Disclaimer: I do not own Soul Eater or the Monster Hunter franchise

The Queen of Disaster

by. Lacrow

Have you seen this monster before?

"In all my years of research, I've never heard of such a creature," Professor Stein dropped the ball, casually flipping through one of his encyclopedias.

The Hunter's Guild wasn't just a bunch of guys with swords running around chopping monster's heads off. It was literally the governing body of the main continent, Minegarde, and a very profitable business as well. It was established long ago in order to keep peace within civilization by keeping giant creatures at bay, while at the same time learning everything there was to know about them in order to further benefit mankind. In that regard, the Guild always kept an army of researchers and professors at their disposal, so as to better prepare themselves for new natural threats.

Of them, Professor Franken Stein was one of the chiefs. His brain was an amalgamation of all things monster related, that and anything morbid. World renowned for his studies on monster kinetics and the interaction of hunters with said beasts, he was the go-to man for situations such as the one Maka faced at the moment. The best part was, she knew he'd keep their consultation a secret; not because of some sort of Hippocratic oath, heavens no. Rather, it was because he'd want to keep such an amazing discovery to himself. The living soul of an elder dragon...what a find!

Though it's not like the world didn't already know about her and Soul Eater. How could she have kept it a secret all these months? Hell, the very first week she'd had him, it boiled down to her bragging to Sid that he'd made the worst deal of his life. And of course when he didn't believe her, she made the dead dragon in her scythe play a melody for him. The shop keep then ran out of his own store, not having expected the keyboard to start moving on its own. It'd taken her a whole day to convince him it wasn't a ghost; just Soul Eater, her new partner in crime.

From then on the two were inseparable. What's more, their names spread quickly up the Guild ranks. It wasn't long before Maka's missions became more involved, meaning stronger monsters and more income to spend on things like weapons, a better place to live, and even a nice little stand for the scythe that'd made it all possible. Speaking of whom, she hadn't forgotten about Soul Eater's dilemma. Even though he never mentioned it after their first meeting, Maka was determined to avenge her new friend's death. Which is why she'd come to Stein, to figure out what creature could control red lightning. Though he wasn't nearly the help she thought he'd be; apparently this quest wouldn't be an easy one.

"...Nothing at all, sir?" she prodded wearily, afraid that she'd come all this way to the mainland for nothing. "But you're a genius in your field! You must know of a monster that can control lightning!"

Stein leaned back in his chair. In his mouth rested a cigarette, still burning bright. "The problem isn't finding a monster with lightning; it's finding one that glows red like Soul Eater describes."

"I already told you everything I know. The monster is wolf-like, controls red lightning, and is a fanged wyvern." Her leg shaking, Maka became increasingly impatient.

"There is a monster that matches two of the three descriptions," the professor revealed. He immediately flipped open one of his books and slid it her way.

Maka reached for the thing and clamored to read its contents. To her amazement, the intimidating profile of a monster stared back at her. Its forehead ended in a horn-like structure made of bone plating, yellow in color like the rest that adorned its whole body. With the form of a wolf, hair sprouted symmetrically in certain places, while the rest of it had skin like a typical wyvern. Just as she had been taught, the beast really was a cross between mammal and dragon. If there was going to be any match with Soul Eater's description, it was going to be this one.

Professor Stein, however, immediately popped her bubble. "It controls lightning through the aid of thunderbugs, but there is no known variant with that color scheme."

Maka looked up at him and frowned, but still kept at it. "So it's not an exact match, big deal. It's our closest lead so far, so tell me everything you know about it."

"Zinogre is the beast's name," Stein replied, his glasses gleaming white. "As far as I know it hunts in mild climates, but that wouldn't add up considering the White Fatalis resides in colder areas."

A fact Maka knew all too well, considering she had the best source of information there was regarding elder dragons. According to both Soul Eater and the limited facts available to the Guild, his kind were more comfortable at the peaks of towers and mountains. They were solitary, and liked to live in places where they could be alone from both hunters and other creatures. They would travel great distances to find their meals, and then return to their cold, lonely nests for extended periods of time. They would do this their entire lives, or until somebody ruined their peace.

