When She Returned- Soul Eater Fanfiction

Chapter 9- Cold Air

The mountains of Nevada were covered in a glistening white sheet of snow. The air had a harsh bite- one that resembled a snakes bite.
It was hard to balance on the trek up the mountain range. Feet kept on sinking and those who walked, walked lopsided against the powder. The usually warm Death City was left behind as the colder territories of Nevada was explored.
A lodge in the mountains stood near the peak on a steady bit of terrain. It was the base of operations and the accommodations of both students and teachers at the DWMA on this trip.
Two large boots sunk into the snow as the wearer observed the lodge that finally reached his view.
"Marie! Spirit! It's over here! Guide the students over." Stein shouted over.
A voice shouted back. "Alright!" Green eyes looked over the DWMA students. "You guys follow me and Marie! Kamiki and Meg are behind you in case someone loses their way. Stick to your meisters and weapons, okay?" Spirit advised.
"Okay!" The students of EAT class replied.
The journey was well made and it was soon until they had reached the top of the mountain. The students all lined up and Marie faced them.
"Let's see if everyone is here!" She began. "Maka!"
"Here, Marie!"
"Black Star!"
"Yeah!"
"Kim!"
"Yes!"
"Death The Kid!"
"Right here!"
"Soul!"
"Here I am, lady!"
"Rinko!"
No answer.
"Where is she?"
Voices of concern echoed through the range. Hero looked terrified at the prospect of his weapon being missing. "I'm gonna look for her!"
Before Hero could move, Spirit grabbed his arm. "No. Not alone, anyway. You need someone with you."
"I'll go with him." A voice cut through the air like a hot knife through butter. Megara.
"Meg? You're gonna be okay, right?" Kami asked. "Be careful."
Megara grinned, "I'll be okay. I promise." She grabbed Hero's hand. "C'mon kid, let's go find her."
"Right."
And with that, the pair ran off into the snow.
Kami gripped Spirit and looked at him, concerned.
"She's reckless. If anything happens to the both of them-"
"Kami, it's worth a try. You trust Meg, right? Rinko could die out there too."
"You're right. I should've been more careful." She murmured. Spirit covered her mouth gently.
"No. We're all as responsible. Remember, Kam, this is my job. If anything, I should take full responsibility."
A hand tapped on Spirit's shoulder.
"But I saw her when Marie lined us up before. I'm sure of it!" Soul looked up at him.
Liz chipped in. "I saw her too; I remember now." She looked beside her at Jackie, who nodded in agreement.
"I saw Ox help her up on the last bit." Patty announced.
"Patty's right! I did." Ox validated.
Kim joined Ox's side. "Miss Marie, did you see her?"
Marie stood in thought for a moment before coming into realisation. "You're all right. I saw her too."
"I suppose she went missing in-between arriving here and having her name called." Maka stated.
Kid gazed at his surroundings. "Either way, this isn't good. Father warned of the dangers here, and to have tread on one of them so early on is worrying."
"Well it's not a case of being lost. She's been taken." Spirit spoke solemnly.
Stein looked at his friend. "It's not a case of what happened to Rinko, now. It's who has taken her."
Tsubaki sighed. "Poor girl. Why her? She never did anything wrong."
"It was pretty bold of Hero to look for her though as soon as it happened." Black Star added.
"Yeah it's natural for someone to jump to the aid of someone who they care about." Soul told him. "If that happened to Maka, I'd do the exact same." He turned to Ox. "And everyone called him weak too. The guy is brave enough to even think about going to find her on his own in the middle of nowhere. And to think so many people called him a coward too."
Ox sneered. "Doesn't stop him being an idiot-"
"And what idiot lets his partner die? You expected the guy to just stand there. Sure, he's quite a character. The guy had Excalibur of all weapons as a partner. Jeez. I know. He might not be the strongest meister, but hell. You're nowhere near better than him. Same ability at best. You went to the lowest of the low and made him your personal slave and bag carrier since the Excalibur incident. He was too nice to argue back, after being accustomed to it by three other groups of people. Could you walk through here alone to find Harvar?"
"I don't think-"
"Then who is the coward now?"
"...Me. I'm the coward, Soul." Ox sighed.
"Pretty odd thing for the guy who branded Hero the "worst meister ever" to say. Did I make my point clear?"
Ox nodded.
Soul smiled. "Good. Cause bringing a member of this team down is not cool, man."
"Well said." Maka smiled at her weapon, who grinned back.
"Thanks!"
Suddenly they were interrupted by a familiar voice. Hero's voice.
"I've found her! I got Rinko!" The lanky blonde boy carried his weapon on his back. She was conscious but her leg bled. She looked on in terror.
Meg was nowhere to be seen.
"Miss Kami! She was hurt!" Rinko shouted as Hero and her approached. "Megara was bitten by something."
"Bitten?" Stein asked. "How-"
Kami cut off Stein's question. "Where is she?"
"About 20 metres down the mountain, straight south." Hero spoke.
Kami nodded. "Spirit, you and I can get Meg. Stein, you and Marie get the kids inside."
"Oh, so you're the one putting out orders now?" Stein asked.
"Stein, shut the hell up and listen to her!" Marie snapped. "We need these kids in safe."
Spirit gripped Kami's hand. "Let's go."

