Hello everyone ! I know it's been a while but I've been busy with my life recently. Then again, I try to get a chapter out every month so don't expect updates too soon either. Anyway, I'd like to thank you all for the support. I love it when I receive mail telling me I have new followers, favorite or review. Hope you'll like this one just as much. Enjoy!
Chapter 3 : A Very Special Extra Class
The sun was just starting to rise up, showing his smile and laughing at Death City who was just beginning to wake up from its slumber, signaling the beginning of a new day in this strange American city. In one of the many houses that covered the city lived a very familiar group of people and in one of the bedroom, a clock was ringing to force the occupant of the bed to wake up, only to be slammed by said occupant who was too busy dreaming to care.
"Mmm…yummy soul…"
The young man was none other than Soul, lying in his bed with a smile on his face, still lost in his dreams. However, something, or rather someone, was going to put an end to it.
"Soul-kun…it's time to wake up~."
Soul finally opened his eyes, who shot wide open as soon as he saw who just woke him and the position he was in.
"B-Blair?!" Indeed it was. The cat girl did just as she was told back in England and followed Maka and Soul to live with them, and so far, she was enjoying every second of it. Maybe a bit too much as the girl was currently on her four on Soul's bed, her large breasts brushing against the weapon's tight through the bed sheets.
"Or maybe we could stay like this…" She purred, getting closer to him, enough to straddle him as she literally rested her breasts on his face. "And you could do something fun with Blair ?"
"Mmm-nnng!" Came Soul's muffled voice, trying to free himself from the devilish cat as sweet breakfast's odor was starting to come from the kitchen where Maka was busy cooking their breakfast, along with Kivat who was standing on the side of a bowl, listening to his partner who was humming along as she cooked.
"This is smelling good. You outdone yourself this time, Maka." Complimented Kivat as he flapped around his user's head, looking at the plates Maka was setting up.
"Well, this is not much, but I'm glad you think it's good." Smiled the young girl, looking at the clock on the wall. "What is Soul doing? He should be up by now."
"Don't worry, I'm going to fetch him." Assured Kivat as he took off, heading to Soul's room, entering via a small opening above the door which had been made for him, so he could enter any room should he need it. "Evans! Why aren't you up already up? It is time to…" His voice died in his throat as he discovered why Soul was still in his room, prisoner of a succubus who was slowly stealing his breath away, in the literal sense of the word. Frowning, Kivat swooped out of the room, going straight for the fridge without saying a single word.
"So what is Soul doing?" Asked Maka, turning her head to see, much to her confusion, Kivat who was opening the fridge to take a bottle of water out of it. "Is something wrong?"
"Nothing you should worry about, Maka." Reassured Kivat as he managed to open the bottle, taking it in his talons as he flew back to Soul's room. "Just a little business I have to take care of."
Maka simply looked up in confusion as she watched Kivat sliding the bottle through the trap above the door leading to Soul's room, the bat silently flying until he was just above Blair. Once he was in position, he flipped the bottle over, emptying its content on the cat's head.
The effect was immediate.
*HISSSSSS!*
Blair instantly changed into a cat, now drenched in water before dashing out of the room as Kivat flew after her for a moment, even managing to throw the now empty bottle at her.
"You lewd alley cat! Just you wait! If I get my talons on you, I…"
"Th-Thanks man." Heaved Soul, finally able to breathe again, blood trickling down his nose. "That damn cat really needs to control herself."
"She sure does." Agreed the bat, sighing as he landed on Soul bedside table. "Anyway, you should come and eat breakfast soon or you'll both be late for class." The mention of class made Soul fall back on his bed dramatically, sighing tiredly at the thought of still going to school.
"I can't believe I still have to get to class." Moaned Soul, already feeling like going back to sleep as his eyelids lowered. "I'm a goddamn Death Scythe now! I'm way too cool for school."
"Cool or not, you have to go or you might get punished and god only knows what kind of punishment Death have in store for any Death Scythe who skip classes." Lectured Kivat, "Now more than ever, you have a standard to set to your peers."
Realizing that Kivat was right, Soul reluctantly finally agreed to waking up, standing up and stretching his arms with a groan before quickly putting some clothes on and heading up to the kitchen. There, he met Maka was putting up everyone's breakfast with a smile on her face, humming happily along with the classical tune that came out of the radio. In a corner of the room, he saw Blair, already dried up, but still glaring at the bat who give it back to her, the tension clear between the two.