To be so hardy as to scale a mountain, a creature must have considerable bulk and tolerance to freezing weather. Ergo, the monster they were tracking down must spend most of its life in tundra-like areas of the globe. This is the main reason why, for the past few months, Maka had specifically been taking missions that required her to travel to snowier areas. Most of them were just gathering missions; rare berries or minerals that took long periods of time to find, meaning she could roam around freely and scope out the wildlife without having to worry about time restraints.

"I'm well aware that you aim to help this curiosity of yours," Stein smiled, referring of course to Soul Eater. "I find it refreshing. It's about high time the Guild gets on board with what you're doing."

Maka raised a brow. The thing about Professor Stein was he had his own agenda. Not to say that was a bad thing, but it was slightly off putting. "And what does that mean, exactly?"

He shrugged, "It means that we should start finding symbiosis with nature instead of trying to control it all the time. Brute force is effective, but not for everything."

"Oh, right..." Maka trailed off. She looked out the window of Stein's office, before turning back to him. "...Is that why you've requested to accompany my party?"

The man with gray hair in his thirties gave a smirk. Likewise, Maka smiled back. She knew all too well of Professor Stein's reputation as a 'hands on' researcher, which is why it hadn't surprised her when she discovered he wanted in on the next big mission. Even though this was the first time they'd met face-to-face, the two of them had maintained communication in the previous weeks. Mostly their conversations revolved around Soul Eater and how best to help him. Both had agreed that finding the monster that'd killed him would be both thrilling and rewarding for everyone involved.

But again, Maka that it was a double-edged sword. While Stein may have wanted to help legitimately help her out, it was obvious that the scholar in him wanted to see for himself what kind of creature could kill an elder dragon. And, if the creature could be killed by a hunter, what kind of weapons could be forged from it in order to better fend off future monster attacks. A rather narrow viewpoint of things, but that's how the researchers were. Maka knew it was for the safety of innocent people and was fine with being tugged along, so long as it benefited Soul Eater.

"Oh, by the way, the Guild has approved our bid for the mission," Stein remembered, slamming a fist into his open palm. "My presence on the team makes three."

Maka nodded, "Right, you, me, and Black Star. He's one of hunters stationed in the village with me, I've known him longer than I'd like to admit. Do you know what the target monster is?

The professor looked up towards the ceiling and scratched the gruff on his chin, "I didn't get to look at the mission myself, but Black Star was the one who handled it. I believe it was a Jade Barroth?"

"A brute wyvern, huh? That'll be interesting; I haven't hunted one of those before..." Maka trailed off into a mumble, concerned about the level of difficulty with this particular mission. It wasn't going to be an easy one.

Brute Wyvern is a classification reserved for large, dinosaur-like creatures with vestigial arms and giant builds. Most of them prey only on bugs and vegetation, but there a few that actively hunt live prey. Thankfully, Barroth's were inclined to the former, meaning that they wouldn't be a problem abandoning in case things got out of hand. However, being a subspecies of the main family, Jade Barroth's were typically stronger than their Savannah-dwelling cousins. They had to be, since their tundra-like ecosystem was harsh and unforgiving.

The mission would take weeks to complete, with most of that time simply traveling back and forth between base camp and the hunting grounds where they would, hopefully, find their target. That would give both her and Professor Stein enough time to scope out the wildlife and make proper estimations about where to look for Zinogre next. While they were doing that, Black Star would do the actual tracking and cornering of the Jade Barroth, since he neither cared about nor had the patience to do research. His skills were better suited for killing things.

"I'll make the necessary preparations. In the meantime, you head back to the village and load up on supplies," Stein instructed, tossing his cigarette out before reaching to take her hand.

"Will do professor," Maka shot back. She obliged by shaking his hand, before adding, "With the four of us though, I don't think we'll run into any problems on this mission."

