Soul's P.O.V.
"Come on weirdo we're going to be late." I said.

Maka gave me one of her terrifying smiles before holding up a hardcover book, "what did you call me?"

I sweat-dropped as I hastily shook my head.

"N-nothing!"

She burst out into adorable giggles. My face heated up and I spun around so that I could conceal my blush...not cool.

"Let's go!" She squealed.

My mouth formed a small smile at her eagerness. We mounted my trusty motorcycle as her arms circled themselves around my waist.

Yet another blush crept onto my face. I glared at the road while trying to calm my beating heart.

Why did she always have to do this to me?

"So...oul...SOUL!" Her voice screeched.

We were already at our destination. Maka was standing in front of me with her arms crossed.

I snapped out of my thoughts and looked up at her. My hand unconsciously covered the spot where she had been holding on. Our eyes were locked together and an emotion flashed behind her eyes. Worry?

She averted her gaze and then headed up the steps of the DWMA.
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"Hey! Hi! How ya doin'?" Lord Death questioned.

Maka bowed politely before answering, "we're here to go on a mission. You know...the one you asked us to do."

Death cocked his head to the side as both Maka and I sweat dropped.

"Oh right! I need you to go take care of a Kishin egg. There were supposed to be lost hikers, but one of them completely lost it and ate the others. He even devoured their souls along with them."

Maka tensed up at the description, but my thoughts were elsewhere. This mission is definitely a three-star job. The terrain sucks. The enemy is dangerous. No doubt the weather will also have a grudge against my partner and I. This is absolutely crazy.

"We'll do it." Maka said simply.

I held in my protests as Lord Death gave us our coordinates and we headed off.

As soon as we were out of earshot and outside, I let my emotions spill.

"Maka! What the heck are you thinking taking on a job like this?!" I yelled.

She looked down to the ground and bit her lip while rubbing her arm. 

"99." She said.

"What?" I asked.

"99. This will be our 99th kishin soul if we succeed. It's your dream to become a Death Scythe. I want to see your dream come true."

I could only stare at her in awe. She lifted her gaze and then started walking in the direction of my motorcycle.

She would go on an extremely dangerous mission for me?

I shook the thought from my head as I ran after her.
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Gosh it was cold, probably a couple of degrees above freezing.

Maka rubbed her gloved hands together before securing her earmuffs over her pigtails.

"Alright Soul we need to-" she was cut off as a bloodcurdling howl echoed across the frigid base of the mountain.

The snow picked up and the wind blew it sideways.

Maka gave me a sideways glance and I nodded in understanding. My body glowed as I swiftly turned into my scythe form.

"You ready Soul?" She asked.

I licked my lips in anticipation, "let's go Maka."

She took off running on the fresh powder while leaping from rock to rock. My eyes were scanning our surroundings. She would glance through her peripheral vision.

We were now at least halfway up the mountain, and the climb was becoming steeper. She placed one foot down onto an icy rock when it suddenly crumbled and began to fall.

"Maka!" I shouted in worry.

She grit her teeth and used the falling boulder as leverage to propel herself up and to safety.

I sighed with an overwhelming relief, "be more careful ok?"

She exhaled shakily, "alright."

The howl we had heard earlier was within earshot yet again.

Maka looked up only to see the kishin we were hunting.

He was the remains of a huge, burly man. His eyes were crusted over with ice and some parts of his skin were black from frostbite. A bloody icicle hung from his frozen mouth. His neck hung at a sickening angle, almost as if it had been broken.

Maka sucked in a breath before charging. The lost hiker didn't seem to like that and he charged back at her with an animal-like rage.

She pulled her arms back and then began twirling me around. My blade glistened as the light was reflected from the snow. Maka directed the light at the hiker and he was temporarily blinded.

He staggered backwards and she moved in for the kill. Suddenly, he grabbed her arm and sunk his teeth into it. She screamed in pain before forcefully swinging my scythe blade at him. He seemed dazed. When he licked his lips, Maka finally let out a whimper of pain. When I looked at the hiker's body, there was no evidence of damage. His body was frozen solid.

My eyes widened in horror as the hiker looked at Maka with a terrifying hunger. He enjoyed the taste of her flesh. She leaned on me for support while gripping her arm.

My anger was present as my blade began to heat up.

"How dare you touch my meister!" I shouted.

Her head snapped up in realization, but I barely noticed. My thoughts were trained on ripping this guy to pieces.

Maka quickly began swinging me around and sliced at the hiker. My rage was boiling inside of me. She swung harder and faster in a quick barrage of fury. Our soul wavelengths were in perfect synchronization.

"Genie Hunter!" Maka yelled as my blade grew to a gargantuan size. She delivered the final slash before doing a couple of back handsprings to gain some distance between us. Maka smiled and then slung me over her shoulders. The hiker gazed at us in confusion before his body steamed and he fell apart; his body unraveling until only his red soul remained.

I transformed back into my human form before scolding Maka.

"Be more careful next time." I stated.

She puffed out her cheeks, "yeah, yeah. Go get your 99th soul."

Although she was smiling, her eyes looked sad. I held her gaze for a little bit longer before reaching over and grasping the kishin egg. My tongue savored the delicious flavor before swallowing my prize.

Then, a loud booming sound reverberated across the landscape.

"Soul, scythe form." She said with a tinge of fear in her voice.

I nodded and quickly shape shifted.

Suddenly, the ground began to shake and loud cracking noises filled our ears.

"Let's go Maka!" I yelled.

She began to sprint down the mountain before sneaking a look behind us. An avalanche was engulfing the mountain and was gaining on us.

She looked at me and pushed her body to go faster. Then she kissed the eye of my scythe blade.

"You're going to be a Death Scythe." She whispered as a small tear fell onto her cheek.

"Maka what are you-?" I asked before she did the unthinkable.

She used all of her strength to throw me to safety as the racing snow grabbed onto her ankles and pulled her under.

"Maka!"

This can't be happening. It's just a nightmare. I'll wake up soon and everything will be ok.

No, this is real. I need to get her out!

I leaped from the safe spot and began digging. My hands scraped the ice and broke through feet of snow. I was growing desperate and I shifted my arm into a scythe to chip away at the ice.

"Maka! You think that becoming a Death Scythe was my only dream?! You have to be the one to get me there. You have to be my partner!" I screamed.

My human hand brushed against cold skin and my heart nearly stopped. I dug frantically while being careful not to injure her. I finally pulled Maka from her icy cage and hugged her to my chest. Her lip was busted and her bitten arm was soaked with blood. I moved her ice-crusted hair out of her face and kissed her forehead.

"You're so stupid Maka." I whispered as the tears streamed down my face. She was so cold. I scooped her up into my arms and made my way back down the mountain. When we finally reached my motorcycle, it was slightly buried in the snow. I scraped the snow off of the rear end of the bike and unpacked the blanket. I swaddled Maka inside and tried to preserve as much heat as possible.

Her shivering reduced to occasional sniffs. I placed her in front of me so that she could rest before I started up the engine. Her frozen eyelashes fluttered open. She smiled up at me.

"One more." She whispered before snuggling closer to my chest.