In spite of the sun's incessant cackling, Soul Eater snored peacefully upon the living room couch. Feet on the coffee table, head back toward the ceiling. Dreaming about his inevitable future as a Death Scythe, no doubt. Times like this, with simple, solitary relaxation, were exceedingly rare. If they didn't have classes, they had a mission or the occasional earth-consuming crisis to worry about. But with Kid and his partners on missions, Black Star making up classes, and Tsubaki and Maka in their "Straight A study session", the laid-back Weapon finally had a moment to relax. A moment that wouldn't be wasted. He smiled in his sleep, as a warm sensation, much like a firm pillow, came to rest on his exposed face.
"Soul, I'm back! What do you want for dinner? Tsubaki was thinking-" The greeting voice of Maka's was cut off, as she gazed at the living room. More specifically, the pair that looked quite relaxed and happy. Blair, the immensely powerful Monster Cat, as well as their forced roommate, leaned over the back-side of the couch. Happily flipping through TV channels, with her chest pressed against Soul's sleeping face. "Oh, hi Maka! Darling Soul and I were just looking for a movie. I was thinking something... Spooky. Wanna join?" Blair greeted, with her typical mischievous smile. At that moment, much to his misfortune, Soul began to stir. He was only given enough time to realize what his face was against, before Maka's boot collided with his cheek. Sending him flying against the room, straight into a slouched position against the wall.
"Hm. Oh well" Blair said simply, gazing at Soul, before hopping over the couch and claiming his seat in her cat form. Blood trickled down Soul's face, mainly his nose, as he faced the ceiling with a dazed expression. "Can't you ever hit her? I just wanted a nap..." Soul groaned. Maka merely brushed some blood from the tip of her boot, and stood upright. "That's not all you wanted, from where I was standing. Now come on. Tsubaki wanted to hold a dinner party to celebrate Kid's successful mission"
The violet kitten raised her head, ears perking at what she'd heard. "Nya? Could I come? Pretty please?" Blair pleaded, attempting to persuade Maka with her large orange eyes. Maka merely helped Soul up, then faced the mischievous feline. "Sorry. Tsubaki's place doesn't allow pets, and your human form is..." Wiping the blood from his nose, Soul concluded his partner's thought. "Too sexy. Black Star and I wouldn't be able to take our eyes off ya, and I'm sure Kid could find something asymmetrical to freak out about." His further explanation, luckily, had saved him from another of Maka's strikes. Blair's ears drooped in slight disappointment, as Soul and Maka hurriedly left the home. "We'll try to bring back some fish!" Maka offered, before the door shut behind her.
"Mrrow..." Blair, in her cat form, sounded to no one in particular as she walked the streets of Death City. Perhaps the call was an instinctual attempt at fish, or another kind gesture. Though, to be honest, entertainment sounded far better than some fish from a street vendor. She'd kept herself busy before, even when alone in her pumpkin home. Bubble baths, practicing her Halloween magic, performing simple tricks on nearby townsfolk. Things that seemed boring, compared to what DWMA Students usually faced. Ever since that snake witch and her meek kid had attacked, Blair had been stuck in the role of a neglected, bored little kitty. Her head raised, just in time to catch a kindly tossed fish in her small mouth. The salty, refreshing taste reminded her of prouder times. Why was she moping? She had the whole city to herself! With her power and skills in seduction, there was no telling what she could do! But where to start? She found her answer, in a rather peculiar smell. Salty, like fish, but also... slimier. Her ears perked.
"Come on, hold it steady! If we screw up, we're snake chow!" Eruka Frog pointed out worriedly, prompting three Mizune sisters to scramble in holding up a large device. Four witches altogether, though they each shivered at the thought of Medusa's wrath. Held steady by the Mizune, and sloppily calibrated by Eruka, was what appeared to be a sizable antenna. Sitting just past the wall, on the outskirts of Death City, and likely used to spy on Death Weapon Meister Academy. "Well, well. Who would've thought? Death City has a rodent problem" Eruka turned quickly, fearing discovery by one of the Academy faculty, only to spot a single cat. Perched on a nearby ledge, with a mischievous glint in her orange eyes. Eruka relaxed, though the Mizune certainly knew better.
"Hey, isn't that cute? Run along, cat. We've got stuff to do." Eruka returned to her calibrating, only to be halted by the machine's tilting. "Mizune, come on! Forget about that stupid cat." The mousey witches remained at their posts, but gave Blair full attention, with angry glares. "Ooh, the little mice remember me?" Blair mused from her perch "You should be careful. Wouldn't want that snake lady mad at you, huh?" The kitten leaped from her ledge, flipping directly over the device that stood below, before chanting: "Pum-Pumpkin-Pumpkin, Flying Pumpkins!" Upon incantation, multiple flaming pumpkins would soar downward. Detonating the surveillance device, just as the surrounding witches dived back.
