.

.

"You guys! Look! Stein-hakase is fighting that samurai!"

Maka looked up. The students were crowded around the observatory, faces pressing against the window. Soul jumped out of his seat; Maka rushed after him.

They were fighting at the basketball courts. A crowd of students had gathered, but the yellow KEEP OUT tape prevented them from getting close. Stein and Mifune were both without weapons, Stein grinning and Mifune crouching low. Spirit was standing at the corner, watching.

"Shinigami-sama said he would give Mifune a job if he beat Professor Stein," Spirit said. He crouched next to Maka, pointing. "Look," Spirit said. "You see how Mifune is avoiding Stein-hakase's blows?"

Maka squinted. It looked as if Stein was concentrating his soul's energy into his fist. "If it lands, it'll be a thousand times harder than a normal punch," Maka said. Her father nodded, gravely.

"Yes," Spirit said. "And Mifune-kun found that out the hard way."

Mifune ran, then leaped forward; he kicked but Stein blocked, countering with another punch.

"Mifune is skilled, but he's still an ordinary human," Spirit said. "Shinigami has had him train with me, but he still hasn't mastered using a weapon. He still has problems resonating with other souls, and while his soul perception is as good as a one-star meister's, that's still not enough to be a teacher."

"So that's why they're making him fight," Maka said. She squinted, watching the two men spar. "But how come he's not using his sword?"

"Because Shinigami said, 'no weapons,'" Spirit said. "If he could beat Stein on his own terms, with his own powers, then it will prove to him that he's fit, and that he can teach regardless of his soul abilities. But that doesn't look like it'll happen," Spirit said.

Stein's kick slammed into Mifune's chest, and Mifune flew backwards, slamming his shoulder against the ground.

Stein grinned, then slowly twisted his screw. "Done?" Stein said. Mifune gritted his teeth. His hand fisted on the ground.

He flung a fistful of dirt at Stein's face. Stein staggered backwards, his glasses coated. Mifune scrambled then picked up the first thing his foot touched: a baseball bat, one that some student had left lying near the courtyard.

"Uh oh," Spirit said, motioning. "Maka, it looks like he's got a weapon."

Maka squinted, and she could see Mifune's soul wavelength flaring. It was as if by holding that bat, he could better concentrate his soul energy. "Wow," Maka said.

"He's fighting seriously, now," Spirit said.

Mifune exploded, rushing forward, bat swinging wildly to the side. Stein dodged, once, twice, before the bat slammed into his face. His glasses flew to the ground.

"Uh oh," Spirit said. "Stein's going to get mad."

And Stein did. He reared up again, then pulled off his coat.

"What...?" Maka glanced up at her father, who was watching intently. "Papa, what's he doing?"

"You'll see," Spirit said. He nodded towards them. "Watch."

Stein sprinted forward, coat in his hand. He kicked, again and again, his coat waving behind him like a flag. Mifune dodged them all expertly, but his eyes widened. The coat came out from nowhere and slammed into Mifune's face.

Mifune staggered back, the coat covering him, but Stein grinned. The coat stitched close, and Mifune was on his knees, struggling to get the coat off his face.

Maka watched, awestruck. "He...he sewed it on Mifune-san's head?!"

"Just around his head," Spirit said. "It would have been easy for him to sew his feet to the ground, but Stein wanted to embarrass him."

Mifune struggled on his knees, the coat barely over his ears. Stein walked up and stood over him.

"If this were real, you would be dead," Stein said. Mifune tore off the coat and glared.

"And that's the end," Spirit said. He stepped forward and waved. "Oi! I'm calling it! Stein wins!"

The crowd roared.

Mifune glared. "Kisama..."

"Uh oh! Looks like someone's mad!" Shinigami-sama flew in out from nowhere, hovering just a few inches above the ground. "Mifune-kun! Stein-kun beat you, fair and square."

"But Shinigami-sama..."

"You are just a man," Shinigami-sama said. He lifted his large hand, then pointed. "If you learn to harness your soul wavelength, you may even surpass him, someday. But for now you are still not ready."

Mifune gritted his teeth. Stein stepped up next to him and offered his hand.

"Not just anyone can join Shibusen," Stein said. He helped Mifune up. "I will train you to be an expert meister. You will just have to learn to submit."

Behind the crowd, Black Star and Tsubaki came running. "Oi! How can a man as great as Me miss this fight?" Black Star said. Maka sighed, then watched as Black Star pushed through.

Maka turned, and started to walk, pushing past the other students who started gathering toward the lot. "He's a badass normal," one student said, and Maka nodded to herself. Once Mifune-san learned how to use his soul, he would be one of the most powerful meisters in Shibusen.

Maka couldn't wait. He would be an excellent teacher.

A/N: Mifune is totally a Badass Normal. Ahaha. TV tropes FTW \o/