The air was cool on Maka Albarn's pale legs, her black coat fluttering in the wind. The evening was silent so far, but her and her partner, Soul "Eater" Evans, were on a mission. Maka closed her green eyes and focused her energy. In her mind's eye, she could see the blue glowing orbs, known as souls, of innocent people, as well as murderers' souls, which were red, near her location. If she wanted, she could pinpoint specific souls around the world with the help of her partner. But now was not the time. She had to locate the kishin egg soon. She soon found their target about a mile from their location.
The view of the town was vast from the roof. Buildings of various sizes peaked out of the horizon. Some of the homes were made of aged brick, standing for so long. A chimneystack spat out smoke from a warm fire. The sun's setting gaze made the shadows long and dark, stretching eastward. The moon had begun its ascent into the sky, followed by the stars. Trees stretched out around the town, making it seem like the forest fenced it in. To the west, there was a break in the trees, a narrow road for the travelers coming and going. The path seemed to glow in the last minutes of light before the darkness.
"Let's go, Soul," she told him. Soul started the engine of his motorcycle, and they were on their way. As they made their way through the town streets, Maka's blonde pigtails were being pushed back by the wind. "We need to be careful, this target is dangerous. I saw traces of something that I didn't recognize, so be prepared. We may have to use the black blood."
"Whatever. Let's hope it doesn't result to that." His white hair was tied back by a thin black headband and stuck up in the back. His black leather jacket flapped between his shirt and Maka.
They pulled up to a small store. The lights were on, then flicked off. "Guess visitors aren't welcome right now," Soul commented. He stared at the windows where he had seen a figure before the lights went off. In the window's reflection, he could see himself next to Maka, about half a foot difference in height. 'Hehe, she's still so short...' he thought to himself. Maka waited for Soul to get off the bike so that she could swing her leg back over, her black trench coat rustling with the movement.
"We'll invite ourselves then" Maka replied. "But after we knock. I sense human souls in this building as well. We need to make sure they're safe." She was already on the stoop while Soul finished parking his motorcycle.
'Defeats the point of inviting ourselves in... ' Soul took pride in his meister, but he still had his opinions.
Maka rose her fist to knock when a shot was fired. The bullet left a quarter size hole in the door. She raised her gloved hand to her right shoulder and saw red.
"Shit!" Soul yelled running to Maka's side.
"Soul!" 'Damn,' Maka thought to herself. She started to feel a little dizzy, the adrenaline pumping through her veins. 'Have to keep calm.' Otherwise, she might not defeat her opponent. She could still feel the madness wavelength from Asura's battle, and she didn't want to lose herself in the midst of a battle.
"Right!" Soul's body morphed into a scythe; the blade half black and half blood red was half the size of Maka while the staff was at least a foot taller than her.
Maka was a meister and Soul was a demon scythe. Demon weapons are humans who have the ability to transform from human to weapon form, and vise versa. They are stronger than regular weapons and assist Lord Death in capturing corrupt souls who have strayed onto the path of kishins, or gods of madness. Meisters are humans who train to wield such weapons, and few have the ability to see souls as Maka can. Meisters and demon weapons also have the advantage of sharing soul wavelengths; this is how they are able to fight more quickly and efficiently than with regular weapons. When they resonate their souls, the power resulting in the reaction makes their attacks stronger. Together, the pair took evil souls in the name of Lord Death. They had plenty of experience; Maka had just defeated Asura the Kishin a few months previously. Yet, Soul was still not one of Lord Death's weapons. This was to be their 95th target, and they needed 99, plus a witch's soul before Soul could become an elite weapon. The witch's soul was the final power needed for a weapon to become a strong "Death Scythe." This egg had made the first move and they were now on the defensive.
"Get off my damn property you rascals!" The shopkeeper was now in front of the pair, pointing a rifle at Maka's face.
"Wait, what happened to the kishin egg? It was just here! It just disappeared!" Panic rose in Maka, not from the threat, but from the fact that she had lost the target. 'How the hell did it disappear?!'
