Disclaimer: Soul Eater is copyrighted to Atsushi Okubo and all other third parties (characters, series, and concepts). I and HopeDiamond101 of DeviantArt claim no ownership to it. We do, however, own the original characters and content presented in this story.
The Approaching Threat From Nowhere
Month 1, Week 2, Day 4 (Thursday, January 11th)
The ocean, one of the most fascinating parts of the Earth itself. The celestial rays of the Sun painted a canvas of different shades of blue beneath through the surface. The resulting crystalline sheen complemented the dark rocks and ridges. The seamounts and reefs provided shelter for a diverse array of small aquatic animals. Schools of fish and other sea creatures enjoyed their biome with not a care in the world, incapable of minding the large, subterranean structure that occupied a great amount of space.
Attached to the bottom of a rock formation was a large, roughly rectangular aquatic building. Its bright silver façade featured huge pressure-windows that afforded a view of the sea outside. It also had dark bluish columns between each window. Extending from the underside of this structure was another whose conjoined top almost equaled the size of the other. The edifice was mainly constructed of gear-like elements that tapered into a roughly conical design. This part was the primary component of the entire facility – an integrated extension of the rectangular but secondary section.
In the centermost part of the facility, there was a large room with a large pool in the middle. It was currently covered by a glass layer to facilitate movement in the room. Circumnavigating this pool was an expansive laboratory containing various equipment, machines, and computers. A large mother-computer was also present. The ceiling was high, including a system of pipelines and vents. Finally, there were two large, bidirectional, and mechanical doors in walls facing across from each other. They were accessible by the steel stairways integrated into the tall daises below the doors.
Cancer leaned against the frame of the mother-computer's large keyboard, resting her chin in her available arm's hand while its elbow was propped. Her ankles were crossed as her eyes examined the screen contemplatively. It displayed a digital map of the Middle East with a red dot placed over a certain location. "Still no movement, I see… It has already been five years." She mumbled.
Then she heard one of the mechanical doors open with a quick drone, followed by a male, refined voice declaring: "I've done the assigned tasks, Lady Cancer."
Cancer removed herself off the keyboard and looked over to the door. Standing on the platform as the door closed behind him was a creature who combined the characteristics of a crab and a man. His entire body was colored grayish blue, including his skin and the shell on his back. His blocky head was garnished in an organic, square helmet that seemed part of his body. The helmet featured a series of vertical ovals where his mouth was supposed to be, resembling a vent. His eyeholes were dark and hollow. The creature's main body consisted of a muscular torso and midriff, a very large crab claw for a right arm, and a regular but muscular human left arm. Finally, the muscles at the end of his midriff converged into a single joint for his three crab legs, two extending out to the side and one to the back.
"Ah, Henderson. You have returned." Cancer said as Henderson walked down the stairs and entered her sanctuary.
"Indeed," Henderson replied, approaching her, "As I was saying, the Surveillance Crabs and the creature, codenamed 'Gladiolus,' have been placed at the location you named." He looked at her intently and asked dubiously, "Are you quite certain you're prepared to reveal it now?"
Cancer walked past Henderson as she replied, "I believe we are at the point where we can. I see no long-term consequences even if the DWMA gets their hands on it. They have not a clue what it is anyway. Plus, I am trying to test something out that I need my guinea pigs to prove or disprove."
Henderson followed her but kept his distance as she moved toward a containment tube full of sky blue liquids. "Then I understand your judgment, Lady Cancer. Small steps toward the bigger goal." He rationalized.
"Precisely." Cancer stood in front of the tube, the soft glow reflecting off her silver hair. The title 00000Ω was embroidered on the glass surface in bold, dark red letters. A large, blood red soul floated inside it.
"They certainly helped to weed out the flaws I saw in Venice. Now, let us see if they can help me with something else."
"Yes! Test day! Time to get the highest score." Caius proclaimed as he walked through the hallways. He had a more confident stride in his step. Last night's study session worked like a charm. He felt tons more ready.
