A/N this takes place just about two or three weeks before the beginning of the series. I'll try my best to go along with the manga/anime (though I know they go they're own ways, I'll more so go with the manga.) but if it strays later on, then it does. The story writes itself!
Chapter One – New Arrival
"Look sis, there it is!" a particularly young girl shouts out of the van window.
"Oh geez, it's huge! We're going to get so lost." The second passenger replies, out of the sunroof of the vehicle.
"Don't be such a pessimist. We'll be fine as long as we get a map." The first one says, smiling at the sight of the magnificent building that the two were going to be attending.
The automobile stopped; and the driver looked back at the girls, almost smirking. The brown haired male which had driven all this long was weary and tired. He shook his head before getting out of the car and walking to the trunk, popping it open. The two girls, still smiling brightly, took their bags and began walking up the steps of the Death Weapon Meister Academy. The younger one looked back to say goodbye to her father, only to see he was already on the road back home. A slight frown came to her face.
"So sis, where do you think we go to I dunno, check in or something?" She asked, trying her best to cheer up.
"Well, let's just ask a teacher where Lord Death's office is. Once we've gotten up these stairs though. These things must have a million steps!" The older one says, stopping for a moment to catch her breath.
"Sis, really? We've only gotten a fourth of the way up! You can't just stop, c'mon you'll get the hang of it." The optimistic girl says, leaving her sister behind and running up the stairs. She stops at the halfway point, finally out of breath. Her sister is just catching up.
"Oh, you're quitting? You can't just stop, you'll get the hang of it." A smirk is plastered on the older girl's face. It grows as she sees the younger pouting.
"Okay then smart ass. We'll just see who is the more physically fit gal; a race. To the top of the stairs, okay? First one there buys the second dinner and get's the top bunk in the dorm." Retorts the younger, now smirking.
"Sure. You ready? This is going to be so easy." Laughs the older one, her face dawning a determined expression.
"Ready. Set. Go!" The younger one shouts, and takes off.
The two girls run up the stairs, becoming sweaty and panting as if they were just in battle. However, it is the younger sister that is victorious by only a step. While she is dancing in excitement and enjoying her glory, her sister catches her breath. She sits at the base of one of the candles accenting the enormous building's entrance. Soon, the younger sister calms down, and joins her elder.
"Happy you won, lil' sis?" The older girl asks, kissing the shorter one's forehead.
"Of course! Did 'ja see that?! I was awesome, I knew I was gunna win. But we should probably go into the school now, it's half-past seven." She says, checking her phone.
The younger stands and extends a hand to her sister who takes it and stands up herself. The two walking into the school building with linked arms. Looking around however, the girls didn't see much going on. The halls were empty, except for one or two students at their lockers or coming out of the bathroom.
"Geez, it's like the place is deserted. It's a bit creepy for my liking. So where do you think we should go, Ash?" The older girl asks.
"I dunno, sis. Where do you think-" The younger was about to reply before a red-headed male stepped in front of them. He was much taller than the two girls, and intimidating. The younger gulped as he spoke to them.
"What are you two doing in the middle of the hallway? Shouldn't you be in class?" He asked the two, calmly.
"Well, uh, you see, we're new! We're also a confused as to where to go to sign in and start classes and such." The calmer, older sister spoke.
The red head shifted on his feet, noticeably more relaxed. He showed a bright smile before turning his back to the girls; motioning them to follow. The hallway trip was long and tedious, they had stopped at most of the classrooms to show the two where they could possibly be in for lessons. After nearly an hour of 'touring' the man stopped in front of the Death Room.
"Here, is where you will most definitely need to be knowledgeable of. It's Lord Death's room. Let's meet him, shall we?" The male spoke while knocking on the door. He then opened it to show a large white room, the only things in it were a mirror, and who the girls assumed was Lord Death, though his back was turned. "Lord Death, we have two more newbies. They'd like to find out what class they're in."
When Lord Death turned around, the girls were stunned. They didn't know he would look so childlike or cartoony. They showed their shock on their faces well; but Lord Death only laughed at them.
"Thank you Spirit, you may go and make your rounds now." Lord Death spoke. The red-head left, leaving the girls with the black figure. "Well well, lookie what we have here! Meister's Aisling and Maeve finally showing up for class, hm?" Behind the mask, the two sisters couldn't tell if he was serious or joking. But he soon started laughing, indicating that he was being playful. The girls let out a breath of relief.
"Those stairs can cause some trouble ya' know, why are there so many?!" Aisling, the younger of the two spoke.
Lord Death perked up. He loved telling people about why the school was built and everything about it. "Well you see, the Death Weapon Meister Academy is for the physically and mentally strong right? Well; the stairs are to improve physical strength. The more you can move along them with ease, the better you become."
