The Girl with the Secret – Squallace

The first in maybe many short Soul Eater Stories. Most will be set around Crona (I view him as a boy, but his/her 'ambiguity' from the anime and manga will be what I write for), maybe a few set around other characters. I hope you enjoy.

The ones set around Crona will likely form a story arc, so stay tuned, kids!

Also, this is set in the canon of the anime, NOT the manga; so no crap about that, please. Any other advice/criticism is welcome.

Warning; contains strong language and scenes of a gory nature.

Crona's POV

I pushed my way through the bustling city crowd, people going about their business as usual, not knowing what was going on right next to them, or what was about to happen. Finally, I stopped in front of a large, executive type building; a sign on the door told me it was the "Headquarters of Leopard Offices", the place where I would find my target.

Damien Leopard was, as far as the people I was just among were concerned, a simple entrepreneur who no one had heard of in any detail, but we at the DWMA knew better. Leopard was a dangerous criminal, who made most of his money from 'erasing' people who were problems to much more dangerous criminals. He had become so good at killing people, that he had made millions from his business. His soul had become a Kishin egg two days ago, and a meister and weapon from the latest group of freshmen had been sent after him. But they never came back.

And that was why I was there, to rescue the two students, if they were still alive, and eliminate Leopard myself. Also, Professor Stein had given me a special task for this mission. I wasn't expecting any problems; I knew how to deal with men like him, God knows I'd met, and killed, a number of them. Of course, I didn't know then that what was about to happen would shape my future in the way that it did.

I felt myself shaking; I always got nervous before a job like this. I knew that I was about to be in a situation which could go wrong at any minute. And if that happened, I was almost surely dead. It was amazing just how sobering it was to have a near-death experience.

I clenched my teeth, threw my empty coffee cup away in a nearby trash can and pressed the button on the door, looking over my shoulder to see if I'd drawn any attention, and after a buzz, a bored sounding woman's voice came from the speaker, "Leopard Offices, how can I help you?"

"Uh... I'm here to see Mr Leopard; I think I have some information he may be interested in. Mr Pablo sent me." This was the story that Professor Stein had given me to make sure I was let in. I was just a scared kid, who Leopard knew he could manipulate, and then dispose of quietly. Even better was the fact that I seemed to be alone, and a stranger; which means I wouldn't be missed. Normally, of course, we would just break in, kill the target and get out; the task that the Professor had given me took a little more subtlety, and made things a lot more complicated.

After a long pause, the woman came back, looking flustered, "Mr Leopard is waiting in his office." The clouded glass doors slid open and, after purposefully hesitating for a second, I stepped inside, looking around nervously. I thought that I did the frightened kid act well; not that I had to do that much acting. I made sure to avoid eye contact (again, something I'd had practice in) with the man in the suit who walked up to me with the swagger of someone who knew they were untouchable. He was a bald, well built man wearing dark shades and a sharp black suit. He was grinning confidently; he had nothing to fear from a skinny little shit like me.

"Hello there..." he said, making no effort to hide his patronising tone, "Do you have something for Mr Leopard?"

"Y, yeah..." I answered, keeping my eyes on the floor. I didn't need to look at the man; I knew as long as Ragnarok was watching him, I would be ready. My God, was I really so desperate to trust Ragnarok with my safety? Well, I guessed my well-being was his, so…

"Well, you had better come with me, now hadn't you?" I could almost hear the stupid grin growing on the man's face as I nodded slowly. Damien Leopard was the only one who I'd come to kill, but I was sure no one in Death City, or anywhere else for that matter, would care if any of his hired help went away as well. If they needed to die they would die, if not, they would live, it was as simple as that. The morality is questionable, I know, but an awful lot better than killing everyone I met, as I used to.

He led me down the hall and into an elevator. As the door closed, I caught the eye of the receptionist; she looked at me with so much sorrow, like she pitied me. It was a look I'd got from most people in Death City when I first met them. I had only just realised just how far I'd come in the last year in terms of my confidence. Still, that look didn't reassure me much about my situation.

"So..." the big man said after the elevator's doors slipped shut, interrupting my thoughts, "... Mr Pablo sent you, did he?"

"Yeah" I answered quickly and quietly.

He laughed slightly, "The rain shines, huh kid?" What the heck was he talking about?

I realised it was some kind of code... he probably wanted me to answer a certain way. I didn't know how to deal with this, I hadn't been told. It wasn't the plan to use force at this stage. "I said..." he hissed, and I heard myself gasp as I felt the cold barrel of a gun press to the back of my head, "the rain shines..." There was nothing I could do to avoid it now. I heard him click off the safety. "Time's up, kid."

