Title: The Assignment
Characters: Black Star and Death and Kidd, with various characters mentioned here and there as well. The only pairing I am certain of right now is Maka and Soul, but we shall see what happens as we go along.
Disclaimer: None of the characters belong to me.
Summery: Set six years in the future. Ironic that an assignment from a school featured around death…would make one realise why living is enjoyable.
Premise: Stein has placed Shibusen technicians in pairs for an assignment. Sounds like a fun experience, no? But Black Star's partner, Death the Kidd, was off on a mission for over half a year...until recently. And unlike the other groups, they were never close to begin with. But with the help of other friends (and incidentally, enemies) they might both make it through this assignment yet…
Notes: italics are thoughts!
He hated the idleness.
He normally wasn't one to be contemplative, much less willing to sit quietly inside the dim room. But being alone in the apartment had that strange affect on him. Tsubaki, his flatmate and weapon, was going to be gone for over two months—and without another human being around, there really was no point in being his loud boisterous self. Why put on a show when there isn't an audience?
Black Star shifted in his seat. His current state was all that dratted assignment's fault, which budded from Professor Stein's warped sense of curiosity. Though Black Star loathed to admit it, he was glad that Stein's crazy-yet-amusing interests were resurfacing…especially after that close brush with insanity the doctor had over six years ago.
Yes, it has been six years since the Kishin was released into the world, when war was waged against Arachnophobia. Between that time and the present, Medusa had been brought down by Stein, which earned him a spot among the Shibusen faculty again. Of course, things would never return to the way they were before this entire mess happened, but anything bearing the semblance of normality was welcomed. Especially now, since the influence of Kishin is spreading, the enigmatic figure of Ashura still at large, and Arachnophobia being stronger than ever. The world was plunging ever deeper into darkness.
Black Star watched as the technicians surrounding him grew from children into young adults, ready to take on the troubles of the world without the safety of Shibusen's walls. Everyone, himself included, had grown taller—and this physical change was accompanied by mental growth. Black Star looked at his image reflected from the window; he still had the same messy blue hair, but his overall frame looked stronger, sturdier. With a wry smile, he noted that the egotistical assassin from his youth has calmed down…but it didn't mean he can't enjoy shouting the occasional self-tribute in the middle of class. Or autographing every single page of Maka's books.
Classes…schoolmates…it would be bittersweet when the time came to leave the school, but he was also eager to contribute towards eradicating the evils of the world.
Because before any of that could happen, he had to finish that blasted assignment Stein gave out last week. The good doctor is continuing his research on souls, and decided that it would be a great idea to see if a pair of emotionally-bonded technicians would create a stronger soul resonance in battles—which Stein affectionately dubbed 'SoulBonding'. The males in the class objected to that term ("guys do not bond, they only gather together and do cool stuff! No bonding involved!"), and decided to refer to the entire process as 'SoulMeet'.
So the technicians were paired off and were to spend a period of two months in each other's company, learning everything they could about each other. What better way to make two technicians, most likely strangers to each other, develop emotional bonds when they are forced to face each other everyday?
In the meantime, all the weapons would stay together and enjoy some time off. Black Star thought it was fair. In most battles, a technician was in charge of wielding the weapon and making the kill, but the weapon was duty-bound to preserve the life of the technician and itself. Black Star's fighting experience told him that it is much more difficult to protect than to kill in those situations. Who knows how much grief he must have placed Tsubaki through… Black Star wondered what Tsubaki was up to now, but doubted she wouldn't be enjoying herself. If only he could do the same, instead of sitting idle with nothing better to do. No action, no weapon to train with, no improvement—not something that sat well with Black Star's beliefs at all. Black Star was only left with his thoughts, and this empty space around him. All this thanks to that accursed assignment.
It wasn't that he hated the assignment in itself. Black Star was interested to see how much stronger his soul could become, even if it meant teaming up with another person. It was just that…while Maka was paired off with Kim (another female, much to the relief of Soul…honestly, the guy was so transparent with his feelings for the pigtailed girl), and Ox with Kilik… his own partner was Death the Kidd. He couldn't help but sigh. At least my friends know what their partners are like already. I know nothing about the Kidd, asides from the fact that he reaps and uses guns. And it didn't help that Kidd has been gone for the past seven months, showing no sign of returning to Death City anytime soon.
