New Kid In Town
The sun was already busy laughing the day away in the sky over death city when I arrived. I was late, and really didn't care. I didn't really need the schooling anyway, not with how strong I already was. But there was one reason for me to go.
Stein.
He was my uncle, and the most powerful meister ever to graduate from the DWMA. But now he was slipping into madness, crawling closer and closer to his fascination with dissection. Even I had to admit, it was concerning. Lord Death himself had requested my enrollment, if just to keep a closer eye on Stein.
"You've been quiet." Said a pretty blonde girl walking slightly behind me.
"Enjoy it while it lasts, Valkyrie." I said with an easy smile. My easy-going personality was enough to aggravate anyone, even my weapon partner.
"Yeah, yeah." She replied, dismissive.
Our walk up to the DWMA was nearly over, as we had reached the bottom of the steps. Our walk up was as quick and quiet as our trip to Death City, and I was soon looking at the flamboyant academy up close and personal. Good thing Lord Death is such a show-off, or it might be hard to find, I thought.
"Ready, Val?" I asked, looking at her. A look of apprehension crossed her face. I knew exactly what was bothering her. "It's the eyeliner again, right?" I asked.
She looked away, nodding. I was a fairly decent looking guy. Nothing special, but decent. I had dark brown hair, spiked at the front. I always wore a white button down shirt, a heavy brown leather jacket with the collar up, black skinny jeans, and black army boots. My brown eyes were lined with black eyeliner, much to Valkyrie's dismay, and my tanned complexion was always a nice golden brown.
"You just look so…" She struggled for the word. "Edgy." She decided.
"Ever think maybe that's what I'm going for?" I asked, a playful smirk on my face. "Just a walking warning label, aren't I?" I joked with a laugh.
Val shook her head, but ended up returning my smile. "Alright, let's go." She said, starting toward the academy. I followed, trailing slightly, still smiling.
As we walked in, we noticed how empty the halls were. We were REALLY late. So, I started up toward Stein's room, the crescent moon class. As we walked that direction, I started to wonder about how class would go for me. I had never needed it before, and it was sure to be far different than what I was used to. We reached the door, and Val looked at me. I shrugged, pushing the door open.
Val immediately looked to the floor, as we were greeted by many pairs of eyes. Every meister and weapon in the room looked at us as we entered, myself smiling easily, Val fidgeting and avoiding eye contact. Stein stood in the front of the room, looking to the class, not us.
"Shikomizue." He said, using my full name. "Good to see you, nephew."
"Just Mizu, if you don't mind." I corrected him. "And you, too." I added.
Stein nodded, next addressing the class. "This is my nephew, Mizu." He said. "And, of course, his partner Valkyrie." Val blushed at the mention of her name to so many strangers, and I shot her a reassuring smile. I looked at Stein.
"Where do we sit?" I asked. Stein thought for a moment.
"There are two empty seats in the middle row, up next to Maka and Soul." He said, indicting the empty space next to a girl with dark blonde hair, and a boy with red eyes and sharpened teeth. I shrugged and started toward the seats, Val trailing behind me. We reached them, sat down, and Stein started his lecture.
Class ended an hour later, and as Val and I left the room, we were stopped.
"Hey, wait up!" I heard a girl's voice behind us. I turned to see the girl we had sat next to in class, walking toward us and waving, her weapon partner walking next to her, his gaze locked on me.
"Hello there." I said, addressing the girl. "Maka, right?" I asked. "And you're Soul." I said to the boy.
"That's us." Said Maka with a smile. She held out a hand to shake, and after a second's thought, I took it,
"Mizu." I said. "And that's Val." I said, pointing back to my partner.
"N-Nice to meet you." She stuttered, looking at the ground.
Maka asked me and Val if we'd like to eat in the courtyard with her and some of her friends, and I accepted. It was quiet, even a little awkward. Maka and I were having a conversation about our latest adventures, with the occasional input from Soul and Val. Then, the peace was shattered by a blue haired little punk.
"Hey!" Shouted the boy, his hands raised in the air. "Who are you!?" He demanded to know, and he walked up to me, closing distance until we were inches apart. "I'm talking to you!" He said, way too loudly.
