A/N: Just a testing of the waters, maybe I'll continue, depends on how much I like doing this.
Dreary Silver
"Where am I?" Soul looked around in confusion, not exactly recognizing his surroundings. He was standing at the entrance to a classy hotel, shielded from the pouring rain. From what he could tell, he was in a New York type city, it was in the middle of the night, it was raining cats and dogs, and nobody was on the streets. The last fact kept him on guard, nothing good was going on if there was nobody on the streets, 'No need for a cool guy like me to be caught off guard.' Tightening his jacket around him, Soul took off into the rain, noting how there were no cars passing by either.
"Soul!" A familiar voice called out, Soul turned to see Maka barreling towards him; her black coat was pulled over her head to protect herself from the rain. Maka soon caught up with Soul and both ran farther into night. Along the way, they observed the strangeness of this city, even finding lit stores empty of both employees and customers. Maka looked to her silent partner when he took her arm, gently guiding her to a strange clock-tower.
The structure was a work of art, the tower itself greatly resembling Big Ben in London. However, an entire facility was at its base, more than likely meant for tourists. When they got the base of the clock-tower, they got under the entrance way and caught their breath, "Maka," Soul started, "you're a book-worm, any ideas where we are?" He ignored the glare Maka was giving him for his label for her.
Maka stopped glaring at Soul and looked around again, "I have no idea. This place is like a mixture of numerous cities all blended into one."
Soul grunted and continued to chill against the door. As time ticked by, it became painfully obvious that the air was uncomfortable. It was only recently that Soul was released from the hospital, the memories of their near death at Chrona's hands still fresh. Soul risked a glance at Maka, finding her standing in her usual posture when she was thinking negative thoughts, "Hey," Soul spoke softly, "cheer up already, the scenery is already depressing."
Maka stared at her partner with a mix of shock and sadness, until what he was saying donned on her. Her blank face turned into a more positive one, a small smile gracing her lips, "Right," She turned back to the empty streets, "thanks Soul."
The white-haired scythe shrugged, "Eh, I do what I can." He grinned, "Besides, it's un-cool for a cool guy like me to be seen with a moping girl."
"Soul," Maka glared at him out of the corner of her eye, "don't ruin the moment."
Soul grunted again, watching the rain fall into deep puddles in the streets. The rain kept up for a few moments until it started to let up. Then it suddenly stopped all together. Soul and Maka knew this was very unusual, but were thinking the same thing, "We should look around some more, there might be someone who can give us some answers." Soul started into the street, Maka not too far behind. As soon as their feet hit the street, however, they immediately felt a presence.
"Soul," Maka stepped forward, Soul ready to change into his scythe form anytime. Through the hanging fog of freshly fallen rain, two forms could be seen approaching them. Their bodies tensed, seeing that one form was male and the other female. However, they relaxed slightly when they were close enough to examine. It was a man in a black suit, the coat stretching just past his knees. He was holding an umbrella above the heads of himself and the woman beside him, black leather gloves protecting his hands from the chill. His hair was white and combed back, a pair of glasses placed perfectly in front of his closed eyes, "Uh," Maka started cautiously, "excuse me, can you tell us where we are exactly?" Her eyes drifted to the white-clad woman, admiring her caramel skin and kind expression. It would've calmed her fears if the cold aura radiating off of her companion wasn't so thick.
There was silence in the chilled streets, both parties examining the situation thoroughly, "To put it simply," The mysterious man adjusted his glasses, "you are at a crossroads."
Soul gave him a strange look, "I don't know where you took driving classes," He looked around dramatically, "but this looks more like a two-way to me." His grin grew when Maka elbowed him.
The reserved man stared at Maka and Soul before chuckling slightly, "Clever," He put down the umbrella and tossed it to Soul, "but I was talking about your relationship with her." Time seemed to slow as the umbrella made its way into Soul's waiting hands, "Scythe,"
"SOUL," Maka leaped backwards, a silver scythe barely missing her, 'A meister!?' Maka tried to recognize the strange man in the suit, but his face did not ring any bells. She didn't need to look as she gripped soul in her gloved hands, taking a defensive stance. Maka watched her surprise opponent, examining his loose movements and calculated steps. He soon melted into a neutral stance, the blade of the scythe pointing towards Maka's throat. The scythe was, in a weird way, a work of art. It was pure silver, skulls crafted on either end of the shaft, the sharp blade seeming grotesquely thirsty for blood, "Who are you?"
