Disclaimer: I do not own Soul Eater.

Promise
by. Poisoned Scarlet

"White Star!" Elaine Evans shouted, cupping her hands over her mouth. "White Star! No fair! I found you!" She wandered down the cobble stone streets of Death City by herself, her small hands clutching the hem of her white dress. Her hair, reflecting silver under the evening sun, tied into two low pigtails that fell down her shoulders, offered some warmth against the cool breeze.

She whimpered quietly when she realized no one was around. The windows were shut, curtains drawn. She could hear none of the usual footsteps or chatter associated with a busy street; not the crunch of tires or the swish of a bike. Her hands rose up to her mouth, muffling weak whimpers as she carefully walked down the street.

"White Star?" Elaine whispered, her emerald eyes worrisomely darting left and right. But she saw no one; heard not the usual, loud, laughter of her best friend. "W…White Star, this isn't funny…. I'm really scared…please come out…" Her voice cracked, stopping altogether.

Her mama had told her that if she ever got lost, she should not continue moving as it would be harder to locate her.

Perhaps her mama and papa had finally noticed that she and White Star were not playing with the rest in the playground. They had wondered off, mainly because White Star had called her a chicken and she was no chicken: she was as brave and courageous as her mama! But now she didn't think so, as she looked behind her nervously, because she had lost sight of White Star after he turned a corner and she did not know her way back to the playground to tell her mama of his foul play.

She shrieked when a trashcan overturned, the clamoring noise of metal lids crashing to the ground making tears spring to her eyes. But she blinked them away when she saw a cat dart out of the alley with a hiss, disappear down another alley way.

"I found you!" Elaine laughed in relief, rubbing her eyes of tears. "You can come out now! I know you're there! I'm not scared one bit!" She ran into the alley with a huge smile but came to a sudden halt at the sight of an enormous, trembling, creature bent over a bundle of something. The bundle twitched and move, pained, muffled, cries coming from it, but Elaine had not a clue what it was in the beginning. But she had a feeling she did, as a sinking feeling developed in her gut the longer she watched.

"….White Star…?" Elaine whispered, staring. The creature shuddered and snapped its long neck up, facing her. Elaine felt tears run down her cheeks at the sight of its bloody teeth, glinting under the flickering light of a stores back-exit, and its wide, red, eyes. It ground its jaw, flesh spilling down its chin and spattering to the floor.

It croaked deeply, removing itself from the bundle. Elaine didn't dare remove her eyes from its own, entranced by the unusual phenomenon. Was this what her mama called a 'Kishin'? What her papa always left to fight for work? What was a 'Kishin' doing in Death City – her mama had said she was safe in Death City; nothing would harm her. But if this was a 'Kishin', then it ate souls… small, glowing, orbs that gave people life and emotion, as her mama had taught her…

Elaine dropped her eyes to the faint glow that hovered over the massacred body but she could not discern anything aside from its flickering light. The body was hidden under the Kishin's large shadow.

Suddenly, the creature roared and Elaine shrieked, stumbling back.

Her foot caught in a crack and she tripped to her bottom, tears freely running down her face as the Kishin approached her with fierce determination; roaring and raising its clawed hand and –

"HEY! GET AWAY FROM HER!"

"White Star!" Elaine cried, White Star coming to a halt beside her. He stared fearfully at the creature that merely doubled its roar, almost laughing at how easy its prey had come to it, and White Star grabbed Elaine by the hand and hauled her up.

"Get up, Ellie, you have to get up! It's gonna' eat us if you don't! We have to get your dad!" White Star rushed, dragging her knee-weakened form out of the alley. "Ellie! C'mon, we have'ta—!"

"NO, PAPA! MAMA!" Elaine cried sobbingly, hiding her head in her arms when the creature slashed and missed them by a hairs breadth. White Star cradled her in his arms, on the verge of tears already, and they tremulously curled into each other as the Kishin prepared to deliver a final blow on the children.

"SOUL EATER GO!" A shrill shriek rang through the air.

Elaine heard the crunch of boots, the roar of the Kishin cut off abruptly, before the sickening splat of remains littered the floor. A whirl of air casting a putrid stench reached her runny nose and Elaine opened her eyes to find her father standing over a single, glowing, red orb with a snarl on his lips.

