CHAPTER 2
Parole
1
"Well, this is quite strange."
"What's up, Doc?"
"I'm... not sure."
Professor Stein was going over the results of Siegfried's weekly checkups. Every checkup ended with Stein telling him the same news: "I still cant figure out what's wrong with you other than the fact that you're coughing blood pretty frequently and your heart is beating at an abnormally slow pace. I don't know if you are contagious but it's still a risk that I do not wish to take. You're going to have to stay in bed and-" blah blah blah. Same old same old. But this time, things were much different.
"It looks like your heart is beating at it's normal pace again," Stein continued, "and your soul is... almost perfectly stable. Have you been coughing blood frequently?"
Siegfried, who was lying in bed, placed an arm over his eyes (he thought best in that position) and tried to remember the last time he coughed blood. It came to him pretty quickly; it was hard to forget coughing into your hand, feeling that iron taste in your throat and seeing blood on your palm.
"...Not as often. I think maybe... once every... four hours?"
"Hm. Well, in that case, I suppose... you'd be able to leave the infirmary
(cell)
more often. You'll be able to leave for most of the day, but you need to spend nights here."
He sat up quickly, thinking that his ears were deceiving him. "Seriously!? Thanks, Doc! Does that mean I can start attending classes? More training with Jaxx?" He could hardly contain his excitement.
"Calm down, would you? I only said you could leave the infirmary during the day. Attending classes is a whole different story. I'll tell Lord Death you're on your way to discuss it with him, that is, if you're willing to start taking classes."
Siegfried may have not been familiar with attending classes with other students thanks to his father's homeschooling, but he certainly knew that he could handle sitting at a desk surrounded by other students and listening to lectures. He was most excited about heading to the library; just knowing that he could turn his head while reading and say hello the person next to him. No longer would he have to be saddened by the sound of cracking open an old book.
"Yeah, I'll be looking forward to it," Siegfried replied.
2
As Siegfried walked down the long path to the Death Room (quite merrily, actually; this was the first time he walked down in weeks), memories flashed in his head. He remembered being sick in bed, only he wasn't 16 years old. No, this was five years ago, in his own room, his own house. He recalled how particularly angry his father had been at his son for falling ill after only one year of homeschooling. Back then, the sickness was at its worst; he coughed up blood and vomited so many times per hour that he lost count, his heart was beating very slowly and he had trouble breathing. After a month or two, the sickness began to fade and it was back to homeschooling and sword play for another four years. Despite all of his training, however, the sickness still kept its mark on him; thanks to all of the vomiting, Siegfried remained very slim. Frederick Cyprus reminded him of this constantly as he told stories of his ancestors (who were all very muscular during their teenage years).
Of course, appearance was not much of an importance to Siegfried. Even after he saw her for the first time walking down the hall,
(ponytails)
Siegfried thought the whole thing was trivial. Even in his hardheaded father's eyes, everything was fine as long as he knew how to use a Zweihänder. Despite the fact that his ancestors had been muscular, his father had told him, they never got into fights involving their fists. That was "the idiots game". I doubt my ancestors ever had to deal with a disease like that before, Siegfried wanted to say to his father. But talking back to Frederick Cyprus was like going up a creek without a paddle.
Siegfried loved his father all the same. Past the homeschooling and shitty family rules, Siegfried would never have been able to find a suitable meister (yes, Jaxx was considered suitable) if it weren't for him. I'm going to prove to the old man that Lord Death was the best thing to happen to our family for generations.
3
The Death Room was Siegfried's 2nd favorite room in the Academy. Lord Death (or "Shinigami-sama" to others) was a gentle giant to Sig from day one. Frederick would tell his son many stories about how much of a fool the Reaper was, but those stories were always tuned out. Whenever DWMA commercials appeared on TV, little Siegfried would sit and watch transfixed. Now, years later, he was even more excited to talk with him.
"Hey there, Siegfried! You look quite well today!" His appearance was worth a few chuckles.
"Thanks, Lord Death. I assume you got Doc's message?"
"You got it!"
A long pause.
"So," Siegfried said, "Does this mean that I can start taking classes? I feel fine, the coughing fits are pretty rare, and I would love to start learning about the wise, powerful, awesome leader who created the Academy that I am learning in today."
"I'll give you 10 points for sucking up. But I can't exactly put you in a class just yet."
"Oh come on! Pleeeease Lord Death, this is my chance to interact with other students!"
"Let me finish. I said I can't put you in a class yet because the students are too far into their lessons. Throwing you into your first class while everyone's ahead will cause panic. Things will be totally out of whack. Let's see..."
Another long pause, this time with Lord Death holding his chin. He offered some tea to Siegfried, who politely (and rather impatiently) declined. He could hardly resist tapping his foot in irritation, but that would be extremely disrespectful (and would probably earn him a coveted Reaper Chop).
"Ah! I have an idea. I could set you up with a tutor of sorts, someone who could tour the Academy with you and sort of get you up to speed. How does that sound?"
Sig wrinkled his nose, a bit displeased with the results. I'm completely and utterly healthy, and all I get is a stupid tour? I should be out studying and training with my Meister right now. Of course, his fear of the Reaper Chop was just too great, so he gave the widest smile that he could possibly muster. "That sounds fine. Who's my tutor? Jaxx?"
"Well, although it would be a good idea to have your Meister be your tutor, I need someone who has full knowledge of myself and the Academy. He's a much better choice."
"...And he or she is...?"
"My son, Death the Kid."
He lowered his eyes. Oh yeah, this is going to be just great.