Papa's little angel too.

A little more time passed, and the little Angel grew older, wiser, stronger, but still kept her happy, bubbly and charming nature. She no longer truly believed she was an angel, for that was a silly child's dream. She knew that by calling her an angel, she was really being told how wonderful a little girl she had been. The fond memories made her smile, but that's as far as it went.

She still, however, yearned to fly.

_x_x_x_x_x_

Maka Albarn was a strong, fierce and loyal friend and companion. She was also a great Meister. She chose to follow in her mother's footsteps, and decided she'd become as great- if not better- than her mother. Her partner Soul was there to encourage her all the way; he too hoping to become a great Death Scythe.

Maka knew he would, in her heart, and strived to do so. She knew she'd make Soul into an even better Death Scythe than her 'good for nothing' father. She knew she'd become a great Meister too. She knew this and more, in her heart, for her soul was strong and pure.

She didn't know, however, just how strong and pure her soul truly was.

She grew to love them all, for each their own personalities and quirks. They were her dearest friends; an unbroken team. Black*Star was the first she had met of the group, at a young age. She'd thought he was cool. She still believed this however, even though he annoyed the ever living crap out of her.

Then there was Soul, her partner. She felt times with him one day were like oil and water; other days they were the fitting pieces of a puzzle. They grew closer every day, little by little. A bond that neither could break, nor did either want to.

Then it was Tsubaki; sweet mannered and every bit Maka's best girl friend. It still amazed her at times just how strong this ninja weapon was, to have partnered with Black*Star. Sometimes Maka wondered if she and Soul were like that.

After that, there was Death the Kid and the Thompson sisters; Liz and Patty. Maka could remember when she had first witnessed Kid fighting with Soul and Black*Star. She had shuddered when she had reached out to see his soul. His resonance with the sisters was amazing, but that wasn't the only thing that had made her shudder. It was the amount of power she could feel in him. She figured he would be; after all, he was a Shinigami – and Lord Death's son. As the days pasted and the group grew closer, it was easy to forget this boy was, in essence, a young god.

Lastly, there was Chrona. Maka had dove straight into the depths of insanity and back in order to free this kind, tormented soul from the evils of being Medusa's reused pawn. Though Chrona was Medusa's own child, no one cared. The Demon Sword wielder had become one of them; a part of their awkward but lovable family of fools. Maka wouldn't have had it any other way.

Years past, and the team known as Spartoi only grew stronger with them. Maka had excelled into become a great Meister. Soul had become a Death Scythe. Black*Star was on the verge of achieving his dream of surpassing the gods. Kid had tapped into the powers of the Sanzu Lines; having connected two.

It was at about this time Maka learned of something incredible. She had something only one in fifty million people had.

She had a Grigori Soul.

It was a bit to take in at first, but it didn't take long for her to realize how special of a gift this truly was. With this discovery, she also gained something she'd secretly wanted for a long, long time. She was capable of creating wings with Soul, and being able to fly!
Life was good for the young teen. Hard, yes; painful, most defiantly. Nevertheless life was good. Maka knew there were more good things to come too; she didn't know how to explain it, but she just knew.

What she didn't know was how much pain she'd go through before realizing this.

_x_x_x_x_x_

It began on her sixteenth birthday.

Maka had woken to a surprise. Well, two really. The first was that all her friends had come together to give her an early morning surprise party. There were decorations (symmetrically placed) all over the little apartment; a cake on the table with all sorts of colorful frosting (and a giraffe drawn on it?) and sixteen candles. A couple vases full of camellias rested next to it, along with a large picture of Black*Star, signed by Black*Star. She could even smell the normal breakfast smells of (burnt) bacon and eggs. Lastly, her eyes fell upon the chair that was already pulled out for her to sit in, and the gorgeous designer dress that draped upon it, and a brand new book (How to Deal with New Situations) on the seat.

Tears began to form in her eyes as she looked to each of her friends. She loved them all so much. She said as much when she finally found her voice, and was swamped with hugs from everyone. The morning progressed wonderfully, and remained as such until they were called into action for a mission. They didn't let it sour the mood, rather add to it. As Black*Star had put it best:

"What better way to have a Birthday, than to kick someone's ass?"

And so they did. The fight was tough, and brutal. It took a lot of blood, sweat and tears, but they managed to destroy the pre-kishin they were sent to hunt down. Everyone had taken some hits from the creature and Maka was no exception. At one point, the creature had raked a shallow gash along her upper thigh. It hurt like hell, but it didn't stop the young woman from rendering the finally killing blow.

Once they got back to the academy, Nygus had tended to each of them. She had wanted to have Maka stay overnight, just to make sure the wound she received didn't get infected. Maka however, said she'd be fine and wanted to go home. For the rest of the day, everyone hung out at Maka and Soul's apartment; playing games and enjoying the rest of the party. As the night progressed, the pain had lessened and soon Maka had forgotten she's even gotten injured.

By morning, the wound was completely healed.

Maka never told anyone.

At first, she had been scared; almost frightened that such a thing was happening. However, as time passed and these quick heals became more and more common, Maka began to accept it. It had occurred to her that this could possibly be due to her resonance with Soul and from connecting with the Black Blood. It made sense. If anyone noticed, she'd tell them what she thought. No one seemed to notice her new little gift, so she was relieved.

She probably would have worried if she knew someone had, indeed, noticed.

_x_x_x_x_x_

On her eighteenth birthday, the group was having an outing near the park. They had just left a nice little café, making their way along the sidewalk past various quaint little shops. Liz had wanted to buy some more 'cute' clothing for her 'adopted-sister.' Maka still couldn't figure out how she had grown so close to the gun girls. The boys, Soul and Black*Star respectively, always teased and said it was because her unconscious mind knew if she were around Liz and Patty more, that Maka would start acting more like an actual girl. This comment had earned both of them Maka-Chops; Britannica edition.

It happened in an instant.

Maka dropped her drink; sudden lashing pain ripping through her head. Clutching her head into her hands, she crumpled to her knees. Everyone turned toward the Scythe Meister; shock and fear etching into their faces. All at once, everyone seemed to be hit with some unknown force.

Soul and Black*Star shivered as it felt like their hearts became incased in pure ice, almost making it hard to breath. It lasted only a few seconds as warmth then wrapped around them. It still left both boys disturbed.
Liz and Patty had winced in pain as well, as they felt their bodies begin to ache; as if they'd just been in a physical fight with someone. It subsided quickly, replaced with the feeling akin to being held. It left both girls shaken.

Tsubaki had tears pouring from her eyes. She had been hit with such a wave of emotions: despair, hate, sadness, joy, anger, longing…however she was left with a feeling of swelling love caressing her soul that it calmed her down and silenced her mind and trembling thoughts.
Chrona felt like his blood was boiling and just when he would scream from the pain, it was washed away with a soft like radiant warmth, like feathers caressing him in a gentle hug.

Kid dropped to the ground, knees and hands smacking hard onto the cold pavement, retching up blood. It had been like a kick to the gut, followed by what felt like something ripping at his soul. It was subsiding slowly, but he still felt nauseous, drained and a bit disoriented. It was surprising to him that he hadn't passed out.

Maka wasn't so lucky. She had passed out only moments before, lying disheveled on the cold sidewalk. Soul and Black*Star had recovered more quickly than the others, and were helping to get up her. Liz and Patty came around about the same time as Tsubaki. Looking around, they could see everyone was, in some way, affected by whatever had just happened. Tubaki's gasp alerted the sisters to Kid's condition, and they moved over to help him up. He was awake, but nearly out of it.

The group made their way toward the academies infirmary. Soul was carrying Maka on his back, while the sisters supported Kid. Once there, they moved Maka into a bed. Kid was sat down on the other available bed, and given a cloth and some water. The rest of the group proceeded to tell Nygus what had happened, and how each of them were affected. Nygus proceeded to check up on each one of them. After doing all she could, she told them all to get home and get some sleep and rest. She would hold Maka over night. Soul opted to stay. Everyone agreed and parted ways.

During the night, Maka had stirred in her sleep. Soul, who had stayed with her, moved over towards her. She opened her eyes slowly, and turned towards him. A small tired smile broke on her face upon seeing him. For a moment, Soul's breath hitched. Her eyes, an odd lighter green than he remembered, seemed to shine softly in the darkness of the little room. He shook his head and smiled back to her. Soul figured it had probably just been a trick of the moonlight from the window.

Days passed by, and Maka had regained back her strength and energy. Everyone else had also recovered from their ailments, though they were still unsure as to what it could have been. There were many speculations and theories, but each where turned down. Not even the adults seemed to know anything; but then again, they could have had an idea. It became of less importance as the days turned to weeks and weeks to months.

It had seemed like everyone had forgotten about the incident, and they had: save one of them.

_x_x_x_x_x_

It was sometime in April when the brief storms came over the city. They would come and go rather quickly. The group had been on the courts when the rain came. As the rain came down, the group began to seek shelter. Liz was worried her hair would get wet. Tsubaki didn't want to catch a cold by getting soaked. Black*Star and Soul shared a laugh at how girly they were acting, and casually walked under the awning of the nearest building with them. Kid had brought an umbrella with him for just this reason, and had already had it open.

