Of Music and Meister Ch 15

Ch 15

The day was hot. The earth cooked and cracked beneath the laughing sun, not that this was anything new. The desert was always hot but today it seemed to be getting to Soul more than usual. Thank Shinigami their new Spartoi uniforms were white. He felt like he might collapse from heat stroke if he were wearing black.

High over the wind-swept desert and against the flawless blue sky, Jackie and Kim demonstrated flying for the new Death Scythe and his partner. However, it was quickly becoming less of a demonstration and more of an excuse to show off for the airborne duo as they artfully raised high into the air then turned into a carefully controlled nosedive which scooped up in a sudden burst of speed.  Soul kept his 'too cool to be impressed' persona as he watched them play. Inside, however, he felt apprehensive about all this.

"You really think we can pull off a thing like that?" He asked Maka as Jackie and Kim performed a perfectly executed loop.

"Well, you're a Death Scythe now…. I… I'm sure flying should be simple enough." Maka replied in a voice not nearly as confident as her words.

"Just because Soul-kun is now a Death Scythe doesn't mean you can fly just like that." Marie cut in, taking charge of the pair's first Death Scythe lesson, "However Maka-chan, your soul takes the grigori form, said to only appear in one in fifty million people, yes? The advanced wavelength control that a Death Scythe gains from a witch's soul it has obtained can give rise to magical abilities. If you can use that to manifest angel wings, then you may be able to fly. You have a lot of training ahead of you! Attempting to achieve flight by mastering your wavelength control is a good staring point. So good luck, little angel!" Marie finished with a warm smile. At the affectionate term 'little angel' Maka's eyes lit up.

"A-a-angel?! All right!" Maka said with joy and determination.

"Maka? An angel…?" Soul muttered to himself. He must not have been as quiet as he thought since Maka turned and answered with a light blush on her face.

"And what's wrong with that?" She questioned "It would be nice to be called an angel every once in a while. With Ox-kun going around calling Kim an angel just like that… and everything…" She trailed off, the pink darkening in her cheeks. Soul didn't say anything. Honestly, he didn't know what to say. He wasn't sure how much to read into her words. The immediate implications of her comment caused his heart to race and pink to rise in his face. He hardly dared to hope that she might actually have hinted that she liked him. Almost immediately, doubt rose to shatter his new-found fragile hope. *No, she doesn't like me and I was stupid to think she might. She's just excited for this 'angel' thing and is blushing because it sounds so uncool* which it did. Soul hated this. It wasn't cool to go through this many emotions this quickly and the rapid rise and fall in his gut was making him feel sick. So, he ended the awkwardness and distracted himself from his feelings the only surefire way he knew; teasing.

"Well… if you like, I guess…?" He said as he casually returned to watching Jackie and Kim with a toothy sideways smirk. The effect was perfect and immediate.

"You're kind of pissing me off…!" Maka growled back in a dangerous voice. Soul just smiled and mentally congratulated himself. Another awkward situation coolly averted.

"What's that? You know I'm always saying you're my little angel!!!" Soul should have known it was only a matter of time before he showed up. He shouldn't have been surprised that he appeared to slither from behind a random stone that sat beside his beloved daughter but Spirit's momentary resemblance to a lecherous snake was so uncanny Soul couldn't help but be surprised.  

"I don't want to be called and angel by you. And when did you get here?" Maka asked smoothly, not bothering to disguise the disgust in her voice. Soul didn't blame her. He was beginning to feel nauseous again with disgust himself. Marie cut in to diffuse the situation.

"There's nobody better than Spirit-sensei when it comes to controlling soul wavelengths and women—"

"Hey!"

"—so I asked him to come help. Better get ready you two!"

"We're gonna do this, Maka." Soul announced proudly as he transformed into his new Death Scythe form. To be perfectly honest, he loved his new form. His ego was boosted further as he felt the curious gazes of Jackie and Kim who had never seen him as a Death Scythe before. He couldn't blame them for staring. There was no cooler demon weapon alive! His coloring was mostly the same but his grey coloring had lightened to a elegant and shimmering silver. His eye at the top of the shaft was much more prominent and ornate with golden wing-like accents and embellishments. His blade was much longer and curved more dramatically. It still sported a zig-zag pattern of red and black close to the handle but it smoothed out into a simple but dramatic straight line of contrasting color which followed the flow of the blade. Soul didn't have time to revel in the attention for long. Before he really realized what was happening, Maka had swung him around, planted his blade deep in the desert sand and straddled his handle.

