He stared for a moment, unsure whether or not she really knew, or she was just joking. If this was a joke, it wasn't funny. On the other hand, a more interesting question would be how exactly she found out, or who told her. He knew there was no way Wes would ever figure it out, unless he was some kind of mind reader. She stared back at the boy for about a minute before she broke into a laugh.
"You can stop looking so nervous honey, I found you out now come on and come clean.", she laughed, failing to maintain a straight face.
"Huh?", he tried to play dumb, which wasn't hard for him at this point.
"I know you're a weapon. In fact you're a scythe, a demon scythe. I know you've found out about it, it's been activated before hasn't it. Your soul is strained.", she finished, regaining her serious outlook.
"How did you find out.", he sighed, accepting defeat.
"I figured it out myself, just one look at your soul was all it took."
"Look..at my soul?", he broke into a blank stare, no longer pretending as he was completely dumbfounded.
"Yes dear, I can do that. I am a Meister after all, however, don't tell your mother. I keep these things a secret for a reason."
"Meister? Do you have a weapon partner?", he became suddenly interested as thoughts of the academy reeled back into his head.
"I used to, yes, but not anymore. That's not the point though, not right now no.", she continued, "Meisters have the ability to read souls, and I can read yours very clearly. Except, there's something there, it's too dark to make out. Have you eaten any Kishin souls yet? Has your training begun?", she began to ramble on much like his mother did.
"My training is over. I'm no longer allowed to transform.", he replied, blankly looking down at his feet in mere disappointment.
"That's not what I'm asking though, is it? No no, your training isn't the problem. Your soul seems bothered by something, no bothered isn't the right word. Disturbed? Anxious? I feel the trace of another soul, bounding around in the very depths of your center.", she took a few steps in the room until she stood over him, towering much too tall for an average grandmother.
"I can't tell you.", he sighed.
"Could it have something to do with your teeth? I may not have seen you in person that often, however I've seen pictures, your teeth are suddenly jagged. What happened to them?", her questions began lingering in his head, stirring up more and more dark memories.
"I see. I hit a tough spot, well you can tell me when you feel like it. I will find out however, and when I do I'm going to get you some help, a weapon trapped within a family of egotistical morons. Wes is nice, however he takes up much after your father. You however, show no sign of becoming a musician. I can tell you aren't consumed with the urge to please everyone around you.", her withered voice spoke exceedingly true, wise words, lulling him into a small feeling of trust.
There had to be just one person he could trust, he figured it'd be her for the time being.
She had almost walked out of the room when he spoke up, "It was my dad."
"What was that?", she turned back around to face him, noticing a very pained look on his face.
"My dad did it, he made me eat him.", he looked down at the ground, his eyes wide open as he fought himself with all of his might, attempting not to cry in the manliest way he knew how.
"He's crazy. I hate him. I hate all of them.", he glued his hands to his forehead, feeling the small tears swelling out of his eyes.
He explained the entire story. His grandmother sat there and listened carefully, reassuring he'd never have to endure the experience again, and that was probably her biggest lie from that point on. She knew very well he'd endure some very disturbing scenes, all Weapon and Meister pairs did. He would be no exception. After he'd finished his spill of mixed emotions, she'd decided to tell him the real story of the DWMA, Death Weapon Meister Academy.
"It's nothing like your father said it was, well it is sort of like that, but no, it's not a school for the poor, or the weak. It's to turn young, strong boys like you into men. They'll help you, and with the help of whoever's paired as your Meister, you should become a Death Scythe in no time. I'm surprised he'd failed to mention a single word of Lord Death?", she pat him lightly on the back.
"I can't remember. He said I'm never allowed to go to the academy.", he sighed, his tears drying at last.
"Nonsense, absolute nonsense. That man doesn't make the decisions, you do. This "training by yourself" thing has to end. A Meister relies on their Weapon just as a Weapon relies on their Meister. It doesn't make sense to have one without the other, it takes the fun out of it all!", she exclaimed, gluing her fists to her sides in an attempt to look stern. It didn't work, she had a very polite face which made it harder to look down on.
"I want to go to the Academy, but I don't know anything about it. I don't know where it is and I don't know who to talk to.", he rested his chin on the palm of his hand, balancing on his left leg.
