When She Returned- Soul Eater Fanfiction

Chapter 12- Papa

The fear of Medusa's return worried some; others believed it to only be a rumour. Nevertheless, many knew whatever was happening was increasingly dangerous. That caused a major uproar of panic amongst the students.
Eruka and Stein stood with each other in the small hospital wing that was incorporated into the lodge.
"How did she make it back?" The professor asked the frog witch.
She sighed. "Ribbit. I am not sure; I parted ways with her and swore I'd never be a part of her team when I was spying on Arachne's hideout. But I remembered her telling me this: If she's attacked- a piece of her soul can be fragmented and she can heal and regenerate her soul with the help of a Kishin."
Stein removed his glasses and wiped them with a cloth from his pocket. "So you're saying there's a Kishin out there?"
"Most likely so."
"Right."
"So the little bitch lured my daughter for what reason?" Kami. She stood in the doorway, with her eyebrow raised.
Eruka shook her head. "I'm unsure."
"Okay... Do you know how to kill a witch as powerful as her?" Kami asked her, relieved when Eruka nodded in return.
"I do, seeing as I am a witch myself. You have to seal her soul into a deactivated Soul and destroy it."
Stein nodded. "So like a Kishin egg without its flames?"
"Yes. And either swallowing the soul or destroying it will do just the trick. Ribbit. However... I'd recommend destroying, as soul consumption at her level may risk you being possessed." Eruka explained. "So any weapon powerful enough to destroy it with their wavelength alone is able. Have you got anyone?"
"One person from our team is able to." Stein explained. "Because of his power, it is one of the few reasons why Lord Death assigned him as his official death weapon- Spirit being the most powerful weapon he's wielded to date."
Kami cleared her throat. "So you're saying Spirit is the only one in theory who can defeat Medusa?"
"Yes, technically. But a team is still recommended." Eruka spoke.
"So how exactly do we infuse her soul into a deactivated soul?"
"We don't." Free's voice echoed the room. "Cause the fragment of her soul is attached to the Kishin."
The room fell silent.
"Well that's just brilliant." A voice broke the empty void. The death scythe stood in the doorway. "Where could the Kishin be?"
Free shrugged. "I'm not sure about the accuracy of this but... The one flaw in Medusa's method of survival is that she can't be 200m away from the Kishin. So if she's here then-"
"Then the Kishin is here too?" Spirit finished his sentence.
"Yeah."
The room remained silent for a while. An attack plan was needed.

The day passed as a blur for everyone. A lot of students rested in their dormitories for a while. Others had light conversations, and some more read books and played pool.
Soul didn't do any of those things. He sat beside Maka the entire time, as she rested in her bed. He had not long carried her inside and tucked her in, before dragging a chair to her bedside.
He soaked in all of his surroundings, alongside his own senses: The sight of the sunlight cracking through the closed curtains; The sound of Maka's relaxed breathing as she slept; The smell of freshly washed bedsheets; The feeling of Maka's hand in his- warm and soft; And the taste of guilt. Although he didn't do anything wrong, he couldn't help but feel responsible for Maka's situation.
Soul gazed at his meister. Her eyes were shut tight, lined with long eyelashes. Her hair seemed to fall perfectly in place. Her skin had regained colour and she was looking more radiant.
He squeezed her hand gently, rubbing his thumb against it.
"Maka." He whispered. "What did I do to deserve you?"
He felt his eyes well again. "Dammit Soul. You promised her you'd be strong." He told himself out loud. "You little bastard."
"Soul?"
Soul looked towards Maka, who looked at him sleepily. That was when he realised he was squeezing her hand way too tightly, waking her.
"Sorry, Mak-"
"Are you crying?" She asked, reaching out to touch his damp face.
Soul forgot for a moment that his face had been covered with tears. "I'm fine."
Maka sat up. "You're not okay." She spoke gently, grasping both of his hands. "You don't have to tell me what's wrong."
"Really?"
"Yes. But if you want you can lie here with me."
Soul was stunned at Maka's offer. Share a bed? With Maka? He didn't know how to process it.
"Um- ah. You sure?"
"Yeah. It'll make me feel better too."
Soul nodded. "I assume it's because our wavelengths matching it will help you get better?"
"Yeah but..."
"Mak?"
"I just want your comfort that's all."
Her face burned a similar colour that her father's hair was. Soul shared the same colour face.
"If you'd like then... Yes!"
Maka smiled. "Thank you!" She shifted to the side and let Soul kick his shoes off and join her. "Besides, you look awful yourself. You must be really tired."
"Yeah."
She turned her head to face Soul, who faced her. They were a couple inches away from each other.
They both laughed.
It was silent for a moment.
"Soul?"
"Yeah?"
"It sounds weird but... Can I cuddle you?"
"If you'd like.. I don't mind at all. And trust me, it's not weird."
Maka smiled sleepily, before wrapping her arms around Soul's torso and tucking her head into his neck.
To her slight surprise, Soul wrapped his arms around her, stroking her head and running his fingers through her hair. Usually, Soul barely shown affection- but right now he didn't care. He wanted her to be okay.
Maka felt herself drift off slowly. She whispered. "Soul?"
"Hm?"
"I'm so glad I met you."
Soul smiled, his heart pounding but in utter delight. "And you! You're my Maka. The sweetest girl in the universe."
"And you're my Soul." She whispered back.
Soul wasn't sure if he imagined Maka gently placing her lips on his neck for a second.

