Hello, and welcome to chapter two of The Witch's Madness. This chapter is a lot longer than the previous ones, just because a lot of stuff goes on. We meet Lord Death, Spirit, Blair, and Stein in this chapter. Now, I think that my main three perspectives are going to be Luna's, Maka's, and Stein's... I may write from someone else's perspective if I feel it's important for some reason, but I think those will be the most common three.

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Soul Eater.

Lord Death's Offer

This academy Maka and Soul described actually looked a lot more like a castle. And it was enormous. Never would Luna have expected a school to look like the house of a king.

Or… maybe king was the wrong word. Maybe a gothic prince or a demon, instead. The entire building was red and black, with huge flaming candles sticking out of the sides, and stark white skull faces plastered on the front. Even at daybreak, it looked like the place of nightmares.

Not that Luna was terrified, per se. She was, admittedly, a little anxious… anxious to meet this Lord Death or whoever he was and she had no idea what to anticipate. She was rather perplexed on account of her situation, having not the slightest idea why any of this was happening in the first place. And of course, her whole body was sore. Luckily Maka had been kind enough to let her use the bath and borrow some clothes so that at least looked decent. She had felt fine yesterday for the most part, but now that she was up and moving, her bruises ached from head to toe. And how had she received such bruises?

If only she knew.

As Soul opened the academy doors and ushered Maka and Luna inside, Maka laughed and patted Luna on the shoulder. The impact from the hand hitting her shoulder made Luna cringe, but Maka didn't notice.

"Nervous?" Maka asked. "Don't be. Lord Death isn't that scary once you get to know him."

Riiiight… well, I don't know him, so…

"Lord Death just wants to meet you and get to know you a little bit," Soul said. "Not only is he headmaster of the academy, but he protects this city. And since you're here all of the sudden without an apparent reason…" He shrugged.

"So, he wants to make sure I'm safe to keep around or what?" Luna asked.

"I guess you could say that," Soul murmured in reply, turning to look absently at the wall.

The three teenagers walked down the silent, empty hallway, their shoes tapping loudly against the floor. Luna shivered. "Is it always this empty?"

"No," Maka answered, shaking her head. "It's just early. It'll pick up once classes start."

Luna felt a little better knowing that people actually went to school at this place. In that case, it couldn't have been all that bad to come here every day. On the other hand, it was a huge facility, and as they made their way down the dark passageways, she could see herself getting lost easily.

Eventually, at the end of a hallway, they came upon a large door.

"This is it," Maka said cheerfully, reaching out to open it.

Luna noticed that the door was marked by a large skull (that seemed to be a theme around here) and a plate that read, "Death Room".

As they entered, Luna held her breath. Immediately upon passing through the door, they reached a tunnel, and when she looked up, Luna realized that there were guillotine blades hovering above them, stretching for as far as she could see.

Eyebrows furrowing lightly as she pushed her fingers through her hair, she asked, "Is this… really necessary?"

Maka's shoulders rose and fell as she laughed. "Lord Death has interesting taste in decoration."

Luna fell behind a little as she followed Maka and Soul down the long corridor of guillotines. The closer she got to this Lord Death person, the more nauseated she felt. In all honesty, she didn't know what it was about him that worried so much. It wasn't like she had anything to hide. But just the idea of meeting someone new, such an authority figure who supposedly had a great deal of power, made her stomach churn.

Finally, they reached the end of the execution hall as Luna had decided to name it, and came into a vast, bright room. She looked up in awe at the light blue ceiling above her that almost looked like the sky, and the fluffy white masses that appeared to be clouds. Scattered around the room, seeming to be floating in midair were several small windows leading who knows where. And directly in the center, on a round dark platform, stood a tall figure in a black cloak. As he turned around to face them, Luna was surprised to see that his face was not a face, but a skull similar to the ones she had seen outside and on his door.

"Welcome, children!" the man (if he was even a man) said ecstatically, in a voice rather unfitting of his appearance.

"Good morning, Lord Death," Maka said, bowing her head politely. "We-"

"MAAAKAAAAA!" a shrill voice rang in Luna's ears, and all of the sudden, some lunatic with red hair jumped out of nowhere and attacked Maka.

"What have you been doing?" he asked frantically, hugging her almost tightly enough to strangle her, Luna imagined. "You were supposed to wait for me yesterday or call me back, or something-"

"We were busy," Maka insisted, trying to push him off.