Ragnarok came screaming out of my back, surprising the thug enough to make him throw his hands up and point the gun away from me. It discharged, and the loud pop of the silencer echoed in the elevator. I yelled for Ragnarok to transform above the thug's cursing and before he could point the gun at me again, I was ready for him. I stabbed him in the chest, aiming for the heart, and hit my mark. The confidence was gone from his face, replaced with a look of utter shock, and then with that far-too-familiar look of calm acceptance as blood came from his mouth and he slumped back against the wall, his head hanging down forward. I sighed with relief as an evil soul appeared at his chest; God knows the last thing I wanted was more innocent blood on my hands. Even so, killing someone who I hadn't been sent to kill always felt awful. I reminded myself that this man wouldn't have felt the same way were the situation reversed.

Even so, the noise might have alerted the guards upstairs, and some of them will be innocent; just ordinary people trying to make ends meet in whatever way they could. But I would kill them if I absolutely had to. I wondered if that made me a monster. For the time being at least, it didn't. I hid next to the door, my back pressed against the wall.

I held my breath as the lift doors opened and there was a split second of bored sounding talking, followed by an icy silence. Then one of the voices cursed as the thug's friend saw him lying there. He quickly came inside, wearing body armour and a mask, carrying a large assault rifle. I quickly realised that we had really underestimated Leopard's resources.

"What the hell?! He's dead!" The guard said in panic.

"Shit, Al… are you sure?" asked the other voice from outside the lift.

They were going to look my way any second now; I knew I had to move. I wasn't going to last very long against one of those rifles, not at this range, but I tried not to think about that. I bit through the skin of the top of my wrist, and my blood dripped to the floor.

Al stood up, "Holy shit… we have to find the guy who did this or…" he was cut off when my bloody needle fired across his legs and swept him off his feet as he started to turn. He did an almost complete flip in the air before landing on his chest.

The other one screamed a curse, but before he could do anything else, the needle shot toward him; I looked around the door to see his terrified face as it shot through his rifle, rendering it useless, or at least that's what I was hoping like hell. I stepped around the door and threw myself forward, the demon sword raised above my head. He raised his hands as I brought the hilt down onto his head. He stood for a second, then buckled at the legs and collapsed.

"What? Why not kill them?"

I heard what Ragnarok said, but chose to ignore him. I jumped and stopped myself screaming as I heard the words "what the hell was that". I was standing directly under a light, which meant that there must be power cables somewhere around here. I heard yelling coming toward me. Going on desperation more than logic, I plunged my sword into the wall, and Ragnarok's angry and anguished growling told me that I hit the wires. A second later, the light above me abruptly went off, followed by the lights down the hall, until I was plunged into darkness.

I crouched and raised my hood as the confused cursing started and grew louder. I made my way toward the side of the room, hugging the wall, to try to sink into the darkness. I couldn't see anything, but I could hear that they were near. I tried to breath as quietly as I could, which was difficult since I was terrified. I felt like running out of there, out of the line of fire.

'But those students need me' I told myself.

Several guards were now walking past me; I could hear their breathing, and their steps on the carpeted floor. I held my breath again and tried to edge past them, keeping as close to the wall as possible, moving as fast as I dared. I gulped hard, and exhaled, making as little sound as possible, keeping moving. After what seemed like a really long time, I ran out of wall as the corridor turned a corner, which I quickly edged around.

As I crept, I heard a voice behind me, from behind the wall. No, it was a door; I felt a gap between it and the wall. "What did you do?" the voice asked menacingly, only to be met with silence. "I said, what did you do, you little bitch?" I realised that they must be holding those students in there. So they were alive, or at least one of them was. My fear was pushed aside by determination. Not entirely, but still.

I felt around for the handle, feeling it and slowly twisting. The door edged open behind me, silently, thank god, and I crept inside. Then I saw the silhouette of the threatening guard, and I made the depressing realisation that I would have to kill him; neither me or the hostages would be safe otherwise. I called upon Ragnarok, who appeared instantly, excited to taste blood again. I raised him above my head in one hand, ready to strike. That's when he turned around.

He must have heard me; he raised his assault rifle, and I leapt at him. I grasped my free hand over his mouth as I stabbed him through the chest, but his gun discharged, and I heard a girl scream. One of the hostages was dead, I just knew it. The other guards would be on me in seconds. I was stuck.

