Life, Death, Love, Hate, Happiness and Sorrow are all the same thing.
Just words that give the illusion of sanity.
But we all know, we all know the truth.
The true path to sanity is seeping with the blood of the incompetent.
True sanity only comes to be through pain.
And that is why, we are the most sane of all.
-Greg Terrance Zorski
Soul Eater: Blood Laced Wine
Ten years before the "Asura incident"
"But why?" the blonde girl pleaded, tears streamed down her small face as she asked her guardian this painful question.
He looked down at her, his bags slung over his shoulder as he did so.
"Because I need to go." He replied simply, his ginger hair curled and swayed as he turned towards her.
His heavy black boots thudded against the wooden floor, his duffle bag soon slumped to the floor as he approached.
Tears began to puddle on the boards at the girl's feet, her small white dress had drops land on its silky fabric.
He stopped a foot from her, he stooped to a crouch, even so he towered over the young girl.
"Hey now," he chuckled, he lay a hand on her shoulder," what's with the crying?"
She stiffened and turned away from him, she quickly began to wipe the tears away.
"I'm not crying." She wept, this only added to his amusement.
"Oh ho," he huffed," lying are we?"
She turned to face him, her face had a frown plastered onto it, the tears still streamed to the floor.
"Maybe." She shot back, she crossed her arms and turned to the side, her blonde hair waved as she did so.
He chuckled and replaced his massive hand onto her tiny shoulder, she turned back to him and uncrossed her arms.
He grabbed a cloth and wiped her tears from her face.
The scar on her cheek burned and she twitched in pain, but she held firm.
The scar consisted of two cuts that extended from her left cheekbone to her left earlobe.
"Sorry." He muttered, noticing her movements.
"It's OK." She assured him.
He shook his head.
"No, no it's not," he stated, he brought the cloth away from her face, she looked at him confused," I'm sorry for doing this to you."
He clenched his fist, his knuckles cracked from the effort.
The soft touch of her hand stopped him, he looked down at her smiling, scarred face, her large green eyes glistened.
"That's what's OK." She stated as she grinned ear to ear.
He looked at her for a moment before hugging her tightly.
"I'll miss you." He said seriously.
She gripped him even tighter.
"And I'll miss you." She said, any hint of sadness was gone and replaced with a strange sense of joy.
He patted her head and released himself from her embrace, he reluctantly stood up.
"I've taught you all I know," he told her," in all there is to know."
She linked her fingers together behind her back, she smiled proudly.
He hesitated before continuing.
"May the curse of my people." he began, he stopped for a moment, he looked at the black scar on her cheek.
She looked at him puzzled.
"Come on now," she said, he looked at her startled," you've said this many times before."
He was stunned.
"So young." He thought.
He smiled.
"Yeah I guess I have," he agreed, "but this time it's different."
He sighed and walked to his bag, she trotted to it.
"Let me help." She said as she grabbed a loop of fabric, though she couldn't move it a foot with her pulling.
He laughed as he grabbed the loops and lifted the bag with no problems.
"It's almost like you want me to leave." He joked.
She crossed her arms and frowned at him.
He walked towards the door.
"Aha," he exclaimed, he opened his duffle and brought out a large case, he walked to the table and set it down," I almost forgot your gift."
He grabbed a chair and positioned it for her to climb up.
"What is it?" she asked when she was standing over it.
Her small fingers grasped the clamps.
"His name is Ko." He replied as she opened the case.
A folded blade with a handle was revealed as the case clicked open, she squealed with delight.
She hugged him and returned her attention to the weapon on the table.
"Is he my new friend?" she asked.
"Yes, only you can wield him," he answered," being what you are."
He placed a hand onto her head as she stared at the shining blade.
"Thanks Greg!" she almost yelled, she hugged him again.
He patted her on the head and chuckled.
"No problem Alexis," Greg replied," just be sure to take care of him, if you do that, he'll take care of you."
Alexis smiled widely and nodded.
His footsteps echoed through the small house, soon being followed by the door opening, she turned to face him.
He was looking out into the wilderness.
"You know the plan?" he asked.
She giggled.
"Of course I do." She assured him.
He closed his eyes and nodded.
"May the curse of my people," he attempted once more, he took a breath," serve you well."
And with that he was gone, leaving the girl all alone with nothing, but a weapon and a plan.
One week after the "Asura Incident"
She walked through Death City, the buildings disgusted her as did the people.
She moved with an eerie grace through the alleys, avoiding any form of contact with the locals.
Her reddish hair swayed over her mask from under her hood.
The mask was simple, a plain white build with a red barbed hook curving from the chin to the right eye with the eyes being narrow slits rather than being round.
