This is a one-shot inspired by ubyrai and her story, In Tune. Hope you enjoy! I tried more for the bond of weapon and meister, though I'm a fan of SoMa.

"Soul!" A scream pierced the air. Pain. Intense pain all across my chest. Red. Red all around. Can't escape it. Red.

"Soul." Maka. Maka's voice. I try to fight through the darkness, just to see her face again. My partner. My best friend. My meister.

White hot flashes pass over me, blinding me. I can't see my Maka, but I need to. I know I do. My strength, it's draining too quickly. But I need to keep fighting, to protect her.

It's thinning, this seemingly eternal blackness. I can hear the demon laughing. Not the one who struck the blow, but my demon. The demon who took my sanity, one piece at a time.

"If you had just accepted the madness," the demon taunts, cackling at my motionless figure. Instead of my usual suit, I just lay on the ground in my usual attire. His legs dangle off of the beautiful glossy piano in the center of the room as he just sits there, laughing. "Then you could have protected your dear Maka."

I still grimace at the idea of giving up my soul for such a thing. No fear, but no sanity. If I had accepted this demon's offer, Maka would always be safe; but she would have never forgiven me. That was always her weakness: she cared for those she loved too much. She would do anything to protect me in battle, even though it was my job. And now it was my time to give back for her kindness, to take up my job as a weapon.

Fighting through the fog, I finally make it to the surface. I crack the thin barrier of ice to reality when it hits me. The injuries weren't minor; they weren't even critical. They were on a level that shouldn't even be hit by a mere human without them dying. And yet here he was, still being able to rise. But why?

"Soul," a voice sobs. He finally feels the slender arms encircling his body, keeping it from collapsing. He finally feels tears falling on his face. He finally hears the voice calling to him from the surface.

"Maka," he groans. Forcing his eyes to open, he stares up at a scene that terrifies him. Maka leaning over him, her face covered in blood and dirt. Her hair, which falls out of it's usually pigtails, is encrusted with blood. Emerald green eyes wide open in horror at the sight of the defeated man lying in her arms. Gasping, he says one thing. "Leave."

Maka's eyes flash with confusion, then understanding and determination. "No," she says simply, defiance in her tone. If Soul could have smirked, he would have. There was his Maka: a stubborn girl whom had somehow made her way into his heart, never to leave.

But she had to leave. It wouldn't be cool to give up a promise. Becoming her weapon meant he had promised her his life. He wouldn't hesitate to give his life up to shield his meister, and that's exactly what he'd done. Stein would have been proud. You've got to leave, Maka. For me, just survive.

But she still stayed. "You'll be fine," she promises, though she flinches as the enemy comes towards them. And Soul can't help himself; he believes her. Not only because they had sworn to protect each other, but because of what they'd very nearly become in their years together.

One soul.

Please review!