Tsuki sighed, staring at the blackboard blankly. They currently sat in a classroom, the air of it seemingly ancient, but everything in the room appearing brand new, save for a few scuff marks and repair patches. Sunlight streamed through open widows behind them and the sound of happy students conversing outside met our young meister's ears, making her sigh again, this time in longing.
She would've happily been on her way back to her new, tiny apartment, laying in her bed and staring at the ceiling, or maybe at home, talking with her Mother about any and everything. But, alas, this was not the case.
She sent a deathly glare over at the boy sitting next to her. He appeared about her age, with skin that was the color of milk chocolate. His eyes seemed to be a mixture of boredom and mischief, something she'd only seen in one other person's eyes. He sat back in his seat, as if he were about to fall asleep, making her curl her pale lip in disgust. How dare he act so relaxed in a situation like this!
Somehow, this cocky little weapon had managed to land them both in detention. Of course, Tsuki had the most awful luck. Not only had the weapon managed to drag them both into detention, but it was on the first day, where they were supposed to pick their weapons and meisters, and she hadn't even gotten a chance to have a proper conversation with a weapon, let alone go about picking one. On top of that, they were now sitting in the Class of Crescent Moon for detention.
Now, Tsuki was not a "fearless" person, but there were people and things in her life that she feared above all else. To name one, spiders. Another one of these people was Dr. Franken Stein.
Speak of the devil and he shall appear, the sound of rolling wheels met Tsuki's ears, causing her to tremble slightly. Folding her arms, she put her head down in defeat, waiting for the familiar sound of the chair crashing against the floor.
But, it never came.
What did come, however, was the sound of Stein's almost emotionless voice.
"Care to explain how you ended up in detention?"
Tsuki squeaked in surprise, jumping up, her eyes wide.
"Umm…Um…uh…I…well, h-he…and-nd I…n-n-n-never mind." she stuttered out uselessly, hanging her head in defeat when the words wouldn't seem to leave her mouth.
Stein sighed, turning to PJ.
"Care to explain yourself?"
PJ, rolling his eyes and leaning farther back in his seat, replied dully, "Ms. Goody-Two-Shoes over here was having a slight problem with me, since I was trying to pick a fight with Black*Star's kid, whatever the hell his name is, but there wasn't anyone to supervise the fight…and that I didn't have a meister partner." Closing his eyes, he put his hands behind his head. "Needless to say, the two of us got into a bit of a heated argument—"
"H-Heated argument?!" Tsuki shouted in outrage, jumping to her feet. "You almost killed me!"
PJ grinned, opening his brilliantly blue eyes to give her a mischievous look. "Yeah…and?"
"I-I was defenseless! I didn't have a weapon, and you're a year older than me!"
"Yeah…but doesn't that little soul-blast-force-whatever-you-wanna-call-it technique run in the family?" he asked, a wolfish grin on his face.
Tsuki paled, but slowly sunk back into her seat, mute with embarrassment.
Stein, figuring the two kids had been trapped in the room long enough, waved his hand.
"You'll be free to go, as long as you head down to the infirmary and let Naigus and I check for any severe wounds."
Tsuki shakily got to her feet, shuffling out of the room slowly, PJ trotting behind her.
Stein rolled behind the duo, studying them carefully. It was interesting, he thought, how compatible their wavelengths were. Tsuki, as he was already fully aware of, was meek and timid, at times, but she was quick of mind and was a decent fighter. One of her major problems, however, was that she was always so nervous about her plans failing she often refused to act upon them, which could be a fatal mistake around a Kishin.
PJ, on the other hand, was a step below Black*Star when it came to confidence level, but was actually capable of producing a good turnout on a mission, as he had displayed before with his previous meister partner, even though his partner had met an…untimely end when confronted with a witch. While he didn't display it, he had a kind heart, it was just mislead by his cocky and mischievous attitude. There were a few more flaws, such as his stubbornness, but his good qualities seemed to outweigh the bad. The only problem Stein had with him was that PJ was a notorious womanizer.
He felt himself twitch at the thought.
Before he could dwell anymore on these thoughts, the trio arrived at the Dispensary. Tsuki entered first, greeting Naigus warmly before going over to one of the beds, the curtain drawn around it moments after.
