I hate the hiding. The feeling of being trapped. The way it makes every noise stand out and sound like artillery.
I duck into a closet, trying so hard to disappear.
"Don't see me.. Please don't see me.." I whimper, quaking as fear and adrenaline course through me.
"Come on! The runt came this way!" I hear the shout come from down the hall. Then footfalls. Three people, their steps heavy.
I push myself flush against the back wall of the closet. I feel the tears coming like they always do.
Finally they pass the closet. I hear more yelling, but the words are lost to distance.
I heave a sigh of relief and allow myself to relax.
Suddenly the door is flun open. I scream.
scene
I bolted up in bed, panting heavily as the fear from the nightmare subsided. I clutched the sheets, looking around to find only my barren room.
I flopped back down, staring at the ceiling.
'Damn it,' I thought to myself. 'I hate the dream.'
Rolling over, I checked my phone. 3:40am. Still too early for anyone else.
I heaved a sigh, dragging myself out of bed and heading for the bathroom.
"Why are you like this?" I said to myself.
"Because you're never going to forget." My reflection said back, grinning at me.
Unconsciously, my hand morphed into a blade, but I quickly changed it back. No more bad thoughts today. DWMA awaits.
I walked back into the bedroom, heading to the closet to gather the only things left in the apartment; My outfit for the day and a pack.
Pulling on the jeans and hoodie, I grab my backpack and head out.
A jog seemed like a good idea.
Scene break
7:10am.
An hour jog and a two hour train ride. Not a bad way to start a day.
I looked out the window, Death city sprawling into the distance. Today I start my first year at DWMA.
The famous, or infamous, school stood in the distance. The building towered over the city. It was sort of daunting, knowing that it was full of people my age who were willing and able to out fight professional athletes.
I gathered myself up as the train stopped. Getting off, I started my trek toward the school.
The city really was just like any other. Houses, shops, cafes, everything that you'd expect. People roamed around on their business. It felt like home already.
I made it to the stairs leading to DWMA. I nearly passed out simply looking at the sheer number of them.
"I'll never make it," I heard a voice say to my right. "I'll die on the way up."
I looked over to see a girl rolling a suitcase and holding a guidebooks. She wore a black and white modified sailor uniform and had black hair to her shoulders.
"Hey," I said, calling her attention. "You new, too?"
She seemed to just notice I was there, startled by my sudden arrival.
"O-oh. Yes I am." She flashed a smile, forgetting the daunting stairs. "I'm Harudori Tsugumi. You can call me Tsugumi." She offers your hand, which I shake. "What's your name?"
"Rowan. Rowan Bello. My friends call me Rowe." I give her a smile of my own, looking back to the deathtrap stairs. "I guess we should start on our way up."
She looks up towards the school, apprehension clear on her face before she settles a determined stare on the building.
"Yeah, we should." She grabbed her suitcase, walking ahead of me while I tighten my backpack straps. I followed beside her.
Scene breakMy knees were weak. My arms felt heavy. Tsugumi wasn't doing any better. The stairs were merciless and relentless. I regretted not bringing water.
"Daily workout my ass," I said, stopping to regain some feeling in my legs. "This is torture."
"Yeah," Tsugumi stopped, doubled over. "You'd think they'd warn us."
As she reached over to grab the handle of her case again, she missed, sending it sliding down the stairs.
Before it could get too far, a girl in a trench coat grabbed it, setting it next to Tsugumi as she ran.
The girl stopped, turning to smile at us.
"It's only a little farther now. You guys can do it!" She shouted as she set off up the stairs again.
As she ran off, Tsugumi and I shared a look of determination before starting off again with renewed vigor.
"Onward!"
Scene breakFinally, after a break and a rather nice note from our mysterious case saver, we had made it to the school.
"Alright, the sign says to go this way." I said, pointing to sign that had Lord Death on it. Though Tsugumi seemed to be lost in her own world.
"Not you! Not in a hundred years!" A voice shouted before a body came flying toward us.