Unlike before, the Mizune needn't wait for commands. The three sisters instantly flew forward, only to be side-stepped and out-maneuvered by their feline adversary. Blair landed with ease and a smile, as she returned to her seductive human form. She giggled and laughed as the Mizune lashed out, while Eruka stood among the wreckage. How would she get out of this? How could she possibly survive, telling Medusa of another failure. She'd have to hope that the deepest pond would offer even a day of refuge. "You... You ruined it! You ruined it, you damn cat!" With a growl and held-back tears of frustration, she'd throw a flurry of small, vicious Tadpole Bombs. Each one flying forward, and succeeding in only destroying patches of the barren wasteland outside the Gothic city. Blair seemed impressed with the little witch's outburst, though far from feeling endangered.
"You know, if you don't tone it down, you'll probably attract more people to ruin our fun. Like the big zombie guy, or even that creepy professor." Blair pointed out, while sitting and rising into the air, on yet another Flying Pumpkin. Eruka merely threw her fists down in a huff, resisting the urge to scream out of frustration. Blair was an incredible nuisance, but unfortunately, she was also correct. There was no need to bring in even more trouble. She spoke with a growl. "Mizune, transform! Maybe Medusa will go easy on us, if we kill this meddling pussycat!" Optimistic, to say the least. Nonetheless, the Mizune agreed.
Blair's ears perked once more, as she redirected her attention to the three witch sisters. A small tilt of her head, as they chanted: "Chichichi, chichichi, chichichi!" The chanting continued, as Blair was given a familiar sight. The Mizune Family's merge technique, one Blair had dealt with before. She dropped, entirely forgetting Eruka, and preparing to face off against the equally provocatively dressed witch. The Mizune piled onto each other, swirled into place as their collective chanting grew ever louder. As quickly as the smoke had appeared, it vanished - Revealing not Blair's seductive adversary, but a younger version. A slim-built teenage girl, with darker, shoulder length hair and a striped dress. The equivalent of three Mizune.
Blair's ears droop. "Aww, that's it? Really?" She dodged another Tadpole Bomb with little thought, and dropped down before the teenage witch with curious eyes. "I guess you need more sisters, huh? You're almost Maka's size. Short, flat-chested, always glaring. You don't really-" A swift kick to the stomach silenced Blair's jeers, sending her staggering back to a large boulder. "Stupid Kitty, always so proud of her body" The mousey combination spoke with a glare, and rushed forward. Her whiskers extending into long, laser-like blades. Blair quickly flipped her body upward, allowing the lasers to slice clean through the rock. Kicking off the rock's remains, behind the angered teen. "Gee, you're just as sensitive as you look! Pum-Pum-Pumpkin: Halloween Cannon!" A glowing pumpkin blast shot forward from Blair's palms. Being sufficiently more powerful than her singular forms, Mizune smirked. A smirk that wouldn't last long. The blast takes a hard left, detonating directly on an unsuspecting Eruka.
"There! Now we can fight without that whiny frog girl ruining it" Blair beamed with a smile, much to Mizune's annoyance. Ensuring her frog-loving partner was okay, Mizune glared. "As much as we wanted a rematch, why are you doing this? You're not part of the DWMA, you don't work for Death. Why must you ruin it all?" Blair titled her head at this question, then gazed at the grinning moon overhead. A single finger scratching behind her cat ear. "Oh, I dunno. It's our thing, right? Cat and Mouse? Besides, there's a lot of nice people in this city. There wouldn't be much fun, if we let you and your creepy boss blow it up."
Mizune scoffed. Such a simple response, as if it were common sense. Her family certainly didn't care about the teeming metropolis. For her, Eruka, Crona, even the immortal Free, their mission was merely for survival. With a glare, she flew forward once more. Fists readied, whiskers extended to slice through the meddling cat. Blair merely grinned, and leaped upward again. "You could use some new tricks, little mouse!" She laughed, but soon winced, as she felt the whisker blades cut the skin. Drawing blood from her shoulder, as Mizune made a hard turn upward.