"Oh, yippie." Claudia muttered unenthusiastically with an expression to match her tone, walking slowly beside him.
Caius looked at her confusedly, "Tired?"
Claudia shook her head, "No. Just not thrilled we're having a test."
"But you've been studying, right? You should have no problem." Caius replied reasonably, failing to understand the issue. Then again, not many people actually enjoyed taking tests and furthering their academic knowledge.
"Yes, but, " Claudia looked away, her face flushing in embarrassment as she admitted, "When I take a test...my mind goes blank. And that stops me from finishing them."
"Oh, now I see." Caius said in realization, crossing his arms. So, she was experiencing persistent text anxiety, something commonplace among young students.
"So I'm going to fail the test! No matter how much I study, I keep getting low grades!" Claudia fussed worriedly, shaking her head with both her hands on either cheek.
Caius sighed, recognizing one simple solution to her problem. He leaned against the wall and said critically, "Geez, Claudia. With all the money you have, you could've afforded to sign up for a test-taking class."
Claudia stopped and looked at her meister curiously, "Test-taking class?"
"Uh, yeah?" Caius looked at her weirdly, "Never heard of them?"
"Not really." The Demon Lance replied, completely honestly. Caius sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. He was beginning to understand why her parents always asked him to supervise her. Common sense would have told anyone to seek out a workshop or tutor that could have given strategies on how to overcome text anxiety. "I must sign up for this class!" Claudia declared and then asked, "How much time do we have until the bell rings?"
Caius removed himself off the wall, pulled out his cell phone, and checked the time. "We have fifteen minutes until the first bell."
"Then we have no time to waste. We must go to the registrar's office and get me into that test-taking class!" Claudia proclaimed before running off the opposite way down the hall.
Caius watched her go with a neutral expression. He stood here for a couple of seconds before turning around and continuing on. "Eh, she's a big girl." He said nonchalantly, heading into class. She could do this one thing without him.
Almost all of the Crescent Moon Class was already situated in their seats. Maka finished preparing for the test, Soul shuffled in his seat and even looked like he was seating, Blackstar had a large goofy grin on his face as if he were completely ready, Tsubaki was relaxed and content, Kid sat stoutly in his seat, Liz filed her nails and showed no concern about the upcoming examination, and Patty hummed a tune to herself. Tsuji and Rowena shook nervously as if they were watching a suspenseful horror movie, Marcellus looked tired and ready to fall asleep anytime, and Nayumi simply sat there looking the most normal of the four. Ox was smirking superiorly, which meant he was gunning for the top, and Crona was waiting patiently.
"Come in and sit down. We start at the bell." Stein said to newly-arriving students as he prepared the tests. Twelve minutes passed afterwards, leaving three minutes left until class would officially begin. Everyone waited either anxiously or confidently for the first bell to ring, which would symbolize the beginning of the test. Stein was currently passing it out now, leaving the test facedown before each student.
"Don't touch the tests until I say begin." Stein ordered. When he noticed from the corner of his eyes that Blackstar was indiscreetly trying to peek at the test questions, he reached into his lab coat pocket and nonchalantly flung a scalpel over at him. The blade grazed his hair and stuck into the wall by him, prompting Blackstar to stop what he was doing and straighten in his seat. "And I mean that." Stein said coolly as he placed another test facedown on a desk.
Caius started to worry as he eyed at the empty seat next to him. Claudia had yet to return from the school registrar. As soon as the test started, Stein would forbid entry. Sure, Claudia supposedly wasn't a good test-taker, but some kind of grade was better than an incomplete or even a zero. When the door closest to him opened up, and he saw Claudia enter, his shoulders slumped in relief.
She slowly made her way up to her seat beside him and sat down, her eyes shadowed. Caius didn't notice this and asked her, "So, how'd it go? Are you in that class now?" He received no response from her, and that bothered him. He cautiously placed a hand on her shoulder and shook her gently to capture her attention, "Claudia, I'm talking to you." He called out firmly. What exactly had happened to silence her like this? Finally, Claudia moved, looking up to him.
