Hi Hi Hi!

So this is my first fanfiction, and of course it has to do with my all time favorite anime/manga: Soul Eater.

So before we begin this grand adventure, I'm just going to issue a few warnings:

One: This story is going to be yaoi. If you are uncomfortable with this then do not start reading it, get offended, and then send a mean message. Just, you know, don't read it. Fairly straight forward, yes?

Two: This story will be a slow moving story, both in terms of content and updates. Content because I wanted to write a chaptered story where I could let all of my creative juices go to work and I want it to be realistic. Well, as realistic as it can be. Updates will be slow because this story is going to contain material that is not canon that I have to do research for and make up completely out of my own mind while still staying true to the Soul Eater universe. And bear in mind, I'm a junior in college and have a heavy workload. Just be patient, I promise that I will limit the time I take between chapters so that you're never waiting more than two weeks.

Three: I am a review fanatic. I adore reviews and critiques on my work and will only continue with something if I can get enough feedback. So if you like something, dislike something, have any ideas or muses that you would like to share, please review and tell me.

That's all for my warnings, now on to my inspiration for my story: this story stemmed from two of my obsessive thoughts concerning Soul Eater. One being the luscious imaginary pairing of Death the Kid and Soul Eater Evans, and the other being my interest in the mystery of the concept of death gods that has yet to be truly explained. Thus this idea started to come into being, and this story will serve as my interpretation of this mystery.

I hope you enjoy and remember that I do not own Soul Eater or any of its characters. A fact that causes me deep sadness and regret.

Onward!

Chapter 1 The Team Is Reunited: Lord Death's Mysterious Mission?

A lone motorcycle sped noisily through the vast barren desert, kicking up sand behind it and creating a trail that followed its every move. The sun bared down upon the two riders and cast a golden shine to everything it touched even while laughing in the same raspy voice it had three years prior, almost as if in a welcome that Soul had not even realized he had missed.

Soul hit the brakes suddenly, making his bike slide to a sideways stop, sand flying out in a glittering fan, and causing Maka to shriek in surprise, grabbing wildly at the sometimes reckless driver's jacket. As soon as they came to a complete stop Soul extended one jean clad leg and placed a foot on the ground to ensure balance. Shrugging Maka's hands off with a light smirk on his handsome, tanned face, Soul mockingly chastised the girl sitting behind him trying to catch the breath that had escaped in her sudden panic.

"You would think that after all these years you would be used to my driving by now Maka. I could feel fingernails that time, not cool."

The blonde girl huffed and then replied in a slightly shaky voice, "Shut it Soul! I don't think it's possible to even come close to getting used to your homicidal driving."

The meister lightly slapped the boy in the back of the head and then twisted her upper body to the side, raising one gloved hand up to her brow, shielding her eyes to better see the towering metropolis in front of them.

Soul regarded her for a moment, thinking that she had really changed very little in the past three years. Other than gaining a few inches of height and losing the girlish pig tails to allowed her blonde hair to flow freely, she had traded the traditional school girl's uniform for a pair of black shorts, a simple button down green shirt paired with a black tie and completed the look with her signature black cloak.

He himself had grown to 6'1", a very cool height to be in his mind and the added muscle mass did not hurt too much either. Dressed in a pair of simple jeans, a white t shirt and black leather jacket, his hair the same wild mess of white spikes, he made quite the impression.

Soul then turned his attention to Death City. The metropolis was completely rebuilt, absolutely no sign of the destruction that was left over after the defeat of the kishin Asura could be seen. The outer city walls had been repaired and repainted, the staggering lines of buildings and houses that spiraled up were unbroken and uninterrupted, and the red, black and white building of the DWMA stood tall and refined at the top like a crown.

The battle was now just a memory, the physical evidence erased and the horror of those days remained nothing more than a lingering shadow desperately clawing for purchase in the minds of all the people who had lived through it, soon to be banished and refurbished just like Death City.

Looking over the gleaming mountainous village, the weapon felt the tension of homesickness that had been building in his heart release just a bit.

