Review Responses:

OfAllTheShizz, I'd be interested for sure. Give me a little bit of time to figure out the characters and the plot, though. I'm still in the introduction phase of things, so I'm still kind of learning who the characters are and what their role in the story is going to be, and I do know that I have to do something with Rei (which is already planned out) to get him to the point where he's ready to do awesome plot-related stuff without shying away. I do have some idea of what the plot is though, and if I can, I'll try to work Crona in in some way shape or form. If I can't, well, it may just have to be a sequel of some kind.

Keyworks Kid, thanks, glad you like it! I've been spending a lot of time writing original fiction lately, so glad to know all that work at doing original characters has paid off. I love making characters, and a lot of my original characters have concepts that started as OCs at some point.

AmyNChan, thanks! Glad you like it! The kids are in for an interesting ride.

fpojn, thanks! Hoping to make it longer!

Disclaimer: I don't own Soul Eater.


CHAPTER TWO

First Day Blues


"Reiiiiiiiii!"

Rei tensed as he heard the shout, stepping to the side to dodge his grandfather as the older man came running down the hall, arms outstretched for a hug. Spirit Albarn swept past him, continuing to run for a few steps before skidding to a stop and whirling to face Rei.

"Look at you!" Spirit said. "You're starting at the DWMA now! You've gotten so big! You look just like your Mama did when she was your age. I can't believe you didn't use the backpack I gave you. I'm so proud—"

Tears were streaming down his face. Rei shifted uncomfortably, tugging at his backpack and looking over his shoulder to see if anyone was watching. A couple of people had stopped to stare, but most walked past them, focused on finding their classes.

"Your grandfather?" Ayame asked from beside him.

"Unfortunately," said Rei.

Spirit stopped mid-sentence at Ayame's voice, blinking as if he had only just realized she was there. He blinked but didn't straighten up, looking from Ayame to Rei.

"Your partner?" he asked Rei.

"Yep," said Rei. "Ayame."

Spirit looked Ayame over again. His partner wore a form-fitting black shirt, sleeveless to display the mark on her right shoulder, and denim shorts. She wore white boots that rose up to just below her knee, socks the same shade of blue as her hair visible just over the tops of those. She wore similar blue arm bands on each arm, just above her elbow. Strips of cloth wound around her middle, forming an X just below her (admittedly ample) chest. She still wore her hair in the same style as she had when they first met, a portion of it pulled up into a small side ponytail with a hair tie in the shape of a star.

Spirit turned to Rei and nodded solemnly, giving him two thumbs up. Rei scowled, feeling a wave of revulsion run through him.

"Don't be a creep!" he said, punching Spirit in the face. "Come on, Ayame." He stalked forward, grabbing Ayame's wrist and pulling her in the direction of their classroom.

Spirit leaned against the wall where he had landed, one hand on the side of his face where Rei had struck him.

"He hits as hard as my Maka too," Spirit mumbled into the wall, rubbing the side of his face with pride.

Rei was still fuming by the time they got to class, finding their seats in the middle of the classroom. He sat next to Vayne, who had finally changed out of his Shibuko uniform. The other boy wore jeans and a long-sleeved white shirt with the words E.A.T. written across it in orange, an open jacket with short sleeves and Shinigami's skull symbol on its left side. He had also cut his hair, Rei noticed. His hair was much shorter on the left side of his head, just above his earring, than it was on the right.

"Hey, you made it," Vayne said as he sat down, Ayame taking her seat next to him. "Thought you were gonna be late."

"We had an incident in the hallway," said Rei, setting his backpack down with an angry thump. There was another boy sitting on Vayne's other side, a tall blond dressed in a button-down white shirt, slacks, and an open vest. He wore glasses. Rei recognized him from the first day of class. "Your meister?" Rei asked.

"Yeah, Clark," said Vayne, gesturing at him. "Clark, Rei. Rei, Clark."

"Nice to meet you," said Clark, reaching across from Vayne and holding his hand out. He was smiling.

"Yeah, you too," said Rei, taking his hand.

"You done?" Ayame asked from Rei's other side. "Your mom's giving you the evil eye."

Rei looked up. Maka was standing at the front of the classroom, below them. She was staring in their direction, her arms folded and eyes narrowed in an expression she recognized. Rei blinked, looking from her to the class around them. What was she doing here? This was supposed to be homeroom. Unless…

His eyes widened, and he dug in his bag for his class schedule. It had been given to him in the packet he'd received yesterday when he and Ayame went to pick up their keys, but he hadn't paid any attention to it. Now, he yanked it out of his bag and scanned it, feeling the color drain from his face.

