The day of reckoning had finally came… After an admittedly fun summer vacation, the DWMA was ready to open it's doors again for another year! After the defeat of the Kishin Asura, the school had found a new sense of security. With their biggest threat now gone, and even the Gorgon sisters finally put out of commision, this year was surely going to be a great one for both the faculty and students.
This would also be an exceptionally exciting year for one student in particular. Maka Albarn, the girl who single handedly destroyed the Kishin, was already becoming a big name, not only on campus, but the entire city! She had grown in popularity from the fact that she, a simple student who was only classed as a One Star Meister, overcame the odds and defeated a God.
Soul was well aware of his partners newfound fame and was glad for her. He truly felt that, from how hard she has worked her whole life, she was more than deserving enough for her popularity, and as he made his way up the stone steps leading up to the DWMA, he could tell just by the look on Maka's face, who was closely beside him, that she was incredibly excited for this year to come.
"Ain't it great?!" began Maka giddily as she and Soul reached the ends of the steps and began approaching the academy.
"Summer vacation was fun and all, but I'm glad to be back! Especially now that I finally have access again to the library!"
This made Maka's eyes shimmer a bit and Soul could not help but laugh. Soul thought that his partner was a bit of a book-nerd, but knowing that she usually spent more time reading books than she did watching television, he was not at the least surprised by her tiny nerdgasm over dusty sheets of paper stacked on a shelf.
They inched closer and closer to the Academy, it's giant, skull-shaped exterior now casting a shadow on the two students. They had forgotten how foreboding this place was, for it had been a while since they actually had time to soak in the architecture during the time against Asura. They were not afraid or nervous, but more surprised at the grandeur of the school they had been attending.
Another thing had caught Maka and Soul's interest after reaching the top of those steps. There was nobody on the campus. Usually, there were students scattered all around the front of the school. Either talking about there day or spreading some idle gossip.
There was none of that. Not a single student was out here and it made the place seem deserted.
"Please tell me I'm not the only one freaked out about this." implored Soul as they continued towards the door, which was now a few short feet away from them.
"You're not," Maka answered.
"In fact, I'm getting kind of worried myself. It's a bit… too quiet."
"Are you sure it's not a Sunday or something?"
Maka glared at Soul.
"Soul, that would be dumb. I'm sure today is the day we were supposed to be here. Wednesday, 7:30 on the dot."
Soul simply shrugged.
"Whatever. If everyone is gone, then that means an extra day of vacation for me!"
Soul put his arms behind his head and grinned as he began to make his way back to the staircase, but was stopped abruptly afterwards by Maka's hand which was now grabbing at the collar of Soul's black, leather jacket.
"I don't think so, buster." scolded Maka as she dragged him back to the door.
"We still haven't checked the doors."
"And if they're locked…" Soul began to ask as he adjusted his jacket
"then can we go home?"
"Yes, fine. Then we'll go home." Maka sighed.
Maka walked closer to the door and pushed on the lever. She heard a slight click, indicating the door had not been locked. Maka let out a grin upon hearing this, while her partner was slightly bummed after realizing he would not get an extra day of summer.
Maka then opened the door and what lie inside she could not believe!
Inside, just inside the first grand hallway that lead to the remainder of the building, was every student in the DWMA, holding signs and banners.
All of them cheering Maka's name.
Maka was in shock at the spectacle. Never before had she had this many people even embrace her existence, let alone have her be the center of attention!
Death the Kid was also among the crowd, cheering and clapping for his friend alongside Liz and Patty.
Liz was passively clapping for Maka while Patty happily danced around, chanting Maka's name.
"Patty," said Liz as she tried to calm her sister down by lightly grabbing her shoulder.
"Please try and be polite. This is our first day back and I want to set an impression."
Kid chuckled.
"Oh come now, Liz. Let Patty do as she pleases. No harm, no foul, after all."
Kid continued to clap for Maka with a smirk on his face.
with Asura dead, he thought, order can finally be restored and it's all thanks to her.
The past summer vacation had made Kid very happy. Death City had completely been rebuilt and a new wave of peace had returned. Even the number of Kishin Eggs had been reduced significantly, as told from the very few assignments that had been posted on the bulletin board. Yes, it was indeed a time of celebration.
