OK, this is a pretty good streak I got going. An update once a month. That's better than an update once a year. So I'm definitely improving. This chapter was pretty fun for me to write. It's my first time writing what I consider to be a proper arc, so I hope that it would come across as something that at least makes sense for the reader.
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No beta reading here, as usual. So... an update will probably come in like, two days or something to fix the minor grammar mistakes and whatnot. If I don't publish it, I don't panic enough to actually check it fast. That's probably a bad thing to do, but it's what gets me motivated.
Note: On 24/July/2022, I have fixed whatever mistakes I could find and adjusted some wordings. Though the content is more or less the same.
Anyway, hope you enjoy the chapter!
Chapter 7: Unforgettable Summer Night
It had been a few days since the summer holidays began. The sun was panting from its attempt to flare out its flames as much as it could. The heat was more than apparent for the citizens of Death City, all too used to the summer heat in the desert. A lot of families were gathered in the local park, relishing the cold water being splashed about by the children playing in the fountain. Other families opted instead to go to the pool and swim the whole day.
Even through the sweltering heat, it seemed that it would be another peaceful day in Death City.
"Do you have enough underwear packed?" Kami asked in concern.
"Yes, Ms. Albarn… I'm sure I have enough packed, thank you." Soul attempted to hide the red tint on his cheeks by looking strictly inside his suitcase, but it was no use.
Maka was currently covering her mouth doing her best to stifle her laughter, which earned her an embarrassed glare from her partner. The Death Scythe internally groaned as he remembered how Ms. Albarn had essentially treated him - a 15 year old - as if he were going on his first school field trip. It was incredibly embarrassing.
When he and Maka arrived home with the news that he was going to leave for a Death Scythe Summer Training Camp, Ms. Albarn seemed as if she were already prepared and had spent the day purchasing the necessary supplies. She then decided that she would help Soul in his packing, ensuring that he would have every single thing that he would require in this camp. Including but not limited to: reminders to brush his teeth, A bunch of pills and over the counter medicine for minor illnesses, bug spray, reminders to change his underwear everyday, etc.
It felt so strange to be coddled like a child. It had been so long since he had experienced something like this. As humiliating as the situation was, he was sort of happy that she was treating him so kindly. Almost as if she were treating him like her own son.
His Meister on the other hand had been strangely quiet about her opinions on him going. He had assumed she would be ecstatic that her partner would be personally trained by, as Stein put it, 'The best Weapons in the world.' Instead, she had been rather subdued, only asking him about how he felt about this trip.
He had told mostly everyone on this trip that would be affected by his absence. Black Star and Kid said that they would be training by themselves while he was gone, and had taunted him to not fall behind. Jackie was fairly supportive and was excited that this meant she was going to have a bit more time to train with Maka.
He had also told Wes and Nana about this, just in case they tried to contact him. They were both essentially treating this like he got a vacation. Which he was sure it wasn't going to be. But he'll let them think whatever they want as long as they weren't worried.
Maka was just silently observing him as he zipped up his suitcase and sat down on his bed, glad that everything was there. Ms. Albarn had finished her checklist and was now going to discuss some last minute details with the prof.
The duo waved her goodbye as she closed the door. They were now alone and Soul decided that he had had enough.
"OK, what's up with you?" He watched his Meister flinch slightly.
"Um, what do you mean?" She shifted her eyes all over the place, smiling nervously.
Soul sighed, realizing that he was going to have to coax it out of her. "You've been real quiet about all this. I thought you'd be excited that I was gonna get closer to becoming the best Death Scythe or something?"
It was her turn to sigh. "I guess I can't really hide it from you, but…" her cheeks tinted red as she bashfully looked away. "It's stupid anyway, you don't have to worry about it."
Unamused, the Death Scythe placed his elbow on his knee and rested his cheek against his palm. "Why don't you just tell me, and I'll decide if it's stupid or not."
The blonde narrowed her eyes at his comment before relenting to his wishes. "It's just that you'll be training for two weeks and well…"
"Well…?" Soul continued.
"I'll miss you." She stared at the floor. Or his door. Or his window. Just… anywhere but him.
Soul's eyes widened in surprise. He watched his Meister's cheek gain a more rosy color as she did her best to avoid eye contact. He was sure his cheeks were no better but that didn't matter right now.
"Hahahaha!" He couldn't help but let out a hearty laugh.
She growled in frustration as she stomped towards him, ready to give him a big 'ol Maka Chop for making fun of her. But she was stopped as she felt his arms wrap around her, leaving her no room to protest.
"Man, I was worried for nothing." He whispered into her ear. "I'll miss you too."
Now that he thought about it, this would probably be the first time ever since they met that they would be separated for an extended period of time. She must have realized that from the moment Stein told them about the trip. He felt her relax under his hold before finally returning his embrace, both enjoying the moment.
"Oh nya nyaa. Aren't you two cute?"
Soul instinctively pulled himself away, lest he wanted to be pushed into the ground once again. And he was right, he noticed his Meister's arms already in a position ready to push him away. He glared at her, unamused before turning towards the source of the new voice. She was once again entering through the window that they left open due to the summer heat.
"Hey Blair, where have ya been?" Soul greeted, switching topics at the same time.
"Oh you know," She licked her paws before jumping inside, purring in satisfaction now that she was finally out of the sweltering temperature outside, "Working at Chupa Cabra's, sending a letter home, the usual."
Soul and Maka both nodded in understanding, processing what she said before realizing something. Maka was the first to voice her question.
"Home? Blair, where are you from-"
"Souuuul! Makaaa! It's time to go!" Kami's voice traveled through the window.
The duo quickly looked at the time and realized that he was almost late. They hurriedly said their farewells to the witch cat while carrying his suitcase to the front door. They were immediately blasted with the sun's summer rays, but were too used to it to even bother thinking about it.
Due to his training, Soul found his luggage to be far lighter than he expected. Guess he should be grateful that at least some progress was apparent. The rendezvous point wasn't that far from their place, which was why they chose to forgo his motorcycle, as it would have been mostly pointless.
In the distance, they could see Ms. Albarn waving towards them, faint shouts of 'No need to rush' were heard as they slowed down their pace. Soul took the chance to catch his breath, taking in the sight of the large car that they were going to be using to get to his training site.