"I'll make the arrangements, you however just need to meet me halfway.", she broke into a whisper, "I want you to keep your hopes up. Have faith, pull up some extra money and keep your strong spirit. I'll make the arrangements with Lord Death and have an interview set up."
"You'd really do that?", he stared at her, trying to hide his inner feelings of anguish, that never seemed to leave his soul. He'd have to ask her about that later.
"Of course, I know just how you feel. I'm surprised though, it's very rare to have a weapon in this family. In fact you may be the first, I was the first Meister after all, but still, no weapons at all. It's unheard of in the families history.", she chuckled, "Though I guess you do seem like a bit of a rule breaker."
He flashed a broken smile.
"Now, about the human soul mishap.", she put on a more disturbed face, "I want you to promise me you'll never ever eat another one, as long as you live. That's the reason the academy was created, to stop the hunting of human souls, however they may overlook it since you ate it against your own will. The fact you're still sane, and that the man had tried to kill you, is a good thing on your part. It sounds crazy but in fact it'll come in handy.", she pat him on this shoulder.
"I'll leave you to rest then, it's getting late and it seems like you've had enough excitement for one day. I'll see you in the morning.", she yawned, stretched, and quietly left the room.
He had no words. There was nothing to say, and a thank you coming from him didn't seem like much payment in his eyes. It was inhuman for somebody to be this kind, so he thought. She'd even made it a point to bash his parents. Her own daughter, was that normal? He had no idea. Did she truly feel the same way about Wes? Did she see him as a people pleaser too? Maybe, but that wasn't the point. The words swam in his mind, repeating themselves over and over again, until he finally passed out in the bed with a headache.
It was one of the most peaceful nights he'd had in a very long time. He woke up that morning, feeling much better than he had the day before. Her promising words remained glued in his mind, he prayed it wasn't a dream. No, impossible, it seemed all to real. Another feeling swelled within him, one he'd been unfamiliar with. It wasn't a bad feeling, it wasn't that of anger, or hate. This time it was something much more relaxing, one he didn't have to fight off.
He'd finally felt trust.
Soon after allowing himself a little more rest, the sun began to glare into the guest room, making it impossible to sleep. He gave up the battle with the window curtains, and decided to walk around the house a little. If he was lucky maybe he'd run into his, "granny", as she preferred There was an unfamiliar smell filling the house. No, not unfamiliar, just strange. It was the smell of pancakes and eggs. He followed the smell into the living room, where it soon led him over to the wall connecting into another room. The kitchen door.
"Weird, I didn't know servants prepared eggs.", he thought.
He took a step in, slowly opening the door. The kitchen was filled with smoke and the scent of breakfast. His grandmother stood at the stove, cooking to her hearts content. She seemed to be humming a low tune as she scrambled the eggs in the pan, placing them on a plate of pancakes, proceeding to set them on the table where she finally noticed Soul.
"Oh, good morning Soul. Did you sleep well?", she sang, focusing completely on the breakfast in front of her.
He nodded, assuming she would somehow see it.
Somehow she had as she continued, "That's good, I hope the room wasn't too much trouble. Wes often complains about the bed being a little small, however you do appear to be much younger than he. Let's see, you're twelve now, right?"
"Eleven.", he managed, taking a seat at the table.
"Oh right, and Wes is seventeen I believe?"
He nodded.
"Good, good, my memory isn't as good as it used to be so you'll have to forgive me.", she now took a seat across from him at the semi-medium sized table in the center of the room.
"Did you make this?", he asked, puzzled by the amount of labor she was putting into breakfast, knowing very well there had to be some kind of servant or maid around the house.
"Yes, I love cooking. I can show you how some time if you like?"
He blinked, reaching mass confusion, "I was always told there would be someone else around to do the cooking."
She dug her fork into the pancakes, "Well you are going to the academy after all, once there you'll be assigned a Meister and I don't believe your Meister would take pride in cooking every single meal for you. You're a growing boy, you can do it. I'll show you how later.", she took a bite.
He nodded dumbly, taking a bite as well. The taste was amazing, one of the best meals he'd ever had. Even if it was incredibly simple, he was sure he'd never be able to make a dish this well prepared. Even the servants around the house had failed to cook such an exquisite meal.
"Do you like it?", she finally spoke.
He nodded again, savoring every bite.
"That's good.", she cooed.
After breakfast, she'd mentioned something a little unsettling.
