HOT N' SOUL - Cinderella, part I

HOT & SOUL
Soul Eater & Heart of Wildfire mix fanfiction
Logo & Story by G. Michel
Picture by Annria2002.deviantart.com

Disclaimer: SOUL EATER and their respective characters are the property of Atsushi Ohkubo and SQUARE ENIX. HEART OF WILDFIRE's characters are the property of Gregory Michel and Bessy Romero. This story is written for the sole and non-commercial purpose of fanbase entertaining.

RESIDENT EVIL is the property of CAPCOM


STORY 3
CINDERELLA, part I

It was Sunday, and the day's weather was slightly cloudy, but conquered by a magnificent azure sky with the glorious laughing sun splashing his warm rays over Death City. People walked around enjoying the fresh air and having fun. For the young scythe meister, it wasn't going to be that case.

She was dressed with a jean skirt and a blouse of the same texture with a shirt tainted with a soft shade of pink. Her hair was her usual style, the pig-tail on both sides of her head, tied with small red ribbons. She was ready to go out on this glorious day, but she'd wish some rain could mess her plan up just this once.

"I really don't want to go…" Maka said with a voice that defined perfectly zero-motivation.

"Then don't instead of whining like a… DAMN IT! SON OF A…!!" Soul replied as he and Sahn were concentrated in a game of RESIDENT EVIL: SIEGE IN DEATH CITY.

"Focus, Soul! I need you on this!!" Sahn snapped at him.

"Shut up! I know!"

"So…" Sahn embarked in the conversation. "What's the deal, Maka?"

"I have to spend the day with my Papa. I promised I would, but…" Her face sulked in depression. "I just can't stand him."

"Trust me, I feel you. Since I was married once, I don't really hold well cheating bastards in my heart. No offense."

"Trust me; none taken."

Mariciel was sitting at her ease on the other couch in the living room. She held a novel while Blair slept peacefully on her stomach. Her hand gently rubbed the cat's back and this one replied with a pleasing purring.

"You know, Maka…" She said turning a page. "Don't go if you don't feel like it. I mean, if you're honest with him, he won't mind. Besides, he hasn't been right with you and your mother, so he can't really force you on anything."

"Trust me, I know Mariciel…" Maka upped and slung her handbag around her shoulder. "But… He's my father and the only one I have. I know that if he'd die tomorrow, I'd have nothing but regrets about the time I wasn't able to spend with him."

"Hmm…" The others all hummed.

"Good point…" Soul replied.

"Well, I'm supposed to meet him at the fountain. I'll see you guys later."

"Try to have fun, okay?"

…

Maka arrived at the fountain. The water shined a million shades of light by the sun's reflection through it. Sitting down, she didn't waste any time opening a pocket novel from her handbag.

A few minutes went by. Many pages were already read by her dark-olive eyes. While she showed a serene and yet focused sight on her book, a long sigh awakened from her breath remembering Mariciel's words, in which she found a bit of truth.

She was spending time with her father, but not for the liking, more for obligation. And a voice asks her in her mind how long it would last.

"I know he wants to make it up for what he did to Mama…" She thought. "What's done is done. And I don't think I can bring myself to loving him the way I used to when I was a…"

"Hi Maka, I hope I didn't make you wait long."

Her father, Spirit Albarn, arrived awakening her from her thoughts.  He wore a wine-red shirt covered by a short-sleeved unbuttoned beige one and he wore knee-high pants of the same color. On such weather, he decided to put his usual attire in the closet.

"Hi Papa." She got up, but she didn't show any emotion on her face.

"I hope I didn't make you wait too long."

She waved her head lightly. "It's rare to see you dress casually."

"Oh, this? Well, it's a nice weather and I'd be suffocating in my usual clothing. So yeah…"

She drew a small smile. "I think that fits you better. You should dress more like that."
"Thank you, my little angel!"

"Oh stop calling me that!" She snapped back with a boring tone in her voice. Spirit whined in his corner whispering her daughter's name in sadness. A comical scene Maka was too used to see.

"So what do you want to do, Papa?"

"Well, you know that author you admire so much? Rickie Riordana, the author of Percia Jackson series."

"Oh yeah!"

"She's a friend of mine, and…"

"Wait." Maka swiftly raised an eyebrow to this recent news. "Please tell me you two didn't use to date…"

Spirit showed his embarrassment in a short laugh. "No, nothing like that… Back in my days in Shibusen…"

"Wait! She went to Shibusen?"

"She did. She was like a big sister to me. I still have bruises of her noogies she did on my skulls."

"Whoa… I didn't know she was like… that."

"She hides it well, trust me. It was from her I got the passion of reading, which I then passed onto you."

