The DWMA was much more beautiful in person than the photos led him to believe. The young weapon, along with his fellow classmates, ran out of the bus and up the steps without a second thought. How many Meisters are there? Crap, what if I don't get a good partner? His curiosity only made him scale the steps faster. While excited beyond compare he made sure to make a mental note to send his mother an email that night. She, his Nana, and the other members of his family would be happy to know he made it there safely. The tours didn't take as long as he thought they might which left the rest of the day to find a partner. Most people were flying blind, pairing with best friends to form what might seem like a dream team but ultimately fail. He had the advantage of unbiased eyes because he was a complete tourist to Death City. Out of his friends back home he had been the only one accepted into the DWMA. Among the sea of faces he found two that caught his eye. A dapper formally dressed boy with slicked back hair, thick black glasses, and skin just a few shaded short of being grey. His eyes were so dark that they could be considered black. Nothing at face value was particularly inviting about him, but there was something buried deeper that the young weapon could sense without the aid of soul perception. The other had choppy brown hair, ocean blue eyes, all complemented by skin kissed by west coast sunshine. He had a glow about him that would be stable in a partnership. Juel moved to go to him but he couldn't brush away the other miester. He was harboring untapped power in that strange soul and the young weapon was curious to see it manifest. Drifting away from your comfort zone is what got you this far Juel. The monochrome boy had separated himself from the main group sitting on one of the balconies staring down at Death City, and the young weapon moved to join him.
"Hey". He jumped a little in surprise, eyes wide when he faced Juel.
"Hey" he replied.
"How's your partner search going?".
"Not so great, that's no surprise though".
"Why?"
"I'm not much of a social butterfly. People think I'm weird so they'd rather ask someone else. I don't mind I guess, there's bound to be someone left behind".
"You're a Meister right?"
"Arbalist Meister".
"Well I just so happen to be a crossbow in need of a meister". There was a shimmer of light in his eyes that gave a glimpse of something beyond what could be first perceived.
"You'd really want to be partners, with me?".
"Crossbow, arbalist, it'd be dumb for us not to be. I'm Juel, Juel Jacquet". He extended his hand for the boy's and it was graciously accepted.
"Xavier Caldwell". He had a radiance to him that was now more bashful than grey. Xavier wasn't boring, a little awkward, but something he could work with. Juel plopped down beside him moving the the conversation forward.
"So, what's your family like?"
"Uhh...well I'm an only child, just me and my dads".
"Cool, are they meisters too?".
"My dad actually made father a death scythe. I get any skills at being a Arbalist from him".
"T-that's impressive". Juel did his best not to pass out from the overwhelming feeling of joy. Not only had he landed a partnership with the son of a meister who helped make a Death Scythe. It seemed more than just a coincidence that they should work together.
"How about you?".
"Big house, lots of siblings, a living hell, but I love them so I don't mind the chaos as much. My dad died when I was young so it was just my mom and me for a while."
"If you don't mind me asking, how did he...?".
"A witch killed him, he was a reckless meister but my mom loved him. She was close to becoming a Death Scythe at the time, but after she lost him she couldn't handle fighting anymore. It took a lot of convincing to get her to let me come here actually".
"Well I'm glad you made it, otherwise I'd be out of a partner". Juel smiled. There was a sudden quake in the ground. The two turned to see some of the other students had gathered in a circle. They ran up to see but couldn't get past the clump.
"What happening?" Juel asked.
"Someone's dueling Alex".
"They're gonna get their ass kicked".
"Wait, doesn't there need to be a teacher present?" Xavier asked.
"We need to check this out, come on". Juel shoved past people dragging Xavier behind him to get to the inner ring where both opponents and their weapons could be seen, but no teacher.
"It's time for you to get some discipline for once in your life you spoiled brat".
"What's the deal with this Alex guy?" Juel asked.
"That's not Alex, the other guy is. Alexander Lupel, the rich boy rebel. His family is loaded but he doesn't like it when people mock him or act like he's pampered. My dads knew his parents when they were going here. What this kid doesn't know is just how strong Alex really is".
"You have soul perception?".
"Yeah, I wish I could tell you what I'm seeing". The opponents were physically similar, but Alexander had a much stronger soul wavelength. He wielded a war hammer and the other a battle axe. Alex ran a hand through his red mohawk and then gripped tightly onto his weapon. The opponent lunged at him like an animal. Formless, heavily lacking style, and no stable sense of balance. Alex dodged each hit without breaking a sweat. His face remained focused and collected and his movements like liquid gold. The other student finally managed to to catch him, luckily he blocked with the hammer just in time. Alex swung the hammer hard into his opponents side launching him at Juel and Xavier. Juel caught his fellow student and attempted to help him up. The force from the hammer left him barely able to stand. The battle axe reformed and held their miester.
"Aye toss him back, I'm not finished with him yet".
"Are you insane? He's clearly out, you won already" The weapon shouted.