Tsugumi didn't move in time, so I put myself between the person and her. The guy hit me in the chest before falling to the ground.
"Hey, watch where you're launching people!" I shout at the guy who threw the resounding punch.
"Wow dude, you didn't even move when he hit you!" He said, grinning. He had blue hair and a mostly black outfit. "I'm BlackStar, the guy who'll surpass God!" He struck a pose, pointing toward the sky.
"Sure you will." Another person said. "And I'll be right beside you." A girl walked up beside him.
"I know, Tsubaki." BlackStar rubbed the back of his head sheepishly before turning to her.
As their conversation continued, Tsugumi and I continued on to our orientation.
As we walked, I could feel her looking at me. This went on for five minutes before my curiosity got to me.
"Tsugumi, why are you staring at me?" I asked, turning to her. She stopped abruptly, trying not to look at me.
"I-I just thought it was really cool how you protected me and that you didn't even flinch when you got hit by a person." The words nearly spilled from her as she talked. I smiled at her.
"Well, I couldn't just let my friend get hurt now could I?" She looked taken aback, and then she smiled.
We finally found the orientation room. As we entered, we were handed tags that differentiated the weapons from the meisters. We were both handed weapon tags.
"You're a weapon too?" Tsugumi asks me as we find a place to stand.
"Yup, looks like we'll have to find meisters." I said, looking around the room.
We stood next to a girl wearing a cream sweater and blue skirt.
"Hi, I'm Rowan. What's your name?" I introduced myself to the girl.
She looked up from her thoughts. "Oh hi, I'm.." She trailed off, looking lost in thought. "I thought I knew it." She stayed that way for a few more seconds before brightening up. "Oh, I'm Tatane Meme. It's nice to meet you."
"I'm Harudori Tsugumi." Tsugumi jumped in, smiling brightly at the other girl.
A crash made me look up from our pending conversation as someone came through the door.
"Sorry I'm late, those stairs were a nightmare!" The new arrival said, picking herself up off the floor.
She had brown hair, and wore a black flowing dress.
"It's no problem." The instructor told her. "We haven't even properly started." He handed her her tag. Meister. "Mingle with the others."
I took the initiative and approached her, leaving Meme and Tsugumi to their conversation.
"Hi, I'm Rowan." I smiled. "What's your name?"
She looked a bit shocked that I had talked to her, but grinned nonetheless.
"I'm Kobayashi Meiko. It's good to meet you." She gave me a small bow.
"Alright, that should be everyone." The instructor spoke to the room as he approached the podium. "Welcome to the DWMA. I'm Sid, one of the teachers here. Some of you can transform into weapons, and some of you wish to be meisters, those who fight with the weapons.
"Your skills likely vary. Some of you weapons may not yet be able to transform at will. Don't worry, there's no rush. That's why we're here; To teach you."
"Are you serious? You let people like that in?" I hear someone say from the back of the room.
"Begining today," Sid continues. "You will fight as partners. Matching up is simple. Every weapon needs to have a meister."
"So I need a partner." Tsugumi mutters to herself.
"If you're still a relatively inexperienced weapon, the meister you partner with will be especially important." Sid explained. "Having a partner should help the learning process. Many weapons find it difficult to transform unless they have a meister to wield them. Take your time and find a partner you have good chemistry with."
"How should we play this?" A very big guy asks his shorter friend.
"I don't know about you, but I want a girl." The shorter guy says. "As far as im concerned, the ideal partner is someone who'll clean up after me, tend my wounds and, ya know, other things." A lecherous smile spread across his face.
"Wretch." I mutter to myself.
"I'm not a particularly eloquent man," Sid went on. "And in this case I think showing would be better than telling. You'll understand better if you see partners who have matching wavelengths." He turned towards the door. "You can come in now."
The door opened, letting two people in. One is a familiar face.
"These are two senior students," Sid said. "The meister Maka Albarn, and and the weapon Soul Eater."