He barely finished his latest shout when a large book collided with the back of his head. He was face down on the ground, and asked "Why do you always hit me, Maka?"
Ignoring him, Maka turned to me and I, "Mizu, this is Black Star, our resident idiot." She pointed the direction he had come from to a tall darker haired girl. "That's his partner, Tsubaki."
"Yo." I said easily, Black Star still on his face, and Tsubaki doing her best to help him up. After we revived Black Star, conversation was a bit more lively, and Black Star challenged me to a sparring match.
"Alright, you're on." I said. "Martial arts or weapons?" I asked.
Then Val spoke up. "I don't want to fight." She said.
Black Star looked disappointed, but Valkyrie had spoken. "Martial arts it is." I said, putting my hands up, palms facing Black Star in my traditional Muay Thai stance. Black Star took his stance, and without another word, we began to circle each other. Black Star struck first, a jab that I was able to slip by. I answered with a low shin kick that landed with a resounding crack on his hip. He cried out, grazing my shoulder with a wild right, thrown in the blind mist of pain the kick had caused. We backed off, circling once more, each of us looking for an opening. Analyzing.
I'm bigger and stronger than him, but I'm also slower, I thought. I'll have to grapple him, I decided. And with the end of that thought, I rushed him. After deflecting two quick punches, I clamped down on his neck with my right hand, and got his right arm with my left. We were at a standstill, his left arm hammering into my side repeatedly, my hand tightening around his throat. He was turning blue.
"Hey, what do you think you kids are doing!?" A deep, resounding voice called. It was Sid, of course, the resident zombie.
"Hey, Teach!" I called, releasing Black Star. He crumpled to the ground, gasping for air. "How've you been, you crabby old knife-meister?" I asked, walking up to him. We clasped hands, and he pulled me in for a hug. We separated.
"I've been fine, just a little dead, no big deal." He said with a smile. "But I'm disappointed that you two didn't come find me to proctor this fight!" He said, a booming laugh following. "You see your uncle yet?" He asked, a serious tone entering his voice. "He's looking for you."
"I was in his class earlier." I said. "He seemed alright when I left him."
"Ah, in that case, I'll be going." Sid said. "Have some business to attend to, I'm afraid." And with that, Sid turned and ran off toward some unknown location.
I turn back to the others.
"What was that about?" Maka asked. "You seem to know Sid." She pointed out. She's obviously the smart one of the group, I thought.
"He trained me, many years ago." I said. "He's been like a father to me."
"Oh." Said Maka simply. "So, you're a knife-meister, then." She asked.
"A special kind of knife, but yes." I said, not wanting to sell Valkyrie short.
For the rest of the day, we all walked around the academy grounds, talking. Learning about one another. It was almost like having friends. I learned all about Kid's love for symmetry, Black Star's little big man complex, and Maka's disdain for her father, Death Scythe. Val had made some progress befriending the other weapons, and I could see her taking special interest in Soul. Finally, our lodging situation came up, as I knew it would have to. It always did.
"So, Mizu, where are you and Val staying?" Maka asked, trying to sound casual. "I mean, the only space the academy has is the cells." She pointed out.
"I hadn't thought about it." I said, shrugging. "Guess I was just going to walk the streets tonight, see what trouble I could stir up." I said with a smile.
"What!?" Maka shouted. "No, absolutely not!" She declared, stopping mid stride and putting her hands on her hips. "You're staying with me and Soul, and that's that!" She said, as if stating a fact.
"You'll regret that." I said under my breath, a smile playing on my lips. "I have habits I don't think you'll like." I informed her.
"It can't be that bad." She assured me. "Anyway, Stein told me you're on our team now, and what better way to learn about you?" She asked, sounding excited. She smiled at me, and my heart skipped a beat. Weird, I thought.
"It's settled." I said, smiling back, and Valkyrie smiled too, but at Soul, who in turn blushed. We moved in later that night, ate dinner, and then went to bed.
Tomorrow would be our first day on a team since… Well, ever.