Not a single piece of skin was visible, the only places her large parka and heavy pants didn't cover were wrapped in bandages.
A flat case was draped over her shoulder as she walked through the alleys.
"The kishin is dead," she muttered, "if such a place could create a meister capable of that, then I've got some work to do."
She weaved through a group of people who had assembled at the end of the alley, she roughly pushed anyone that didn't move.
She looked up to the massive academy, the DWMA.
The skull looked almost laughable.
She pushed past a pair of bystanders and continued her ascent.
Meanwhile, in the hospital.
Maka Albarn and her partner Soul Eater walked through the halls of the hospital.
Bandages covered her cheeks and her right arm was in a sling.
Soul was walking with slight difficulty, but he didn't really complain.
"God, I'm glad to finally be out of that damn room," Soul stated," that was so uncool."
"Yeah I know," Maka agreed as she flexed her fingers in the sling,"I mean, why do I have to wear this, I can finally feel my fingers again and my arm's in a sling."
Kid, Liz and Patty exited a door, Maka and Soul both looked in disbelief at Kid, who was in a wheelchair.
"Hey guys!" Patty beamed as happy as can be.
"Hey look who's out of their rooms." Liz remarked as she pushed Kid's chair.
"Hey guys," Maka stammered," I didn't think Kid was hurt that bad."
Liz crossed her arms and looked annoyed.
"He's not." She replied simply.
"Huh?" Soul huffed.
"Mr. Symmetry here hurt his foot, just one," Liz explained while eyeing Kid," so he refuses to walk until it feels better."
"Hey, if I walk the symmetry would be off," Kid stated, he grabbed his head," and that would be unbearable!"
Liz turned back to him with a playful look.
"Almost as unbearable as not being able to make those jars in your room symmetrical?" she cooed.
"Hey," Kid cried," don't remind me of that!"
"C'mon let's get home." Liz muttered as she gripped the handles on Kid's chair and wheeled him away, all the while he complained about his foot and the jars.
"Well," Soul laughed," at least everyone's OK."
Maka nodded as they both walked for the door.
"Wait," she said, looking around," where's BlackStar?"
"Ah, I heard he snuck out again last night and disappeared," Soul replied," the nurses said that Tsubaki is gone too, maybe she went looking for him."
Maka nodded once more.
"Knowing him he's probably just at home." She muttered.
"Yeah." Soul agreed.
They pushed past the doors and began their trek home.
Most of the walk was in silence.
About halfway there Maka stopped midstride.
Soul continued for a few shaky paces before he stopped and turned to face her.
"What?" he asked, he soon noticed her absent expression.
He approached her and called her name a few times.
"Hey, Maka stop zoning out all the ti-" he began as he got closer, when he was close enough he saw that her face was beaded with sweat.
He snapped his fingers in front of her scared expression.
"Hey," he called, he grabbed her shoulder and shook her, she came to her senses," hey Maka, you OK?"
She brushed his hand away.
"Um," she began in a shaky voice," yeah, yeah I'm fine."
He cocked his head.
"You sure 'cause you just had another one of your zone outs?" he said, unconvinced.
She looked at him confused.
"I did?" she asked.
"Yeah," he answered, he shook his head and turned," c'mon, let's get home and eat before it gets dark."
Maka turned to face the dark alley, she couldn't make out anything in its shadowed depths.
"Yeah," she agreed, she turned and followed Soul closely," good idea."
"What is this feeling," she thought to herself," it's creepy."
After a few moments a figure emerged from the shadows of the alley, the fishhook mask turned this way and that to check to see if the coast was clear, upon seeing that it was, she walked out into the street.
She watched Maka and Soul as they retreated to their home.
"Found you." The masked woman muttered.
At the academy.
"Yahoo!" BlackStar shouted from atop one of the many spires of the school, his voice echoed throughout Death City.
He laughed and snickered obnoxiously.
"Hey, BlackStar," Tsubaki shouted from below, he turned to look," there you are, c'mon we should get home before it gets dark."
He simply laughed at this.
"No, not yet," he exclaimed, he struck a pose," the great BlackStar wishes for everyone to know that he's on his feet."
"From what I've heard you've been on your feet for the past three days." Stein remarked from the spire beside him, he almost fell from the surprise.
"Hey don't do that," BlackStar warned him when he was balanced," I'm a great assassin you know."
Stein simply lit a cigarette and turned the screw in his head, it clicked with every second.
"And yet," Stein began, smoke poured from his mouth," I was able to sneak up on you."
This earned Stein a growl from BlackStar.
"Look," Stein began, his tone caught BlackStar off guard," Tsubaki's right, you two should get back to your homes,"
BlackStar looked at Stein confused.
