Archive of Our Own ^beta

Kid heaved out a sigh he wasn’t even aware he was holding, although his stature had turned rigid once more after noticing a piercing set of blood red eyes turning back to look in his direction.

“Seems we meet again Shinigami ,” the demon snarled as he clutched the metallic blue soul within a open palm, probing Kid’s stomach to feel empty at the thought of it belonging to the lifeless young maiden laid beneath the foul creature.

“We will run you out of our village one day or another Soul Eater, ” Kid spat out before watching the demon open his mouth to reveal a set of horrid sharp teeth.

It took everything in his power not to shoot the creature at the spot while gazing at his  jovial sneer, hoping that his patience would reward him with new information about where exactly Soul Eater had spawned from.

“To be honest I am gettin’ pretty bored of this shitty lil’ village. Leaving without a parting gift would simply sour my mood though, so how about an exchange?” Soul Eater purred while Kid narrowed his eyebrows even further than they’d already been.

“What kind of exchange?” the Shinigami questioned, the statement leaving a sour taste within his mouth.

“I will leave this village for good if your head priestess agrees to become my bride…”

———————————————————————

“This is the third victim this week,” Maka mumbled, although Kid could tell that she was trying to keep her focus on bathing the corpse the Thompsons and him had brought over to the temple after Soul Eater had fled once more.

“We won’t let him have his way Maka,” Kid spoke, hoping that it would appease some of the tension which had built up in the air after they’d told the young woman about the demon’s request.

However, he discerned his words to have a completely opposite effect by the way the priestess’s shoulders slumped in the midst of performing her duties.

“Do you really think we have a choice…” Maka had then whispered before interrupting their conversation to say a quick prayer to his father in order for the lost soul to find it’s way towards peace.

“You do not have to act so tough about this y’know. We’re here to-“

“I am not trying to act tough! I just-“ Maka then shouted over Liz’s accusation before her body crumpled down onto the tiled floor, leaving Liz and Patty to go comfort the young woman while Kid gazed between the bloodied rags used to clean the corpse and Maka’s smooth white dress to steel his resolve.

———————————————————————

He may be a god, but that doesn’t mean he can’t feel the entire wheel of emotions human beings circle through  during their lifetime. The most notable reminder for him of this statement was how often than naught he’d spend his nights in the arms of Black*Star, although this particular night seemed to lead his mind past the assassin and towards his friend.

“You’ll just melt your brain into a puddle if you don’t stop yer’ thinking,” Black*Star murmured into Kid’s ear, causing pinpricks to form across the Shinigami’s neck as he picked at the words given to him.

I suppose he is right. What good will ceaseless thinking do for me now? Black*Star is practically Maka’s older brother, so if he believes I should- Kid mentally noted, only to be slammed back into reality by the screech of a signal horn indicating that the village guards had gone into battle with a demon.

He’d zipped out of Black*Star’s bed with an equal amount of grace as a frightened cat before swinging the door open and noticing a line of shoulders sprinting in the direction of the temple.

The Shinigami’s vision then focused upon the sight of Maka standing tall on the few steps leading into the temple with her sword poised in a fighting stance, all while Soul Eater chuckled darkly in front of her.

“I have come to hear the answer to my request priestess,” Soul Eater barked, probing Maka’s harsh demeanor to show the faintest sign of breaking.

“NO MAKA, DO NOT-“

“You swear to keep your word if I become your bride?” Maka spoke over Kid’s shouts while he watched her bare feet descend from the temple steps.

“I plan to keep my word…” Soul Eater chuckled before Maka finally made contact with the packed dirt below them, allowing Kid a terse moment to wonder if he’d imagined the slight tremble of her polished sword as the demon inched closer towards her.

“And don’t ya’ worry, I don’t plan to eat you…” the monster then added before an air of confusion rang through the temple grounds, only to be broken once his fanged hands dug into Maka’s neck.

“After all, there’s only one thing I like better than gluttony and that’d be lust,” Soul Eater boomed, leaving Kid to still his erratic heartbeat before he barked orders at the terrified soldiers and noticed Liz fire Patty towards the abomination that held their friend’s life in the palms of his hands.

———————————————————————

Maka believed it had taken far too long for her to placate Kid and Tsubaki about being alright and needing some space alone, although it all seemed to work out as she used the faint light of a small lantern to navigate her way through the still woods and towards her destination.

Her footsteps were quick and silent, showing how long she’d been hiding in the shadows of the village in anticipation that the villagers would engage within the sins they’d vehemently abhor when feeling her watchful eyes on them during the daytime.

She smiled faintly at the sight of a large cave made of carved limestone, only letting the hood of her cape down once slipping into the familiar cracks and turns of the bedrock before her.

