Mari (Soul Eater)

Part Eighteen

She put her head in her hands and cried. "I was wrong!" She slammed her fist into the ground. "Wrong! Wrong! Wrong!"

She felt faint for a second and closed her eyes. "How much blood had she lost again? She stood and walked to the bathroom, hoping the water still worked. She turned on the shower and was happy to discover hot water and a towel. She got undressed and stepped in, letting the forgiving water wash the blood from her body.

She got and dried off. She walked across the hall to her dad's old room and found an old shirt. She slipped it off and walked downstairs and found the old washer and drier outside. She threw her jeans in and watched them spin around and around for a few hours. She slipped them on and tucked her dad's old shirt into them. She walked and found a pair of boots and socks, slipping them on.

She stepped out after fixing her hair into pigtails. She walked down the streets toward the DWMA but stopped before she reached it. She was tired and so she found a small park by the school and sat on a swing. She watched the Autumn leaves fall as she swung back and forth, waiting for something, anything.

When it came she had no reaction. Medusa came and sat on the swing next to her. She looked Mari up and down and sighed. "You look terrible." She pointed out.

Mari looked over at her. "I hate you so much."

Medusa laughed. "Most people do!" Medusa swung forward, then back, then stopped. "How about you come work for me?" She asked.

Mari held up one hand and flipped her off.

"Well then!" Medusa said in mock surprise. She stood and walked away. "You will work for me someday!" She was gone.

Mari sat and stared at the ground. "Mari?" Someone asked and Mari glanced over to see Ray holding a bouquet of flowers. "What are you doing here?" She asked.

"Hiding." Mari replied.

"If I were you, I wouldn't be within a million miles of the school!" She was joking but it still stung. Mari's lip trembled. When had she become so weak? "I'm sorry." Ray said looking at the ground. She looked up. "Want to come with me to give Soul and Maka flowers?"

Mari looked at Ray. "I think I'm literally the last person they want to see."

Ray shrugged. "Well do you want to come or not?"

Mari stood. "If Maka tries to kill me, it's your fault."

Ray shrugged. "I'll fix you up if she socks you in the face!"

Mari knew it was a really, really bad idea. Ray asked Mari a few questions, but Mari didn't talk, and after a minute, Ray stopped her futile attempts. They walked in silence.

Ray nocked on Maka's door and they waited. Mari turned. "I should leave..." She told Ray.

Ray grabbed her wrist before she could get away. "No. You need to say sorry."

The door opened and Maka look at Mari. Mari turned to her and opened her mouth but no words came out. "Maka..." She finally whispered out.

Maka looked her up and down. "Mari," She stepped forward and socked her in the stomach. Mari didn't make a sound as she fell to her knees and Maka kept her punches raining from above. "Stupid!" Maka shouted. "Friend!" Mari flinched at that.

A fist landed on her shoulder and Mari felt a fiery pain rip across her arm. "I'm sorry." She said as Ray held Maka's arms behind her. Mari stood and wiped a tear from her eye, then another. She pressed a hand to her bleeding lip. She looked up at the sky and tried not to cry. "I was wrong..." Mari said, tears streaking the blood on her face. She bent her head and put her hands over her face. "So wrong." She caught her breath in between sobs. "Is it too late to apologize?"