Well, this is my first story here. I'm rather excited, as it's been a while since I've written anything at all, to be honest. I adore Soul Eater, so doing anything related will be a nice treat for me. ^^
This story focuses on several other students at the DWMA, their lives and adventures they face. The main character is a teenage girl called Absinthea, who, in order to get away from her undesired life-style as a gang member, makes a deal with a certain witch in exchange for Weapon powers. Her partner, Mortis, is a naive, innocent child who just happens to be a very skilled Meister, and who is, for an unknown reason, in the same boat as his Weapon. Trough the story, the pair will bond, discover more about themselves and the dangerous world they are in, face many difficulties but also meet many new friends along the way.
The plot starts out light and gradually gets darker. The beginning is set a year before the SE NOT, during the same time when most of the original crew starts attending DWMA. This is mainly OC-centric, but the characters we all know n' love will be having tons of comeos and will take the spot-light from time to time. Also a lot of the characters we didn't see much about will have a chance to shine. The amount of shipping is minimal, and it mainly includes the ships that have been confirmed as canon, more or less.
That's about it. I know some stuff might sound iffy at the beginning, but things will get cleared up as time progresses, I promise. :3
I appreciate any form of feedback, and if I'm doing something wrong, or you feel like I could improve in some aspects, please give me your critique. I'll be thankful!
I love fog. I have a feeling that it protects me from the unwanted gazes, and allows me to be the person I am without any fears. It's much easier to be yourself when nobody can see and point out your flaws. Still, the streets of this small, ruined town are empty most of the time, anyway. It's night right now, so it's not all that strange that there are almost no people. What is strange that the night in this city has lasted for the last twelve years. Metaphorically, of course.
I don't think that I have much right to argue myself, since most of the violence and terror in the town of Usahaville is the fault of my dear family. Giza gang has been spreading chaos for years now, taking charge over the small, previously peaceful place pretty quickly, and forcing most common people to either flee or live in constant fear. It's kinda sad, really, to think that some people don't have enough money to live properly or start their life elsewhere, so they are stuck here. Like flees in a spider's web, gradually making peace with their own unfortunate fate, and the fact that things won't get better for them. My mother always told me I should quit complaining and just be glad I was born on this side of things, and she's right. There's no going around that, but still...
Isn't there something more?
I walk past the abandoned buildings and demolished statues, stepping over the broken glass and mud, giving my dog the rare choice on where we will go. Her small, stubby white paws excitedly march forward down the wide street, towards the town's park. Well, at least she has an idea where we can go. Park sound brilliant to me.
It is the only place here in Usahaville that still looks like something. Or, you could say that it's the only place here that doesn't look like a graveyard. One way or another, I think it has a nice feel to it, and I'm pretty sure Lucy agrees. As soon as we enter the gates and I have her leash loosened, she starts running around, sniffing the grass and occasionally stopping to roll around in it. A cute sight.
This gives me a great opportunity to relax. I lean on the stone wall and look around myself, before something colorful and oddly familiar catches my gaze. A large, half-torn poster on the right of me. Strange, I don't remember seeing when I last visited the park, and it's not like a lot of things happen around here. I approach it and take a curious look, but pretty much regret it the moment I do.
Shibusen, the School for Weapons and Meisters
Help us fight evil and protect humanity from madness!
It says on top. Underneath the eye-catching title is a small description containing the details and instructions, which I don't bother reading. I already know it by heart right now, anyway. Who doesn't know about the great school that teaches young heroes?
What person hasn't been dreaming about going to the Academy and earning a name for themselves at least at one point of their life? I know I have, but unfortunately I haven't inherited my father's weapon blood, nor have I displayed enough skill that would make me a competent Meister.
Well, too bad not all of us are lucky to have been born heroes. Not everyone is meant to walk the path of greatness, and, at the end, there's no going around that. If everyone was a hero, then the word would lose its point and become unnecessary over time. After all, heroes are people who protect others, and if everyone could protect themselves, heroes simply wouldn't exist. I
They hang those same posters every year around this time, reminding young Weapons and Meisters to sign up all over the world. I heard that they don't miss out a single area in the world, and part of me wonders if that's a way to remind those who commit crime that there is nowhere that they can hide.