Maka, however, had been pulled into the rain by a rather excited and happy Patty. She laughed at the younger Thompson's antics and proceeded to splash about in the puddles with her. The rain was slowly beginning to pick up. Tsubaki suggested they head inside and everyone agreed. Soul called out to Maka, who was now just standing in the rain, letting it run down her face. Patty skipped back over to the group. Maka stood still, eyes cast skyward, unmoving. Soul called to her again, asking her what the holdup was.

Kid, who was standing in between Maka and the rest of the group, turned towards the girl to his right and walked to her. He stopped abruptly, growing concerned. Maka was shivering. She slowly turned her gaze towards the boy in front of her; and Kid could tell something was wrong.

"I can't feel it. I can't feel the rain."

Maka didn't say anything to anyone else. Kid remained quiet out of respect. It wasn't until a month later that the rest of the group would start to grow concerned as well.

_x_x_x_x_x_

It had happened one day while everyone was over at the Gallows Mansion. Maka had promised to make everyone a big lunch. General enthusiasm ensued. While Maka was busy working in the kitchen Soul, Black*Star and Patty had bounded off to play a game. Liz and Tsubaki sat at the counter, talking quietly while watching Maka get everything ready. Kid helped Maka to locate all the dishware she would need. He would have offered more help, had she not threatened to bean him with a sauce pot if he didn't sit down.

After about an hour, lunch was just about done. The last thing Maka had to do was add the soba noodles to the pot of boiling water. It would only take the noodles a few minutes to cook, and lunch would be served. She called out and let everyone know. Handing Liz and Tsubaki the plates and napkins, the two elder girls set up the counter. Kid decided to make some tea, and moved around the counter to do so.

A moment later, the trio of Soul, Black*Star and Patty entered into the large kitchen area; all the while shouting and carrying on like a bunch of hyper hyena. They started passing something back and forth between them and acting like it carried the plague. No one was really paying them any mind, though they were told to settle down. Maka removed the pot of noodles from the stove and began to strain them in the sink.

It was at this moment that Patty, having broken away from the two boys, ran past Maka in an effort to hide behind Kid and the counter. However, what Patty didn't count on was tripping over Maka's foot. This is turn had caused Maka to drop the pot of noodles into the sink, and knock her back against the counter and stove. Maka's hands landed on the countertop and stovetop, to keep her from falling on top of the other girl. Patty had actually stumbled a bit before Kid had caught her, helping her to grab the counter. Maka heaved a sigh of relief; glad no one was truly hurt, and to a lesser extent that lunch would be okay.

Kid had turned to ask if she was alright, and upon doing so his eyes widened, blurting her name. He jumped over, pulling her hand from the stovetop and quickly shoved it under the cold running water in the sink. Her hand had been on the still burning eye of the stove. There were collective gasps from the group, and everyone tried to crowd around to see if Maka was alright. After a few moments, Kid pulled her hand away from the water to inspect the damage.

Maka began to shake, her eyes slowly growing wider; filling with a bit of fright.

Her hand was perfectly fine.

_x_x_x_x_x_

For a short point in time, Maka became withdrawn and a little secluded. She seemed to dim in spirits and energy. Her bubbly, happy self was being subdued by the fear of not knowing what was going on within herself. She couldn't keep clinging to the Black Blood theory for too much longer, but it was the only thing to explain it. Logically anyway.

Everyone was worried about Maka's gradual changes. They decided to try and reinvestigate what could possibly be doing this. The group didn't get much further in their quest from before. The only thing they could think to come up with was the idea that perhaps a combination of factors was contributing to these changes. These factors included the Black Blood, her special wavelength, and the brief exposure to Marie's Healing Wavelength, were all the team could pin together.

Upon hearing this, Maka slowly, but gradually came out of her depressive state. It was the best that anyone of them could come up with for the time being. Soon, Maka was once again back to her bubbly, happy state of mind. As a whole, the group continues to seek out clues or answers to their friend's quandary as time went on.

After a month had passed since her fall and rise, Maka chose to call off the search. When questioned on this, the girl stood tall, smiled and spoke with conviction.

"There's so much more out there we need to be worrying about. People who need us; places we need to protect. That is our true priority. I can wait."

Maka further explained that they could also look into it when they had the extra time, or possibly gain leads while out on missions. They all knew how Maka could be, so in light of her argument, the group agreed to leave it be. Life continued on with a sense of normality restored to the Scythe Meister. No one brought it up unless they found out something new, or had a new theory. No one truly ignored it either. It was there; just not brought to attention. As such, it was back to the same old routine.

Maka was her old happy self again.

He hadn't the heart to tell her then what he had found.

But she had to know.

_x_x_

It would later be known as the 'Slap that Froze Time', because for all intentional purposes, it had literally caused the entirety of the student body present at that moment to stop their actions and halt.

Everyone who knew Maka - closes friends or not - knew not to mess with her. She was a young woman with bite and backbone. If her words didn't put you in your place if you smarted off, then her dreaded Maka-Chop book slam most defiantly would. If she didn't have her book handy, it was entirely possibly she would just sucker punch you. This was the Maka way of punishment.

The crowd stared on in silence. Not a word from anyone. Even the air seemed to stand still. All eyes fell upon the two standing in the center of the frozen crowd. It was like a scene from some messed up version of your favorite book. It just didn't seem real. Yet, this was very real.

Maka stood, one fist shaking while the other hand was open flat and wide. A race of emotions contorted on her face; cream skin colored pink and pastel green eyes on the verge of unleashing hot angry tears. Her teeth were set in a half snarl, half frown.

Maka had just slapped someone. Not chopped, not punched, but open hand slapped somebody.

The angry red blotch of stinging skin stood out starkly against his alabaster skin. His eyes held no surprise. He knew this would be the result. He would take whatever she threw at him.

Maka had just slapped Death the Kid.

And then her clenched fist flew.

The sickening thud was heard by all who watched. Kid hit the ground on his back. Maka followed, pinning him down by straddling him. As the tears fell, so did her fists. She screamed incoherently at the boy beneath her. He said nothing.

When the rest of their group came upon this spectacle, everyone was aghast. Soul and Black*Star made a move to restrain Maka, but Kid screamed at them to let her be.

The rest of the group was at an impasse. Soul fumed to himself, not knowing what to do. Black*Star was equally as upset, but respected Kid's call. Tsubaki turned away, unable to watch. Liz and Patty remained quiet, unmoving. It was painful to watch, and not know why. For once, Chrona wasn't alone with not knowing how to deal with an upset of events.

Soon it was quiet. There were no more sounds of flesh hitting flesh. The screaming had stopped.

Maka had exhausted herself. The tears still fell, only more slowly. Her fists were bloodied, one was broken and the other badly bruised. She sat there, heaving breaths silently, until she was still. She began to slump forward. Before she could fall too far, Kid had caught her in his arms. Slowly, the young Shinigami got up, cradling the passed out girl in his arm. With not a word, he walked towards the group. They waited with baited breath.

Still without a word, Kid approached Soul and gently passed Maka into the Death Scythe's arms. Soul took Maka gently, and held her close. He turned back to Kid, and winced. Maka had done a number on him. Kid had a busted lip for sure and probably a broken nose and fractured jaw. Soul could tell a shiner around Kid's right eye was forming rapidly. When Soul asked Kid what had happened, the young reaper smiled sadly.

"I told her the truth. As such, it often hurts."

Kid refused to say anything about it. It was up to Maka if they were to know as to why the event they just witnessed transpired. Whatever it had been, they all knew for certain that their team dynamic had just been changed.

Spartoi would be fractured for a while to come.

By the next morning the only evidence of the previous day's events would be the image burned into everyone's mind, as well as slightly pink and sore knuckles and a hint of a slightly purple eye and sore jaw.

_x_x_x_x_x_

Spartoi continued on. The team remained together. It was a bit of surprise to everyone that Maka hadn't asked about Team Reassignment. She had once been asked about it from a few classmates. Her answer was rather straightforward: She had the best team possible. To replace anyone would risk bringing the team down. They were still the elite team. As such, they took on missions specifically geared towards their dynamic. If that was altered in any way, it could prove a fatality.

To most, this sounds cruel; biting. Her reasons seemed to have no heart, just cold calculation.

For a long time, this was sadly the truth.

It was because of this, that Spartoi soon became known amongst the academy as the 'Fractured Resonance' or 'Broken Melody'.

The missions were accomplished, and pre-kishins were defeated. Their success as the elite team was still in perfection. Their family, however, was in silent pain.

They all saw it. Empty smiles; an odd formality between the two; the fact they hardly ever spoke outside of combat. It hurt to watch, and not be able to do anything. Maka had never told any of them the words that had been shared that day. When anyone had asked, she simply smiled and said it was too much a burden to bother them with. In truth, she didn't want them in pain.

The group still went out together as they use to, only now it was just seven of them. It had been odd at first. Someone would make a comment and forget said person was not there to either enjoy it, or quarrel against it. They didn't feel complete.

It was Soul who had connected the cruel irony of it all. He laughed bitterly and shook his head.