Class Moonless Night – E.A.T 1st Year, said the heading. And then below that:

Homeroom – Maka Evans

He looked from the schedule to his mom to the schedule again. E.A.T classes at the DWMA usually had the same homeroom advisor for all four years of instruction unless something drastic happened, like Sid's death during his parents' time in Class Crescent Moon.

They wouldn't do this to him, would they?

The class quieted down as they noticed her standing there, the last few echoes of conversation fading away. Maka smiled and unfolded her arms, apparently satisfied as she flipped her gradebook open.

"Alright," she said. "Welcome to the DWMA. My name is Maka Evans. I'll be your homeroom teacher for a while and also your Soul Studies teacher. It's nice to meet you. I hope we can work well together." She smiled broadly, her eyes moving over the room before landing on Rei.

Rei shrank down further in his seat, using the class schedule to hide his face. Please don't say you're my Mom, he thought silently. Please don't say you're my Mom.

"Hey, isn't that your mom?" Clark asked from next to Vayne. His voice was hushed, but it had managed to draw some attention, the people immediately around them turning towards Rei. He could feel the weight of their stares on him as he sank deeper into his seat, trying to shrink away.

"Yeah," he said in response.

"I was thinking we could start today off with introductions, to help me learn your names and a little about you," Maka continued. "Let's start over here." She pointed at one of the boys sitting in the front row, who immediately sat up straighter.

Rei listened as he gave his name, only half-paying attention. His eyes were moving down the schedule, taking it in for the first time. He had his mom for homeroom and Soul Studies immediately after, which meant their class would be spending a lot of time with her. So much for not standing out. He groaned inwardly, trying not to look too despondent as all around him, people started introducing themselves, giving their names and random facts that he wasn't really paying attention to.

It was only when Clark spoke up that he realized it was almost his turn.

"My name is Clark Greysteil," Clark said from beside Vayne. "I'm a meister—the first meister in my family. I'm pretty normal actually."

Yeah, lucky you, Rei thought.

"Vayne Damocles," said Vayne, grinning. "Weapon. I'm not."

That got some chuckles from the class. Rei took a deep breath, realizing that everyone was now looking at him.

"I'm Rei," he said. "Meister. Uh…I play music sometimes."

The crowd's attention passed from him and he exhaled, already feeling his stomach churning out of embarrassment for what he'd said. Why couldn't he just introduce himself normally, like Clark? Now they would be expecting him to play music, and he really wasn't that good at it, not like his dad and especially not like his uncle. Oh Death, they'd think he was some kind of poser…

He sank further into his seat, so miserable that he didn't notice Ayame was standing up until she started speaking.

"I'm Ayame Star!" she said loudly, drawing everyone's attention. "I'm the best weapon ever, and I'm gonna be the queen of the school!"

She jabbed her thumb at her chest as she struck a pose, grinning in determination. Rei stared at her. So did everyone else.

Silence followed, stretching on until it was uncomfortable. Ayame held her pose for a few moments before it started to falter, her grin breaking. She lowered her hand back to her side, her expression growing subdued as she settled back into her seat. A flush of embarrassment crept up her neck towards her face and she stubbornly reached for her textbook, opening it and using it to hide as the introductions went on.

Rei winced in sympathy. He reached out, thinking about patting her on the arm, but thought better of it, letting his hand drop back to the desk.

The introductions went on.


Ayame bounced back quickly from that morning's embarrassment, and by the time they filed into the dojo after lunch for Mifune's combat arts class, she seemed to have gotten over it entirely. Rei found himself envying her for it as he stood with her on the wooden floor of the dojo, the both of them dressed in the DWMA's gym uniform. They were both barefoot, and she was stretching and warming up, rocking back and forth on her heels as the rest of the class filed in around them. A few people whispered when they saw her and Rei, and not all of their whispers were directed at Ayame. Rei took a step back, wishing that he could disappear into the wall as some of them turned towards him.

"Yo," said Vayne from somewhere to their right, walking over to them.

Ayame seemed to be in a good enough mood to lower her arms out of her stretch, grinning at Vayne. "Hey!" she said, raising her hand and waving.

Clark came up behind him, looking uncomfortable in his gym clothes. He adjusted his glasses. "I know we have to learn to fight eventually, but so early?"

