*Separated*

Mmmm… Don't have much of an explanation for this one, but anyway, here we go! Yay for crossovers. Tehee. By the way, I will probably be making two different versions of this, one crossover and one non crossover.

*S*

"I know I miss you, but its okay. I don't get depressed when I'm lonely."

The Distance That Took You Away by Say We Can Fly

*S*

Chapter One: New Home

Separated. That's how my mama and papa described their divorce to me. "It's just a separation," they would say. But who were they kidding? I'm not a child who doesn't understand what's going on. I knew that they had their problems, mostly stemming from Papa's womanizing ways, and I also knew they would not be getting back together after they figured everything out. I didn't expect Mama to get full custody and take me away from Death City though.

Separated. That's what I was. Separated from the only place I knew. Separated from my weapon partner, Soul. Separated from Black*Star and Tsubaki. I should be starting my senior year at DWMA, instead… I'm in Japan, with my grandparents. Where my mom dumped me about a month ago. Summer would be ending soon, and I would start a new school here, a normal school. I sighed from my spot at my desk and pushed back, my chair rolling easily across the hardwood floors of my room.

My name is Maka Albarn, I'm 17 years old and have ash blonde hair and wide green eyes. I'm a Scythe Meister. My weapon partner is Soul "Eater" Evans. I should be in Death City, Nevada, but instead I'm in Karakura Town, in Japan. As I said before, I've been here for a month, living with my grandparents, struggling to learn Japanese enough to get by. They were horribly traditional people and I don't know how my mom was able to stand growing up here, no offense to them or my mom. I walked downstairs in my socks and grabbed my long coat from beside the door. Thankfully they hadn't made me stop wearing my favorite outfit. Though I'd had to trade in my boots for dressier looking shoes. (My old ones were hidden in my closet.) My first day of school at Karakura High started tomorrow. Here I would only be Junior, if that's even how they count classes.

It was unfair of my mom really to take me away from everything I'd ever known. And away from my weapon partner too! She could have at least let me drag Soul with me. Death only knows what trouble he was getting into without me there to keep him straight. I sighed as I finished pulling on my shoes. I stood up straight and used my Soul Perception to see if my grandparents were home. They usually weren't and today was no different. I stepped out of the house and closed the door behind me. There was a lot of yelling from next door, and I cocked my head as a boy with bright orange hair came running out of the house. All I knew about the neighbors were that they owned a small clinic. And they made a lot of noise. The boy slammed his door and shook his head, before turning to smile regretfully at me.

"Gomenesai," he said. "Pardon all the noise, I think my family is crazy (Translate to Japanese.)" I blinked and blushed slightly, only catching the word for sorry,

"I… I don't really speak fluent Japanese," I said quietly walking over to the boy. His soul… Was huge, and strange, it was unlike any human soul I'd ever seen. He radiated power.

"Oh…" The boy said switching to English. "My bad, I'm Ichigo Kurosaki, and I said Sorry, pardon the noise. I think my family is crazy."

"I'm Maka Albarn," I said extending a hand for the boy to shake.

"New to the country?" Ichigo asked, "I don't think I've ever seen anyone with the Isaka's. Didn't even know they had relatives." He smiled slightly.

"Yeah, they're my grandparents," I said. "My mom moved away when she was young and attended school in Nevada, it's where she met my dad. But they recently got a divorce and mom got custody and dumped me here to fend for myself while she travels the world." It was a struggle to keep the bitterness from my voice, and one that I obviously didn't win.

"Ouch," Ichigo said frowning. He looked down the street to where a group of people were walking towards us, I watched as he grimaced slightly. I grinned and took the time to check out their souls. Most of them were normal. Though a few were almost just as strange as his was, one of them being exactly like it. I would have to ring Lord Death later and ask him what that was all about.

"Ichigo!" One of the boys with a normal soul broke off from the group and raced for the boy next to me. Without even blinking Ichigo lifted a leg and the other boy ran right into it. I felt my eyes widen and I briefly wondered if that would work with Black*Star.

"Hey everyone," Ichigo said. "This is Maka, she doesn't speak Japanese, so we should speak English and make her feel welcome." I blushed after he finished speaking and smiled shyly at the group of people my age. "Maka, this is Mizurio, Tatsuki, Orihime, Chad and Rukia. This creature on the ground is Keigo, but I wouldn't willingly make you associate with him."

"Hi everyone," I said smiling brightly and waving. I missed the look that Rukia gave me through narrowed eyes and checked the time on my phone. I needed to get to the post office so I can see if anyone sent me letters. Or finally shipped Blaire. Oh don't give me that look. They have special crates for shipping animals. Besides, it took me almost a month to convince my grandma and grandpa to let me get the Neko.

"Hi Maka, please to meet you," they all replied. Keigo gave a groan and I couldn't help but smile. They reminded me of my friends.

"Um," I said shifting my foot. "Would any of you know how to get to the um… post office?" I asked, unsure of what they would call it.

"I do!" Orihime said waving her hand. She was beautiful and I was immediately jealous of the very obvious assets she had.

