This is for xXCanaryXx Thanks for your PM and good work on mah wittle challenge in You Always Make Me Smile. The other song was That's It, I Quit, I'm Moving On by Adele.

It was completely silent in the room. The only sound heard by one person was their own heart beats. Then finally, finally, the fuzzing stopped. Slowly, the darkness began to fade away, revealing what appeared to be a woman, it was still so blurry thought.

Seconds went by as the image focused, all blurriness gone. Soul gasped at what he saw, the only sound in the room at that moment. The woman looked exactly like Maka!

The woman's emerald green eyes scanned the room, meeting the eyes of everyone. Soul froze as she stopped on him, but she looked at him with blank eyes only for a fraction of a second before she settled on the last person. Maka.

The blank look left then. It was replaced with a sick emotion. Soul had only experienced this look once before in his life. It was from his mother. It was morbid amusement.

"Hello Maka."

"HEY!"

Soul pounded on the door, not caring that it was locked. From the other side, he could hear Spirit reply "Sorry, Evans, but you gotta stay out there." His voice didn't have that usual snotty superior tone.

"Then why the hell did I have to come with Maka in the first place?" Soul countered, smug that his logic left the older Death Scythe fumbling for words.

"B-Because!," Spirit spat back. He kicked the door roughly in his frustration. "Go away!"

"What kind of answer is that?," Soul yelled, but no one answered him. He guessed Spirit had just given up and walked back to Maka.

Maka.

Soul tiredly let his back slide down the wall adjacent to the Death room. What was going on in there? What was up with Maka and her mom? She was always talking about her mom's great achievements, but talking to her, she didn't seem so delighted. Soul sighed to himself and laid his head back.

What the hell is going on?

"Thank you for your call, Ms. Albarn. I shall certainly take your appeal into account."

Lord Death ended the call, the mirror returning to its usual black emptiness. The room was silent once more as each inhabitant slowly took in the previous conversation.

Marie sighed and was the first to move. She slowly made her way up the stairs and to Maka's frozen form. She placed her hands gently on the girl's shoulders and nudged her backwards down the stairs.

"Come on, Maka. Let's go get some fresh air okay?," she asked, smiling sweetly, but it wasn't sincere. Being the sensitive teacher she was, the new problem her student was facing would plague her mind for days. If said problem weren't the student's own mother, Marie would do everything in her power to rid Maka of this impediment.

"No, I'm fine," Maka said sternly. Marie gingerly removed her hands from the girl's limp shoulders and looked worriedly at Spirit. The man's eyes were fixed on Lord Death.

"Well," the Death God started, somehow always managing to keep his comical voice, even in tense situations. "This certainly puts a wrench in things."

"Yes," Stein agreed, speaking for the first time. "I know it probably goes without saying, but I suggest we put out some guards at the city entrances."

His glasses glinted in the artificial sunlight of the Death Room as he turned to hear the Death Lord's answer. But he didn't answer. He just continued to look into the depths of his mirror.

"Sir…" Stein trailed off, then turned worriedly to Spirit. Maka's father's face matched the eccentric teacher's. Guardedly, Spirit mounted the stairs to where the Death Lord stood, hands in his pockets.

"Sir," Spirit repeated Stein's words, "Please tell me you aren't actually considering…"

"Everyone deserves a second chance, Spirit," Lord Death cut in. "No matter what her past offences are, she has the right to start over."

"But not at Maka's expense!"

Marie's voice echoed throughout the room, effectively silencing the two men. Spirit and Stein turned their heads to look at her red face. She had moved in front of Maka's limp form to shield the girl from the touchy conversation. The gentle hearted teacher was huffing, chest was blown out due to her anger, and she continued with her scolding.

"This woman might be Maka's mother, but she never acted like one! She should absolutely be held responsible for her past actions! Who cares that she wants to start fresh? Look at Maka! Do you think she can just as easily 'start over'? She will forever be scarred by what her mother has forced on her. This woman deserves her punishment until she dies!"