"I wonder why Lord Death summoned us back two years early." Maka wondered aloud.

Soul shrugged. After becoming a Death Scythe, it had been decided rather quickly by he, Maka, and Lord Death that it would be a good idea to get some worldly experience. After all, they were still relatively young. So the weapon-meister combo were sent to spend one year doing missions in each of the five country's they had been assigned. Similarly, Black Star and Tsubaki were sent to spend the same amount of time in Japan, a country that was currently low staffed and in need of some assistance. Soul sometimes wondered if the usually conservative country would not rather give the noisy ninja back but he never asked in his letters.

However, a few days ago, he and Maka, who were on their way to Russia, were contacted by Lord Death. The death god requested a meeting, stating that there was a mission that required their urgent attention, even if it meant cutting their current one short by two years.

"Whatever it is, we had better get going. Our meeting is in twenty minutes." He reminded her.

Maka gave him a grin, showing just how happy she was to be home as well.

"Well then, let's get going slow poke!"

Soul sighed, hiding his own answering grin, "So pushy."

And with that he hit the gas harshly, laughing when his meister screeched once more. After ten minutes of driving the most direct route through Death City, Soul brought the bike to a slow stop in front of the main entrance to the DWMA.

The scythe waited for Maka to gingerly get off before climbing easily off his seat, standing next to the blonde haired girl and staring up at the school.

"I didn't expect to be so happy to see it again." Maka spoke quietly. Soul understood but did not want to interrupt. After living with the girl for several years, he knew that Maka wanted to express her feeling out loud. "When we defeated the kishin I felt like we couldn't have gotten out of here fast enough but now that we're back, I don't feel like I've come back to the place of all that trial and pain, I just feel like… like I'm home."

"That's just one more victory over the kishin then." Soul said simply, Maka looking at him surprise.

The weapon let his easy grin fall into place and ruffled her hair, making her swat at his hand in irritation.

"Well come on then, we shouldn't keep Lord Death waiting just because you're feeling sentimental."

Maka rolled her eyes and the two of them made their way into the building, walking down familiar corridors, listening to the familiar sounds of professors lecturing and the gentle scratching of chalk against blackboards, the next generation of weapons and meisters being taught by some of the best in the business.

"Well, well, well look at who else is back."

Soul and Maka turned toward the sound of the voice and grinned at the sight of Professor Stein leaning against a closed classroom door.

Their old professor had not changed in the slightest, he was just as they remembered him, creepy smile and all.

"Professor Stein, aren't you supposed to be teaching right now?" Maka teased.

The older man smirked, "I sensed your soul wavelengths down the hallway, I couldn't very well pass up the chance to see two of my favorite students for the first time in three years, now could I?"

Soul laughed, "You consider my lazy ass one of your 'favorite students'? And what do you mean by 'look at who else is back'?"

"You'll see soon enough, your meeting is in five minutes, you should get going. Don't want to keep Lord Death waiting now do we?" Stein said seriously and turned to go back into his classroom.

"You know about our mission Professor?" Maka asked suspiciously.

The older meister gave a small frown, "You're going to have to be extremely careful on this one, don't be stupid, and do as you're told."

And with that Stein gave a little wave over his shoulder before shutting his door behind him.

"Well that was special." Soul stated, one hand rubbing awkwardly at his neck.

"It worries me that Professor Stein seemed worried." Maka admitted, staring hard at the now closed door as Soul put a hand on her shoulder.

"Whatever, I'm just glad to see that the creep is doing better now. Come on."

The two continued walking through the polished hallways of their old school, lost it their own thoughts. Soul would not admit it to Maka, but the run in with Professor Stein had worried him as well. What could be so important that Lord Death would have to call them back early and made Stein so concerned about their well being?

It was not until he was little more than halfway down the hallway leading to the Death Room that his troubled mind was cleared and the fact that he was truly home hit him.

Literally hit him as something heavy collided with his back.

"Yahoo! No one told us that you and Maka were going to be here too! The awesome, unstoppable duo of the amazing Black Star and the ever cool Soul Eater Evans is back in business!"