By four, she was of course including Soul Eater.

"So this Black Star character...is that his actual name, or what?" Floating upside down, the semi-transparent man occupied himself by wafting through the air on a whim.

Maka stopped loading her backpack for a moment, in order to seriously give it some thought. "...You know what, I don't really know. I mean, I never questioned it."

"Well that'd be a pretty stupid name for a human," he snorted. Spinning upright, his feet were completely silent as he landed on the floor.

"As if Soul Eater is any better," Maka parried, smirking at the mirror next to her and, likewise, the man's face.

But instead of being offended, he simply grinned. "For a dragon, I'd say that's a pretty bitchin' name."

The hunter shook her head in mock annoyance. She turned her attention back to the giant backpack in front of her, trying to figure out what to bring on their expedition to the north. Meanwhile, left to his own devices, Soul Eater wandered around the decently sized shack they now lived in. It'd been a bitch trying to find one that wasn't already occupied, he recalled. In the end, Maka had broken down and paid to have one built, since the last one she'd lived in was nothing more than a bed with a roof over her head. This new one was homey, big enough to take a few steps in anyway.

And on the subject of Black Star, that was the first and last time Soul Eater had seen him. From the safety of the scythe, he'd watched as the blue-haired hunter came in and did all the dirty work of carrying supplies. The guy was strong, he'd give him that no doubt; he never thought humans could carry around tree trunks like they were play things. But even so, it was still Maka who bossed him around, which was amazing. She would yell at him while hammering items into place and the oaf would growl back at her, but Soul Eater knew he was whipped.

Now that he'd thought about it, they'd been friends for a long time. Isn't that what she'd said? Something about growing up together. Humans, so weird, sticking with people their whole lives. The concept was foreign to him, since he spent all his time as a dragon away from all other forms of life. But even so, the thought of Black Star and Maka, two humans, a boy and a girl, knowing each other for that long, unexpectedly got under his skin. Soul Eater stopped his meaningless walk around the place and turned towards Maka, still occupied with her packing.

And just like that, he reverted back into a dragon; protective, needy. "You're my hunter, right?"

"Mhm," Maka replied absently, not taking her eyes off the bag. Soul Eater's face twisted, unsatisfied with her answer.

"We don't need anybody else, right? I mean, you've got me. We killed a Royal Ludroth by ourselves, so why do we need Stein or Black Star?"

Maka lifted her head up to casually explain it to him that, for one thing, a Jade Barroth was a much bigger deal than any sort of Ludroth. But before the words could make it past her lips, she saw his face. Not angry, per say, though almost sort of hurt. Jealous. She wanted to stare and take it all in, but the scene was too adorable. If she looked at him any longer, she'd burst into laughter and possibly make her partner even angrier. No, she didn't want that. However, it wasn't out of the question to prod him a little more, see how far she could push him. It was a cruel joke, really.

But that's what made it so perfect. "Aw, is my little dragon worried about Black Star having a crush on me?"

"...What?" Soul Eater replied, eyes wide as saucers. "You never told me he liked you. You just said that he was a friend!"

"He is a friend. A very good, old friend. Who happens to have huge muscles..." Maka teased, trying her damnedest not to laugh outright.

It was priceless, the look on her partner's face. Somewhere between dumbstruck and horrified, the fair headed ghost of a dragon stood in complete silence. His mouth remained open, and on more than one occasion he tried to say something, but he always ended up catching himself before saying something he'd regret. Maka loved it, though knew not to push him too much. It'd be cruel and besides, it looked like Soul Eater'd reached his limit. Despite appearing the suave man in black, deep down he was still an animal; a slave to his loyalty like any would be.

She brushed her hair out of the way as she sighed, "Oh please, like I'd ever have feelings for Black Star. The boy's a total meat-head."

Soul Eater stared hard at Maka for a moment. It was like he was trying to gauge her sincerity, "You two look like you make a pretty good team."