Professor Stein rolled down the driver seat window, gesturing for Soul to put his luggage in the back of the car. His Meister helped him open the door as he stuffed his suitcase into whatever open space was left.
Soul felt an uneasy grin grow on his face as he walked towards the car door. He turned to face his Meister and noticed that she seemed to be feeling uneasy as well, even though she was doing her best to hide it. Kami smiled at the scene, gasping as she remembered something.
"Oh Soul, sweetie, be careful, have you used your sunscreen? If you haven't, here, I have some on me, let me put it on for you."
"Um, I'm OK Ms. Albarn, I think we're going to a forest, so I probably won't need it, but thank you for the concern." Soul waved his arms in an attempt to keep her at a distance, not wanting anyone outside to see him being mothered.
"Hey," Maka started, "You better come back stronger, OK?"
Soul turned to face his Meister, who held her hand out, waiting for him to shake on it. She let out a full size grin that he couldn't help but replicate, giving her hand a strong shake to affirm his promise. They both stayed like that for a bit, relishing their last moments together before two weeks would split them apart.
"MAKAAAA! KAMIIII! I'LL MISS YOU TOOOOO!" Spirit plastered himself on the car window from the inside, tears running down his face.
"GYAAAAAH!" Soul and Maka screamed.
Soul pointed towards the red haired man, looking at Stein just sitting in the front, acting as if nothing was wrong.
"Prof! What's the pervy old man doing here!?"
"I told you, didn't I? You were going to be trained by the best Weapons in the world. Naturally that would include the only other Death Scythe that's actually a Scythe."
Soul gawked at his explanation. "Maka! Help!"
"You better hurry into the car and get stronger, Soul. We'll miss you." Maka wiped a tear from her eye with a handkerchief, shooing him away.
"Don't get rid of me just cuz it'd get rid of your dad too!" Soul felt a hand grab his collar, throwing him inside of the car next to the sniveling elder Death Scythe. The car's engine started, and Stein began locking the doors. Stein stepped on the gas as hard as he could and Soul could feel the sudden acceleration launch him into his seat.
He scrambled his way towards the window, rolled it down and yelled, "MAKAAAA! MS. MOOM! HELLLLLLPP!"
After riding the car for the better part of the day, they had finally arrived at their destination. On the way here, Soul had finally calmed down enough to notice everyone else who was in the car. They couldn't have taken every Death Scythe in the world with them, and thus the ones chosen to go with them were Stein, as he would be overseeing the training, a 3-month-pregnant Marie, who insisted on coming along to foster the growth of her fellow Death Scythe, Tezca Tlipoca, who Soul bonded with quite a bit during the ride, and Spirit, who had regained his composure and had stopped crying.
Apparently Miss Azusa also wanted to come along, but was chosen to stay as a guard after she lost when they drew lots.
Stein notified all of them that they could begin unloading their things into the cabin where they would be staying for the next half month.
Soul got out of the car and took in the sights surrounding him.
Luscious green trees surrounded them, clear roads indicating that this was a place that was frequently visited by people. A large clearing was present which only had a few things, such as a circle of rocks where they would put a campfire, a few logs carved out into seats surrounding it, and training dummies that seemed quite out of place.
There was even a clear path into the forest if they wanted to go for a stroll. He smiled fondly as memories of his childhood came back to him.
Soul looked around, impressed at the sights as he brought along his suitcase into the log house cabin he would be calling home for the next two weeks. It was a pretty fancy place, furnished completely with a stove, a fridge, and some couches for relaxing.
He went inside the room that Stein pointed out would be his and remembered that he was going to share a room with Spirit and Tezca. There were only two bedrooms and the lovely couple would obviously be staying together, and thus the choice was made that he would be sleeping in the same room as the pervy old man.
Why was he even here anyway? As far as being a Death Scythe goes, Soul was pretty sure that Spirit's specialty was minute, sensitive wavelength control, which he begrudgingly admitted was at a level far beyond he could imagine, but wouldn't be useful for much else in a one on one situation.
After dropping his things in his room, Soul could hear Stein calling out for him to begin his training. He walked out into the clearing, where he saw Stein was stretching. Marie was sitting on the log as she watched him stretch with a smile before noticing the youngest Death Scythe, motioning for him to come closer and stretch as well.
Stein took a deep breath and relaxed once he finished and waited for his student. Once Soul felt himself ready, he saw Stein take off his lab coat and tossed it to Marie, asking her to take care of it. Marie obliged and folded it into her lap as the professor began to speak.
"First things first, I need to gauge your strengths and weaknesses myself." Stein's eyes focused as his body dropped itself into his fighting stance.
Soul nodded and prepared himself into his own fighting stance. He glanced to the side and noticed that Spirit, carrying Tezca's mirror, had sat down next to Marie, patiently waiting for the spar to begin. Great, now he had an audience to see his ass get whooped.
"Keep your eyes on your opponent." Stein's palm was suddenly in front of Soul, ready to smack his chin with his wavelength.
Soul backflipped, but could feel his chin graze against the attack, causing him to wince a little as he landed on his feet. Damn it, this was his first time ever going up against Stein. He knew Stein was an incredibly capable Meister, and had basically taught Black Star his newly honed fighting style, so he always knew that Stein would be a formidable opponent and dreaded the thought of fighting him.
But like all things usually were, knowledge was better paired with experience, and this was an important one he needed. Soul ran towards the professor as he grew a scythe along his arm, swinging it towards its intended target. The professor ducked under the slash and prepared another palm strike towards his stomach.
Soul, mid swing, could do nothing but watch as the hit connected and felt a large shockwave traveling throughout his body. He was sent flying, clutching his stomach as he landed on his back, leaving him gasping for air. He jumpkicked back up and growled at Stein, who was taunting him, making a 'come and get me' motion.
Soul began to cartwheel towards Stein, gaining more momentum in his spin before turning his right leg into a scythe blade, swinging down hard and fast. The professor seemed genuinely surprised at his sudden speed and power as he barely dodged to the side, a small cut visible on his left arm.