"So, what happened this time, Tsuki?" Naigus asked, already going for Tsuki's pills. The silver haired mesiter just waved her off.
"No, I don't need them…" she muttered, denying herself her required medication yet again. "Oh, it was just a weapon being an idiot. Tried to pick a fight with Black*Star's daughter, but somehow ended up fighting me…" she rubbed the back of her neck as she spoke, trying to knead an awful knot that had begun to form. She turned her head once to both sides, tensing it and letting out a sigh of relief when she heard, and felt, the soft cracks of her neck.
Naigus let out a soft 'hmm,' nodding once solemnly. She was concerned for Tsuki, seeing as she hadn't taken her medication in three days, but she wouldn't push. Tsuki knew her breaking point, and she'd get the medication when it was needed. If not, her Father would be just as capable of helping stabilize the situation.
Still, even though she'd justified this thought multiple times through the day, she felt uneasy about this medicine situation, like a pit you get in your stomach when you know something bad is going to happen.
"Alright, well, take your shirt off and let me see if there are any bruises," she said finally, brushing aside the feeling as if it were dust on a cabinet.
Tsuki slipped her white shirt up and over her head, shuddering as the cold air of the office hit her pale, sickly looking skin.
Naigus examined her back and torso with an almost practiced ease and the two exchanged idle chatter, as was custom of them. Naigus asked questions about her Mom, which Tsuki was all too happy to answer and, in turn, Tsuki asked about Sid and recent missions she'd been on, when not at the school.
In the end, there were only a few bruises, nothing major, but still enough to make the young mesiter a bit sore. She was given some pain medication and then told to wait until PJ was finished.
So she stood against the wall, staring up at the ceiling with swirling green eyes, the flecks of gold in them flickering as the light hit the almost-olive-colored orbs. She couldn't lean too much on her left shoulder, seeing as that was where the largest bruise was, but the pain medication that had been given to her before seemed to numb her whole body. The only feeling that she registered was when she moved and a tingling sensation spread through her body, like when your foot falls asleep, just without the pain that usually goes with it. This made her feel awkward and caused her to constantly shift her spot on the wall, as if it would bring any form of comfort.
Stein stepped out from behind the curtain, PJ behind him, his head hung shamefully. Walking over, Stein brushed aside a bit of Tsuki's silver locks and, with a little bit of effort, smiled.
"You promised you'd stay out of trouble…" he warned.
She sighed, hanging her head.
"It won't happen again, Papa."
He smiled, letting out a soft chuckle and placing his hand on her shoulder.
"Good, you can't afford trouble, especially this early in the year. Now, there is one issue that has popped up…"
Tsuki nodded, looking up at Stein blankly.
"You need a weapon partner," he said, looking at Tsuki, and then turning to PJ. "And you need a meister."
He placed a finger to his chin in thought, staring at the floor with an absent look.
"Would you two be willing to partner up?"
Tsuki and PJ both froze, staring at each other with wide eyes.
"What?!" Tsuki exclaimed, staring Stein with a look of complete fear.
"Yeah…What are you on, Dr. Stein? Crack? You'd have to be on more than that to even think that! We can't partner up! We're not compatible."
Stein gave them both, dull looks, sighing and raising an eyebrow.
"Would I have suggested it if I hadn't evaluated your souls beforehand?" he asked slowly, as if he had explained this a thousand times before.
Tsuki sighed, crossing her arms stubbornly. "He tried to kill me, and you're suggesting he become my weapon."
"Precisely."
Tsuki hung her head, not willing to argue with her father, knowing that it was almost guaranteed she'll lose. PJ, on the other hand, was not quite finished.
"How can you be so sure we'll work? Besides, it's not just soul wavelengths that have to work…If we're arguing half the time, even a kishin that's dumb as a post would kill us."
"If you're so certain that I'll be such an awful partner, why don't we go out and test it? Then, we can be sure of whether or not we can team up." Tsuki said, her voice showing she was on the brink of yelling.
"Fine!"
"Fine!"
And with that, both kids stomped out of the dispensary, causing Stein to sigh and rub his temples.