"Yeah well, I've got you." Smiling, the hunter dropped everything and put his mind to rest. "Just because I have friends, doesn't mean anyone could take your place."

Almost immediately, the apparition of a man turned away from her and began grumbling under his breath. He wasn't mad. Maka could tell that immediately, in fact, the tiniest hint of red splashed across the furthest corners of his cheeks. She giggled to herself, quite content that she could get such a reaction out of him so soon in their partnership. As far as dead people go, he was pretty okay. And being the apparition of a monster, something she swore she'd kill without hesitation, his presence there was grounding for her. Soul Eater was different, and she liked that.

Likewise, for a human, Maka could've been worse. At least, that's what the red-faced man thought to himself as she turned back around to actually get some work done. Despite his pride, Soul Eater bit his tongue whenever in her company. Granted he didn't hate humans, that'd already been established, but it's not like he was fond of them to start with. Maka thought was an exception; from the moment the two of them had killed those Jaggis in the forest, he knew she wasn't like other hunters. Killer instinct was one thing, but combining that with womanly charm was...weird.

It worked for her though. He liked that about her. Again, it could be worse. And as he stared at her over his shoulder, after having gathered the courage to ignore the tiniest red in his cheeks, Soul Eater decided that if there was any human in this world that he'd have swinging him around, it'd be her. He smirked at the nonchalant look on Maka's face as she finished packing the fifty pounds worth of stuff and casually swung the pack over her shoulder. Now that preparations were done, she would need proper armor for the journey. He had just the set in mind.

"It's gonna be cold, more so than usual." Soul Eater turned back around as Maka swung to face him, trying not to let her see his face. "Definitely wear Barioth armor for this trip."

Almost like someone had died in front of her, the young hunter's face contorted into mixed shock and horror, "What? Are you kidding me? Why would I wear that!"

"You have killed a Barioth before, right? The pseudo-wyvern of the north? Their armor is perfect for cold weather," the man in black replied with an unseen grin.

"Of course I have, but that's not the point!" Maka shouted back desperately, her face growing slightly red. "It's designed for combat, and...and-!"

Soul Eater turned around, the smile on his face only adding insult on top of insult, "-And that's exactly why you should wear it, right?"

Maka gave a desperate sort of growl. She did not want to wear that armor, for any reason, least of all because Soul Eater wanted to see her in it. Either some sick joke on his part or simply because dragons didn't know the first thing about embarrassment, Maka wasn't going to buy into it...at first. She was fully prepared to simply drop the subject and simply buy something from Sid on the trip out, but before she could reach around to grab her stuff again, Soul Eater was reeling her back in with that stupid wisdom that she hated him for having.

"We both know it'll keep you warm. Besides, it's perfect for your fighting style." With a waning smirk, he did his best to talk her down.

And though she gave a huff at first, slowly but surely Maka came around to his point of view. "...I guess you're right, Soul Eater."

"Good," the apparition reassured her...before ruining it with, "Because you're the only woman I know with the ass for it."

It took a second to process, though immediately Soul Eater knew what was to come. First the red in Maka's cheeks turned a hue that almost looked purple, followed by the slightest twitch of a vein on her forehead. He didn't mind when a crushing fist curled at her side, nor when it came to meet his face at breakneck speed. It didn't hurt, he was already dead, which is why he couldn't stop snickering as he disappeared into thin air, leaving his hunter there to stand by herself and seethe in unbridled fury and embarrassment. That idiot.

They ended up leaving the next day. Even twenty-four hours later, as she walked out, the other villagers swore they'd never seen her face so red.

A.N.

Hey, sorry for the delay. I've got a lot on my plate and now that Soul Eater is ending it's getting really hard to motivate myself to write for it. I think once this story is over and Eventide (eventually) finishes, that'll be it from me. In the meantime though, this chapter was going to be a lot longer, but due to time and my laziness I ended up splitting it in half so I could at least present you folks with something palpable till I finish. Please excuse the somewhat abrupt ending, because it'll wind up flowing right into the next chapter. Hope you enjoyed