Suki Miyori walked through the gates of Death City after coming from her home town, a two months journey away. Her shoulder-length, straight red hair hung over her face, and her green eyes stared as the tall gates closed behind her. She looked around the town, at the different buildings, stores, and homes. Down the street, towering above it all, Suki saw the ginormous building of the DWMA; the Death Weapon Meister Academy.
Suki took out a crumpled photograph of her and her family. Horrid images flashed in her mind. Images of her eight year old brothers, Masaki and Motoki, being decapitated ruthlessly, her mother, with snake-like things crawling all over her, tortured and bloody, and her father, who helped her escape before he disappeared into the house. The last thing she heard was him screaming in agony.
Tears staining her cheeks for the twentieth time, she choked out, "I made it, Dad. Like I promised."
She heard him mention a name, but she couldn't remember it now. She had been running for so long, having no idea where she was going, she had forgotten the rest of her journey's requirements. She had to find a man named…what?
She gave up. It was getting dark anyway. She made shelter inside an alleyway, piled the coat her father had shoved into her arms on top of her, threw the backpack she found in a dumpster and filled with food she stole aside, and tried to sleep.
The next day, as she was walking in the market, Suki saw a strange dark figure dart in front of her, running away. She didn't know who he was, but he suddenly stopped and beckoned her over. She ran closer to him, but he darted away. She chased him until he stopped in front of the closed gates of the DWMA. He turned to face her, and she saw a boy. He looked about her age, and had black hair with three white bars on one side, cut precisely down the middle, golden eyes, and pale skin. His cloak billowed when he walked, and his clothes were perfectly symmetrical. He had two skull rings, one on each middle finger.
"Who are you?" she asked.
The boy didn't speak. He just turned toward the gates and opened them. He gestured for her to follow him. Suki hesitated, then started to walk behind the stranger. In a second, two girls accompanied him. One looked about as serious as the boy, with long dark blond hair and dark, piercing blue eyes. The other had light blonde hair, bright blue eyes, and a bright smile, giving her a more welcoming, bubbly appearance. They wore matching red shirts with white cropped jackets and jeans, with boots and a hat. The darker haired girl had longer jeans than the other one. But overall, they looked like twin cowgirls.
Suki stared in confusion at the trio. "What do you want?" she asked, her voice growing nervous.
The boy walked forward and stopped within a foot of her. "We know about your family," he said calmly.
"What? How do you know?"
"My father, Lord Death, sensed you coming. He knew you planned to come here when you became of age, but the wavelengths of your soul said something was wrong. You were alone, scared. My father sent me to bring you here. He said your father had a plan for you in this city."
"Lord Death…my mother mentioned him. Doesn't he run the DWMA?" Suki asked him.
The boy nodded. "Yes, he does."
"You never answered my first question."
"I'm sorry?" The boy raised a confused eyebrow.
"When you turned to face me, I asked you who you were. What's your name?"
"Oh. Well, I am Lord Death's son, Death the Kid. You can just call me Kid. These girls are my weapons. The one with longer hair is Liz, and the other one is Patty. You're Suki Miyori, aren't you?"
Suki nodded, giving the girls a short wave. Patty returned it, but Liz was too busy fixing her cuticles.
"Well, let's go inside. My father wants to speak to you." Kid turned and went toward the giant doors of the Academy. Suki followed, admiring the building. The interior was magnificent. The entire place was huge. But Suki had to keep up, so she didn't have time to admire the scenery.
Soon they entered a large set of doors. "Father," Kid called as they walked under several sets of guillotines, maybe twenty feet high. They walked on until they made it to a large podium-like end of the large room. On that podium was a large mirror and a figure that seemed to be covered in a tattered black cloth looking at them through a white mask. The mask was shaped like a cartoony skull, and he had what looked to be white foam hands that materialized from his body.
"Ah, Kid! You found her. Wonderful!" Lord Death's voice was pleasant and welcoming. He looked Suki over. "You've come a long way, haven't you?"
"All the way from my house," Suki said, looking down at her tattered, dirty clothes she had stolen from a shop.
"Not to worry," Lord Death said, waving a white finger at her. "We'll get you cleaned up soon, my dear. Your father made sure everything was ready for when you came to the DWMA. All the preparations are made. All you need to do is choose a weapon.