The thought makes me shudder. While most of my family has tasted a human soul at one point of their life without any consequences, my cousin from father's side met his fate at the hands of one of their students, two years ago, after gaining a heavy thirst for human souls. Part of me finds the school's attitude obnoxious, while the rest of me... well, knows it was most likely for the best. And the rest of the family would agree. He was turning into a nuisance, after all.
Speaking of which, it would also probably be for the best if we didn't stay here too long, or at least refrained from going too deep into the park. My parents have always been warning me not to stray away too far, because, since it's pretty much as big as the rest of the town, who knows what could happen? I might get attacked by someone who doesn't recognize who I am, member of a rival gang, or something along those lines.
And I'm no hero. I can't protect myself. And if I may be a monster, I'm still not strong enough.
As if the God himself has heard my thoughts, the sound of footsteps brings me back to earth and interrupts my thinking. The night is silent enough to hear someone's breathing, put apart notice that someone is advancing towards you. The footsteps are getting louder, which means that, whoever else is crazy enough to wander this town during the night, is coming closer. My first instict is to grab my dog and start running, but my something is telling me to stay where I am. My dog freezes in place too, pointing its whole body towards the path that leads deeper into the park. She ruflles her long fur and her large, brown eyes pop out with either anger or fear, as she barks several times into the foggy darkness. An intemidating sight indeed... would it be unless the dog in question wasn't a tiny Pekingese.
Oh well, points for effort, I guess. I pick her up from the ground and she frolics in my grasp, and my other hand slowly reaches out to my pocket. It's too late to run, I can see the silhouette and I'm pretty sure they see me too, but I just might pull out my knife, in case it's needed.
...
Empty pocket? Well done, genius! If this takes the turn for the worse, there just might be one less fool in the world. I hear a small laugh coming from the approaching silhouette, and part of me entertains the idea that the person heard my thoughts.
A girls slowly steps into my view. She doesn't look much older then me, or taller for those matters. That eases my mind at first. If the person attacks me by some chance, it'll be easier for me to defend myself against another girl rather then a men. My mind is put to work again as my dog's continued barking prompts me to take a better look at her.
She looks odd in a way that's hard to grasp. To put it into perspective, it's more about feeling that something is off about her rather then seeing it. Her skin is eerily pale, too pale, and the color of her unblinking wide eyes doesn't look human. It could be content lenses, I figure, but it still looks unsettling in a way. Her hair is tightly wrapped in what I presume is some strange, vibrantly colored scarf that glistens under the pale street light. It softly swooshes from left to right, then back to left, but there is no wind, and the motion doesn't end even when she stops only a few meters from me, staring me down. There is something else. I can't put my mind around it, but something tells me that I should watch my moves around this person. Some type of an instinct has me on edge, without me actually knowing why.
"Absinthe, right? I think I have something that is yours."
"E-excuse me."
I try my best to sound as confident as I can, but I sound more akin to a mumbling child, asked by its parents to speak loud and clear after doing something mischievous. And I don't have much to be confident about, really, since I've forgotten my only way of defense at home, probably in my other jacket, or by the computer. Bravo for me. Still… it's just a girl. I hope.
And she's not attacking, either. Instead, her mouth spread into a wide grin as she holds something straight in front of my face. I can recognize the thing… A small, dark blue notebook, with 'diary' scribbled on the front page. What the fuck? It's mine, and I was sure I lost it or that one of my brothers got their hands on it. The fact that a complete stranger has something so personal to me feels almost surreal, and my brain just can't find any good solutions whatsoever.
And why… didn't her hair stop moving? It could be my imagination but it even looks to be moving a bit quicker now, too. Just a bit.
"Don't play stupid. I can help you get what you want so badly. It's written all over your face too, not just in this thing."
At first, I'm surprised and scared. Then, my heart finally moves from my throat and jumps a few times with excitement, but it quickly calms down and it and goes back to its previous spot as soon as my brain kicks in. How could she do something like that? And on what charge was she making such offers to begin with. Were those offers to begin with? Heck, how does she who I am? Where has she found that? So many questions that need to be answered before I can even begin to understand what I'm in store for.