"What's my social security number?"
...
...
Caius fell over and out of his seat in the most awkward way, causing the people around him to snicker humoredly. If a test weren't about to start, those snickers would have been full-blown howls of unrestrained laughter. Claudia, oblivious to her meister's comedic fall, continued as she whined hopelessly, "I didn't get a chance to sign up for the class because I didn't know what my social security number was."
Caius picked himself and his glasses up, hearing her as he sat back in his seat. Well, at least it wasn't something serious as he initially thought. At the same time, however, she shouldn't have made it seem like there was. Plus, it was pretty sad Claudia didn't even know a crucial part of her identity. "Wait until after class. I'll help you." He stated wearily.
Claudia's frown turned upside down as her eyes regained their natural shine, "Oh, you will?! Thank you! You're so helpful~"
Stein stood at the front of the class when was done and sat backwards in his caster-wheel chair. "Alright, class, any and all talking stops now. The test consists of 30 multiple-choice questions and 2 short essay questions. Make sure to pay attention to detail and answer all of them to the best of your ability. You will have one hour to finish this test." His glasses suddenly glinted eerily as he added in ominously, "And don't even think about cheating." Unmindful of some of his students shuddering in fear, he straighten up in his seat and muttered, "You may begin."
The Crescent Moon Class all flipped their tests over at the same time and began. Some immediately got into it, answering questions as quickly as they could. Others took time to read over everything. There were also those applying their own test-taking strategies.
"What does Joint Resonance consists of?" Maka decided to tackle the essay questions before going on to the supposedly easier multiple-choice questions. She confidently began writing the response as desired by the instructions.
"Choose the best response. What accurately describes what happens during Soul Resonance?" Tsuji smirked at the question,"Oh, that's easy! You kiddin' me right now?" He then proceeded to read the four available choices. All of them were very similar in wording and were technically correct as it pertained to a Soul Resonance. It was simply a matter of choosing the best response. However, because Tsuji did not study well, he lacked the capacity to pick out the best choice. He slapped the test on the surface of his desk as he shot Stein a flat look, "Doc. I hate you. You suck."
Of course, there were also those not putting much effort into the test. Blackstar and Liz were filling in answers randomly because they did not know the answers or were too lazy to care, respectively. Kid was more preoccupied in writing his name and date as beautifully and precise as possible; although, compared to previous times, he did significantly better and seemed as if he would have time to actually answer questions. Claudia appeared to be in a dizzy daze as she wrote out her answers.
Then there was that small number of students who were doing bizarre things to their test. Patty was currently taking the entire time to model her packet into a giraffe, but she was disappointed that she lacked the canyons needed to make it perfect. Nayumi gave up on the test halfway through and instead started doing origami using her test as the material.
After a long hour of hard work, pressured struggling, and persistent mental lags, the bell finally rang. On cue, Stein stood up from his seat and declared, "Time's up! Put your pencils down and have a nice day!"
The response to the grueling hours were mixed. Ox and Caius pumped a fist enthusiastically, proud of their work. Maka stood up as she had both arms in the air, sharing their elated confidence. Soul's and Claudia's head connected with their desk, venting their frustration. Liz, Marcellus, and Tsubaki were relieved that it was over. Patty currently had her paper-mâché giraffe in a headlock like that of a professional wrestler, and Nayumi wore her test on her head in the form of a sailor's hat throughout the entire time she was asleep.
Kid lied on the floor and sobbed hysterically, pounding the floor like a little kid throwing a tantrum. He was unable to finish his two essay questions before time was called. "I didn't write the letters perfectly or finish my perfect test! I'm filthy garbage. My father would be ashamed!"
"This is stupid!" Blackstar screeched, throwing his test papers in frustration. Rowena and Tsuji on the other side of the room violently threw their arms up in defeat, scattering their supplies and papers whilst spewing out a brief line of profanity.
"Rest easy. Our lessons resumes tomorrow, and Mr. Ricardsen will be back. And I will have the results up on the bulletin board tomorrow." Stein informed as he waved his students off as they filed out of his classroom, blithely uncaring of how most of them felt about the test.