Black Star grunted. He wasn't sure what the repercussions would be for not finishing the assignment, but it honestly can't be helped. He just hoped that Stein would see reason (very doubtful), and that the last survivor from the Star Clan wouldn't become the next specimen for dissection. Maybe it'll be a safe bet to get myself listed as an endangered species now…that way, at least Maka would fight for my survival if dissection time comes...
His thoughts drifted back to his should-have-been partner. Kidd…the shinigami just left the city without a word, delving himself into a continuous slew of missions and secretive projects presumably for his father. This wouldn't have worried Black Star since he knew Kidd could hold his own in a fight, but the shinigami didn't even bring Liz and Patty with him. Neither of the Thompson sisters knew what was going on with Kidd, but mentioned that the young god was acting introverted—and that Kidd's obsession with symmetry was close-to-gone. Black Star chuckled at that memory; he never thought he would see Ox's eyes widen beyond the rims of his glasses, or a surprised Maka accidentally performing a 'Maka Chop' on Tsubaki, or Soul standing slack-jawed and emitting a high-pitch squeak.
Black Star tried to imagine what asymmetry could have done to the normally impeccable death god… but it has been so long since he last saw the black-and-white clad figure, that he didn't really have an idea what Kidd looked like anymore.
Really, what is up with Death the Kidd anyways? Not only has the Shinigami been setting a social distance with the rest of the group, but now physical distance was involved as well. Maybe Kidd finally decided that as a god, he should try and separate himself from the humans….
Black Star's thoughts were interrupted when someone—or something (you never know, given the eccentric nature of Death City residents)—knocked on the front door.
Who could be visiting? The sun had gone down already, Tsubaki wasn't going to be around for a while, and the other technicians are likely to be indoors at this hour having a jolly old time (Black Star willed himself not to recall Maka's story of Kilik and Ox dancing around the fireplace naked)…and… it wasn't like he had family. Feelings of suspicion surfaced. But he was a trained technician, and weapon or no, he could handle whatever was beyond the wooden door.
He swung the door open, revealing a black-clad figure with a hood over their head. The visitor wasn't very tall, and from what Black Star could tell between the darkness of the coat and the shadows of the figure itself, the person had shoulder-length dark hair. It was difficult to distinguish gender because everything was concealed in those folds of darkness. Black Star wouldn't have felt discomfort had he not caught a glimpse of skin among the mass of black fabric—skin so pale it couldn't be healthy. It felt as though a corpse came to visit Black Star.
The figure took a step forward, but Black Star refused to retreat into the doorway.
"Who are you? Why are you here?" Black Star was the first to speak. This was his turf, and he would judge whether this be friend or foe.
The figure looked up, but shadows still obscured their face. "Hm? I came here as soon as I got the memo from Professor Stein about some strange assignment for class …I must say I'm not a fan of Stein's plan, and would have ignored it completely… but then the assignment involves a partnership". Emphasis was placed on the last word. The voice was playful, but Black Star detected some fatigue mixed in the words.
Black Star then snorted as the unpleasant topic of the assignment was brought back to mind. He almost wished he was in a fight with the mystery visitor right now just to forget the idleness he was condemned to…
And then something in Black Star's mind clicked. "Wait. What do you have to do with the assignment? I don't recall seeing you in class. Just who are you?"
The figure stepped into the doorway light. "Technically, I am your assignment. As you are mine". The hood was removed. Yellow eyes met green, and three white stripes framed by black hair greeted Death City once again.
To Be Continued…
Next up: Black Star and Kidd talk, Shinigami makes an appearance, and other characters have a role to play.
A/N: I never thought I would be writing something for Soul Eater, but this was a lot of fun! I made Black Star a little more brooding and insightful than his current character permits; then again, I am trying to portray him six years older. Maybe he would have matured a little by then! Hope everyone enjoyed reading the first chapter, and please leave comments telling me what to improve on (I know the paragraphs are a little long here). Suggestions for future events and plots are also welcomed!