Chapter 2 : When The World Knows
To say that Soul Eater Evans was having a complicated day would have been quite the understatement.
When he came to England, he was feeling great, knowing that he was about to collect his last human soul here and would soon become a Death Scythe. He even felt a tad bit ecstatic when he realized he was about to have a chance to fight against a Fangire, a creature belonging to an exiled race that many though were extinct.
But now, he was in a hotel room, his torso wrapped up in bandages, with a Fangire Soul floating slightly above the table behind him, a small, robotic bat flying by his side, standing in front of a door, trying to solve the only problem that made him unable to go home: a depressed Meister who can apparently transform into a bat-theme armored warrior at any given time thanks to the aforementioned bat.
"Come on, Maka. Open this door."
No answer.
"Maka, don't make me break this door down!"
Still no answer.
"GAH! God dammit! That's exactly what I needed now: the return of Sulking Maka!"
Indeed, for behind that door, which led to the bathroom, was Maka, sitting in the bathtub in the dark, fully clothed and hugging her knees. She wasn't crying, but she just wanted to make herself as small as possible and, hopefully, disappear from plain sight.
"It's been a long while since her last depression..." Added Kivat as he flapped his wings, looking with crimson eyes at the door in worry.
"What was that, anyway?" Finally asked Soul, his own red pair turning to Kivat to ask THE question he had in mind for a few hours now. "That thing she changed into. What was that?"
"That was Kiva!"
"… Isn't that you?"
"No! I'm Kivat the 3rd, of the Kivat race!" Clarified Kivat, before beginning to explain things in more detail to Soul. "Kiva is a power, or rather, a title. With the Demon Imperial powers I inherited from my father, a Kivat such as myself can instill what we call Active Force into other lifeforms. That's what I did when I bit into Maka's hand."
"Ok…that's quite a lot to take in." Was Soul's slow reply, trying to process what he just learned. "So...basically, you can make Maka into a badass armored warrior. So what's the problem?" He then turned to the door. "You're a badass, Maka! Well, you've always been, in my mind! But this is even better!"
"You say that, but you know nothing." Mumbled Maka, loud enough for Soul and Kivat to hear, which confused the former.
"What do you mean?"
"She's talking about what the title and legacy of Kiva means to the world at large." Answered Kivat, suddenly solemn, much to Soul's increasing ignorance. "Do you know much about the Fangire's history?"
"Well…not really." Admitted Soul, rubbing his head, causing the yellow bat to snort. "History isn't exactly my favorite subject."
"I kinda guessed that with the time you spent napping during those classes." Mocked Kivat.
"Yeah, I know, but-" Soul stopped himself short until a few seconds passed, his eyes narrowing the smug-looking creature in the air. "Wait a minute, how do you know that?!"
"I've always kept an eye on Maka wherever she got, whether it was at school or during missions." Explained Kivat proudly, causing Soul to raise an eyebrow.
"Does that include the girl's shower at school?"
Silence.
"...Fangire has been around for a very long time." Began Kivat, suddenly very serious and making a point to ignore that last question. "The Fangire aren't just a bunch of life-draining monster that roam the earth to feed themselves. There's a hierarchy among them: they were ruled by a group of four of them, called the Checkmate Four."
"Checkmate? You mean like the chess game?"
"Yeah, exactly. And above the Checkmate Four, there is the King of the Fangire. And Kiva is in fact a title passed down through generations in the Royal Fangire family. But after the death of the last Fangire King, the power of Kiva was lost. Or that was what everyone thought."
"Okay, it's all nice and all, but what is the problem with Kiva's meaning?"
"Kiva as always been carried by the Kings of the Fangire. And their story aren't ones of peace." Kivat explained, somberly looking at the grinning moon through the window of the hotel room. "Little is known about the first Fangire King, first holder of Kiva, a lot of mysteries are surrounding him, but one of the few things that are sure is that he is the one responsible for the total eradication of two races: the Goblins and the Legendorgas."
"I know those names." Soul stated while snapping his fingers, racking his mind to try and remember what he learned in History classes between two naps. "The Goblins were generally brutal and flesh-eating creatures and the Legendorga tried to take over the world and enslave all of the other races, right? But why did the first king personally go out of his way to destroy them all?"