Eight really was the perfect number.

_x_x_x_x_x_

The stars lit up the night sky like twinkling diamonds against rich velvet. The night was a joyous occasion and everyone was having fun. There were drinks to be had and some of the most delicious foods to be eaten. Practically everyone from the academy was here tonight, singing, dancing, acting like fools.

Maka smiled as she watched everyone enjoy themselves; truly enjoy themselves. It had been too long a year since she felt peace amongst herself and her family of fools. She was still quiet, and a bit more reserved, but she had opened back up a bit to her old self once again.

Tonight was not a night for sadness. Tonight was a night for celebration. Everyone was here for her tonight. Spirit was beside himself with pride. Maka told him to stop being so melodramatic. The older Scythe laughed and kissed his daughter's forehead.

"It might not be to you, but this is a big deal to me. It's not every day my little angel turns twenty!"

She closed her eyes, ever so slightly flinching at his words, but kept the smile on her face.

"I'm not so little anymore, Papa."

Spirit chuckled as he looked at her; parting a stray lock of hair away from her eyes. His little girl had blossomed into a beautiful young woman before his eyes. Her cream skin seemed eerily unmarred even with the constant battles she partook in; her vivid pastel green eyes shone with such an intelligent brightness he knew she'd gotten from her mother; and her once wheat blond locks seemed as if the moonlight had bleached the soft strands in a radiant silvery white. Traces of the wheat blond could still be found tangled here and there.

She had changed so much over the past few years. Spirit had watched it like a slow play unfolding before him. He was lost as to what his little girl had been going through; only knowing what he'd been told from their group. At first, he too had been worried – losing hours of sleep at a time. However, as time had passed, so did his concerns. He watched as she rose and fell, and rose again. She was moving through life; taking the good and bad with steal resolve.

He knew she'd be alright. His confidence in her was as strong as her stubborn streak.

She gave him a kiss before slipping away to find the others. She found Black*Star and Tsubaki by the dinner tables, of course. She turned to see Soul playing on the piano in the room. Truly it was a special day. Further still she caught sight of Liz and Patty both dancing with an extremely nervous Chrona. It made Maka laugh lightly to herself. She considered saving him from his little plight until her eyes fell upon the far wall.

Quietly, she made her way passed everyone, and came to stop before what had caught her attention.

"Thank you."

She spoke it quietly.

"I should be the one thanking you."

"But you're letting me have my party in your house."

Indeed, Kid had. Maka had wanted to invite so many people to her party. She had gotten so wrapped up in invitations; she had failed to realize that many people had no chance of being at her and Soul's apartment.

"You invited me."

And she had. It had been a couple months ago. Maka had been making out all her special invitations to the group. She had just finished Chrona's and put it to the side when she noticed it.

There was one special blank invite left.

She remembered running into him while he had come back from a solo mission his father sent him on. He had been leaving his father's office. She had been summoned for something she couldn't recall. For a moment they both stood there silently. She had noticed neither Liz nor Patty were with him and had found it a bit odd. He pulled her from her inner musing by politely excusing himself. Before he could take a step to leave, her hand shot forward, open palmed against his chest.

Her head was slightly bowed. Her voice was quiet.

"For you."

And then she was gone.

Maka's invitation rested in his hands. Kid opened the little card and read over the contents and her own written message.

For the first time in a year, color seemed to return to his otherwise dulled eyes.

"I'm sorry."

_x_x_

The party carried on in full swing until the early morning hours. Little by little it was dying down. People began to make their leave. Maka had thanked each and every person she could possibly find. She had made her way to a balcony that overlooked the cityscape, catching a moment of silent peace and a quick breath. This day, this night, had been wonderful.

Soul found her on the balcony, watching the stars. She turned to him when she heard him approach. Her eyes, hair and skin seemed to shine under the moon. For the most part, her changes were all physical. Soul smiled. Maka was still Maka. She was still a bookworm; still as stubborn as a mule; still as wild as fire and gentle like feathers.

It's what he loved about her and he told her as such.

She smiled and said she knew. Their years together had proven this to her time and time again. She turned back to the stars and spoke softly.

"What if I told you, I could have died two hours ago?"

Soul had been thrown back by her words. He had launched into question upon question. Upon hearing his distress Maka turned back to him; silencing his fears. She held Soul tight. He held her back just as fiercely. She had no idea how much time had passed when Soul pulled away.

He took her hand then, and dropped to the ground. Her breath grew shaky. Her throat began to hurt from the stinging that was building. She watched as he lifted something from his pocket.

She felt a stab to her heart when she saw the glint of gold.

The tears couldn't be held back.

He asked her to marry him.

She smiled. She cried. In that moment she wished she had died at midnight.

He waited.

She smiled. It hurt. She smiled still…and said

"No."

_x_x_

A week had passed by since the birthday party. Things had calmed back down and were back to the usual run of the mill routine. Today, however, was a busy day. Maka looked up from her spot on the floor to see Black*Star holding half a bed over his shoulder. The ninja was demanding compensation for being pulled into demeaning labor. Tsubaki followed behind him as they walked out the door; she was carrying a small taped up box in her arms. Maka called out saying she'd make everyone lunch for the trouble.

Most of the group was helping Soul today with moving his stuff out.

It had come as a bit of shock to everyone at first. By the time Soul had explained things in full, everyone agreed it was for the best. It hadn't been done in malice or anger; nothing like that. It had simply come from the fact that it wouldn't be appropriate anymore.

It would hurt too much.

As it were, Soul wasn't moving all that far away. On the contrary; he was only moving three doors down from Maka. This way he was still close by in case she needed anything, and that he could still come over anytime he wanted. Maka had told him so. In a small way it was kind of exciting. Soul was getting his own place. Black*Star affectionately called it the 'Party Pad'.

The rest of the day went by in a blur. Between moving boxes from one apartment to another and moving new furniture into the new place; everyone was on their toes. As promised, Maka made everyone a big lunch in thanks. It also doubled as a sort of house warming meal. Soul let her break in the apartments stove. Liz joked that Maka would still be making all of Soul's meals.

Everyone laughed.

Once night fell upon the city, the group bid their farewells and departed their separate ways. Soul walked with Maka back to her apartment. It would be so weird waking up to not having Maka making breakfast, or to just generally not have Maka there. Yet he knew; they both knew it had to be this way. Soul couldn't continue to live with Maka after the turn down. The heartache would be too much. He didn't want to leave, but knew he needed to. However, since he was literally next door, it did help ease his pain immensely. He could still be there for her. He could still see her every day. They were still partners.

"If you need anything; anything at all…"

"You're right next door, I know. It's okay. I'll be fine."

He kissed her nose, bidding her goodnight, and turned back towards his new abode.

Maka turned to her own apartment, and closed the door behind her. It was so quiet. It seemed so empty. Slowly she made her way towards her bed, and dropped upon it. Today had been busy; what with moving things, and packing and general dealings with Black*Star. She turned her head slightly on the pillow, not really looking at anything.

She felt weak. She felt drained and empty. She knew she didn't have to bear this burden alone, but she didn't want the others to know. It would just bring them heartache, and she didn't want them to know of this pain. She didn't want special treatment. She just wanted her normal life back. Yet, she remained silent. The truth of this burden was her cross to carry and her's alone.

The die had been cast.

She hadn't lied. She knew she would be fine. She would be. It would just take time.

And now, she had all the time in the world.

_x_x_x_x_x_

Time heals all wounds. Time is finite and infinite. Time is not in actuality a line; we as human beings only perceive it this way. Time equals money. Thyme is a spice. Time Crisis was a so-so arcade game…

Maka rubbed her temples.

"Time sucks."

"Huh?"

Maka blushed and looked up to see Tsubaki's confused look. Taking a quick glance around them, the Scythe Meister quickly remembered that Tsubaki had invited her out to Death Café earlier that day.

"Oh sorry…I was... lost in thought, again."

"Are you doing alright, Maka? I've noticed you've been spacing out a lot lately."

Maka promised the other woman she was indeed alright. Lately, it just seemed her focus was going in five different directions at once. She caulked it up to the fact she'd been taking on extra solo missions when Soul wasn't around. Perhaps it was fatigue from using her weapon blood in excess lately. She had finally embraced that part of herself some time ago, and found herself to be quite excelling at it.

"It just feels like the years pass like months and the months pass like minutes now."

Maka muttered quietly.

"I know what you mean. It feels like it was only last week we were over at Soul's place having lunch and helping him move in."

Maka nodded. The weight of the previous comment was lost on Tsubaki, but she agreed with the ninja blade. She remembered that day well, and the days, weeks, months and years that followed. Six to be exact. Though most of it was a blur to her, she held onto the really important memories that mattered. One such memory was actually sitting, rather quietly, in front of her right now.

Maka looked up from her latte and watched the tiny boy sitting in the chair directly across from her. He was taking painstaking measures to make sure every sugar packet on the table went into building his little fort-house. Maka found herself slowly smiling at the child's antics. His brow was furrowed in concentration as he placed the final packet. With the little fort complete, the boy jumped up into his chair.