Maka walked over to Caius and asked him, "So, how do you think you did?"
Caius grinned, "I think I did pretty well. You?"
"It was a piece of cake." Maka answered cockily. She then looked at Claudia and asked her nicely, "How did you hold up, Claudia?" Her response, however, was nothing more than distressed, muffled whining as Claudia kept her face on the desk. "Uhhh…" Maka droned, unsure of how to respond.
Caius sighed and nonchalantly said, "Just give her a minute. She'll calm down."
Ten minutes later
"Waaaaaaaaaah!" Claudia whined annoyingly loudly, flailing on the floor in a circle. Just as she had been doing for the past ten minutes. Caius, Soul, and Maka all watched, tired and irritated, as Claudia continued her extended nervous breakdown.
Maka looked at Caius dully, "Give her a sec, eh? She'll calm down, you say?"
"Don't test me."
Elsewhere, Tsuji, Rowena, Marcellus, and Nayumi walked down the hallway, heading to a specific part of the building. Along the way, they talked about their individual performance on the past.
"That was crap!" Rowena shouted, pulling at her hair.
"No, no, no, that test was bull crap!" Tsuji corrected her, grinding his teeth together, "I don't even know why Dad made us take it anyway!"
"Well, our first day has already been a nightmare, and it ain't even over!" Rowena worried, hanging her head.
"I hate this! I wanna go home!" Tsuji whined like a little girl, shaking his head furiously.
"Try going to library next time to study instead of your rooms." Marcellus recommended, chewing on his lollipop, "Then, you guys won't be tempted to play games and junk."
"That ain't happening." Rowena declared, instantly lifting her head to give Marcellus a dull look. She had no appreciation for the library or for studying long amounts of time.
Tsuji, too, stopped his antics on a dime after hearing that, "Hey. We have urges. Don't judge us."
"And, besides, Marcey," Nayumi spoke up, skipping alongside them with her hands folded behind her back, "I believe I caught you sleeping on the job a few times."
Marcellus shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. "What can I say? I like sleep."
The four eventually made it to the hallway that held the mission board and reception. The test gave them so much pent-up frustration. They didn't have the drive to stay at school and fight through the rest of the day. They needed stress relief. The twins searched the entire board intently for a suitable mission.
"Hey, let's pick the hardest one. I'm pissed enough to do it." Tsuji declared.
"I agree. Besides, it's time we do something other than prerequisite missions." Rowena asserted resolutely.
As they continued looking, Maka and company were on their way to the bulletin board. They all consensually agreed to go on a mission, deciding the test was enough scholastic action for the day. Well, really, it started off as Claudia's suggestion after she finally calm down. Then, Blackstar appeared out of nowhere and wanted to go too. Everything else fell into place naturally, leading to now.
The first thing they noticed was the new students raptly exploring the board. "Aren't those the new kids we saw the other day?" Claudia whispered to her group.
"Yeah, I remember them from that exercise," Liz said, squinting her eyes to get a better look at them, "Looks like they're looking for stuff too."
Hearing that, Patty found no reason not to introduce herself. "Oh! Oh! I got this!" She separated herself from the group and dashed over to them, "Hi, new people!" She greeted loudly, popping in the middle of them. Tsuji and Rowena jumped so badly their faces collided into the board. Marcellus accidentally swallowed his lollipop and started choking on it. Completely oblivious to her lack of tact, she went on, "My name's Patricia Thompson, but everyone calls me Patty! I like giraffes, chocolate, sunny days, long walks on the beach, drawing, coloring, playing games, singing, fighting, shootings things—"
"What was that last part?" Nayumi asked, performing the heimlich maneuver on Marcellus until he coughed up the lollipop.
"Sugar." Patty smiled innocently. Just then, Liz walked over and grabbed Patty's ear, pulling her away. "Ow, ow, ow! Sis, that huuuurts!" She cried as she was dragged off by her older sister.
