Chapter 43: Reconnected

As Soul stood up on the stage, he walked towards the grand piano in all its glory. Stopping to stand by the stool and gaze down at the keys, he gave a sigh and a wry smile. Gazing back at the audience before him now, he gently pulled the key cover down.

"My next performance will not be on this piano. In fact, I won't be playing an instrument at all. Let's just call it… a dance." Looking down to where Maka was sat near the front few central rows he sent a smile her way. "In fact, I call upon an assistant, no… my meister, Maka Albarn."

Among the people sat below, murmurs and whispers could be heard with confusing looks to match. Except for Maka, whose face had just paled slightly. What was Soul doing?! He knew very well that she had absolutely no rhythm in these kinds of things, and now he wanted to her to show that lack of coordination in front of everyone?!

"Well, come on now. I can't do this alone, you know."

Her pale face now shifted into a blushed one, but she came up to the stage anyway. When she finally made her way up the stairway from the platform's side and reached Soul's side, the girl clasped her hands together and looked at him in a slightly scolding manner. 'I can't dance, Soul. You know this!' He merely smirked in response, not giving her a chance to turn down whatever grand plan this was.

"Many of you may have heard about human weapons… people who can turn into bladed and dangerous objects," Soul began. Ooh, so this was what he was planning? Soul held out his hand for Maka to grab, and take a hold of it she did. Whether these people freaked or awed, the response was definitely going to be unique. "And I… am one of them."

Now his human form enveloped in light and immediately shifted into the shape of a scythe, promptly landing into Maka's hold. Several of the elitist's eyes opened wide, some bringing their hands up to cover their dropping jaws. The sound of gasps waved back and forth among the crowd. Shocked gazes looked left and right between each other.

'Your turn, Maka.'

She nodded, a proud smile forming on her face. He didn't have to explain himself for her to know what he was plotting. Their natural resonance gave the connection again that eliminated the need for instructions. "And I… am his meister." Suddenly Soul's metal form began spinning around her hands. The girl twirled him around relatively close to her body intricately a few times, in front and behind her, not failing to always keep the scythe in control.

Gasps from audiences emitted as they backed up in the case she'd drop him. Of course she didn't though. This was too natural to flub something like this. Now the girl leaped around on the void spaces of the space not occupied by instruments. The thud of her boots was like a beat that only the two could create.

Little did the duo know that Spirit was the one behind the crack of the double doors now. They'd been too occupied in their bladed dance, remembering all the good feelings it gave them when they worked together like this. A smile came over his face. This was how his little girl needed to be… happy, and happy she was now. He couldn't stop her from living her own life anymore. Neither could he stop Soul from living his with her. Slowly, he shut the doors now so that he could go undetected.

Slipping down the hallway, he found the mirror they'd traveled through. There was no sense in even standing here when she got out. She had her weapon now, and he didn't desire another awkward confrontation to ruin the current peace he'd found now. Stepping through, Spirit now stood in Death's grand room and sighed reluctantly as he thought about how his decision today was going to affect things between them. Maka would no longer be his little girl. She'd be her own grown woman.

Shuffling towards the doorway going into the school halls now, Spirit stopped when he heard Lord Death's voice.

"That was a very brave thing to do, Spirit."

Perking his head back up, the red head turned quickly. He'd been caught using the mirror without permission! Just imagine what this add to his already torment of seclusion! A single beat of sweat fell down the side of his face as he greeted the Shinigami. "K-Kidd…. I…" No! He didn't want to be expelled from this place permanently! Pulling his hands up in a praying position with eyes closed as tight as he could make them, he begged "I just was trying to do the right thing! I swear! No spells, no witches!"

The man awaited an answer after an awkward pause, afraid to open his blue eyes to the consequences of coming in uninvited. All he heard now was a slight chuckle. "Death scythe, I'm not going to do anything to you. What I meant was that it was a very selfless act." Kidd walked towards the nervous weapon and pulled his hands down. "If anything, I'd say you might have even earned a place back in this institution."

With wide eyes open in shock as they could be, slowly turning into glee. His heart practically leaped out of his chest as he tried as hard as he could to maintain the growing energy to jump for joy. "Th-thank you, sir!" he cried out merrily, instead, keeping his celebration that he'd be around his daughter once more internal.

That night, Spirit had made sure to avoid any further run-ins with his daughter. As much as he wanted to see her, he wanted more to just see her happy, and right now, his presence wasn't the right call for that. Even if he had reunited her with her long-standing weapon partner, standing before her would still remind her of the pain she'd gone through in losing Soul and fighting to get him back. Time was the only thing he could give her, as well as Soul, to heal from the great disturbance he'd caused.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Days had passed. Weeks, even. After Soul's return to Shibusen, the duo had continued assignments together once more. Not much had been heard from Spirit, and if they ever happened to spot him on campus, the red head would simply turn the other direction and walk away. A part of Soul was happy about this. Spirit had engaged in a spacious restraint without having to be asked. It was as if he could read the scythe's mind a mile away.

But at the same time, it hurt to see his meister with such a distant relationship with her father. She'd had no idea how much he had been avoiding them. Spirit was the only family she really had left. No sisters. No brothers. Not even her mother. Yes, she'd been happy with Soul, never in a down mood, but everybody needed somebody to fall back on when nobody else could be there. And for Maka, that should have been her father.

