SE: A Tainted Soul, A Pure Promise

Chapter 2: Starting Anew

As the doors to the Academy swung open, I knew that I was in my rightful place.

I knew I could finally be me.

I stepped off of the plane and inhaled until my lungs were at its full capacity, then I let out great sigh of contentment. I'm home free, at last. I displayed my shark teeth in an ample grin and continued on through the port to get my bags checked through. Right now, I don't have a care in the world. Hold on... I set my bags on the conveyer belt for the x-ray and passed through the body check. I don't have a place to go...

I called for a taxi cab and left the gates of the airport. What's the point when I have no idea where I'm going...? I sat on the edge of a nearby concreted-flowerbed. Checking my watch, it was about one in the afternoon. Questions raced through my conscience; where will I go? What am I gonna do from here? Why didn't I think everything through? Dammit...how will I survive on my own...? Just then, I recalled my mother packing a notebook she's written in. It was more like a diary. It was a black and gray plaid-patterned journal with a red leather belt that buckled at the front cover.

When you feel lost, read this, My Darling.

I smiled. How did she know that I'd be clueless about where to go...? "I guess it's because I'm such a 'Mommy's Boy,'huh?" At that moment, the taxi pulled up. I entered and shut the car door behind me. I strapped myself in for the ride and jammed my luggage next to me.

"Sir, where're we off to?" The cab driver glanced at me through the rear-view mirror. I stared at the back of his head still uncertain of my destination.

"Uh, to Death City...uhm...j-just keep driving. I'll figure out where to go."

With the tilt of his cap, he drove off and away from the airport. I began to rummage through my bags and pinpointed the guidebook from mom. Aha, there you are. I unbuckled the stationary and revealed the contents of what my nurturer had composed. Unexpected greens came spilling out from the behind the cover of the notebook. "What the...?" I mumbled to myself. That's right...I don't have American money. Why did mom have U.S. Dollars on her? "Oh...huh? What's this?" A note was written on the next page.

Soul, here is $300 in cash and a check for $200. I have an American bank account from when your father and I came to sight-see. It's my private bank account and it is under my name. The pin number is 1049. Use the cash wisely while you can. Try to find some way to make money. Be careful.

I was delighted to see that she was so prepared for something like this. It's like she saw the future or something...I swear, she's the best mom anyone could ever ask for. I began to shut the book when her penmanship noted in red ink had caught my eye. Oh, what's this?

Once you get into Death City, go to Shibusen. It is a combat training school in the center of the entire city. There, I believe that they can help you for a short time with living quarters. But you're going to have to find an apartment of some sort. Good luck, sweetheart.

Shibusen, huh? I thought to myself. I looked put of the window just so that I could find that we were driving through the desert. She never mentioned anything about it being in the middle of a freaking desert!

"Hey, cab driver, do you mind dropping me off at, uh, Shibusen?"

"No problem, sonny." He gave a polite grin and tipped his hat once more.

I replied with a nod and sat back. After about 20 more minutes, we finally arrived at the outskirts of town.

And that's when I saw it. That combat academy mother talked about in her notebook. Shibusen. It was enormous! I liked the design though...two three-holed, three-toothed white skulls surrounded another three-toothed skull of the same color which had red spikes sticking out through the holes. There were also four giant burning candles placed all around the castle-like building. There were about eight black, red, and white towers varying in height. Damn, I just couldn't stop staring at it. Now this was cool.

We neared the building faster than I had expected. Now sitting in the taxi up close, I saw the many flights of stairs. "Sir, the drive will be $25."

"Cool, here you go." I handed him the said amount of cash I had on me. That reminds me, I should get a wallet to keep all of this at least somewhat tidy.

"Thank you. Have a nice day."

"You too." I retrieved my baggage and left the car, shutting the door behind me. I stared at the steps leading to where I would construct my new life. Feeling confident, I sauntered up the staircase rather than dragging my feet like usual. I was excited for something in my life for once. I was ready...and I was eager...to leave the name Evans.