"Soul, about that human soul.", she broke the silence, observing him once he'd finished attacking the plate of food.
"What about it?", he asked nervously.
"We need to exercise it out, and get some proper training into your system. You have no idea how rare it is for someone to eat something like a human soul and survive with their sanity. It's incredible. However, if you're going to the academy we need to ensure you'll have a strong soul, one that isn't tainted. Do you understand?"
He shook his head.
"A sound soul dwells within a sound mind, and a sound body. That's one of the things they teach at the academy. In order to ensure you'll be accepted, you need to clear your mind. Keep yourself healthy, don't give into the madness."
He wasn't exactly sure what she meant by madness, but he didn't like the sound of it.
"Follow me.", she got up and walked out of the room, leading him to the backyard, which was almost bigger than the house itself. It was large, extremely large. There was evidence of a river nearby and towering trees, a miniature pond off to the left and a garden growing proudly around the walls. It was beautiful.
"Soul,", she placed a hand on his shoulder as he gazed at the magnificent sight, "Today the real training begins."
This type of training, was nothing like he'd expected. The training his father had introduced him to, was that which craved power. It was disturbing, the way his father had taken so much pride in something that he knew was impossible to perfect. The crazy look in his eyes, the dark feeling he'd get whenever he was around, all of that seemed to disappear once he stepped outside into the backyard. It wasn't dark like the forest. His grandmother wasn't deranged like his father-the only thing he could be sure of at this point.
"What are we doing out here? Don't we need an obstacle course or something?", he finally asked.
"We're striving towards something else. Since you're a weapon, and I'm a Meister, I'll be unable to teach you everything you need to know. However, minor soul enhancements are something everyone should know.", she took a few steps out.
"We're going to find your inner peace. Without some type of level ground with humanity you're practically a walking ball of confusion. Now, let's start by finding your center.", she led him over to the center of the yard, where every section seemed to be equally divided off.
"There are a number of things out here that would bring inner peace to almost anybody, we just need to find which section suits you, and then we can begin. Go take a look around, there's a garden, a pond, a fountain, and my personal favorite, the miniature forest.", she pointed to the various areas, finishing with the small wooded area nearby.
"So, I just have to walk up to one of these and my soul will get stronger?", he wandered around with his hands sewn into his pockets.
"Not quite, keep looking around until you find one spot that makes you feel strong. Well, strong isn't the right word, safe is more like it. Somewhere you would hide if you were ever in a tough spot.", she explained.
He shrugged, walking around the yard for a while. The garden was alright, it was pretty, the flowers smelt good, but it wasn't his favorite place. Something about it pushed him away. He looked around some more, noticing the fountain. The fountain was pretty cool, it was gorgeous. The flower petals in the water looked alright, until he noticed something he wished he hadn't seen-his reflection in the water. Pushed away from the area once more, he decided to take a shot at the miniature forest that had been set up. It was alright, he didn't feel as nervous as he had before, but something about it was strange. The feeling he'd gotten when he stepped on the small leaves below his feet, told him it would be best for him to leave. He did as the imaginary wise voices commanded, prepared to give up.
He tripped, stumbled forward, and landed head first into the pond.
"Soul are you alright?", his grandmother called.
"I'm fine.", he managed, releasing a small fountain of water from his lips.
"I hope you didn't hurt the koi fish.", she looked nervously down into the water.
"Koi fish?", he asked, looking into the water as well.
"No, they're alright.", she said, pointing to two fish in the corner. They were very odd, they weren't like usual fish at all. Instead of being some blue or golden color like most of the fish he'd seen in the tanks around the house, these were a sort of..
"Why are they black and white?", he asked.
"They're a special type of breed. Very rare in fact, they were difficult to come across. They're my favorite."
"Do they have names?"
"Of course they do.", she smiled.
"What are they?", he asked, a little too interested in the extraordinary fish.
"This one is Ying,", she pointed to the black fish, "and this is Yang.", she pointed to the white fish.
"Why did you call them that?", he asked, poking at the water.
"The thought of Ying and yang reminded me of my days as a Meister. They share the same type of relationship. Though the two are extremely different, down to their very souls, one can't live without the other. They complete each other."
He stared in awe at the fish.
"I think I found my center.", he finally stated.
"That's great."
"What now?"
"Well what else, we're going to begin your training."