Maka truly admired Rickie Riordana. Her books telling the tales a young teenager in modern times, Percia Jackson, who discovers she is the daughter of Poseidon, god of the seas and earthquakes, got her so fascinated about Greek mythology. She couldn't count the number of times she read the 5-volume series, nor did she use it to hit Soul on his head.

"Well," Spirit continued. "She's actually in town for an autograph session at the Death City's library, so I was wondering…"

Maka's enthusiasm reached an instant peak by the sound of her father's recent words. "Of course I want to go! But… the lineup will be incredibly long though. We'll wait hours to see her."

"Not to worry!" He winked at her. "I already gave her a call and we can skip the line and see her without the wait. After all, we are childhood friends."

"All right! Thank you, Papa!"

"ANYTIIIIIME, MY LITTLE MAKA!" Spirit couldn't help but squeezing his daughter with a fatherly-love filled hug. Maka shook her head and sighed, but nonetheless, a small smile rose from her lips, not something that usually appears when spending time with her father.

Maka and Spirit talked about anything and everything into their discussion. The blond meister couldn't put her finger on it, but she noticed something about her father. She did notice it a while back, perhaps a few years ago, but it was still a mystery to her. While talking to him, she felt something that she hasn't felt towards him in years since her parents' divorce: admiration.

They stopped at an ice-cream shop and Spirit gallantly offered his daughter a cherry-mint flavored one. Maka believed the day was going good, maybe too good she thought to herself. But she didn't dislike it. She loved it. It was rare that she felt enjoyment while spending time with her father, knowing of his cheating behaviors that cost him his marriage and love and respect from his daughter.

"Oh, Spirit honey!" A seductive voice called the Deathscythe.

"Oh, great… It was too good to be true…" Maka whispered.

A beautiful woman appeared in Maka and Spirit's way. She had long hair of gold, sky-blue eyes and wore tight jeans that emphasized her curves and a short-sleeves shirt of red that hugged well her voluptuous chest. Every man's eyes around the area already started drooling over this reincarnation of Aphrodite on Earth.

Maka knew of his father's behavior towards women. She taught this day could be a good one, but from her point of view, it wouldn't happen. Nonetheless, she wasn't surprised.

"Did you miss me, baby?" The woman winked at him.

"Well, nice seeing you Papa." She said sarcastically. "I'll head to the library on my own, so you go have fun with-"

Surprisingly, Spirit held Maka's hand pulling her to him. "I'm sorry Maka, if I'd known they were whores on that street, I would have taken another road."

Maka didn't know who was mostly shocked: the blond woman being turned down by his father, or him actually turning down a drop-dead gorgeous beauty. Definitely both.

"Papa, did you just…?"

"Wait a minute!" The blond woman held both of them.

"For Death's sake, what?!" Spirit shouted at her.

"You dare called me a whore!? If you want to call someone like that, how about that little…!!"

Knowing she was about to call out Maka, Spirit's forearm erupted a long and horizontal shining curved blade; his deathscythe blade. It reflected the sun's light and looked so sharp that it would have cut through steel. But what was dreadful and threatening at that moment was the stare Spirit had. And for his daughter's honor, he was ready to kill over an insult, even a woman.

"Oh, and this is my daughter, Maka Albarn. Do you have anything else to say, Beth?" Beth was terrified and immobilized.

She lowered her head. "No…"

"Good. Because next time you want to call out somebody a whore, look yourself into the mirror instead of pointing over. I told you, I don't date anymore and my life is better that way. So stop whoring yourself around me! For Lord Death's sake, you're supposed to show girls like my daughter the example, not the other way around. Leave me alone and stop calling me!"

Beth, not daring lifting her head started shedding tears. She turned around and ran into the street not stopping at all.

Maka's eyes were petrified with stunt and shock. She thought she knew her father, but that facade he showed right now was something unseen and entirely new. She never believed in her life that her father, Death City's ultimate Casanova would actually turn down a beautiful woman. She actually felt a little sad for Beth and the way she was treated, and yet… She felt strangely happy about it.

"I'm sorry, Maka…" Spirit finally said after 10 minutes of silence. "I shouldn't have acted like that."

"Papa, I…"

"I just didn't want her to mess up our day together and…"

"That was… the coolest thing you ever done!"

"I know, I know, I shouldn't…" Spirit turned towards his daughter with a clueless face. "Wait, what?"

"Okay, maybe you treated her in harsh way, I admit. And it wasn't very nice." The young meister's face flushed. "But, I was impressed the way you stood up for me."

"What are you saying? Of course I'll stand up for you. You're my daughter!"

"Is it true what you said? That you stopped dating?"

"I did."

"How long so far?"

Spirit scratched the back of his head. "I don't think you'd believe me."