The room was silent when Marie finished, gasping for air. Spirit and Stein hung their heads like little kids who were being yelled at by their angry mother. Lord Death was unfazed, staring forever into his mirror, no doubt lost in thought over what to do. When the woman caught her breath, she continued quieter this time.

"If Kami wishes to have her sentence lifted for the sake of starting over, I believe it is Maka's choice. She was the victim, she was hurt the most from this. She should decide whether or not her mother is still banned from the city."

Silence filled the room again. Spirit solemnly shook his head in agreement as Stein looked to Lord Death for guidance. "Well?," he asked expectantly.

The Death Lord sighed. "Marie is right. In the end, it is Maka's decision."

Finally, he turned away from the glass to face the small group. "Well, what do you think Maka?"

…

"Where'd she go?"

She ran.

Ran as fast and as far as her legs would take her.

Ran away from that room and those people, those feelings, that woman.

That woman.

Maka skidded to a stop as her mother's face clouded her mind. And that smile she gave her. It was sick.

Breathless and defeated, the girl collapsed to the floor and did something she hadn't for a very long time.

She cried.

She laid her body on the muddy ground behind the school and sobbed her frustrations. It was a good thing Soul was asleep when she crept out of the Death Room. She wouldn't want him to be here as she fell apart.

Shaking on the ground there, all her thoughts came back to her. The call, her mother, childhood memories of love and abuse. Because there was love. Before her mother turned into a monster, there were moments of true mother daughter love.

Memories of going out to the park and eating ice cream. Swing sets, merry-go-rounds, smiling faces. The happy times in her life.

And her first friend, how her mother had encouraged Maka to give the obnoxious boy a chance.

"A second chance," she mumbled to herself, sniffing.

Her body felt numb laying out in the cold and mud. Maka closed her eyes, wanting to sleep.

And she dreamed.

"Hahaha! There's no way you can get up here, little girly! Only Gods like me can climb this high!"

The 'little girly' scowled up at the boy yelling from atop the jungle gym. She was standing on the ground next to it, refusing to give into his baiting and hurt herself trying to get as high as him. She watched, quietly fuming, with slit eyes as he jumped up and down.

"You're going to fall," she called out to him, not really caring one way or another if he did.

The little blue haired boy jumped faster and laughed again at her tiny silhouette. "As if someone as great as me could be taken out by a few pieces of metal. I'm going to surpass the gods! I am the great Black*Star-"

As predicted by the girl, he lost his footing and came crashing down. His huge head made a 'bong' sound as it hit off of every single bar. Despite being greatly annoyed by his antics, the girl rushed forward to him as he hit the ground. He landed with a 'thud' on his back and dust flew up around his body.

"Are you okay?," the girl squeaked as she shook his tiny arm. He coughed dirt from his mouth and looked at her with lidded eyes. He smiled that stupid goofy grin.

"That fall was pretty godly, wasn't it?," he laughed. The little girl couldn't help but laugh as she tried to help him to his feet. He refused, saying something about how girls have cooties and she shouldn't touch him.

She stood there clutching to the edge of her dress while he dusted himself off. When he finished, he smiled at her and put his fists on his hips, feet spread apart.

"Well, seeing as you came to help me, you must think I'm pretty awesome. I shall grace you with my presence at the swings in two minutes!"

The little boy took off running full power to said play set, leaving the girl to cough in the cloud of dirt he left behind. When the dust settled, she took a step towards where he ran, a slight smile on her face, but stopped short.

She suddenly became very aware of her mother's eyes on her, watching from a nearby bench. That's right. Her mother said yesterday that she wasn't allowed to have friends.

The little girl stood there, lost and confused. She was stuck between her mother and the swings, blue haired boy calling out to her, enticing her to come play on the swings. Technically he wasn't a friend. He was rather annoying actually. All she was going to do was swing next to him, that's all. Certainly her mother wouldn't hit her for that.

But she couldn't move. Although her reasoning seemed encouraging, she was paralyzed with fear of her mother.