Not letting up, Soul used his right leg that was currently stabbed into the ground as a pivot for his next move. Soul formed a piano scythe on his right arm and played a few notes, charging up a wavelength slash. Twisting his entire upper body, he swung as fast as he could towards the professor who was still in shock from his first maneuver.
"Gotcha!" Soul grinned
Stein smiled at his student's efforts. It seemed that the training was beginning to pay off as his fighting style seemed to be developing quite well. His power, speed and adaptability were also growing at a comfortable pace. Soul was doing great, however…
The professor stabilized his footing and launched an uppercut targeted towards the flat side of Soul's piano blade, breaking right through it, before he brought his elbow down on Soul's head, crashing him into the ground.
As the Death Scythe tried to get up, he froze as a palm charged with wavelength stopped inches before his face.
"Well done, you've improved, and now I know your weaknesses." Stein shifted his palm strike into a hand to pull Soul back up.
The disappointed Death Scythe sighed as he took the professor's hand and stood back up. He thought that he would at least be able to land a few more hits. "How did you know that my piano blade can't handle attacks to the flat side?"
The professor held up a finger. "If the piano blade was a superior upgrade in every way, then you would have used it more often. Perhaps it consumed more of your energy, but I thought it to be more likely that the sharper the blade, the weaker it is to side attacks."
Soul chuckled as his new weapon's weakness was found out. He needed to be careful about when he should use the piano blade, for as much as it was sharp, it was definitely not to be used defensively.
"Soul," Stein began, calling his attention. "From what I've seen just now, there is one major thing you lack, and that is, defense." Stein counted on his fingers. "Power, speed, creativity, etc. The rest of these things, I'm sure you would be able to strengthen over time, and you definitely have, but you severely lack defense."
Soul thought back to his spars against Black Star, Kid and just now, Stein. It was definitely true that while he would sometimes land a good few hits, he himself would go down after one or two hits from them.
"And so, while all of us will be guiding you through your training, the person you need to pay the most attention to is…" The professor paused, building suspense. "Tada! Spirit!"
Soul stared at Stein for a bit before mechanically turning his head towards the red haired Death Scythe.
"You're kidding, right?"
"Why you little Octopus head I'm gonna-"
"Soul," Stein's voice was firm, "I know your impressions of him, but make no mistake. Despite how incompetent he may look, as a Death Scythe, Spirit's skills are currently superior to yours in every single possible way."
Soul gulped, but was still skeptical of the information he just received. How could a pervy old man who did nothing but fool around in cabaret clubs be that far ahead of him. Truthfully, Soul hasn't seen the old man do anything other than be spiteful towards him, be obsessive towards his daughter, and flip flop his loyalty to Ms. Albarn.
He never even saw him in battle that often. So he would think that a little skepticism would be due. But the prof was actually telling him that Spirit's skills were actually superior to his in every single way. There was no way he could believe that, unless…
"Spirit, fight me." The youngest Death Scythe had laid down the request for a duel.
"This has been a long time coming, you insolent little brat." Spirit smirked as he tightened his tie.
"Now, now, Spirit." Marie chided, "You can't exactly blame him for not taking you seriously. It's not like you've been showing him anything impressive."
The red haired Scythe's bravado faltered when he heard that. He was about to complain when Tezca interrupted.
"Hey, Spirit." The disheartened man turned towards the hand mirror on the chair. "Since the current objective is for you to teach him about defense, why don't we make this interesting?"
Everybody raised their brow, confused as to what idea the Death Mirror was concocting.
Marie questioned, "What did you have in mind?"
Tezca grinned, or at least, Soul thought he was grinning. It was hard to tell with the mask. "How about, if Spirit moves a single step, he loses."
Soul's glare deepened, "Hey, don't joke arou-"
"Sounds good to me." Spirit confidently smirked.
The youngest Death Scythe whipped his face towards his would-be opponent. There's no way they were serious. Were they really underestimating him that much? That they honestly thought he wouldn't be able to even make Maka's shitty old man take even a single step? Time to show them how hard he'd been training.
Both Scythes walked towards their respective positions. Soul kept his sights fixed on the old man, determination flaring in his eyes. Seeing as Spirit wasn't going to move, Stein gestured for Soul to stand 2 meters in front of the more experienced Death Scythe.
The professor looked at the two fighters and stepped back, "Aaand, begin!"
Soul took his stance and waited for Spirit to do the same. He waited. And waited.
"Hey old man, you deaf or something?" Soul questioned, "Prof said to begin, so take whatever defensive stance you want."
Spirit just tucked his hands in his pocket, smugly grinning, "This is the stance I'll be taking. The rules were that if I take a single step, I lose. Therefore, once the battle started, I can't move."
This shitty old man was underestimating him to all hell! He's not even bending his knees or anything. He's just standing there like he's waiting in line at the grocery store! Soul felt a vein pop on his forehead.
"Don't underestimate me!"
Soul poised himself on his hands and began to spin, flaring his legs as he transformed them into blades. Soul could feel all his attacks land direct hits and jumped back when he felt satisfied. The alabaster haired scythe landed on his feet and smirked as he saw a rather large dust cloud covering his target. He must have been spinning faster than he thought.
"So are you gonna take me seriously now?" Soul taunted as he waited for the dust to clear.
A large gust dispersed the dust cloud from within revealing a bored looking Spirit, patting his clothes, completely unscathed. Soul's mouth hung wide open, baffled at how his attacks seemed to have done literally nothing. Even Stein avoided his attacks! Sure, Weapons had an innately higher defense, but this is ridiculous!
"I'll take you seriously when you give me a reason to, Octopus head." Spirit straightened out his tie.
Off to the side, Marie held a slightly amused smile as she watched Soul continue hitting Spirit with his Scythe arms this time. "Spirit seems to be enjoying this far more than he should."
Stein sat down next to his fiancee and observed Soul's attacks acutely, "Yes, quite. He's probably overjoyed at the fact that he can finally humiliate his daughter's partner."
"Hot damn, look at 'im go! Those are some sick moves!" Tezca whistled, impressed by Soul's speedy barrage of slashes. "He's definitely improved from that time on the moon. Now if only Spirit didn't know that trick…"
Stein hummed, twisting his gear, "That trick is precisely what we need to teach the boy. Speaking of which… that senior of ours seems to have forgotten the reason for this spar to begin with…" The professor face palmed at the childish spectacle that was unfolding.