"Why did Blair ran out of your room completely soaked up?" Asked Maka as Soul sat down, slightly flushing as he remembered his near-death experience at the hand of a pretty audacious cat.
"I saved a life." Simply answered Kivat with a straight face. Maka felt like she didn't wanted to know more about it while Blair jumped on the counter, glaring daggers at Kivat.
"You better sleep with an eye open if you don't want to end up wingless, you pest!"
"Just you try and I won't be the only one sleeping upside down."
"Will you two just stop, please?" Scolded Maka, making the two stop their bickering. "You're acting like children too early in the day. Now eat your breakfast or we'll be late for school. And while we're in school, I want you Blair to stay here, alright?"
"Wait, I have to stay here while he can go with you?!" Blair whined, feeling hurt that Kivat could go with them while she would have to stay here all alone. "That is so unfair!"
"I go with them because we never know when Kiva's power will be needed." Explained Kivat, a certain smugness in his voice as he addressed the cat. "That's why I always follow Maka, no matter where she's going."
"If you think you'd be bored by staying here, you can wander around the town, but if you do, you have to promise me that you'll do nothing to get yourself into trouble, alright?" Blair happily nodded, glad that she didn't had to be stuck in that house, at least she'll be able to discover this town. "Anyway, we better be going. Since we have to walk to the school, we'll be late if we don't leave now."
"Yeah…I completely forgot that my bike was completely wrecked by that Fangire." Reminisced Soul, scowling at the mental images of his dear ride being destroyed by a horse monster still fresh in his mind.
"That's no longer an issue!" Kivat flew to stood in front of Maka and Soul as they were about to leave the house. "Remember what I said back when we were in that hotel room in England?"
"You said I didn't have to worry about my bike, that you had some kind of plan." Reminded Soul, making the bat nod.
"I contacted some old friends of mine who owed me a favor and they worked on something for us." Stated Kivat as he flew out and down some stairs to a garage door. "Come on down!"
The Meister, the Weapon and the cat followed him, curious about what he had in store for them, everyone coming to a stop in front of the garage, the bat landing on the handle.
"Ladies and gentleman, let me introduce you to your, or should I say, our new ride!" He then pulled the handle up, opening the garage door, three pairs of eyes widening as they saw what stood in the room.
Before them was a 2m51 long blood red and black bike, looking like it was based off of a Honda Shadow 750, with red wing like decorations stood on the two mudguards.
"Holy shit! What a beauty!" Soul was awestruck by the bike he had in front of him, Kivat landing on its handle to present it.
"Let me introduce you all to the Machine Kivaa! Reborn by the wings of Motobat the 16th, a master craftsman of the Kivat Race." Described the Kivat, flying around the enhanced motorcycle as he went on, "It's a living motorcycle, possessing a horse Fangire's brain in the upper cowl, with its top speed being 520 kilometers an hour and delivering horsepower of 8500 RPM. And to top it all, when it runs at high speed, it can generate the Shadow Veil to hide itself from plain sight and can keep Kiva's identity under wraps from prying eyes."
"And I…I can drive it ?" Asked Soul, full of hope as he hold himself from touching it.
"Normally, a creation like this one is for Kiva use only, but I managed to convince Motobat to make it usable for you too."
"So you…basically got me a new bike?!" Realized Soul as he finally got his hands on the beauty in front of him, which he could feel shudder under his fingers. It felt like Christmas came early this year.
"I guess you can see this as a gift to celebrate our new collaboration. Though if you drive it, you won't be able to use it to its full potential. After all, it was made to be drove by Kiva in the first place." Explained Kivat before being swept by Soul who hugged him, tears running down his face.
"Who cares! Thank you, Kivat! You're definitely the coolest bat ever !"
"I admit that its really cool, but we should be on our way to school by now." Reminded Maka with a big smile. "I'd hate being late, Soul. It would be nice if a certain someone could drive us there." This made Soul grin widely as he let go of Kivat.
"Well, if you really insist." He then jumped on the bike, revving it up a few times. "Jump on, Maka. I wanna see what this beauty can do. Catch you later Blair!"
Maka smiled and did as she was told, Kivat joining them by grabbing onto the handle between Soul's hands as he let go of the brakes and sped out of the garage, leaving Blair behind to wave at them as they disappeared into a cloud of dusts, heading on to a new day of school.