"Too busy for me?" the man sobbed, hot tears streaming down his face. "Why, Maka, why?"

Luna inched toward Soul and gave him a questioning look. "Ummm…"

"That's her dad," Soul said with a disapproving sigh. "He's something, huh?"

"Dad, stop it!" Maka complained. "I'm sorry, okay? I had important stuff to deal with." She gestured to Luna with her chin.

Maka's clearly disturbed, overbearing father turned his head toward Luna. Then, with a more serious expression, he reached back to scratch the back of his head. "Oh, yeah? Luna... Lord Death mentioned you yesterday." He grinned and looped an arm around Maka's shoulder. "I'm Maka's dad. I'm sure she's told you all about me by now."

"Not really," Maka said, shoving him off. "Not when you're embarrassing me all the time."

"Okay, that's enough, everyone," Lord Death suddenly cut in. "Let's not forget the reason you came in early today. You don't want to be late for class, do you?"

Maka straightened her shoulders. "No. Sorry, sir. We've brought Luna with us, as you asked."

Up until that moment, Luna had been more or less hiding behind Soul, but she had no choice to step out as soon as she was addressed. "Luna?" Lord Death said in a friendly tone. "Welcome to the Death Room."

Luna smiled shyly and thanked him, although she had said it so softly that she wasn't sure he heard. Then, Lord Death nodded his head and turned his attention to the other three individuals in the room. He cleared his throat. "Would you all mind stepping out so that I can speak with Luna?"

Luna felt her mouth go dry. But… if they all left, she'd be alone with this strange person.

Alone…

She cast Maka a worried glance, but she only smiled at her apologetically as she, her father, and Soul began to take their leave. "You'll be fine," Maka whispered as she walked past.

"Good luck," Soul murmured.

Gee, thanks…

After Luna's only support team had left the room, Lord Death walked over to a chair and sat down. "Well, don't be shy, my dear!" he said reassuringly. "Come sit down!"

Hesitantly, as if waiting for something, although she had no idea what she was waiting for, Luna tip toed over to the chair that was positioned directly across from Lord Death. After a brief examination of the seat, she sat down and folded her hands into her lap. She then deliberately clasped them so that she wouldn't tap her fingers or wring them together.

Lord Death cocked his head. "So… I assume that Maka and Soul have treated you well?"

Luna nodded once. "Yes, sir."

"I wouldn't have expected any less from those two, of course," he said. Then, leaning back in his chair. "So… Luna, is it? Quite a lovely name, if I might say."

With wide eyes, Luna replied, "Oh… thank you…"

"That's your name," he observed. "But… that's the only thing you remember about yourself, it seems?"

Unconsciously, Luna unclasped her hands and reached around the back of her head to ruffle her hair. "Uh… well… I suppose so. I mean… I remember a few other things, but I don't know how relevant they are."

"If you remember them, they must be relevant," he commented.

Luna cast her eyes to the floor. "I do remember… some things about meisters and weapons."

"Some things?" Lord Death repeated, sounding intrigued. "Such as?"

"There's a meister and a weapon," she told him, speaking slowly. "They fight together against Kishin and witches… in order to do that, they have to match soul wavelengths, right?"

"You're quite correct, Luna," he said. "That's… the most basic way to put it, at least. So… does that mean you have the abilities of a meister or weapon?"

Grimacing, Luna said, "I have no idea."

"That's all right," Lord Death murmured.

For several seconds, he remained silent. Luna shifted uncomfortably in her seat, and the longer they sat in the absolute quiet, the more uneasy she became. Still, thus far, she couldn't seem to find any reason to be unnerved by Lord Death. From her perspective at this point, he had been patient and kind, despite his odd appearance. Now, it was mostly her shyness that was causing the most discomfort.

"Hmmm…"

Luna looked at Lord Death in surprise. He lifted his head and looked at her. Or so she thought; she couldn't quite tell since he didn't have pupils or irises.

"This is the DWMA," he began. "I don't know how much Soul and Maka have told you, but the DWMA is short for Death Weapon Meister Academy. It's a school for young meisters and weapons. Here, students learn hone their abilities and increase the strength of their soul wavelength through field training as well as classroom exercises. I wondered… if perhaps you might like to temporarily enroll in the academy."

Caught off guard by the sudden offer, Luna stuttered, "B-but I couldn't... I could never afford something like that-"

"You wouldn't have to," Lord Death said. "This is my special offer to you, as a result of your current situation. You would attend classes like all the other students; tuition won't be an issue."

