"Why are we going to the school?" Ame asked, skipping along happily as if she didn't have a care in the world.
"Father hired a new teacher for next school year, so I want us to give her a warm welcome," Kid replied. "She's supposed to be teaching us about spirits and such from the Divine Realm. He wants you to meet her so you could help her with her studies."
"It would be nice if the students learned more about the enemies they're going to be fighting more often now that I'm around," Ame agreed.
The Suspicious Teacher; Ame's Cold Shoulder?
Once in the Death Room, Kid noticed the new teacher standing next to Lord Death. She was tall and slender with long reddish brown hair that covered one of her eyes. That was the only really asymmetrical thing about her, but Kid faintly saw bandages wrapping her covered eye, so he didn't say anything about it. Her remaining eye was a beautiful two-toned golden. It didn't resemble Kid's eyes; hers were more reddish bronze than saffron gold.
"Oh, you two must be Death the Kid and… Amaterasu," she smiled. "I've heard so much about you two from Lord Death. Please allow me to introduce myself. I am Sayo Harumi." She bowed politely. She had good manners.
"It's a pleasure to meet you," Kid replied, bowing as well. "I hope you will enjoy your time here at the academy. May I ask, what is it you teach?"
"I'll be teaching the new course on spirit energy," Sayo replied. "I've been secretly studying Kitsune and Okami for a while now—ever since I learned a Kitsune killed my family. I was too scared to say anything about it, though."
"I'm glad we're hiring someone with some experience on the matter," Kid said. He turned his head slightly to look at Ame. She'd been unusually quiet. "Right, Ame?"
Ame kept her eyes narrowed and continued to stare at Sayo, who got a little tense once she realized she was being scrutinized.
"Ame, be polite," Kid chided under his breath.
"I'm sure Sayo would like some considerate blessings from her goddess before starting her new job," Lord Death hinted. "Don't you think, Amaterasu?"
"How rude of me," Sayo bowed again as if she forgot to introduce herself. "I never meant to offend you, great goddess."
Ame growled, her tail beginning to ripple behind her.
"Did I do something wrong?"
"Ame," Kid snapped. "What's gotten into you?"
Ame lunged at her, bashing her to the ground. Sayo cried out in fear as Ame began tearing at her.
"Ame!" Kid shouted, yanking the girl back by the collar of her shirt. Ame fought him, gnashing her teeth and slashing with her tail and batting at the helpless woman with her claws. Kid restrained her, wrapping his arm around her arms and chest and holding her mouth with his hand. Even when she bit him so hard that blood began pouring from his hand, he held her tighter. He was able to get Ame out of that room.
"I'm so sorry about that," Lord Death apologized immediately, helping Sayo to her feet.
As soon as they got home, Kid practically threw Ame into a kitchen chair.
"What the hell is wrong with you?!" he yelled angrily. "What were you trying to pull attacking a teacher like that? You could have seriously injured her. How would that reflect on the academy's image?"
"What did she do this time?" Liz asked in disbelief. He was yelling at her this early?
"We went to greet a new teacher and Ame threatened her," Kid seethed. He turned back to Ame. "What do you have to say for yourself?"
"She's a liar," Ame sniffed. "She's a suspicious figure that needs to learn her place."
"How could you say something like that? That's not like you."
Ame flicked her tail, pouting slightly. Kid sighed.
"I know you may not trust her because she's a very new person to you—to all of us," he said a bit quieter. "But you can't let yourself lose control like that. I thought you were having a madness attack; do you know how scary that would be? If you didn't feel right about it, you should have told me. I could have helped you resolve your dispute."
"I'm sorry," Ame sighed, putting her head down in shame. "I didn't think you'd believe me… or do anything about it."
"Moron," Kid flicked her between the eyes. "Now will you apologize?"
"No."
They both looked up when the front door opened rather loudly. Lord Death entered the kitchen quickly, and he didn't look too happy.
"Father?" Kid questioned. His voice was a bit small; he'd never seen his father so angry. "What are you doing home?"
"Kid, do you mind if Ame and I have a word?"