/- At DWMA -/
When you first look at it, if you remove the pretty weird and slightly creepy architecture, Death City was a pretty normal city that was one of the main places where every Demon Races were welcomed to stay and lived freely. It had all the commodities every races needed to live and everyone could live however they wanted. However, if the town looked normal, the Demon Weapons and Meister Academy, also called Shibusen or DWMA for short, was definitely a weird looking building. It had the form of some sort of castle with four long and pointy roofs with three larges balls hovering over them, mimicking the face of the Death God, as well as its entrance made of three skulls that looked like Lord Death's face, spikes coming out of the three holes of the middle one, the two on the side frowning while being flanked by large candles on each sides.
If one was paying enough attention, they could see a yellow bat flying around the building and entering it via an opened window, landing on a wooden beam above a large room where many young people were seated. Those were Meisters and Demon Weapons who, just like Maka and Soul, studied here. This was the E.A.T. Class, for Especially Advantaged Talent, one of the two curriculum of the school, a class that was made of only 10 percent of the student of the school who were also sent on mission.
And speaking of our favorite duo, they were both sitting in their usual spot in the middle of the hemicycle; Soul with his hands behind his head while Maka was reading a book next to him - both waiting for the teacher to come and began the class, but from the look of things, he was taking his sweet time today.
"I wonder why he's taking so long?" Wondered Maka aloud, a finger on her chin. "Is he sick?"
"Well, I for sure wouldn't mind for a class to be canceled." Admitted Soul while yawning like any typical rapscallion. "But I think this had to be about the rumors. You've heard about them, right ?" Maka simply nod to confirm that she did heard about them. "Some say that he kicked the bucket. And some people say that recently, a weird man attacked Shibusen students, and the people who've seen the guy are saying that he looks weird."
"Weird like what?" Inquired Maka, eyes on her book, half-listening to her partner.
"They say his body has changed…his body…" He then suddenly jumped at Maka, making a horrible face and talked with a voice that felt like it came from the underworld. "… Has a gaping hole on the forehead because he's a ZOMBIE!"
"KYYYYYYA!"
*SLAM*
Out of pure reflex, Maka grabbed a hold of her thick book and slammed it slice first on her partner's head, knocking him down. "Don't do that, you stupid ! It's not funny !"
"S-Sorry…" Apologized Soul, twitching in his seat as Kivat, naturally, facepalmed himself with his wing at the sight before him.
"And you're saying that's Sid-sensei ? No way. It's just somebody's stupid rumor." Insisted Maka, putting her book down on her desk as someone finally walked into the room, a man everyone knew pretty well but who wasn't their usual teacher. Many whispers and gasps came from the student body as they realized who the man was as he stood by the teacher desk.
"Please, everybody sit down." Asked one Spirit Albarn, looking at the students, his eyes trailing off a bit longer on his daughter, a sparks of pride in his eyes as he did. "As you probably already know, I'm Spirit Albarn, currently known as Lord Death's Death Scythe, and until further notice, I going to take care of your class until they decide on a permanent replacement as something happened to Sid." Explained Spirit, the students wondering what happened to Sid and if this meant that the rumors they heard were true. "Alright, I'm going to take roll. But before that…" He lifted his head again, looking at Soul and Maka, his eyes briefly glancing up at the woodwork. "Soul, Maka, you've been called to see Lord Death. Don't worry about your classes and just go."
Maka and Soul looked at each other in confusion before walking down the stairs of the hemicycle and exiting the room, Kivat following them undetected through thanks to a vent, as they walked up to the Death Room, where Soul seemed to realize something.
"Wait, Maka." Maka, who was about to knock, stopped and looked at her partner who seemed worried. "What if called us because he know you are…you know…I mean, he's Death, after all."
"Don't you worry about it." Reassured Maka calmly, strangely and absolutely not worried about this, which made Soul curious as to why she was like this, so, well, so confident as she knocked on the door which promptly opened on a room filled with a row of guillotine acting like a hallway leading to the middle of the room.
The both of them entered and followed the guillotine, with Kivat entering swiftly after them and flying as high as he could to make sure he wasn't seen by anyone that shouldn't see him. And it proved to be the best choice possible as Maka and Soul weren't the only one here, someone looking at them from one of the guillotines above, right behind their back.
"It's Soul and Maka." Whispered the guy, talking to a sickle. "Let's show them what we can do...let's go, Tsubaki!"
"Right!" Answered the weapon as the guy stood up, arms stretched open as he began to shout.