Now, Soul usually didn't feel much while in his weapon form. While in battle he felt being swung about by Maka but it never made him feel dizzy or uncomfortable. He could feel his blade slicing through his enemies but it was more like pressure, resistance and warmth from blood. He felt pain occasionally but only when enemies would dig into his metal-like finish. As far as his meister was concerned, he felt her more in a spiritual sense than physical, feeling her thoughts and emotions. Physically, he could always feel Maka's small hands holding him firmly but she almost always wears gloves so what sensation was present usually was considerably dulled. This however, was new to say the least. He hadn't expected to be able to feel this much. Her inner thighs felt smooth and supple as they gripped his shaft firmly. Her crotch was pressed against the smooth metal of his handle, making Soul incredibly aware of its impossible softness and warmth. He was still baking from the hot sun but her heat was so different and seemed to make his very blood burn with desire. Thank everything holy and available that she was wearing leggings. Soul wasn't sure how he'd react if she wasn't.

Apparently, Soul wasn't the only one noticing the obvious awkwardness of their compromising position. Everyone was silent for a long and awkward moment but everyone decided to ignore it as best they could.

"All ready now?" Spirit asked, breaking the strained silence. Desperate for a distraction, Soul concentrated hard on Spirit's voice and prayed for instructions.

"Y-yes." Maka responded nervously.

"In order to maintain a high level of wavelength control, the weapon and meister must focus on a common image. For now, let's use the image of Kim and Jackie flying that you both witnessed."

"An image of flying…" Maka muttered to herself.

"Maka…"

"Yeah." Together, they concentrated on flying. Slowly, soul energy began to rise and swirl around the pair. Maka urged Soul to reduce the length of his blade and he felt himself smoothly obey.

"Very good. Now synchronize your soul wavelengths and form a mental image of wings." Soul closed his eyes and concentrated hard on wings as Maka did the same. The built up Soul energy condensed around Soul's head and transformed into a pair of softly glowing and very cool wings. That was when things stopped going smoothly.

Soul first felt something weird when Maka glanced over her shoulder at their new pair of wings with a disappointed and disapproving look. Suddenly, to both of their surprise, they started to very awkwardly lift into the air.

"Very good, very good Soul!! Go on! Picture Maka like a real angel!!" Sprit shouted up at the pair.

"A-angel…?" Soul thought, distracted from his concentration by Spirit's outburst. Maka? An angel? That didn't compute in Soul's mind. The Maka he knew was not very angelic. Hell, she was much more demon-like that he was and he's a living demon scythe! Not that he was complaining. That was what Soul loved about Maka (he liked girls with attitude after all) but that image, he found out too late, was not very conducive to their current task. Almost immediately, the damage was done. They shook and flailed violently in the air before turning over completely and plummeting the short distance back to earth. Soul transformed immediately and just barely managed to position himself under Maka to cushion her fall. He hit the ground hard, dull pain spreading through his back but he forgot about that quickly when his meister landed squarely on his stomach knocking most of the air out of him. It took a few moments to recover from the fall.

"What are you playing at?!! IDIOT!!! You suck!" yelled a fully recovered Maka as she punched Soul repeatedly around his head.  

"The hell? Why's it gotta be my fault?" Soul muttered, throwing an annoyed glare at his meister over the partial shielding of his shoulder. She stopped hitting him but only so she could scream more.

"And what was with those wings?!! Can't I have some nice big, fluffy cute ones?!!"

"Does it really matter as long as we can fly?" Soul grumbled, feeling more and more irritated.

"I want proper angel wings!!" She shrieked. Soul had tolerated enough.

"Man you're demanding…" He sighed. He thought about leaving it there and he would have if he wasn't as annoyed but he, like an idiot, kept going.

"Besides, what's up with this sudden angel obsession? Just because you've apparently got this grigori soul or whatever… Is it that big a deal? Seems pretty stupid…" He regretted saying it as soon as he finished. A look of deep hurt ghosted across Maka's face sending a stab of guilt through Soul's heart. He thought about apologizing but as suddenly as it had come the look was gone, replaced with rage. Soul braced himself as she took a deep breath.

"WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU? YOU IDIOT!! I WISH I'D PARTNERED WITH OX-KUN INSTEAD OF YOU!!!"

That caught him off guard.

"Huh?! What's Ox-kun got to do with this?!!" Soul yelled back, feeling angry and deeply hurt. He just didn't understand her sometimes. How did this argument go from angel wings to Ox? He couldn't help it. The idea of Maka leaving him caused him to panic. He kept yelling, grasping at what straws he had.

"Hell he's a MEISTER isn't he?!"

"THAT'S NOT WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!! IDIOT!" She shrieked.