"Who knows? But then again, the second King did much worse to those much less deserving. He, as the 2nd Kiva, eradicated 3 entire races: the Wolfen, the Franken and the Mermen, which, unlike the Goblins and Legendorga, were much more neutral races. And he probably would have done much worse if he hadn't been killed." Kivat then turned back to Soul who was processing the information he just learned. "Anyway, because of that, the world associates Kiva with those massacre, making it a symbol of…well, genocide."
"But she looked like she knew how to use this power." Added Soul, frowning at the memory of Maka fighting in the Kiva armor. "So if that isn't the first time she fought, why has no one said anything before about it?"
"Because up until now, we tried to stay hidden as to not make the masses panic. But now…" Kivat looked at the door, Soul following his gaze, knowing that Maka was probably sulking even more by now.
Soul finally understood why Maka was currently in fetal position in a bathtub: she was afraid that people might try to hunt her, or rather Kiva, to avoid the same kind of massacre that her direct predecessor did in the past.
"But then, how come no one noticed that she's part Fangire before?" Asked Soul. "Her soul can't be, huh, 'normal', right?"
"It's thanks to her choker." Soul looked at Kivat as if he just said 'I'm a cow'. "That choker was created to hide the true form and power of her soul. That way, people who can see souls won't be able to see what she truly is."
"I see." Soul then walked to the door and knocked on it. "Maka, I KNOW you're listening to me. I can understand how you're feeling right now but there's nothing to be afraid of."
"Do you even understand the situation, Soul?" Groaned Maka, not even trying to lift her head from her knees, muffling her voice. "Everyone nowadays consider Kiva to be a monster who destroys races on a whim! Now that people know that Kiva is back, I'm going to have a lot of people running after me to, at best lock me up, and, at worse, destroy me!"
"And you think I'm going to let them do as they please if they want to do that?" Answered Soul, Kivat nodding by his side. "And besides, you're not alone. You've got friends by your side."
"I'm not sure they'll still be my friends if they learn about who I really am..." Responded the sulking Meister, feeling even more down at the thought of her friends abandoning her.
"That won't happen, Maka, and I'm sure that deep down you know it." Maka lifted her head slightly at that, listening to Soul. "Okay, you have the same power as those king guys, but that's it. It's just a power and right now, it's yours. What matters isn't who used it before, but what you're going to do with it in the future. And even if people point at you for being a monster like the previous king, I'll be there, by your side, to help you and make them swallow back those words!"
"Exactly!" Cheerily joined Kivat, a smile on his robot-like face. "Kiva's story might be tainted with the blood of five races, but it is now our chance to make things right by making a hero out of Kiva. And we can do that together, the three of us!" He added, finally hearing movement behind the door.
Soon after, the door cracked open, and Maka's face appeared shyly in the crack.
"Together?"
"Yes, partner. Together." Added Soul, turning to look at Kivat. "I guess this has to stay a secret? Maka being Kiva, I mean."
"Yes, it has." Confirmed Kivat, perching on Soul's shoulder. "Even if I have no doubt that Maka's friends won't judge her for being Kiva and abandon her, revealing her identity could lead to many more complications, ones we'd better avoid for the time being." This made Soul curious but decided not to push it further for now. Maka was finally getting out of her most recent slump and just it wasn't the time to send her back into it once again. "And just like Shinigami said, I find it quite strange for a Fangire to act in a town full of people. They usually attack people in less populated places. And that strange soul perturbation that struck the two of you isn't the kind of power your run of the mill Fangire possess. Something probably happened which prompted them to go into action."
"Let's not talk about it anymore." Said Soul, turning to his half-hidden Meister, reaching his arm towards her. "What do you say Maka? Will you let me help you both chasing down those monsters?"
"…" Maka stayed silent a moment, thinking about it, looking at Soul's stretched hand. Accepting his help would put him in the forefront of many dangers, but at the same time, he would know anyways and that alone was dangerous and warranted her having her Weapon partner by her side in this new reality she was going to be facing.
So Maka smiled and opened the door more, enough to walk pass it and grab the offered hand, looking at both the Weapon and the Kivat. "Okay, let's do it. Together!"
"Alright! I'm ready to kick some Fangire asses! It's gonna make me so cool!"
"Me too!" Added Kivat, flying between the two.
"And me three!"