The brief annoyance that Soul felt in response to the sudden heavy weight on his shoulders was immediately washed away with the slightly obnoxious sound of Black Star's voice and he laughed whole heartedly at his best friend while staggering in an attempt not to drop him.

"Dude! It's great to you too and all, but you're a lot heavier than you were three years ago."

Black Star laughed and climbed off of his friend as Maka hugged Tsubaki in greeting. Soul nodded at the older girl, giving his own welcoming smile in response to hers. She looked the same as ever, and Soul was happy to see that he had finally become taller than her by a couple of inches, her long ebony hair was still pulled back in a high ponytail, but her previous outfit had been replaced by a long brightly colored modern kimono style dress that suited her very well.

Black Star was still as short as he was loud, he had grown but it seemed that he was doomed to remain at his current 5'7", he was built like a brick wall though, explaining why Soul had such a difficult time holding him up despite his considerable strength. The ninja's outfit had matured somewhat, with white bandages wrapped from his hands to his elbows, blue hair still a mess and sporting a pair of navy blue pants, black tennis shoes, and a shirt reminiscent of his old wear barring the fact that this one was completely white.

"Were you both called home by Lord Death as well then?" Tsubaki asked, her voice as soft and kind as ever.

"Yeah, he contacted us a few days ago, said he had an important mission for us that couldn't wait." Soul confirmed, hands retreating to his pockets, shoulders hunched slightly as he leaned against the wall.

"That's what he told us too! That's so cool! We're a team once again!" Black Star cheered pumping his fist into the air.

"I wonder if that means that Kid, Patti and Liz are going to be sent with us as well." Maka mused happily.

Soul smiled at the possibility of seeing the prim and proper meister and his weapons after all this time. Unlike the other members of their team, Kid, Patti and Liz were not sent anywhere after the defeat of the Kishin. Soul asked Kid once in a letter why his father did not deem it important that he and his weapons be exposed to the same worldly experiences Lord Death wanted for he and Maka, but the young death god simply stated that there was no need and left it at that.

Black Star cheered happily again at Maka's statement.

"Yeah! Then I can show that princess once and for all that Black Star is number one!" He cried, both hands on his hips in a confident pose.

Tsubaki sighed and smiled sweetly, "Same old Black Star."

Soul and Maka laughed and Soul punched his best friend in the shoulder lightly, "Only one way to find out what's going on."

The white haired weapon put a hand on Death's door and the four of them walked into the meeting room, the familiar sight of Lord Death in all his masked and cloaked goofy glory standing in front of his long mirror and field of crooked crosses under a long stretch of blue sky, Spirit standing to his right eager to greet them immediately.

Very eager it seemed, as the most prominent Death Scythe in Death City, in fact in all the world, was currently holding Maka off the ground in a bear hug to end all bear hugs.

"Papa! Put me down! This is ridiculous, you're embarrassing me, I'm 19 years old!" Maka yelled, a blush of embarrassment staining her cheeks as Soul and Black Star stood behind Tsubaki with their arms over each other's shoulders, laughing at her in the background.

Spirit slowly dropped his daughter carefully back to the floor and put his hands up in a defensive gesture quickly, eyes closed in a bright smile.

"Sorry Maka, I'm just so happy to see you, at home and safe! I was so worried about you! Oh the sleepless nights thinking about all the things that could go wrong while you were away!" He said in a rushed breath in an attempt to avoid the young girl's wrath.

Quickly sobering when he realized that she was not going to hit him or do something equally as painful, Spirit looked at his daughter for the first time in three years.

"You sure have grown up." He said, almost sadly as he held onto her shoulder before his attention was averted by his daughter's weapon snickering behind her, "Soul!"

Soul's eyes widened in surprise at being addressed before wincing at the friendly (harsh) punch to his shoulder, given by his overenthusiastic fellow Death Scythe.

"Look at you! You're as tall as I am! Oh why do children have to grow up and break the hearts of their parents and guardians?" Spirit lamented while using his hand to see if there was any measurable difference in their heights. Soul received some satisfaction when the older Death Scythe found that there was none.