"Ya-Ha! Fort Sugarloaf complete success!"

Maka laughed to herself as Tsubaki hushed the boy, picking him up as he crawled onto her shoulders. Both women had gotten up from their seats and began on their way. Maka laughed as the boy lamented on whatever popped into his mind. Tsubaki would smile and remain quiet, though every so often she'd pop out with an 'Is that so?' or a 'And then what?'

Maka watched the pair for a moment. She was truly happy to know that her best girl friend had a loving family. It was no surprise to their group that Black*Star and Tsubaki had come together as a family of their own. Then there was the 'little runt' as Maka had oh so affectionately dubbed him.

As they were nearing the park, Maka could see the other group members waiting for them. As she watched the scene in front of her, she stopped. For a moment, Maka couldn't help but feel like an outsider, who just so happened to know every one of these people personally. The feeling was fleeting. She knew she belong in this group, no matter what obstacles in life came her way. She was just being silly.

Tsubaki hadn't realized Maka was no longer behind her, and had joined the group already. The boy had jumped down, and started prancing around; so much like his father. It was a few minutes later Maka caught sight of a mass of white launching towards her. She laughed and launched towards it as well. Upon impact, she laughed and spun in a circle, holding onto the small youth in her embrace.

"Maka!"

The young boy she held gripped her in as big a bear hug he could muster for his five years of age. She ruffled his white locks that nearly matched her own.

"I missed you, too, Jazz."

The boy, Jazz, looked up and gave Maka a huge toothy smile. She gave him a smile right back. He was doubling over in excited about something, Maka could tell. No doubt it was about the trip he'd just gotten back from with his father. Maka chuckled to herself. Jazz was practically a carbon copy of that man, with one tiny exception. Instead of bright crimson orbs, Jazz had bright ocean blue.

Maka joined the rest of the group, Jazz still hanging onto her for dear life. Everyone was enjoying the lovely summer day, talking about whatever was current or what was going on outside the city. Black*Star was recounting how he had taken down a whooping five hundred enemies while Soul had only managed four hundred twenty two. Tsubaki was sitting with Liz while Patty was 'wrasslin' with the 'runt' and a flustered pink haired little boy . Chrona was laughing between the antics of Patty and Black*Star.

"Hey squirt, quit being a Maka leech." Soul called out.

Liz looked up as Maka joined her and Tsubaki. Maka smiled and ruffled the boy's hair again.

"It's fine. Unlike you, he actually behaves himself." Maka retorted. Jazz snorted a laugh.

The witty banter continued for a bit back and forth. Once Black*Star had deemed his adventure story wasn't finished, Maka had let him get back to it. She had noticed Kid was missing from their group, and upon inquiring his absence, Liz had mentioned a meeting with his father. She was about to question further, when something caught her eye.

There were a few people in the streets, looking aghast about something. Maka's eyes narrowed slightly. Something seemed wrong. She let go of Jazz, and he walked over to Liz, climbing up to sit next to her.

Within a moment, an alarm sounded. It was denoting a large fire.

Maka and the group turned to see more people coming down the street. Maka herself caught sight of a distressed pink haired woman, who ran up to a long haired brunette. She was trembling; shaking and pointing frantically behind her.

It was her old classmate Kim Diehl (now Diehl-Ford); which probably meant the other woman was Jacqueline, her weapon partner. Maka had learned a few years ago that Kim had married another classmate of theirs; Ox Ford. She also recalled them having a daughter.

Maka felt like her blood run cold when saw Kim mouth out the word 'Mika' while pointing back behind her.

Her legs were already beginning to move her before Maka could hear Soul shout out to her. Coming up to Kim, Maka's fears were confirmed. Kim's daughter Mika was trapped in the building that caught fire. However, she wasn't the only one. Angela was in there too.

Maka took off. She began running as fast as she possibly could. She could see the smoke in the distance and could just make out the light of the fire. As Maka ran, she jumped up onto of the nearest roof, and began to roof hop as far as she could go. When Maka reached the last rooftop left to run on, she gave it her all. She jumped to the ledge and pushed off into the sky.

Closing her eyes, she focused. She tapped into her soul; feeling it unfurl. She saw them; clearly in her mind. The one thing her soul granted that she had wanted more than anything.

In a flash of bright light, two large wings burst forth from Maka's back.

She had gained wings. More precisely, she had learned to use and possess them herself without Soul's assistance.

Maka flew as fast as she was capable. As she reached the burning building, she could see a crew attempting to hose the place down already. While it was working to put out the flames, there was no telling if they would reach the girls in time. Circling the building, Maka found a way in and dove inside.

She hit the floor hard; her wings phasing out upon impact. She got up quickly. It was hot enough she could feel the heat, but the smoke was thick and getting to her. Her eyes watered quickly, and she chocked quite a bit, but Maka kept moving through the building, looking for the girls. She called out for them, and at first couldn't hear them. Finally, she heard a small coughing that wasn't hers.

Turning her watery eyes towards the back, she could see the two figures lying on the ground. Angela was draped over Mika in an attempt to keep her safe and protected. Maka leaned down and roused Angela from her drowsiness. Shouting to her to see if she could get up, Angela nodded. Maka grabbed Mika up into her arms and held her close. They moved quickly towards the front of the building where the crew was Maka had seen blasting out water. There was still a lot of fire surrounding them, but Maka saw their escape. She pointed over towards a front window.

"Follow me and watch out!" She choked out.

Maka ran straight towards the window. Just as she came upon it, Maka jumped, and unleashed four large scythe blades from her arms and legs. They acted as both a window breaking device and a divider between Mika and the glass. As soon as she felt they were out of the building, Maka withdrew the blades before she hit the ground in a roll. Angela was able to shakily walk out of the pathway Maka had created.

As Maka came to a halt on the ground, she could vaguely make out voices calling out to her. She opened her bleary eyes and saw the ground immediately in her field of vision. She then remembered the tiny child she was holding and pushed herself onto her back. She greedily gulped the fresh air; coughing every couple breaths.

There was already a small team of medical personal on the scene. One came over the Maka and immediately began to check the little child. Another went to assist Angela out. A third made his way over to check on Maka herself, but she tried to wave him away. She tried to say she'd be fine, but he politely ignored her.

As he leaned her up, Maka felt slightly dizzy. It didn't help matters that upon being pulled up, Maka was suddenly crushed into a hug. Still a bit dazed, Maka could only make out a mass of pink next to her. For a moment, she had thought it to be Chrona, but was corrected when the other pulled away to revealed the tear stricken face of Kim.

"Maka…T-Thank you…Thank you so much!"

Maka smiled softly, and thanked Kim as well. As Kim got up and went back over to her daughter and husband, Maka turned to find her group coming up over towards her. She picked herself up, much to the protest of the medic, and pumped a fist into the air cheering. Maka laughed. She wasn't sure why. She was just so giddy at the moment.

Maka took one step forward before then realizing that perhaps she shouldn't have jumped up so quickly. As such, she felt herself falling backwards. She was kind of tired anyways. She figured she must have been really out of it.

She never felt herself hit the ground.

She remembered seeing something golden.

And then she was met with darkness.

_x_x_

Maka awoke some time later. Her eyes slowly regaining focus as she stared above her.

"Unfamiliar ceiling."

Indeed, it wasn't the ceiling panels of the DWMA's infirmary she was use to seeing. Upon lazily turning her head towards the left, the rest of the room was just as unfamiliar. Gazing at it long enough proved however where she was, once her mind caught up with the fact she was awake.

She was at Gallows Mansion.

Closing her eyes, and remaining still, she could soon hear the murmurs and chatting laughter coming from down stairs. Leaning up, Maka ran a hand through her hair, letting it rest on the back of her neck as she gazed towards the door. Getting up from the bed, Maka made her way down towards the rest of the group.

Upon entering the large dining room everyone was corralled in, Maka gave a half smile and spoke up.

"You guys aren't having a party without me, are you?"

It did sort of look like that from an observers point of view. The table was rife with different kinds of pastries, hors d'oeuvres, and other goodies.

Maka was greeted by Jazz running up and hugging her legs, followed by Chronos. She bent down and hugged the two boys close, then pulled back, smiling.

"Sorry if I scared or worried you."

"Dad said you were stupid to do that." Jazz said wryly, but with a bit of a pout.

"Well, your Dad might be right." She smirked and stood up, looking at Soul; who glanced away like he'd been caught.

"I'm sorry. I just took off without thinking." She addressed the group.

"It's okay." Liz came up to Maka, and pulled her close.

"The important part is that you're alright."

Maka hugged the older girl back. She was soon swamped with the other gun sister behind her; sandwiching Maka in the middle.

"You don't want to make me mad, Maka-baka." Patty giggled.

"No. No you don't." Chrona and Kid both spoke this up, as if they knew this from experience.

Maka laughed lightly, hugging both girls before untangling herself from them all. She walked over to the table and Soul. She looked both pouty and ashamed, but at the same time, had that air that she'd do it again anyway. Soul just sighed, and gave his signature grin. He mussed up her hair as he spoke.

"Ah, you saved the shrimps, so it's all good."