"AHAHAHAHA! YES! YES! SEE HOW UNWORTHY YOU ARE TO BE MY DEAR MAKA'S PARTNER! YOU CAN'T EVEN LAY A SCRATCH ON ME!" Spirit cackled maniacally into the sky, taunting his opponent even further.
"Why I oughta…" Soul's eyes twitched in annoyance at how smug this red haired bastard was being.
He stopped his attacks and forcibly took a deep breath. Calm down you dumbass, losing your cool isn't going to solve anything. The younger Scythe exhaled, producing a piano blade on the outside of his right arm. If he's too tough to crack with regular physical hits, then maybe a wavelength slash would do it!
Playing a few notes on his blade, Soul took a step back and readied his stance, intent on springing as much strength into this attack as he could. NOW!
DEMON'S SONG!
Soul swung his right arm as hard as he could, only to be completely stopped by Spirit's very own blade, casually sprouting from his shoulder. Once again, the alabaster haired teen gawked at what just happened. That was his wavelength attack! How could it have been stopped so easily!?
"Didn't Stein teach you that wavelength attacks can be canceled out with a perfectly countered wavelength? Nyaaa nya nya nya nyaaaa!" Spirit stuck out his tongue, blowing a raspberry just to rub it in Soul's face even more. "You were charging your attack so slowly that I had all the time in the world to adjust my own wavelength!"
Marie, still slightly amused at the sight, patted her soon to be husband's shoulder, "Dear, shouldn't we intervene and tell Spirit to stop messing around and actually teach him what he's doing to defend the attacks?"
Stein hummed in careful thought, "I was going to agree, but look at the boy's eyes." The professor grinned, "Those aren't the eyes of someone who's out of tricks."
Soul backed away from Spirit once more, doing his best to ignore the taunts. So the reason his wavelength attack didn't work was because he charged it for too long? Damn, he didn't even think that was a weakness! Neither Kid nor Black Star ever did that against him, though he supposed he should have expected this from an expert at minute wavelength control. But there was no other way Soul could charge his 'Demon's Song', he could only do it after playing a few notes on whatever limb he was transforming.
If brute physical force was the answer, then Soul had only one option left. He poised himself into another handstand, flaring his legs and started spinning.
"Oh?" Spirit raised his brow, "Trying this again?"
Faster.
"Hey, you're not even hitting me." Spirit looked bemused.
Faster!
The elder Death Scythe began to cough, "Bleh, you're blowing up dust now, what are you-"
FASTER!
Spirit's eyes widened, realizing what Soul was doing. Soul grinned as he saw his target begin to ready his guard, seemingly for the first time in this spar. So you're finally deciding to take me seriously huh!? Soul lifted one of his hands and continued accelerating his spin, readying his right leg for an axe kick.
"I'M GONNA SEND YOU FLYING, OLD MAN!"
"TRY ME, OCTOPUS HEAD!"
Here goes nothing!
FORTISSIMO!
Spirit could feel his arm going numb as he took the full force of the devastating kick. He began to panic when he felt one of his feet starting to lift up. Clicking his tongue in frustration, Spirit tried his best to stand his ground, to no avail. His foot had lifted, he was losing balance, and was left with only one option to avoid falling down.
Spirit stepped back.
Soul, sweating from his attack, dropped onto his back, sprawling himself out on the ground. Damn it, was this really the best he could do!? All that effort, just to make the old man take a single step. Was he really that weak?
Or was the shitty pervert actually just that strong?
"The spar ends in Soul's victory! Spirit has taken a step back!" Stein announced, clapping his hands.
"Whooaaaa! Yeah! You go, Eater!" Tezca cheered.
"Spirit! You suck!" Marie jeered.
All of them began walking towards him as he laid on the ground. Gathering up all the energy he could, Soul pushed himself to get up and once again cursed at the fact he could only make Spirit take a single step. He then noticed something on the ground that Spirit was standing on during their spar. There were slits right where his feet were.
"So that's why you wouldn't budge in the beginning," Soul's brain clicked, "You were using blades to anchor yourself to the ground!"
"Need to be creative with your new abilities for transformation, brat." Spirit rubbed his still numb arm as he spat out that piece of advice. That was one hell of a kick. If the brat had used his blade, I'd probably be bleeding, even with the defensive technique.
Soul marveled at the slits. Damn, that's actually pretty smart. Not that he'd ever say that out loud. He would never hear the end of it. Soul was offered a hand by the professor, and he gladly took it, letting himself be pulled up into a standing position. His right leg felt sort of numb, almost as if he just kicked an iron pole.
"Soul," The young Scythe turned to the professor. "That is the level of defense you need to aspire to. Spirit was using a technique that had been passed on from previous generations of Death Scythes, as only those with exceptional transformative abilities could utilize this technique."
Stein gestured for Spirit to continue, which he reluctantly did. "Look, Octopus head, you know how your Weapon forms are much more durable than your flimsy human body?" Soul bit back the urge to release a snarky comment and nodded. His pride was worth this information, hold it in. "Imagine coating your skin with our Weapon steel."
The elder Death Scythe rolled up his sleeves, and Soul could only watch in awe as he watched skin darken into the black shade of steel he normally saw from Spirit's Scythe form.
"We call this:" Spirit clenched his fist tightly, showing off his new hardened forearm. "Iron Defense."
The teen was dumbfounded. You can do that!? No wonder his slashing attacks in the beginning did practically zero damage. He was slashing against Spirit's steel. Could he do that? Soul focused on his arm as he attempted to replicate what he just saw.
He could feel his fingers being forced to fully transform into scythe blades instead of only covering his skin. He was trying to coat his skin in steel, not turn into Edward Scissorhands! Soul dropped to the ground, feeling extremely tired from his attempt. He was gasping for air, doing his best to at least sit upright.
"That's a good starting point." Stein proclaimed. "Spirit will guide you through the process."
Spirit clicked his tongue before reluctantly explaining the basics of the technique. "The most important thing is to stop visualizing the blade. You need to focus on the material comprising your blade instead. Be careful when training this. Your body is essentially in a constant state of transformation, so it'll drain you faster than you think."