"Look out!" someone screamed, as I felt something metallic touch my back. All of a sudden, I was in a world of pain, swinging Ragnarok around uselessly as the electricity coursed through my body. I remember my heart thumping, I knew this was the end now. Then I blacked out.

…

My head pounded as I opened my heavy eyes to the almost blinding light. My body was stiff and aching; I tried to stand up and stretch. But I couldn't; I couldn't even move my legs. I tugged at my arms, but I couldn't move them either. I tried to remember what happened, but it was a blur. I thought maybe I was dead already.

Then I remembered the tazer and the pain it caused me, and blacking out. Now more aware, I forced my eyes open and frantically tugged at my arms consumed only with the desire to get out of there, but still couldn't move them. They had been handcuffed behind me, while my legs were held together with two cable ties. I tried to relax as best I could, I had to, and I whispered to Ragnarok to get to work on freeing me. He demanded that I say please, which, resentfully, I did.

I looked around, taking in my surroundings. I was in a small, grey room, which seemed empty until I came to a tall girl with long black hair and sharp green eyes, restrained like I was. She wore a pair of jeans and a green wool jacket, which was unzipped, revealing a tight, plain black t-shirt. She was also older than most students, around Tsubaki's or Liz's age, 19 or 20, something like that, which told me she was the weapon. "Hey" she said awkwardly, with a slightly southern accent.

"Hey" I said back, no less awkwardly. I was aware that I still didn't do so well around new people.

She offered a weak, pained smile, "Listen, sorry you got drawn into this, hun. Thanks for trying to get us out of here" she said, sounding genuinely sorry.

"Don't worry," I replied, "I'm still getting you out," a promise I was nowhere near sure I could keep.

Her smile got bigger and she laughed briefly, "Good to know." A few seconds of silence passed, and I wondered what the hell was taking Ragnarok so long. "I'm Janine, by the way. That's Ivy, my meister."

I looked across the room to see a younger girl, probably 14 like most freshman meisters, handcuffed to a radiator. She had shoulder length chestnut hair, a blue skirt, and a pink sweater with a red heart on it. I couldn't tell anything else, because she was looking down at the floor. "Are you okay?" I asked her. She whimpered and nodded, not looking up. Poor thing, she must have been absolutely terrified.

Janine looked pained, but regained her smile to look back at me. "So you know who we are. So, to who do we owe the pleasure?" She seemed nice. Strong too; I guessed she had to be for Ivy's sake.

"Crona. My name's Crona" I answered, still aware of how painfully uncomfortable I must have seemed to her.

Just then, I gasped as I heard a key turn in the door. "Ragnarok, what's the hold up?" I growled at him. Either he freed me soon, or it was over.

"Who are you talking to?" Janine asked.

Just then Ragnarok peered over my shoulder, "that would be me" he said, sounding unjustly proud of himself as I could have screamed in frustration at his neglect for his task.

Janine was clearly confused; I just told her it was a long story as the door flew open and Ragnarok quickly hid himself. A tall, cocky looking man in an expensive suit came in. One look at him told me it was Damien Leopard. He was fifty two years old but could pass for half of that; a tanned, good looking man; a pleasant look to hide the monster inside. In a lot of ways, I guessed, we weren't that different.

"Well, well, well, whatever do we have here?" he said smugly in a chain smoker's voice, crouching in front of me. He got so close that I could smell his foul breath and see the whites of his excited eyes. I just kept staring at him, knowing that any sign of weakness might have meant a bullet through my eye, but then so would answering the question. His grin bent to an unimpressed expression, one that a man in control would always have when things weren't going entirely his way. "You're from the Reaper's School, aren't you?"

Just what the hell was taking Ragnarok so long? I gritted my teeth and looked away from him, hoping that my defiance might buy us a little time. Leopard frowned, almost sarcastically, "You know, it's not very clever to not give me what I want. Do you know what happens to people who don't give me what I want?"

I looked at him again, he clearly wanted to intimidate me, and maybe would keep stalling until he did. He always got what he wanted after all. "I've dealt with worse people than you," I said simply. Technically true, but it really didn't seem like it right now.

He grinned again, "No. I don't think you have. Now were you sent by the Reaper or not?" he asked again, trying to sound amicable. I just stared at him. Now would be a good time, Ragnarok. Now would be a really freaking good time! He frowned again, really angry this time, "Well let's see what we can do about your speech problem."