"Ooh, that makes sense. Thank you Lord Death! But uh, earlier, you pronounced my name wrong. It's pronounced Ash-ling not Ice-ling." The younger said, smiling.
"Actually you pronounced mine wrong too, it's Mave, not May-vee." The older finally spoke up.
Lord Death looked at them and laughed again. "I see, well thank you for correcting me. Well; let's escort you both to your dormitory and then you may join the other newcomers for the Weapon-Meister gathering. Righto! Sid?" Shinigami spoke, and a man stepped out from behind the two girls. The sisters hadn't noticed him and were visibly shocked to how he was there the whole time without them noticing.
"Yes, Lord Death?" He spoke. His voice made the older girl shiver, and a smile tugged at her lips.
"These two girls need to be directed to the dormitory, and then directed to the gathering," Said the death god, then he spoke to the two girls. "You both are in class Crescent Moon. Once you both have a weapon partner, you may enter classes and take on missions of your one-star ranking. You'll need to have missions approved by the administrator. You know how turning a Death-Scythe works, correct?"
"Yes, of course. To create a Death-Scythe one must collect the souls of 99 evil humans or 'kishin eggs' and one witch soul." Maeve said confidently.
"Good! Now I'll leave you with Sid. He's one of my top teachers." The laughter in his voice was incoherent with the rest of his speech. Sid smiled at the girls warmly.
"Now then, let's go, shall we?" He spoke, walking almost gracefully towards the exit of the Death Room. The girls walked behind him, curiously and full of an eagerness neither of them knew they possessed. The winding corridors confused Sid for a moment, but managed to get back on track quickly with his knowledge of the school. It had been about a half hour before they managed to get to the girls dormitory. "Here you two go. Just set your bags down on an empty bunk and come back out. Then I'll escort you both to the gathering."
Both of the girls smiled brightly at the man, and walked in blissfully, dragging their bags at their feet. The older girl opened one room to look for a free bunk, while the younger looked in the room across from it as to not waste time. They did not expect the dorms to look like they did. Bras and panties were strewn all across the room. It was messy and there were small piles of feathers gathered here or there. Both of the girls saw that there were no free bunks in either room and were glad, that much untidiness would make them go crazy. At the end of the hall was where the girls found their room. It was nearly empty, with only one full (top and bottom) bunk, and a top bunk taken. The bunk closest to the window would be theirs. Aisling put her duffle bag on the top bunk for winning the race to the top of the stairs, while Maeve put hers on the bottom. They then quickly shuffled out of the room, Maeve a little bit quicker than her sister. Once the two were out of the dorms, Sid quickly led them to the gathering for new meisters and weapons.
"So you see, here is where you'll choose your partner. We frequently have these little meetings as we get new members all the time. You see the lady with the bandages? She's Nygus, and you'll be signing up with her once you've found a suitable partner. You should actually get your badges from her claiming that you're both meisters looking for weapons. But I have to get back to teaching, I've left the sub for a bit too long. I'll see you two later, you're in my class after all. Crescent Moon, don't forget. Ask Nygus for a map too. Cya!" With that, the male walked off, leaving the two to fend on their own.
Walking up to Nygus, Aisling was the first to ask anything. "Hi! I'm Aisling, and this is my sister Maeve. We're new."
The bandaged lady looked at them with her eye, and quickly got their papers together. A map, a schedule, anything else important she thought they would need. She also filled out some papers for the school, medical work, information, dorm numbers. She also gave them their badges; it was simple, just a rectangle with a black border a centimeter away from the edge. She wrote 'meister' on the two badges, and let the two be on their way.
"So lil' sis, who should we talk to first?" Maeve asked, scanning her options. There were many people in the gathering. Some were already forming small groups while others just stood around awkwardly. Aisling was too busy trying to put the clip-on badge on the waist of her skirt to answer. When she finally got it, she replied to her sister.
"Uh, I dunno sis. Put your badge on first, then we'll decide. Kay?"
"Alright," the older girl said, pinning it with ease onto her shirt.
As soon as she was done, a boy came up to her. His almost clear blue eyes were enchanting to the older girl.
"You looking for a weapon, miss?" he asked Maeve, smirking. The tag on his shirt said 'weapon' though it didn't say what type of weapon he was.
Maeve tried to play it cool, "Maybe, maybe not. Maybe I've already found a weapon of my liking."
Aisling left the two to find a partner of her own, while the boy who just came up to her older sister laughed.
"Well if that's so, then why are you here?" He ran a hand through short, spiky brown hair and looked at Maeve with extraordinary confidence. She was caught in her little joke.
"Well, u-uh.. Damn, you caught me," the female said giggling. "I am in fact looking for a weapon."
