It had been two weeks since Franken had started training daily with Black*Star, the boy making great strides with his abilities. Today Black*Star had come to the lab to train Franken and Marie, Spirit, and Izzy were watching.
"You have to focus more." Black*Star's voice was low and menacing as he crouched in front of the boy, his hands in a defensive position. "You need to watch what your opponent is doing and use his momentum against you. You're small; you need all the advantages you can get."
"I'm not small." Franken said, darting at the other meister.
Black*Star sidestepped him and Franken went tumbling against the ground. Izzy squirmed in her mother's grasp, twisting and turning.
"Izzy, calm down." Marie said soothingly.
"He's hurting Fray!" The little girl whined.
"He is not."
Black*Stair met Franken this time, absorbing the boy's wavelength and knocking him backwards. Izzy shrieked again and Marie turned to Spirit. "I'm going to take her in; she's getting too upset watching them spar."
Spirit reached out to ruffle his daughter's hair. "It's only because you're worried about Franken, isn't it?"
Izzy sniffled and nodded. "He's being mean to Fray!"
Spirit plucked Izzy out of Marie's arms and gave Marie a smile. "I'll hold her; maybe I can explain it to her."
"She definitely is a daddy's girl." Marie said with a smile on her face. The trio turned back to the sparring match between Franken and Black*Star, watching as the boy managed to evade one of Black*Star's attacks.
"Thatta boy, Franken!" Spirit cheered, and Izzy echoed a moment later.
"That boy Fray!"
Franken turned to grin at them at the same instant that Black*Star had darted towards the boy.
"Franken!" Marie's voice screamed out as Black*Star couldn't stop in time. His hand caught the unaware boy and sent him flying a good thirty feet. Franken hit the ground and collapsed, skidding a bit.
Izzy screamed. She wriggled out of Spirit's arms before he could stop her and charged Black*Star. "You hurt Fray! You killed Fray!" The little girl's voice was shrill.
"Izzy, Fray isn't dead!" Black*Star said quickly, Marie rushing to Franken as Spirit darted after Izzy. The little girl was screaming as she collided with Black*Star, the meister taking a step back as the four year slammed into him.
No one expected the blood that spurted from Black*Star's mouth. Izzy stood with her arm buried to the elbow in Black*Star's stomach. The little girl was screaming and crying, and as Spirit grabbed her to pull her back they all could see that Izzy was a weapon.
To everyone's surprise Black*Star laughed. "You've got two little pipsqueaks that need training now! I'll bring Tsubaki next time!"
Spirit held Izzy as she cried against his shoulder, her arm no longer a blade.
"You should go and get some medical attention, Black*Star." Marie said gently. "We'll pay for whatever it costs." Franken rubbed the side of his head as he stood, his mother helping him up.
The assassin meister just wiped the blood off his chin and grinned. "A god like me doesn't need medical attention for such a small prick. I'll see you tomorrow for more training and I'll bring Tsubaki for Izzy." Black*Star winked at Franken, who was standing beside his mother now, watching, before he left.
Izzy was sniffling, huddled in the corner of the couch while Franken sat beside her. Spirit and Marie stood looking down at the two children, and Izzy suddenly shifted to hide her head against Franken's shoulder. He just looked down at her and back up at their parents.
"Izzy, sweetheart, we're not mad at you." Spirit said soothingly, kneeling down in front of the two as Marie smiled. "We're proud of you for wanting to protect your brother." Izzy's face peeked out from her brother's shoulder.
"R-really?" The little girl's voice was pitiful.
"Of course we aren't." Marie's voice was just as warm. "We're not anymore mad than we were when Franken found out he was special. You just have to be very, very careful Izzy. You could have seriously hurt Black*Star today. It's important that you be very, very careful. Do you understand me?"
Izzy buried her face back in Franken's shoulder and the boy scooted away from her a little, pushing her shoulder to make her sit up. Izzy looked at him with tears in her eyes.
"Izzy, thank you for trying to save me. I'm your big brother though; I have to be the one to save you, not the other way around, alright?" Franken said with a smile on his face.
Izzy huffed suddenly. "Fray is stupid."
Marie and Spirit burst out laughing as the two children stared at each other.
"I am not!"
"Fray is stupid! If you get knocked down by someone bigger than you, you have to get up. Fray didn't get up, so Izzy had to save Fray or Fray would have died!" Izzy sat up on her knees and stared at Franken. "So you stupid." The little girl's voice made it sound like the most obvious thing in the world.
The look on Franken's face was priceless. "I am not!"
"Are too!"
"Am not!"
"Are too!"
"Am not!"
"Are-"
"Enough!" Spirit cut through their bickering, but he was laughing. "Franken is not stupid. Sometimes when you get hit you can't stand up immediately. That doesn't make him stupid, Izzy."
The little girl turned to look at her mother and stood up to whisper something in Marie's ear.
"No sweetie," Marie said, trying to laugh, "your Papa isn't stupid either." Izzy just stuck her tongue out at Spirit.
The next day Black*Star returned with Tsubaki, and they split the children up. Tsubaki was just talking to Izzy this time while Black*Star was pacing Franken.
The boy did better than Black*Star had anticipated, and landed a few good hits on the older meister. "That's the spirit!" Black*Star shouted arrogantly. "You want to make sure that your opponent is on the ropes!"
Franken darted away from the meister as Black*Star pushed towards him, looking around the area that Spirit and Marie had cordoned off as a training space. His eyes settled on the tree that was overhanging it and he glanced over his shoulder at Black*Star before running over to it, quickly scrambling up and into the branches.
The foliage was thick, and Franken was able to wedge himself between two branches where Black*Star couldn't see him. The boy grinned, just barely able to make out the blue-haired man through the gaps in the tree branches as the man climbed up into the tree. Franken closed his eyes for a second and when he reopened them to try to focus on finding the man's soul, he shrieked, Black*Star directly in front of him.
He fell from the branch he was sitting on, Black*Star catching him by the heel.
"A word of advice, when in combat, run your Soul Perception constantly. It'll keep you from getting surprised like that, Franken." Black*Star said quietly, pulling the boy back up and into the tree. "Now then, your mother is coming. I want you to drop out of the tree when she walks under it. See if you can do it undetected."
"Won't she get mad?"
"She knows that you're training, and she's in the training yard." Black*Star said, his eyes twinkling.
"Alright!" Franken crept to a larger branch, watching his mother approach the tree. He dropped out of the tree right as she passed underneath him, his arms slipping over her head, and pulling her down to the ground with him. Both of them landed hard, Franken laughing and Marie already screaming for Black*Star.
The assassin was nowhere to be found. Tsubaki vanished shortly thereafter, leaving Izzy with Spirit.
A/N: I don't own Soul Eater.