Making up her mind, she slowly turned away from the boy and watched guiltily as his smile faltered. She walked away from him and the playground, through the grass and past a tree, to the bench where her mother waited.

"Honey, don't you want to play some more?," her mother asked her little girl. The girl shook her head, not looking at the woman. That was one of the rules: don't look unless told to do so.

The woman lovingly put her arm around the girl's tiny shoulders, bringing her into a warm embrace. It was a sweet gesture, but the tone she used when she told the girl to look at her ruined it.

The girl quickly complied and looked into her mother's eyes. They were green, just like hers.

"Now," the woman said, returning to the careful tone as she lifted her little girl into her lap. "This wouldn't have to do with that boy over there would it?"

The girl looked to where her mother pointed. The boy with blue hair was currently trying to impress the other kiddies by swinging higher than them, shouting out how godly he is. The girl scowled.

"It's okay, you can talk honey," the woman whispered. That was another rules: don't talk unless given permission.

"He's annoying," the little girl mumbled. The older woman chuckled lightly and put two tiny hands into her own, squeezing gently.

"Baby, you're always going find people who are annoying. But you have to look past all that and see the person inside. There might be more to this little boy than meets the eye. Who knows, maybe he's acting that way because he's hiding something. No one will ever know if they just ignore him because he's annoying. Everyone needs friends, honey."

The little girl looked at the boy as her mother talked and found herself smiling at him. Even though he was annoying, it was funny to watch him fall.

The woman put her hand under the girl's chin, lifting it slightly to look her in the eyes.

"Everyone deserves a second chance, Maka."

"Oh ho! I see you've come back for more! Well, take that!"

The boy was fighting an angry bee hive when the little girl approached him. After whacking it with a stick, he left the hive alone to smile at her.

"Oh, you're back too! Couldn't get enough of my godly face, could you? No problem, you can stand there and watch as I single handedly take down this evil enemy."

She rolled her eyes as he menacingly waved the stick at bees. She cleared her throat and tapped him on the shoulder, getting his attention. When he looked at her, she held out her hand.

"My name's Maka."

The boy smiled and shook her hand. "The great and powerful Black*Star!"

She smiled and wobbled slightly as he rigorously shook. "Y-You know, I can be your f-friend. I-If you'd-d like," her teeth rattled from all the shaking.

Black*Star scoffed at her when he finally let go and returned to the beehive. "A god like me doesn't need friends! Just fans! HAHAHA!"

A vein in Maka's forehead popped when he said this. She was trying to be nice! Her little shadow loomed over his even smaller body as she steadily crept towards him, hand raised with a killing intent.

"MAKA-CHOP!"

But Black*Star saw her coming and moved just in time. She missed his head…and hit the beehive instead.

"You stupid, why did you try to hit me?," he yelled furiously at her, completely ignoring her horrified stare directed behind him.

"B-Black*Star…"

"How dare you try to hit a god like me!," he continued.

"Black*Star!"

"You're lucky my ninja senses kicked in, or else I would've had to fight you. Normally I wouldn't fight a girl as little as yourself, but in this case-"

"BLACK*STAR!"

"WHAAAAT?"

"BEES!"

Maka and Black*Star fell to the grass, soaking wet. While being chased by the angry bees, they had jumped into a fountain (more like Maka was pushed in by Black*Star). The bees flew away from the water and the two kids were saved. Retreating the grassy field to dry off, they laid down laughing at each other.

"That's right, bees," Black*Star said weakly, "Run away in fear of this awesome guy!"

"Stupid, you were running away from them!"

"Details, details."

Seeing she would get nowhere with him, Maka closed her eyes and let the sun work it's magic. She was trying to take in as much as she could because she didn't know when the next she'd see it would be. Well, in a way she did. She'd see it when her mother says she can, but that could be weeks away.

"Hey, what happened to your cheek?," Black*Star asked suddenly. He reached out to poke her cheekbone and she yelped pout in pain. He pulled back sharply and apologized.