The lodge was warm and all the students were at a relief to be inside. All except Maka. She sat, fearing for her parents' safety. What if they got lost? Hurt? She was scared out of her mind.
The sofa dipped a bit as someone sat beside her. Marie.
Maka broke the silence. "I'm worried about them."
"Your mom and dad?"
"Yeah. Megara too." She told her. Marie  put her arm around the worried girl.
"So am I. Your mother and father mean so much to me."
They were quiet for a minute.
"Marie?"
Marie looked at Maka. "Yes?" She replied.
Maka sighed and looked around the room. "You knew papa since you were little, right?"
Marie laughed slightly. Her smile was written with nostalgia. "Yep. Known him since we were 5. He was my first friend and still my best friend to this day."
Maka looked up at her. "How did you become friends?"
"Well." Marie started. "It started when a few kids bullied me about my eyepatch." She pointed to the patch that sat snugly on the left side of her face. "I've had to wear one all my life so, naturally all the kids at school we're mean to me about it and made fun of me. Except your dad. I remember sitting alone after getting upset and crying about the teasing. Your dad came over and sat next to me. The first thing he said was he thought my patch was really cool."
"He did?"
"Yep!" Marie chuckled. "And then on, your father and I became friends. We share a lot of similarities despite being polar opposites for a lot of things."
"That sounds like Soul and I." Maka added.
Marie nodded. "Yes! It's odd though. Despite myself and him bickering and wanting to kill each other a lot of the time, I'd never abandon him."
"I know he'd never abandon you either."
"He never did. He always sticks up for me. Like when Joe broke my heart back when I dated him-"
Maka was bewildered. "Wait- the Joe at this school?"
Marie nodded.
"Gross! He wasn't worth it, was he?" Maka laughed.
"Never! Your dad said the same thing to me. Safe to say your father beat the guy up for it.... And the one before that.... Agh." Marie shook her head. "But your father is the kindest man I have ever known, even if he does a lot of stupid things." Marie laughed. "I have to thank him for getting me and Stein together."
"Yeah... Marie?"
"Yes, sweetie?"
Maka sighed "Even though I see papa around nearly everyday.... I miss him so much."
Marie nodded. "I figured you did.... Maka?"
"Hmm?"
"He hasn't been right lately. Have you noticed?"
Maka thought for a moment. 'She's right. He hasn't.' She thought. "Yeah. He seems distant."
Marie rubbed her own arms. "He hasn't smiled for a long time either. Not a real smile, anyway. Thing is...."
"What is it?"
"Your father was like this once before. When he was about your age- something awful happened. He was too afraid to get close to people. He distanced himself because he was afraid people would leave him if they knew what happened to him..." Marie's voice trailed off. "I shouldn't really say this..."
"I noticed papa never told me about his childhood before."
"Did he ever tell you of his parents?" Stein appeared in front of the pair.
Maka shook her head. "No."
"Stein, we promised him we wouldn't-"
"Maka has every right to know about her dad-"
"About what?" A voice called out. Spirit and Kami stood at the doorway.
Stein stood in front of him, feeling uneasy under Spirit's gaze.
"Nothing."
Spirit sighed. His voice was oddly calm. "Just be honest. You were going to tell her, weren't you?"
"Yes."
"Right." Spirit nodded. "How much does she know?"
"Nothing." Maka spoke, quietly.
Spirit nodded and walked up to her. He gripped her hands and knelt in front of where she sat. "I'll tell you, when you feel like you're ready."
"Papa please. You don't have to feel obliged-"
"Maka, I haven't been honest with you. You know a lot about me yet you don't know who I am. I feel negligent. And I'm sorry." Spirit hung his head. "I never wanted you to think I was as pathetic as I am, but I suppose you know that already."
With that, Spirit stood up and left the room, saying a quiet hello to Tsubaki and Soul as they entered.
"I... Don't think that at all." Maka spoke, seemingly emotionless.
Soul wandered over and sat down next to her. "Maka."
Tsubaki joined them. "Do you want anything?"
"No, thank you, Tsubaki." Maka replied.
The whole room was quiet.