This was the result of pure, unaltered trickery. The meisters responsible were going to pay.

Soul considered this while walking through Death City with Anais Orelli. Anais was usually polite, but could be snarky if she wanted. Soul barely knew the girl, now that he thought about it; they never really talked before. Might as well, he thought. "Ana?"

Anais looked at him. Soul noticed how her eyes—usually dark brown—shifted to a lighter shade. It caught him off guard. "What?" she asked. Her voice was not her usual snarky tone; it was tense, something he hasn't heard in even when Anais and her meister, Tasha, were on a mission with him and Maka. It was strange.

"Are you okay with…this?" Soul asked, shoving his hands in his pockets. Anais picked at the skin of her thumb, averting her eyes to that small action instead of meeting his own crimson orbs. "This being…?" she murmured after a while.

"Our meisters shoving us together to get to know each other…?"

"You're calling this a date?" Anais smiled.

Soul's eyes widened at the realization before sighing. "Guess it is," he said. "But we haven't really talked or whatever."

"Or whatever, Soul…?" Anais asked, crossing her arms and stopping her pace. Soul stopped, looking back at her. He was suddenly struck by how pretty Anais looked. Her hair, which was a dull kind of pink, looked almost brighter. Not completely red, but close enough. Her brows were pulled down, a sign of irritation, but not anger.

"You know what I mean," Soul huffed. "We're in the same class, but we've never really talked at all or hung out."

Anais tilted her head, her frown softening. The silence was heavy, but it wasn't tense; it was calm. "All right," she said, dropping her arms.

Soul raised an eyebrow. "All right?"

"Yeah; granted it was a set-up, but may as well, right?" Anais smiled again. It was warmer than before. Soul grinned at her. "Yeah. So whattaya think? Wanna get a bite to eat?"

Anais nodded before walking. Soul moved right when Anais appeared for a millisecond at his side. "Anything in particular you're want?" he asked.

"I'm open to new things." Anais laughed right when Soul steered her into Deathbucks Café. "Then maybe something from here?" he asked. She placed her finger to her temple in an attempt to think. "Maybe…a cupcake. I haven't had one in a while."

"Sweet-tooth."

"Hey!"

Anais punched Soul's shoulder in a pal-ish manner. He grinned. I think we're becoming friends, he thought. It was nice. They didn't have to be dating to hang out; it was just nice, being within one another's company. Anais got a cupcake and a hot chocolate—which made no sense to Soul, since it was summer. Soul didn't get anything; after all, he didn't want to be uncool in front of Anais. So there they sat, Anais dipping her finger in the icing and sticking it in her mouth, and Soul leaned against the back of his chair. Anais's brown eyes met his crimson orbs and, sticking out the hand holding the cupcake, she balanced the confection on her palm. He blinked, staring at the cupcake before looking to the strange weapon.

"What?" Soul asked. Anais flexed and straightened her arm, tilting her head slightly. "Try it," she said. He shook his head. "No."

"I don't have germs, Soul."

"I just don't…"

"Just have one taste. Please?"

Soul huffed, before taking the cupcake from Anais and taking a bite. It was red velvet by the taste of it. Anais beamed. "Good?"

Soul was reluctant to admit it, but it'd be uncool of him to lie. "…Yeah."

"Lovely!" Anais leaned back against her chair and resumed to pick pieces of the cupcake and popping it in her mouth. She looked really excited, like a kid; totally unlike her usual self. It was hilarious. Soul considered this.

"Ne, Soul?" Anais's voice was a whisper. "You know Lord Death is going to send us on a mission? Just you and me and Maka and Tasha?"

Soul nodded. "Yeah, what about it?"

"Are you afraid of dying?"

Soul was taken aback. Anais looked up at him, her expression soft. She was expecting an answer.

"Afraid of dying? Don't get me wrong, I'd put myself on the line to protect Maka-" Soul stopped himself, noticing Anais's eyes had averted. Was that sadness in her eyes?

"I heard about that, Soul," she murmured. "Maka was sad that you got hurt. I visited you with her when you were unconscious…"

Anais visited him? "Really?" Soul asked. Anais jumped and seemed to backtrack. "N-Not in a creepy way, I swear! I just…"

"You just…?"

"I was worried about you!"

Silence hung between them. Anais's face was tinted a light, dusty pink, her eyes now down at the crumbs that had once been a cupcake, hands wrung together tightly before continuing. "I was worried, Soul. You said you were gonna be the coolest death scythe and…and…when you got hurt…Maka was so sad…and I…I hoped that you would be okay and become the best death scythe for Lord Death!"

Soul stared with wide eyes once Anais finished her outburst. Granted, she accepted Crona as an ally after a while, but just listening to her say all of that…why did it make Soul feel guilty?

"Anais…" It was uncool of him to leave a girl sad or worried—especially someone like Anais, who, if she was with Maka and him on that mission, would fight to keep everyone safe. "Look, I did what I had to. You know that, as a weapon yourself," he said.

"That doesn't excuse the fact that people will be sad if you were killed, idiot!" Anais stood up and stormed out the door. Soul cursed under his breath, standing up to go after Anais. She seemed to not be far, but she was walking very quickly. Soul ran after her and grabbed her by her wrist. "Anais!"

Anais looked back, tears shining in her eyes, once again taking Soul by surprise. She wiped at her eyes, trying to block any more tears before they fell. Soul relaxed his grip on her wrist, just realizing he was holding on a bit too tightly. "Are you okay…?"

"No, I'm not okay," Anais sobbed. "It doesn't matter, your beliefs on what a weapon's duty is. You're still…you're still my friend and I'd bring you back from the dead only to kill you all over again if you do something that reckless again."

"Good to know; same with you."

"What…?"

Soul released Anais's wrist. "We're friends, right? That means I can't let you go and be stupid too."

Anais smiled. "…Then I'll help you be a cool death scythe too."

"Then it's a deal."

"Yeah."

The two weapons shook hands to seal the deal, unaware of what would happen in the future. They only knew that, as friends, they will be going forth together.