"It's a terrible truth of life. It seems only yesterday that all of them were just students here, so cute fighting the kishin and such. Even my little Kid has grown up so much! Do you know that he went on a date just a few weeks ago? A date!" Lord Death wailed sadly.

Spirit practically flew over to the Shinigami's side, patting what he thought to be Lord Death's shoulder sympathetically.

"A date? How horrible! With who?" The oldest Death Scythe asked, almost as distraught at the prospect as the death god was.

Black Star sighed and crossed his arms over his chest, visibly frustrated, and decided to get this meeting back on track, "Hey! What about the missi-"

"That visiting meister from Australia! The one who came to give the bi-annual report! To think, that ruffian taking my innocent little boy out on a date! The horror!"

Tears welled up in Spirit's eyes in understanding, "You poor thing!"

Soul and the others sweat dropped in the background. This is what they had been called back for?

"Umm…" Tsubaki spoke politely.

Lord Death and Spirit became instantly alert when the quiet girl spoke up and resumed a more professional stance.

"Oh yes. Now is not the time to lose ourselves to the deepest pits of despair, there is time for us to mourn our children's lost innocence later Spirit. Right now we have very pressing business to attend to." The Shinigami said, sobering up just as quickly as he had lost his cool.

"You have a mission for us Lord Death?" Maka questioned, the environment becoming more serious.

"Yes I do, one of extreme importance, I fear that there could be dire consequences should it go wrong." He answered ominously.

"Heh! Obviously why you needed Black Star, Number 1 Meister of the DWMA to return to tackle this mission himself!" Black Star declared.

"You are right about one thing Black Star, it did have to be you four. No one else would have worked so well with your team leader." Spirit said with a smirk.

"Team Leader?" Soul questioned, thinking the concept completely uncool.

"Yes," Lord Death said matter-of-factly, "This mission will pose some danger to you simply because of the fact that you are humans. The place you will be going to has different rules and as such, you will have to listen to what your team leader tells you carefully, for your own safety."

"Who is this team leader? I'll show him who's in charge here! No one is stronger than Black Star! Man who will surpass god!"

Lord Death then waved happily, "There you are Kid, Patty, Liz. Right on time as always."

A grin immediately took its place on Soul's face as he turned to greet the meister and his weapons with everyone else but stopped short in mild shock.

Liz and Patti were standing behind their meister as usual, neither having changed very much. They were both a bit taller, Liz still towering over her sister and her meister at 5'11" and Patti still a shorty at around 5'6". They were still dressed symmetrically, wearing short white jean shorts and long sleeved v-neck shirts that bared their midriffs. Both girls wore black boots, black chokers and black cowboy hats, each with a different colored flower acting as a personal accent.

Soul wondered as the girls jumped onto Maka and Tsubaki if they really did that only to please their symmetry obsessed meister or if they really just enjoyed matching.

It was the young shinigami that shocked Soul the most though.

He was still relatively short for a guy his age, probably around 5'8", just a little taller than Black Star. Other than that the physical changes were pretty sparse. Kid still had the same yellow ringed golden eyes, the same smooth flawless pale skin, and the same delicate aristocratic features. His raven black hair was longer now, the symmetrical layering allowing the very bottom to brush his shoulders just slightly.

His outfit was the biggest change. Gone was the formal, pressed suit and in its place was a much more casual set of clothes that still managed to retain an elegant feel. Black skinny jeans, held up by a simple black belt, clung to his skin and showed off just how long and shapely his legs were and ended in a light ankle high black boot. A white long sleeved shirt hugged his slender frame, the top hitting the edges of his shoulders, leaving his neck and collarbone exposed, while the bottom ended just an inch or so above his pant line, baring a strip of midriff. A simple necklace hung from his neck, a perfectly symmetrical key decorated with the familiar skull motif of his father.

All in all, it was more skin than Soul had ever seen the young death god show in the five or so years he had known him and the combination of the outfit, Kid's natural physical attributes and his unique coloring made the Shinigami look… exotic, sexy even.