It was a frightening sight: her papa had never looked so fierce - scary - in her life. He always had a small smile on his face, always grinned and pinched her cheeks and teased her like he did with her mama.

"Oh, my God! Elaine! White Star!" Maka Evans fretted, sprinting toward their huddled forms. "Are you okay? Does it hurt anywhere – White Star, don't touch that!"

"M...mama!" Elaine sobbed, running into her arms. Her small hands gripped the back of her shirt as she shushed her and rubbed soothing circles into her back. She felt White Star cram beside her, also in her mother's arms, and quietly mumble an apology for trying to touch a piece of rotting flesh from the body the Kishin had been feasting upon.

"Soul, where's Tsubaki?" Maka demanded.

"Last I saw her, she was right behind you." Soul answered, shifting his scythes back into flesh. He turned toward his daughter in concern, kneeling before Maka. "Hey, hey, Ellie, don't cry – !"

"NO!" Elaine sobbed harder, pressing closer to her mother. Soul visibly flinched at her rejection.

Maka frowned worriedly and reached down to upturn her face, red-nosed and running with tears. "Elaine, that wasn't nice." She chided softly, thumbing away stray tears. She could hear Tsubaki call for White Star thickly, no doubt terrified for the well-being of her own child. "Why did you do that to your papa? He was only trying to help."

"Nnnn…" Elaine hiccupped, tremulously turning to her father. Soul smiled weakly, reaching out with a hand but not daring to go any further. He had a feeling she had seen him tear apart the Kishin and was frightened of him. He inwardly hoped she wouldn't avoid him out of fear because of this. "Papa…?"

"It's okay, Elaine." Soul smiled, gently. "I'm not going to hurt you. I promise."

Elaine stared at him for a few seconds, searching his eyes for truth, before she reached for him and curled in his chest while her mother patted White Star's back comfortingly and handed him off to Tsubaki.

"Don't you ever do that again, do you hear me, White Star?" Tsubaki scolded sternly, shaking him slightly. White Star looked down guiltily, tears accumulating in his eyes at his mothers scold. "You nearly gave us a heart attack when we didn't see you two in the playground! Just what were you two doing so far away?"

"We were just playin' hide-and-seek…" White Star mumbled, cringing when Tsubaki's stern stare became furious.

Maka sighed and turned to her own daughter while Tsubaki yelled at White Star, who pouted and sniffled. Elaine gripped Soul's shirt tightly in her hand, unwilling to move. She stared straight ahead, remembering the glowing, white, orb that hovered faintly over that bundle. She wondered if that was a person. Maybe the person was sleeping.

"Mama…the person's still in there!" Elaine crawled up and pointed into the alley. "There's a white thing – a soul over it! Go get it! Maybe we can give it back to her!" She cheered up but Maka and Soul exchanged strained looks. "Hurry! Before someone takes it!"

"Elaine," Soul began heavily but Maka interrupted.

"Okay. We'll give the lady her soul back. You wait right here." Maka ignored Soul's hard look and stood up, walking into the alley. She came back out grim-faced, a hand hidden behind her back. But Elaine noticed nothing, beaming up at her brave mother.

"Did'ja give it back? Did'ja, did'ja?"

Maka smiled sadly. "Yes, Elaine, the lady can rest in peace now." She looked at Tsubaki, who gazed at Elaine sympathetically. White Star was quiet, curious, also ignorant to what happened when a persons soul escaped their body. "Tsubaki, do you think you can take them back to the playground? We'll be there in a sec."

"Alright – come, Elaine, White Star, how about I go buy you two some ice-cream?" She suggested kindly, and this immediately gained a reaction from White Star. He enthusiastically nodded, urging Elaine to take the offer. Elaine, unsure, looked up at Soul and, after getting a nod, walked over to Tsubaki and took her extended hand.

"Mama…Papa…" Elaine whimpered, when she saw Soul walk back to Maka.

"Don't worry, Ellie, we'll be back right now." Soul assured, with a crooked grin. He walked over to Elaine and kneeled to her level, tugging fondly on a pigtail. "You're a big girl, aren't you? We'll be back soon – we just have to take care of something. You stay with Tsubaki no matter what that idiot White Star tells you, okay?"

White Star whined, stomping his foot, but laughed when Soul shot him a wide grin.