"Teh-heh." She fixed her hair and turned towards the table, looking at all the treats. One however caught her eye. It was a wrapped package with her name on it. Plucking the small card from the parcel, she read it over, and smiled warmly.

"It's from Mika and Kim. They baked a cake for me."

Everyone smiled as Maka opened up the baked good. It looked delicious; a chocolate cake with butter cream frosting. On top was a little drawing of Maka; probably what Mika had done. She felt her heart swell.

Indeed she would have done it over again and again.

Grabbing up a knife, Maka began to cut it up and put pieces on plates. She handed two to Soul, who walked over and handed the second piece to Liz. Black*Star got the next two, while the three tykes started to crowd around her legs for the next pieces. Kid moved over to help her with the pieces, handing one off to Jazz. Maka handed one to Chronos, then cut one for Grey*Star, herself and was about to cut another.

"It's alright, I needn't a piece."

"You don't like cake?" Maka raised an eyebrow at Kid.

"More like, if I eat too many rich sweets, I won't stop. Only on rare occasion do I indulge." He turned to give Grey*Star his piece.

"At least try a little bit of the butter cream icing, it's so good! Then I promise not to bug you."

She used her fork to scoop up a small piece with a good dab of frosting and lifted it up. Not realizing this, Kid turned back forward, successfully stabbing the fork into his lip; it didn't hurt, but it did smart. Maka tensed slightly, putting the fork down and about to throw out an apology. Yet her words were frozen, as was she.

Kid pulled his hand away from his mouth, the slight sting of pain already going away when he heard Maka giggling. Though her giggling lead to chuckling, and the chuckling lead to laughter.

A full blown laughter the entire group hadn't heard from Maka in years.

This laughter gave way to tears, and her sides began to hurt.

Pretty soon everyone was caught by the infectious laugh, though Maka's was still the heartiest of them all. After a few minutes everyone calmed down, and Maka wiped away the tears with her palms, sniffling a bit.

"I'm-s-sorry, it's j-just you look so funny. Heh heh..."

Finally regaining her wits, Maka recalled a memory from her childhood. It was a time she was very little and had helped her mom bake a cake. She had gotten so messy. She hadn't seen herself, of course, but she remembered her mother saying so and something her mother had done.

Licking her thumb she stepped up to Kid and reached up, partly cupping his face with her hand and running her thumb across his nose to wipe away the butter cream frosting. Before she had the chance to move her hand, Kid had gently captured her wrist, closed his eyes and gave her thumb a gentle lick that ended in a delicate kiss.

Maka could feel her face flush and her ears tingle. He let her wrist go, and she pulled her hand back slowly. Kid licked his lips and gave a tiny smirk.

"You were right. The icing is delicious."

She nodded, not trusting herself to do much other than that. Her throat stung and her chest felt heavy. Her face she was pretty sure was still scarlet; which stood out starkly against her cream skin, she was sure. She sat down then in the chair next to her and continued with her own piece.

During this little trade off, everyone else chose to politely be interested in their own musings or in their own little world. Though, at closer glance, everyone seemed to share the same warming smile.

As the night wore on, the chatter and antics drew more quiet and infrequent. The kids had long passed out on the nearby couch. It was far into the AM hours when the coffee and tea had run dry and sleep could no longer be postponed. Everyone was bidding their goodnights. Liz gently picked up Jazz from the couch as Chrona in turn picked up Chronos.

"Night Maka. Sleep tight." Liz gave her 'adopted-sis' a hug with her free arm. Maka smiled.

"I will. You too."

Soul walked up to the two, turning briefly to Liz as she pulled back from the other girl.

"Be up in a minute." He ruffled Jazz's hair softly, as he leaned over and gave Liz a kiss.

Maka smiled softly, and for a moment averted her gazed as she waved goodbye to Tsubaki and Black*Star; Grey*Star slumped over his father's shoulders. Patty came up behind Maka and gave her a quick bear hug and a kiss on the check. She bade her goodnight, as did Chrona with a hug.

Maka turned back to Soul as the others took to the stairs. They spoke of idle things, random things, and laughed at the silliness of it all. They embraced, and after a moment, Soul pulled back and gave her a small kiss on the forehead.

"Do me a favor and cut down on this hero antic stuff, 'kay? You keep given me heart attacks."

"I can't make any promises, but, I promise to be more careful." She grinned.

He gave her his classic signature grin. After a moment, he pulled away and ran a thumb across her check.

"Why, do I not believe you?" He chuckled. "Seriously, though."

"I promise. I'm sorry I worried everyone. It's just Mika and Angela… and they could have been seriously hurt."

"You could have been too, and don't give me the 'I have ju-ju-magicalness and can heal super fast' shtick. You can't heal a torn limb or from a decapitated head."

Maka blanched. Soul did have a point there.

"Okay, okay, I see what you mean." She shook her head trying to rid the images from her mind.

"I'm not going to stop being who I am, however, so you can all live with that."

"You haven't yet, have you?"

"Teh-Heh." She smiled a grin.

Soul yawned, and turned slightly.

"It's getting late…or earlier…whichever. I suggest you get to bed."

"Yes, 'Dad.'" Maka rolled her eyes, but smiled.

"Good." He lifted a finger in a mock scolding way. "Now escort my daughter home, young man, so the vile cretins of the night won't dare touch my adorable little girl!"

"But of course, Sir."

Maka slightly jumped at the response, not having noticed Kid behind her. She turned towards him, then back to Soul, and found the other already moving up the stairs. Huffing lightly, Maka picked up what few things she had and turned back towards Kid.

"Shall we?"

Maka nodded, fighting the uneasy feeling in her stomach. The two walked out into the early morning chill. Maka didn't live all too far away from the Gallows, but it was still a decent walk. At first, it was a quiet one. However, she soon found herself in quiet conversation with her company. It ranged from what books she'd read lately, to how she felt about the groups 'expanded family'. Before Maka was aware of it, she was at her front door.

"Thank you for walking me home."

"Of course; it was my pleasure."

She was fidgety and she didn't like it. She didn't know why, and it bothered her. For a moment, she felt something prodding at the back of her mind. She looked up a moment and found Kid's amber gaze; those gentle eyes seemingly so patience. It was as if he was waiting for her to say something. She bit her lip a moment, trying to come up with something when she felt a small jolt against her soul. She inhaled sharply, tensing.

"I better go-"She turned towards her door.

"Maka."

"It's pretty late, early, whatever-" She put the key in.

"Maka."

"You should get back too, you need some sleep-" She tried to open the door.

"Maka."

The hand against the door prevented her from doing so. He wasn't putting much force against it. She was trying hard to shield against his prodding, but it was slowly failing.

"Are you happy?"

This threw her, and she turned to look him in the eyes.

"What do you mean?"

"Exactly that; are you happy?"

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"That's not answering the question. Are you happy, Maka?"

"Yes."

"Are you truly happy?"

"Yes!"

Actually, at this point she was kind of pissed. Maka turned on him.

"Tell me the truth."

"I'm happy! How can I not be? I've got amazing friends, I'm one of the elite members of Spartoi, I have a Death Scythe Partner; How can I not be happy?"

"You tell me. What's wrong?"

"There is nothing wrong."

"You're shouldering it all by yourself."

"Stop it."

"You're not alone. Everyone is here for you, Maka."

"Stop it!"

"You don't need to be afraid."

"STOP!"

Maka threw her hand, but Kid caught it, and swiftly pulled her into him. He held her and didn't let her go when she yelled. Instead, he dove in with his soul. Maka tensed, and tried to pry away, her anger slowly fading into anguish. Soon, the fists against his back stopped, and instead dug into his suit. She began to shake, unable to stop the tears from coming. She had been sure she didn't have any left to shed.

"Maka…tell me."

She clenched his suit even tighter; speaking past her tears.

"I HATE THIS! I HATE IT! I HAD A LIFE! IT TOOK THAT FROM ME! I never asked for this! I was happy…I didn't want this…I wasn't born for this. I'm not…I'm not this. I…I don't want to see them die. I wanted to grow up. I wanted to grow old with someone. I want a family I can't have…it took the family I wanted…"

Kid shifted, and held her closer; moving his thumb against the backbone of her neck. He nuzzled his face against her head, letting her scream, cry, and rant into his suit and against his collar bone.

"I'm tired and sick of the pain. I want the hurt to stop. I hate this…I…I don't…I don't want to be alone, anymore. I wish I had died instead of this!"

Kid pulled back, bringing his hands from behind her head and cupping Maka's face; using his thumbs to wipe her tears.

"Don't ever wish for that again, Maka. Don't you ever. So many people care about you, Maka. So many people love you. Your Father, Soul, Jazz, Liz, Patty, Tsubaki, all of them. I can name them all, in this city, and in the countless cities we've helped."

He leaned forward, touching his forehead to hers.

"I know this isn't what you wanted in your life. I would never have expected such a thing to befall you myself; there's hardly any knowledge of it. I can't promise the hurt to go away. I can only help you through this, but I can only help you if you help yourself and let everyone in. Let me in."

Maka closed her eyes and nodded, still shaking.

"Okay." It was a horse whisper.

"Okay?"