Maka continued to wave sheepishly at her admirers, sweat beading down her face. Soul had been close behind. He felt quite uneasy about the whole situation. He knew that Maka was not in the least a "social person". She wouldn't even partake in games of basketball amongst her own group of friends.
Soul eased his way next to his partner, who was again smiling nervously and waving to the crowd of people.
"Maka," he began.
"Are you alright? I know all of this must be…" Soul was cut off by Maka Albarn's father, Spirit.
Spirit began throwing flower petals around his daughter as he frolicked around her. It was safe to say he was very proud of his daughters accomplishments, but Maka, on the other hand, was not.
"Dad!" she hissed quietly at Spirit as to not have the others here her.
"What the hell are you doing?! You're embarrassing me!"
Spirits eyes were closed as he continued to throw the crimson and pink rose petals around his cherished Maka.
"Why, I'm simply admiring the accomplishments of the best daughter in the world, that's all!" cooed Spirit in a type of tone a normal person would address an infant, adding to Maka's embarrassing situation.
"Don't you have a class to teach or something?" Maka asked, trying to get separation between her and her father.
Suddenly, it had hit Spirit that class, was indeed, about to start soon.
"Oh my, you're right!" he said, looking at a nearby clock.
Spirit finally stopped with the over exaggeration of his professed love for his daughter and achieved order from the cheering crowd.
"Excuse me," he announced.
"I need you all to calm down for a bit."
After a few quick murmurs, the hallway had become quite. All of the students had their full attention turned towards Spirit, as he pulled some white note cards from the front pocket of his blazer. Spirit cleared his voice and began.
"Attention all students of the DWMA. I, Lord Death, am happy to congratulate all of the wonderful students returning to the Academy and also to the new students who will be attending the NOT class."
Spirit flipped the card and continued reading.
"I hope you all had a wonderful summer vacation, but now it is time to return to what's important. Keeping the world safe from evil souls and creating a Death Scythe for me for your troubles."
Spirit flipped that card as well and continued his announcements.
"NOT class attendees must report to the cafeteria in order to establish Weapon and Meister pairings. These pairings may or may not be permanent. The class will be hosted by DWMA's very own, Sid the Zombie."
Another murmur filled the audience, most likely the students who the message was directed towards.
"As for the returning students, you will head to Professor Stein's classroom for your usual class day."
Spirit flipped once again through the note cards and began reading off some of the miscellaneous material, such as school lunches and some extra curricular activities.
While doing so, Death the Kid was puzzled at why Spirit was the one reading the announcements. Usually it was his father, Lord Death, who would read these announcements. Kid knew his father had been distant over the last couple days, but he did not know to what extent. Kid's mind began to wander.
Spirit had now reached the final card of his announcements, and it was a relatively short one.
"Hope you all enjoy your school year!"
The returning students had done as they were told by Spirit and were now inside Professor Stein's classroom. With Medusa dead, Stein had begun to teach here once again at the academy, and since then, Marie Mjolnir had begun to live with him permanently.
However, none of this mattered to the students at all. The girls had been spreading some gossip of their own and all the men had begun telling stories of their summer vacation. It was five minutes until class started, so it was not uncommon to have all the students commence a conversation. Blackstar and Tsubaki even participated in some of the idle chit-chat, Blackstar, of course, trying to show off his prowess amongst all the others.
Liz and Patty had begun talking to Kim Diehl and her partner Jacqueline, while Death the Kid only sat beside them silently.
Kid had still been puzzling the reason behind his father's absence during the announcements earlier. His father never missed greeting the students on the first day of school, so why now? Kid continued to puzzle on this thought.
In another corner of the room, however, Maka was sitting next to Soul. She tried to stay as quiet as she could, as to keep away from the other students blind affection. Unfortunately, this did not stop the flurry of students coming up to her and wishing her a "good luck", or an occasional, "you're a real hero."
Maka now placed her head in her cupped hand and leaned on it. She was getting real tired of all the students crowding her and only wished for the class to start so they could all return to their seats.
Soul had been trying to lift Maka's spirits by telling jokes or being his normal, goofy self and sometimes these would receive a reaction in the form of a giggle or a slight grin, but mostly, she sat with a blank expression on her face as more and more students passed by telling her how much they loved to hear the story about her.