Kid sighed as he and the others approached them, "You'll have to forgive my partner. She's… special."
Rowena and Tsuji finally pulled their faces off the surface of the board. They looked at the reaper and replied in unison, "Oh, it's cool."
"Say 'it's cool' to my windpipe." Marcellus grumbled, massaging his throat.
"Well, that little scene aside," Maka wanted to restart. First impressions were everything when it came to introductions, and Patty didn't exactly give a good one, "You all must be new to the Academy. Well, let me be the first to welcome you—"
"Hey! I wanna be the first to welcome them!" Claudia interjected. Maka clicked her tongue and rolled her eyes but nonetheless acquiesced, gesturing her to go on. Smiling, she then did a curtsey, "Welcome to the Death Weapon Meister Academy! My name is Claudia Moncharmin!"
"My God, you look like a Disney Princess more than an Academy student." Rowena remarked, squatting down and pulling at the fabric of her dress to examine it. Claudia tried to wrest control of her dress from Rowena but to no avail.
"Can you even fight?" Tsuji questioned, cupping his chin.
"Nope." Maka, Soul, and Caius all thought in unison.
Everyone else followed up with their introductions, allowing the Ricardsen Twins and their weapon partners to get acquainted and match face with name. "We're the Ricardsens, Tsuji and Rowena. These are our partners, Marcellus and Nayumi." The twins introduced themselves in unison.
"Wait a minute," Blackstar thought about the surname and then pointed at them, "'Ricardsens'?! You're related to that guy?!"
"Yep. He's our old man." Tsuji and Rowena responded shamelessly.
Tsubaki then moved on to the next important matter. "So, how did you guys do on the test?"
The atmosphere around Tsuji and Rowena suddenly turned black and blue, shadows covering their eyes. "Don't ask…Just don't."
"Not that I good I see." Tsubaki smiled sheepishly.
"Well, if you guys need study partners, you could join us if you like sometime." Maka offered.
"Thanks, but it's not that." Tsuji and Rowena replied simultaneously, "We just got in. Like, literally today. Doc and the Old Man just expect us to be able to score well on a test on stuff covered weeks in advance! Yeah, we got a packet and junk, but that didn't really prepare us for half the shit on the test!"
"Did they just say all that at the same time?" Liz pointed out, a little freaked out. Nobody paid attention to her.
"Sucks for you guys." Ragnarok retorted, prompting a glare from the twins.
Crown frowned and sighed, "Ragnarok, that's not nice." The swordsman looked at them and explained, "Please forgive him. He's just grumpy that I did not let him eat sweets this morning."
As Blackstar and Kid went up to the mission board, Nayumi fiddled with a strand of her purple hair as she whined, "Well, if we're still talking about tests, I made a paper hat out of mine, but that meanie Stein took it up!"
Patty walked over to Nayumi and patted her comfortingly on the head, "It's ok. He took up my giraffe."
Nayumi raised an eyebrow at her, "You make paper animals too?"
"Sometimes," Patty replied. She swayed her body side-to-side as began thinking, "Maybe next time I should make an elephant."
"I'm thinking of making a fan in my spare time." Nayumi said, looking up in thought.
A light bulb went off in Patty's head, "No! No! You should make a monkey! Then we can battle each other!"
"Okay!" Monkeys were Nayumi's favorite animals. Now that she found somewhere who liked origami as much as she did, Nayumi was sold on the idea. She wrapped her arms around the taller girl's waist. "This is the start of a beautiful friendship~"
"Hey, look! We found one!"
Everyone looked to Blackstar and saw him pointing eagerly at an available mission. The group of DWMA student all walked over and read the specifications.
Mission Location: Molenwaard, South Holland, the Netherlands
Mission Description: There is a mysterious outbreak of odd abominations in Holland. Locate and execute them on the spot. Also, try to bring a sample of said monsters back for analysis.
Mission Difficulty: B Rank
Special Notes: Because of the municipality's expansive layout, a group is required to track down the supposed abominations. Bring as many teammates as you see fit. The more, the better.