"I thought so, so would you mind it if we tried?" He asked.
"I guess, I mean, what have we got to lose right? What type of weapon are you then?" The meister replied.
A green flash with exceptional brightness followed the boys disappearance into his weapon form. The shaft of the weapon was long, almost five inches taller than Maeve until the blade began. The blade itself was actually the male's eye colour, a striking clear blue, nearly looking crystal. The pattern was of waves of the ocean, representing the colour well. Maeve took the scythe in both hands, holding in with little struggle.
"How did you transform so well? I thought beginner weapons had trouble transforming only a part of their body!" Maeve asked in shock.
"I've been practicing, duh. Plus I've been here a few weeks. They just now had the gathering," The spiky haired boy replied from within the scythe. Looking into the blade, Maeve saw his reflection, it was glowing a light green. "So, what do you think?" He asked the female. She began walking to an empty part of the room, thinking about swinging him around a few times to see if they were compatible with each other. However, Nygus saw this, and told the two that they could practice with one another in the beginners' class. Maeve groaned, and the boy turned to his human form again. They continued talking.
"What's your name, anyway?" The female asked curiously.
"What name do I look like?" The male leaned against the wall.
"I don't know, why can't you just tell me? I hate puzzles." Maeve's hands were at her hips, her expression twisted in a pout.
"C'mon, just guess."
"Fine, uh, is it Jeremy?" An exasperated sigh came from her lips.
"No. Try again?" He asked, amused at her reactions.
"No way, just tell me. Please?"
"Aw, you aren't any fun. Fine, it's Lex. It's short for Alexi. Now, tell me yours?"
"Hm, what name do I look like?" She asked, teasing him with his own game.
"Hmmm, I think you look like an Amber. Maybe a firecracker, I'm not really good at guessing names." He snickered at her expression.
"Just because my hair is red doesn't mean that my name is firecracker, jerk. But no, it isn't Amber either," She replied, pouting in a semi-false anger. "Since you obviously wouldn't guess it, it's Maeve. Not short for anything, but it is Irish." Her face softened, and she relaxed her shoulders.
Meanwhile, Aisling had thought she found her perfect partner. He was looking around awkwardly, most likely thinking about who, if anyone, he should talk to. Visibly sighing, he backed away from the crowd into the next room. She took a last glance at her sister, laughing with her seemingly new partner before heading off after the boy. She entered the room to find the boy sitting on the floor, holding his head to his knees. Aisling's converse allowed her to quiet her steps, but in a completely empty room her footsteps could clearly be heard. The boy looked up at her, and immediately stood up, embarrassed to be caught in the room.
"Hey there, whatcha doing out here? The party's back in the other room, silly." She smiled sweetly at him, trying to make him feel more comfortable near her.
"Oh, uh, well, everyone looked like they already had a partner. No one really looked interested in talking to me either, so I just came in here for a breather." He spoke quietly, wiping his eye.
"Well, I don't have a partner. Are you a meister or a weapon? Sorry, it's kinda hard to see in here with it being so dark so I can't see your tag. Oh, also, I'm Aisling by the way." The red-head took a step towards the boy to see his badge.
He pointed to it, "It's Elijah, and I'm a weapon. I can't really transform fully yet, but I'm a bow. Ya' know, like the ones Elves use."
"Really? How would you know if you've never transformed fully?" The female asked curiously.
"When Sid asks us to transform, he tells us that the best way to do it, is to picture the weapon in our heads. I never really knew what weapon I was until I did that. When I pictured something in my mind, it was a bow." The boy said, finally relaxed.
"Do you think you could try showing me?" Aisling smiled sweetly.
"Eh?" The raven was shocked at her question. "S-sure, I guess." He closed his eyes to concentrate as she looked on in awe. The weapon he pictured in his mind was a bow; strong and sturdy. Intricate designs painted over the wood like ivy but it was gold, while the bow itself was a black colour. He concentrated, but couldn't relax, his thoughts filled with doubt and ridicule from the girl if he couldn't do this. He knew that he would never be able to transform if he thought like this though, and tried to relax and let go of his fears. When he did finally relax to the best of his ability, he could feel himself transforming. A faint red flash appeared in front of the red-head instead of the raven she was just looking at. When she saw him next, it was as a beautiful bow, rested on the wall.
"Wow, that's amazing. You actually did it!" Her emerald eyes were sparkling with amazement. She picked up the bow with ease, and faked firing at an enemy. "You're really light."
"Is that a compliment?" He asked through the stringed weapon.
"Of course, speed in a necessity in battle. With you being light I think I'll have no problem running around. I have great aim, and with my soul perception it'll be even better! I can't wait until you meet my sister!" She exclaims as she allows him to transform back. When he does, and rather swiftly, his eyes bulge with happiness.