It was an odd concept to the Death Scythe. Soul was an equal opportunities type of guy, gender did not matter very much to him, or society for that matter, and he could appreciate beauty in all kinds of forms, male or female. But he had never thought about any of his friends the way he was now thinking about Kid. He had never found one his close friends… appealing. Not only that but he had never really thought about dating, sex or relationships as concepts you would associate with Death the Kid, so formal and proper that he was.

The whole effect made Soul think of what Lord Death had said a few minutes previously, about some Australian meister taking Kid on a date.

Soul did not know why, but a little bit of tension crept into his jaw at the memory.

But the tension eased when Kid, who had just given Black Star a high five (with both hands of course) and was released from Maka's following tight hug, turned toward the white haired weapon and gave Soul a soft smile that shook the weapon out of his reverie.

Soul returned the look with an easy grin and held out a fist in greeting. He was surprised when, instead of hitting his fist against Soul's, Kid rolled his eyes and scoffed, knocking his fist out of the way and wrapping thin arms around Soul's torso in a tentative hug.

Soul chuckled lightly, his own arms wrapping around the shorter boys shoulders.

"Welcome back Soul, you're as asymmetrical as ever." The young death god mumbled softly into Soul's chest.

"Nice to see you too Kiddo." The weapon returned.

"Awww, Kid and Soul would make such a cute couple, dontcha think sis?" Patti squealed excitedly, grabbing onto Kid's arm when he pulled back from Soul's embrace and hugging it to her as she cooed over her meister.

Maka and Tsubaki laughed, Black Star looked on in a silent confusion that was very uncharacteristic for him, and Soul blinked, as if the surprise he felt at the statement was a handful of sand that someone had just thrown in his face and needed to be dispelled.

Liz smirked when her meister gave both her and her sister an embarrassed glare while trying unsuccessfully to quell the soft pink blush on his cheeks.

The elder Thompson sister walked over to join them, ruffling Kid's hair as she spoke, "They really would, they're simply adorable together."

Kid swatted her hand away quickly and proceeded to anxiously fix his hair with the hand that Patti was not attached to, "Stop it Liz! You are completely ruining my symmetry!"

"Oh! But you don't deny that you think you and Soul would make a good couple?" Patti weaseled happily, shaking her meister's arm back and forth childishly. Soul watched the exchange with a bit of amusement, knowing Liz and Patti often got a kick out of agitating their usually calm and composed meister, and a whole lot of curiosity, wondering what the flustered death god would say to their accusation.

Kid blushed again at their implication, not really knowing what to say considering he did not foresee this outcome when he decided to show the white haired Death Scythe a little more affection than just a welcoming fist bump, so he simply settled with the ever eloquent, "Huh?"

Liz's smirk grew and she poked her meister in the cheek teasingly, "He didn't deny it! That must mean that you want to be with Soul, don't you Kid?"

Kid's bright pink blush spread but he was thankfully spared from answering when Black Star stepped in front of him and seriously invaded his personal space by leaning an inch away from his face.

The ninja meister had a seriously confused expression on his face, his eyes narrowed and lips pursed in a frown. Soul mentally sighed, waiting for his idiot of a best friend to go and say something obnoxious or condescending that would inevitably offend Kid and would lead to an all out fist fight. Soul would never understand how two people who considered each other to be very good friends could get along so atrociously.

Black Star looked at Kid searchingly before taking a deep breath and proclaiming, "You look different Kid."

Soul face palmed while Kid blinked and tilted his head to side in confusion before noticing the position was asymmetrical and righting himself quickly.

"Yes?" The young death god spoke questioningly, leaning back a little for some space only to have Black Star follow, resulting in his back being bent backwards and Black Star leaning over him on the tips of his toes.

"Of course he's different you idiot! Just look at his clothing!" Soul told his sometimes dim best friend. Kid gave him an odd look, noticing Soul's attention had been drawn to the very thing he mentioned, seemingly fixated on the bottom hem line of his shirt.