He didn't even manage to do it properly and it was already draining his stamina this much? And what did he mean by a constant state of transformation? Is it not just coating your skin with the Weapon steel and you're done?
Soul was brought out of his thought process when Stein clapped, gaining everyone's attention.
"Soul, you'll be spending the time until dinner with Spirit working on this technique," Both Death Scythes groaned at the idea. "And after we finish eating, you'll be coming with me."
Soul tilted his head, confused by the order, but decided to obey nonetheless. He began to stabilize his breathing and watched as Stein, Marie and Tezca went inside the cabin. He assumed that they were probably trying to rest themselves up after the drive.
Still feeling some adrenaline from what he just did, Soul began to notice something odd. Quickly scanning his surroundings, he couldn't help but notice some sort of pressure.
In particular, he felt something in the direction of the path into the forest. Some kind of ominous feeling that felt familiar, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.
What the hell was in that forest?
Back in Death City, Maka was currently training with her mother. They were in the same forest clearing as last time to ensure nobody would be able to see them train. She was still trying her best to expand her soul, but it was harder than she thought it would have been.
"Do you want to take a break, sweetie?" Her mother offered kindly.
Maka panted, out of breath. "No, it's OK… I… I can keep going…"
She had her hands on her knees, struggling to stay standing. They have been at this for hours. No matter what they did, she seemed to be stuck on step two, enlarging her wavelength. She had been training with the Soul Sapping Water and it was definitely producing results.
All she needed to do was keep going with the training, and she can move to the fun part! Step three! She couldn't lie, the idea of actually having wings excited her. The freedom it would grant her, the mobility she could have in battle. Normally, Soul and her have given up a lot of offensive possibilities for the sake of flight, but this way, they could have the best of both worlds!
Kami sighed, "I know you're excited and all, but remember that doing your best also means getting proper rest. Your training won't be effective if you're doing it in a tired state."
Maka chuckled sheepishly, rubbing the back of her neck. She sat herself down on the ground, giving her body a much needed break. Her mother had a point. She was getting too pumped up with her training ever since Soul left earlier that day. She wasn't about to disappoint her partner when he came back! If he was coming back stronger, then she should surprise him by getting stronger here!
Now that she thought about it, that was a strange detail she overlooked.
"Mama," Maka started, the question forming in her mind. "Why did Soul's training have to be so far anyway? Couldn't they have just stayed in Death City?"
"Awww." Kami cooed, "Do you miss him already?"
Maka couldn't help the heat rushing to her cheeks, sputtering nonsense as she tried to deny her mother's teasing.
"Hahaha, don't worry, dear. I know what you mean." Her mother laughed, winking at her. "You were thinking that they could have trained in Death City, just like we were, correct?"
Maka nodded, glad that her mother understood why she was asking. It was certainly odd that Stein of all people had planned a camping trip. Surely he wouldn't have done it just for the sake of having fun? Maybe there was some sort of specimen there that he wanted to dissect.
"The reason is actually quite simple!" Kami proudly declared. "There is something, or rather, someone very special there that Stein wanted Soul to meet."
Maka raised her eyebrows, surprised at the information. "Oh? They must be really special if it warranted taking a trip there. Couldn't they have just asked this person to come to Death City?"
Kami let out a nervous laugh. "There are… certain reasons… But you'll find out when they come back! I don't want to say anything before anything is set in stone."
"Eeh?" Maka felt rather disappointed. "Can't you at least tell me who this person is?"
The younger Albarn sighed as her mother crossed her arms in an 'X'. Who was this individual? Why were they so special?
Maka shook her head, clearing it of any useless thoughts. Those are things for Soul to figure out! Her job here is to get stronger in the meantime. Like her mother said, she'd figure it out when they return in two weeks.
Looking up at the Black Blood covered moon, Maka wondered if Soul was looking up at it, just as she was.
Come back stronger, Soul. I'll be waiting.
"C'mon, Soul, it's time to go." The professor gestured for his student to follow him.
Soul tore his gaze away from the black moon and stood up, following the professor a few steps behind. After they had finished dinner, Soul was told to wait outside as the professor grabbed necessities. They began walking into the open forest path that Soul recognized. So he wasn't just imagining things then.
"Prof, what's in this forest? I know I don't have Soul Perception, but I can't help feeling that something ominous is here." Soul questioned, tucking his hands into his jacket's pockets.
The professor took out a fairly large flashlight and began lighting the way once it got too dark. "I'm impressed that you managed to actually feel it, though I suppose it's no surprise even non sensory types can feel his presence."
Soul's curiosity was piqued at that tidbit of information. "We're meeting one of your friends, prof?"
Stein looked annoyed and began to make a familiar face that Soul couldn't help but remember somewhere… Though he could tell that the annoyance wasn't directed at him, but rather this person they were going to meet.
"No. We are not friends. But I have met him quite a few times, unfortunately." Stein readjusted his glasses, seemingly looking for something.
"So… I'm going to fight him?" Soul asked, slightly worried at the thought.
He was worn out from training with Spirit, the guy had some Spartan ideas for training. Whether that was how he usually was, or it was just because the old man enjoyed torturing him was debatable.
"HAHAHAHA!" Stein laughed heartily, "No, no, you wouldn't stand a chance."
Soul wanted to protest but was stunned into silence when the professor suddenly turned off his flashlight. But oddly enough, it wasn't completely dark. He looked around and saw a bunch of fireflies illuminating the scenery around them. It felt very magical in that sense.
Wait… Those aren't fireflies.
"Wow, you're fairies, aren't ya?" Soul said excitedly.
One of the lights stopped in its tracks and began to fly towards him, stopping just in front of his face.
"Oooh, a visitor! Yep, we're fairies all right!" It bowed playfully and began giggling happily.
From the corner of his eye, he could see Stein muttering something about 'good sign' while twisting his gear. Soul supposed that the fairies were somehow a sign that they were close to his acquaintance. Snapping his attention back to the fairy, Soul exclaimed:
"This is my first time ever seeing a fairy. I gotta say, it's a pretty cool experience." Soul gave them his shark tooth grin, which seemed to amuse the fairies as they all began to surround him.
