A Spin-off Fanfic of The Little Fox~ x3

Why? Because I want to write a tidbit of Akane x Tsugumi [ahahaha where's the love for this pairing? I only see 4 fanfics and this one tries to portray them in character so there's not 100% Akane x Tsugumi]

Warnings:
• This fanfic has mentions of murder and death [OCs will die so no worries to the Canon Characters]
• Might be spoilers to my readers of The Little Fox since this occurs roughly half a year into it's plotline.
• Gore is not explicit [Because I get queasy…]
• No Canon x OC pairings or one-sided of those this time [I detest those most times since they seem unreasonable and pointless if they go on for too long]
• OCs [at most, 6 OCs? But they won't be mentioned often]
• Soul x Maka; Oxford x Kim; Harver x Jacqueline; OC x OC; and of course, Akane x Tsugumi
• Potential OOC-ness [I don't know if I'm portraying the characters accurately…]
• I don't own anything but the plot and OCs. We all know that the Soul Eater and Soul Eater Not! characters belong Ookubo Atsushi

Trusting Monsters - Prologue

"Do I… know you…?"

"…due be careful when standing in the fog, Tsugumi Harudori…
The fog only obscures things from a distance… but when in the fog, you never will know when a monster truly appears…"

"A monster…?"

"…calm yourself… the only true monsters of this world are humans…"

"Wh- humans…?"

"…humans are both loved and feared… they can manipulate… lie… and kill…
Tell me, can you really trust them?"

"Not all of them are that bad, if you trust them, then they'll learn to trust you too!"

"Hmm, and that itself, is a proof of my beliefs…"

I instantly opened my eyes only to find myself in the nurse's office.

I blinked, "…?"

I turned my attention to the window, the sun was setting but I how long have I been sleeping? And why was I here? I only remember…

"Do you remember what happened?" he asked, interrupting my thoughts.

"A-ah, Akane-kun…?" I stuttered, confused.

"Do you remember what happened, Harudori?" he asked again.

"Err… a little bit…" I murmured, shaking my head a bit to clear up the thought that he was staring. "A-all I remember was that Meme-chan and Anya-chan went to go shopping, so I was just walking around for a bit… th-then I saw Akane-kun with Clay-san at the arcade, and then I suddenly passed out… I remember feeling pale, I guess I didn't eat much today…" I scratched the back of my head, feeling embarrassed.

There was a moment of silence. He seemed to be deep in thought that I started to wonder if I said anything wrong…

"Is that all you remember?" he asked after a couple of moments full of silence.

"…well, nothing else, why…?" I asked with uncertainty.

"…it's nothing… I'm relieved that you feel better," he smiled politely.

"Ah… th-thanks for w-worrying…" I murmured, feeling warm. 'I hope I'm not blushing…'

"Your meisters are on the way here, I thought it'd be best to inform them that you fainted," he informed.

"Ah… thanks," I nodded, looking down at the white sheets. Blinking, I realized that my side was bleeding, the stinging cut felt stronger. I winced at the now throbbing pain in my head. And why on earth did I feel as if someone grabbed my right wrist…?

"What's wrong?" Akane asked, sounding alert.

"…was I ever hit when I passed out…?" I asked curiously.

He shook his head again. "I'm fairly certain I'd notice if I bumped into anything while carrying you."

'Wait… he carried me?' I felt my face heat up at the mention of him carrying me. I shook my head, trying to focus back on the thought regarding my injuries. "…well, I did faint, so I probably feel a bit of pain because I scraped a knee or something-"

The door opened, interrupting what I was saying. I looked up, seeing that it was Meme and Anya.

"Are you okay?" Anya asked as Meme hugged me.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I smiled. "Sorry for worrying you two, I guess I was hungry and I didn't notice… I'll have to be more careful with my health," I then thought, 'I say that with a smile, but I know I wouldn't faint so easily… would I…?'

"I'll be taking my leave now," Akane smiled. "I hope you feel better."

"A-ah, yes, thank you for c-carrying me here…" I gulped, my face feeling warmer by the second. 'Oh no… was I heavy…?'

"It wasn't a problem, you were pretty light," he chuckled lightheartedly, then left.

"I'm glad you're okay…" Meme smiled, rubbing her cheek against mine.

"Well, it's a good thing you feel much better, Tsugumi-san," Anya said, then frowned. "Although you should eat more healthy in order to prevent more fainting randomly. I don't understand how you could so easily faint… if you had a weak constitution then that's one matter, but hunger?" she trailed off in her rant, then just let out a frustrated sigh. "You worried us… just be more careful."

I looked down at my hands, 'If I told them my doubts, they'd probably get even more worried…'

"Now that Tsugumi-chan's better, let's go home," Meme smiled reassuringly.

"…alright…" I smiled.

I ran, because that was all I could do. Run. Run to avoid getting caught. Someone spoke and I remained paralyzed so suddenly. The scene that occurred only minutes ago still fresh in my mind. Etching closer and closer to me. Growing more vivid by the second that I could recall everything, the stench of iron and the sight. The sight scarred me the most, almost to the point where I wanted to go ahead and vomit without facing public humiliation. So grotesque, I'm surprised that she kept the woman alive.

That woman who I thought was dead. Still alive. In so much pain.

Shaking violently, I took a step or two backwards due to this fear. I was afraid. Deathly afraid. I didn't want to be in the same position.

"Are you okay?" the girl who appeared to be at the age of ten asked me politely.

I pulled away, until she grabbed my right hand. Her cold pale fingers wrapped around my wrist almost lifelessly.

"Is something the matter?" she asked, tilting her head upwards, her thick, black-netted veil hiding her eyes. I don't know why, but when I stared through that veil, I swore I could see a monster…

"Stay away…" I whispered, shaking with fear, my legs felt as they were glued.

"…perhaps… you saw…? Hmm~? Maybe… I should kill you…?" she whispered, her kind expression immediately changing into a twisted smile.

"Eek!" I squeaked when she tried to stab me. The scent of lavender grew stronger for some odd reason.

"I can't kill you yet…" she murmured with a pout. "Oh well… that doesn't mean that I can't play with you… right…?" she giggled. "Just… like… her…"

My body grew numb as I saw the child-like figure jump away, only for Akane to appear with Clay. Everything flashed by in mere seconds before the two arrived. I felt as though the burning pain in my side about to consume me as a whole. My head beginning to ache for no apparent reason, as if I hated the scent of lavender which was ridiculous for the fact that I love lavenders.

Black spots filling my vision… my mind in a swirl… my head hurts. I don't know what's happening. Why does my body ache and where's the actual pain…?

[Tell me, Tsugumi Harudori, can you really trust them?]

To Be Continued…

A/N

Ta-dah! Finished with the prologue of the spin-off.

Marie and Stein [like in The Little Fox] won't appear because of the timeline [before Stein became a teacher; Sid died; Marie and other Death Scythes came to DWMA].

Maka's currently 14 or 15 [I imagine her being 12 when she started out and 13-14 when she first met Tsugumi, 15 when the Spartoi was formed, and lastly, 16 when the gang was on the moon battling Asura].

And lastly, hurry for memory alterations. Because only the readers know what happens and the characters don't! /kicked

Another thing, the disclaimers are only here in the Prologue. Warnings too. Unless there's a slight need to add a warning in the next chapter or so then it'll be above the "[Title] - [Chapter #]"