Disclaimer: Soul Eater and its characters do not belong to me, they are the property of the wonderful Atsushi Ohkubo!
Warning: Story contains mature content and themes, as well as **potentially triggering themes** in later chapters. I'll try to warn you guys at the beginning of the chapter if there's something sensitive or a bit too graphic, so please don't skip these little notes! :p
Darkness engulfed the dense forest, shrouding what was beneath the canopy in mystery. The forest was surprisingly humid for its location in the middle of the Nevada desert, and though the sun's rays could not reach the ground, it was hotter than an oven amidst the trees. A menacing chuckle resonated from down a dark path in the forest, immediately weighing down the air with an impending sense of doom.
A sturdily-built boy with auburn hair and blue eyes kicked a rock with the toe of his sneaker and scowled at the ground. Trotting beside him with his head turned to the sky was an individual that was nearly a perfect mirror image of his appearance, despite his lack of a muscular build. The first boy came to a stop in the center of a forest clearing and crossed his arms over his broad chest.
"The entire city is surrounded by a desert, and you decided we would travel the one way where it's impossible to see where we're going?!" he exclaimed, whirling around on his heel to face me.
I shot a heated glare at my redheaded companion and shoved in front of him, deciding to take charge of the situation. "It's swelteringly hot in the desert, Ryoko. We would've died from heat exhaustion before we even reached Death City," I retorted.
The irate ginger rolled his eyes and scoffed "I don't know about you, but I can survive through a little bit of heat. It's hot right now, if you hadn't noticed."
"Are you implying that I'm weak?!" I spat, "I just figured since we have limited water, why should we torture ourselves by–"
"Guys..." my second redheaded companion said shakily.
"We're enrolling in a school where we'll be travelling the world, Crys! If we can't stand a little bit of humidity, how are we going to survive fighting off kishin eggs, huh?" Ryoko argued.
"G-guys!" the smaller of the twins repeated nervously.
"Shut up, Mieko!" Ryoko and I screeched in synchronization.
"Turn the fuck around, you dumbasses!" he howled. Before Ryoko or I could move a muscle, he leapt for us and tackled us both to the ground. We were about to start yelling at him when all of our gazes landed on a terrifyingly gruesome creature looming mere feet before us.
The manner in which the creature moved was clumsy and uncoordinated, as if its body was too large for it to control. It was holding some sort of portable canon in its pincers and its legs resembled more of an insect's than any human's. The creature's eyes were black like an abyss and sunken into its skull. Its cheeks were sallow as if it were deprived of the human souls it so craved. It glared hungrily at the trio, swiping its tongue over its lips as it eyed them like a Thanksgiving dinner.
"I've been searching everywhere for a soul like yours, girl. It's rare to find one so developed at such a young age," the creature snickered.
I was frozen in place, my body completely rigid out of fear. I had only ever faced one kishin egg before in my life, and it was a fairly weak one. Never before had I come face-to-face with something so terrifying at such an unexpected time.
"We should run," Mieko said, grabbing my wrist in urgency.
"No, we have to fight it! We're enrolling in the DWMA, we have to be good for something!" exclaimed Ryoko, "Transform, now!"
Ryoko's body was engulfed by a deep crimson luminescence that illuminated the dark forest surrounding us. Moments after he did so, his twin brother followed suit. On instinct, I latched onto the handles of their weapon forms and gripped the metal so hard my knuckles turned white. Though it was difficult to wield dual club maces, I was an expert, but I didn't think I was ready to fight such a gruesome being.
The creature lunged for me and I dodged the attack by nimbly leaping to the left. I brought down my left mace and landed a blow to the side of the kishin egg's head. It howled in agony, however the pain only angered it more. The cannon in its pincers fired at me, and it's ammunition came so close to hitting me that it burned a hole in the sleeve of my jacket. My eyes widened as I glanced down at the piece of my singed garb. That was close.
"You will pay for this, girl!" the creature screeched.
In the blink of an eye, I was thrown to the forest floor and the wind was knocked out of me. The kishin egg had one of its pincers pinning me to the ground by the throat. My heart was pounding against my ribcage in fright, and my breaths were shallow and ragged with terror. I squeezed my eyes shut to concentrate on quickly planning my next move rather than on the fear that gripped my heart. Stay calm, don't panic. Just think of what Dad taught you.
"It's over," its sinister voice hissed in my ear.
Never accept defeat.
With lightning speed, I dug the long spikes of my mace into the creature's arm and ripped it away violently. The joint was amputated and blood spattered my face. I leapt up from the ground and skidded backwards, distancing myself from the monster. It approached me again at lightning speed, but I smoothly slipped out of its path. I darted forwards and lashed out with one of my weapons, landing a fatal blow with its spikes between the kishin egg's eyes. In agony, it crumpled to the ground and its body dissipated into the air, leaving behind a glowing orb with a pinkish-red luminescence.
Ryoko morphed back into his human form and grinned down at the kishin egg soul. He picked it up with one hand and nearly unhinged his jaw as he swallowed it. I cringed and averted my eyes from my demon weapon partner to the darkness of the forest ahead. I nibbled on my bottom lip nervously. We had only fought two kishin in our lives, so we weren't experienced in the least. What would happen if we ran into another one along that path?
The only reason I knew anything about souls and the way the world worked was because of my father. He once attended the Death Weapon Meister Academy, though he never created a Death Scythe for Lord Death. His weapon partner, my late mother, died before they could collect ninety-nine kishin egg souls and one witch soul. After that, he gave up on being a meister and rejected the life of a DWMA student altogether. He took me, moved out of Death City, and wanted to leave everything in the past behind him. However, as I grew older I became a curious child, and I pulled him right back into his memories of the past.