"Okay." She moved into him, her grip getting tighter around him.

The emotional turmoil of this whole situation was getting to her. She hated feeling so weak; so vulnerable. She always prided herself as being strong; though of course there were the times she remembered in which events that occurred felt beyond her control and she had broken down. The thought of past events triggered another set of memories, which resulted in the emotional damn she'd built up to fall apart.

"I'm sorry…I'm so sorry…"

He could feel in her soul, her emotions, he knew what she was referring to. The fight from years ago. He couldn't keep the slight smile from his face.

"Don't apologize, it's alright."

"I'm sorry…" She did; at least she felt she did. She had messed him up pretty bad, as Soul had told her.

Pulling up a hand, she brushed away her tears with her palm. Still shaking a bit, Maka leaned up, and place a soft kiss against the jaw she fractured. She did this again to the nose she broke, to the eye she blackened, and to the lip she busted.

The gesture was returned to the hand that he had broken, the knuckles that he bruised, and the life he had shattered with merely words.

They stood quietly, neither sure for how long, nor caring. Eventually, Kid moved enough to notice Maka had slipped into sleep against his shoulder. He smiled warmly. Lifting her gently, Kid used a free hand to open the door, and slip in. He made his way through the empty apartment; its eerie quietness was thick. Gently, he lay her down on her bed. Quietly, he removed her shoes and coat; setting them to the side. Kid gazed at her for a moment, a warm loving smile played across his lips.

"Goodnight, little Megami."

He leaned down carefully, gently kissed her forehead, and then departed quietly.

Tonight would be the first of many peaceful slumbers Maka had long believed she'd not have again.

_x_x_x_x_x_

Gradually, Maka began to open up to the others. The group had long suspected Maka's abilities to be the result of something obscure; but no one expected what she eventually told them. It was a bit of a shock to the family. Maka refused to let anyone even think of a sad or negative thought behind it, and instead asked for them to only focus on the good, and the times now. She didn't want anything to change because of it.

Everyone agreed. Maka was still their Maka. They still loved her. No one thought ill of her, or made her feel apart from them. Even the kids took it quiet well.

True enough, it felt like a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders. The peace of mind she'd been seeking came with it. She felt steady again; relaxed.

They all felt it too. The carefree, bubbly nature was coming back with a vengeance. The wide smiles, full laughter, and bright shining eyes; a pure sense of happiness and joy – all of this was building back up in spades.

They would all see this in the nights they spent together; and Kid would see it more each night he walked with her home.

It had become a routine; these escorts home. He would accompany her as she left for the night and they would walk slowly; close to one another. Sometimes she'd have her arm hooked through his. Other times, she'd intertwine their hands. They would talk about whatever crossed their minds.

"I've wanted to ask you something for a while now, but I wasn't sure how to go about it." Maka bit her lip and looked to her companion.

"Oh? Well, then by all means, ask away."

"Do you…Ah, well; it's about Shinigami-sama."

"About Father?"

"Well, him and you. I guess I was just curious about it, but…what will happen to both of you when you take his place?"

Kid looked thoughtful for a moment, and then turned to her.

"I am honestly not sure."

Maka raised an eyebrow.

"I have a few general ideas; some of them not as pleasant as I'd care to dwell on."

"Can I ask what ideas?"

"Well, first off, I know that I will take his place once I have established a permanent connection with the power of the third line of Sanzu."

Maka glanced at the lines in Kids hair; once a huge bane of his existence for the young Shinigami; though they still annoyed him. She ran her fingers through his bangs, disrupting the white lines that signified a source of unyielding power. She smirked at the fits he would have, and even more so at the one he'd had when the first line had connected permanently.

"What happens after that; I am unsure. I may take on all of my Father's abilities and knowledge, or I may not take any. While I will accept whatever deems to be my fate, I have a feeling I'm not going to like it."

"Why do you say that?" Maka tilted her head.

"I overheard Spirit talking with Stein once. It seems that every time I've tapped into the power of the Lines of Sanzu, my Father momentarily became weak in power and body. I guess I fear what will happen to Father once I do come into my full Shinigami power."

Kid heaved a heavy sigh, pausing in their walk.

"Father has lived for centuries. If he is to pass, I have no doubt he won't mind; but that doesn't mean I'll be happy about it. Once more, what if instead, he becomes human? He'd live out the rest his natural life, growing old and frail. How do you watch a man, who was once a God, go through that?"

Maka shook her head.

"I never stopped to think anything like that. I'm sorry; you've been so supportive of everyone else, and yet…"

"Heh, I suppose I've been a bit of a hypocrite; by forcing you to ease your burden when I've been holding onto my own." Kid grinned.

"Well, you just told me, so now you're no longer a hypocrite."

Kid laughed, but nodded.

"Yes, I suppose you're right."

Maka smiled. She skipped ahead of the other, and turned back towards him, walking backwards. Her smile widened and her eyes seemed to dance with a hint of mischievous playfulness.

"Heeey…"

Kid raised an eyebrow.

"Wanna race?"

Kid furrowed his brow and was about to ask exactly what she was meaning, but was cut short upon seeing the other produce two large white wings behind her. He'd never said it aloud, but he honestly thought those wing looked truly fitting (and beautiful) on her; more so than they ever did when they were on Soul.

Kid's mind recalled briefly the mission that had given rise to Maka unleashing the wings without Soul. Maka, Black*Star and he had been fighting a particularly nasty pre-kishin. It was large, with giant paws and a lion like body; yet had a face more like that of a person. The creature was destroying a small town; and they were doing all they could to get everyone to safety. At one point, the creature had swiped at Maka; while she had been charging. The result ended in Maka being hit back against a wall; and Soul had been flung out of her grasp. Before the Scythe Meister was able to get back to her weapon partner, she'd heard the cry of a little girl.

Kid remembered hearing the tiny child's cry, and from his point of view in the air, saw the girl was falling over the edge of the cliff that had been created by the creature. He remembered the lurching he felt following it when he'd seen Maka's form diving after her – without Soul. He recalled shouting her name, and then being hit. Black*Star too had tried to dive after her, desperate to try and grab her foot as he held onto the ground to pull them up. The ninja had missed and Maka had plummeted.

It felt like time had stopped with his heart, until the flash of radiant blue light revived them; only to steal his breath upon Maka rising up with the little girl in her arms; two large white feathered wings protruding from her back. No sooner did she touch back down to the ground did they disappear. She was pretty shaken up, but at the same time in awe. Kid had been too.

It took Maka four months after that for her to finally do it again. After that, it got easier and came more frequently, until she could summon them at will; just like now.

"Wh-"

"You're it!"

And with that Maka turned and ran, jumping up on the nearest ledge and taking off with a strong kick. Kid was momentarily dumbfounded before shaking it off and summoning Beelzebub.

If one were to have looked out over the night sky, they might have caught sight of two winding and intersecting trails; one a streak of blue light – the other like that of a jet.

_x_x_

Maka darted quickly to her left and dove down under a small alcove, pulling up and softly landing on the roof top of a tower like building. She pressed against the wall and carefully peered around the edge. She grinned widely as she saw no sign of her pursuer. Slowly she made her way around to the other side, keeping watch out towards the sky.

Perching on the railing of the tower like structure, she looked over the city. Something about being able to see it from this high up felt magical; almost surreal. Maka looked out across the stars, becoming lost in thought. Perhaps she could take some time off and travel the world herself. She could go anywhere she'd ever wanted. Maybe she could go find and visit her mother. That seemed like an idea.

Her train of thought became derailed as she saw something zipping past her. Jumping back off the railing and ducking behind the building, she giggled lightly to herself as she saw the tail tale trail of Beelzebub had passed her by. As Maka came out from her cover, she gave a small shout of surprise when she was suddenly grabbed from behind; two arms snaking around hers and locking them in place.

"Look what I found!"

"No fair you cheat! You can't use a decoy!"

"You never specified the rules. Which reminds me; do I win anything for catching you?"

Maka blushed, squirming to escape her confines.

"How about a freebie? Should I ever feel the need to Maka-Chop you, you get off scott-free."

"If you ever felt the need to Maka-Chop me, then I must have done something to deserve it. No, I don't think so."

Maka growled lightly, still trying to break free.

"I'll make you dinner?"

"You've made me breakfast, lunch and dinner before."

Maka grunted.

"Well, then, you tell me! What do you want?"

"How about a dance?"

Maka stopped her struggles and turned partly in his embrace.

"A dance?"

"Yes. I would enjoy a dance with you."

"Okay." Maka smiled. "Where?"

Kid took a moment to think about it. His eyes seemed to brighten as an idea flashed through his head.

"Promise to follow me?"

"I promise. " Maka rolled her eyes, but grinned.

"Alright, let's go."

Kid hopped over the railing of the building onto Beelzebub, which he had called back after the 'capture.' Maka followed next to him as they headed off towards an unknown destination. The trip wasn't too far, as Maka saw Kid begin to descend. As they touched ground, Maka' wings disappeared in a shattering like effect of blue light. She furrowed her brow.

"We're back at my apartment."

"I know. Shall we?"

