Chapter 2

"Who the hell gives you the right to boss me around?" Leiko screamed in the new student's face, nose to nose. However, she didn't look as intimidating on her tip toes.

The new student, Dante, towered over her. He was almost as tall as her father, at five feet and ten inches tall. He had soft, almost puffy orange-red hair that had two tufts sticking up, resembling devilish horns. His gleaming, dark orange eyes glared down at Leiko, intolerance radiating from them. He wore a pitch black hoodie with a white, curved stripe going across his chest, an orange shirt peaking out from underneath, and matched them with black jeans, which were sagging a bit. His black sneakers almost melded with his pants.

"Lord Death just did," he said, walking past Leiko, shoving her a bit. He approached the DWMA leader, and bowed in respect. "I assume you're Lord Death, and the current Death Scythe?"

"Correct," Kidd said. Soul was growling under his breath, but Kidd elbowed him in the side. "My only request for you, Dante, other than being a good student, is to get along with Leiko. Respect her like you would your mother."

"Of course," he said unenthusiastically. Dante's eyes darted to the ground, and nodded.

"Alright, dismissed. Leiko, take Dante to Stein's class, since you two will have the same schedule." Kidd said, smirking. Leiko huffed and crossed her arms, leaving the Death Room. Dante followed, meter behind her. "Remember, respect the Death Scythe's daughter!"

The day had ended, and Leiko was walking with Jaxton and Noemi. Jax and his weapon had shared an apartment, the one across the street from Leiko's. Why Leiko wasn't living at home is a matter of pride.

Maka and Soul offered for her to live at home, as most students do. However, Leiko wanted to make her own reputation, her own life. She had realized how babied and censored she was as a famous icon's daughter. Wanting to live up to her parents' legacy, she needed to know how to fend for herself. The medium sized apartment was only a half hour walk's worth away from her parents' home.

The three reached the apartment complexes, and had said their goodbyes. Leiko jogged up the three flights of stairs, and unlocked the door to her apartment. When she opened the door, Leiko's scream filled the halls. Dante covered his ears, falling off of the chair next to the kitchen island.

"What the hell," he yelled, throwing his hands into the air.

"How did you get into my apartment?" Leiko screamed, throwing her keys onto the coffee table.

"I had a key," he said, standing up.

"There's only one," she answered, glaring at Dante. "For good reason. Now get outta my apartment!"

Before Dante could make any sort of comeback, his stomach roared. It gurgled so loud and hard, he had to hold his stomach. Leiko sighed, and walked into the kitchen. She took out several ingredients, like flour, water, and yeast.

"You like pizza?" Leiko asked, tying her hair back into a high ponytail, only to have her bangs fall back into place.

"Um, yeah." Dante said, standing next to Leiko. "Why?"

"I'm making dinner," she replied, throwing flour into a bowl with some salt, vinegar, yeast, and warm water. "What kinda toppings?"

"I don't care," he said quietly, watching Leiko cook. "Cheese, I guess."

"That's boring," Leiko criticized. "Slice up some potatoes for me. They're in the wall cabinet, on the ground."

Dante nodded, and grabbed the bag of small red potatoes. He washed four or five of them, and grabbed a chef's knife. Leiko put a hand on the knife's handle, looking at Dante.

"Take your hoodie off, the sleeves will just fall down and get dirty," she said.

"Right." Dante said.

He grabbed the bottom of his sweatshirt, and threw it over his head, slightly pulling up his shirt in the process. Leiko's face flushed red when she witnessed the outlines of a six pack on her new partner's body, a quick flash before his orange tank-top fell over them. She snapped her head back to making the pizza dough, her eyes closed. Dante threw his hoodie back on the couch, and started to slice potatoes.

There was about twenty minutes of silence between the two of them, before Dante spoke up. Leiko was cleaning dishes while he sat at the island, watching her.

"Why are you so nice all the sudden?"

" 'Scuse me?" Leiko asked, putting rinsed dishes in the dishwasher.

"Before you seemed like you wanted to do everything but see me, let alone let me be your meister," he said.

"Well, I can't change my partner until we've actually fought together," she said, turning to face him. "Plus, I could hear your stomach from a mile away. Why didn't you just go to your place, anyway?"

"I was bored." Dante replied, shrugging his shoulders. Leiko rolled her eyes, and set the timer for about fifteen minutes. "So, I've heard some rumors about you already."

"Were they bad?" Leiko asked, somewhat worried.

"They told me no one has ever resonated with you," Dante said. It stung Leiko's pride, unable to wield a weapon or be used in battle. She's done it once, with her parents in the past. However, now that they've changed since their teenage years, the chance of any of their souls resonating with each other is minimal.

"Yeah," she muttered, looking down. "That's been a problem."

"Do you know why?"

"I'd rather not talk about it," she replied, throwing her oven mitts on the counter. Leiko sat on the couch, and picked up a folder from under the coffee table. Upon opening it, papers slid out from the vanilla folder. "Crap."