"Laws of the assassin number one: conceal yourself in darkness…still your breath and seek an opening to your target!" Exclaimed the blue haired Meister as he and his partner gracefully jumped into the air.
"Laws of the assassin number two: know your target. Be able to guess his thoughts, his movements!" The Meister and Weapon both landed into front of Maka and Soul, predictability startling the other duo.
"Laws of the assassin number three: Defeat your target before he becomes aware of your existence!"
"Ah! It's BlackStar." Announced Maka blandly as she was far too used to this boy's antics to put any more effort to his entrance, already looking up at the blue haired boy with sheer exasperation. "What are you doing ?"
"Shouting, what else ?" Answered Soul, sweat dropping while looking at the assassin.
"We've been completely uncovered…" Sighed Tsubaki, perfectly knowing why as she turned back to her human form.
"It's my uncontrollable star quality! That's what so charming about me!" Declared BlackStar as they both jumped down from their perch, landing next to their friends.
'What's so charming about being a booming egomaniac?' Wondered Kivat, flying high above them, sweat dropping at BlackStar usual behavior.
"Well, whatever! It's my time to shine in these dark and dangerous times!" The blue haired assassin rhymed, as always, not letting something like self-awareness get in the way of his prideful nature.
"Anyway, what are you two doing here? Did you guys got called up by Lord Death too?" Asked Soul, gaining a shrug from their friends. "Let's just call the guy, then."
"I'll do it." Offered Maka, blowing on the tall mirror top with three candles that stood on a platform in the middle of the room and writing on it. "42-42-564" After writing those numbers, the mirror began to ring like a phone when a click was heard. "Hello, hello, Lord Death? This is the Scythe Meister Maka."
"And Demon Blade Meister, BlackStar."
"Yes! Hello-Hello!" Greeted Shinigami from his mirror as he appeared, looking down at his students.
"Why did you called us there?" Immediately asked Soul, not beating around the bush.
"Right, there's something I want you guys to take." Shinigami let a little silence flew by before finally saying it. "Extra lessons."
"What do you mean by extra lessons?" Asked Tsubaki, confused by what he meant by that. BlackStar also weren't feeling good about it, but for a completely different reason.
"Hell no! I'm a God! There's no way in hell I'll do it!"
"What is your duty, as Meisters and Weapons ?" Suddenly asked Shinigami, Maka answering just as quickly.
"To feed the Weapon 99 Humans Souls and 1 rogue Witch Soul or Fangire Soul and make Lord Death's weapon, a Death Scythe."
"Yup. But as of today, the number of souls Tsubaki and BlackStar have collected is…zero!"
Everyone sweat dropped at the revelation, except BlackStar who kept laughing while Tsubaki apologized for them both.
"You suck, BlackStar, for real." Taunted Soul, smiling superior at the assassin's new status.
"Hey, you're here too, man!" Reminded BlackStar smugly. "You're probably in the same situation as us so you better shut up!"
"In fact, it is quite the opposite, BlackStar-kun." Corrected Shinigami as he looked at Maka and Soul. "That's one of the reason they are here with you. Maka Albarn : congratulation on making me a new weapon, one who I'm sure will be really powerful once he masters everything that makes a Death Scythe!"
Maka and Soul both puffed up at the praising, visibly gratified at having succeeded in their main mission at DWMA.
Meanwhile, BlackStar had stopped working, his face completely frozen with his jaw hanging down while Tsubaki, just as amazed, walked up to her friend, hugging Maka close in joy at her accomplishment.
"Congratulation, Maka! I knew you could do it !" She said as the shorter girl hugged her back, smiling just as wide, allowing Soul the opportunity to rub it in the assassin's face.
"Well, well, well, looks like we managed to beat God, huh?" Gleefully mocked Soul, throwing a arm over said frozen claimer's head in an equally mocking way, "Seems to me you have a LONG way to go before you get on my level, scrub."
"Anyway, back on the subject, if you please." Interrupted Shinigami, making them all look at the mirror, even BlackStar, though he did it on auto-pilot. "About your extra lessons…you've already heard the rumors ? Up until recently, the story about Sid-sensei, a teacher at Shibusen… was turned into a zombie and has been attacking students."
"See? I was right, wasn't it?!" Boasted Soul, turning to his partner.
"Y-Yeah. Sorry that I didn't believed you."
"When he was alive, he was an excellent teacher, but now that he's a zombie, he's been freed from the "fear of Death", and he says he want to let the students "have the same experience as I did". The attacks on the students are only because they get in the way of his self-satisfying training presentations. But who it was that changed him into a zombie and what his motive was are still unknown."