Elaine was a big girl, so she refrained from crying again and nodded bravely, following Tsubaki and White Star back to the playground while her parents watched silently.

"She'll find out you lied to her soon, y'know." Soul stated, turning back to Maka. "She's seven. She'll be entering the Academy in a couple of years."

Maka heaved a sigh and brought the soul she had hid behind her back to eye-level. It was faint, flickering almost, indicating severe damage to the delicate structure of the soul. She knew this soul would last a few more hours before it dissipated into thin air; a soul lost to another demon.

"I know. She's a Weapon type – once she enters DWMA, she'll know everything. They stress on the function of a weapon, especially blade types, which have contact with the Kishin itself, to prime them for what is to come." Maka's fingers trailed gently over the soul; a cold residue sticking to her fingers. It wouldn't be long now. "It won't be long before she realizes we didn't really save that woman."

"How bad is it?"

"Her body is unrecognizable. We're going to have to file a report on this one." Maka glanced down at the soul again. "We'll have to give this soul to Professor Stein for analysis."

Soul ran his hand through his hair. "Shit, and I'm on vacation, too. This is so uncool…" But he plucked the soul from her hand, observing its dimming light with a slight frown, and gestured to a rooftop with his head after handing it back to her. "You down?"

Maka smiled and took his hand. "We have to be quick, though – Elaine is waiting for us!"

Soul smirked as he transformed, Maka already dashing across the rooftops and towards Patchwork Laboratory, where they would also contact the Disposal Unit to come and pick up the mutilated body.

"I'm not the one who's gonna' make her wait – you're the one being slow!"

"Oh, shut up! As if you can go any faster!" Maka snapped.

"I bet I can!"

"Oh, really? Want to show me, great one?" Maka sarcastically said, earning an eye-roll from Soul. But he did nothing. "That's what I thought – just pipe down and maybe you won't sleep on the couch tonight!"

"What? Maka, that's not fair! I was just trying to lighten the mood!"

"Well, it's not working!" Maka grumbled, sighing exasperatedly when Soul fervently defended himself against the unfair punishment of sleeping on the couch.

Meanwhile, Elaine watched as White Star rambled on and on about how he would make a great Meister like his father. Tsubaki kept close this time, keeping a stern eye on both of them, but Elaine was more concerned about that lady than Tsubaki's constant glances.

"Do you think that lady is gonna' be alright?"

White Star paused mid-way. "Uh, didn't your mom say she was okay?"

"Yeah, but…"

"Then she's okay! But did'ja see your dad? He was like 'RAWRR'! And then he stabbed the Kishin and, and, and it turned into this cool red thing! It was like…awesome! Like my dad!" He proudly beamed.

"It's called a soul." Elaine quietly said.

"Huh?"

"The red thing… it's called a soul. Mama told me so." She bit into the cone of her ice-cream. "Kishin souls are…bad, though. I think people like me eat them." She wrinkled her nose at that.

White Star, however, looked awed. "You get to eat it?" He immediately looked toward his mom, hopeful. "MOM! I WANNA' EAT A SOUL LIKE ELLIE, TOO!"

"YOU WILL DO NO SUCH THING, WHITE STAR!"

"BUT—!"

"Don't make me get your father!" Tsubaki sharply warned, and White Star subdued with a sulky pout.

"That's awesome, Ellie, how come you get to do all the cool stuff?" He whined.

Elaine laughed, poking him on the cheek with a bright smile. "It's okay! When you're my meister, you get to beat up those Kishin! I think that's more cool than eating it!"

White Star pondered this for a second before nodding, deeming it true. "Yeah! I can't wait until we join the Academy! We'll be the best of the best – like your mama and papa! I'll make you into a super awesome Death Scythe! "

"You promise...?" Elaine asked, shyly.

"Promise!" He grinned, confidently and sincerely.

Elaine beamed, catching sight of her parents approaching; bickering, as usual. Her papa would make it up to her mama later, Elaine knew, as he annoyed her often.

"Okay!" And they shook on it - until Elaine realized White Star had gotten his chocolate ice-cream all over his hand and cried out furiously, having gotten it on her dress now.

White Star merely cackled.

A.N: Wrote this today in an effort to disable the grammar functions in Word. Sadly, I could not, and I only grew more annoyed with the damn software. I officially give up – OpenOffice for life!

Scarlett.