"What're those?" Dante asked, picking some up. "Music sheets?"

"Yeah," she muttered, ripping them from his hand. "I play the harp a bit."

"You wanna show me?" Dante asked with a devilish and sarcastic grin.

"Sure, when you're the weapon," she replied. Leiko put all the papers back into order, and looked for a certain piece. "I don't play for anyone. I planned to only play for my partner, but you'll have to earn my partnership, considering you were such a dick."

Dante rolled his eyes, and grabbed his hoodie. As he redressed himself, Leiko hid the folder of notes and staffs in a hidden drawn under the coffee table. The timer on the stove started to beep, making her jump.

"Pizza's done," she said, walking to the oven. She put on the mitts, and took the steaming piece of perfection out of the oven. She could see Dante practically drooling out of the corner of her eye. Rolling her eyes, she cut two pieces for each of them, using a butter knife and paper plates. She passed one plate to her partner, and carried her own to the kitchen island. "How is it?"

"It smells amazing," he said, taking a bite. Shivers went down his spine as it warmed his stomach, melting his tastebuds in the best way. "It's like I'm eating materialized food from the heavens."

"Um, thanks?" Leiko said, chuckling.

Dante left later that night, about a half hour after they finished eating. He didn't tell Leiko where he planned on going, or even if he had anywhere to go exactly. She did have an extra room she used for storage, but he scurried out before she could even offer.

Leiko jumped into her pajamas for the night: a red cami with black sweat pants, showing just a bit of her stomach. She went to the bathroom and brushed her teeth and hair one last time before bed. She watched the girl looking at her in the mirror, mimic her every move. After finishing her nightly routine, she sat on the end of her bed, looking out the window.

Her mind wandered from Jax and Noemi next door, probably already asleep. She wondered if they sent Dante over in the first place, an effort to get each other acquainted.

Or maybe he was just being a jerk, like his first impression depicted him as.

"Why was he so nice and flip floppy though," she muttered to herself. "One minute he's a sarcastic tool, then he gets all sweet and compliments me." Leiko groaned, and rubbed her temples. "Boys."

Leiko fell back onto her bed, a fleece blanket's corners creeping around her legs and feet. Her toes fondled the softness, making her giggle from a ticklish feeling in between her toes. She yawned, and crawled under the blankets, bringing the sheets up to her nose. She closed her eyes, and fell asleep in moments.

Dante walked the streets of Death City, his bones aching. The power he held within him couldn't stay hidden for long. He needed to get out of range.

He cracked his neck, sighing in relief. His slender fingers wrapped around the edge of his hood, pulling it over his head, revealing ears of a Tasmanian Devil. His eyes shifted from side to side, watching for any sort of under cover DWMA meisters and weapons.

"I suppose you thought I wouldn't notice," a voice said from an alley. This voice was a gruff, manly one, obviously over the age of forty. Dante refused to turn to face the man. His looked at the ground, hiding his face beneath the hood. "You can't suppress what you really are, son."

"I am not your son," Dante replied angrily. "I have no father."

"Of course you do; me." A man similar to Dante's height stepped from the shadows. His worked and sleep-deprived face looked nothing like his son's, his skin lighter, and eyes dark brown. His hair was a salt and pepper gray, as well as his scruffy beard.

"I have no parents," Dante muttered, continuing his walk. The man grabbed his wrist, stopping him in his tracks. "Don't you dare touch me."

"Dante, I can feel your real soul practically imploding. If you don't release your Soul Protect soon, your soul will for you," his father said slyly. "Why not embrace your mother's gifts?"

"Because they're a damned curse, Patrick." Dante said. "My mother was an evil witch, and you a traitor meister."

"I am not a traitor," Patrick said through clenched jaws. "I realized who was right, and who was desperately wrong. If you'd realize that witches are the real good in this world-"

"They're hideous souls!" Dante shouted, making his father jump. Patrick smirked.

"Then why don't you burn that sweatshirt? It's a dead giveaway, ya know." Dante's anger melted into shame. He looked down, and away from his father. "Because you know you'd die without it. You know your whole soul depends on that power your mother handed down to you."

"No, I refuse to turn into her" he said sternly. Then, Dante smirked. "That's why I enrolled in the DWMA." His father's smirk faded into a serious and shame filled frown.

"If your mother was alive, she'd plan to kill you for this," he said, trying to strike fear into his son. Dante shook his head, and ripped his hand free.

"If she were alive, I'd be the first to kill her."

Author's Note: A plot twist? This early in a story?! Why would I, of all writers, do such a thing?!

Hehe, you'll find out in later chapters :3 Anyway, like in my previous stories, I pick names and appearances and such that, most of the time, resemble one theme or idea, which impacts the story in a symbolic way. Try to figure those out as you read ;) Remember: Read, Review, and Enjoy!

~ Nicole