"On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, everything in the universe 'cause there ain't no god like me!"
"Black Star," Tsubaki Nakatsukasa started, "we still have a bit of time until Christmas."
"Don't mock my epic rhymes, Tsubaki!" Black Star jokingly scolded his weapon.
"You mean rhyming 'me' with 'me'?" Tsubaki returned the tease.
He ignored her. "Today is Thanksgiving, the first day to Christmas! Just 12 days away!"
"More than 25, Black Star."
"But I saw Santa at the end of that parade in New York on TV just an hour ago! And at the mall earlier this week! And just now at the street corner over there! Look! He's still here!"
"Ho ho ho!" The man—no, the skeleton!—in the big red jacket at the end of the street corner continued waving at the duo. Tsubaki, as horrified as her friend Liz Thompson, inched behind her meister, as he waved with a bright smile. Yet the skeleton in the Santa suit appeared as disturbed at the departing duo as Tsubaki was of him, his back still smarting from Black Star trying to leap into his lap with his long Christmas list, which was now hanging out of pants' pocket.
"That wasn't Santa," Tsubaki started, tentatively, as she used her hands, full of plastic grocery bags, to push him further down the road. "He was…um, one of Santa's helpers, Black Star!"
Black Star turned to glare at his pushy weapon. "I'm not a little kid, Tsubaki—I know that's one of Santa's helpers! I know the rules of Christmas! Hell, I once helped the guy deliver toys all in one night!"
Tsubaki chuckled. "Uh huh. Next you are going to tell me that you helped the Tooth Fairy."
"I already told you, that was Kid who helped the Tooth Fairy!" Black Star, still clutching the numerous grocery bags in his two hands, started to shadow box. "Kid got stuck with that annoying mutant albino penguin guy, and one of his fairies or something turned out to be the Tooth Fairy!" Tsubaki rolled her eyes: Black Star was now locked in story mode. "Meanwhile, me and Santa were back to back fighting off zombie reindeer! I creamed Rudolph in that big, red, rotting nose of his!" He paused, then looked out of the corner of his eye at Tsubaki, and gave an innocent smile. "Um, but don't tell anyone. That was a super secret mission for Kid's dad."
"Suuuure, Black Star," she teased him. "Just don't tell those stories tonight: we want to make a better impression on our friends than…well, usual?"
Black Star stopped walking. "What are you talking about? I'm great at these festivities!"
"Black Star." Tsubaki was speaking more sternly.
He stared at her. He shrugged, and kept walking. The silence persisted for a few moments, as the two walked through the streets of Death City up to the apartment of their classmates, Maka Albarn and Soul Eater—or, as he was not calling himself, Soul Evans. Black Star had never gotten over that name change. I mean, sure, now he had outed himself as the little bro to the famous Wes Evans, but seriously, he was the Last Freaking Death Scythe?! Why did he need a name change when he already had that epic title?!
But as the cold wind hit against Black Star's face—Death City being oddly chilly for autumn in Nevada, something to do with atmospheric changes ever since the Black Blood circled around the Moon months earlier—he could not help but think of the changes awaiting. Kid—well, now Lord Death the Second—had instituted so many new changes for the DWMA that it made Black Star's head spin: Soul was going to be transferred to Europe to take over the posts of not one but two deceased Death Scythes. This was the last Thanksgiving the group would have together at Maka's apartment, as she was going to give up the lease to their—her?—apartment: not much point staying in a two-bedroom apartment if Soul was moving out. Actually, Black Star hadn't the heart to ask either her or Lord Death—no, Kid, just keep calling him Kid!—what was happening with her. After the battle on the Moon, she should be a three-star meister in no time. But without a weapon, with Soul goofing off in Europe, how would she get any further in her progress? A new partner? Kid had made it pretty clear that he wanted Soul and only Soul in Europe—something about having something else in mind for Maka. That jerk, Black Star thought. Where did he get off separating those two?! They went together like peanut butter and jelly, fire and gasoline, water and oil!
At least Black Star had Tsubaki: when Soul went off to Europe, what would Maka have left?