Everybody jumped in fear, turning to face the origin of this strangely familiar voice. On instinct, Soul changed partially into a weapon while Maka had grabbed Kivat, ready to transform, the two of them freezing when they saw who just talked.
It was a purple cat with yellow eyes, wearing an awfully familiar hat. "What a story you have! It's pretty exciting to be a part of it!"
"That voice…It can't be…" Began Maka while lowering Kivat but still gripping him tightly, her olive eyes widening as she realized who this voice belonged too. "Blair?"
"Yep, that's me!" Confirmed the cat, jumping from the window sill she was on to the bed, sitting on it and licking her paw.
"But we saw you get killed by that Fangire!" Stated Kivat as he tugged himself out of Maka's grip on him, remembering the Horse Fangire sinking his Life-Sucking Fangs into the witch's neck. "No one can survive such thing!"
"And I didn't." Agreed Blair, shocking them all at her blunt admittance at being killed, "But you know what they say: a cat can have more than one life."
"Cat? You mean you're a witch with cat-like magic?" Deduced Soul, which made the cat giggle.
"You're so funny and cute." She purred, making the Weapon blush slightly. "I never said I was a witch. I'm just a cat with a really strong magic!" As she explained this, Blair, in a burst of glittering, purple clouds, suddenly transformed into her human form, the form that Maka and Soul were first introduced to, except this time with the small cat ears on her head, which weren't hidden by a hat this time. "Nya!"
Suddenly, reality came crashing down on the Meister and Weapon duo like a ton of bricks.
"Wait! Does that mean that, if we killed her like we originally intended, I would have eaten a cat soul as my last one?!" Soul shouted in disbelief.
"That would have meant we'd have to start again from the beginning!" Realized Maka, hands on her face as she fell to her knees, holding the wall for support. "I never thought I'd say this before, but thank Death for that Fangire to have appeared!"
"All's well that ends well!" Declared Blair happily, but Kivat wasn't as satisfied.
"I'm not so sure, cat lady." The yellow bat, hovering in front of her face with a frown. "Now, there's one more person knowing for Kiva and it's someone we know nothing of and even attacked! She could spill the beans quite easily."
"If that's what you're afraid of, then you have nothing to fear of me." Reassured Blair, giving a flick of a finger on Kivat's green emerald. "I'm kind of rancorous and I'm not letting those monster do to others the same thing they did to me. I may have many lives left, this was by far one of the worst things I've ever experienced in my life. If I can help you take them all out, it would be with pleasure!"
"I guess it's better than nothing." Maka relented, scratching her ash blonde hair in an unassured way, "Just remember, you can tell no one about it, okay? Not until we say otherwise." Blair nodded at Maka's reminder, the Meister nodding back, satisfied.
"In that case, the best thing for us to do would be to take her with us back to Death City. That way, we'll be able to keep a close eye on her." Advised Kivat.
"Well, I guess she can come and live with us. But you'll have to keep your cat form most of the time when you're home, alright?" Stated Maka to Blair, who simply nodded once again.
"That's no problem." The catgirl assured with a smile that matched her animal ears. "To be honest, I was starting to feel bored here. I'm sure life with you three is going to be much more exciting!" Once this was settled, Maka then turned to her Weapon partner, smiling at him.
"Well, I guess it's now time for you to become the coolest weapon ever, right?"
"Oh, yeah!"
With that, Soul walked with Maka to the table where the Fangire soul had been put, the black and red essence floating seamlessly until it's time to be devoured. They circled the table as Soul grabbed it, drool already cascading from his mouth as he opened it, taking it all completely in his mouth and, after a few bites and munches, he swallowed it.
"…"
"…"
"…"
"...So?"
"Well…I'm not feeling anything at all." Admitted Soul, poking his stomach as if that'd do something. "That's disappointing!"
"That's because even if eating a Fangire Soul can make you into a Death Scythe, it is quite different than eating a Witch one." Explained Kivat as he landed on the table. "No one knows why yet, but a weapon that eat a Fangire Soul as their 100th one don't get their Death Scythe power immediately, it take some times. A few years, at most. But it doesn't really matter, right ? Because whether you feel it or not, you're now a Death Scythe. Congratulations, Soul Eater Evans!" The mood became slightly better with that declaration, as Soul and Maka looked at each other with pride.