He grunted and charged, twirling the scythe in his left hand, "I have many names," He swiped at her midsection, "answering you would be a waste of time." He flipped sideways when Maka used her initial dodge to try and swipe at his head.
"What kind of answer is that!?" Soul growled in frustration. He was barely able to keep up, and this guy didn't look like he as even trying.
"Hm," He twirled his scythe again, "interesting, let's see if your bond can hold!" He charged in again, breaking Maka's defense stance by missing intentionally. He drove the scythe into the street just in front of her and swung around, kicking her in the stomach. The young technician was sent flying into a stop sign, her hand holding her stomach in pain.
"Come on Maka," Soul kept his eyes on their opponent, "get up." Maka fought to get to her knees, using Soul to try and stand up. However, when a shadow loomed over her, Maka raised her vision. Their enemy was right in front of her, scythe ready to chop her head clean off, "Maka, block it!"
Her arm instinctively moved to block, but stopped mid-way. Memories of Chrona flashed through her head, causing her to freeze. She didn't know what to do. If she didn't block, she'd be killed, or Soul would stupidly risk his life again. If she did block, Soul could get hurt. She yelped helplessly when the slash went over her head, slicing the stop-sign like it was air.
"Now do you see," He snatched one of Maka pig-tails and lifted her to eye-level, "a crossroads." He grunted when a bony knee hit the side of his face, his hand releasing Maka.
Soul growled while Maka took another stance, obviously spooked by what happened, "Maka," He tried to keep himself from yelling at her, "calm down already, you can take this guy!"
"Shut up," Maka snapped, her hold on Soul increasing. Her jaw was tight, watching as their enemy shrugged off her attack and waited. He didn't even take a stance, instead slinging his scythe over his shoulder. His actions were virtually perfect, seamless and strong. He was using the fundamental scythe stances to the best of their ability, adding in a personal mix an 'X-factor' she couldn't decipher, 'Damn it,' Maka cursed, 'stop shaking!' She tried to force her hands to steady, but a constant shiver was forcing her body to quake.
Soul continued to watch Maka with a blank stare. After a few seconds of nothing, Soul sighed, "Maka," He glared at the man in the suit, "we should leave." He heard her gasp, dumbfounded, "You might be able to outrun him; I'll cover your back, just keep moving."
"No," Maka snapped again, "he's too fast, you won't last alone!" She didn't give Soul a chance to respond, instead going on the offensive. Maka went into a mad barrage of slashes, aiming for his head, then his knees when she missed. The man simply leaned back and to the left to dodge her attacks, bringing his foot down to force Maka's low strike into the ground, "W-What the,"
The man sighed, "You're panicking," He raised his other foot and stomped down near Maka's hands. He applied pressure, bending Soul far beyond the normal amount.
Maka tried to pry Soul out from the ground, but the amount of pressure applied to Soul was too great. A rushing feeling coursed through her, hearing Soul's attempt to suppress the scream of pain, "Get off!" Maka felt her adrenalin kick in, flinging her opponent off with one tug. He simply drove his scythe into the ground and swung around again. However, Maka ducked under his kick and got under the silver scythe. With one kick upwards, the scythe left the ground, sending the man crashing to the street. She looked to him, expecting to see a face-plant to the ground.
However, she only saw the man levitating, face towards the ground with a calm stare, "I see," He levitated upwards, landing on his feet with ease, "I suppose that kind of fighting will keep you alive long enough to deal with your every day targets." He adjusted his suit, making sure his tie and collar was straight.
Maka and Soul prepared for another round, but a deep, almost unheard boom broke their concentration. It wasn't a sound you hear, it was something felt more so than picked up with your ears, like a song with powerful bass. The mysterious man glanced back, a look of sharp annoyance flashing over his face before it calmed once more.
He sighed deeply and threw his scythe in the air, the woman turning back into her human state. He reached into his coat, pulling out an umbrella and opening it, "It's been a pleasure, I do hope you learned something from this little meeting." He pivoted, his back facing the seemingly endless darkness of the mysterious city. He waited for his female companion to follow suit, giving her time to offer the confused teens a comforting smile.
