Raiko Reaver wandered through the crowd of Weapons and Meisters, looking for someone approachable and available. She gazed at each face and they glared in return. "Um, excuse me," she whispered to one tall girl with a royal blue ponytail. "What is it?"

"Are you a Weapon?"

"Meister actually. Sorry. Need help finding a weapon? There's a whole group of them over there. Just be careful, those guys are like a gang." She was mature, with sharp, striking features. The top of Raiko's head stood to her nose. This woman was so familiar, but she couldn't place where she had seen her. Her eyes bore into her as if she was thinking the same thing. "Have I seen-"

"Hello there, are you a Meister?" Someone tapped Raiko on the shoulder. "Yes." She smiled at the man standing before her. His stature was towering compared even to the woman she had just met. Raiko stood to the tip of his chin. "My name is Artemis. Artemis Bane." He said politely. His friends in the group that the woman had told her about snickered behind Artemis. "Raiko Reaver. Are those your friends?" She asked, peering around him to look at the hoard of weapons. "Yes they are. Doesn't Raiko mean lightning?"

"My mother named me Raiko because I showed overwhelming signs of a soul wavelength I couldn't handle. Even now..." She took the hand Artemis held out and he winced as she shocked him. "Even now, I have a hard time containing it."

"That's impressive. Oh, and don't worry about them. They wanted me to talk to you to see if you were still available."

"Well I am."

"Not anymore. How about I be your new Weapon?" He asked, grinning hopefully. Raiko nodded firmly. Artemis laughed, tousling his long, thin black hair. It was shaggy and hung below his ears, with bangs falling in front of his eyes. She looked into his cobalt blue eyes and felt a pang in her stomach. He was familiar too. Him and that girl. "Have I seen you somewhere before?"

"Not that I can remember." He shrugged, turning to wave to his friends and then walking to the stairs that led down to Death City.

"The origin of projecting soul wavelengths came from a man named-"

Professor Stein sped through his lecture to get to what he really wanted to teach. Raiko leaned on Artemis's shoulder as she dozed off. "I think that covers the boring topics. Now we get to dissect a rare creature." Raiko bolted awake as she expected Stein would be sure everyone pay attention for this part. Artemis chuckled and looked over at his hardly awake Meister. She had wispy, copper red hair that she constantly blew out her eyes with two longer strands framing her face. The rest was tied into a spiked bun. Her eyes were large, innocent, and a deep blue gray that looked like the ocean in a storm. Her figure was small at the waist, but had wide hips and a sizeable bust. She wore a tight black mid drift top that closed up around her neck and detached sleeves that loosely fell around her arms. Her bottoms were baggy black cargo pants that hung low on her hips and her shoes were clunky combat boots. Artemis chuckled and turned his attention back to the rare looking animal about to be dissected.

After class, Raiko slipped away to a room used by no one else. It had a smooth floor and one wall full of oddly shaped mirrors. She took out the change of clothes and slippers she brought. After she put the black leotard and white tights on, she wrapped the black ribbon of the slippers around her calves. She twirled around the room, spinning on her toes and watching the mirrors as they contorted her body into smaller fragments.

Artemis followed her and was now peeking through the crack in the door to the hidden room in the lower levels of the Academy. He had never known she came down here, but after days of following her, he had learned she came to this place at least once a week ever since she became his Meister. Raiko stretched her left leg up, glancing towards the door where she saw a hint of striking blue. She suddenly slipped and landed on her backside. Artemis rushed through the door, holding out his hand to help her up. "I never knew you could look that graceful." He laughed as she stumbled to her feet. "I had a hard time believing you could ever actually be a Meister, since you're such a klutz. Why don't you use these skills in fights?"

"Didn't you notice? The second I knew you were watching, I fell. For some reason, I can't dance with people watching. It's like an emotional block."

"So, I won't be able to see you dance again."

"Not unless I miraculously stop being...me..." She said quietly, looking at the floor. Artemis tilted her chin up to look at him. "That would be a shame." Raiko sighed, shaking her head and stepping away from him. "You always know what to say. It's annoying."