"You mean, you're asking me to be your partner?"
"Well, I never really asked. I just assumed and said you were, duh. But uh, if you'd really like me to ask, will you be my partner?"
"O-of course! T-t-thank you! You won't regret it, I promise." He reaches out to hug her, and she gladly accepts and returns his hug.
"Good! I better not. Now c'mon, let's go get signed up and meet my sis, okay?"
"Uh, sure, yeah, let's go."
When they leave the room, they find themselves in a sea of people even bigger than when they left. More new meisters and weapons had showed up to the gathering, and even some more experienced ones to help. Once the sisters found each other, they introduced their partners.
"Sis! I've been looking for you, all of these people made me nearly lost in the room alone!" The younger one pulled her sister into an embrace with one arm, holding the sleeve of her partner with the other hand.
"I know! There are a lot of people, but it's okay. I'm glad you found me." The older said with a smile. "Have you two signed up together yet?"
"No, we were waiting to do it with you. You did find a partner with this guy, right?" Aisling asked, looking over the older male with her sister.
"Sure did, kiddo. The name's Lex." The brunette spoke casually.
"He's a really cool scythe, I can't wait to swing him around, it'll look so cool!" Maeve said with excitement.
Lex cocked an eyebrow. "That almost sounded sexual."
Shaking the brunette's hand, Aisling smiled and began introducing her partner. "And this is Eli, he's a bit shy. But he's super cool, right hun?"
"H-hun?" The raven asked skeptically, "I mean, I guess it's pretty cool being a bow. It's nice to meet you both!"
"Daw! He's a cutie, Ash! I'm Maeve, it's a pleasure to meet my sister's partner too." A welcoming smile was given to the smaller male.
"Don't call my partner cute, it'll just embarrass him!" The younger sister hissed into the older one's ear. "Anyway, let's just go sign up with Nygus." She said, and walked over to the long table.
"Hi dear! Have you found your partner yet?" Nygus asked as she noticed Aisling come up to her.
"Yep! Meister Aisling and demon weapon Elijah would like to form a partnership."
"Y-yeah.." The male spoke quietly behind her. Nygus took their badges and told them they could go to any practice room with a teacher or Spirit to see if they could actually work together. The same happened with Maeve and Lex. Off through the halls the four went, and found a spacious room for the two pairs to practice.
The teacher was a kind woman, who just stood by to watch. Lex transformed easily, and Maeve took almost no time swinging the blade around, using him to jump higher, anything and everything she thought she could do. Eli took his time, still being new to transforming. But once he did, Aisling took him in her hands again, and was immediately confused.
"Eli, where are your arrows?" She asked, nearly in a panic.
This put Eli in a frenzy as well. "I don't know! I didn't think about it until now!"
The teacher however, saw this, and walked over to make a suggestion, "You could try using your soul wavelength to make arrows."
"You can do that?" The female meister asked.
"Of course, though it might take a few tries. Try focusing on your soul on making an arrow, and once you do that, try hitting the center target over there." She pointed to the end of the room, where targets with many dents and scratches were there from soul bullets, and the like.
"Okay, I'll try." The female said shakily, and took position. Closing her eyes, she did the same thing Eli did with his mind, only instead of a bow, it was an arrow. With encouragement from both the teacher and Eli, she managed to do it on her third try. The arrow was an extremely light blue, not as light as Lex' eyes, but more of a shade darker than sky blue. A sigh of relief came from the girl's lips. "Wow, I actually did it." She concentrated on the target after it appeared, and shot. It hit the second ring to the center.
"Ash, that was so cool!" The younger female heard from behind her. She turned around to see Maeve smiling in approval. Lex' reflection in his blade showed that he was impressed as well. To prove that she could do even better than that, she faced the target again. The arrow appeared slowly, but on the first try this time. Once again putting all of her focus into the target, she fired. Again, it hit the second ring to the center. A pout formed on the younger girl's lips.
"I know I can do better than that though. My aim is usually dead on." A defeated voice left her mouth, Eli turned back human to comfort her.
"Hey, it's not that big of a deal. That's why we're here, to get stronger, ya' know? We just gotta practice some more, and we'll be great." The shy boy said.
"I'm sorry to wrap up your session, but it's time for lunch, and I dunno about you two, but we're starving." Lex said. His elbow was resting on Maeve's shoulder, and Aisling glared at him for a moment.
"C'mon Ash, let's go get some food." The older girl said smiling.
"Okay, sis. You're coming with us, right Eli? You'll sit with us too, right?" Asked the younger sibling.
"O-oh, uh, yeah, I'm pretty hungry now that I think about it." He was lost in his thoughts before Aisling pulled him out of the door, walking behind the older pair.