He stood up, and walked over to the radiator where Ivy was. She started breathing heavily, keeping her head down. But Leopard grabbed her hair, causing her to let out a painful yelp, and forced her head up. Her blue eyes stared at me hopefully as her acne stained, but still pretty, face contorted in terror. I gasped audibly as Leopard removed a flip-knife from his pocket and pushed the side of it against the side of her face, right near her right eye. Her eyes flicked to the knife before shutting tightly with tears running down her face.

Right now, all that mattered was Ivy, Leopard and getting free. Janine's yelling at him was drowned out by the fear and anger that was bubbling in my head. A girl's life was in danger, and I was the only one who could help her. Redemption or failure hung on a thread.

"Did… the Reaper… send you?" he asked once more through gritted teeth.

I tensed, ready to leap. Ragnarok…

Then I heard a whisper. "It's done."

I threw my arms apart; Ragnarok came to my hand in weapon form and immediately screeched. The sudden noise made Leopard flinch, only for a second. Which was all I needed. I used my previously cut wrist to call upon a bloody needle, which pierced Leopard's shoulder, making him let out a primeval scream and drop the knife. I used Ragnarok to cut the cable ties, and I stood up and lunged at Leopard. Avoiding a powerful punch from his good arm, I reached up and grabbed him hard by the throat, making him wretch satisfyingly, and aimed Ragnarok at his stomach.

His face deformed with rage, but like I cared; he wasn't the one in control anymore. I heard guards behind the door, and I held Leopard in front of me with Ragnarok across his throat. The door flew open and one of the guards pointed his gun in my direction. "Tell them to drop their weapons." I told Leopard. God, it felt good to be in control. It wasn't something I was used to.

"Do as he says…" Leopard growled, still believing that he held all the cards. Reluctantly, the guard put his rifle on the ground, and the others followed suit. I then ordered one of them to untie Janine and Ivy, which he did, almost joyfully actually. With them free, it was time to finish up. Keeping a tight grip on Leopard, and telling everyone there that I'd kill him if they followed.

"Please do!" one of them shouted, "we're only here because he threatened our families." At that, I felt Leopard tense; I think it was finally starting to dawn on him just how screwed he was. He'd just lost his last line of defence, and to be honest, I felt kind of sorry for him. Then I thought of all the people he had killed. That was where we were not alike; no one forced him to kill, and he felt no remorse whatsoever.

After I told the guards to get lost, I led him into his own office, and pushed him inside. He landed on his front and immediately turned to face me, with hatred burning in his eyes. I thrust at him with Ragnarok, and he gasped as the blade touched his suit.

I looked over my shoulder and motioned for Ivy and Janine to come in too. Janine nodded, and led the scared looking meister inside. I felt terrible, God only knows what they'd put her through; I thought of the man threatening them in the dark, and whether he was genuinely the monstrous torturer I'd thought he was, or another scared man just thinking of his family.

Janine closed the door behind her. "Oh God, I would kiss you if not for the obvious." I blushed slightly, but tried to shake it off. I met Leopard's eye, and knew that I couldn't let him have any mercy, because he now thought I cared about Janine. But she then showed that I'd underestimated her there; as she knelt down next to Leopard and punched him full in the face. Blood shot from his nose as he grunted angrily.

"Bitch!" he hissed. It was weird, but I got the impression that he still thought he was in control. Maybe he was just being cocky, or maybe he knew something I didn't. That reminded me; Professor Stein had asked for some information from Leopard, some very 'sensitive' information.

Too sensitive for Janine and Ivy's ears, I imagined. "You guys need to get out of here right now." I told them, as assertively as I could manage.

"No freaking way…" Janine said, "If you think I'm letting this son-of-a-bitch get away with…"

I was about to tell her again, but before I could, Ivy put a hand on Janine's shoulder, as if holding her back. The pair looked at each other, Ivy's eyes were sad, but with a strange sureness about them, and Janine seemed to give in. "Alright" she finally sighed, before turning to leave.

Ivy stood still for a second; I had my eyes on Leopard now, but I could feel that she was staring at me. "Are you going to kill him?" She asked me.

What a weird question, "Well, yeah. That's what I was sent to do." I glanced at her sad face. Did she really feel remorse for Leopard? The man who kidnapped her, strapped her up and threatened to kill her. Not to mention the fact that Lord Death had ordered his killing, which was proof, if any was needed, that he needed to die. Still, she looked unsure. "He'd only kill more people."