Kid retreated from the room quickly, waiting in the hallway. He could hear the anger in Lord Death's voice as he spoke to Ame.
"Amaterasu, I am absolutely ashamed of you," he growled. "What kind of goddess are you, attacking an innocent human like that?"
"She's not innocent," Ame muttered. "She deserves no companionship of mine."
"How could you say that? How would you like it if the person you follow and admired most shunned you? That's what normal humans are for, Ame, not divine beings. You might as well be nothing more than a donkey in a wolf's clothing.*"
"…!"
Ame didn't say anything, but something inside her snapped. She suddenly felt very alone and very… guilty. Lord Death left without another word.
Soul Eater
"Liz, Patti, we should leave now," Kid said. The three of them were ready to go somewhere at six the next day. Ame perked from where she was lying on her stomach by the air conditioner.
"Where you going?" she chirped unhappily.
"On a mission," Kid replied. "Sorry, but it's a night job. I could have sworn I'd told you about it."
Previously that day
"We're going on a mission tonight," Kid informed Ame casually. She couldn't hear him however, since she was asleep.
Present
"It's said he swallowed a little waving cat statue," Kid informed. "Surely it was no ordinary statue if a Kishin ate it. Want to come along?"
"Yes!"
Meanwhile, deep within the city, a small child was running for his life. A Kishin egg was running after him, grabbing at him with long, razor sharp claws. The Kishin roared and slashed the child in half, consuming his soul as soon as it floated out of the body. The Kishin felt little compressed soul wavelengths make contact with his skin and turned around. There, on a rooftop, were two figures. A boy with two guns and a wolf with a flaming disk on her back.
The Kishin snarled and ran up a wall like he could defy gravity.
"He has a Madness artifact, alright," Ame agreed. There was a slight scuffle between the three of them before Kid was able to shoot its eye and Ame cut his stomach open with her Eighth Wonder. A bright glow emitted from the Kishin's body as a small golden cat charm came tumbling out. A holy Divine Light consumed the two gods as they were given another glimpse at the Divine Realm. A cat goddess was perched on a rolling ball of yarn, purring slightly.
"Amaterasu," she greeted. "Thank you and your good companion for rescuing me. I'd retreated to the shell of a Madness artifact itself in order to escape this dark world. The Kishin then consumed me and borrowed my power. You have saved me, though, and in return, I shall grant you the power to walk on any surface you'd like. Be it the ceiling, the wall, or even a cloud."
Ame nodded once as the power was accepted into her being.
"This charm, the Golden Lucky Cat, shall grant attraction to objects out of your reach. Use it well, Amaterasu."
"Another god down," Kid said as the light faded. "That was Kabegami. She seemed nice, don't you think?"
He turned to Ame and paused. She was kneeling next to the dead child. She put his head in her lap and was stroking his hair softly.
"Shame on you," she whispered. "Getting strawberry jam on your pajamas."
The scene broke Kid's heart. It dawned on him that she'd never seen a dead body before. Animals and demons, yes… but never the form of an innocent human child. The expression in her eyes was unfathomable. She looked happy and sad at the same time, as if she wanted to laugh and cry. Kid remembered feeling that way when Ame almost died in his arms.
"Ame," he said. Ame looked up, suddenly taking the form of a white wolf, her eyes glistening with tears in the moonlight.
"Why?" she whispered.
"I'm sorry," he said. "It's just the way it is. Life and then Death. You understand, don't you?"
Ame nodded slightly. Kid put a hand on her neck and stroked her silky fur softly. Why did she have to come?
"Come on, girl," he said. "It's time to go home."
Hmm… a mysterious new teacher and strawberry jam…. Interesting. Lol, leave a review telling me what YOU think about Sayo Harumi and why Ame hates her guts! Also, Ame's been kinda crazy ever since the others found out she was the embodiment of Madness. In this chapter, she defines blood as 'strawberry jam.' Do you have any weird code references to things? Tell me in a review, because I'd love to know. :3
*Kind of like wolf in sheep's clothing reversed. However, Lord Death always called Ame 'Donkeyskin Girl' so he's twisting it around a bit.