But Black Star just shook his head and dismissed his friend's observation, "No, no that's not it."

Liz looked at the blue haired ninja in confusion and then looked at her meister, "Well he's… taller?"

Black Star sighed in frustration, swaying from side to side trying to realize what was so different about his friend, "I know he's taller! What do you take me for?"

Wisely, no one chose to answer that question.

Patti stopped swaying and dropped Kid's arm in order to reach up and tug on a few strands of her meister's black hair and stated simply, "Kid's hair is longer."

Black Star's eyes widened in triumphant realization and he pointed an accusing finger at Kid's face, "You're hair! That's it!"

Soul was not the only one to face palm in the room that time.

"Yes Black Star, Kid's hair is indeed longer, it's nice isn't it?" Tsubaki said nicely.

Black Star waved the statement away impatiently, "That's not what I meant! Look! One of his white lines is completely connected!"

Kid gave the ninja a small smirk, though initially surprised that Black Star out of all four of them was the one to notice the upgrade, he supposed that it did make a little sense for his self-proclaimed rival to pick up on something of such importance.

Maka walked all the way around the young death god in a complete circle to confirm, "He's right, it does go all the way around now."

Spirit shook his head in disappointment, "Kids are so easily distracted, honestly."

Lord Death sighed at the side track the important meeting he had called had taken, "Now, now, I'm sure you're all very curious but Kid can tell you all about permanently completing his first Sanzu Line later, right now you need to be briefed on your mission."

Soul looked at the young Shinigami standing to his right out of the corner of his eye curiously, 'Sanzu Line?'

"Sanzu Line? What the hell is a Sanzu Line?" Black Star questioned out loud. Soul shook his head with a small smile, leave it to Black Star to voice what everyone else was thinking.

Liz hit the shorter boy in the back of the head with a fist, making Black Star cry out and grab the suddenly hurt area, "Lord Death just got finished saying that Kid would explain later, so show some respect and shut it shorty!"

The blue haired meister whimpered out an okay before turning to give Lord Death is full and undivided attention along with everyone else in the room.

"Thank you Elizabeth. Now keep in mind that this is a potentially life threatening mission, I expect you all to take the utmost care of yourselves and of each other. I also expect you all to follow whatever orders Kid gives you to the t, is that understood?" Lord Death explained while he looked over the group he had assembled.

The weapons and meisters looked back at him with serious expressions on all of their faces. Black Star shot a quick grumpy look in Kid's direction at the mention of following his orders but remained silent for fear of another fist to the head.

Lord Death moved to stand directly in front of Kid. To Soul it always looked like he was gliding smoothly over the floor instead of walking or something equally as human and the weapon never really got used to that simple sight that seemed so otherworldly.

The elder death god then placed two overly large gloved hands on his son's shoulders, and asked simply in a serious tone of voice, "Kid, you know what do correct?"

Kid nodded an affirmative, a grave look on his face and determination in his eyes, "Of course father."

Lord Death nodded back, "Good, I'm entrusting this to you. If it turns out to be bad news then I expect you all to return to the Academy at once to plan our next move. I know it is not an ideal situation, you had probably not even considered returning there so soon, am I right?"

Soul watched in complete confusion as Kid sighed somewhat sadly and shook his head, "Yes, but it is not like it can be helped. I'll be fine father, I promise."

Lord Death abruptly drew the younger shinigami into a brief but tender hug and then to everyone's shock he began pushing them all down the walkway of guillotines with his massive gloved hands, "Well then, your boat leaves in three hours! Get your things together, you'll be gone for at least a week! Do your best and I know you will return triumphant!"

Everyone besides Kid, Liz, Patti and Tsubaki began yelling out shocked protests.

"Wait a minute, what the hell is going on!"

"Lord Death! What about the mission briefing?

"No one pushes the magnificent Black Star!"

Before the Death door shut on them the group heard Spirit shout out "Be careful everyone! Soul! You take care of Maka or so help me-" before being cut off by Lord Death shoving them all forward and abruptly closing the door.

