The Nevada sun hit him as soon as he entered the state line. It was a desert, nothing much dirt and dry sun for miles. He'd follow the mental map she'd given him, in other words he made a few turns until he thought he was going in the right direction. Luckily, after a few hours or longer, the exit sign read loud and clear, "Nevada". He smirked the minute he saw it, surely there would be a sign directing him to Death City. He was wrong of course, and he'd visualized his grandmothers mental map.
"Damn..Where the hell is it.", he muttered to himself, taking another wrong turn.
"Aha!", he yelled in triumph, seeing the outline of a city in the far distance.
Death City was nothing at all like he'd expected.
It was small, and slightly creepy, though that might have been the reason he instantly fell in love with it. The way the town loomed in the middle of the desert, a more deranged part of Soul found the idea "cool". He was certain, the academy had to be there somewhere. For once in his life, he was right. Though his wail of triumph was interrupted by the rough sound of multiple pops coming from the engine.
Of course, he was running out of gas. He took his very first step into Death City, walking around for a while until he found a shop that conveniently sold motor oil. He pumped the oil into his motorcycle, and asked for directions to the academy, before speeding off again. Luckily, his grandmother had gotten sneaky, and worried. She'd hidden some money on the bike. He'd first noticed it before his journey, the money that was taped onto the bike, just under the seat.
He looked up and thanked her.
"Now..we just need to speak to this "Lord Death" guy and we're in.", he thought to himself, pulling up to the front of a very large set of stairs. The building towered over him, it looked more like a castle. He kept his jaw from dropping, making his way to the door. It was deserted of course, nearing the end of June, meaning the end of summer. Not even a teacher in sight.
It wasn't hard to get lost down the long hallways, but eventually he stopped in front of a large medal door, that read, "The Death Room".
"Well..Lord Death, Death Room, sounds good to me.", he reassured himself, knocking on the door.
The door opened, and to his surprise, above him hung a long row of guillotine He definitely knew it, if he stepped out of line, or strayed from the path of humanity, there's no doubt they wouldn't hesitate. He'd be destroyed.
"Uh..", he hesitated, "Lord Death?", he called down the hallway.
"Yes? Yes? Good! It's you! Good to see you!", replied a goofy voice.
Soul took a good look at Lord Death, his inner self fighting off laughter. The man looked ridiculous even his mask was silly. He didn't look like the Lord of Death at all.
"Um, Lord Death, is that you?", he asked, gawking at the mask.
"Yes, yes. Now now, what is it? Are you here for enrollment?", he bounced around.
"Uh, yeah. Actually. My grandmother..", he was cut off.
"Oh! Your grandmother, she was a great Meister you know. Such a shame she died, but now. Enrollment was it?"
Soul blinked, unsure if he'd just been the center of some childish prank, "Yeah, she wanted me to attend the academy. I'm a weapon.", he finished.
"Ah, I see, well luckily she filled out the forms before the tragedy and she's been placed as a legal guardian, in case anything were to happen to your mother or father. Now, I just need you to answer a few questions.", he replied in a strangely cheerful voice.
"Yeah sure alright.", replied a suddenly eager Soul.
"I just need your age, name, and weapon form."
"Name..", thought Soul.
"My name is Soul Eater, I'm thirteen, Demon Scythe."
"Welcome to the academy Soul Eater! You're in luck too, you don't have to go through any of the interviews because it's too close to the beginning of the year and none of the teachers want to do the paper work!", he cheered, "School starts next week on Monday at 7 in the morning. Be sure you're there, you'll definitely want to meet your Meister soon.", he paused, "Oh, right, do you have a Meister?"
Soul shook his head. For a moment it felt as if he were a lost puppy, missing an owner. The sad truth, that's what he was.
"Alright, just be there like I instructed and there should be an open sea of promising Meisters!", he cheered as he dismissed Soul, who now tread silently down the halls of the academy.
"I finally did it..", he thought, "I finally ditched that stupid name.", he smirked.