"Um," the woman meekly started, "you might want to take the umbrella he gave you earlier," She leaned out from under the umbrella and looked upwards, "this storm looks pretty bad."
Soul changed back and did as suggested, opening the umbrella above his and Maka's heads. Just as he did, a downpour started, the steady steps of their newest acquaintances fading into the distance. Maka and Soul remained silence, partially with confusion and a bit of self pity. They lost, there was no arguing that. So many questions remained unanswered, but just as the steps of the mysterious pair faded completely, the sky lit up with ferocious lightning. A single, slender bolt rocketed down, slamming into the tower above.
BOOM
"Ahhh,"
"GAH!"
Maka and Soul jumped in unison, their eyes wide and frantically looking around. As their heart-rates began to slow and their eyes finally began registering information, they noticed their surroundings had changed. They were in their apartment, the lights dimmed and music lightly playing in the background. Soul let out a breath of relief, remembering what was going on before the strange event.
After Soul was cleared to go home, everyone planned a celebration for him. It wasn't anywhere near organized, a fact that horrified Kid when he got wind of it. Like a whirlwind, he fixed everything, refusing to allow such lack of respect for symmetry to go unattended. Of course, to be sure he wouldn't hurt himself, Liz and Patty came along, figuring they'd enjoy themselves while Kid freaked out. Needless to say, Black Star and Tsubaki helped Maka set everything up, skipping the surprise part and forcing Soul into manual labor with Black Star.
That Friday, they stayed up all night, simply enjoying the celebration. Kid provided most of the humor, going into his usual depressed state when a drop of cheese, from the nachos, fell on his t-shirt. Liz and Patty let him mope, engrossed in conversation with Tsubaki and Maka. Before long, everyone was chilling around the apartment, each one slowly falling asleep.
Soul looked around, noticing the he was at the kitchen table across from Maka. Tsubaki was asleep in Maka's room, having accepted the offer to do so gladly. Liz and Patty were asleep on the floor, tangled into a heap, the controller in Patty's hands. Black Star was against the wall, looking more knocked out than asleep. Finally, Death the Kid was… no where to be seen. Feeling a bit curious, Soul leaned back, looking into his room to see sleeping amongst and… organized… Soul's room, 'Damn,' Soul sighed, 'now I don't know where anything is.'
"It was… all a dream?" Maka quickly checked her stomach, 'No bruise, no pain anywhere… it was a dream.' She sighed with relief and looked to Soul, her slight smile fading into a look of determination, 'It might have been a dream, but it just proves that I need to get stronger. I'll never put Soul in that position again.'
"Well," Soul got up and stretched, "it's almost eight in the morning, meaning I still got five hours of sleep left." He tried to walk away, but a hand grabbed his collar firmly.
Maka smiled innocently, "Did you forget already Soul Eater?" Her innocent look seemed more sinister when she spoke, "You promised to help with the dishes if you lost to Black Star at arm-wrestling." She looked at him with a slight smirk, "You lost."
Soul folded his arms, "At eight in the morning?"
"Now,"
"… so uncool."
"NOW!"
xxxxxxx
"You haven't changed one bit." A figure in black laughed, his large white hands scratching his white skull mask, "When I asked you to test them, I didn't know you were in the middle of something," He turned to the one he was talking to, "Azrael."
Azrael adjusted his glasses, "It doesn't matter Shinigami-sama," He drove his scythe through a strange shadowy creature, "it didn't take much to figure out that they have a problem." He examined the severed head of the creature. It was nothing but a sphere with a small body, a single red eye being the only distinguishing part of it.
Shinigami watched Azrael closely, "They are growing in number here." He looked out at the virtually endless city, admiring the noir-like view from the rooftop they were on.
Azrael grunted and threw the head away, "I told you," He slung his silver scythe over his shoulder, "I'm more than capable of keeping them at bay. You make sure you get some good weapons to use and leave them to us." He motioned to his scythe.
Shinigami nodded and clapped his hands, "You got it!" He pointed at Azrael and sunk into the shadows. Azrael shook his head and stared off into the distance once more.
A/N: Hmmm, the characters take some getting used to, but I do like them. I'm still deciding whether or not to continue, put your suggestion in a review if you want me to or not, it might help my decision. Anyway, Soul Eater is awesome, don't stop watching, and or reading, and please review!