"What am I going to do with her?" he muttered.
Naigus, who had been watching the whole thing, chuckled. "Well, it's rather obvious she's Marie's kid."
Stein nodded, a small smile appearing on his lips. "True…"
Meanwhile, with PJ and Tsuki
"I can't believe you!" Tsuki shouted, throwing her hands up dramatically.
"Well, if you hadn't stopped me we wouldn't be in this situation!"
She sent another death glare in his direction, her green eyes making it even more frightening and intense.
He shied away a bit, but was by no means going to back down. It would wound his pride if he were to back down to a thirteen year old, goody-two-shoe who hadn't seen a day of fun in her life.
But…she was younger than him…and it was her first day at DWMA.
Both of them crossed their arms, stubborn looks of irritation on their faces. Finally, PJ, being the good guy, sighed softly, swallowed his pride, and muttered something under his breath.
Her ears perked up.
"What was that?"
"I said…y'know…Imhowry."
"…what…?"
"I said I'm sorry! Jeez, listen up, kid. Clean out your ears," he muttered, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly.
Tsuki smiled softly, giggling at his explanation.
"It's okay, PJ, I'm sorry I got on your case back there…I'm just really nervous," she admitted, looking at her feet shyly.
PJ looked over, studying the tiny meister before him. She was pretty short, not even reaching his shoulder in height. Her short, silver hair was pulled up into a messy ponytail, many of the bits of hair falling over her face and covering her almost olive green eyes. When the sun hit her face, the rays seemed to reflect off of the golden flecks in the pools of green. She was skinny, her bone structure seeming to strongly resemble that of a bird. He tried to hunt for any signs of nervousness in her features, but she was just as she had been all day.
Tsuki, it seemed, was eternally nervous. She always walked with more pressure on her toes, leaning forward a bit, as if ready to bolt at a moment's notice. Her shoulders were hunched over, her arms crossed over her chest, and her dark hoodie bundled up around her body, as if it would make her seem bigger. But, if anything, the black hoodie she wore to hide her features made her appear even more washed out, as well as made her bright, abnormal hair and eyes stand out, and her small, skinny body even tinier.
"Really? Why would you be nervous?" he asked, starting to walk down the huge set of stairs in front of the building. She hurried to catch up.
"Well…I've always done…poorly around others, mostly because of my family's reputation."
PJ chuckled.
"I can't believe Dr. Stein and Ms. Marie had a kid…" he muttered. "You know, I didn't really catch your name. Mine's PJ."
She nodded, pulling her black hood up to shield her eyes from the brightly burning sun.
"I know. I've heard about you from my Mom…I'm Tsuki, Tsuki Autumn Stein."
"Fancy~" he sang teasingly, causing her to flush.
"Q-quiet!" she exclaimed in a whisper-yell, her face red as a tomato.
"Wow…you get embarrassed easily, don't you?"
She let out a sigh, closing her eyes and hoping her cheeks weren't as hot as they felt.
"K-Kinda…my pale skin also makes any kind of color stand out like a sore thumb."
He grinned, leaning his head back.
"So…you need a partner, eh?"
"Yeah…" she mumbled quietly, her voice smaller than a mouse's.
"Well, what can you wield?" he questioned, curious as to how broad her weapon skills were, considering her Dad's reputation.
"Well, obviously a hammer, a scythe, a sword, though most of them are too bulky for me, and a gun, but not very well…I have awful aim, too, so a gun is really out of the question. Let's see…" she thought long and hard, but eventually sighed. "Yeah, that's it. I know, not really impressive. I'm not the 'prodigy' everyone expected from the daughter of Marie Mjölnir and Franken Stein."
"Well, I guess you're in luck!" he grinned cockily, the mischief sparking back up behind his eyes like a spark igniting. "I'm just a regular ol' scythe!"
Tsuki looked over at him, her eyes wide. Then, she smiled and grabbed his wrist.
"Come on, I'll show you where we can practice."