"That's the E.A.T. class for you," said Vayne, grinning. He nudged Clark lightly in the arm. "You need combat arts to keep up with me."

"Yeah, what are you talking about?" Ayame asked, grinning at Clark. "Combat Arts sounds great! I've been looking forward to this all day!"

Clark gave her a warm smile in response. "I'm afraid we can't all be as brave as you, Ayame."

"Yeah, I know," said Ayame, casually. "But if you do your best, I'm sure you'll get close."

Clark opened his mouth to respond, but before he could, the dojo's double doors slid open, Mifune walking through. The crowd of students parted for him, conversations dying down as he stopped in the middle of the room. He was dressed almost casually in a long-sleeved white shirt and pants, the word 'OSENSEI' printed on his shirt's upper right side. He had two sword-cases strapped to bandoliers that criss-crossed his body, both filled with wooden swords. Without saying a word, he gripped the strap of one of them and pulled, launching the wooden swords into the air. They landed scattered around the room, each one within reach of a student. Despite the fact that the blades were wooden, with no point to speak of, some force held them upright, hilts to the ceiling.

"Pick up a sword and form groups of six," he said. "Three meister and weapon pairs."

Rei frowned, picking up the sword nearest him. Next to him, Vayne looked confused, picking up his own sword and staring at it with a puzzled expression. Ayame hefted her sword eagerly, a grin on her face as she rested the flat of the wooden blade on her shoulder.

"Well, we're two pairs," Vayne said, looking around. His eyes landed on a pair of girls standing in front of them, looking down at their own swords with some confusion. "Hey, Rhythm and Rhyme!" he called. "Team up with us?"

"Sure," said Rhythm, turning to him. She smiled, about to step forward with Rhyme when Clark suddenly walked forward, a gleam in his eyes that reflected on his glasses.

"It would be an honor to work with you two lovely ladies," he said, sweeping his hand out in an expansive gesture as he dipped his head in a bow. "And might I say you're both looking quite beautiful today? Perhaps after class, we could—."

"Ew, gross," Rhythm said, her face changing into a scowl.

"Creep!" Rhyme said, shrinking back.

Clark looked crestfallen. "Wait—," he said, extending a hand out towards them. "Ladies?"

Rei, Vayne, and Ayame stared.

"Well, there he goes," said Vayne after a moment, arms folded.

"Shot down on the first day of class," said Ayame, wincing in sympathy. "Ouch."

"So much for being 'pretty normal'," said Rei.

"We'll join your team," said a feminine voice from beside them.

Rei looked up at the same time as Clark did, turning in that direction. The girl that stood in front of them was tall, her black hair falling down past her shoulders and her dark eyes solemn. Her gym clothes looked strange on her, almost too informal. She held her sword loosely in one hand, as if she wasn't sure what to do with it. Rei stared at her, trying to put a name to the face.

Morgan, he remembered from the introductions earlier. Morgan Fay.

Her partner, Cassie, stood a little bit away from her, her back to them. She was a shorter girl, about Ayame's height, slender and a little waifish, with short, light blond hair. She'd dyed some of the strands of hair on her right side in different colors, pale pink, light blue, and light green.

Clark looked at Morgan, appearing interested, but that changed completely when he saw Cassie. She had her face half turned towards them, her eyes staring off into the distance, and Rei caught sight of delicate features and bright, cornflower-blue eyes.

Clark's jaw dropped. Before Rei or Vayne could stop him, he was already moving, past Rei and Ayame, past Vayne, and past Morgan, until he was standing in front of her.

"My lady," he said, loud enough to draw the attention of the rest of the class. "You are more radiant than a thousand suns. My heart longs to be graced with the pleasure of your company."

Rei paled and recoiled, half-afraid the secondhand embarrassment would kill him.

Across from Clark, Cassie blinked in confusion, turning towards him. She reached up, pulling one of the pale pink headphones that rested on top of her head away from her ear and pointing at herself.

"Sorry?" she said. "Did you say something?"

Clark turned white, looking as though he was about to shatter into a million pieces. Mifune's response was simply to glance in their direction.

"Cassandra, headphones," he said.

"Right. Sorry, teach." Cassie smiled, pulling off her headphones and letting them hang around her neck.

A few moments later, they were all assembled into teams. Mifune waited until they had formed something that looked almost like a line, then turned to address the class.