"Every time I get close, you seem to lose that confidence, little cat" The combined sisters stood upright with a smirk, as Blair attempted to stop the fair amount of blood. The whisker blades were no joke. She'd seen them slice clean through buildings, in a singular Mizune form. With the skill amplified like this, Blair knew to be cautious, and thankful that she hadn't lost the arm altogether. Still, she had no intention of letting this little mouse see her riled. She gave a cat-like smile in response "Well then, I guess I can't let that flat little body of yours get close!" She giggled, to further annoy the witch. And annoy, she did. With a narrow of the eyes, Mizune soared forward, prepared to slice the curvaceous cat in two.
Blair dives to the side. Then to the right. Up, left, right, even under the increasingly frustrated witch. Each cheeky maneuver and giggle, getting Mizune angrier. Sloppier. "Boy, that's really all you can do, huh? A tough punch and those whisker things? Maybe you should have stayed separated" Blair pointed out, while dodging each swoop with ease. "Shut up!" Mizune shot back during each swoop, falling for each and every taunt, without Eruka to provide a voice of reason. Finally, Blair did a seemingly typical back-flip over a low strike, only to slam her feet directly into the witch's back. Slamming her hard into the ground below.
Mizune growled in anger, and struggled to get up. She'd been played. Medusa would kill them in an instant, should she know of such a sloppy mistake. "I guess it's my turn, huh?" Blair, still standing on her back, asked inquisitively. "Just so we're clear, you're welcome back to Death City, in my book. As long as you bring more people to merge with. I still wanna settle things with that big Mizune, and this?" She gave the struggling teen a smile, and pressed her foot down "Didn't settle anything. So try not to die by that snake lady, 'kay?" Just before Mizune could cough out a response, Blair leaped high into the air. Flipping herself downward, palms out, to ensure that Mizune would no longer be a threat for this evening. "Pumpkin-Pum-Pumpkin: Smashing Pumpkin!
Blair beamed with pride, as she stood in what was once her battleground; Leftover craters and slice marks decorating the area, and most importantly, a total of four witches tied up behind her. She could hear Lord Death now: "Four witches, in one night! My, my, that's something Soul and Maka haven't even accomplished! Someone, get this kitty a helping of tuna!" She daydreamed of all the possible rewards, giggling as Academy Faculty came to answer her call.
"What's this about? I'm usually in bed at this time, and I was never a man to break tradition" Sid, the hulking zombie and Lord Death's adviser, questioned the jovial cat. "What do you think it's about? I caught a bunch of witches! I bet they've got a whole bun of Medusa's juicy secrets! As for payment, I want salmon, tuna, cod, and a side of rice" Blair answered, while gesturing behind her, at her proud catch. Sid gave a rather blank expression in response, as did Professor Stein, who seemed to have gotten distracted by the thought of Sid's sleeping habits. "Miss Blair, is it? The DWMA doesn't usually give rewards for large piles of rope" Stein dryly pointed out. Ears quirking, Blair turned around, to see that her catch had, indeed, disappeared as she'd been daydreaming.
"I guess this means I can go back to bed now?" Sid requested, while turning away from the distraught cat. Lighting his cigarette, Stein, however, surveyed the area. The various craters, the cut's on Blair's figure. He turned to the disappointed cat. "It's not much, and I can't promise any big rewards, but it seems you did help us out. You saved the academy from whatever it is they were planning, and more importantly, you helped us gather data on their Soul Protect capabilities. Go get some rest. I'll discuss this with Lord Death, and figure out how to compensate you." Stein turned away as well, leaving Blair to return to her shared home with substantial happiness. "There's nothing we can really learn from this mess, that we don't already know. You know that, right?" Sid questioned, as Stein caught up. "Of course I do. But I never could walk away from a sad cat, even if certain zombies can. I'll leave a cod on her doorstep or something."
Maka walked in first, as the night came to gradual end, and dawn threatened to break "See, Soul? That wasn't so bad". "Speak for yourself" The mellow weapon responded, sporting a marker-drawn mustache that Patty had given him, upon falling asleep. Maka smiled, and set down her bags, with a rather mysterious basket of cod that lay on the doorstep. "Hey Blair, I think you got a gift" She called out. Soul took a breath, and prepared himself for the usual greeting: Blair running up, and tackling him into a full-chested hug. A hug that, oddly enough, never came. Fearing the irregularity, the meister/weapon duo searched the house, only to find Blair in the living room. Sleeping peacefully, bandage on her left paw, and a smile on her face.
/ Author's note: A one-shot that I'm pretty proud of, and I hope you've enjoyed! Blair was always a favorite character of mine, and I also thought this would be a good chance to give Mizune some character (At least, her third form). Feedback is appreciated, and for those waiting on my other story, I'll do my best to continue it soon. Stay awesome - AnotherAnt