Status: Vacant
"Oh yeah. That one's definitely cool in my books." Soul commented, grinning.
Kid looked at the Ricardsens and asked, "Are you in? 'The more, the better' it says."
"Why not? Looks like the hardest one they have." Tsuji shrugged his shoulders.
"I'm game." Rowena smirked. They spoke for their weapon partners.
"Let's try meeting in the front of the school in an hour." Tsubaki suggested. That would give everyone ample time to get suited up, mentally prepare themselves, and do whatever else they had on their personal agenda.
As Kid removed the mission from the board, he looked at the twins and the Ardsens, "Make sure to bring your student IDs. You'll need them for the trip." He received slow nods from them. Obviously, they weren't sure of their IDs' usefulness. "I'll go ahead and register everyone for the mission. See you guys in an hour."
Nodding, the group dispersed. Kid went to Granny and got approval for the mission. Within the hour, the group finished up certain things. Maka got her assignments from other classes and picked up her battle coat with Soul following her the entire time. Blackstar decided to go to the dojo and get some extra muscle conditioning in as Tsubaki kept count for him. Caius went to the registrar and signed Claudia up for the test-taking skills class, latter getting his own battle outfit. Tsuji, Marcellus, Rowena, and Nayumi went to talk to Noel for a little bit about their test performance and their upcoming mission. Finally, Crona and Ragnarok simply waited for the hour to elapse.
At the grounds in front of the entrance, everyone besides Claudia had gathered. Tsuji, Rowena, Marcellus, and Nayumi were currently walking up to the group now. "Mission~ mission~ we're going on a mission~" The latter sung, bobbing her head slightly to entertain herself.
"Oh, look! Here they come! Hii~!" Patty said, waving at them as they approached.
"What's good, ya'll?" Rowena greeted, joining their companions.
"Ready to rock?" Tsuji asked, grinning excitedly.
"Born ready." Soul said simply, hands in his pockets.
"Are you kidding?! Let's go kick some ass!" Blackstar shouted boisterously, throwing a fist into the air.
The team proceeded down the giant staircase, heading to the land at the very bottom. Despite their physical fitness, going down the sheer length of the stairway would take a minute. Amongst the idle chatter, Kid reasoned that this was done to keep their students in top physical shape and to cement the DWMA's role as a monument for peace by having it so visible in the sky.
"So, why did we need our IDs again?" Rowena inquired, eyeing over at Kid.
Kid then explained thoroughly, "Well, for transportation purposes of course. At Death City Airport, when students on sanctioned business arrive, they must present their identification to the proper workers. They'll set up a flight to the destination, and we go on from there with our mission."
"Oh, wow! I didn't know all that!" Tsuji replied in amazement, "When we did our prereqs, we were always escorted."
The group soon reached the end of the staircase. When they did, Caius spoke up, "Okay. Our ride should be here soon."
"Huh?" Everyone looked at Caius in confusion.
On cue, a limousine rode up and parked in front of the DWMA students. Watson then stepped out and opened the door for them. "Party for the Holland mission, please enter." He requested.
"Oh my God, we're riding in style!" Liz squealed, her blues eyes practically shining with happiness.
Tsuji and Rowena were the first to enter, and they gasped in amazement at the interior, "Man, this is dope." Everyone else followed suit, curious. The interior was basic for a limousine, featuring two-tone black leather sofas, spacious seating, tinted windows, and a sunroof. Once all the students were inside, Watson closed the door and went into the passenger seat at the front.
Maka sat at one of the backward facing seats at the front of the passenger cabin. "Hey, where's Claudia?" She asked, looking over her shoulder at Watson, allowable to the due of the absence of a primary partition.
"Miss Moncharmin is waiting for you all at the airport." Watson answered as the driver shifted the limousine into gear and began driving away.
Caius knew Claudia wanted to go home and change her attire; however, he didn't know she went on ahead. "Alone?"