They succeeded: they made him into a Death Scythe!
"Well, I guess we can go back home, now. I'm dying to lie in my own bed." Stated Soul while stretching to help with digestion. That's when Maka realized something that brought down her mood once again.
"That's a good idea. But…our means of transportation is…"
The slightly cheery atmosphere fell down once again at the memory of Soul's bike, destroyed by the Horse Fangire's rampage. Not wanting this to go on too much, Kivat immediately thought of something.
"I guess we'll have to go back by plane, then. And don't worry about your bike, Soul. For I, Kivat the 3rd, have a plan!"
"Not to be a total downer or anything, but I don't see what some mechanical bat like you can do about my bike." Snarked Soul. Even Maka was curious about what her flying partner meant.
"Don't worry about it. Though I can guarantee it's gonna be a pretty nice surprise."
"In that case, I guess we've got nothing else to do here. Let's head back home!"
The small group of four gathered their belonging, with Blair running back to her old home to take some things with her as she had to follow them to Death City. However, as they got ready to fly back to America, they were far from imagining what was happening all around the world as everyone learned about what happened that night, a news that was soon going to have a huge impact on the world.
/- One Week Later, In A Train-/
In the USA, in the dry landscapes of Nevada, a train was currently speeding through its desert, heading full speed ahead toward Death City, lifting a large cloud of dust as it goes. If the steam train in itself wasn't that fascinating, a duo of young people sitting in one of the car were much more interesting.
The first one was a young boy, who was basically the same age as Soul. He had bright, blue spiky hair and green eyes. He was wearing a sleeveless black shirt with a funnel-like collar and white trousers that are black from the knee down. There were also two strips of grey cloth, adorned with rivets, stretching down from the top of the collar to the breast of his shirt. He also had the tattoo of a star on his right shoulder. Hands behind his head, he was laying on his seat, looking at the roof, clearly bored out of his mind.
On the other side was sitting a tall, attractive and rather well-endowed Japanese young woman who looked about a year older than the boy. She had long black hair tied up in a ponytail and large indigo eyes while wearing a pale yellow, sleeveless outfit with a skirt end that has a slit down the side with a bright yellow star emblazoned on the right side of the chest. She also wore a dark brown scarf and a tight dark brown stocking on her right leg starting just above the knee and white boots. And just like the blue haired boy, she wore a sash that looked like his grey riveted straps, wrapped around her waist. The girl was looking at the rocky landscapes with a small smile, as she heaved a sigh. Why was she feeling so down?
Because they were officially still at zero soul collected.
Yes, this duo of Meister and weapon had collected not a single soul. Why? Because of the boy's biggest flaw: he was an assassin, and yet, he was a big, if not the biggest, showoff the world has ever seen. Thinking about what happened recently, the girl sighed once more.
"Come on, Tsubaki." Finally said the boy, tired of hearing her sigh like that. "It's not that bad. We'll collect those souls, I promise you!"
"Yeah." Answered Tsubaki, smiling a bit wider at her Meister, though she still felt a little down. "But we were so close this time, Black Star."
The Meister, named Black Star, hummed as he too let his mind wander to what happened.
They first were sent on a mission to take down a Kishin Egg; a gangster named Al Capone who had, with his gang, killed a lot of innocent people just to eat their soul. This mission could have been a success if Black Star didn't felt the need to expose himself as usual, showing off before escaping without reaping a single soul. What happened after that however made Black Star calm down a little. After doing their report to Shinigami, the cartoonish god of death informed them of a shortcut, explaining that there were souls in this world, called Strong Soul, that counted as more than one when eaten by a weapon.
That's how they heard about Mifune, a man who was working as a bodyguard for a renegade witch named Angela Leon. Mifune's soul was said to be worth 99 souls and Angela was on the run after killing 8 people a few days ago. Seeing this as the perfect opportunity to finally make a Death Scythe out of Tsubaki, the duo headed to where Mifune was to take him out.
But this attempt also failed, but not because of Black Star's flaws this time around: first, this Mifune was really strong, so much that it forced Black Star to be really serious against him. He managed to get them an opening to kill Mifune but he was interrupted by Angela, who was the targeted witch, but also a little girl and absolutely not a renegade unlike what they first though. When they accused them of those murders, they swore they had nothing to do with that and they simply were on the run to avoid the monster who truly was behind those murders. Besides, even if they were the true culprit and even if he was an assassin, Black Star wasn't the kind of guy who killed kids, so they simply left Mifune and Angela alone, wondering who really killed those guys and tried to put the blame on the little witch.