"So basically, this extra class' goal is to take his soul, right ?" Deduced BlackStar, now unstuck from shock but still under Soul's arm. "Then you can leave it to me, boss!"
"Yup, that's it. Now, I'm not trying to threaten you or anything, but…if you screw up these extra lessons…you two will be expelled!"
"What !?" Gasped everyone bar BlackStar, shocked by the severity of the punishment should they fail. However, there was still something that didn't sat right with Maka.
"But why are we going, then ?" Asked Maka. "Why are we here if we already have collected all of our souls?"
"You may have made your weapon into a Death Scythe, but there are still a lot to learn for the both of you, especially given the weight of what you have accomplished recently. Consider this your first mission as Death Scythe and Death Scythe wielder!" Cheerily explained Shinigami as the two partners nod to themselves. "But it wouldn't be fair if Tsubaki and BlackStar were the only one to suffer should the mission fail. If you two fail, I'll take back all of the souls you have and make you both start all over again!"
This news made the two of them freeze in shock, realizing that if this happened, it would take them forever to make Soul into a Death Scythe again. And not bothered by the sight of his mortified students, Shinigami cheerily added something before dismissing them all.
"Well, I'll be rooting for you. Do your best !" And with that, the death god disappeared from the mirror, leaving a bunch of traumatized kids behind.
'Why do I feel it's going to be one hell of an extra class?' Sighed the bat, looking at her partner as she was as still as a statue from the given conditions, her knees shaking and threatening to give out at any time now. 'Let's hope for the best.'
/- Hook Cemetery-/
Once the briefing was done, our group of four headed straight for the cemetery, located just outside of Death City. The place, named Hook Cemetery, was one creepy looking place with, of course, not only the tombstones littered all over the area, but also hooks hanging from the trees scattered all across the cemetery, which was delimited by a cloture that clearly needed some fixing.
Despite this very spine-chilling atmosphere, the students didn't hesitated a lot of time before entering, now exploring the place looking for their late teacher's tomb and for the best way of locating said teacher.
"HEY! Zombie dude! Get your ass out here!"
For example, shouting like a dumbass in hopes that the monster would show himself, just as Soul was currently doing.
"Hey, Tsubaki..." Behind him, BlackStar was standing in front of a tomb, hands on his hips. "Is this Sid's grave? You think he's still around here ? He's already moving around."
"Yeah…" Answered the weapon with a sigh. "But I guess it's his grave for now…" While the duo of assassin inspected the tomb, Soul was still shouting like a madman.
"Come on! Get out here! I never listened to you in any of your classes! GYAHAHAHAH!"
The albino laughed like a maniac, taunting their target in a pitiful hope to try to get him out of his hiding spot. And he would have kept going if he didn't received some kind of pinecone to the back of his head, forcing him to turn around to try and discover from where it came from, finally noticing a certain tiny bat who was glaring at him from a branch, looking at him in a way that clearly said:
'The fuck are you doing fool?! She needs some support here!'
Soul looked down, following Kivat's wing, to find Maka, kneeling in front of said tree, sulking heavily, a literal cloud above her head.
"I always thought I was a great Scythe Meister like my mother… Wh...What am I going to do if I fail this? All of our work…Would be for nothing!" She cried, comically oversized tears streaming down her cheeks, the particularly sad sight causing Soul and Tsubaki to feel sorry for the poor girl. As for BlackStar…
"What's got her down?" He wondered, pointing at the blonde, which caused some comical tears to also run down Tsubaki's face.
"BlackStar, aren't you a little worried...at all?"
"Even after all of these years, I can't determine if this guy is confident or just stupid..." Muttered Kivat from his hiding spot for the night, sweat dropping as he looked at the blue haired teen.
"Hey...maybe I should piss on his grave? This might make him come out!" Proposed the assassin, visibly assured that such a plan would work perfectly if executed by him, which only made everyone look at him with an exasperated face, including the Kivat in the trees, palming his face with a robotic wing.
"Let's forget what I said, he's clearly more stupid than confident!"