"But you must be absolutely exhausted," Lord Death continued. "And you'll need a place to stay. Just a moment." He turned toward the mirror behind him and their reflections shimmered until a new face showed up in the mirror. It was the image of a girl her age, fourteen, with ash blond pigtails and green eyes. She wore a white blouse under a yellow sweater vest, a red plaid skirt, and black boots with white buckles. She looked pretty, and her smile was welcoming and polite.
"Hello, Lord Death," the girl said, her voice making her more welcoming and kind.
"Hello, Maka. Listen, I need to ask you a favor. I would like you to take someone into your home for a while, until I can find a more permanent place for her. I hope I can count on you for that?"
"Of course. When will she be here? I can't wait to meet her."
"She'll arrive tonight. No need to give her food, I will feed her before she comes."
"Alright. Wow, I can't wait to meet this person. What's her name?"
Lord Death chuckled. "She'll tell you when she gets there. She'll just say, 'I'm your new roommate.'" He waved a finger playfully as he said this. Suki liked Lord Death's sense of humor.
Maka smiled. "Okay."
"Thanks a lot!" Maka and Lord Death waved at each other, then her image faded from view.
"Perfect," Kid said, speaking for the first time. Suki jumped, forgetting he was there. Patty giggled, and Kid hid a smile. "Now that she has a place to stay, why don't we get her cleaned and fed?"
Lord Death looked at them and tilted his head. "But how are we going to get you some new clothes? We don't have—"
"I'll see if I can let her keep some," Liz piped up. "And maybe, I can take her shopping sometime."
"That's a good idea," Suki said shyly. "I'd like that. Thanks."
"First and foremost, you need to wash up. I'm sure Kid can help with that." Lord Death looked at Kid, who nodded, his face beginning to flush.
"Y-yeah, I can help with that. Um…come on, I'll show you to my room." Awkwardly, Kid led her out of the Death Room. Suki glanced back once more to see Liz and Patty wink at her and make hearts at them with their hands.
She turned back and giggled, which caught Kid's attention. "What?" he asked.
"Nothing," Suki smiled.
Once she had showered and gotten cleaned up, Suki put on some clothes that Liz had given her. They fit perfectly. She looked at herself one more time in the mirror. Her red hair was brushed, and Liz had given in an "edgy curl" by slightly curling the edges of her hair so it framed her face cutely. Her pale skin shined cleanly, and her green eyes shone brightly, like they used to do. She was dressed in a plain red shirt with a nice pair of jeans and calf high boots. She felt much better. Refreshed, ready to face the world now.
"Okay Kid," she called. "I'm dressed."
Kid walked through the door and froze when he saw her. She smiled. "What do you think? Do you like it? Is it good?" she asked.
"Yeah. You look…" He cleared his throat and straightened. "Great. You look great."
"Okay. Then I'll see you soon!" She grabbed her backpack and ran to find Maka Albarn.
Soul Evans
"Maka!" Soul shouted. "When are you making dinner?"
"Would you relax?" Maka shouted back. "I'm trying to prepare a room for our new guest."
"'New guest?'" Soul repeated, fixing the headband so it fit comfortably in his white hair. He blinked his red eyes at the mention of the guest. "Who is he? When's he coming over?"
"She'll be over soon. I don't know what her name is, though."
Just as she finished the sentence, there was a knock at the door. Soul got up, stuck his hands in the pockets of his yellow and black jacket, and walked to the door. When he opened it, he saw a pretty girl, maybe fourteen, with red hair and green eyes. And she looked H-O-T.
"Hi," the girl said shyly. "I'm Suki Miyori. I am your new roommate. Is Maka Albarn here?"
"Uh…uh…" Soul shook his head, mentally kicking himself for getting distracted by her pretty face. "Yeah, come in. She's prepping your room right now. You hungry?" He closed the door behind her and flopped back onto the couch.
"No, I ate already." Suki smiled politely. "Thanks though."
"Hey, Soul! Who was it?" came Maka's voice from the other room. Then she walked out and saw Suki.
"Maka, this is Suki. She's that new roommate you mentioned," Soul said, managing to take his eyes off of Suki's face.
"Hey. Your room's back here." Maka walked to the back room and the girls got to talking.
"How long is she staying?" Soul called.
"Until Lord Death can find a permanent place for her," Maka replied.
"He'd better not rush," Soul muttered under his breath, then grabbed the remote to the television and settled in.