"This isn't about winning, it's about teaching a lesson that he won't get from hitting the books. Don't screw with me. Now toss him back". Juel interrupted
"There's no teacher present, this isn't even a real duel, it was never fair fight. So you know what, I'll fight you. And not because you're family is rich, or you have some skill, I'll do it to prove your own point. That you're just one of us". The crowd went silent along with the battle axe kid.
"Fine, let's go then". Xavier tugged Juel back
"What are you doing!?" he whispered.
"Uhhhh...about to get in a fight it looks like".
"You're not a close range weapon, if he catches me on a right swing like that kid I'll be done for. Plus we'll probably get punished anyway".
"Then let's get a good story out of it. Besides, I can block him from the hilt. As long as we dodge the head of the hammer, and stay as far back as possible, we should be fine. Have I ever steered you wrong before?".
"We literally just met five minutes ago!".
"Exactly, never, but I know we can do this". The two sized up their challenger and shared a nod. Juel reverted to his crossbow form and was promptly caught mid-air by Xavier. Students in the crowd murmured under their breath, even more intrigued with this turn of events. A crossbow going up against a war hammer, in an anything goes match. Alexander rushed forward swinging the hammer down. He was quick, but Xavier ducked out of the way in time. The spot where the hammer landed left cracks in the stone.
"Take the shot Xavier!". He pulled Juel's trigger but the force of his wavelength shot them back. They still managed to aim correctly and though Alex blocked the direct hit the force sent him off of his feet as well.
"Damn Juel, that was a bit much".
"Sorry, I panicked. Are you okay?".
"Yeah, probably should've focused more on your soul wavelength. I'll be prepared for the next shot. Ready?".
"As I'll ever be". Alex lunged at them and Xavier blocked the swing at the hilt but struggled the keep his footing.
"Not wise to put a long range against a melee weapon, especially if you can't handle the pressure". Alex shifted just enough to set the balance off and send Juel and Xavier to the ground a few feet away. They recovered quickly and fired a second shot. There was some jump back but Xavier remained on his feet. Alex dodged the shot and charged again. The two were ready to take the next shot, but before Xavier could send the message to his hands something passed by his eyes.
"Enough of this". The hammer fell to the ground and reformed as a petite ginger haired girl in a black turtleneck and matching shades.
"This duel isn't being overseen by a teacher, not cool kiddos. I'm all for a good fight but you gotta play by the rules. You four come with me. As for the rest of you, clear out". Juel reverted back to his human form.
"Who are you?". The man sported a sharp toothed smile and turned to Juel. His crimson eyes locked onto him.
"Call me Soul...". The crowd dispersed in seconds leaving the four astonished students with the renowned Death Scythe.
"I...I..." Juel was speechless.
"No more talking, you can explain yourself to Lord Death".
"Soul, you know Lord Death is preoccupied. We gotta leave now if we expect to get to Baghdad in time". Maka Albarn approached Soul taking notice of the starstruck students.
"You kids should know better than to fight without one of your instructors present. If everything is done we'd like to be on our way". Alex and his weapon looked at Juel and Xavier then each other before walking away. She gave a nod.
"And you two". They prepared for the worst. Her serious expression bloomed into an approving smirk.
"That was pretty risky, don't do it again okay?".
"Y-yes Ms. Albarn".
"Good, let's get a move on Soul". The duo left the new partners without another word. Xavier let out a relieved breath.
"Thank god we didn't get in trouble".
"That was freaking MAKA AND SOUL! We just got into an illegitimate duel on school grounds, met two DWMA legends, and have gotten off scot free because of them! I told you we'd get a good story out of this".
"I can't say you're wrong, and we actually work pretty good as a team".
"We were awesome man! If we can manage something like that on a whim then I can't wait for resonance training".
"Yeah...". Juel noticed something shift in Xavier's tone.
"What's wrong?".
"Nothing, we should go register as a weapon meister partnership so we can be in the same dorm". The dormitories had undergone renovation with the rise of capable young meisters and weapons. This allowed for larger rooms with enough space to house up to five students. Xavier and Juel were assigned room #76 on the third floor. They were so excited to start unpacking that they completely ignored the names of their fellow roommates. Xavier had several suit cases and carrying bags while Juel packed all he needed into a large old trunk his grandmother gave him. Scaling the stairs to the third level was less easy than the two anticipated.
"Do you think I could just shoot it up the stairs?".
"I wouldn't try it".
"Hmm I think I have an idea, how well can you balance?".
"Fairly well, why?".
"Grab a side". Xavier dropped his stuff on top of the suitcase and grabbed the handle on the left side of the trunk.
"Ready?".
"This will probably fail, horribly, but you haven't steered me wrong this far".
"1...2...3!". They jumped and ran up the stairway with Xavier balanced on the railing and Juel running the wall. Student had to dodge the luggage train as they charged full speed to the third level of the building and crashed into a wall.