And as soon as this was said, the mood changed completely. Maka, while sulking against her tree, felt something getting closer to her and her natural Meister instincts kicked in just in time, making her jump to the side just as a hand shot out of the ground, trying to grab her. The hand was soon followed by a second one, which managed to grab a hold of Maka's ankle, lifting her from the ground as he excavate himself, revealing a pretty muscular man with a bluish skin and pupiless white eyes. His arms were covered in black Japanese tattoos and he had a white headband around his head and, strangely for a dead man, he still had his black cornrowed hair. Too fast for Maka to react, he already pulled out a knife and was about to skewer the upside down girl, but she was saved by Soul who literally threw himself into the air, morphing into a scythe in mid-air and, spinning like a buzzsaw, dived at the zombie, forcing him to let the girl go to dodge the scythe who sunk into the ground like a hot knife through butter.
"Thanks for the save, Soul." Said Maka, getting her mind back on track, grabbing her partner as she got up.
"No problem!" Answered the Scythe as he was pulled out of the ground, the two of them glaring at Sid who was grabbing onto his tomb, taking it out of the ground, and holding it under his arm. They knew that this could be a pretty hard fight as Sid, back when he was alive, was one of the best fighter of Shibusen.
"Maka. Soul. BlackStar. Tsubaki. Good morning, hello, good night. It's been quite a while." Said the ex-teacher with a smirk, the others looking at him strangely after all those greetings. "Hey…I never was one to miss a greeting." Sid informed, apparently very happy about the current situation at hand. He went on as Tsubaki morphed into her weapon form and was grasped by her partner, "Being a zombie is great! There are all sorts of things that are okay now. Class has started, I always were the type to start class right at the bell."
"This is great! I haven't been able to show off in a while." Voiced BlackStar, grinning at the opportunity to fight and display his skills. "Check out my crazy training attitude!"
"Don't waste your effort. You're all going to die anyway." Lectured Sid, not impressed by the duo of Meister facing him. "If you become a zombie, the pressure of 'death' vanishes. You can escape the fear."
"That's all wrong!" Shouted Maka, glaring at their ex-teacher. "You were never the type of person who would say that!"
"You'll learn this way!" Retorted Sid before he rushing at Maka in an instant, already swinging his heavy tomb like a baseball bat. "Die for a while!"
Maka was taken aback by the speed at which the zombie moved, and she would have pay for her inattention if BlackStar didn't jumped in the way, stopping the tomb by jumping on it. However…
"I'm getting impatient! I always have been that way!" As Sid said that, he kept the swing going and batted the two, sending them flying away, much to Kivat's shock.
"Wow! He's extremely strong for a zombie! I bet he could give Riki a run for his money." Observed the bat as the two Meisters managed to get back to their feet, Maka using Soul to stop herself and BlackStar did some flips to finally stop next to Maka who looked at him with an apologetic smile.
"Sorry, BlackStar. I should have been more attentive…"
"You're little, I'm big, don't sweat it!" Responded BlackStar in a 'reassuring' manner, but his words making the others sweat drop at how condescending it came across.
"Give up already!" Advised Sid, tomb in his hands. "You 'One Star Meister' can't beat me!"
"He may be a zombie, but I'll slice him open anyway! I'll show him what it's like to face a Death Scythe !" Said Soul, the eye of his Scythe form showing that he was pissed. The could not be said for his partner, as Maka was feeling uneasy.
"Sid-sensei is strong…" She stated. "He's on a completely different level than us. When he was alive, he was a Three Star Meister."
"Mmm, not bad for a Sensei like him." Said Soul, his face showing on the blade. "But if you swing that gravestone around and it breaks, you die again."
"It's my gravestone. I can use it however I want, can't I?!" Retorted Sid, his confidence not faltering even a little. "Also, you may be a Death Scythe, but you're still wet behind the ears. Let's begin the second deadline. And when this deadline ends, you'll be dead too!"
The fight kept going, growing in intensity with each strike, Sid keeping it up against the two young Meisters who weren't holding back. Up on his tree, Kivat was spectating the fight, looking pretty amazed at the skills both sides were displaying but also feeling a tad bit stressed. He'd like to go down here and help the two Meisters, but it would be pretty stupid as very few knew who the true identity of Kiva was or that Kivat the Third even existed and if he jumped in to help Maka and Soul, it would be a pretty obvious giveaway. So he stayed on his branch, so focused on his inner thoughts that he didn't even see BlackStar, who had jumped on the same branch, making the bat fly away suddenly, holding down a scream to avoid any suspicion.
After landing, BlackStar threw Tsubaki, still in sickle form, at Sid who effortlessly rebelled it with his tombstone, with the same swing he used to block one of Maka's swing.