Luna protested quietly, "But… wouldn't I have to… have a partner…?"

"Right now, I'd say that isn't really important, would you?" he asked. "The purpose of this is to find out where you belong, and hopefully help you recover more memories. Considering you seem to have some intellectual background on the subject of weapons and meisters, I think this is probably a good place to start. If you're okay with it."

Luna wasn't quite sure how to respond. As appreciative as she was for Lord Death's generosity, she wondered how to go about accepting such an offer. "But… where will I live?" she asked.

"Why, with Maka and Soul, of course!" he exclaimed. "I'm sure they won't mind keeping you a bit longer!"

Luna felt her face tense up.

Did you… even ask them?

Lord Death shook his head. "Please, Luna, don't worry about the small stuff! I'll take care of everything if you're willing to give this a shot."

Luna didn't know if she truly wanted to do this or not. But, upon thinking it through, she realized she didn't have much of a choice. As far as she could remember, she had no home to return to. She had no family or friends… only Maka and Soul who she'd met yesterday and this strange headmaster. She couldn't be picky about who she trusted, because she doubted she'd ever survive on her own. If attending some classes here could help her learn about herself in any way, it was her best chance.

Sitting up straight in her chair and swallowing to wet her tongue, she said, "Okay. I'll do it."

Lord Death stood from his chair abruptly. "Wonderful news! You'll love it here, and I'm sure you'll get along with everyone just fine. You'll start tomorrow, bright and early. For the rest of today, I'll have Maka and Soul take you home, since I'm sure that you don't know your way around the city just yet. And besides, it's not safe for such a young girl to walk alone in the city."

"I can't believe we have another girl living in the house," Soul groaned as he and Maka walked Luna back to their house. "It was bad enough dealing with one; then Blair came along. And now this one."

Luna lowered her head and muttered a soft apology.

Maka glared at him. "Quit being so rude, Soul! You'll make Luna feel bad."

With a snicker, Soul murmured to himself, "Well, I bet she'll at least complain less than Maka. And she's hotter."

"SOUL!" Maka exploded. She could not believe what a perverted dumbass he was sometimes.

"All right, all right," Soul said, rolling his eyes. Then, looking around Maka at Luna, he said in a very disclaimer-like fashion, "That was meant to be an insult to Maka only and is not meant to be a reflection on you in any way."

Luna smiled. "No worries… I just appreciate the two of you being kind enough to take me in."

Maka's heart nearly melted at the sight of Luna with a smile on her face. A real one. Not like all the fake ones she had given yesterday while Maka had been feeding her and tending to her injuries. She certainly hadn't taken offense to it, knowing that Luna's mind was probably occupied with so many concerns, but seeing Luna's spirits just a little bit brighter made her happy. She couldn't believe she had been suspicious of this girl's nature for even a second.

Grinning back, Maka said, "As long as you're living with us, you can make yourself right at home, and we'll be there to help you out whenever you need it."

They arrived at home, and, realizing that class was going to be starting soon, Maka called Blair.

The small black cat walked out into the living room, stretching, as if having just woken up. "Will you help out Luna with whatever she needs today?"

Sleepily, Blair replied, "I guess."

Suddenly and with big eyes, Luna said, "You guys are leaving?"

"We have to!" Maka said, in a rush as she made her way to the door.

"We left all our stuff there," Soul said, "And we still have class, you know?"

"Blair will help you with whatever you need, okay?" Maka said, and with quick wave, she and Soul took their leave out the door.

Knowing that they were so very behind, the two partners broke into a partial run down the street.

"He'll kill us if we're late," Soul said between breaths as he jogged.

"I know," Maka replied.

"You think she'll be okay?" he asked a moment later.

"Luna?" Maka asked. "She has Blair. She'll be fine!"

With a small laugh, Soul shook his head. "Yeah. That's what worries me."

Luna stood awkwardly in the middle of Maka and Soul's living room. Without the two of them with her, the apartment felt unwelcoming and foreign to her.

On the other side of the room, Blair the cat stretched and yawned. "Yeah… well, I'm gonna go finish my nap. You can handle yourself for a while, right? Help yourself to what's in the fridge or whatever."

There was no time for Luna to respond before Blair turned her tail and left the room. And just like that, Luna was left to her own devices in a strange home. But Luna took a few deep breaths; she couldn't allow herself to be unsettled. She may have been abandoned by her guardians and left with a talking cat who didn't seem to care one way or the other, but in a few hours, Maka and Soul would be back. Until then, she simply had to find a way to entertain herself.