"She is with someone that you haven't met yet, Caius." Watson explained, keeping his eyes forward. Caius blinked and then shrugged his shoulders, deciding to make nothing of the news. He would see about it when he and his group arrived at the airport. For now, it was time to enjoy ride and think about the upcoming mission.
A few minutes and idle conservations later, the gang was dropped off at Death City International Airport. Its exterior looked similar to the Academy, featuring black shafts, towers, and spires patterned with white lines. The mask of Lord Death decorating several locations like the apex of the large arches in the entranceway. Azure, transparent window panels were apart the frontal façade, and a large chalkboard-like sign with the words 'Death City International Airport' professionally engraved upon it greeted all visitors.
Inside, the long and bustling main terminal reflected an art deco style of architecture – a rich blend of concrete grey, metallic silver, and painted reds and blues. The ceiling demonstrated a lattice of bold geometric shapes. A vast number of people walked around, queuing themselves in at the check-in, depositing their baggage at the clearance gates, waiting in the lobby, or visiting newsstands that sold a variety of sundries and souvenir merchandise.
Kid led the team to one of the lines designated for DWMA personnel. Each student presented their school-sanctioned ID, and the receptionist checked them off, permitting further access into the terminal. They were led to a gate, down a staircase, and directly onto the tarmac. A short walk later, and the gang was before the aircraft that would fly them to the Netherlands.
As mentioned by Watson earlier, Claudia was already there and waiting for them, waving at her friends. "Hello, everyone!" She was dressed in a pink and gold, plaid, and sleeveless lolita outfit, a ruffled white dress shirt beneath the vest, and matching knee socks and shoes. Standing with her were the pilots. Their uniform consisted of black slacks, black leather shoes, black suits with the Death City International Airport insignia on the lapel and pilot's cap, and crimson and golden dress shirts and ties beneath the coat. The man on the left of Claudia was tall with dirty blond hair and sapphire eyes. The man on the right of her was shorter and bore dark brown hair and jade green eyes complemented by black rectangular glasses.
Once everyone came over, Claudia spoke once more. "Everyone. These two gentlemen beside me are my uncles, Roger and Francis Moncharmin." She introduced them, gesturing to the blonde and brunette respectively.
"Hello." Francis said genteelly, bowing in respect with some of the students returning it.
"Hello, kids! Thanks for coming!" Roger greeted, eyeing each individual student with welcoming eyes. He saved Caius for last, as this was his first time meeting the boy his brother and sister-in-law took in two years ago, and he remarked, "You must be Caius. It's good to finally meet ya, kid! Welcome to the family!" Roger held out his hand for a handshake, one which Caius hesitantly returned. "Aw, come here, you!" Roger then pulled Caius into an excessively tight bear-hug, "Yes! I finally got a nephew!" The dirty blonde released a dazed Caius and grabbed him by the shoulders, imagining all that he was about to say, "We can go on adventures, I can teach you to pick up babes. OH! And I get to throw you in a pit of angry monkeys!"
Francis shot a dull look to his brother, "Now, why would you do that?"
"I love monkeys!" Nayumi commented offhandedly.
"Nayumi, stay out of their conversation." Marcellus ordered.
"I'm just kidding! I won't do that to you!" Roger admitted good-naturedly, chuckling. Caius suppressed the urge to glare at Blackstar and Ragnarok who were busy snickering at his noticeable discomfort.
"Why is it that every family involved in the DWMA is so weird?" Maka asked herself, thinking about classic examples like her and Kid's eccentric fathers, Blackstar's undead adoptive father Sid, and apparently Claudia's uncle.
Francis sighed irritably and decided to get everyone back on track, seeing as the majority of the children were lost in their own thoughts or idly occupied with something else. "Anyway, let us begin our journey to Holland." He certainly caught everyone's attention as they steeled their nerves for the mission coming up ahead, "All aboard."
In the DWMA, there were many individuals. All of them were divided by many factors, such as social standing, personality, ranking, and curriculum enrollment. There was the Correctional Class and the EAT class. There was a third and final system, the NOT class – those inept at combat, tuning up their skill as Meisters and Weapons.