"Always good to see new students." Maka said, standing at attention. "It's nice to meet you all." She looks around the room before her eyes land on Tsugumi and I. She flashed us a smile.
"Go ahead and begin the demonstration now." Sid said.
Maka and Soul share a look before he transformed, turning into light beforetaking the form of a scythe.
We all backed up to the wall, making room for the pair.
"It's important to remember that the weapon and the meister are both people." Sid explained as Maka made her way to the center of the room. "That scythe isn't a thing."
"When we acknowledge each other's wills and synchronize our wavelengths, fighting together is as easy as breathing." Maka said, beginning the demonstration, Soul swinging around her fast enough to become a blur.
Their moves were fluid, almost as if it were a dance. Every move had a purpose and place.
Once they were finished, Maka took a bow. Soul returned to human form and stood beside her.
"So that's what a weapon and meister pair look like." Sid said, crossing his arms. "I hope this helped. You'll learn more as class progresses, but for now it's best if you try to listen to your gut. That's all for today."
Everyone dispersed after that, heading into the halls. As I went to walk away, I spotted a group of guys harassing two girls. When I looked closer, I Saw it was Meme and Meiko.
"Come on doll, partner with me. I'm a fine weapon and you're fine meisters." One guy said, the guy from before.
I saw Tsugumi and a blonde girl put themselves between the other girls.
I decided to help the girls. I have no respect for pigs.
"Hey," I said, taking a spot beside Meiko. "Don't you guys have better things to do than dirty this place with your sleaze."
"What was that. You looking for a fight?" The biggest of them said, the blond guy with the big mouth standing next to him.
"And if I am." I leveled a glare at them.
"Then so are we." A guy with red hair said, practically hanging off of a guy with orange hair.
"Then we're agreed." The blonde girl said, before turning to Tsugumi. "You, Harudori was it? Your nametag said you were a weapon. Please transform yourself immediately."
"B-but I can't just transform on the spot like that!" Tsugumi nearly shouted, looking to the floor.
"Tsugumi." I caught her attention. "Look inside yourself. Find the need to protect others. And use the blade inside you to do so." I turned to Meiko. "Would you care to help me with those two pigs?" I pointed to the two who seemed nearly conjoined.
Meiko gave me a nod, setting herself in a ready stance.
All at once, the weapons among us were merely flashes of light before settling into warm hands.
"I did it.." I heard Tsugumi's voice. Looking, I saw she had managed to transform. She was a halberd.
"So you're an arming sword." I heard Meiko say as she looked at me.
"I prefer the term, 'Knightly sword'." I replied, getting a feeling for her wavelength.
It felt like an ocean. A calm surface, but raging currents underneath.
I finally took a second to notice our opposition.
The big guy held the blond in his hand, having him transform into a knife. All except his head.
Directly opposite us, the redhead held a japanese war fan more than half his height. Obviously the other guy.
"Alright, let's end the quickly." I said, smirking to myself.
"Yeah, I want to be rid of them as fast as possible." Meiko said in agreement.
We rushed at each at them, blocking a wild swing. Meiko launched a kick at his chest, using him as a pivot to bring her other foot to his chin. Batting fan boy away, she rushed forward, clubbing the redhead with the flat of my blade.
Over. Too easy. I transformed back into human form and saw that the others had made short work of their opponents too.
Walking over, I couldn't help but smile.
"Hey, looks like we showed them." I said, looking to the blonde girl. "I haven't introduced myself. I'm Rowan."
"Anya Hepburn. A pleasure." She said, giving the faintest hint of a smile.
"We should probably get out of here. They'll be coming to clean these guys up soon." I said, walking away with Meiko falling into step beside me.
I looked back to see both Anya and Meme clinging to Tsugumi. Grinning, I turned to Meiko.
"Hey, Meiko." I said, startling her out of her thoughts. "Would you like to be partners?"
I could practically see the wheels turning as she processed what I said. She smiled.
"I'd love to."