"Fine." He said finally, he leapt from the spire and landed a few meters from Tsubaki.
They both began to walk home.
"What was that about?" Tsubaki asked.
BlackStar simply shook his head.
Stein watched them go from the spire, he sighed, smoke rolled past his lips.
He wiped his sweating brow.
"Damn." He muttered as he too dropped from the spire.
He landed ungracefully and began to move into the academy.
At Kid's mansion.
"I don't see how not being symmetrical would keep you from walking." Liz stated.
Kid simply shrugged.
"If I walk then only one side would hurt." He replied.
Liz simply laughed at this.
"What's so funny?" he asked.
"Doesn't that mean that only one side is hurt right now," she asked, he stopped and looked at her," right now you're not symmetrical."
She pointed at him teasingly, he grabbed his head and began to freak out, much to Patty's amusement.
Even she began to laugh at his blathering.
"No this is bad," he rambled," I'm so useless, I shou-"
Liz kept laughing for a few seconds before she realised he had stopped.
"Kid?" she asked when she noticed he was staring in a random direction.
He had a strange expression on his face, a mix between fear and confusion.
Sweat beaded on his brow.
"Kid," she called again, with genuine concern, she rose from her seat, even Patty had stopped laughing,"Kid?"
She called his name until she grabbed his shoulders and gave him a shake, he came to his senses.
"What?" he asked, looking straight at her.
"What was that?" she asked.
"What was what?" he shot back.
She shook her head, clearly annoyed.
"Whatever," she huffed, she stood up and walked towards the bedrooms," c'mon it's getting late."
"Right," Kid agreed, he pushed himself from the wheelchair and began to limp after them," let's go."
Liz simply stopped and watched him pass in shock, her gaze snapped from him and back to the wheelchair.
Finally she sighed and kept walking.
"Probably not important." She muttered to herself, grateful that she didn't have to wheel him around anymore.
When they had all left the room another figure shifted from outside the window.
The fishhook mask shone in the light.
"Found you, too." The woman muttered before disappearing into the dark shadows of the night.
In the Death Room.
"Lord Death." Stein called, he threw down his cigarette and stepped on it.
"Huh," Lord Death huffed in his usual voice," yes Stein what is it?"
Stein began to turn the screw in his head, the clicks echoed throughout the large room.
"She's here." Stein finally stated.
Silence filled the massive room.
"I'm sorry," Death Scythe began, he stepped into view from behind Lord Death," who's here?"
"Are you sure, Stein," Lord Death asked, ignoring Death Scythe," are you absolutely sure?"
Stein nodded.
"I felt the wavelength myself," he assured Lord Death," there's no doubt about it."
"Will someone tell me who you two are talking about?" Death Scythe asked.
"It's her," Lord Death repeated, Death Scythe sighed," Fisher is here."
"Indeed I am." A woman's voice echoed through the Death Room, all three began to turn to the entrance.
The masked person was definitely her, as she carried herself in a very cautious and serious manner as she approached them.
When she reached the platform they were on she stopped and looked them over.
First was Stein, who she took an involuntary step away from.
Next was Death Scythe, she flexed her fingers while doing so, the joints cracked from the motion.
Next was Lord Death, she cocked her head, as did he.
They stared at each other for some time before she suddenly bowed her head.
Stein and Death Scythe both looked stunned.
"It's been a long time," she stated, her head still lowered," father."
Author's Note: Hey guys it's Gorse the Almighty, (it's just my screen name) and this was chapter one of my fanfic, Blood Laced Wine.
First off, I'd like to thank you in advance for any criticism you may have and I look forward to your comments.
So yeah, I went for the "realistic" approach where they essentially just got back from the kishin fight and they're all recuperating in their own way, so ya, I messed up Maka's arm and had it that Soul was burned, bite me. :E
This is my first public piece of writing and I hope I caught your attention (which I probably did with that ending, I apologise for that btw.)
Please try to be as honest as possible as I'm writing a book and I'm doing this to hone my writing skills even though I'm ten chapters into it, looking back though, it needs some major rewriting which may take some time out of this.
I have the next chapter written already and I'm just looking it over so by the time I get some reviews it should be fit to be graced with your viewing.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed and I look forward to hearing from you.
P.S. the quotes that I'm attempting to start chapters with, they're all from characters in the book I'm writing, which also goes for most if not all characters I introduce.
I'm just trying to see how people take these characters before I tweek them to fit in my book, with the exception of Fisher and some others that I'll name later.
If you have any questions involving this then feel free to ask.
Hey if you guys are up for it, let's play a game.
Try to guess the reasoning behind the name Blood Laced Wine.
The answer may surprise you. :3
-GorseT