Maka held her hand up to cover said area. "I, uh, I fell…on the jungle gym," she stammered.

Really she hadn't, but try telling a boy you've only known for 15 minutes that your mother did that to you when you accidentally left the bathroom light on. Not easy, is it?

Black*Star laughed. "Hah! I told you you couldn't do it! Only gods can, like me," he said, pointing to his chest. Maka laughed a little, trying to act normal.

But Black*Star noticed that something was amiss. His ninja senses told him that the way she looked over the playground was not right. Like she knew she was meant to be there everyday, but couldn't be. She wasn't like the other kids down there, and it made her sad.

"H-Hey," he started.

She turned her head slightly to let him know she heard him.

"If you ever need someone to talk to, someone I know said that they always talk to God. But… you can just talk to me!" He beamed at her, that same egocentric grin.

Maka's eyes snapped open and she was breathing heavily. Mud had soaked into her clothes and hair, that wasn't what woke her up. She heard yelling. Someone calling out her name. suddenly, to her right, someone broke through the bushes and came rushing at her.

"There you are! Hey, Soul's freakin' out looking for you…Why are you on the floor?"

It was Black*Star. Maka wondered to herself if him showing up had anything to do with her dream.

"Hey, why're you on the floor," he repeated, coming to sit next to her. She didn't move though from her spot, too tired to do anything but look up at her blur haired friend. Looking up at him like this, his head blocking out the sun and creating a halo, he did kind of look like a god.

You can just talk to me!

She realized then why she had that dream and why he was here. Black*Star was the first friend she had ever made and he had been there for her through her childhood. Soul meant the world to her, but there were some things he couldn't understand. Not like Black*Star. Because he was there for her. He had seen what she went through first hand and pushed her to make the first move towards her freedom.

"Star," she whispered to him, using a nickname she hadn't used in ten years. He noticed, because his attention was instantly entirely on her. He leaned in a bit to better hear her. "Yeah?," he whispered back.

Maka slowly took his hand in hers and squeezed firmly. He didn't blush and neither did her, they both knew it wasn't a romantic gesture. It was simply one friend reaching out to another. Maka needed him and his help. She needed him to help her like he had so many years ago.

"My mother," she said hoarsely. "She asked Lord Death to allow her back into the city."

Black*Star remained uncharacteristically quiet while he digested what his friend said. Kami? Coming back to Death City?

"He told her no, right?"

Maka shook her head, the mud pushed deeper into her head. "He said it was my choice."

"What did you say?"

"I ran before I could answer."

"Well, you're gonna say no of course!," he said, but it sounded more like a question. He was trembling slightly.

Maka thought for a moment. She should say no. No one would blame her for it. It was actually expected. But that dream…what Lord Death said that was freakishly similar to what her mother said. Second chances. A second chance is what lead to the hand Maka held onto for dear life now. Second chances lead to their friendship. Wasn't that good? Couldn't good things come from second chances?

"Maka…" Black*Star whispered in her face. "You gotta say no. Don't you remember what she did?"

How could she forget? The bruises had disappeared, but the scars were still there, physical and emotional. Some even mental.

But through the painful memories, Maka smiled at her dear friend and said so softly he could barely hear:

"Second chances, Star."

Oh god ~dies~

Oh and don't worry, this is definitely a MakaXSoul fanfic. I jst think that Black*Star's better side needs to show up more, so he's going to be a big help in Maka's life in this story. I guess in a way, it's more of a friendship story for them….I think I'll change the pairing, hmm….

And if anyone read the manga, Black*Star changes after the last fight with Mifune. He's not as loud and the ego has definitely been knocked down a tad. That's the Black*Star I like:3

I don't know why that was so hard to write. But like I said to mah buddy here, I had to spend a while jst trying to remember where this story was goingXD

I'm sorry I forgot you my wittle story! And to my readers who are following this, I apologize to you too!

*Bows* PLEASE FORGIVEST MEH!

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it:D