She dragged the poor boy through the area, to the forest that lied on the outskirts of Death City. Upon reaching the outer tree line, she let his wrist go and trusted him to follow her. The sounds of the city slowly faded into the background, and the forest became more alive the deeper she seemed to lead him in. Birds sang, wind blew, leaves rustled, and the peace of the area washed over the meister and weapon like a wave, letting them float through the serenity of it all as the woods passed them by.
Finally, they came upon a rather large clearing. A tiny pond was located not too far from the edge, and a large group of boulders stood near the back of the tree line. Other than that, it was a clear area with some areas of hard-packed dirt, others that were a bit muddy, and then some that were just plain grassy.
She smiled shyly, clasping her hands behind her back. "This is the area where I first trained. My Papa, Mama and I worked hard to set the area up so that it had multiple different types of land, so that I could fight in multiple terrains."
He stared at her, dumbfounded, for a long moment.
"Wow…" he muttered. She felt another light blush come to her cheeks, and she cursed her pale skin for the second time that day.
"So, uh, you should probably transform…" she muttered awkwardly, shuffling her feet in her spot. PJ was snapped from his thoughts by her voice, but he quickly regained composure, and grinned widely.
"Alright!" And, with a snarky grin and a flash of light, PJ turned into his weapon form. Tsuki grabbed the cool metal quickly, already getting into a battle stance, the blade closer to the ground, the curve of it just barely touching the grass, her right hand higher up on it than her left, which was resting farther back on the long pole that connected to the blade.
His weapon form wasn't really anything special. The blade was pretty much pitch black, the only color that showed through was a single disk of silver that shone like a full moon in the night. It was clear and polished, as if the scythe had never seen battle before. It had a light, bluish tint, but not enough to be noticed, unless one stared long enough at it.
Then, Tsuki directed her attention at how it might perform in battle. It had a clean cut edge, not a single nick in the metal. It was also lightweight, which was a major plus, seeing as Tsuki had trouble wielding anything too heavy. She gave it a few practice swings, going through simple battle motions that her Papa, and her friend's mother, Maka, had taught her. Another good thing was that they were obviously a compatible pair, seeing as she could actually use the weapon without getting hurt. A small smile crossed her lips, and she nodded.
The disk gleamed for a moment, and a light, almost spirit-like image of PJ appeared in it, still grinning.
"Seems like the old man was right," he said, and Tsuki chuckled in bitter amusement.
"I guess he was…" she muttered. PJ shifted from his weapon form to his human form, and held out his hand.
"So…partners?"
Tsuki smiled and took his hand into hers. "Partners."
I AM BACK FROM THE DEAD, MY LOYAL, LOVELY, BYOOTEEFUL READERS!
EVEN AFTER OVER TWO MONTHS OF EDITING, IT STILL FEELS LIKE THERE'S SOMETHING WRONG?! :headdeskforeverlz:
But, seriously, it took forever to write this...But, I'm kinda happy with it/kinda not. There's places where I feel that my characters could be stronger and, honestly, I'm kinda scared about posting this because my OC, Tsuki, is the daughter of Marie and Stein.
I seriously tried my hardest to make her as least Mary Sue-like as I could, but I feel like I failed miserably at that. UGH...WHY, TSUKI?!
Anyway, as you can probably tell, Tsuki and PJ are mine...Well, PJ is sorta, kinda, not really based off a classmate of mine who inspired this story. So...PJ, IF YOU'RE READING THIS, DON'T FREAK OUT, IT'S SKYLAR, DON'T SEND ME A MESSAGE, AND DON'T RANT ABOUT THE STORY IN CLASS, OKAY?
THANK YOU.
c:
As you can tell, I'm a wonderful friend to my classmates~
So, yes, don't try to analyze what I've written, accept it as it is. Thank you. c: Come on Skylar, you know that a PROPER reader for a story would analyze the hell out of everything the author said
Anyway, DISCLAIMER!
Tsuki and PJ (c) Me
Soul Eater (c) Who ever Soul Eater Belongs To...
Anyway~
COMMENT BEFORE YOU FAV, I NEED FEEDBACK ON THESE TWO SO I CAN TWEAK THEM FOR FURTHER CHAPTERS, SO THEY'RE LESS PERFECT-ISH.
Thank you for reading. Have a nice day! c:
