Chapter One: International Shibusen
In the oppressive damp of the Amazon jungle, a skittish kishin egg with the appearance of a Mayan god flittered through the tangled bush. It was during the height of the day where humidity reached its peak and many parts of the jungle were flooded, yet so long as the kishin egg remained under the foliage everywhere was dark: the thick canopy didn't allow for much sunlight to penetrate.
Despite the darkness being apt, it was too familiar to her. It reminded her of the room inside Soul's heart, the throes of madness, the nights spent purging evil. She handled her father on her shoulder and darted from tree to tree, ricocheting herself along. The groves were thinning, they were still closely following, and the Albarns were taken off guard for a moment. But despite that there was three foot deep water underfoot there were logs and natural refuse that performed as stepping stones. The pursuit continued without incident.
When at last they came to the clearing, the plaza was as cleared and desolate as the pictures during briefing had illustrated. The ruins of Copán met them and the dark throbbing heavily decorated form of the squirrel-like kishin egg was panting heavily on a carved stele. Maka wasn't even breathing hard as she approached the tiny creature. It was panicking to get away from her but at the same time was trapped.
"Did the bait work?" Spirit asked warily.
No sooner had he spoken did a massive shadow fall over them. Maka turned and blocked. She gritted her teeth against the massive force of the gargantuan kishin egg. Built as a stylized version of a jaguar it sported similar shapes across its body like its smaller counterpart with gleaming angry once-human eyes. It was ten times Maka's size.
With its second strike Maka danced out of the way in a strategic spin. She doubled back, and landed a series of critical hits amidst effective blocks.
It staggered back and in the moments of its retreat Maka lunged forward on her feet, her father's cool metal in her hands. An opening presented herself and she thrust all of her energy into a final strike!
The kishin egg was split between its eyes, through its chest: it's long thrashing tail ended up being sliced to pieces. It warped and imploded. Maka casually got to her feet and her father's human form materialized. He said, "So this was the soul that Stein was looking for?"
"Mm-hmm," Maka replied, "he said that the reports betrayed irregular pre-kishin behavior. He wanted to study it."
"What are we going to do about him?"
Maka glanced at the stele where the "baby" kishin-egg was loitering, and worrying. She walked away from it. "We'll come back for it when it becomes formidable," she said.
Spirit thought, Isn't that reckless? He pocketed the soul and he and his daughter left the clearing of the ancient Maya sight leaving little evidence of the skirmish that had occurred there.
Maka Albarn was sixteen years of age when she was designated an agent of Shibusen. Since then she'd become Kid's aid and Stein's apprentice in pre-kishin study. The nature of her job often sent her to distant countries. Very often she was a delegate for Shibusen, very often she was found in the depths of foreign libraries. She was known in Rwanda for her interrogation techniques.
She was almost as famous as Soul "Eater" Evans for his title of being the Last Death Scythe, or as Black Star the bushin, or as Kidd the young god, or Kim the mediator between the worlds of humans and witches…the entire Spartoi had become the face of future advancement. It was a glorious burden that the team had settled on their shoulders.
"Albarn-sensei, you don't really stand out much," one of her students said suddenly.
Maka looked around. She was aware of Jacob being nearby—his eager soul never caught her off guard. She regarded her student, a laid-back boy three years her junior and a weapon who wanted to be a meister. He'd travelled from south Florida to reside in Death City.
As the memories of her recent conversation with Stein faded out of her mind she narrowed her eyes at him critically. "Jacob-kun, aren't you late for my class?"
"Aren't you late for class, Albarn-sensei?" he returned. "You daydream a lot you know. Someone might just sneak up on you."
She turned away from him. "That'll be the day."
"Albarn-sensei!" she turned mid-stride and fell in line with a sudden drop-kick. Timelessly she slipped to the side, in a sense hardly moving, staring into the countenance of a cocky brat who had the gall enough to look surprised.
Maka said coolly, "Jacob-kun, consider this a warning. You've failed my class."