I finally came to the colossal doors of the Academy. Once I enter this foundation and enroll...everything I once knew can all disappear. The high expectations, the darkness that Wes had casted over me all of my life, and lastly, my stupid, brutal father can all be forgotten. I stretched my hand forward and touched the handle and pushed. As the doors to the Academy swung open, I knew I was in my rightful place. A fresh beginning and a change of my name. I don't have to live up to these superior apprehensions. I can act however the hell I want to from now on. And in spite of all that's happened, I knew I could finally be me.

I wandered the halls aimlessly walking under each corridor searching for the main office. I read the names of the classrooms above each door. Class Crescent Moon? Weird name...a firing range...dojo...dispensary? Well, it is a combatant school...I hiked on still pursuing the headquarters and studied another guidepost. Wait, a dance studio? But isn't this a fighter's school...? Finally, Soul came across a gate with the heading "Death Room" above it. It looked like it should be the main office. I entered to see another hall framed with guillotines.

"Woah...that's cool..." I stared in awe at the architect as I walked. I was introduced to a spaced room with clouds floating about and crosses scattering the ground. A mirror stood in the center of the office. A man appeared out from behind the window. He wore a black raggedy cloak and a eggshell mask that was similar to the skulls on the building. "Uhm, hello-"

"HELLO, HELLO! WAZZUP, WAZZUP, WAZZUP?" This must've been the chairman of the school? "You don't look familiar. Are you new?" I couldn't tell if he were smiling or not, but he sure seemed like he would be under that masquerade. He seemed cool though.

"Are you the Chairman of Shibusen?"

"Yes, yes, I am! What is it that you need?"

"I would like to enroll...here at Shibusen."

The man buckled his body in an awkward angle and spoke again, "OH! Goody! Well then, I guess you're going to need my name. I am Shinigami-sama. Also known as Lord Death. You can call me what you want between those two. So what is your name?"

"I'm Soul Evans." Wait...

"Evans? As in the well-known wealthy family of musicians?"

"Y-yes, but..." No, I was no longer Evans. I wanted to make it unique...I wanted something that you don't see everyday...I got it. "Call me Eater. Soul Eater."

"Okay, , I'll get your paperwork!" Shinigami-sama strutted off to fetch the documents. I thanked him and shoved my fists into my pants pockets.

I patiently waited for the Death God to return, so I set myself astray into my own thoughts. Considering the type of school this is, I think I won't stand out too bad. I mean, it does have a strange setup...and the name of the city it's in...well, Death City. Come on, that's not a normal name for a city...plus it's in the middle of a desert! Ahh, I think I'll enjoy living here... Realization struck me. Shoot, I don't have a place to live yet...

"Okay, -oh, I apologize, I mean Eater, I have the papers right here. Did you need a place? We have dormitories, or if you need a temporary place while you move into an apartment, we have visitors'rooms; they aren't as welcoming as the dorms, though."

"I think I'll stick with the guest rooms." I scratched the back of my head.

"Alrighty, then!" he clapped his foam finger-like hands together and followed up with, "now, I think I should explain how the school works. Shibusen is a combatant school where we train students in different aspects of fighting styles. We have the Army, Navy, Marines...We've got warriors, gladiators, martial artists and ninja assassins. And yes, ninja assassins sounds a little sketchy, but we offer many abnormal honing. Questions so far?" I shook my head so he continued. "You will be partnered with one or two people. They will be the person you train with on a daily basis. In some situations, you will be grouped with two or three pairs. Now, the different rankings range from one to three star meisters, much like a private, corporal or sergeant. The highest ranking is deathscythe, which is the highest ranking a student can get. A deathscythe would work as my personal lieutenant, but it is a difficult rank to achieve. There are only eight deathscythes scattered throughout the world, with two of them in Death City. They are Spirit Albarn and Marie Mjolnir. Marie is a teacher here." He took a breath. "All students get a $200 allowance weekly as pocket money, but spend it wisely. School starts at seven in the morning and...I believe that's it. Questions?"

"Uhm...no, nothing comes to mind." I looked down at the enrollment contract and saw 'full name'and 'pseudonyms.'"Oh, actually, I do have a question. What's up with the name changing?"