This didn't reassure her, but she seemed to accept it. So she and Janine left the room, and made their way down the corridor.

"Except you're not going to kill me, are you?" Leopard asked, his grin back. "You want something from me, or else we wouldn't be having this discussion, now wouldn't we."

"No." I answered, and I moved Ragnarok up to his throat. "Damien Leopard, The Grim Reaper has ordered your execution. However, answer my questions truthfully, and his judgement may be lenient." It sounded just as cheesy as when I learned it before I came here.

He brought his hands up in a non-threatening position, "Ask away, my little friend." Still much too confident.

"Where is Hernandez Pablo operating?" I had no idea who this person was, but I was going to make a point of finding out once I got back. Still, I wasn't curious enough to want to be in this slime's presence for much longer.

"Sorry, my little friend…" he said, closing his fist. "… Client confidentiality."

He punched Ragnarok to one side, sending me spinning. Before I could wonder just how the hell he'd done that, his arm was wrapped around my neck and starting to choke me. He whispered something to me which I didn't hear as I swung my arm up, trying to get a finger in his eye. He turned his head away at the last second, but loosened his grip doing it. So I swung my arm again, looking to elbow him this time, and I caught his face. Another two elbows convinced him to let go.

I spun around just in time to be met with a wild swinging punch, which collided with my chest and sent me crashing through the wall behind me. Dizzy and confused, I felt an odd, but all-too-familiar tingling. I'd only felt it twice before, and both times I was fighting the same man, Professor Stein.

He approached me, laughing quietly, his fist sparkling, holding a knuckle duster. "How are you using your soul wavelength" I said out loud.

"That won't matter much to you in a moment"

He grabbed my jacket and forced me up, about to take a swing at my face. I wouldn't survive that. I kicked out, catching him hard in the knee, which snapped backward. He screamed and staggered, giving me a precious second. I swung Ragnarok, but he regained his balance and threw me back to the ground. I looked down to protect my head from the impact, but still winded myself as I hit the wall.

I held my sword up to block the incoming blow, and felt the sting as his soul wavelength surged through my blood.

He grabbed me by the hair, swearing loudly at me, and kicked me hard in the stomach.

I gagged as the nausea hit me. He kicked me again, and I wretched. But that was when he made the mistake I needed him to make. I coughed up blood.

Leopard grabbed my face, bringing it close to his. "No one f%&*s with Damien Leopard, you arrogant little shit." He hissed. "I'm going to send the Reaper your head."

I had to consciously stop myself from being sick as I spoke. But I got it out. "Bloody Needle..." I whispered.

The Black Blood at his feet shot up, piercing his chest. He let go of me and screamed in pain and anger before swinging his sparkling fist again.

I blocked it with Ragnarok again, this time getting his blade in between the knuckles.

He grinned as he sent a burst of his wavelength down the sword. But I was ready this time.

"Ragnarok, Scream Resonance."

It was deafening, but so was Leopard's screaming as the vibrations literally shook his soul. Then the Knuckleduster gave in under the vibrating blade. It snapped, and Ragnarok slowly slipped down Leopard's arm. He squealed like a piglet as his arm limply fell off.

He fell to the floor, gasping for air and sobbing loudly. Blood spread over the floor, staining his suit and reddening his dark hair.

I stood over him, now officially pissed off, "Where is Pablo operating?" I asked him again. The helpless man just whimpered at me. "Tell me now!" I yelled, knowing that he could die of his injuries at any second.

He tried to form words, but they died in his mouth. Then he gasped painfully, and exhaled slowly. His eyes rolled into his head, and his head fell sideways. Damien Leopard was gone.

I gritted my teeth and sighed. I'd failed my mission.

…

I stepped back outside, and looked for those guards. I was happy to see that they had all gone. I sighed with relief as I could finally believe that it was over. No one in the street seemed any the wiser either. They all just went about their normal routine. I realised that that was something I didn't know, just having a routine. I wasn't sure how I felt about that.

Janine and Ivy were the only sign of what had just happened that I could see. They stood outside the building, hugging each other tightly. Ivy seemed to be crying. Not that I blamed her; she had experienced something that I could sympathise with. She experienced the absolute surety that she was going to die. It was something that changed you. I couldn't help but admire Janine, who still looked strong, even after all that had happened.

To tell the truth, despite having failed, I felt really good about myself. Perhaps I had redeemed myself a little today. I had saved a pair of innocent lives, and probably a lot more as well. Maybe I was still a monster. But still, I thought, there was hope for me.