"You won't form your official teams until sometime next year, but the DWMA often works in groups of three meister and weapon pairs, so that's how we will begin practice today. The first thing you'll notice is that each of you, weapon and meister, has a sword, regardless of what type of weapon you may actually wield or be. This is because the path of the warrior does not simply require combat and weapon proficiency. It requires discipline and integrity, honor and courage, all of which the sword can teach you. When you learn that, we can speak of other arts. We'll start with stances today."

All through Mifune's speech, Ayame had looked impatient, but like she was holding it in, trying to wait patiently. When he said 'stances', though, her face fell.

"Stances?" she repeated.

Mifune's eyes flicked towards her. "Is there a problem, Miss…?"

"Star," said Ayame. "Ayame Star. And look, Mifune-sensei, I get that stances are important and all, but I already know how to use a sword. And a lot of other weapons actually. So can't I just…skip ahead?"

"Ayame." Mifune frowned, testing the name. He turned to face her. "Your father is Black Star?" he asked.

"Yes," said Ayame, looking proud and relieved that he had guessed that. She drew herself up straighter.

"And your mother is Tsubaki, of the Nakatsukasa Clan?"

"Yeah, exactly," said Ayame, smiling.

"I see." Mifune looked away. "No. You can't skip ahead. Get in line."

Ayame's smile faded. She blinked, staring at Mifune in shock.

"B-But—," she began.

"I said no," said Mifune, his tone final.

"But I can fight!" Ayame said, sounding angry. "I don't need to learn how to do stances again."

Mifune frowned, turning towards Ayame again. His eyes were narrowed. "If you don't see the value of returning to basics, then you clearly haven't learned the sword. In line, Ayame."

Ayame bristled, her hands clenching into fists. The motion made the sword in her right hand straighten, the tip pointing towards Mifune. Rei looked from her to Mifune, his mouth going dry.

"Ayame," he said, taking a step forward and putting out his hand as if to stop her. "Maybe you should…"

"No!" said Ayame, swatting his hand away. "I can fight! I've learned to fight!"

Mifune squared himself to her, reaching out and taking one of the nearest wooden swords in his right hand. Rei didn't miss the fact that one of his sword cases were still full.

"Ayame," he said, more urgently. The students around him unconsciously stepped back, clearing the space between Ayame and Mifune.

"Come then," Mifune said.

Ayame tightened her grip on the sword, the tip shaking with the force of her hold. Then, abruptly, the shaking stopped and she gripped the sword with both hands, charging forward with a yell.

She opened with a rising cut, swinging the sword diagonally upwards. Mifune took a step back, brushing the blow aside with the flat of his own blade. Ayame shifted her grip, turning the sword around and bringing it down in a downward cut, one that Mifune blocked just as effortlessly, bringing his sword up and sweeping his blade alongside hers just enough to knock it off-line. She let out a yell, shifting her weight and bringing her sword close to herself, before unfolding into a horizontal cut. Mifune blocked it with his own sword held vertically off the ground, then shifted suddenly, his sword moving lightning quick along hers as he flicked his wrist.

Her sword went flying out of her hands, clattering against the floor. Before Ayame could respond, he was already turning, striking her square in the middle with a solid kick. Ayame's eyes widened, the blow knocking the wind out of her. She went flying, striking the wooden floor in the center of the dojo and skidding backwards as she landed on the ground.

She didn't get up. Rei stared at her, concerned, as Ayame pulled one arm tight around her middle, staring up at the ceiling.

Mifune raised his sword and brought it down again, a rapid motion that was almost like a flourish. He turned to the class.

"Break off into groups and line up," he said, as if nothing had happened. He turned away.

Ayame's hand moved, bracing itself on the floor beside her. She started to stand. Mifune stopped, glancing back at her. He held his sword loosely in hand, but didn't point it back at her.

"Don't make this worse for yourself, Ayame," he said.

Ayame ignored him, rising fully to her feet. She spread her legs to stabilize herself, fists clenched at her side as she raised her head and looked at Mifune.

Then she moved, almost faster than Rei could follow. She exploded across the floor, shooting straight for Mifune like an arrow. Before she reached him, she leaped, aiming a kick straight at Mifune's head.