Soul was slightly confused at why Maka was being so abrasive towards all her admirers, but didn't want to adress it. If he did, he would surely get a patented "Maka Chop" straight to the crown of his head for being so insecure.
Instead, they sat there as more and more students crowded around Maka's desk.
Finally, the bell had rung and all students reported to their original seats. Maka let out a sigh of relief, for now she now she felt as if weight had been taken off her shoulders.
I'm not sure how much more of this I can take. Maka thought as she began to push a pencil back and forth across her desk.
I mean, I know they're just trying to be nice, but still. I'm certainly not cut out to be a hero.
She looked around the room and began to analyze some of her fellow classmates.
I'm definitely not as strong as Blackstar or Kid. They've been going through some pretty tough training regiments together, and I…
Maka looked back at the desk, hanging her head so her bangs now covered her large, emerald eyes.
I've just been reading and doing nothing productive. I'm no hero…
Soul put an arm on Maka's shoulder. Maka was surprised by this and rose her head to see what it was that had broken her from her meloncholy. Soul simply grinned at his partner. Not a wide toothy grin, but a reassuring smirk. Soul knew his partner very well, and Maka knew that. They had an unspoken bond that could only be achieved by people who have been through everything, and Maka was now glad that she had a partner like Soul.
Soul was about to speak when their proffesor finally appeared through the door, riding on his trusted office chair.
"Good morning class." announced stitch-faced teacher as he daftly meneuvered himself behind his large, wooden desk still riding on his wheelie chair.
"Good morning Mr. Stein!" chimed the loyal students all simultaniously. Even Maka was played a part in Professor Stein's return.
Stein had been a man of many burdens. Most of which, were caused by one woman. That woman being Medusa, but now with her gone, it seemed as though Stein had been fully rejuvenated.
He seemed more lively, and after the war with Asura had ended, he had become a lot more energetic. It was a nice change from the deranged maniac he once was when he fought Crona and Marie.
Stein adjusted his glasses and began to speak.
"As you all know, the new year of Weapon and Meister training begins today."
He stood from his chair and now sat on the desk, facing the class.
"But this is no ordinary year. This year marks the first year without the threat of the Kishin Asura looming over our heads."
The class began to cheer and clap after that anouncement.
It was not anything they hadn't already known, but it was more of a "huzzah" for the defeat of their biggest threat.
"But," said Stein as the class once again became hushed.
"That does not mean that there isn't a lot to do. There are still Kishin eggs out there that need to be captured and there are still Death Scythes to be made."
Stein now stood as placed his hands into the pockets of his white lab coat.
"Don't let your guard down. That goes for all of you."
Everyone in the class became even more silenced. Most of them had not taken into consideration the fact that Kishin Eggs were still in need of harvesting.
"Also," Continued the gray-haired professor as he turned his back away from his students.
"I'm so sorry to inform you all that this will be my final year of teaching at the DWMA. After this year, I'm going into retirement."
The class all let out a slight gasp. This was something they had never heard any rumor of prior, so this came as a bit of a shock. Even Kid and Maka were legitamately surprised.
"After this year, I'm going to allow Marie to move in all of her things from Oceania and we will be retiring together, so you all will still be seeing my ugly mug around town."
Stein quickly turned back to the class.
"Sorry if you're a bit disapointed, in that regard."
Maka chuckled and so did the rest of the class. Stein would be missed, but at least he would still be around.
Also, amongst the female students, it seemed like a very sweet gesture on the part of Stein to allow Miss Marie to move all her belongings their with him.
"Now that my little sob-story is over," Began Stein as he began writing on the chalk board.
"Let's get down to business. Today, we will be recaping what we learned last year on Soul Resonance."
"And to answer your question, Killik, that is why you never try to resonate with house pets."
Killik Rung began to jotting what the proffesor had said into his notepad when the bell began to ring.
"Alright class, we will continue this tomorrow." said Stein as he continued to pack his things and head home.
"Be sure you're able to turn in those notes tomorrow. I would hate to have to send you to a remedial class on the first week back."
Stein's glasses glared as he staired at Blackstar.