"Would you mind showing me?" I asked. "I have some things that should have come in from home that I need to pick up." The orange haired girl nodded. She grabbed my hand and started to drag me in the opposite direction and I looked back to see Ichigo and Tatsuki waving.

"Don't get into trouble!" I heard them call. This time I caught the look Rukia gave me and it puzzled me. I hadn't met the girl before, why was she looking at me like I'd killed someone she knew. Unless of course I had…

"So Maka, what are you doing here in Japan?" Orihime asked me, finally letting go of my arm.

"Well, my mom dropped me off to live with my grandparents and she went off to travel the world with a friend," I said, messing with my tie. It was almost true, mom had gone to see the world, but it was with her new partner, Ryo.

"Oh, wow," Orihime said. "Will you be going to school here? Where did you live before? What about your dad, you didn't mention him before." Orihime seemed to be one of those people who was friendly, if only slightly airheaded.

"Um, yes, I will be going to school here. I'll be a junior. I lived in Nevada, in the United States. My dad is back home. He and my mom got a divorce." I said answering her questions in order.

"Oh cool, what was life like back in Nevada?" She asked me next, turning right when we reached a corner. "Oh, and I'm sorry about your parents," she added after a moment.

"It's alright," I said with a shrug. "Life in Nevada was… fun. I suppose you would have found it different." Most people would have found it different, growing up in Death City. "I lived with my friend Soul for a while, until mom decided to move me here. I would have been in my senior year back home."

"You sound homesick," the orange haired teen said quietly.

"Yeah, I suppose I am," I said shaking my head, my pigtails following the motion.

"Your friend, Soul, was it? What is she like?" Orihime asked me.

"Ah, Soul is a boy," I sad laughing. I was totally telling him about this later. "But he's awesome. Though he does slack off a lot and is always worried about being cool. Plus after we got Blaire I was always having to yell at him. But in the end... I guess, he is the best partner I could have asked for." I said gazing off into the sky, I felt the smile tug my lips up. From the corner of my eye, I saw Orihime cock her head slightly and then look straight. She didn't ask any more questions and led the way to the post office in silence.

"I'll go in with you," She said when we reached it. "I don't know if anyone in here speaks English." I nodded and thanked her before walking up to the counter.

In the end, Orihime wasn't needed, and the woman at the counter more than happily handed me several letters and a large crate that had "live animal" plastered on the side. I clapped happily when I saw it and handed Orihime the letters and opened the crate. The purple cat launched herself out of the crate and into my arms, purring loudly. I'm sure I would hear all about the injustice of stuffing her into a crate later, but for now she was content to be pet.

"What a pretty cat!" Orihime gushed. I smiled and held Blaire up for her to see.

"Orihime, this is Blaire! Mine and Soul's cat. It took a lot of convincing for my grandparents to let me have her here," I said scratching behind Blaire's ear.

"I've never seen a purple cat before," the girl in front of me murmured.

"Ha-ha," I laughed nervously. "We hadn't either, but its natural fur." I shrugged. No sense in telling her that Blaire was a Neko.

"Merow," Blaire said looking up at me. I smiled down at her and scratched behind her ear again before setting her carefully on my head. I held a hand out for the letters in Orihime's hand and she handed them over right away. I glanced at them as we exited the post office and saw that there were five, one from Soul, Tsubaki, Black*Star, and my dad. The fifth was from the Death Scythe in charge of Japan, or at least I think it was, it had been a while since we'd covered what Death Scythe held power where. Orihime led us to an older looking shop, the sign above the door read "Urahara Shoten".

"Hello," Orihime called out opening the door. Two heads peaked around the corner, a boy and a girl, one with bright red hair and the other pitch black.

"They're all back here," the girl said quietly.

"Who's the chick with the cat?" The boy asked eyeing me. I pursed my lips and narrowed my eyes, I didn't like his tone one bit.

"This Maka!" Orihime said leading me towards the two. "Maka this is Jinta and Ururu. They work for Mr. Urahara."

"Nice to meet you," Ururu and I said at the same time. The girl blushed and I giggled.

"And this is Blair," I said feeling the cat's claws sink into my scalp a little bit. Orihime led us to a back room where everyone was sitting around a round table. Added to the group was an older man in a green robe and green and white striped hat. He looked up at us lazily as we entered.

"This must be Miss Maka," he said smiling slowly.

"That's right," I said taking Blair off of my head. "I'm Maka Albarn, pleasure to meet you." At least I still had manners. The others had moved a bit to make room for us and I sat down next to Orihime and Chad. Looking around I noticed that Mizurio, Keigo, and Tatsuki were gone.

"What an interesting… cat," Rukia said from her spot next to Ichigo.

"Oh, this is Blair, I had her shipped from home poor thing," I said setting the purple cat in my lap.

"Don't let Yoruichi find her," Rukia said quietly, I noticed she was still giving me guarded looks, trying to figure me out maybe? Could she see souls too? I blinked a few times but didn't back down from her gaze. I was a Scythe Meister and could handle the petite girl if that's what she wanted.

"Anyway…" the green man, as I newly dubbed him, said regaining attention. "I am Urahara Kisuke. If you ever need any help, don't hesitate to find me and ask me."