"Lets say a mutal friend recommended you. He's the one who brought me this."
She waved my diary through the air. Something in my mind clicks.
"You're a witch… aren't you? There's something off about you."
Her smile leaves her face for a few seconds, as her hair…
No, it's not hair, but,
oh God-
A scorpion's tail!
It expands in length and makes a free circling movement, slow enough not to look threatening, but fast enough for me to figure exactly what it was. She chuckles lightly.
"Yes, but that's irrelevant. I could make you into a hero you always wanted to be, and give you a free ticket out of this place you hate so much."
"Why would I want that from a witch?"
My instant hatred for those vile creatures sets in. But whether my answer is brave or foolish is a matter of interpretation, but as her tail makes a few more, this time much quicker motions, I start leaning more towards the second. I've never seen a witch in my life, to be completely honest, but I've seen just enough of them to know that they waged a war on the entire mankind and God himself. They are very well known for horrible crimes that would make my even my family sick, and for a moment I try to bravely stand my ground and be a hero I always wanted to be. I half expect her to mutter some spell and spill my organs all over the grass, and there's no saying if a few moments of heroism are worth it.
Especially since she seems to be offering so much, and I want to accept as much as I hate her kind.
"You're just a stupid little girl."
"Right. And since when do witches grant wishes?"
I bark out what's probably my last ounce of bravery... or ability to resist temptation. If she kills me, I guess I'm content. I died while bravely facing a witch, didn't I?
As her expression turns sour, the tail effortlessly lifts itself in the air above me, and I can see the sharp end glisten in the night, like one of my knives. The realization of how close I am to actually dying hits me. One swing, and I'm a goner… What's worse, nobody will know or care. My family is used to having people die right and left. Maybe dad would be sad? Yeah, he probably would. Lucy whimpers and buries her face in my neck.
I figure, if she doesn't kill me now, I might as well go along with whatever she has in mind, especially if she can fulfill my biggest desire, as she has said.
I hate myself for thinking this, but… it is something I've been wishing since I was small.
But, is it worth it? If she could really do what she said, that would mean I was making a pact with a witch.
"Laughable creature. I offer to give you your biggest wish, but if you keep flinging with that useless tongue of yours, I'm afraid I just migt have to rip it out. Why do you insist on making yourself miserable when you can have happiness so easily? Perhaps you don't deserve it to begin with.
What are you going to do? Grab a knife and slit your own throat once life gets even harder?
This is your last chance to get anything."
"You're right…
Will 'I'm sorry' make it better?"
I glue my eyes on the ground in front of me, trying to block my own mind from calling me a pathetic coward and telling me this is not a way to find happiness. Will my meek apology attempt do me any good? Her tail is lowered, and she calms down.
"So you accept my offer?"
"Can you really do that?"
" I could."
"You still want to help me?"
"Not for free."
"What's the catch?"
"Now's not the time. You won't be having to do any dirty work. Is that enough for you?"
"Fair enough…But how do you intend to do it?"
"If you want to find that out, I'm afraid you will have to come with me."
She motions for me to follow her, as she turns around to walks back trough the fog, right from where she came from. A wave of nervousness washes over me. Could I perhaps turn and run now? I wonder what could happen if I did that… or, more specifically, how much time would it take for her to hunt me down and break my spine. It's a good thing I don't even feel like running. I'm scared, that's for sure, but it's not like I have a future, anyways. I'm never going to be happy with the life my family wants me to lead, and making deal with a witch is probably the lesser of two evils.
"Be good now and hurry along. We will need some time to get the experiment done. You can carry your pet along too."
I hug the dog in my arms tightly, trying to make myself feel more secure about this, as I walk behind her, into the fog.
Fog… yes, it's beautiful indeed. It protects our mistakes from the unwanted looks even of people who aren't even there, voices that echo trough our mind, reminding us how utterly awful we actually are. It's easier to trample every basic principle of our being when even our conscience can't see us.