Maka shrugged and got out her key. Unlocking the door, she let Kid and herself in. It was a bit cooler inside, so Maka went to turn on the heat. Kid scanned the room, and finding what he was looking for, began to set it up.

"I was thinking of putting some tea on." Maka called out from the kitchen.

"That would be lovely."

Kid looked over the music collection, trying to find the song Soul had mentioned to him during an earlier conversation. He paused a moment going over the conversation the two had while Maka had been upstairs recovering the night of the fire.

"Hey, Kid."

Kid looked over to his shark-toothed friend and grinned.

"If you're looking for more salmon sashimi I'm afraid you've cleaned me out."

"Heh, good to know, but not what I was wanting."

"Oh?"

Soul threw an arm around the other male and walked with him a bit away from the present company.

"I'm not entirely sure how to say this, or go about it. I'm not really good with words, ya know?"

"Alright then, go on."

"Something's been going on with Maka for a long while now. I'm pretty sure you are the only one who knows exactly what it is; and the only reason I haven't painted the city with your blood over it, is because…well, because I know it's out of respect and stuff."

Kid merely waited for him to continue.

"It's a way that you're showing you care; I get that. I just want you to…Since you know what it is, I just want to know that you're helping her with it; or at least letting her know everyone is here for her. I mean, she should know that already…but Maka can be-"

"Stubborn?"

"I was gonna go with pain in the ass, but yeah." Soul smiled widely. "Point is…I think I have an idea of what's going on, and I guess what I'm trying to say is-"

"Be there for her?"

Soul pinched the bridge of his nose, groaning.

"Stop acting the gentlemen and let yourself go, man."

Kid furrowed his brow.

"I don't follow you."

Soul sighed.

"You're in love with her."

Kid tensed, turning towards Soul so that they were across from one another.

"Why would you think-"

"Because I can see it in your face, your posture; how you act around her. Shit I never use to pick up on and stuff, and now all of a sudden I'm a god-damn master. That woman is messing with my mind." Soul rubbed his temples. Kid had an inkling the other was referring to Liz with that comment.

"And because I'm so good at seeing all this crap now, if I think back really hard, I can tell that this isn't a recent development. You've been in love with her for years, but never did or said anything about it, because she and I were together."

"You're my friend Soul, and I knew how much you loved her, and she you. I wouldn't dare come between you two like that. Regardless of my own feelings."

"Oh wow, I didn't think that was gonna work. Shit."

"Huh?"

"Actually I made that last part up; I just wanted you to admit it and see how far back it went.

If looks could kill, Soul was pretty sure he'd be dead right now. Though the blow might be softened by the fact that it was kind of funny to be given an evil glare from someone as red as a tomato.

"Look, that was the past, but this is now. If you still love her, and I know you do, then do something about it. I love her too, and while that love has changed, I don't want to see her being alone like this anymore. Let yourself love her."

"So I take it this is your blessing?" Kid grinned.

"What, ya want a hand-written invitation?"

Kid blushed.

"Ah…advice would be nice."

Soul looked confused, but then pounded his fist in his palm.

"Oh, right. Uhm, take her dancing; she loves that. Other stuff is the usual, dinner, movies, theater, opera-"

"Opera?"

Soul blanched.

"I didn't tell you that. I shouldn't know that either. I found and read her diary once."

"Does she have any favorites; particularly songs or shows, places to eat or places she'd want to go?"

Soul nodded and recounted all he could from the list of things. They conversed a bit more before Liz called them back over.

"It should be on the end of the rack; the case with a powder blue color to it. It'll be…" Soul laughed lightly. "It'll be track eight."

"Ah." Kid found the CD he was looking for, and proceeded to put it in the player. He skipped to track eight.

"Tea should be ready soon." Maka said, walking into the living room.

"Perfect." Kid smiled, and walked up to her, extending his hands.

Maka smiled and took them, being pulled into a dance. She smiled even more when the song began to play. Maka lost herself in the song, and was unaware when she began quietly singing along with it. Kid closed his eyes, listening to the melody of the song and Maka's voice; slowly moving with her sway. The song ended all too soon, but Maka just pulled closer and rested her head against Kid's shoulder. She felt him rest his head against hers. The next song had already begun to play, and it was a slow and steady song. The two stayed like this, letting the CD run through song after song until the tea kettle began to whistle.

"I'd better get that." Maka pulled back, reluctant to break the spell.

"Yeah." Kid freed her from the embrace.

Maka quickly tended to the kettle, pulling it off the burner. She'd already prepared two mugs and poured the boiling water into each of them. She set the kettle aside and turned back towards her company.

"The tea will take a few minutes to steep."

Kid nodded.

"I'll be right back. I'm gonna go change."

"Take your time."

Maka smiled and went to her bedroom. Closing the door behind her, she exhaled, and leaned against it. Her heart was pounding in her chest and it felt tight. She hadn't wanted to break from his embrace and soothing heartbeat. It had felt so good to be held again; caressed again. The fleeting thought of what his skin would feel like against hers was enough to cause Maka to start.

Her eyes widened as she felt her face flush scarlet. She shouldn't be thinking these things. Then again, why not? Yet, was she truly in the frame of mind for anything remotely akin to a relationship like that right now? Was this welling of wonton want just from the lack of physical attraction and contact from another? What about her feelings? How could she gauge herself at this point? What about Kid? How did he feel? Was this just for comfort? A memory played in her mind right then; the night of the fire. She'd wiped off some frosting on his nose and he-

Maka opened the door to her bedroom; though not completely, and called out to Kid.

Kid, who hadn't moved from his spot, turned at the sound of her voice. She sounded distraught, and it was this reason he found himself in her room only a few seconds after; the concern etched on his face.

"Maka? What's wrong?"

"Kid…" Her voice was so quiet.

Kid walked over to where she was sitting on her bed. He gently sat down beside her, resting a hand on her shoulder.

"Maka? Wha-"

And then he was silenced by her lips attacking his. He responded in kind. His hands snaked into her hair, and hers into his and against his neck. She pushed. He pulled. They fell back onto the bed.

It was Maka who broke away first, only to come back down and bite into the exposed alabaster of his neck.

"Maka!" Kid's breath hitched.

He felt himself shudder under her ministrations. It was intoxicating. She was flooding his sense with her desire. He could also feel her doubt, her reservations and her uncertainty towards the validity of her desires.

Kid returned the favor, flooding her own sense. He was rewarded by her suddenly switching sides. His breath hitched again. Somewhere in the back of his mind, it had registered that Maka had managed to get his suit's top undone. Her free hand ran against his chest; her other still firmly gripped in his hair at the base of his skull.

It was at this moment, it occurred to Kid, that Maka was dominating him.

It was…rather exciting actually.

She left his neck for a moment. He could feel her shifting against him. He inhaled sharply as he felt what had to be her tongue trail upwards from his stomach to his chest. He gave a shout and clenched the bed sheets when that same tongue flicked against a nipple, and gave it a nip. She did it again; other side.

"Ma-ka." His voice came out broken, heavy.

Moving back up, Maka descended upon his lips again, nipping at his bottom lip. Kids hands weaved back into her hair, pulling lose the twin pig-tails, feeling the free strands cascade over his shoulders. He licked against her lips and she let his go, parting her mouth, and pushing deep with her tongue. He could taste her; a mix of something sweet and spicy.

The hand in his hair moved up slightly, and gripped harder. She deepened the kiss even further; pressing harder against him. He briefly wondered at this, until an abrupt cry ripped from his throat and became muffled between them. His hands gripped against her shoulders. Maka had moved her free hand down below his waist. She had gripped him against his pants, and was moving said hand in rhythmic motion.

She released her hold of his mouth, only to pull his head back slightly, and nip at the skin along his Adam's apple. Moving further down, she nibbled just below it, soon latching like a leech.

Kid was becoming unglued. What little reason he had for ceasing this was no longer.

He arched against Maka, and shifted; bringing a leg up and onto her lower back, attempting to push her further against him, as well as help move her faster. She seemed to respond to it, moving a bit faster. She could feel his labored breathing; the shuddering of his body.

What got to her the most were the sounds he made. So unlike him.

She pushed against him, quickly and hard. He gave a short scream. She did it again, and so did he. She kept it up for a bit; his cries ranging from loud and harsh to short and soft. The shuddering was becoming more frequent. Maka felt Kid move his other leg over her, and felt his arms encircle her waist. She let her hand go from his hair. Gripping his shoulder, giving her the last bit of leverage she needed, Maka wrenched herself against him.

Kid thrust against her, threw his head back, and screamed her name.

His entire body shook against her.

All was quiet. All was still. Only the sounds from outside penetrated the small room.

After a few moments, Maka shifted, leaning to the left. It resulted in pulling them both onto their sides, pulling them apart. Pastel green gazed into hazy Amber. His breaths came short and quiet. She gave him a smile that could only be described as 'satisfied'.

Maka got up from the bed, and moved about the room. Kid tried to watch her, but didn't really have it in him to move at the moment. He could hear the rustle of fabric, drawers opening and closing. Mustering up what little energy he had, he pushed himself up with his arms. Kid caught the site of Maka's bear back before it was covered by a large t-shirt. She turned to him and smiled.