"Whoaaa! Sharp teeth!"
"Just like the ancient hero!"
"His eyes are red too!"
"Doesn't have the same hair color though."
"What are you guys doing here by the way?"
Stein entered the conversation, getting closer to the fairy. "We are heading in the direction you fairies were avoiding."
"Avoiding? You mean-" The fairy pondered for a second before its face contorted into an annoyed expression. The same expression that Stein had earlier. Huh, what are the odds?
All of them bore the same expression and unanimously gagged, "Bleh, good luck." They then spat on the ground and immediately left, the area growing much darker once they did.
Who was this person!?
Soul didn't have much more time to think, the professor gesturing to follow him once more. They returned once more to their journey, the professor lighting up the path with his flashlight once more. Just as soon as he did though, did he turn it off.
The young Scythe raised his eyebrow in confusion before noticing that there was another light shining in the dark. Was it another group of fairies? Or was it an enemy? Soul quickly dismissed the latter option due to a gut feeling. For some reason, there was something ethereal about this light.
He could feel that it was dangerous, but calming at the same time. A kind of pressure that he had only felt a few times in his life. He could feel some of the hairs on his body standing on end as he and the professor continued to progress further into brighter territory.
If the prof was calm about this situation, then Soul guessed that he shouldn't have anything to worry about. He was told to dress up in such a way that he was ready for a fight, but still presentable. He didn't quite understand why, but thought the request was harmless enough. It was clear to him now that it was because they would be meeting somebody in this forest.
So he had decided to wear a plain white dress shirt, leaving the top two buttons loose, giving himself a cool feel, accompanied by black pants that he felt comfortable enough to do kicks in, and a dark red hooded jacket to stave off the night summer breeze. The outfit was completed with his trusty old headband, right where it belonged.
The professor didn't seem to follow his own advice, seeing as he stuck with his usual outfit. His regular gray turtleneck shirt that had his classic stitches all over it, followed up with black pants similar to the ones Soul was currently wearing. And last but not least his signature stitched lab coat.
Perhaps he actually thought that was presentable, or it was more likely that he didn't care.
"Here we are."
Prof Stein stopped in front of a giant tree stump that seemed to form a pedestal in the middle of this forest. It was quite old, evident by the moss surrounding the stump, yet nonetheless majestic. Soul took his time absorbing his surroundings, the forest night looked quite serene with the illumination coming from the stump. There were no living creatures surrounding this area, only plants. Soul scratched his head at the thought, was there some sort of strange quality emitting from the light that pushed animals away?
Finally getting his eyes to adjust to the light, Soul squinted and could see the source of the light in this dark forest. It was… a sword? A strangely familiar sword too. It looked awfully like that sword Hiro used during his phase with- Oh no.
"Professor," Soul began in trepidation. "Was this the person you wanted me to meet? You're joking, right?"
A mischievous smile creeped out from the professor's face. "Now, now, Soul. Don't you remember what I said? You would be training with the best Weapons in the world." His face then contorted into the annoyed expression that this legendary sword was known to induce. "Naturally, that would include the original Weapon bestowed upon this world-"
"EXCALIBUR~~"
Oh for the love of- Soul had heard many stories regarding the legendary Weapon of olde. Back when he first realized his Weapon heritage, he had dreamed of reaching the heights of strength that this legendary figure upholded. And he still somewhat does to this day. But most of those dreams had been tainted when he heard from people with more… practical experiences with the Weapon of legend.
He didn't exactly trust Black Star's words about Excalibur. It's not that his blue haired best friend would lie, it's just that he couldn't exactly picture Black Star would fit the mold of the legendary hero, and would probably not be a good fit for Excalibur. Which he wasn't. Go figure. Soul did, however, trust Kid's testimony.
Kid was a god, nuff said. He normally showcased many qualities one would expect from a god, one of those qualities being saintly patience. And it wasn't as if Excalibur was asymmetrical either, quite the opposite in fact, Soul could say for himself now that the sword of legend was very much symmetrical. So it would have taken a lot to get Kid to give up on this Weapon.
When Excalibur first showed up with Hiro at the DWMA, Soul managed to see firsthand how demanding it was to be this Weapon's partner. A personal toilet, morning exercises, tea breaks, all manner of things were required to be his partner, and if you managed to do so, you would be heralded as the hero among heroes, the second coming of the legendary King of Knights, King Arthur himself!
Despite all those flaws, Soul still had to admit; the power and strength described in the legends were true. Excalibur was a Weapon that could make his Meister absolutely invincible. Not necessarily because the Meister themselves were incredible or legendary in their own right, although that would certainly help, but it was because of Excalibur's overwhelmingly powerful soul, using the Meister as a medium to channel his own strength.
But Soul did not have these qualities that Excalibur possessed, so what the hell was he doing here in front of him? Stein seemed to sense his confusion and decided to answer him.
"Your job is to convince him to take you as his student."
Soul's jaw gaped as he did a double take between his professor and the legendary Weapon, still singing its own praises as it lay plunged into the stump. He sighed before making his way to the center of the stump as confidently as he could.
He would need to prove himself in some way to Excalibur. Preferably in a way that wouldn't have him doing all those chores… He figured that the first step to that goal would be a good first impression.
Confidently standing before the sword, Soul took his hands out of his pockets and grabbed the hilt, pulling it out in a heroic pose as wings of light materialized beside his hands. That was a strange feeling. Was that how Maka and the others felt when they were holding a Weapon?
"You have managed to pull out the legendary Weapon, Excalibur!" The sword grandly proclaimed. "Riches beyond your wildest imagination! Fame and glory that would make even the Heavens hear your name! If you were to become my Meister, these things are guarantee-!"
The sword was cut off from its speech as it felt itself being thrown to the wayside.
Stein couldn't help but feel shocked at what he just witnessed. Did Soul just throw Excalibur aside like garbage!? What the hell was his student thinking!? He was supposed to be convincing the Weapon to take him in as his student! Even the estranged professor knew that this was not the way to ask for favors!