So, she decided to start exploring. It was not a large place, as it was just an apartment, and Luna had seen the majority of it in passing yesterday and this morning. But she really hadn't gotten a chance to familiarize herself with her surroundings due to the fact that she had spent most of that time in bed.

The living room was spacious and comfortable, although nothing too extraordinary. There was a sofa and a television… a few chairs. And on a small lamp stand, there sat a framed photograph of Maka and Soul together. Soul had an arm looped around Maka's shoulders, with that devious, shark-ish grin on his face. And Maka leaned onto him easily, smiling at the camera sweetly and making a peace sign with her fingers.

Both of them looked so happy and content with one another. Luna wondered if all meister/weapon relationships were like that.

Reluctantly, Luna moved away from the picture and moseyed into the kitchen. It was a tiny kitchen, but it looked like it still got the job done. Although Luna felt a little intrusive about it, she opened the fridge to see what was inside. To her surprise, there actually wasn't much to see. There was a bottle of milk that was about to expire, as well as what looked like some salad ingredients such as lettuce and carrots and onions. And a container of leftover miso soup. Someone apparently needed to go shopping.

Otherwise, there were only a few more rooms and all of the doors were closed. She remembered the one that belonged to Maka, as she had stayed in it during all of yesterday. She also remembered the bathroom, having used it a few times. And she guessed that the other room belonged to Soul, but she certainly didn't want to impose on it without his permission, so she left it alone.

However, the bathroom looked quite tempting. Luna was so sore all over, and started thinking that maybe a long bath would help her loosen up.

But when she opened the door, the sight she beheld was not at all what she expected.

Someone was sitting in the tub. A woman, it seemed. And she was covered from the bottom up to her chest in water and suds.

Luna backed away instinctively. "What the hell-"

"Hey!" the woman exclaimed in an irritated tone. "Didn't you ever learn to knock before entering a bathroom?"

Luna stood with her mouth open in shock. "I… but… who are you?" Maka and Soul had mentioned nothing about another person living in their house.

The woman looked almost insulted. "What, don't you recognize me? I'm Blair, remember?"

Luna blinked. "Blair… as in Blair the cat?" She placed her palm to her head in amazement. Maybe it should have tipped her off that Blair could talk, but she never would have imagined that Blair had the ability to transform back and forth between cat and human form.

"Okay…" Luna murmured. "So, you're a shapeshifting cat. Great. And you may be the only cat in the universe who actually enjoys bathing. Sorry for disturbing you."

As Luna turned to leave, Blair stood up. "Hey, wait up-"

Cringing, Luna held her hand up and averted her eyes. "Hey, not while I'm still in here!" She had no desire to see this woman naked.

"What?" Blair asked, sounding confused. "We're both girls. Hey, why don't you join me? You're probably feeling run down, huh? And since we're both going to be living here, we can get to know each other better."

"No, thanks," Luna replied, shaking her head.

"Why not?" Blair complained, sitting back down in the water with a pout on her lip.

"I don't even know you!"

"Oh, but no one ever wants to take a bath with me," Blair said with a dramatic sigh. "Maka won't do it, and she never lets Soul take one with me."

Luna almost laughed at that statement. Yep, she could imagine Maka demolishing Soul for something like that, and she had only lived with them for a day.

Shaking her head, Luna turned away. "Yeah, sorry… I think I'll pass."

"Oh, but wait-" Blair began to protest, just as Luna shut she door.

Once safely outside, she leaned back against the door and closed her eyes.

Talk about exhausting…

Franken Stein sat quietly in his classroom, grading papers with a frustrated look on his face. Some days, he truly hated teaching.

Because they were stupid answers. They were all stupid answers. This kid hadn't even put forth an effort. How hard was it to take an hour out of your evening to do Biology homework? Correctly?

With a violent motion, Stein shoved his papers to the side, dropped his pen, and leaned back in his chair. Letting out a sigh, he pulled his glasses off of his face and cleaned them on his tattered, torn apart, and then stitched up again lab coat.

He had planned to have all of his papers graded to hand in to his students today before classes began, but the closer time came to the first bell, the less Stein felt inclined to finish. He was tired and irritable, and the issues he usually let slide were getting to him. For the last month or so, all the stress had been eating at him. He often found himself searching for something to take apart and put back together just to put his mind at ease.