"Maka! Calm down!" Soul could feel her panic through the soul wavelength they shared and transformed back into his human form to shield his meister from the threat. He rued his meister's reckless attitude about her own safety. "Calm down old man, we haven't done anything!"
"Sorry Sir, we're from the Death Weapon Meister Academy sent by Lord Death himself," Maka explained quickly from behind Soul. She regained her professional composure, pushing the missing egg from her mind for now.
"Oh, so you're from the DWMA are ya? Get off my property! I didn't file any complaints!" The grouchy old man still had his gun in his hand, and it was obvious that he was not afraid to use it.
"Can we at least get a damn apology?! You shot at us!" Soul yelled in defense.
"Soul, just drop it. We should just-"
"No! You're injured because this jerk didn't think before shooting! No one touches my meister!"
"Soul, please. It's not that bad, and we still have a mission to complete." Maka had to drag Soul to the bike before he finally relaxed, though he was still protective of her as usual. 'I wish he wasn't so damn stubborn about protecting me in his human form. One day he'll get killed because of me...'
"We need to patch you up first." Soul grabbed her by the waist and sat her on the bike.
Just as Maka was about to protest, they heard an explosion to the south. Soul immediately hopped onto his bike and drove them in the direction of the blast. Maka used her Soul Perception to see if it was the target. "So that's where he disappeared!" It seemed the kishin egg had caused the explosion.
"Stupid move on his part. Told us right where he is." Soul smirked at the thought. His gut told him something was up, but he ignored it.
As soon as they arrived at the scene, a plaza in the middle of the town, Soul transformed. The blast had been in the middle, by what had been a fountain. It had been large enough to cause a fire. The fire was making Maka's shadow dance across the bricks, but couldn't light up the figure on the far side.
"By order of Lord Death, your soul is mine!" Maka shouted at the figure.
"If you can defeat me, Maka Albarn" the figure replied tauntingly.
"You obviously know who you're dealing with, so why don't you make it easier on everyone" Soul retorted, still in weapon form.
"Heh, you'll have to do better. With the way you fought Asura, you'll never be a weapon worthy of Lord Death, Mr. Evans." The figure stepped into the light. Her black hair blended into the night, its length to her shoulders, framing her sky blue eyes. Her mouth was contorted in a snicker, and her eyes cold. She stood at a height somewhere around 5'5", though it was hard to tell with her levitating. Her skin was almost pure white, an eerie glow emanating from her. The dress she wore was almost the same shade of her eyes and floor length with a slit down her left leg as if she was hosting a dinner party. Though she didn't need them, she had on blue heels. "You may have heard of me, Sukai."
Maka gasped. 'The sky witch? Here?' she thought. She had read about her in books, though they had said that she had disappeared after the birth of the DWMA. Apparently, she had reappeared. 'How does she know us and of the battle with the Kishin?'
"Big talk from someone I've never heard of!" Soul retorted. "We can beat you anytime." Apparently, Soul hadn't noticed the use of their names or was ignoring that fact.
"You aren't our target, the mission was for a serial killer in the area. Why are you here?" Maka became annoyed with Soul for his comments and ignorance. Just because they had helped defeat Asura didn't mean they could take on a witch alone and without any preparation.
"To simply send a message to Lord Death. And, of course, to get the upper hand..." With that, Sukai flicked her hand at Maka, which sent her backward. Maka felt her skirt flit around her before slamming into a distant wall. The wind was knocked out of her and she felt light-headed. Whatever the witch had done, it seemed to have taken her breath away.
Time seemed to slow down. In slow motion, Maka first saw Soul transform, then heard him yell, but she couldn't hear what. His voice was muffled like he was talking through a pillow.
No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't seem to breathe properly. Every breath hitched in her throat, her lungs burning for oxygen.
"Soul…" she whispered. 'That idiot is going to get himself killed' she thought fearfully.
She saw Soul's white hair and red eyes full of fear and concern before the world went black.