"What's wrong?!" Taunted Sid. "You need to understand each other better! Meisters and their Weapons have totally different 'wavelengths'. 'Are you giving advice to the enemy who's after your soul?', I hear you thinking. I've always been an educationally enthusiastic eager educator!" He punctuated his lengthy title with another blow that sent Maka and Soul to the ground before jumping high enough to end up above BlackStar who was still on the branch and not expecting a jump like this while carrying a tombstone. "That's the kind of guy I was !"
"What ?!" Was the only thing BlackStar managed to say as Sid was already coming down on him.
"Check out the gravestone you're getting! Take this! Living Dead!"
Kivat flew away to another tree as Sid slammed his tombstone in BlackStar's face, breaking the branch and sending him back to Earth with a cross-shaped cloud of smoke rising above the laying assassin.
"BlackStar!" Shouted Maka, worried for her friend as Sid stood a few feet away, tomb on his shoulder, ready for the second round, Maka feeling pretty distressed about it. "Sid-sensei was a knife Meister, but…without using a Demon Weapon he can fight like this with a single gravestone? This is a 3 Star Meister!"
"What's wrong? Are you afraid of dying?" Mocked Sid, seeing that Maka wasn't moving a lot. "If you become a zombie, you can be free from that fear!"
Kivat was cringing as he looked at the scene, starting to wonder if there were a way for them to get out of this. But that's when he saw a bloody faced boy rising up from the ground., his whole body twitching.
"BlackStar!" Exclaimed Tsubaki, happy to see her Meister rising up from the dead. Though his twitching wasn't due to the wound he received.
"UUGH! My head!" He said, gritting his teeth as a vein pulsed on his forehead. "Your blabber is pissing me off, asshole!" He then got up and spun both sickle by the chain. "Your lesson is just beginning, you rotten moron! I'm. On. STAGE!" With that, he threw both chain toward Sid, the chain undulating on the side, trapping Sid in some kind of hallway, BlackStar landing in front of him. "3 Stars, 1 stars, it doesn't matter to me! I am…BLACKSTAR!" And in an instant, he crossed the distance between the two and landed a powerful kick to Sid's gut, knocking the wind out of him.
"No matter what you think of him, once he got over his self-centered and loud self, BlackStar is one hell of a fighter." Muttered Kivat as he looked at the teenager.
"You don't get a break! Tsubaki, Mode Shuriken!"
"Right!" Complied the weapon as she turned into a large star shaped shuriken which he then threw at the zombie who simply jumped over it, not heading toward BlackStar but toward Maka, rising his tombstone over his head.
"I'll crush you! Living Dead!"
He slammed his tomb on the ground right where Maka was standing a few seconds before, but much to Sid's shock, he just missed his shot, Maka having dodged despite the tiny gap, on her hands with both legs on either side of the tombstone.
"We may be afraid, but everybody is thinking that they can be strong!" Shouted back Maka before pushing on her hands, slamming her foot in Sid's nose and slamming him onto the ground, right under Kivat's cheering gaze.
"Not feeling 'fear' would normally be called recklessness…" He began, not realizing he was giving the same analysis as Shinigami back in his room, not that any of the combats could notice. "But for Maka, the fight with 'fear' brings 'courage'!"
"Maka!" Shouted Soul, back in human form, staying close to his partner. "Let's do that! Tune in on my soul's frequency!"
"But…we've never even gotten it right once." Contested Maka, with Kivat also feeling worried on his branch, but because of something else. Soul, however, was much more confident.
"We can do it! If it's us, we can do it!"
"...Okay!" Finally said Maka as she grabbed the human now turned scythe, her power growing in tandem with Soul's.
"Soul Resonance!"
As their power grew in intensity, a whitish energy covered the blade of the scythe, making it grow and extend, taking the shape of a crescent moon with some sort of mouth and an eye in the middle of it.
"Ooooh!" Awed Shinigami, looking at what he had in front of him. "That's the traditional scythe Meister's special weapon: Witch Hunter!"
But as like Maka feared, their lack of training in the use of such a technique shone in what happened next. Maka tried to swing Soul but she unintentionally let him go, sending him toward BlackStar who had to do some limbo to dodge the blade who ended up cutting half of the tomb in the cemetery in half.
Needless to say, the result wasn't the one they expected and it rose many reactions.
"What the hell were you doing!" Screeched BlackStar. "You wanna kill me?!"
"I told you we weren't ready !" Cried Maka to Soul, still his scythe shape. "Why do you always do that?!"