Right now, all of the Weapons enrolled in the NOT curriculum were sitting in a lecture centered upon basic Demon Weapon skills and roles. The Meisters were allowed to roam campus or Death City in the meantime because they already sat through their version.
In the school dance studio, one person sat by himself as he waited for the dismissal of the Demon Weapons. The wide and spacious room was empty save for this sole person, but he did not mind whatsoever. It allowed peace and a brief reprieve from the craziness. Sitting at one of the side benches was a 17-year-old young man with medium-length, flaky, lavender hair and wisteria eyes. His outfit consisted of a metallic silver, partially-zipped jacket and a white shirt with a pattern of black, horizontal stripes on it. He also wore black denim pants fastened by a chain belt that had a metal pentacle buckle located on the side.
He yawned tiredly as he cycled through pages on his iPad utilizing his finger and the device's interactive touch-screen surface. "Well, it looks like Autumn and Damon pulled their weight. We got our money back." He commented. The boy and the mentioned two had spent their weekly stipend, so they had to work part-time to make up for it. Satisfied, he put his iPad on sleep mode and put it inside his jacket's internal pocket.
"Vincent."
Vincent blinked in surprise and looked to the side where the entrance to the dance studio was. Standing at the doorway was a relatively tall and slender man with distinct, shaggy hair and stylized glasses alongside a formal manner of dressing. Vincent immediately recognized him as one of his classmates, "Oh, hey, Akane. What's up?"
Akane walked over and replied, "I was under the impression everyone was gone. Yet, here you are."
"I'm waiting for Autumn and Damon. You know, as I always do." Vincent reminded tiredly, rolling his neck in attempt to crack it.
"Then would you like to go to the running track?" Akane requested politely, smiling as he adjusted his glasses, "It would behoove us to warm-up prior to the physical fitness examination later today." Really, Akane wanted to kill time until Sid gave him a call. They were supposed to go to the Witch Countermeasures Headquarters to discuss something.
Vincent looked down, mulling over the idea. It would provide something to do while he waited. He checked the time on his cell phone and made a decision, "Well, let's make it quick. They get out in about twenty minutes."
And so, the two NOT students exchanged their usual clothes for P.E. uniforms. The two gentlemen were currently doing various sketches to get their muscles nice and loose. They agreed on only throwing the discus and doing the pole vault to conserve time and energy.
In the midst of stretching his back as Akane seized a pole, something caught Vincent's attention. A caterpillar dangled on the edge of a bench he was near. It was desperately trying to weave a chrysalis around itself against the forces of gravity trying to send it to the concrete. Vincent deemed the bench an inappropriate spot for that; many students, intentionally or inadvertently, might crush or knock it off. Kneeling down, Vincent gingerly scooped the caterpillar in his hand, walked over to a bush, and placed it atop a leaf. There, nobody would notice it, and people were much less likely to disturb a bush.
"Because life is worth preserving," Vincent answered as if someone questioned his action. He smiled as the caterpillar resumed its cocoon-producing ministrations, content that its life would not end prematurely before it could reach adulthood. "Even in a world that is full of conflict right now."
"Vincent! You're up!"
The NOT student snapped out of it. Akane had apparently performed his pole vault. Judging from how soundly the high bar stay in place, the NOT prodigy did the exercise almost perfectly. "Coming!" Vincent shouted, immediately sprinting over. He stationed himself near the cushion platform with the pole in both of his hands. He took several steps back and ran forward to gain momentum, stabbing one end of the pole into the space before the platform. He jumped, and the pliable pole began to carry him, projecting him straight to the high bar as Vincent angled his body to ensure he would clear it.
Crack.
Vincent croaked feebly as the pole suddenly lost its malleability, resulting in him staying in the same position rather than being pushed farther upward. Akane cringed when Vincent's face was driven into the high bar, knocking it into the air as he fell onto the cushion. Then, the bespectacled meister noticed the high bar coming down fast while Vincent remained daze on the platform, "Uh, Vincent-!"
SMACK!
"OW, MY FACE!"