Now in this train, one could think they were regretting not taking the opportunity, but that was far from being the case.
"Anyway, I made sure this guy knew who was the boss, here." Insisted Black Star confidently, sitting up with a large grin on his face. "I am a God, after all! And no one should doubt it."
"Right!" Confirmed Tsubaki with a nod and a smile, being completely confident in Black Star's abilities...even if his ego was way too big for her to handle sometimes.
And speaking of ego, something was about to happen that was going to make this one ego swell even more. Outside their compartment, a group of people was passing by, the duo hearing what they were currently talking about.
"Did you read the news, today?"
"No. Why? Did something happened?"
"Of course something happened! Someone spotted a Fangire in a small town not far away from London."
"A Fangire!? But I thought they were extinct?"
"And that's not all. Someone took a photo of the scene, and the Fangire was seen fighting something that looked like…Kiva…"
"Kiva? THE Kiva?! Are you kidding me?!"
"I'm not! Here, read this!"
The voices finally died down, leaving a confused Black Star and a shocked Tsubaki behind, eyes locked on the door.
"What was all that about ?" Wondered BlackStar as Tsubaki was almost frozen in shock.
"Did they say Kiva? How can it be?" The older woman muttered fearfully to herself.
"You know this Kiva guy, Tsubaki?" Asked BlackStar, his weapon turning to him with a shocked gasp.
"If you didn't spent your time sleeping in class, you too would know who that devil is!" Scolded Tsubaki as she began to explain the story to Black Star, trying to be a simple as possible to be sure BlackStar understood her. "Kiva is the name given to member of the Royal Fangire Family. But from what we learn in history book, the second Fangire King, the last known bearer of Kiva, was killed years ago. But if so, how can he still be alive?"
"Those guys outside seemed afraid." Commented Black Star, head in his hand. "Why are they afraid of that dude, anyway?"
"Because of what he did." Tsubaki answered grimly, her usual smile wiped off her face, "There are only two known Kiva, both previous King of the Fangires, and they both eradicated races just like that. If Kiva is back, this could lead to other massacre of that kind!"
"I see…" Black Star trailed off as a large grin began to split his face. "Looks like this guy want to steal my spotlight, huh? But I'm the star, here. And if I ever cross road with that guy, I'll show him who's the greatest in this world! HAHAHAHAHA!"
Tsubaki felt her mouth twitch at the reaction of her Meister, a sweat drop sliding down her temple as Black Star had jumped on his seat, probably already seeing himself worshiped by everyone for taking out Kiva without even trying. And while he was letting his mind imagine all kind of possible scenario, Tsubaki looked at the blazing laughing sun through the window, wondering what was about to happen if Kiva was really back.
/- Shinigami's Room -/
"As punishment for ruining the pyramid, I'm confiscating all of your souls."
While Black Star and Tsubaki were on their way back to Death city, another Meister was already there, doing his report to Shinigami who just scolded the poor guy. Why?
Because their last mission led to the destruction of an ancient pyramid in Egypt, which is why the boy was currently on his knees, crying his apologizes.
"Next time, you'll learn to be more cautious, alright, dear son?"
Because yes, the young man who was borderline throwing a tantrum in the middle of the room was none other than the son of Shinigami and his successor: Death the Kid, or Kid for short.
He was a thin teenager with two shades of yellow around his pupil and black hair with three parallel white stripes on the left side of it. He was wearing a standard black suit with white rectangles on the front and shoulders. He wore a white shirt underneath his vest, with a metallic skull, shaped like his father's head, under his collar, acting like a tie of some sort. What appeared striking when looking at his clothes was that he was, apart for his hair, perfectly symmetrical and it wasn't a coincidence: he was obsessed by symmetry, to the point where it could act against him during mission, like the one they just came for as their opponent was perfectly symmetrical, making him unable to fight it, which almost killed him.
"Come on, Kid. Would you stop acting like a kid?" Asked one of the two females at his side.
"Kyahaha! Kid is so funny!" Laughed the other girl, who looked a lot like the first one, and for good reason.