It didn’t take long for Maka to instinctively turn a corner and be met with a pair of jittery crimson eyes, causing her to let out a dry chuckle while she watched Soul spring out of his bed and come bolting in her direction.

She couldn’t resist greeting him with an airy giggle as he pulled her into a embrace, which she happily returned in kind until he slowly backed away and ghosted his fingers over the small indents his claws had left over the thin skin around her neck.

“Does it hurt?” Soul whimpered, earning him another chuckle from Maka before she circled one her fingers against the bandaged skin where Liz’s bullet had grazed his shoulder.

“A little, but your acting was superb! It won’t be long now. We can gather you a few more souls and then leave this village together ,” Maka hummed as Soul rested his forehead against hers, allowing the priestess to swiftly capture his lips against her own and bathe in the familiar residuals of human souls against her lips.

———————————————————————

“I say we send a search party and ambush that good-for-nothin’-“

“We have already tried that twice Spirit,” Marie hummed before the small crowd flinched when the man in question slammed a fist onto the small wooden table in the center of the room.

“This is ridiculous! I will not simply watch as my daughter becomes that wretched demon’s play thing!” the redhead practically roared while Kid noticed how similar his eyes seemed to look with Maka’s when she had set her resolve on a certain goal.

“Don’t fret too much old man. I’m sure Maka has some sort of plan to slit the demon’s throat while he’s fast asleep…or at somethin’ similar to that,” Black*Star then retorted before lifting one of his palms to rest on the small of Kid’s back, serving as the push the Shinigami needed to lead the meeting he’d called for.

“Our sources say that the first killing Soul Eater could be traced to was that of a northern village,” Kid exclaimed as he pointed at a chiseled image of a large village on the leather map scrawled across the wooden table.

“Our best bet would be to send Marie and Stein to investigate this village and find out more about his origins,” the reaper then elaborated while looking up and noticing a cloud of smoke billow out of Stein’s mouth as he lazily rested his smoke pipe in an outstretched hand.

“Anything specific we should look out for?” Stein then mumbled, although Kid could hear him clearer than any other sound in the room.

He hated the way his heart always seemed to sink at the thought of using his raw unbinding powers.

“The demon’s true name. I am sure you know that he started off as human. If we find out his true name and lineage, we find a way to use my reaper abilities and blight him to hell…”

———————————————————————

It was getting harder for Maka to put on a begrudged priestess act as the night continued to progress.

The village had decided to hold a festival in her honor before she was to be sacrificed as the demon’s bride, leaving her to sit in front of the large crowd and say her goodbyes to whomever would come up to her with a weary expression.

While she may have been able to come into direct contact with corrupt tradesmen, a single murderer, and a handful of abusive spouses, she grew bored of gathering information about the next crop of souls she and Soul planned to reap.

However, the young woman was able to make the night much more lively for herself by asking for a generous amount of wine from Patty and using the warmth of the drink to sweep Tsubaki into a dance with the brisk music.

The crowd appeared to grow more alive as her dancing continued, leaving Maka out of breath as she slowed enough to guide Tsubaki into Liz’s arms and run off towards the edge of the village.

She’d been too enthralled in a silent prayer asking of Shinigami-sama that Liz and Tsubaki lay their hearts to one other that night to even notice that how she’d inadvertently stepped into a darkened alleyway where Black*Star and Kid appeared to be hiding from the crowd.

The young woman had quickly been able to brush off the awkward experience by giving them both a knowing smirk and running off into the night once more, happy to see that Kid had made a substantial amount of progress in meeting her brother’s advances.

The sight of large oak trees and ample shrubbery caused the young woman to let out a string of giggles once she felt the familiar twinge of a red soul dance along with her laughter.

Long tanned arms buried her into an embrace soon after, leaving her to kiss the crook of Soul’s neck in greeting as he hummed into her flaxen strands of hair.

“ Hmmm someone has been indulging in the wine I gave him,” Maka giggled after noticing the faint scent of alcohol wafting around her each time Soul released a breath.

“ Mmm , thought it’d make me feel as if I was part of the weddin’ festivities too,” Soul replied, causing Maka’s spirits to slightly wane at the thought of her betrothed grappling with how his humanity had been snipped away from him.

“Well, I know of another way we could do that,” the priestess purred as she raised the ends of her silken emerald dress in a curtsey, leaving Soul to raise an eyebrow at her before his body molded into a low bow.

Their movements were swift and fluid, allowing Maka to bask in the thought of how inseparable they’d become during the two years of their secret partnership .

It only seemed natural for them to venture off in hopes of stealing back Soul’s humanity now that their souls were so intertwined.