Mifune raised his sword, blocking her, but Ayame simply kicked off the flat of his blade, landing on the ground and sweeping her leg out in an arc at Mifune's ankles. He stepped lightly over her sweep, bringing his sword down on her head. Ayame swept her right arm out to catch it, the arm shifting into a black blade. The blade sliced straight through Mifune's wooden sword as Ayame straightened up, unfolding and aiming her human elbow at his middle. Mifune brought the hilt of his broken sword down over her elbow, knocking her strike out of the way as he jumped back.

Ayame jumped back as well, but only to gain momentum as she pushed herself off the ground and launched herself forward, flying at Mifune. She let loose a flurry of punches and kicks as she reached him, aiming at his knees, belly, wrists, and head. Mifune moved back with the strikes but blocked each one, shifting the broken half of his sword to block the blows.

All around Rei, the members of their class stared, gasping as blows connected and whispering to themselves. A few of them even started hesitantly cheering Ayame on. Rei stared, unable to help the sick feeling in his stomach. Ayame was doing great, fantastic. He had had no idea that she could move like that. But he couldn't allow himself to relax. Something was wrong.

It was Mifune, Rei realized. He wasn't attacking, only deflecting her blows, and while he was being driven back, none of her punches or kicks had actually connected with him.

Ayame reached out suddenly with her right hand, grabbing for Mifune's hair. Mifune jerked his head back before her fingers could reach him, but Ayame's movement had been a feint. She had been expecting that. As she moved, her arm shifted, becoming a chain. It wrapped around Mifune's sword arm, yanking him to the ground. Mifune flipped over rather than falling completely, wrapping his hand tightly around the chain that bound him for balance as he landed on the ground. Ayame, realizing that she'd accidentally bound him to her, transformed the arm back, her hand becoming human as she rushed at him again. She aimed a high kick at his head, one that he blocked before she sank down onto the ground, reversing direction and aiming a kick at his waist.

The kick connected, driving Mifune back. He slid across the ground from the force of the blow, but remained standing as Ayame straightened up, her eyes narrowed as she faced him. Mifune frowned at her, glancing down at his side as if he hadn't been expecting that, before meeting her eyes.

And then he moved.

Rei barely saw his movements as he charged forward, drawing a wooden sword from the case at his side. Ayame ducked beneath his first blow, her eyes wide, and managed to block his second by changing her arm into a shuriken at the last moment, but the third struck her across the face, and it was all over from there.

A flurry of blows, moving so quickly that Rei couldn't tell where one ended and another began. Mifune ended by bringing his sword up in a strong uppercut, the blow strong enough to lift Ayame off her feet and send her crashing to the ground. She landed face down, shaking and trembling as she struggled to get up.

Mifune swept his sword out in front of him again, returning it to its case. He stared at her, eyes narrowed, as if daring her to try something again. The class had gone completely, deathly silent as Ayame kept her eyes on Mifune, anger in them.

Mifune looked from Ayame to Rei, standing at the front of the crowd and watching her. He turned back to Ayame.

"Have some consideration for your meister," he said. "This fight is over."

Ayame inhaled, a shaky breath, and tried to push herself up. Her arms didn't hold her, and she slumped forward again.

"Ayame!" Rei said, moving forward and reaching for her arm. She tensed, like she was going to push him away, but didn't, allowing him to help her to her feet. She didn't resist when he slung her arm over his shoulders, his other arm going around her waist.

"Rei, is it?" asked Mifune, glancing at him. "Take your partner to the dispensary. She'll be bruised, but nothing should be broken. The rest of you, break into groups. We'll be working on stances today."

Ayame didn't say a word as Rei turned her towards the door, breathing heavily against his shoulder as they left the room.


The walk to the dispensary seemed unbearably long with Ayame leaning against him, walking with small shuffling steps. Her breathing was coming in short pants, her face turned away from him completely.

She didn't speak until they rounded the corner, turning away from the dojo.

"That wasn't…exactly very queenly, was it?" she said, not looking at him.

"You picked a fight with a teacher," Rei said. "Not sure what you expected there."

"Yeah…" Ayame said, her voice soft. She lowered her eyes to the ground. "I'm not sure what I expected either." That worried him. He hadn't known her for very long, but he already knew that it was unlike Ayame to admit to weakness.

"For what it was worth," Rei said. "You were pretty cool for a moment there."

She shook her head, not looking up at him. A smile appeared on her face anyway. "Thanks for trying to cheer me up, but I know how I looked."

"I'm not just—," Rei began.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" asked a voice, making them both stop and look up.