"Well, seeing how you've treated that girl, I don't think I have any reason not to."
Spirit showed a number through his fingers. "Six…"

"What?" Maka asked, not impressed. "Only six days?" Her father shook his dead. "Six weeks?"

"No."

Maka's voice tone upped an inch. "6 months…?"

"Actually…" Spirit said, scratching the back of his head again. "It's been six years."

…

The father-daughter day went as splendid as ever. But Maka just couldn't believe her father, legendarily known for his womanizing ways, has stopped dating for a lot of six entire years. The rest of the gang at home couldn't believe it either.

"SIX YEARS?!" They said in unison learning the news from Maka.

"Wait, that's impossible! Especially for him!" Soul said.

"I'd like to agree with you, Soul," Maka said. "You should have seen how he handled that girl Beth and made her feel real bad about herself. I was stunt! Something has changed in him… And usually I can see when he lies, but this time… he was saying the truth."

"Well, nya…" Blair looked thoughtfully. "That would explain a lot of things?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, usually he's always at the bar. But it's been a few years since he's hasn't come seen us. To be exact: I can't believe it has been already six years. When I come visit him at home, you know what we do?"

"I got a feeling you won't be telling us a sex story." Soul said.

"MAKA-CHOP!" Soul's skull was buried in the floor.

"Ouch…" Sahn winced by this new brother's pain.

"What do you do?" asked Mariciel.

"Well, we play video games, watch horror movies, stuff that best friends do, you know. I don't mind, and we're actually having fun. But he's not flirty anymore."

"Well…" Mariciel said. "I'm guessing he's changed his way… and it worked."

"But for six years? Why? And how?" Maka replied. "And also, after the day we spent together, he told me he won't be available for the next seven days, saying that it was a surprise for me, but he needs that amount of time to get everything ready. What's so important in seven days?"

While her head stared at the arced couch they were sitting, everyone else watched each other, with the answer lying obviously in their eyes. Soul waved his head to the others to not tell her. The others acknowledged.

"Come on, Maka." Soul laced around her shoulder. "You've always wanted your dad to be as such. Now he is. Just be cool about it and enjoy, right?"

"I guess you're right…" Her face lit up in surprise. "Oh, I almost forgot!"

"What?" Soul asked.

"Another weird thing Papa asked me; You and Sahn are to go to his apartment now."

"Why?" Sahn and Soul looked at each other. But Maka could only shrugged her shoulders for an answer.

…

Soul and Sahn knocked at the grayish door of Spirit's apartment.

"What do you think he wants?" Sahn said frowning his eye.

"Beats me, dude…" Soul replied.

Spirit answered the door, wearing his usual deathscythe suit. "Ah, I see Maka delivered you my message. Come on in."

Spirt's apartment was very vast and elegant. To the left was well-garnished kitchen connected with a spacious living room where a plasma 40-inches flat TV was hanging on the wall. Straight forward was leading to the balcony giving a good view to the city. On the right was a hall leading to the bedrooms, but just before was a round table where many sheets ruled. It was as if someone spent days and night trying to compose something.

"Nice crib, man!" Sahn whistled.

"So, what's the deal?" Soul asked.

"I need your help on this." Spirit picked up some of the sheets on the table and gave them to Soul and Sahn to drop an eye. Within just a few seconds, the young deathscythes' eyes widened with surprise and wonder of the content stared by their eyes.

"That's… a bit cool, I guess." Soul said.

"I don't know Soul," Sahn replied. "It's quite good actually. So you're writing this for Maka. That's the big surprise in seven days, right?"

"Yes." Spirit said. "But I need help to complete it, and also some music along with it. And knowing of the musical talents you two possess, I was wondering…"

"We'll help." Soul said.

"Yeap! Me too."

"You will?"

"Maka's my partner. It's not cool to not help prepare a big surprise for her."

"You know, Soul," Sahn said mischievously. "Would it kill you to say you got something for her? Dare tell me she ain't the coolest girl you met."

"Oh, shut up. Now to work."

Sahn smirked. "As I thought."

"You haven't changed a bit in these last six years, Soul."

"Contrary to you, as I heard."

"Yeah. I changed. For the better, hopefully."

Sahn and Soul didn't want to weigh questions to him about his new behavior. Indeed, it was for the best that Spirit stopped his womanizing ways. And they weren't going to ask why.

"You know Soul," Spirit said. "You're the only man that I can allow around Maka. They better be no one else."

"What exactly do you mean by that?"

Spirit cracked a smile hidden from the boys' sight. "Nothing. Let's get to work."

"The hell?"

"Dude, seriously, that was pretty obvious."

"What?"

"Never mind…"

Cinderella - End of Part I