Author's Notes: I just had to get this out here before it drove me insane. I've been wanting to write something for the Soul Eater series for a while and I think I finally have a story with a compelling plot and an interesting main OC whose personality meshes well with the character I plan to pair her with. I hope you guys feel the same! Enjoy the prologue!
"I still don't understand why you think you need to constantly stop in here, Soul," Maka grumbled as she and Soul stood outside of a music store in Death City.
"I already told you," the white-haired boy sighed as he and his partner stepped inside the store. "Don has the best music collection in the entire city and he usually saves me the cool, new stuff he gets in. Besides, it's been a few weeks since I last came here." He glanced around the store before he leveled his gaze on the middle-aged man at the counter. "Yo, old man! Got anything good for me today?"
The man at the counter, Don, scowled. "I'm not that old, ya know. You sound just like my niece. Where the hell have you been, anyway? It's not like you to stay away from the store for so long."
Soul shrugged. "Eh. Maka's been harping on me about studying more, so she's forced me to go straight home after school unless we have a mission or something. It's totally uncool."
"Well, failing class because you're too busy slacking off is even more uncool," Maka protested, crossing her arms. "I've already told you that you don't learn by taking shortcuts."
"Well, maybe he just needs some fresh music to help him focus, Maka," Don suggested as he rooted around behind the counter. "And I just so happened to get a shipment of new punk records in a few days ago."
"Ah man, I've been waiting for this one for months!" Soul exclaimed as Don set the record down on the counter. "How much are you asking for it? Please tell me you're willing to give me a discount."
"Sure," Don agreed. "For you, I'm willing to part with this record for the low, low price of free if you and Maka will agree to do me a small favor."
"Done!" Soul replied immediately, reaching out for the record.
"Hang on a second, Soul," Maka interjected, moving her arm in front of him before leveling her gaze at Don. "What sort of favor?"
"The niece I mentioned earlier, Ash, is coming into town tomorrow," Don explained. "I was hoping you two would watch her back and help her get adjusted to living here."
"Why do I get the feeling that there's more to it?" Soul mused.
"There is," Don replied. He glanced around the store quickly before looking back at the two teens. "See, Ash is a witch. She's being sent here on her grandmother's orders. The reason I'm asking you two specifically to watch out for her, aside from the fact that I think she and Soul would get along, is because I trust you to be open-minded enough not to judge her based solely on what she is."
"Why is she coming to Death City, though?" Maka asked. "It's not exactly a safe place for witches."
"I don't know all the details," Don admitted, closing his eyes and rubbing the back of his head. "All she told me was that it involves family politics on her mom's side. Apparently Ash is due to inherit something from her grandmother that was originally supposed to go to one of her cousins. The cousin wasn't too happy about it and now she's out for blood."
"Right. And I'm guessing the grandmother and cousin are also witches?" Soul asked.
Don nodded. "Yeah. I've only met the cousin once and she was an absolute beast, so I can definitely believe that she's gunning for Ash if she's got something she wants. The grandmother's a wild card, though; she's really reclusive and apparently hasn't ventured out in public for years, but she was the one who taught Ash to control her powers. From what I hear, she and Lord Death go way back as well, so he probably knows the full story. Hell, he probably already knows she's on her way." He glanced between the meister and weapon before continuing. "Listen, I know I'm asking a lot from you guys, but I can assure you that Ash wouldn't hurt a fly; she's mischievous, not malevolent."
"You're positive?" Maka pressed. "I understand that she's your niece but we can't be too careful."
"If you don't believe me, come by the store tomorrow after you guys get out of school," Don offered. "You can spend some time with her yourselves and see what kind of person she is."
"What do you think, Maka?" Soul asked, looking over at his partner.
"Well...we can't dismiss her just because she's a witch," Maka reasoned. "You and I both know that not all witches are evil and if Lord Death granted her sanctuary here, he must know something we don't." She fell silent for a moment. "We should speak to Lord Death about this tomorrow and then, yes, I think we should meet Ash ourselves."
Soul smiled before turning his gaze back toward Don. "You heard her, old man. We'll be here tomorrow after school lets out."
"Glad to hear it," Don replied, returning the smile and nudging the record toward Soul. "Enjoy."
Later that night, a teenage girl hopped off the late-night bus to Death City, a small red fox at her heels. Her amber-colored eyes sparkled happily as she gazed up at the city. "Looks like we finally made it, huh Kit?" The fox at her side let out a series a disgruntled gekkers and the girl sighed, tossing some of her red hair over her shoulder. "Yeah, I know it would have been faster if I'd used you to fly here but we shouldn't draw too much attention to ourselves right now. It'd be smartest to wait until after I have that meeting with Lord Death before we do anything...magic-y." The fox snorted in reply. "Shut up, it's totally a real word. Anyway, we should get to Uncle Don's place before it gets much later. You know how pissy he gets when someone wakes him up."
And with that, the girl and her fox began their trek into the city.
Ending Notes: I wonder if anyone will be able to guess what Ash's animal theme is. *sarcasm*
I know it's short but please let me know what you think! Feedback and constructive criticism are always welcome! Thank you all so much for reading! Geekinthepink, out!