The Holy Sword, still shocked from being so carelessly tossed aside, transformed into its original form. A small form that barely even reached the height of Soul's hips materialized. Its head was small, but had a long snout. The rest of his body looked akin to that of an anthropomorphic rabbit, with no clear digits at his extremities. He wore a white top hat, matching his white body, and a similarly colored buttoned shirt with a frilled ruff. Lastly, he held a white cane that he was currently using to prop himself up.
"FOOL! What do you think you are doing to me, Excalibur!?" The legendary Weapon dusted himself off and was noticeably ticked from Soul's action.
Soul, giving his classical shark toothed grin, replied, "Figured that was the only way to get your attention."
"Why you pompous little-" Excalibur halted his profanities when he noticed something. "Wait, you are a Weapon. For what reason do you seek me?"
Soul was waiting for that question. "I'm here to-"
"FOOL!" Excalibur swung his cane around as he began to circle the young Death Scythe. "I am Excalibur! I was born long ago, in the great United Kingdom. Or was it space? I have fought alongside many great entities! A King of Knights, the God of Creation, even the Devil himself! Or was it a dragon? Now, young boy, state your name and purpose!"
Soul gritted his teeth. He could feel a vein popping in his forehead. It's OK, play it cool. As long as he could get his attention like before, he could get his motivations across.
"My name is Soul and I'm here to-"
"FOOL! My legend begins in the 17th Century. It-"
"I'M GONNA FUCKING KILL YOU!"
Elsewhere in the forest, two figures were about to make themselves known. One was a fairly large and muscular woman, dressed in a tank top, army pants, and combat boots. She had blonde hair that was tied into a ponytail and piercing blue eyes. The woman stomped through the forest confidently, eventually stepping on a twig, snapping it.
"Hyaa! What was that!?" shouted the other figure.
"Oh, don't get your panties in a twist! I just stepped on a twig." The blonde crossed her arms glaring at her partner. "I swear Aegis, I can't imagine why you would be so scared after everything we've done."
The man now known as Aegis apologized fervently. Aegis was a rather rotund fellow that was a bit larger than his partner. He was wearing an oversized T-shirt accompanied by baggy shorts. He had gray hair that was combed over to one side, though there were a few twigs and leaves stuck in them at the moment.
"Sorry, Armis. It's just that the dark really creeps me out!" The round fellow cried out.
The young woman sighed, rolling her eyes at her partner's cowardice. Armis ignored his further complaints in favor of continuing to trudge through the forest, following a trail that she discovered earlier.
Aegis was nervously playing with his fingers. "Are you sure that information we got was trustworthy?"
Armis bent down, turning on a tiny flashlight to observe the ground carefully. "Not a clue." She then turned to face her partner and smirked. "But if it is, we'll be making some real dough!"
"But… But what if he's too powerful?" Aegis worried.
The young army woman waved off his concerns. "It'll be fine! Rumor has it that he's a real pushover without his Meister. And even if they were together, I'm sure we'd be able to handle 'em."
"You really think so?" The rotund man asked excitedly.
"Positive." Armis gave him a thumbs up before refocusing on the shoe tracks. "Now, where are you, Soul Eater?"
"EXCALIBURR~~ EXCALIBURR~~ From the United Kingdom~~ I'm looking for Heaven~~ I'm going to Californiaa~~"
"Kiddammit! WOULD YOU LISTEN TO ME YOU SELF CENTERED ASSHOLE!?"
Soul had been having a one sided conversation with this Kid-forsaken Weapon for what felt like an eternity. He had yet been given any chance to finish any of his sentences before the blasted dickhead started spouting some nonsense about his past, bursting into song, or anything else that this incessant bastard could come up with.
He mentally apologized to Black Star for thinking that he was the most annoying person alive.
Soul took a break from shouting, turning to Stein, hoping that he would have some sort of idea to help him. But all he could see was the professor writing something down. Great. No help there.
"FOOL!" Soul begrudgingly turned back to face the rage inducing bastard that was currently pointing his cane at him. "Don't you know that it's rude to not have eye contact with whomever you are speaking to?"
Soul grinded his teeth. "Don't you know it's rude to cut people off when they're speak-"
"It was a rainy Tuesday! Or was it a sunny Thursday? No. Definitely a tornado on a Sunday."
"HOW COULD YOU FORGET IF IT WAS THAT LAST ONE!?"
"Soul!" The professor called. The young Evans was secretly happy that his attention was needed elsewhere. He quickly escaped towards his teacher, ignoring the annoying little creature who was off in his own world, regaling egotistical tales that may or may not be true. "We need to leave now. We can try again another day."
Soul's face contorted into the annoyed expression one would have when facing Excalibur. "You mean I have to do this again? Why can't I just try to convince him now?"
As much as Soul was glad they were leaving, he wasn't too keen on the idea that he would have to meet with the Holy Sword again.
The professor pointed at his watch. "As ideal as that situation would be, it's too late. You need to sleep for tomorrow's training. So, c'mon, let's go home."
The young Scythe sighed. That made sense. He was feeling extremely exhausted after everything that happened today. Spirit's training left him physically tired, and this previous ordeal had him mentally drained.
He turned back to face the still speaking Excalibur and decided to have one last word.
"Yo! Your esteemed Annoyingness!" Excalibur stopped and turned towards his conversation partner for the past few hours, only now realizing that he left. "I'm gonna come back and make you accept me as your student! Even if it kills me!"
The Holy Sword blinked in surprise for a few seconds before bursting out into laughter. Soul decided that he better leave now before he was roped into another screaming contest with the legendary Weapon. He caught up to the professor, who was currently sealing up a letter as he waited for him.
Soul, in his curiosity, asked the professor about it. "What's that letter for?"
The professor gave him a small smile. Oh boy. That was never a good sign. "Don't worry about it."
The two then began their trek back to the Cabin. Soul was already itching to dump himself directly into bed, too tired to even think about doing anything else. He could practically hear Maka screaming about how he should brush his teeth first and yada yada yada.
Chuckling at his imagination, the Death Scythe pocketed his hands and yawned. He then rubbed his eyes, attempting to force himself awake for just a bit longer. Wouldn't be cool to fall asleep in the forest.