“We can’t dally for too long, otherwise there won’t be any souls for us to-“

“Let’s just forget about that for tonight…” Soul suggested over Maka’s assessment, causing the young woman to roll her eyes before displaying a wide grin once Soul twirled her a few feet off the ground.

“Very well. I suppose I should listen to my fiancé when he asks so kindly for a favor…”

———————————————————————

It seemed as if the entirety of Death Village had shown up to watch her become their sacrificial lamb.

She and Soul had planned for him to appear before Kid one final time a few days beforehand, although this time it was only to inform the shinigami that Soul Eater would be waiting by a small clearing in the woods at sunset for his bride.

The young woman had been whisked away at noon to take a long bath that left her nostrils burned with the smell of honeysuckle, usher in Tsugumi as the new head priestess, and fit herself into a black billowy dress and thin veil that draped across her face.

She couldn’t help but notice how the procession leading towards the clearing seemed to be akin to that of a funeral, causing her to gaze at the sullen faces of her papa and friends and wonder if they would make the same faces if they knew the truth of this bargain.

Her mind was set at ease once catching a glimpse of ivory hair in the distance, signaling for the village dwellers to stand a few feet back as Maka slowly walked towards Soul.

It took everything in her power not to mirror the shark-toothed grin the demon had plastered over his face.

Instead, she tried to play the part of a dutiful priestess by turning her face away when Soul reached out and tucked a few strands of her hair behind one of her ears.

The shout she let out once he hoisted her into a bridal-style hold had been completely genuine, forcing the young woman to busy her hands with smoothing out the inky fabric of her dress instead of shouting at Soul to warn her about the action beforehand.

“I shall be takin’ my leave now. Thank you for the gift,” Soul jeered before Maka hung her head to sweeten their performance.

“MAKA! PLEASE BE BRAVE!” one of the bystanders called out while Soul turned his back to the crowd, allowing her to pinpoint the voice as belonging to Kid.

“I plan to be…” Maka shouted back before Soul let out a snort at the statement and started to walk further into the woods.

The pair continued their journey in relative silence for a moment, with the young woman allowing her body to relax against Soul’s once discerning that they were a considerable distance away from the crowd.

“You can put me down now Soul,” Maka mumbled, only to feel the demon’s chest vibrate against her frame.

“What if I don’t wanna…” Soul whined before Maka slapped one of her hands against his stubbled jaw.

“You don’t wish to see your wife’s face?” Maka replied with a clear lilt to her voice, leaving Soul to let out a giggle and help her get back onto her feet.

The demon then grazed his claws against the sheer fabric of the veil shrouding Maka’s face before gliding it upwards in order for their eyes to meet.

“Hi…,” Soul hummed while he cupped his hands against Maka’s cheeks, eliciting the priestess to let out her own giggle and rest her forehead against his.

“You’re completely sure about this?” Soul questioned just as Maka’s hand was about to fly downwards and grasp his own.

“Hm?” she added before gazing up and being met with verdant eyes bearing the overwhelming sense of uncertainty she had  grown to associate with Soul when he’d first shown up on the outskirts of the village.

“You’d be leavin’ everyone you know behind. What about your family, your friends?” the demon mumbled, probing Maka’s fingers to graze between his before she flitted her eyes shut and observed the familiar hum of his soul.

It might’ve seemed completely red to the naked eye, but the small speckles of blue splattered about had been ingrained into her mind deeper than any of the prayers she’d learned as head priestess.

“Of course. And besides, I have hope that I will meet with them again once we find a way to turn you back human,” Maka added before watching Soul absorb her shining resolve as she started the hymn performed for marriages.

“Do you, Soul Eater Evans, lay your body and soul to me alone…” Maka announced as she felt his palms press up against her own.

“I do,” the demon replied.

“And I, Maka Albarn, lay my body and soul to thee alone. As priestess of the temple of Shinigami, I bless our matrimony and pray it will last now and for eternity,” the priestess added while morphing her lips into a small smile once noticing the slight gleam over Soul’s eyes as she recited one final prayer and joined them together into a kiss.

She sighed against her husband’s chest, with the feeling of his feathery lips against her own burning this moment into the young woman’s mind and allowing her to drown in the realization of how she’d finally been freed from the shackles the temple had on her.

“Hmmm, I suppose you must be starving,” Maka tittered after planting her heels back onto the ground once pulling away from Soul, earning her a swift nod from the demon.

She slid a hand into her wedding dress and retrieved the small leather sack she had tucked within her corset.

Her hands then gingerly untied the bindings of the pouch to reveal the bright cerulean souls she’d reaped the night before for her beloved.