"Oh, students are allowed to change their name when they enter Shibusen, but are stuck with it for two years. So if you were to legitimately change your name to 'Eater'from 'Evans,'and you wanted to change it back in the middle of the two years, you would not be able to.

"Oh, alright." I nodded. I then mumbled, "I doubt I'll be changing it back anyways..."

Well, I'll show you to your visitors'room then." Lord Death brought me along corridors and down the the school basement handing me a key to my room. He was right. I wasn't exactly heartwarming. But oh well. As long as I have a place to live, then it's all good.

Soon after, he showed me around the school. He led me to the shower rooms, the restrooms, and the infirmary. Since the visitor's room didn't have a shower in it, I'd have to come up to the washrooms to bathe. I didn't mind though. It'll get me used to the school. As we started our way back to his office, he again asked if I had any questions about the facility. Since I understood what was going on, he handed me a paper.

"What's this, Lord Death?"

"It's the name of your homeroom teacher. It'll take about a week for all your papers to go through the system. You came at a good time. Students are still going to be on vacation for about a week and a half left. School starts back up next Monday."

So that's why the school was so empty. It was a Wednesday and I came here probably thirty after one so I was expecting to see at least a few people venturing the halls. I didn't even see any of the dorming students here. "Oh, alright. So, since I chose all my classes in your office while I signed all the paperwork, I'll get my schedule from this teacher?" I pointed to the name on the note. "Marie M-joll-neer...? M-joll-nire...? M-jol-" Wow, difficult last name...

"Mjolnir. Here, we don't call them by last name like . We call them by first name with the respectful title after. For you, it would be Marie-sensei or Ms. Marie, you get it?"

"Yea, I think so." I looked at the slip again. Marie-sensei. I liked it. It was a lot easier than Mjolnir...

"Well, you can go about Death City and explore if you'd like. Come back at dusk and if you get lost, just come by my office and I'll help you out."

"Thank you, Shinigami-sama."

"Not a problem at all! See yaaa!" he waved jubilantly and was off to his own business.

Yea...I was definitely gonna enjoy myself here.

I strolled along the streets after returning from the bank to deposit that check mom gave me. I passed by an old motel where a man next to a motorcycle stood. Man, that's cool. I wish I had a bike...

"OI, KID! You seem like you need some kinda way to get around. You want this bike?" He gestured toward the beauty. It was an orange and yellow cruiser; it was very sleek and was a two seater. "I'll take $300 for it."

No way! This was awesome! I have $475 on me now because Shinigami-sama had given me my pocket money for the week. "I'll take it!" I pulled out the amount required and finished the exchange in just seconds. "Thanks!" The man nodded and I drove away. I remember driving one back in England once. I was pretty good for a first-timer. "Man, today turned out great. I'm free from dad, I got to enroll in the Academy, I got a temporary room, and I get a bike! This is one of the coolest days ever!" I rode to the market to get some ramen cups and other instant food. I was in the aisle for what I was planning to purchase when a girl with pigtails came up next to me. She had sandy blonde hair and big forest green eyes and peachy cream cheeks. The girl wore pink sweatpants and a pink jogging sweater zipped up the front to about midway up her stomach with a stripe going down the arms. She was kinda cute.

She smiled and politely greeted me, "Hi!" She took a couple of cups of ramen and set them in her basket. I grinned back and greeted her as well while pulling some merchandise from the shelf for myself. She curved her mouth once more at me and walked off. She had an adorable face but she had such small boobs...

I finished at the store so I then rode my cruiser straight to my new living chamber.

"Oh, I'll be starting in the new semester...hopefully I don't catch too much attention," I said as I prepared to sleep. The jet lag really took its toll on me, along with all the excitement that was tied to this day. I tossed and turned a tad to get comfortable. I was exhausted but I just couldn't fall asleep. I was too neurotically energized with all the luck I've had so far. I was satisfied.

I'm actually doing fine on my own. Now that I'm Soul Eater, I can do what I please without an overbearing father scolding me for every wrong move. I'm free.