*Thump*
Soul heard something beside him hit the ground and felt his instincts kick in. He jumped away from the source of the noise and dropped into a fighting stance. His eyes widened as he realized that the source of that thumping noise was…
"Prof!"
Soul ran towards the professor, who was laying face first on the ground with what seemed like a blow dart stuck in his left arm. The realization struck him too late as he felt something sharp and small pierce his left arm. He immediately grabbed the offending dart on his arm and pulled it off, hoping to alleviate its effects.
"Wow, color me impressed! That was supposed to be an instant KO." A feminine voice spoke from the darkness.
Soul felt his vision get hazy for a moment before forcing himself to refocus. His new immune system must have neutralized whatever drug they laced the dart in. He tried to remember from what angle the dart came from to calculate his opponent's position.
Was there one enemy? Were there more? Was it a blow dart Weapon Meister partner?
These questions ran rampant as Soul played a few notes on his Piano blade. He quickly turned towards where he predicted the enemy would be and shot a flying wavelength slash, slicing everything in its path.
Soul could see a shadow dodge his projectile and slowly reveal their form to him. It was a young woman dressed in an army uniform but there was one extremely distinctive feature about her.
Everything about her was pitch black.
From her hair, to her eyes, even her skin, every single surface was coated with a metallic sheen that was black in color. Soul quickly shifted his eyes around to check if there were any other enemies around or not. This one person seemed tough enough as she was. He'd be in big trouble if there were anybody else.
"Don't worry. We're the only enemies you have to face." The young woman spoke confidently.
Soul wasn't sure if she was lying or not, but she confirmed at least one thing. "So that must be a Soul Resonance technique that covers your entire body in steel."
"Gyaah! How did he know!?" An ethereal voice spoke.
"Shut up, Aegis! We didn't need to confirm that for him!" The woman facepalmed, sighing at her partner's carelessness.
She pinched the bridge of her nose, closing her eyes in an attempt to calm herself down. After finally regaining her center, she opened her eyes to find that Soul was missing. She shifted her gaze around quickly to try and find him. His professor friend was still lying there on the ground, so did he abandon him? Was the Last Death Scythe that much of a coward?
She then heard the sound of something spinning very fast, almost as if it was cutting through air. In a panic, she looked up and saw Soul right above her, flipping over and over, gaining more speed as he prepared his attack.
Turning his leg into a scythe, Soul clicked his tongue in annoyance. Crap, she saw him. He had disappeared from her view the moment she decided to close her eyes. He was hoping that he could have landed a massive surprise attack, but it looked like that wouldn't be happening. At the very least, it seemed that she realized his position too late.
FORTISSIMO!
She had tried to jump away but was too late. Soul had grazed her arm. A few months ago, that would have meant that she got away with a minor injury, but not this time. Not after training his butt off.
"AAAGGH!"
"ARMIS!"
Soul could see that a fairly deep gash had instilled itself in her left arm. After landing, cracking the ground, Soul decided that he shouldn't leave these enemies alone for too long and leapt towards them. Sprouting a scythe from his arm, Soul swung as hard as he could to deal the finishing blow.
Only to be stopped by Armis' right arm.
"Oh, bitch! That hurt like hell!" She grinned maniacally, her gaze locking onto Soul.
The young Death Scythe felt a shiver run up his spine and jumped back instinctively.
Was her defense that strong? But he managed to cut through it with 'Fortissimo', so it was definitely not invincible. The only problem was that 'Fortissimo' was a move that required quite a bit of time for him to build up the speed. He doubted a situation where she would let her guard down would happen again.
"Not bad, kid! I underestimated ya! Sorry about that." She spoke to him casually as if he didn't just put a massive gash on her arm.
Her left arm was limp, that's for sure. So all he needed to do was target her left side and he would be-
"I swear to you, I won't underestimate you again." She blitzed in front of him at a speed that he couldn't see.
Soul felt a massive punch land on his solar plexus, causing him to cough up blood. Slowly losing consciousness, the last thing he saw was his attacker's face that would haunt him for the days to come.
Maka was currently reading a book with her mother when she suddenly felt a shiver run up her spine. She inched closer towards the window, worry painting her face.
"Maka, dear, what's wrong?" Kami asked, slightly confused at her daughter's actions.
"I don't know. It feels like… something horrible just happened."
"Armis, are you sure you're OK?" Aegis worriedly asked as he carried both Soul and Professor Stein on each of his shoulders.
Armis had her left arm bandaged up and began to swing it wildly. "Yeah, no biggie! Thanks for bandaging me up! I suck at doing that."
Aegis smiled softly as they continued their trek through the forest. He was fairly worried since his defenses would normally shield Armis from most attacks, so this was the first time in a while that she had been injured, especially this badly.
"Still though," Armis looked at her bandages. "That attack sure packed a punch! Luckily it seemed like he could only do it with that single attack."
"Yeah! His other slash was pretty strong too, but not strong enough to pierce through me! You were right! We could beat the Last Death Scythe!" Aegis proudly proclaimed.
"Of course I was! Hahahaha!"
Little did the two assailants know that back where they fought, Stein's letter had been dropped, waiting to be discovered.
And that's the end of the chapter!
I swear the main villains of this fic won't be OCs. It's just that Soul Eater doesn't really have that extensive of a rogue's gallery that fit the purpose of what I need and want the main characters to go against. I'll be using as many as I can, but just... much much later. So for now, meet Armis and Aegis! The tag team duo that I have created for this arc! What will happen next? Where are they taking Stein and Soul? Will Spirit and the others go find them? Will Excalibur fucking shut up? (I love Excalibur by the way, he's hilarious)
OH! And Spirit! People put so much disrespect on Spirit, like I get it. The dude cheats on his wife, constantly, and I'm not saying that part is forgivable, but what I am saying is that he's the Death Scythe stationed at DWMA. If anyone else would have proved themselves to be better than him, then I'm sure Lord Death would have switched him out, regardless of his Weapon preference. So I headcannoned that Spirit was probably a fairly capable fighter, it's just that there hasn't really been a chance for him to display those abilities.
Anyway, thanks for reading. If you have any questions, feel free to leave a review! Or maybe you just wanna talk to me about the fic, that's cool too! I appreciate any and all feedback!