Maka ran her hand over the table of weapons available to her class. Swords, maces, knives, almost everything you could think of was there. But how do you make a choice when nothing felt like the right one? What she really wanted, deep down, was a scythe, but she could never say that out loud. Scythes were only available to the very best hunters, and asking about one made you seem conceited. She probably never would have thought of it in the first place if her father hadn't brought his scythe home after work, and if she hadn't snuck to it's resting place after he was a sleep and tried it out. The weight, the balance… it was perfect. However, she could never look at another weapon the same way again, now that she knew how it felt to wield the perfect one. She sighed. When in doubt choose a sword she thought, as she picked up one of a basic western style. It would have to do. She was tying the hilt to her belt, when she heard a familiar call.
"Maka!" She turned and smiled as she saw her friend Tsubaki and her rather obnoxious partner, Black Star. Tsubaki's customary chain scythe was waiting for her, and Black Star's katana as well, both sharpened and ready to go.
"Couldn't decide again, huh?" Tsubaki asked with a sigh, glancing at the sword at Maka's waist.
"No… you know me, I'm too picky" she said, with a smile. She watched as Black Star moved down the table, replenishing his stock of kunai and shuriken, sometimes grumbling about how the quality of some of the weapons weren't suitable for a big man like himself.
"So, you two have a mission tonight?" Maka said as ways of changing the subject.
"Um, yes. Somewhere on the north side of town." The north was one of the most dangerous areas of Death City, but Maka wasn't worried. Although the pair may seem useless, they were actually one of the best teams out there. Tsubaki, while calm and quiet, could be quite vicious when the time called for it. And Black Star… Maka had asked Tsubaki about him when they had first become partners. 'Don't worry about it' the taller girl had said, 'Black Star's a good partner! And besides…' Maka remembered how she had leaned down to whisper the next part into her ear, and Maka had been afraid that she was going to say something like the sex is great or something equally embarrassing. Instead, she had said 'he makes for a great diversion'. Usually stoic, Maka hadn't been able to contain her giggles.
"At any rate, we had better be going, or we'll miss the target. See you later" Tsubaki waved. Maka half-heartedly returned the gesture.
Everyone in the order had a partner. It was part of the code, as well as common sense. Having a partner doubled your chances for survival in the field. But it was more than that. A partner gave you a sense of companionship; your partner knew you better than you did, they were always there for you through thick and thin, and they always had your back. Maka knew this. But she didn't have a partner. She had one at one point, but she wasn't willing to go through that again.
Maka walked to the window and put her hand against the pane, watching as various partnerships disappeared into the darkness. That reminded her. She had to get going.