Two boys were standing in the hallway, watching Rei. He tensed, tightening his grip on Ayame as he watched them. They were older than he was, probably in their second or third year of school. He recognized them. He'd seen them around before, the few times he'd been in the DWMA in the past year with one or the other of his parents.

Grayson and Richard. Two thorns in his side. He'd forgotten he'd be sharing a school with them.

"It's the Evans kid," Grayson said, grinning. He was a tall, well-muscled teenager, dark-haired, gray eyed, and mean. His partner, Richard, leaned against the wall, his arms folded and a grin on his face. Richard's hair was a deep red, cut short around his face.

"What happened?" Richard asked. "Mommy let you out of class?"

"Get out of the way, Richard, Grayson," Rei said, his voice soft. He lowered his eyes to the ground as Grayson stepped forward, looming over him. The bigger boy was grinning.

"Ooh, 'get out of the way'," he said. "What, are you gonna do something about it?"

"Maybe he'll run home and call his mama," said Richard, grinning. He faked a high-pitched voice. "Mommy, the kids at school are so mean."

"I mean it, Grayson," Rei said, his voice shaking. "Get out of the way."

"What're you gonna do, fight with that thing?" asked Grayson, gesturing at Ayame. He seemed amused at the notion. "Your partner doesn't look like she can stand."

Ayame raised her head from where she leaned against him. Her eyes narrowed into a glare, fixing on Grayson. "Heh," she said. "I'm not so beat-up that I can't take a little punk like you."

Grayson hesitated, something in Ayame's eyes giving him pause. He inched back a bit, then recovered, still blocking Rei's way.

"Come on, Rei," Ayame said. "We can take 'em."

"Yeah, Rei," said Richard, his tone mocking. "You can take us."

"Rei—," Ayame said.

"No," said Rei, keeping his eyes on the ground.

"But—," Ayame began.

"Ayame, I said no."

Ayame sucked in a breath through her teeth. Across from him, Grayson let out a loud belly laugh, stepping out of the way.

"That's right," he said. "You're too chicken to do anything, aren't you, Evans? Afraid mommy will get mad?"

Rei ignored them, continuing to shuffle forward, Ayame leaning against him.

Their jeers followed him down the hallway as he continued to walk.


It was quiet at their apartment that night. Rei had settled on the couch with his guitar, but he didn't seem to be playing it, instead running his fingers over the strings and seeming to tune it over and over again. Ayame watched him from the doorway that led into the kitchen, letting out a hiss of pain as she moved the cold pack in her hand over her bruises. He had hardly said a word since getting home, hadn't really looked at her.

"Rei…?" she asked, her voice tentative.

Rei didn't turn towards her, continuing to pretend to tune his guitar. She knew he had heard though, had seen the way he tensed when she spoke.

She stepped forward, walking into the living room.

"Rei?" she said again.

"Yeah?" Rei asked, not looking back at her.

"I…" She hesitated, stopping herself. She couldn't find the words for what she wanted to say.

Her mother would have, she realized. Her mother would have known exactly what to say to make this all better.

"…Why didn't you fight back?" she asked instead, lowering her eyes to the ground. "People like that…they always back off if you fight back."

"You were injured," Rei said, but he said it in a way that told her it wasn't the real reason.

"I could have fought," Ayame said. "I wanted to—I wanted to help you, Rei."

Rei didn't respond, keeping his eyes on the far wall. Ayame waited for a few moments before giving up, letting out a breath and making her way up the stairs. She was almost to her room when she heard the door open, heard Vayne letting himself in.

She heard voices from downstairs when she reached her door. Vayne's voice, concerned, and Rei's, talking in a low tone.

He would talk to Vayne, Ayame realized. But he wouldn't talk to her.

She let out a loud breath, closing the door to her room behind her.

Ayame collapsed to the ground, landing on the futon beneath her. She lay there on her side for a moment before reaching out and grabbing a yellow star-shaped pillow that had been lying near the mattress, pulling it close to her chest and curling up around it.

She closed her eyes.


A/N: The Ayame vs. Mifune fight, at least the part where Ayame appeared to be doing well, was written using Twister (Kingdom Mix) from the Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance OST. In an attempt to keep a Soul Eater feel in this fic, Rei and Ayame both have themes that sound like the SE Character Themes (So Scandalous…etc.). Twister from The World Ends With You/KH: Dream Drop Distance and all of its variants is Ayame's, and I'll probably make music notes like this for those who want to use them to picture the fights.