———————————————————————

The air around the village appeared to be tight and constricting to almost everyone, probing Kid to breathe in through his nostrils at the thought of how their situation had caused even his immortal body to feel sickened.

“Stein and Marie should have arrived by now,” Kid stated as he paced the smooth marble flooring of the temple while Liz and Patty peered out the window to see if Black*Star had emerged out the woods after ambling into them in a crazed frenzy, with only Tsubaki and a small group of soldiers following after him.

“It hasn’t even been a week yet has it? I say we wait another day and then-“

“Do you think Maka will be fine for another day?” Patty cut through her sister’s suggestion, essentially rendering the air in the room to grow even more stiff if that were even possible.

The trio sat in relative silence while hastily churning through attack plans when the large double doors of the temple pushed open to reveal Stein and Marie with Black*Star and Tsubaki trailing behind them closely.

“Were you able to find it?” Kid questioned before Black*Star gently grabbed his wrist and began to lead the group down the broad temple steps.

“Black*Star was able to find Maka and Soul Eater near a cave in the middle of the woods. I’ll explain on the way there,” Marie stated, eliciting Kid to nod his head and deftly catch Liz and Patty once he noticed the faint light indicating they had transformed behind him.

The group ambled through the silent village and into the dark pits of the woods.

“We were able to get in touch with a bounty hunter in the village where Soul Eater first struck. There was an interesting lead in the village to the north…” Marie elaborated as they neared the cave.

“And the lead was?” Tsubaki questioned before Kid raised an eyebrow at the way Marie’s face contorted into a grimace.

“A witch named Medusa had abducted Selwyn Evans, son of the noble Evans family on the night of his 18th birthday after he had run off into the woods. The public was told he had been maimed in the forest by a wild animal, but the guards had clearly seen the witch whisk him away. A village girl claimed to have also seen a young man matching his exact description in the woods the morning after, only with red eyes and white hair,” Stein finished while grasping Marie’s handle as they skidded to a stop just before reaching the cave.

“So that would mean-“ Kid started, only to bite his tongue once noticing Maka sprawled on the demon’s lap with a human soul plucked between her fingers.

——————————————————————-

“You don’t think eatin’ this many is too greedy?” Soul chuckled, probing Maka to stretch her body ontop his legs and breathe in the fresh air of the spring night.

“I suppose it is, but why not indulge yourself on your wedding night?” Maka giggled before plucking a soul out of the sack and motioning for Soul to open his mouth.

The priestess felt a sense of satisfaction wash over her at the way her husband effortlessly gulped down the blue morsel, wondering if the soul could feel any sense of anguish from being devoured.

She supposed it would be nice to indulge herself in the thought, since it would serve as yet another fruit of labor from her continuous reaping with Soul.

Her fingers had barely reached downwards to close the sack when she felt an uneasiness blossom in her stomach, forcing her eyes to zip towards the side and notice Kid and the Thompsons emerge from the foliage.

“Shit. I didn’t think they would come so quick-“

“I call upon my late father and the shinigami before him to give me strength in expelling the evil before us…” Kid shouted, causing Maka’s heart to sink towards the ground as she dreadfully recognized the phrase the death god had uttered.

“Selwyn Evans, son of Aneirin and Cecilia Evans, may the depths of hell emerge and lay claim to what is theirs…” Kid continued before Maka gasped at the thick black tendrils which hissed out the ground and wrapped themselves around Soul’s hands and feet.

“KID, KID PLEASE STOP!” Maka shouted while her arms grasped at the vines, trying to ignore her friend’s boisterous words and Soul’s pleas for her to leave him behind.

“Don’t stop Kiddo, the demon might’ve put her under some sort of spell!” Liz shouted as Kid’s chanting waned in confusion.

The shinigami’s newfound confidence seemed to usher in an eerie wave of calm in Maka’s mind as she gazed into her husband’s eyes and grimaced at how small and frightened his pupils appeared to be.

“Soul…transform,” Maka mumbled before being washed in a blinding blue light and noticing the soothing warmth of the demon’s handle against her small palms.

However, the next barrage of movements and sensations all seemed to be blurred together.

The burning sensation in her muscles as she and Soul used their combined resonance to break free from the tendrils.

The sensation of her lungs taking in choking breaths while she lunged towards Kid.

The sensation of warm blood running down her elbows as she stared at her friend’s sunken expression and gaping hole in the middle of his mangled jawline.

“I-I’m sorry Kid…” Maka murmured, not daring to look at the other’s faces as she ran off into the night with Soul clutched against her chest, wondering if killing a god would reap even more sins in the eyes of the Shinigami than the lives of the blue souls she had snatched away in their hasty escape.