He flushed. "How is that a warning!?"
She had taken down the hallway again ignoring his complaints. He's almost comparable to Black Star, she thought incredulously. Ahead she saw a similar silhouette. He was dressed in jeans, a black jacket, leaned his weight into his right leg and tucked his hands into his pockets. Though she approached his back, the shock white hair, if not his wavelength, was characteristic enough.
"Soul!" she hurried her steps to him. "And Kidd! You've both returned from Cambodia!"
"Sup, Maka?"
"Hello Maka," Kidd said, "I received your report about the kishin eggs in Honduras. Whatever happened to the 'younger' version?"
"Is it good to talk about that here?" Soul slipped in quietly.
Maka became aware of Jacob loitering nearby. She groaned, "I forgot that I had a class to lecture."
"Can I borrow some of your time after your lecture? I'd like to compare notes."
She replied, "Of course."
Kidd smiled cordially and began to move off. "Until then."
Soul casually knocked his knuckles against her free hand as he passed. "Later."
She smiled as they walked away and couldn't help but feel remotely lonely. While respecting everyone's duties, there were moments when she missed the diurnal banter among them before they had to take future into their hands. Black Star and Tsubaki were in South Africa, Kim and Ox and Jacqueline and Havar in the realm of the witches: everyone was scattered and working making the world a better place.
She sighed, collected herself and shouted, "Jacob! Get to class! Now!"
There were two people who had asked to be Maka's weapon since she'd made Soul into a Death Scythe. One came shortly after Death the Kidd's coronation from a kouhai who could turn into a halberd. He had come from Tibet, a place strangely contrasting the nature of his weapon, and upon witnessing Maka sparring one day had come to admire her decisiveness and lightweight technique. Though Maka had refused at the time because she was still partnered to Soul, Soul was soon assigned a new position and the young Tibetan boy had found a partner in that time frame.
The second person interested in being Maka's weapon was Jacob.
Jacob was a lanky character, half-Hispanic and wore his black curly hair long and loose. He wore a silver cross around his neck and paid Kidd the greatest respect. There were times when he was caught swearing in Spanish, and he was always proving himself to be an effective weapons' technician. Yet despite this he had formed an attachment to Maka, for a reason she could only assume was the result of juvenile horseplay and a curiosity in her that reminded her of girls' curiosity in Soul.
Jacob's African ancestry allowed him to transform into an axe of ancient design from Zimbabwe's Shona people. Maka personally found his form to be of elegant construction, but had never wielded him despite his asking. She'd never found the reason to: her father was an excellent weapon whenever she went on missions, and she was otherwise studying with Stein.
And so came the end of the day's lessons and it felt like a dream. Maka recognized three students in her class who were young witches. It was slow, but the world of mysticism and its ruling ladies was slowly overlapping with its less magical counterpart. As she was dreaming this, Jacob showed up at her desk.
"Jacob-kun, I'm sure there are other teachers that would deeply enjoy your narcissistic leanings, but can you spare me just for today?"
He seemed sober. She sensed no mischief from him. Though it didn't reflect in her pose, she came to attention and watched him a bit more carefully.
"Please be my meister, Albarn- sensei," he said. "I'll never develop as quickly unless it's you."
"Is it really okay to be asking such a thing from your teacher? It's quite the unconventional relationship. Some might even say forbidden."
"It's not like I'd be aiming for you like that, sensei," he answered brazenly. "I have good taste in women."
Her resulting Maka Chop was not a light one.
It was hours later that Maka was in the infirmary. Her hunger got the best of her. Her lethargy put her to sleep on her feet. Nygus was working around her in the early evening and said, "Outside of some first year students, you're my most frequent patient, Maka-chan."
Maka was half asleep in the pillow. "I respect you, Nygus-sensei. I can't take these kids."
"You say kids like you yourself weren't in the classroom yesterday."
"It doesn't feel like yesterday. After going to the moon and enjoying papa's company, it doesn't feel like yesterday."