Soul groaned as he, Maka, and Black Star ended up in a heap on the hard floor as a result of struggling against Lord Death's insistent pushing. A sharp elbow in his gut effectively forced all the air to rush out of his lungs and he growled in annoyance.

"Black Star, get your damn elbow out of my stomach."

Black Star gave the weapon an unimpressed glare, wincing a bit in pain as he tried to move his legs and retuned the Soul's snapped comment with one of his own, "Maybe I would if Maka would get her fat ass off of my ankles!"

Maka scrambled to her feet and slapped the big mouthed meister across the face, "Take that back you jerk!"

Tsubaki shook her head sadly, "That wasn't very nice Black Star, you should really apologize."

Kid sighed to his two weapons before the three of them turned to walk down the hall and away from the idiots that they called friends, "No more than thirty minutes and we are already squabbling, this promises to be a smooth and easy going trip."

Maka stopped beating up Black Star long enough to turn her attention to her three retreating team mates, Kid walking gracefully, Liz chuckling in agreement with her meister and Patti skipping alongside of them happily.

"Wait Kid! Where are we going anyway?" The Scythe Wielder asked impatiently.

The raven haired boy stopped leisurely and tossed them a look over his shoulder before continuing down the hall, "We're going home of course."

Maka and Tsubaki exchanged a quizzical look before hurrying to catch up to the three who were already rounding a corner.

"Home? What the hell does that mean Kid? Come back and explain just what the hell Lord Death wants us to do!" Black Star yelled impatiently, using the elbow already embedded in Soul's stomach to push himself off the ground so he could run after everyone else.

Soul let out a pained filled grunt before slowly getting to his feet, his left hand flexing restlessly after having been trapped under him and his right hand absently rubbing at his rapidly bruising abdomen.

"So not cool." He sighed to himself, walking at his own lazy pace after his odd and rambunctious group.

He had just gotten to the end of the hallway when a strong hand gripped in arm just above the elbow to halt his movement.

Soul turned around and came face to face with his old severely scarred professor, "Professor Stein?"

Said man let go of the weapon's elbow and faced Soul with a somber look in his eyes that startled the scythe.

"Soul, before you catch up with the others I have a favor to ask of you."

Soul brought a hand up to ruffle the back of his own hair in a nervous gesture, put off by the meisters solemn demeanor.

"Sure, no problem. Though if it has anything to do with dissection then I'm going to have to pass." The weapon joked, trying to lighten the meister's obviously distressed mood.

It partially worked as the left side of the other man's lips quirked into a small smirk, "No, nothing like that. Listen, I know that Spirit probably told you to watch out for Maka. I'm going to ask that you watch out for Kid as well."

Soul gave Stein a confused look, dropping his usual relaxed attitude for a more serious one at the professor's request.

"Okay, but why would I need to look out for Kid? He's more than capable of handling himself."

"I know that you consider Kid a friend but I also know that you, just like the rest of the older students from your school days, look at Kid's life and think that he has nothing to worry about, that he doesn't have any problem in the world and that his life couldn't possibly be any easier simply because of his status and his financial situation. But Kid has known his fair share of hard ship and tragedy. This mission is going to bring up a lot of painful memories for him that he has yet to really come to terms with. He's going to need someone to be there for him when that happens."

Soul nodded his head slowly to indicate that he somewhat understood, "Makes sense, but why ask me? Why not ask Patti or Liz? They know Kid better than I do."

Stein gave the weapon a full smirk then and walked past Soul, his footsteps hardly making a sound on the hard tile floors. Right before entering the Death Room he called out an explanation, "Call it intuition, for some reason I think that you're the one he's going to need. Just be sure to take care of him, got it?"

Soul stood in the empty hallway for a few more seconds before becoming conscious of the fact that the disgruntled voices of his comrades were at an all time softness that indicated that they were further away than he realized.

He took off in a light jog to catch up, his own sneakers squeaking noisily, all the while Professor Stein's words and request were playing over and over in his head.

'What the hell is going on here?'