"Thank you sir," I said gratefully. It was always a good thing to have allies, no matter how… strange they seemed. Slowly I was able to relax among the people in the room and soon everyone was laughing and joking around. I was almost sad when Urahara shooed us out of his shop.

"See you guys tomorrow at school," Ichigo said as we parted from the others at a corner. We walked in silence, Rukia had said goodbye to Orihime and had caught up with us as well. I could feel the letters from my friends inside my jacket pocket and I couldn't wait to get home and read them. All too soon, we reached our street.

"We'll wait for you in the morning," Ichigo said to me as I left him and Rukia in front of his family's clinic.

"Thank you!" I said smiling. I hurried home and opened the door quietly. "I'm home," I called out, not sure if my grandparents were home or not.

"We were beginning to worry," my grandma stuck her head around the corner. She zeroed her gaze on Blair and frowned. "Is that the cat?" She asked.

"Yes grandma, this is Blair," I said holding Blair out for her to see.

"Hmmm," she hummed quietly. "Just keep it in your room, alright?" She said to me. "And don't forget to take your shoes off." I put Blair down for a moment and sipped my shoes off before picking her back up.

"Thank you again Grandma," I said kissing her cheek before running up the stairs to my room. I hardly had my door shut before Blair leaped out of my arms and changed into a human.

"Maka!" She cried happily. She hugged me tightly and I returned the hug briefly.

"Shhh," I said laughing slightly. "How was the trip over here?" I asked.

"Horrible, I got airsick and they wouldn't open the crate no matter how much I meowed," Blair said pouting. She sat down on my bed and looked around. "Your room is pretty bare," she commented.

"Yeah I know," I said with a sigh. Personally I'd been hoping my mom would come back and get me, but as each day passed I realized how futile that hope was. "I need to put up my pictures and stuff."

"I can do it for you while you're at school tomorrow," Blair offered.

"That would be nice, just make sure my grandparents are gone before you do anything, I can't have them walking in to my room and finding you as a human," I said. "They'd freak out and probably call the cops." I'd never had to deal with cops before, one perk of being a DWMA Student, special privileges.

"You might be right," Blair said. "Oh! Before I forget, Soul got in a fight."

"He what!" I screeched loudly, I clapped my hand over my mouth and Blair turned back into a cat quickly. I pulled out one of my letters just as I heard footsteps on the stairs. When my grandma opened the door, my grandpa hovering over her shoulder, I waved the letter.

"Are you alright?" They asked.

"I'm fine, I promise," I said smiling. "Just something one of my friends back home did." I chuckled nervously as Blair yawned and curled up on one of my pillows.

"If you're sure," my grandma said starting to shut the door.

"Try to keep it down, we do have neighbors," my grandpa added.

"I will, thank you for checking on me," I said as they shut my door. They were weird about that sort of stuff, so it was always better to thank them just in case.

"Wow that was close," Blair said. She stayed in cat form but jumped over to my desk and sat down in front of me.

"Who did he get in a fight with?" I asked her.

"He and Black*Star decided to challenge Lord Death's son, he goes to the DWMA now," Blair said licking a paw. "They were totally getting their butts kicked, from what I understood, Tsubaki told me to tell you of course."

"That idiot," I muttered. Leave it to Soul to get into trouble when I wasn't there to help him.

"He's okay though," Blair added. She batted the letter in my hand, it was Soul's. "I doubt he'll say anything about it in here. Tsbuaki's might." I sighed and took out the rest of the letters and placed them one on top of another. I decided to save my friend's letters for tomorrow and opened the letter from the unknown person first.

Dear Miss Albarn,

I'm sorry if you don't recognize the name, but I am the Death Scythe in charge of Asia. Please forgive me being unable to greet you in person. I do not know if Lord Death has told you, but the DWMA has no hold over Japan. Evil souls hardly show up there, the ones that do have already passed on. It is my understanding that you can see souls, perhaps we can get together one day and work together to try and find some of these souls, just to see if the rumor is true. Just send a return letter to the address on the envelope and I'll work something out. It's a very busy continent you know.

Hope to hear from you,

Hiro Higurashi

I put the letter down and tapped my chin. No, I thought Lord Death hadn't told me that the DWMA had no hold on Japan. I just assumed that Kishin Eggs were taken care of just like they were elsewhere. I personally had never had a mission in Japan… Come to think of it, I don't even think Tsubaki had, and she was from Japan. I'd have to ask her. I sighed and rubbed my eyes. It was time for bed. I'd write Hiro tomorrow and tell him my answer. Though, it did sound interesting, it would be weird to work with someone that wasn't Soul.

I got ready for bed and had just pulled my covers over my head when I remembered that I hadn't called Lord Death to ask about Ichigo and Rukia's strange souls. I sighed but didn't get up. I could do that in the morning as well. Blair curled up next to me and the last thing I heard before drifting off to sleep was her purring.

*S*

Sooo, what did you think? I quite like it. I'm very proud of myself. Hopefully the rest of this can turn out just as good. Anyway, let me know what you think by leaving a comment or pop me a PM. As always until next time,

Shimmerz