"Yo, are we going or not, Crys?" Ryoko called. His voice brought me back to reality and I blinked a few times. Ryoko and Mieko were standing a few yards ahead of me, beckoning me to continue onwards down the path that would eventually lead us into Death City.
"Sorry, I'm coming," I responded. I jogged to catch up with them and flashed an excited smile when I eventually did, "So, are you guys ready to become students at the DWMA?"
"Hello, hello, hello~! Welcome to the one and only Death Weapon Meister Academy, I'm Lord Death! We've been expecting you!"
Lord Death's voice and appearance was definitely more shocking to me than any kishin egg's ugly face. I expected him to be a huge, scary guy in a hooded cloak with a gravelly, frightening voice. Instead, he was a tall man in a spiky cloak with a white skull mask that was anything but scary. Not to mention his voice reminded me of a playful, proud grandfather speaking to his grandchildren rather than one of the strongest beings on Earth.
"Good afternoon, Lord Death," I greeted, bowing deeply. Mieko and Ryoko exchanged glances from either side of me, then followed my lead and bowed respectively. They seemed just as shocked as I was about Lord Death's appearance.
"Your father called about you to notify me of your arrival. I wouldn't want to accidentally send any weapon and meister pairs out to kill you, haha~!" Lord Death said, "What happened with your mother was very tragic, and hopefully her...fate won't be passed down through blood."
My eyes widened and I inwardly shuddered at the thought of losing either one of my weapons. Though I didn't always agree with them, they were like my older brothers. They were always there to protect me and if I ever needed anyone to lean on, they were right there by my side.
"Would you mind telling me your names?" Lord Death questioned.
"Of course, sir. I am Crystalin Vaux, and my demon weapon partners are Ryoko and Mieko Kasai," I replied with a tight-lipped smile.
"Wonderful! Crystalin, you must be a very talented meister. I only know of a select few young students who can dual wield weapons, one of them being my own son," he remarked, "You do understand that you will need to collect one hundred ninety-eight kishin egg souls and two witch souls, correct?"
I nodded sharply with a smile and glanced at my weapon partners on either side of me. I knew the two brothers wanted to become Death Scythes more than anything else – my training saved their lives. I didn't care how much work I had to put into it, I would help them fulfill their dreams.
"May I see your weapon forms, Mieko and Ryoko?" Lord Death inquired. The twins glanced at each other and nodded in perfect synchronization.
The twins' bodies were quickly engulfed in their glowing crimson luminescence, compressing into two club maces. I caught them in my hands and held them out to Lord Death for closer inspection. He moved back a bit in shock and cocked his head, his whole body tilting along with it.
"That was quite a...unique transformation," he commented. The brow on his mask creased and I flinched in surprise, not expecting his mask to come to life. He tapped his chin with his comically large hand and turned his back to my weapons and I.
"You will be placed in Class Crescent Moon in the EAT class, all three of you. You'll start in a week. Get yourself settled and find an apartment in the area. If you can't find anything, we always offer student housing," he said over his shoulder, "Anyway, welcome to Death City!"
(Third Person POV)
"You were right, Spirit. Her demon weapons' transformations were quite odd."
A man with burgundy hair and sky blue eyes nodded. He shoved his hands in the pockets of his black suit pants and slouched lazily. He remarked, "From what I observed on the outskirts of the city, they were formidable opponents for three untrained students. I'm glad you placed them in the EAT class; however...what was up with their luminescence? It was crimson."
"Her soul was dark as well, and it was extremely powerful for someone of her age. She's not human, I can tell you that," a new voice responded. Lord Death and Spirit turned to see a man with light gray hair and mint green eyes strolling into the Death Room with a lit cigarette hanging out of his mouth and a bolt through his head.
"Here comes Stein, the notorious freak," muttered Spirit. The newcomer, Stein, fixed him with a deadly glare and the redheaded man fell silent.
"What do you suppose she is, Lord Death?" hummed Stein.
"That soul wavelength was most definitely out of the ordinary. It seems that she takes after her mother in that respect. She seems to mean no harm to the Academy, though she still needs to be placed under supervision. Her abnormal wavelength affected her weapon partners greatly, so much so that their own souls have been tainted, which explains their crimson luminescence. There's no saying what she'll do to any team that she's placed on," Lord Death answered, "She carries a very strong vulnerability to the madness as well. Possibly even stronger than your own, Stein. She needs to have a close eye kept on her."
Stein nodded and said, "I'll take her under my wing, Lord Death. I know the most about madness from personal experience, and, despite their idiocy, my team is quite gifted."
"But what about Maka?! My darling little angel will be put in danger! Her soul could become tainted, she could be possessed or something, right?!" Spirit cut in.
"Shut up, Spirit," growled Stein.
"There is no saying what will happen, Spirit. Your daughter will probably be fine," Lord Death said, "Don't forget, my son is on that team as well. Though his soul is extremely powerful, he's young so it's not impenetrable." He turned away and studied the fabricated blue sky and white clouded background of the Death Room.
"In fact, if she was here to take over anything in this Academy, Kid's soul would be what she would want the most. Attraction to powerful souls is in her nature."
A/N: Hello there! This is my first fanfiction on this site, so I'm kind of nervous for it to be critiqued :\ I apologize if you don't like that the characters are a bit OOC, I know I have a tendency to write them in such ways. Anyways, I probably won't usually put author's notes at the ends of chapters usually, so this is a rarity~