It was a breezy September day in Death Valley, the sky overhead dotted with thin and wispy clouds. A brightly colored spacecraft descended from the heavens, streaking toward the ground like a shooting star. The morning sun panted and grimaced as the gummi ship landed just outside the enormous gates of Death City.

A ramp lowered and six people disembarked. Two of them, the youngest at 14 and 13, were carrying suitcases. The group chatted for a while, then after a round of goodbyes and hugs, the four parents retreated into the gummi ship, and it blasted off into the sky, the glare of its engines dwindling to a dot before disappearing, leaving the young boy and girl in a could of dust.

The boy, whose named was Misuto, had deep blue eyes and a mane of spiky brown hair. He wore patched cargo shorts, a sand-colored shirt, and a roughly made brown leather vest. He was tanned from spending most of his life outdoors.

The girl, Rose, had long sandy-blonde hair and was wearing a white hooded sweatshirt and black jeans. She was paler than her companion and the desert heat seemed not to bother her, in spite of her clothing. The most striking thing about her appearance was her eyes. They were bright violet.

Rose and Misuto stared up at the sky for a moment before turning to face Death City. Its many towers and tall buildings loomed over them imposingly.

"It's sure not like home." Rose remarked. Her long sandy-blonde hair fluttered in the autumn breeze, as she gazed at the DWMA itself, visible above the surrounding buildings.

"It's no island." Misuto agreed. He glanced at his watch. "Orientation is in an hour, we should get moving.

"Right."

The two of them picked up their suitcases and walked through Death City's enormous gate. Death City has narrow cobbled streets that wound their way in and around the Gothic and Victorian buildings that came in all shapes and sizes. Just inside the gate was a large plaza with a fountain in the center, and grand, sweeping staircases leading upward in three directions. The path to the school was clear enough and the young Weapon and Meister pair mounted the first of what was to be many stairs.

As they moved deeper into the city they saw the everyday lives of its citizens. People sitting outside cafes with drinks, shopping in stores selling everything from Death-themed merchandise to fresh produce. Tourists could be seen here and there, taking pictures or admiring the sights.

"So many people. How can they all live here at once?" Rose wondered aloud.

"Not every world is like ours." Misuto reminded her.

"I know that." Rose said "It's just so different."

Despite the long uphill hike, neither of them were tired yet. It wasn't long before they found themselves facing the enormous stairs that lead to the DWMA. They stared at them a moment before accepting the challenge. It quickly became a race to see who could make it to the top first. At first it seemed an even game, but Misuto started to pant and fall behind. Rose reached the top about 10 seconds ahead of him. He was breathing hard, but Rose seemed barely winded.

"You always were faster than me." Misuto huffed as he fell to his knees on the top stair. Rose grinned victoriously. Then she turned around.

"Whoa. Misuto, Look." He turned his head at her words. They both gawked at the magnificent view of the city laid out before them. Their awe was interrupted by shout.

"GOOD MORNING PUNY HUMANS! YOUR GODDESS HAS BLESSED YOU WITH HER PRESENCE. THAT'S RIGHT, IT IS I, PINK*STAR." Someone was standing on one of the DWMA building's many giant red spikes, and was currently shouting her head off.

Rose and Misuto looked around at the voice.

"What in Darkness is that?" Misuto asked. As he did so the spike began to crack from the added weight, and the figure fell with it to the ground.

"I hope she's ok." Rose said. Someone giggled behind her.

"Don't worry she's fine. She does this every morning. Just like her father used to." Rose turned around. The speaker was woman of around 30. She had ash-blonde hair tied up in pigtails, and was wearing a yellow sweater, a red skirt, and a long back trench coat. The woman held out her hand. "My name's Maka Evans, I'm a teacher here at the DWMA."

Rose took it and they shook hands. "I'm Rose Bennett."

Misuto stood up and introduced himself with a bow.

Maka smiled and shook his hand. "Are you two new students?"

"Yes, we just got here." Rose replied.

"Welcome to Death City. I'm glad to meet both of you. You'll have fun here, trust me."

"What kind of classes do you teach?" Misuto asked.

"I teach the two-star EAT Meisters." Maka answered. "That's the like senor class at high school. Are either of you weapons?"

"I am." Misuto volunteered.

"I'm not." Rose said.

"So a weapon and a Meister. Are you partners?" Maka asked.

"I guess so." Rose said. "We don't really know what that means yet."

"Well you'll find out. But I think you are partners. In fact." She closed her eyes and then opened them again after a second. "Oh my Death."

"Something wrong?" Misuto asked, his voice suddenly worried.

"No, it's nothing." Maka said reassuringly "Anyway I think you two will be great partners. I can sense your Souls are already in Harmony."

"Harmony?" Rose asked.

"It's when two Souls are linked and can work together." Maka explained. "In the case of a Weapon and Meister, it means that the two can fight together, and maybe even achieve Soul Resonance. But you'll find out more in your first class."

"Um, ok." Rose said. "Oh, we need to get to orientation!" She remembered.

"Down the first hall, third door on the left." Maka supplied helpfully.

"Thank you." Misuto said and turned to go.

"Hey, Rose, can I talk to you a second?" Maka asked. Misuto turned back, looking unsure at Rose.

"Go on ahead Misuto." Rose said "I'll catch up in a minute."

"Ok." Misuto glanced back at them before hurrying into the cool interior of the DWMA

"You can see my Soul right?" Rose asked Maka. The older woman nodded.

"So Misuto doesn't know?" Maka asked.

"No, at least I don't think so." Rose replied. "Are there other people who can see Souls here?"

"Yep. But don't worry, I'll talk to them. You can tell people when you're ready." Maka smiled reassuringly.

"Thanks Mrs Evans." Rose said, also smiling.

"It's nothing. And please, call me Maka."

"Ok, thank you Maka." Rose said, then waved and ran off to join Misuto.

Well here it is. If you haven't read my previous fic (renamed Kingdom Eater: Bits and Pieces) it gives some background on our heroes, Rose and Misuto. Oh yeah, this is based mostly on the Soul Eater anime canon, but I will steal some details from the manga. This is going to a long story and hopefully the first of a trilogy. I'm going to try and update it every week. Any feedback would be great.