New Chapter!

Took a while!

Enjoy!


Stein sat on his chair backward smoking a cigarette. He looked at Maka and Black Star with an expressionless face. Today, he was in charge of teaching them how to act as a team. He was also going to assess the compatibility of their souls.

"Alright," Stein said eventually. "It's time to get started."

"Finally!" Maka and Black Star said at the same time, for very different reasons. Maka just wanted to get this over with while Black Star seemed to think that surpassing Maka's soul perception abilities will be the equivalent of surpassing a god's soul perception ability.

Stein found it to be a little weird, to be honest.

"Perhaps you two should have a little energy boost before starting," Stein suggested. He gestured to the desk behind him where two uncapped thermos sat.

"What is it made of?" Maka asked suspiciously.

"Oh, just this and that," Stein said as the two children approached the table. They missed the slightly maniacal glint in the professor's eyes.

"What will it do to us?" Black Star asked, sounding highly excited.

"It will amplify your energy and your soul's flexibility, making it easier for the two of you to gain an understanding of the technique of Soul Force and Soul Perception," Stein explained.

"Alright," Black Star said. He turned to Maka. "On three. Ready, Maka?"

"I guess," she said, giving the liquid one more cautious sniff before raising it to her mouth. Black Star did the same.

"One... Two... Three!" Both teens tipped their thermos back, drinking the contents in under ten seconds.

"Ew!" Maka shouted, gagging at the after-taste.

"Now what?" Black Star asked, coughing.

"Now, we wait five minutes for the chemicals to take effect," Stein said, leaning back in his chair. He gestured to the children to go sit down, which they did.

Too bad Stein miscalculated the concentration.

...

"WOOHOO!" Black Star shouted, bouncing off the walls. He was using Soul Force repetitively, destroying windows and desks as he cackled. Maka was hanging upside down from the chandelier, muttering about seeing the soul of the universe.

"Stein? What is going on in here?" Lord Death asked, waddling into the classroom with Spirit in tow. They had just finished their lessons with Kid and Soul.

"It seems I have made a minor miscalculation," Stein said, watching the children.

"Clearly," Spirit said, watching his daughter dangling from the ceiling. "What did you give them?"

"Just a little something," Stein said with a grin. "I gave it to you once, remember?" Spirit's eyes widened and he nodded.

"What does it do?" Lord Death asked, ducking to avoid being hit by Black Star.

"Well, Stein gave it to me outside our shared house, and then everything turned purple, and next thing I know, I'm three hundred miles away, sleeping on top of the Empire State Building," Spirit said, his eyes far off.

"That is... impressive," Lord Death said.

"Yeah, it is," Stein agreed. He turned his attention back to his students. "Maka! Black Star! Come down here!"

"Yes sir!" Maka giggled, falling from the chandelier and landing on her feet before collapsing to the ground.

"No way, old man," Black Star shouted. "You can't catch-." His mockery was cut short with a powerful punch in the face from Stein.

"There we go," Stein said, looking at the two students on he ground. "Before we end this failure of a lesson, I would like the two of to try and resonate."

"But neither of us are weapons," Maka said, slowly gathering her wits.

"I know, but we would like to see," Spirit said.

"Alright," Maka said, standing up. She grabbed Black Star's hands and hauled him to his feet.

"When you are ready," Lord Death said. Maka and Black Star nodded, both overcoming the strength of the 'energy drink' to focus. Stein watched using his Soul Perception as Maka and Black Star's souls began to expand. Once they had reached a stable mass, the tails of the souls formed and stretched towards one another. The second they touched, a massive spurt of energy ricocheted into the two students.

"Ah!" They both shouted as their souls dissipated around them, leaving two massive craters.

"Sorry Professor," Maka said. "We can try again if you need us to."

"It appears that your souls are too different," Stein said.

"Thank Death," Spirit muttered. Black Star froze when he heard Spirit say that. Why is he happy about our failure? Doesn't he think that Maka should be perfect? Shouldn't he be blaming me for Maka's failure?

"You're quite welcome," Lord Death said

"Are we done for the day? Black Star asked.

"Yes," Stein said. "We will continue with the lesson tomorrow. I don't know if you noticed or not, but you two have, in fact, been showing some potency in Soul Perception and Soul Force."

"Really?" Maka asked.

"Yeah. You were a little to hyper to notice, though," Stein said. "The only reason that you are calm now is because Ms. Marie, along with Kim and Ox, are in another room working on the calming soul wavelength.

"What does that mean?" Black Star asked.

"It means that, once you exit the school, you will start hearing smells and taste colors," Spirit said.

"Don't worry though," Stein said. "It should wear off in an hour. You two can stay in the school with Soul and Kid until then. They're in the library."

"Alright," Black Star said. "Let's go!" Maka looked at Black Star a little oddly. Usually, he would be obsessed with getting the new technique perfect. Right now though, he was walking away, and dragging her with him. He shot her a look that said he would explain later.

"We'll see you tomorrow, Professor," Maka said with a smile as the two disappeared out the door. Once they were gone, Stein turned to Lord Death and Spirit.

"How did Soul and Kid perform?" he asked.

"I couldn't complain. There is a little trouble with the symmetry, but I think we are getting past that," Lord Death said.

"I just wish that Soul wasn't such a snot nosed little brat," Spirit said. "I can't believe my Maka would partner with someone like him..."

"So, how did their resonance go?" Stein asked, ignoring his old partner.

"It went badly," Lord Death said, the happiness evident in his voice. "As badly as Maka's did with Black Star."

"That is good news," Stein said. "That's two pairs out of six."

Two out of six safe.

...

"Hey Soul!" Black Star shouted as he caught sight of his friend sitting next to Kid in the library. He was immediately shushed by everyone in the vicinity.

"Hey Black Star!" Soul whispered back to his friend. Then, he caught sight of Maka. He jumped up and hugged her.

"Hi!" Maka said, caught by surprise.

"I never imagined that I'd miss being your partner so much," he whispered in his ear as he held her closer. Black Star and Kid felt a little awkward watching the scene.

"Maybe we should leave," Kid whispered.

"I can't," Black Star said. "If I do, I'll get super high." Kid gave him an odd look, to which Black Star simply shrugged.

"Alright then," he said.

"Yeah. I have to wait an hour," Black Star said. "Then I'll be good."

"So, what brings you guys down here?" Soul asked, breaking the hug.

"It's about what you said over the phone last night," Black Star said, sitting down at the table. "Spirit sounded like he was relieved that Maka and I couldn't resonate."

"My dad was the same with us," Kid muttered.

"What is wrong with them, if they don't want us resonating?" Maka wondered aloud.

"Maybe it has to do with the mission we're going on," Kid said suddenly. "Maybe it wasn't a coincidence that we were broken up from our partners."

"But what is the benefit of it?" Soul asked. "Is it safer for us?"

"How would it be?" Maka asked. "We would be even more vulnerable."

Soul, Kid, and Black Star nodded in agreement with her, and the quartet continued to discuss their odd situation.


Chapter done!

Yay!

Thanks,

~CatKkit.