The two young women who just talked were the Thompson Twins, Patricia and Elizabeth or, as they like to be called, Patty and Liz. Though they were twins, it was pretty easy to distinguish the two of them. Patty was smaller than her sister by a good head, with chin length blonde hair and light blue eyes while her sister, though sharing the same eyes, had her hair reaching her mid-back. The other way to distinguish the two was by their clothing - they wore the same sleeveless red turtleneck belly shirt, cowboy hats and black high-heel boots. But while Liz wore a dark wash jeans, Patty donned bubble shorts.
"They are right, you know?" Admitted Shinigami, looking at his still sulking son. "You're an excellent Meister and you form a wonderful team with the Thompsons Sisters. I'm sure you'll get those souls back in a flash."
"Everyone…" Sniffed Kid, lifting his wet, golden eye off of the white floor.
"Boss! We have some news!"
Without giving Kid the time to stand up correctly, a man entered the room in a rush, heading straight toward the skull faced man.
"Sid! What kind of news?" He asked, wondering why he was looking so stressed, suddenly.
"Take a look at this!"
The man named Sid then handed him a newspaper, the god of death grabbing it with his large white hands, stopping as soon as his eyes landed on the cover page. Wondering what was making his dad stall so much, Kid walked up to him and grabbed the newspaper, his eyes widening as he saw the title and photo that took most of the page:
"Kiva, Plague of the 17 Demon Races, is back!"
The photo, despite being black and white and with a pretty bad resolution, was showing a human-like being, standing in the middle of a street in England, a large symbol, terrifyingly familiar to Kid, engraved on the ground under the creature feet. If this symbol was so familiar to Kid, it was because it was none other than Kiva's Symbol, proving that this wasn't just a guy with an impressive cosplay, but the real deal.
And it wasn't a good news.
"Kiva is back?! How can that be? I thought he was killed years ago!"
"And that's the case." Confirmed Shinigami. His skeletal face was pretty helpful to hide his emotion, but Kid knew his father enough to know he wasn't that shook by the revelation, which made him wonder what else he knew. "The last Kiva was the second King of the Fangire and the second being to inherit that title - a man who, thought his race, the Fangires, to be superior to the rest of the Demon Races and following that twisted ideology, he eradicated 3 of the Demon Races : the Mermen, the Franken and the Wolfen."
"But if that monster was killed, then who's that?" Asked Liz, feeling scared at the idea that someone probably has dangerous as him was out there.
"Who knows!" Cheerily answered Shinigami. A bit too much, for Kid's tastes. "Kiva is simply a title, but it's power mysteriously disappeared when Kiva the 2nd died. No one knew where that power was and apparently, someone found it."
"Father! This is no laughing matter!" Shouted Kid, tired of his dad easygoingness at such a dangerous topic at hand. "Every Kiva that existed led to the eradication of at least two of the Demon Races! We can't allow one to roam freely like this!"
"Come on, son. We can't act so recklessly." The God of Death tried to calm his son, but it was a pretty difficult task given the topic at hand. "It is true that Kiva has quite a bloody history behind it due to his past users, but this doesn't mean that this one will be like the others. Who know, he could even be an ally." Kid looked at his father with squinted eyes, finding his sudden defensiveness weird. He knew his dad, being the Death God, knew a lot of things, but his reaction, or rather lack of reaction, to Kiva's coming back was a bit too much.
"...As you say, father." Finally said Kid as he turned around with a scoff, plunging his hands in his pocket. "But just know that I won't let this guy do as he pleases until he proves that he's not a threat. As your son, I'll make sure no one go against the treaty the Demon Races signed after Kiva disappeared."
With that, Kid left, followed by an anxious Liz and a still smiling Patty, leaving a sighing Shinigami behind who was left alone with Sid who, just like Kid, was wondering why his boss was acting like that.
"Boss, do you really think this new Kiva could become an ally?" He asked, looking at the photo on the newspaper while Shinigami looked out to the horizon.
"Maybe." He simply said, though he already knew the answer. "But one thing is sure. With Kiva back in the spotlight, things will begin to move much faster, and from all sides."
/- Witches' Realm -/
"This is quite troublesome."