At that thought, Black Star glanced at Tsubaki. Her hair was caught up by the wind as they continued their walk to the apartment. That old thought came back to his mind—how in all these years, he barely got anywhere close to the 99 souls needed to make Tsubaki into a Death Scythe. And now that there was a no-killing-witches rule, how would he ever make her into one? He smiled at his own private joke about having Tsubaki consume Angela's soul, but even Black Star was not that awful.
He smirked. Mostly, he thought, as he inventoried the list of pranks he had ready to use against Angela when they picked her up from her sleepover at Sid and Nygus's. No way he was going to let that little creep get away with putting his hand into a bowl of water!
"Black Star?"
Tsubaki's question roused Black Star out of his rapid-fire thinking. "Yeah?"
"You…sure you're okay, with Angela having Thanksgiving with Sid and Nygus this year?"
"Hell yeah I am!" His cry echoed through the desolated autumn streets, even shaking the few leaves remaining off of some of the trees that stood. (How was Death City able to support deciduous trees, Tsubaki thought? She had heard it was Lord Death's magic—that he had planted those trees himself centuries ago, as a reminder of the cycle of life and death in his own community. She bit her lip: they would be a reminder of him, long after he was gone.) "I don't want some brat kid hanging out with the adults this year!" His arms already covered with numerous bags of food, he still lifted both handfuls of bags from his weapon's hands, to take that burden off of her. "This is going to be a mature Thanksgiving! I'm even going to help make the meal!"
"Black Star, I'm still not sure—"
"Tsubaki!" He struggled to hold up his open palms to silence her. "I'm totally on it! I got all the ingredients, I read all those books—"
"When did you have time to —"
"I started reading in December!"
"Last December?!"
"How else was I going to read all those books?! I did it all: the prep, the stirring, the baking, the deep-frying—"
"You may not deep fry that turkey!"
"What? It'll work out fine! Besides, Kid was able to re-build that hallway to his mansion that one time!"
Tsubaki narrowed her eyes.
"Okay, okay, no deep frying this year." He stuck out his lower lip. "Soul was the one who dared me to do it, anyway."
"Black Star," Tsubaki continued walking towards their friends' apartment, "if Soul dared you to jump off a bridge, would you do it?"
"I already did: London, two years ago."
Tsubaki was about to say something, but thought the better of it. Sighing, she only said, "Good thing you land on your feet."
"Yes!" he exclaimed. "But too bad the water was that cold. When I came out, I thought I had lost my—"
"Don't!" Tsubaki warned.
He chuckled. "Yeah, sorry."
Tsubaki allowed Black Star to walk ahead a bit. While he kicked away a few offending autumn leaves from the deserted Death City street, she ruminated on what she had discussed last week with one of her classmates. She had asked Soul to mention their plan to his partner. Had he done so? How would she take the news? For all I know, Tsubaki thought, how would Soul take the news when she told him the rest of her plan? Would Kid be upset? Liz? Patty? Most of all, how would Black Star—
"Tsubaki?" Black star asked. "Something bothering ya?"
She lifted her head, a smile painted on. "Oh, no, it's nothing."
He shrugged. "When you want to tell me what's bothering you, just let me know." His bright teeth appeared. "Okay?"
Her smile became authentic, as she gave a thumb up.
o-o-o
WRITER'S NOTES: Chapter 1
Yay! I finally wrote a multi-chapter story—in less than a day! This fan fic was inspired by a comment submitted at my site regarding what a Soul Eater Thanksgiving would be like.
It's not as action heavy as I want it to be: it's another slice of life story, and another one focused on Tsubaki. I will have a Kid and the Thompsons action story soon, I promise. And I'm still accepting fan fic prompts at my site: Ask
I don't know whether there is a Black Star and Santa versus zombie reindeer story—but now I kind of want to write it. Still better than that empty Zombie Santa fight in Sword Art Online.
I may be wrong that deserts usually lack deciduous trees, but I could not pass up an opportunity to draw some sadness upon Lord Death's passing and basically make him the Johnny Appleseed of the southwestern United States.
I will have more notes to include with subsequent chapters. Prep yourself for Chapter 2: it's the longest one.