His problems weren't over. He'd have to find a place to stay, until class started next week. There was absolutely nobody he knew in the city, and the money his grandmother gave him only sufficed for two or three nights in a motel. He wasn't sure how dangerous it would be in Death City at night, but he didn't want to find out. Another problem, how did he know there was a Meister out there that could put up with him. What if they were all like his parents, what if his Meister deemed him unworthy.
His thoughts were interrupted by a sudden burst of window knocked out of him.
"Ow! Watch where you're going!", he yelled at the kid in front of him, who'd just bumped into him with the strength of a speeding train.
"How dare you speak to your god like that!", the boy screamed back.
"God? Who the hell?", Soul rubbed his head and looked at the blue haired boy toppled on the floor in front of him.
He wore a dark tank top, and white pants. His entire outfit was laced with a belt and accessories, such as weapons and gloves, strapped to his side and arms.
"You! You dare defy the mighty Black*Star!?", he chanted, stepping into a sort of "warrior" pose.
He couldn't help it, it was too much. The pressure, he couldn't fight it any longer. If he did, he was certain he would lose his mind. He held his sides.
"...OH MY GOD YOUR NAME IS ACTUALLY BLACK*STAR!", he laughed at the top of his lungs, "THAT'S THE FUNNIEST THING I'VE HEARD ALL DAY AND I JUST MET LORD DEATH!", he continued laughing until tears of joy sprouted from his eyes.
"What's so funny! I bet you're just jealous because you have a dumb name!", he pointed at the laughing boy, on the ground, holding his sides as if they were about to fly out.
"Not funnier than Black*Star!", he laughed again.
"FINE! Let's hear it then! Unless you're a,", he made two wings with his arms, "CHICKEN!", he began to flap and cluck like a chicken, not helping the fact it was nearly impossible for Soul to stop laughing already.
Soul broke into another laugh, on the ground again. Black*Star couldn't help but laugh too, realizing what he'd been doing.
"So what's your name man?", asked Black*Star, reaching his hand out.
"Soul Eater.", he replied with a smirk, taking the hand as Black*Star hoisted him up.
For a boy his size, he'd been fairly strong.
"Ha! A puny name like that?! Your name is simply just terrified since it can't comprehend such a big stars name, like mine!", he continued his warrior pose.
"Yeah, I'm sure that's it Black*Star,", he replied, sarcasm dripping off his words.
"So kid, you a Meister or a weapon?", he asked.
"Weapon. How about you?"
"Assassin! I'm a Meister, and next week I'll officially enroll in the academy for the first time ever! My weapons going to be strong, and awesome, and far too great for you lesser weapons!", he pointed a finger straight at Souls face, Soul fighting the temptation to slap it away.
"I need a Meister, and my Meisters definitely going to kick some serious ass.", he gave a wide toothy grin.
Black*Star stared in aw for a moment.
"Dude!", he exclaimed, "Your teeth!", he began pulling at his mouth, opening and closing his jaw, trying to get a better look at the sharp teeth.
"Stop it! What the hell!", Soul let out a partially muffled scream, trying to get the boys hands away from his mouth.
"Awesome! How'd you get those set of razors? They're.. They're..", he paused, putting on a serious face, "ALMOST AS GODLY AS ME YAHOO!", he let out a scream as his serious face vanished, possibly permanently.
"Well anyway.", Soul blinked, feeling his own jaw for a moment, "Do you live in Death City?", he asked.
"I live in the academy.", he paused, "But starting Monday, I'll find my awesome Weapon and move in with whoever they are!", he exclaimed.
A part of him wanted to ask why the boy lived in the academy, and if there were any other students around, but something told him it'd be a good idea not to get into it. Instead, he changed the subject.
"Who do you think your weapons gonna be?"
"Who else! Someone godly! Someone who can do the unthinkable! How bout you?"
"Someone bad-ass, duh.", he smirked, refusing to grin at the expense of Black*Star grabbing his teeth again.
"Black*Star!", a voice called from behind.
"Huh? Yeah Sid?", he asked, turning around towards a muscular man with black dread locks in his hair.