This newspaper didn't only reach Death City, but many other important places of this world, such as the Witches' Realm, the sealed space that acted as the home of all the Witches and Sorcerers of the world. Right now, every Witches took notice of this news and needless to say, the reactions were numerous. The one whose reaction mattered the most though was the leader of all magic users, Queen Mabaa, with all wondering what she will have on the matter.
"Nyamu…" Mabaa was known to only express herself with those 'Nyamu', a single words who could bear many signification, like in this case, perplexity.
"This is clearly not good news." Said the man who was in the room with her, under the alias known as Witch Judge, looking more stressed than his boss. "The last time a Kiva roamed freely in this world, it destroyed three of the Demon Races. Now that's it is back, we could be the next this time."
"Nyamu." Responded Mabaa, not completely convinced.
"With all respect, Mabaa-sama, Kiva reappeared in a town in England where a creature many thought to be a witch lived." Reminded the judge. "There's a great chance he was after her."
"Nyamu." Agreed Mabaa, understanding his fear, but also feeling confident, making her judge remember something.
"You're right." Nodded the Judge. "With the treaty we signed, we should be able to count on the help of the other races and that organization to fight this creature, but it still remain a danger, not only for our kind, but for everyone who inhabits this world."
"Nyamu."
"Very well. I shall tell our people to be on their guard and contact the Aozora Organisation to see what we could do."
With that, the judge left Mabaa alone with the newspaper, her single eye fixed on the photo showing Kiva standing on his symbol, knowing this was going to shake the world's foundation and change a lot of things in the near future.
And unknown to her, her race was going to be much more impacted than the other.
Somewhere, in a dark alley, a woman with blonde hair in an black body-length suit with a hood covering her head was looking at the newspaper, a look of surprise in her eyes.
"Kiva lives?!" She half-gasped, not expecting such a development.
However, her surprise was soon replaced by a curious grin, her poisonous green eyes glinting devilishly as a snake tongue darted out of her mouth. "This is going to be interesting. I'll have to keep a close eye on this one, it could very well be useful..."
The woman then walked away, snickering as she imagined how events were going to go forth from now on.
And she was not the only one whose plans might change because of this revelation. Somewhere else, in a deep forest, hiding inside some kind of fortress, some else, this time a really small and old man with a long pointy nose and wearing a smoking with a top hat was looking at the newspaper, humming in curiosity.
"This could be a problem…"
"Sir !" A man wearing a black cloak covering his whole body with a white mask approached the old man who lifted his head. "What are we going to do about this development? Should we change our plans?"
"…That won't be necessary." He answered. "Let's stick to what we have set in motion."
"As you want." Said the man with a bow as he left the room, leaving the elder alone, his eyes showing a clear worry. He might have tried to keep a strong front, but in truth, he was worried about Kiva being back. But this shouldn't be a reason to stop everything. They still had a lot of work to do and he wanted nothing more than to please his mistress, glancing at a small black spider on a column above him, the creepy arachnoid looking at the newspaper with insistence.
As those two mysterious characters were putting their equally shady plans in place, another important group just learned of this news, one who was probably the most concerned by this return.
/- Aozora Organization Headquarters, Japan -/
From within a building as large an a university, the usual atmosphere of restlessness has turned full-blown frantic at the most recent news.
This organization was born many years ago when the surviving 10 out of the 17 Demon Races signed the Treaty of Peace. This treaty allowed all of the remaining races to live in harmony and balance all together. For instance, this treaty ratified, among other things, that a Demon Weapon could still hunt for their souls as long as they belonged to those who strayed out of the good path and consumed good souls or . As for becoming a Death Scythe, they could use a Witch's Soul as long as it belonged to a Witch who had gone rogue. They also could use a Fangire Soul as it had been proved that it could replace the Witch in the process, but as the Fangire were hiding, it was really difficult to find one.
And the Wonderful Aozora was the organization what was created specifically to ensure that every race followed the laws laid out by this arrangement and ran after every criminal they could find who failed to do so.
And of course, the Fangire race were on top of that list.
The Aozora HQ was a place where many races were working together for the greater good and those people were all gathered in small groups, discussing the return of Kiva and what it could mean for their kind. But the ones whose reactions matter the most were currently in the training room of the H.Q. Three persons were standing next to a bench press while another person was sitting on said bench, a towel on his shoulder as he looked at the report in his hands.