As Maka and Soul sat at a corner table of Deathbucks Café, Soul couldn't help but to hear that familiar voice at the desk ordering. "One mocha latte' please." Somehow Spirit had waltzed right in without noticing their presence. His voice sounded as if he had felt distant as well. Something about their evident separation simply wasn't right.

The white haired boy stood up, waving a quick "be right back" to his meister, who'd simply nodded happily. She assumed he was going to the restroom, but alas, he was not. Instead he quietly footed to the table her father was sitting comfortably at. Yes, Spirit's mind was definitely off somewhere else when it'd been noted that he hadn't noticed the boy standing behind him. Now Soul cleared his throat lightly.

Spirit perked up and twisted around in his chair to see who it was. "O-oh! Sorry, I'll let you two-"

"No. Don't go yet," Soul insisted, interrupting the man before he could remove his presence and grabbed a hold of his wrist before it pulled off the table. It took a lot of courage for Soul to do this, but what else was there to do? Let the father and daughter wallow separately forever in loneliness? That simply wouldn't do, especially since Spirit had done this same courtesy for them not too long ago in that theatre. Oh, yes, Maka had made a mild mention before when Soul asked how she'd gotten there without transportation. And now they had two motorcycles.

"It's okay, Soul. Really. I'll give you your spa-"

"It's not about our space. It's about…" Soul started. When Spirit did nothing more than glance in concern, Soul knew Spirit had learned his lesson well. "It's about Maka. Just… come to our table, okay?" Now, Spirit looked even more worried about what he'd find out when he got there as he hesitated to get up. He didn't have to speak for Soul to know what he was feeling. "Please? I promise, we're not going to bite."

With a heavy sigh, the red head stood up, carrying his warm drink with him, and followed Soul to their dainty corner. The moment they both sat down with the girl, Maka's eyes locked onto her father's and vice versa. Their relationship had definitely suffered, and the silence between them these long few weeks hadn't helped.

"P-Papa…" began Maka.

"Beautiful day, isn't it?! Good day for getting out!" answered Spirit with nervously projected energy. Now he began to criticize his own socializing skills, or lack of. 'You idiot! It's grey and cloudy outside! Think of something else to say!' In a quick resolve to change the focus, he sipped on his mocha latte, closing his eyes to shut out any odd looks he could be receiving, and tried to lean back casually in the red soft-backed chair.

Maka was astounded by the odd response, wondering if he'd paid any attention to his surroundings at all, but agreed anyway. In a sense it was a great day to read in a cafe. Setting her coffee down, she tried to continue a descent conversation. "I wasn't expecting to run into you here."

Spirits voice toned down from the prior desperation to find conversation. "Well I… usually order mine to go." Well, at least as of lately he did.

An awkward silence fell between the three as they did nothing but sip conservatively on their hot drinks. It had been Soul's full intention to reconnect a father and daughter once more, but as more time passed, it seemed less likely to happen, especially since their cups were beginning to look fairly low. With a heavy sigh, Soul pondered on what he could do without accidentally ruining what little tolerance they held now. Unless his presence was…. Yes, perhaps his presence was making Spirit tense!

With this resolute in his mind, he cleared his throat once more and stood up, setting his cup down. "Excuse me, I'll be right back." Making a notion with two fingers towards the men's room, he stepped away from the table, but not after candidly instructing Spirit to stay there, so as to go unnoticed by his meister. Not that it was a lie; he did need to go anyway.

Once Soul temporarily disappeared from the lobby, father and daughter sat in their own odd silence until Maka spoke up to break the awkward moment with something she'd always wanted to say.

"Thanks, by the way…" Maka looked up to finally keep her gaze on her read headed father, gripping the now empty cup as a means to settle her indecisive hands.

This perked Spirit's attention back up from the cup he'd been using to draw circles on the table. "Hmmm?"

"Thanks for bringing Soul back here. It really meant a lot to me, Papa."

"Oh I… well yeah. No problem. Anything for my little girl." If the Death scythe's conscience had a physical embodiment of its own, it'd be hiding under the table in fear! How long it'd been since he called her his little girl. How was she going to react after everything else that'd happened?! But no, he couldn't back down now, and remained brave as he sat there with a small smile on his face, just large enough to look natural.

"The truth is, I was just really mad at what you did. I never actually hated you as a person." These were some of the most relieving words he'd heard for the last few weeks! "But maybe... maybe now we could at least be civil? After all, you are my papa."

Now Spirits smile grew wider. That fearful conscience hiding under the table would have now leapt out from under it in joy. The man wanted to give his girl the biggest hug he could, but for one thing, those kinds of holds were beyond 'civil'. There was no need to push the undeserved luck he'd already received. Two, they were in a café with growing numbers of customers walking in. Who knows whose hot coffee he'd bump out of surprised hands just to scorch their clothes? THAT was not an ordeal he wanted to mess with!

"I think we can, too," Spirit stated instead. "What do you say? A deal?" Putting one hand forward, he kept it held over the center of the round table in offer to shake in agreement. He watched as Maka's green eyes shifted from him, to his outstretched hand, and back to him once more. Had she been indecisive about wanting to mend things? Were there still other issues he needed to fix before she would accept such proposal?

The meister made her decision and took a hold of the hand in offer, holding the grip as she spoke. "Alright..." A wide grin spread across Spirits face even further. "…BUT…. No jumping me with hugs or baby talking to me in the public, okay?" Or at least, not yet…

"Then I'll see you at DWMA…"