"Get back over here, we need to presume your training.", he commanded, then pointed at Soul, "You, what are you doing here? Are you a student?", he asked.
"As of Monday, yeah I guess I am.", he gulped.
"Well the academy is off limits after hours unless it's an emergency. What are you doing here?", he pointed a finger up to his face.
"I don't..I", he didn't want to say it, but at this point he had nothing to lose, "I don't have anywhere to go. I haven't found a place yet."
"I see, well then we'll just have to hold a cell for you until Monday, then when you're assigned a Meister you'll just have to move in with them.", he sighed.
Soul shrugged and followed the man, until something hit him like a ton of bricks.
"Wait,", he stopped, "did you say cell? As in, jail cell?"
"Relax kid, they're holding cells. There are two sections, one is used as a jail, for captured witches or enemy spies, the other section is for kids like you, students who've lost their homes. Black*Stars holding cell is down here somewhere.", he led them both down through a door into a dark corridor.
He shrugged and relaxed a little, knowing they wouldn't be so savage as to treating him like a prisoner, at least not if they were kind enough to allow Black*Star permanent residence there.
"Here we are kid, I suggest you go grab whatever stuff you've got and bring any valuables down here, if you drove here, which I assume you did since you don't have a house here, and it's far too long to walk,", he coughed as he began to ramble, "just park whatever you came here on in the garage and take any personal belongings with you. Oh, and no pets.", he finished, exiting the cell and disappearing down into the dark hallways.
He already knew what to do, he made his way to the front of the academy, pulling the bike around to what seemed to be the garage. It wasn't connected to the building, it was further off to the side, away from view. He knew it'd be a long walk retrieving it but at this point he didn't care. He grabbed his suitcase, and strolled back down into his cell. It was surprisingly comfortable, as he drifted off into a long, well deserved rest.
His grandmother flooded his dreams.
"Soul", a pure voice called to him.
He wasn't sure where he was, though he knew where he was going. He followed the sound.
"Granny?", he stated in his manliest voice, though it proved to no avail since it's very hard to keep cool while talking to your dead grandmother who insists on being only addressed as "granny".
"Soul, you've made me proud.", she stated.
"Granny is that you?", he asked, walking toward the noise.
"I can't help you, from this point on the choice is yours."
"What do you mean you can't help,", he panicked, "I can't do this alone."
"You won't do it alone, your Meister will be there for you."
"My Meister? I haven't even met my Meister!", he protested.
"Soon, you'll find the one who will purify your soul. Take that person into your heart, open yourself to that person, Soul."
"What are you talking about?", he asked, utterly confused as of this moment.
"I have to go now.", she stepped out of the shadows in a bright white outfit, giving him a tight hug.
"You have to go? But Why?"
"The choice is yours now Soul. I'm proud of you.", she smiled, disappearing into a bright white light.
Soul jolted up in his rough medal bed. He'd woken up in a cold sweat, looking down at himself in the bed. The moon was laughing down at the bars on the cell window. There was something he'd noticed in his dream, his outfit had been changed. It was changed, as if it no longer represented Dimitri. Something was different, but he couldn't quite place it.
Then it hit him.
He stumbled out of bed and pulled a few things out of his bag. His grandmother had left him some personal items, she'd always wanted to see him enjoying her gifts. Two things lay at the top of his lazily packed suitcase, a pin that held a round item with, what looked like a mouth, on it. Except, the mouth had razor sharp teeth, just like him. She'd said it reminded her of him and his sharp teeth. The second thing, a patch she'd saved from her days as a Meister. It was meant to go with her uniform, the moment she collected her first soul it had been given to her. It was a blue patch with the word "Soul" sewn in on with black thread. He took a moment, attaching the Velcro patch onto the first thing he laid eyes on.
The tan band that was meant to wrap around his head.
To his surprise, it stuck just like glue. Shortly after admiring it, he pinned the mouth onto the right side of his band, completing the look.
Only one word could form in his mind, describing how he'd felt about the outfit altogether,
"Cool."