"So…what do we do, Shima-san?" Asked the only man who was standing and best agent employed by the Aozora Organization: Nago Keisuke, who had neatly combed black hair and wore a classic black and white suit and tie, looking around his mid-20s.
Standing beside him were two women in their early twenties who were arguably the best Weapon and Meister duo the organization had to offer, both also being DWMA graduates. The first one, a beautiful young woman with long brown hair held in a ponytail, was Megumi Aso, who was not only an extremely talented agent but also a skilled Meister. The second woman was none other than her partner, Mami Kurasawa, who was currently wearing a sun hat on her shoulder length brown hair, a white shirt and a pair of sweatpants. Being born from two parents who were both weapons, Mami had the ability to turn into either a bow or a whip, which Megumi wielded each as perfectly as one could.
"That is a good question, Nago-kun." Finally answered the man named Shima, who was none other than the three agents boss and the leader of the Wonderful Aozora Organization. Using his towel to wipe the sweat on his forehead, which was due to the intense exercise he just did, he kept looking at the newspaper as if he was waiting for it to talk to him. "I think it would be best for now to stay put and simply look how the situation will evolve."
"You can't be serious, Shima-san!" Gasped Megumi as her comrades stood just as surprised by his decision than she was. "This… monster wiped five of the 17 Demon Races and probably would have done the same to many others if he hadn't been killed."
"Besides, it is our job to keep the world at peace." Added Mami, sounding almost as anxious about the topic of Kiva as her partner. "And as long as Kiva will be roaming our world, there will always be a risk of things taking a turn for the worst."
"Maybe, but you should also know that Kiva is a title. Which means that the one who carry it right now might not be as bloodthirsty as his predecessor."
"You may be right." Agreed Nago, speaking up once again. "But we can't take any risks. We should at least prepare some kind of defense just in case."
"And you're right on that, Nago-kun." Shima then got up, looking at the three who stood at attention. "We should start to reinforce the relations with the Academy who will play, I am sure, a great part in what will happen in the near future. Nago-kun, Aso-kun, Kurasawa-kun, you'll all be affected to our branch in Death City to work with DWMA and strengthen our bonds as they will surely be involved in the future. I'll contact Death-san to warn him about your arrival and while you'll be there, you'll all have to work under him and follow his orders as if they were mine, is that clear?"
"Yes, sir!"
"Very well. You better all go and prepare yourselves. You leave as soon as possible tomorrow morning." The three nodded and left to prepare, when Shima stopped them by addressing the man of the group. "Nago-kun."
- "Yes, sir ?"
- "I think it would be best if you took it. It might be needed." Nago's eyes widened then he nodded, joining the two women as they headed to their respective home to prepare themselves, leaving Shima alone with the newspaper, already feeling like darkness are already on the move.
/- Somewhere, In An Unknown Place -/
"Can someone explain what the hell is this?"
It was eerily silent, following this question in a large darkness filled room. Slight shuffling could be heard in the room, proof that it was far from being empty, but no one dared say anything to answer the one who just spoke, sitting on a throne of some kind, his glassy blue eyes shining in the dark. If they didn't answer, it was also because no one knew what led to this situation. Not liking the silence, the one who seemed to lead this group spoke once again.
"I know someone was around when it happened, so they better make himself known if he doesn't want to suffer my wrath for withholding information." Commanded the voice, the sound of metal tapping a surface echoing through the room.
"It was I." Finally said a man who stepped out of the group, the upper half of his body hidden in the shadow, except for his glasses, which shone from within the darkness.
"Bishop." Recognized the leader, clutching a newspaper in his hand. "You were here when this happened? Then why didn't you tried to bring them back here? Or at the very least discover who are they?"
"I'm afraid, my King, that I wasn't aware of Kiva's presence until much later. I was already gone when he arrived at the scene."
The other voice in the room sighed at this answer.
"Well, you better do whatever you can to find the one who currently dons the armor of Kiva and bring it back to its home!" Ordered the leader. "Kiva is a power that is transmitted in the Royal Fangire family and as such, it belongs to me by birthright!"
"And as for the one who currently wields it?
"…Find out who it is… and get rid of them."
"Very well, my king." Said Bishop with a bow, imitated by his brethren as they bowed to their King, the one who will once again give their race the place it deserved.
It was time for the Fangire to rise once again.