"I think he's putting some enfesis on you, Blackstar." hinted Tsubaki as she began to tug on the collar of Blackstars sleevless jacket.
"Oh come on, Tsubaki." retorted Blackstar.
"I don't need to take notes! I'm the strongest there is! Who needs studying when you have the kind of power I have?!"
Blackstar then stood on his desk and began to loudly proclaim,
"I am the Great Blackstar!"
Stein let out a long sigh, but could not help but smile at the young assassin's naivity. Tsubaki too, let out a sigh. She knew just as well as anyone that trying to get Blackstar to do homework is like trying to get a dress on a pig, it couldn't be done.
All of the students began to stand and make way down the from their desks and towards the door.
Maka, of course, had already filled most of her brand new notebook with notes from today's lecture and was proud of herself for taking such great notes. Soul, on the other hand, had dozed off for half of it and barely had any notes.
Kid was too preoccupied with what his father was doing to take enought sufficient notes, while Liz was also preoccupied with a split end that she had found in her hair. Patty was the only one out of the three that took any notes, all written in red and blue crayon.
All of the students began to rise to make their exit when into the room came the Grim Reaper himself!
Kid was surprised to see that his father, was indeed, at school that day.
Where has he been?! Kid thought as the sheer surpise of his father's presence had thoroughly shocked him.
Lord Death, a tall dark spectral wearing nothing but a mask to make up for the face he lacked, had now stood in the center of the room. Even with his lack of expression, Kid knew his father was about to say something important.
Maka and Soul were also surprised to see Lord Death. Unlike Kid, they did not have any close ties to Lord Death, so they had not seen him since the last time school ended for summer vacation. Although, Lord Death usually kept tabs on all his students in the DWMA, but during this summer there was none of that.
"Hiya, hiya children!" proclaimed the Reaper of Death as he swung his giant, white hand across the air, waving at his students.
"I truly hope you all had a safe and enjoyable summer vacation!"
All of the students answered positively to this, either nodding or slightly murmuring about how their vacation went.
"I'm so so so sorry I missed this mornings announcements!" Death continued as he now began to scratch his head and an oversized bead of sweat conjured next to his mask.
"I am currently trying to fix up a few issues in the NOT class due to the massive influx of students."
"What are you doing here, Lord Death?" asked Professor Stein as he continued to put his paperwork into a white book bag adorned with gray stitches.
"I am here to make a very specia announcement to all my beloved students!"
Kid was now extremely puzzled. His father never made personal appearances to classrooms unless it was truly important.
Lord Death continued,
"I now this may come as a bit of a surprise, but I assure you that this surprise is going to be a pleasant one!"
Soul looked at Maka, now showing that he too was in complete disaray. Maka only shrugged at her disillusioned Weapon Partner and continued listening to the Grim Reaper's speech.
"Next week: We, the DWMA, will be hosting the first annual Death City Festival!"
Upon saying this, Lord Death threw his hands into the air as confetti shot from behind him (Knowing how random the Reaper of Death sometimes got, no student dare to ask where the confetti came from).
They all let out an "ooohh" as they wathched the spectacle being displayed to them. All except for Blackstar and Kid.
Liz, Patty and Tsubaki were all tuned in to hear the great Grim Reaper tell the announcement of a festival, but Kid and Blackstar were not.
Kid was worried about why the announcement for this festival had been made without his consoltation. Usually, he and his father were very close when it came to things regarding the city. Blackstar, however, could have simply cared less about any type of festival.
"Also," continued Lord Death.
"For all you eager ones out there who want to dust off their ring rust, we will be holding a first annual Weapon and Meister Fighting Tournament as well during the festivities!"
All of the children began talking to their partners to reidify what they had just heard amongst themselves.
Death the Kid's curiosity peaked, as well did Blackstar's fighting spirit.
Authors Notes:
Glad to finally have these first two chapters finished. I intend to have this fic be the one I spend most my time on, for I've been planning this one for som time now. Please review and help me help myself!
Constructive criticism is always welcome in this household! Whether it be spelling errors to my formating style, I'll always take into concideration both the criticism and maybe even the ideas of my reviewers. (cuz Imma nice guy like that).
May the force be with you, young padwans. (don't hate on my space-enese).