Nygus was removing sheets from the bed beside Maka's. "When was the last time you ate a full meal, Maka?"
"Foo'tah ahgoo."
"I can't hear you, you're talking into the pillow."
"I don't remember."
"It doesn't take much to tell that you're overworked," Nygus said. "Add that to lack of sleep and lack of nutrition and it's a wonder why you haven't collapsed yet." To herself Nygus thought, Maka is truly just a senior student at DWMA. She still has her own classes to attend as well as filling in for Stein and going on missions.
"Speaking of which: Maka, why don't you have an assigned weapon?"
Maka lifted her head up from the pillow and braced on her elbows. She was lying on her stomach and her feet were hanging off the edge of the bed. She echoed: "Assigned weapon?"
"Yes. Since Soul's been dispatched to other duties you haven't received a new one, right?"
She hummed in agreement. "I've received an offer…"
"Have you? Then why don't you take it?"
"He's a student."
"You're a student," Nygus deadpanned.
"He's an arrogant student. And he's in the class that I temp on behalf of Stein-sensei."
Nygus tenderly asked, "You believe that it would be awkward to be teaching your partner?"
"No, that's not it." Maka rested her hand into her fist. To be honest I'm not sure if I want another partner. Fighting with papa is different, we don't need to resonate. Of course it's not like I can use papa forever…
"You should give it a go, Maka," Nygus encouraged. "It's not every day that opportunity will arrive on your doorstep."
Albarn fell down on the pillow. It made sense to get a new partner. It was actually stranger that she hadn't been actively pursuing one. Using her father, a death scythe, had seemed so convenient rather than training from scratch with a new weapon…no, it wasn't even that so much as she was content with things as they were. It suddenly shamed her that she wasn't actively pursuing to better herself, even if in incremental ways. And no differently from what Jacob had said, Maka wasn't as flashy as the rest of the group: Maka was reclusive, hard to find and otherwise too busy to approach.
"And you should sleep at home for once. Since you've been working with Stein it's been easier to sleep at school, right?"
"It's more convenient," she agreed. "And the showers are open all the time so…"
Nygus patted Maka's head tenderly. "When was the last time you were home?"
Maka made her way to the apartment she used to share with Soul. It was roomy now. He didn't sleep there anymore than she did. Usually on separate schedules they'd convene on the apartment for a fresh change of clothes and scavenging hunt for snacks before heading out with scarcely an hour to pass. Blair had semi-moved out: they would spy her around Death City and from time to time they'd glimpse a black cat sleeping on the kitchen window sill.
"I'm home," she called into the empty apartment. It was dusty and dark and cold. There wasn't a hint of human life having lived here. Its forms, its couch, its tables, its kitchen all reminded Maka of her apartment like a cold and distant dream. She looked around with eyes that didn't see and went to sit on the couch. When she opened her eyes again the apartment was filled with the vitality of the morning.
It was in that morning that she decided once and for all that Jacob was to be her new partner.
Author's Note: Contextually, I preferred the ending of the anime. Despite the fact that the ending of the manga was more epic, more fascinating, and more narrative, to me it made a lot more sense that "courage", Maka's leitmotif, defeated the manifestation of madness and fear. I enjoyed the final conversation between Maka and the kishin when she said: "Everyone has courage," to which the kishin replied, before dying, "In that case, it's just the same as madness."
I also feel that this conversation had given Maka more power. She recognizes that she is the weakest of the team, but in punching the kishin with courage despite that she's the weakest, despite that she's afraid that she'll die, I feel that sort of made her a symbol of a virtue of humanity.
At the same time, the kishin's a god (or a sliver of, specifically). He cannot be gotten rid of so long as insanity exists…
More than likely mine is a simplistic and feminist argument. Perhaps I'm missing a greater concept in the struggle that the gang went through towards the end in the manga or I'm a simple soul swayed by binaries. But I'd love to hear readers' ideas and responses. And if there are any ideas about questions left unanswered about Soul Eater, I'm interested in hearing them too!
Thank you.