"Hey ! Maybe the problem is with you ! I'm the coolest Death Scythe !"
"What does it have to do with anything !?"
Back on the branch, Kivat was sweat dropping, face-winging as he listened to the bickering teens, Tsubaki below feeling the same as she looked at the scene, still in her sickle form. As for Sid, he looked at all the tomb that got cut in half, pretty impressed by the strength of the attack.
"Who needs a super technique anyway." Huffed Maka, grabbing Soul with two hands and rushing at Sid. "I just want to do it the simple way!"
"After all, a cool man is willing to gamble with his life!" Added the newly-created Death Scythe, voicing his approval with great gusto.
Maka swung horizontally at Sid who didn't moved…before he suddenly disappeared, leaving not a trace behind.
"Huh?! He vanished?!"
"No! He dodged!" Corrected Soul just as the ground began to swell, popping slightly here and there as if the ground was filled with air which tried to came out.
"He's hiding under the ground!" Realized Maka, making the four friends more tensed, looking at the ground attentively, waiting for any sign of their dead teacher, who suddenly appeared behind Maka like a mole, attacking her with a stake, stabbing her in the shoulder before disappearing again as fast as he came. It angered Soul who seethed, his eye glaring at the ground while Maka got back up. Kivat was wondering how they could get out of this situation when he noticed BlackStar who wasn't moving at all.
"BlackStar…"
"Yeah. I know." He simply said, answering Tsubaki, having noticed what she wanted to say. "Sid's using the first law of the Assassin!"
"Conceal yourself in darkness…" Recited Tsubaki. "Still your breath…seek an opening to your target."
"Tsubaki! Let's go before he can take the first step!" Ordered BlackStar, putting a hand in front of his face, the other, still holding one of the sickle, above his head. The other sickle was floating around in a precise pattern. Maka noticed that BlackStar's breathing had changed, apparently preparing something.
"You're not getting on my stage, stinking zombie." Announced BlackStar, the veins pulsing on his forehead highly contrasting the calm in his voice. "We don't need two assassins. I stand alone."
"TRAP STAR!"
Suddenly, the sickle came to a stop, the chain now laying on the ground, drawing a large star with the Meisters and their weapons in the middle. With that, BlackStar began to recite with a low voice.
"Laws of the assassin number 2: know your target. Be able to guess his thoughts, his movements."
He closed his eyes, focusing on Sid's soul's frequency, finally feeling it. Suddenly, his breath came to a stop, Maka, Kivat and even Shinigami looking at the scene attentively. Without letting them react, Sid began to come out of the ground right under BlackStar, the stake aimed at his head. But as quickly as he came out of the ground, BlackStar reacted and pulled on the chain, which began to move all around, pulling Sid with it, restraining him completely, much to the zombie's surprise.
"HYAHAHAHA!" Laughed BlackStar, the chained zombie behind him. "I'm the greatest one! GYAHAHAHAHA!"
"STOP LAUGHING AND UNTIE US, YOU DUMBASS!" Roared Soul and Maka…who had been tied up along with Sid.
"It's your own fault for getting in my way." Dismissed BlackStar with a broad smile, Tsubaki sweat dropping once again while Kivat, hanging upside down from the same branch he was on, felt like coming down and bite down his overgrown head. As for Shinigami, he was pretty much amused by the scene, giggling as he looked at the assassin who was starting to free Maka and Soul, laughing along the way.
"Heh heh. That's the end for now, I guess."
"Hm…" A voice suddenly came from behind Shinigami, from someone sitting in a big throne like chair. "Next is the one pulling the strings who turned Sid-sensei into a zombie ?"
"Exactly!" Cheerily said Shinigami who turned around to look at the person, which was none other than his son, Death the Kid, with the Thompson Sisters by his side.
"And who it is, father?" Asked Kid, already knowing that the man wasn't a simple criminal. "He's no ordinary man, right?"
Shinigami said nothing at first, though his silence spoke volumes.
While Kid was looking at his father's skeletal face, a man, somewhere near the border of the town, was sitting in front of a computer, glasses shining thanks to the light of the screen which was the only source of light in the barely lit room, smoke coming out his cigarette, slowly rising his hand to a large screw that was sticking out of head.
"Ugh…my head's getting fuzzy again…" He said slowly as he turned the screw with a disturbing cranking noise as he got up. "Hmm…I'm bored…I hope the next subject while soon be here… I need to dissect something."