The day seemed to pass extremely quickly. The sky ended up going through an entire spectrum of colours until reaching pitch black.
By then, everyone had gone to bed- except one.
Spirit gazed out the window, up at the empty sky. He couldn't sleep. He hadn't slept properly in days. The nightmares always interrupted.
He sighed, before he stiffened at the sound of footsteps behind him.
"Papa."
He relaxed at his daughter's voice. "Maka."
"Are you alright?"
"Yeah I'm good. Couldn't sleep is all. How are you feeling?" He asked.
Maka smiled. "So much better."
"That's wonderful."
Following was a bit of an awkward silence between them. Both of them knew of the topic that followed.
"Papa... About what Miss Marie and Professor Stein told me..."
Spirit nodded, before taking Maka by the hand. "Yeah. I need to explain that-"
"If you don't want to it's fine-"
"Maka, I've been hiding this for so long." Spirit blurted. "I need to tell you. Everything. Why I am the way I am."
"Dad?"
"Maka, you know me so well yet you don't know me at all. I think it's time it did explain. And maybe cause you're mad at me now it'll be better cause it'll hurt less-"
Maka yanked him towards her. "And what makes you think that?!"
Spirit fell quiet. "I don't know." His voice was barely a whisper." He pulled her to the sofa that she lay on earlier, sitting her down. "But I'll explain to you."
"Okay."
"Basically, Maka. It all started before I was even born."
"Huh? How?" Maka was confused.
Spirit hushed her. "Quiet, baby, I'll get to that." He explained gently. "Basically I had a twin brother. He possessed a Kishin egg. But my wavelength killed him."
"How so?"
"Because my Soul seemed a lot more pure and powerful I overpowered him and killed him before birth. Anyway, my mother was relieved that I survived and that my brother didn't have to suffer the Kishin life. My father however... He would have preferred the Kishin baby."
Maka was stunned. "What? Why?"
Spirit hung his head. "It was in his plan to breed a Kishin. My father himself had killed innocent people, but not enough to become a prekishin. He wanted someone to do his dirty work for him. But me? I spoiled his plan."
Spirit looked at his daughter. "He wanted me punished for ruining everything, but because he didn't want to hurt my mother at first, he waited. And my mother..."
"What was she like?" Maka asked.
Spirit smiled. "She was the most amazing mother in the universe. I loved her so much." He looked across the room. "My life was pretty normal until I was twelve. When my mother passed-"
"How did that happen?" Maka asked, astounded.
"She saved me from him. It was then my father snapped and attacked me with a kitchen knife. He gashed the back of my neck but then went for a second blow and fatally stabbed my mother. She jumped in front of me and..."
"Papa? Are you okay?"
"I'm alright, sweetie." Spirit shook in his seat as he stifled his emotions, desperate to look strong to Maka. "My father kept me alive to avoid suspicion, and made her death look like an accident. He forced me not to tell anyone. Luckily I had enrolled into the DWMA by then so I could attend school. But whenever I was home, he'd beat me... And make me do all of the work in the house. He'd berate me, and say my mom's death was my fault- which I believed. And he'd make me do other things.... Awful things. Things I didn't want to do."
"You don't have to explain what if you don't have to." Maka held her father's hand. "What happened next?"
"Well not long after I met Stein and your mother, and having Marie as my best friend anyway, they soon found out."
"How?"
"Well your mother saw marks on my arms."
"Ow... Papa... What did she do?"
"They ended up telling Lord Death after proving what they thought. Cause they watched it happening through my bedroom window."
Maka nodded solemnly.
"So basically my dad got caught and sent to jail. I had nowhere to go so Stein offered to keep me with him. My life got better and I began to recover." Spirit sighed. "And that was that."
Maka couldn't say anything. She slowly wrapped her arms around her father's neck. A hug. A gesture she hadn't done in a good couple years it seems. Now she yearned for it more than anything else.
Her father immediately returned it. "Maka."
"Daddy... Had I have known..."
Spirit sunk his head on her shoulder. "Maka. I was so scared to tell you."
Maka nodded. "Promise me. Promise me you'll tell me anything you feel that you can't hold back."
Spirit hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "I promise you, baby girl. You do the same too, yes?"
"Yeah."
They held onto each other a while. A much needed embrace- to make up for the years they drifted apart.
Maka whispered once more. "I love you, papa. I don't tell you enough."
Spirit smiled, choking up slightly- but stifling it. "I love you too, silly. And I'll always know it."
A much needed shift in the previously troubled father-daughter relationship.

Footsteps crunched outside. A serpent's smile on serpent's lips. A voice as cold as the air around her, filled the emptiness as she gazed at the lodge.
"How adorable. But the war is about to begin. Let's see how this pans out, shall we?"