Since the battle with Medusa, dissecting had been more of a hobby than an obsessive compulsion. But lately…

God, he wanted a cigarette. It was too bad he had left them at home.

"Stein," a voice said sternly.

Stein looked up from his chair, and standing next to him was Spirit, his friend and former weapon partner.

In an annoyed tone, Stein said, "You could have knocked."

"I did," Spirit replied. "You didn't answer."

With a glance at his classroom door upon realizing that he hadn't heard Spirit knock, he grunted. Picking up his pen, he grabbed the paper he had been grading and began analyzing it once again.

"Lord Death asked to see you," Spirit said plainly.

Now, of all times?

"Classes are going to start soon," Stein muttered, pretending to concentrate on the work in front of him. "I'll visit him later."

"He said it's important."

Stein glanced up at Spirit, noting the serious expression on the Death Scythe's face. Then, with a sigh, he pushed himself up from his desk. "Fine." Stuffing his hands in his pockets, he maneuvered past Spirit and started down the hall.

What could have been such an important matter for Lord Death to summon Stein right before morning classes? He could have easily called for him during break, or after school.

There was just too much to worry about.

Stein headed down the long corridor and made his way to the Death Room, where Lord Death was standing waiting for him patiently.

"Good morning, Stein," Lord Death said pleasantly.

"Morning," Stein replied. "So, what is you want to talk to me about?"

Lord Death walked toward him. "I'm sorry for dragging you out here in such an untimely fashion, but I need your help."

"What is it?"

"Tomorrow, you are going to have a new student."

Stein raised his eyebrows in surprise. This was quite unexpected. "A new student? When was this decided?"

"This morning," Lord Death said. "That's why I wanted you to know right away. And you… more so than any of the other teachers."

Eying Lord Death suspiciously Stein asked, "Why is that?"

Without hesitation, Lord Death began. "Your new student's name is Luna. And that's just about everything I know about her. Soul and Maka found her out on the street two nights ago. But she doesn't remember anything about herself. Only her name at that she seems to know a thing or two about soul wavelengths and weapons and meisters."

"So you have no idea where she came from?" Stein inquired.

"No." Lord Death shook his head. "That's why… I'd like you to keep an eye on her for the time being."

Of course. The only teacher Lord Death ever asked to do this sort of thing was Stein. "What are we looking for, exactly?"

"I wouldn't know," Lord Death said with a shrug. "In all honesty, when I spoke with her, she seemed like the most harmless girl you could meet. She was shy… nervous, but overall, just a sweet girl with beautiful eyes… but a very strong soul wavelength. Essentially, she is joining us here at the academy to help her to find out the worth of her knowledge, and perhaps to discover some new knowledge, as well. But she is also a girl whose past is shrouded in mystery. It's just… better safe than sorry. She'll be staying with Soul and Maka for now, but I would like you to watch over her as well while she's at school, if it's not too much trouble." Then he added on cheerfully, "I only ask because I have the utmost faith in your abilities and your loyalty to this city!"

"I'm sure I can handle it," Stein confirmed, scratching the back of his head. Trying to flatter me, are we?

But as he walked back to class, Stein's thoughts wandered to the girl Lord Death had described to him. A girl with no memories, turning up in Death City. What were the odds? There was something not quite right about it… although Lord Death didn't outwardly seem all that concerned about her nature. Shy… nervous… and sweet, he'd said. He was even letting Maka and Soul keep her with them at their apartment. Not that Maka and Soul couldn't take care of themselves.

Lord Death trusted everyone unless they gave him a reason not to. So it was not unexpected that he would invite this mysterious child into his home and treat her like part of the family right away. Still, the precautions he took by having Stein keep an eye on her were not unreasonable.

Unfortunately for Stein, until tomorrow, he knew next to nothing and could pass no judgment on this girl, Luna.

With a deep sigh while turning the bolt in his head, Stein turned the knob and opened the door to his classroom. Upon entering the room, his face tensed up in annoyance when he realized that there were students in their seats. He glanced up at the clock, realizing that, during his discussion with Lord Death, he had gotten distracted and forgot what time it was. Now he was several minutes late to class.

As he walked to his desk, he slowly counted the students in their seats. And then his eyes rested on Maka and Soul, who were still shuffling about and just sitting down.

The corner of his mouth tugged up into a tiny smile.

Looks like I wasn't the only one…

"All right, class," he said, leaning on his desk. "Let's get started."