"Here. You can use the restroom."

She tossed him a pair of pajama pants. He held them in his hand for a moment, as if trying to figure out how they worked. His thoughts were halted as Maka came up to him. She straddled him; her knees resting on the bed while her feet dangled off the edge. In this position she was a head higher than him. He looked up at her and she cupped his face, pulling him close and placing a gentle kiss upon his lips.

It was soft, slow and delicate.

She pulled away, getting up and turned towards the door.

"Tea's done by now. I might need to heat it up. I'll bring it in while you get changed."

Kid nodded. He wasn't sure if he could truly talk at the moment. He wasn't truly sure if what just happened was even real. Shaking it off, he stumbled to the bathroom. Discarding his layers into the hamper, he paused. A quick shower seemed like an ideal solution.

Maka pulled both tea mugs from the microwave. They had certainly been cold. She stared down at her tea, stirring absent mindedly. What the hell just happen? Did she…had she really just done that? Maka shook her thoughts away. It was late, and she'd worry about it in the morning.

Picking up both mugs, she brought them into her room, setting them down on the night stand. Maka slipped into her bed. Kid walked into the room a few minutes later, clad only in the pajama pants she'd given him and a towel draped around his neck.

"I hope you don't mind, I took a quick shower." He said quietly. His voice was a little rough.

"Not at all." Maka smiled.

Kid walked over to the bed, and let the towel drop to the floor. He crawled in next to her, and she slipped the covers over him as well. Maka snuggled up close to him, and he wrapped his arms around her.

"Maka…I-"

"Shhh…let's talk about it in the morning. Right now, I just want this."

Who was he to begrudge her of such a simple request?

"Okay." He smiled, and nuzzled against her a little more.

Thus the night went on with tea, cuddles and gentle kisses until they both feel asleep.

_x_x_

It was the aroma of something positively mouthwatering that roused the sleeping Shinigami from slumber. Slowly the world was piecing itself together in his slowly coherent mind. He could see the brightness of the sunlight pouring through the window, even with his eyes still closed.

Kid stretched against the bed, inhaling a large breathy sign and releasing it just the same; snuggling deeper into the pillow he was using. He felt the smile on his face – the one Patty often referred to as his 'kitty face' (he didn't get it) - coined from quiet an incredulous but wonderful dream.

He knew he was being pulled more and more into the waking world, but was content to lay there and enjoy this feeling, and the smells mixing together. He could swear it was clinging to the pillow; that scent of honeysuckle, cinnamon and bacon.

'Bacon?'

Reluctant golden eyes opened slowly. It took a moment for them to focus. Soon, less hazy amber was gazing into curious amber. He blinked lazily. His vision was now in focus. Amber like his own, only a little lighter, gazed at him.

He blinked again, his eyes wide; widening further when those same eyes blinked back at him.

Kid launched off the bed with a yelp; back smacking into the dresser behind him.

"WHAT THE HELL?"

"Aww, no need to be so mean, Kiddy-boy! Merow."

The door opened next to Kid, and Maka appeared in the doorway.

"I have breakfast-"

Maka haulted.

"Maka! It's been awhile, dear! How are ya? Any fish for me today?" Blair cheerily greeted as she sat up on the bed.

Maka turned to see Kid pressed against the dresser for dear life; looking paler if possible.

"Oh he's freaked out because I surprised him." The older magical cat-woman chuckled.

"Surprised him, huh?" Maka deadpanned.

While she did hold a soft-spot for the cat-woman, she didn't exactly care for her methods of entering her apartment, or the fact that she insisted on rubbing up against her men. Ignoring her minds Freudian slip, she shook her head and turned back to Blair.

"I'll make you some fish if you get out of bed and not badger Kid."

"Oh alright, I won't play with him like I use to do Soul."

She got up and walked past her former 'owner' of sorts, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Besides, I've already gotten a rise out of him anyway."

Maka gaped at the cat as she bounced to the kitchen, then turned to the young Shinigami.

"Oh did she?"

It was the second time that morning in the span of less than five minutes did Kid feel absolutely lost and powerless. He stepped away from the woman whose icy voice sent a shiver of panic down his spine.

"Maka, I swear to you, on my Father's name, noth-"

He had been backing away from her advance, until he hit the bed, resulting in him unceremoniously crashing back down onto the bed. Maka stood above him a moment, taking in the site of his disheavled (terrified) form splayed across her bed. She fell onto her knees on the bed; pinning him down by way of straddling him.

"Tell me, how do you feel right now?" Maka's stare seemed to pierce him.

Wide golden amber eyes locked with hers.

"Lost…Terrified…I'm rather humiliated at the moment."

She smirked on the outside, but laughed on the inside. His voice got higher when we was freaking out. Leaning down, she made herself look menacing, which seemed to work. Slow, she brought her hands up to his bare sides.

"Did Soul ever tell you what I'd do to him when Blair was involved?"

She almost broke her façade when she heard him whimper.

"I would do THIS!" Maka attacked his sides with tickles.

Kid went from petrified in fear, to flailing in hysterics in seconds. He was cursing the fact she'd found out this little secret last night, but at the same time was just relieved she wasn't truly angry at him. Still, this sudden onset of a tickle attack wasn't helping, and she had him pinned down.

Maka relinquished his torture only after she'd been satisfied he was no longer scared or worried about the moment earlier. She laughed upon seeing his flushed face, and tears dotting the corner of his eyes. She leaned down and rested her forehead against his.

"Feel better?"Maka smiled.

"Yes." He breathed out with a short huff, smiling in return.

Kid brought his hands up and framed her face, pulling her into a kiss. Maka moaned into the kiss when he deepened it. It was a lot more passionate than the ones from last night. She exhaled against it, slowly sinking against him. She moved her hands and arms up under his shoulders, lightly scratching his back. She felt him hum against her before he pulled away.

"Maka." He seemed to purr against her ear, giving it a nibble.

She gasped a little, giggling at his sudden playful antics.

"Enough. Breakfast is getting cold." Maka pulled up, grinning.

"Must we?"

"Yes, we must."

Maka got up, turning to go, before being held in place by arms snaking around her waist. Kid, leaning up with his arms around her, nuzzled against her back. Maka protested a little, but stopped short with a small gasp when he had pulled up her shirt and nipped her side.

"Tease."

"Who was the tease last night?"

Maka felt the scarlet break across her face. She tensed a moment, and let it pass. She freed herself from his grip and turned, gripping his wrists and pulling. He stood with her.

"Kid…I'm so-"

He cut her off with a kiss; fierce and deep, and pulled away leaving her a bit flustered.

"I'm not. I don't want you to be either."

"I just; I'm not…I can't…I'm frustrated, Kid. God knows I am, but I'm also hurt, confused, and alone. When we're together, I get…all twisted up in everything; I really can't explain it. I laugh, I cry, I get angry, I get sad, I get turned on; yet as much as I want to acknowledge everything you do to me just by being with me…I feel wrong to even think; to even have this-"

Maka clenched her fists, and pulled them to her face; covering it a moment, before reveling her distraught look. She placed her hands against his chest.

"I don't want to use you Kid. I don't want something meaningless. I care about you too much for that. I-"

"Spend the day with me."

Maka looked at Kid in confusion.

"What?"

"Come spend the day with me. Just us. We can do whatever you'd like; go where ever you'd like. We can go to the park, check out the local bookstore, maybe the cafe-"

"Oh, that's right! I'm suppose to meet up with Soul and Liz at Death Cafe later."

Maka 'humm'd' to herself for a moment, then looked up at Kid.

"Okay, but under one condition. You'll have to come with me to Death Cafe."

Kid chuckled and smiled.

"Of course. Though, how is that truly a 'condition'?"

Maka smirked.

"Because you're giving up an couple hours of alone time with me."

Kid blinked.

"Ah, touche." He smiled.

Kid pulled Maka closer to him; nuzzling his face into her hair. His breath tickled her ear a little.

"You would never be using me, Maka. I would never find anything we may do together as meaningless."

Maka could feel her ears heating up a bit by his comment.

"You two are so cute, it's disturbing."

This sudden comment from the doorway made both Maka and Kid jump. Pulling apart, Maka turned towards the cat-woman.

"Oh! Right..breakfast. Heh, we should eat before it gets cold."

The woman smiled and waved her hand.

"Well, I've gotta run. I'll drop by sometime when I don't have to jet and we can have a real girl's day together."

"Didn't you want some fish?"

"Ah, no thank you. I'm full as it is. You two have fun now! Bye!"

Maka watched as the woman turned and headed out the door. Following suit, Maka and Kid made their way to the kichen. Maka had a somewhat confused expression upon her face as to the other womans sudden departure, but the expression melted into one of disgruntlment as she looked upon the table.

The breakfast plates were empty.

"Well, that's just peachy."

_x_x_

I'm forcing myself to end here; so I have at least five or so pages started with the next installment. I don't know how long the next will be, in both update and writing; I feel I still have a bit more to cover before I can bring out the other side stories and such. Anywho, hope I have some people out there enjoying this thus far.

Whee!