Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or Soul Eater

Pairing(s): Natsu Dragneel x Zeref (eventual), mentions of Gajeel x Levy (established)

WARNINGS: AU , eventual Shounan ai (boy/boy pairing); you have been warned so don't like, don't read

AN: This is a fusion with Soul Eater (i.e. Fairy Tail characters growing up in the Soul Eater universe).

A Matter of Souls

By V. Shalyr

1. Conversations with Nobody Important

Library

It just figured that Natsu would meet one of the most peculiar people at the Academy while doing his detention in the library. His life was full of strange coincidences like that.

The boy was sitting at one of the library tables, tucked away behind several towering bookshelves. Stacks of books littered the tabletop before him, all but hiding him from view. If it weren't for the fact that one of the books Natsu was looking for happened to be in one of those piles, he might never have seen the boy at all.

Actually, upon closer inspection, it seemed as though practically all the books he needed were here, including the volume that the stranger was currently reading.

Sensing his scrutiny, the boy looked up, and Natsu took the chance to ask, "Are you here writing a paper for detention too?"

For a long second, the boy just stared at him.

"No, I'm not," he said finally.

Natsu shrugged and gestured at the books. "Mind if I sit here? I need to use some of those."

In response, the boy hesitated then pushed the stack towards him.

"Great, thanks."

Natsu dropped into the chair across from him and pulled a notebook and a pencil from his backpack before letting it fall to the ground. "Are you a student? I don't think I've ever seen you around."

"Not exactly."

"I thought that was a yes or no question."

It took another long few seconds for the boy to respond to that. "I suppose you could say that I work here."

It was an interesting statement considering he didn't look any older than Natsu.

"Yeah? Doing what?"

He couldn't be a teacher. If he were, Natsu would have seen him in class. The faculty at the DWMA wasn't that large.

"Research for Lord Death."

"About what?"

"About souls."

Well, that made sense. In a school where one tenth of the student population got routinely dispatched to help fight evil and collect the souls of criminals, it was no surprise that someone on staff would be spending time studying souls. Still, the guy seemed a bit young to be researching serious stuff like that.

"Are you a Meister? Or a Weapon?"

It was a safe assumption that he was either one or the other, since almost everyone at the Academy was. Then again...

"Or does that not apply to you?"

"I'd rather not say." The boy marked the place on the page he'd been reading with a finger and gave Natsu a slightly perturbed frown. "I'm sorry, but why are you talking to me?"

"What, I need a reason to talk to you?"

"Don't you?"

A little taken aback, Natsu took a moment to consider this. Did he need a reason?

"I'm just curious who you are is all," he said finally. "That's normal when you meet someone new, right?"

The boy contemplated this for awhile, possibly trying to decide if it was, in fact, normal. After several moments, he sighed and shook his head.

"Maybe, but you shouldn't bother. I'm nobody important."

Natsu didn't think that could be true. Everybody was important in their own way, and if he worked for Lord Death, he could hardly be considered nobody. But before Natsu could say any of this, the boy gestured at the books.

"Didn't you say you were here to write a paper?"

Natsu sighed. "Yeah, but talking's way more interesting than reading about Weapon history. I swear the teacher went out of his way to give me exactly the kind of work I'd hate most."

Namely reading about things that happened so long ago that he really couldn't see the point of them and then having to write about it all.

Dark eyes shifted from Natsu to the books around them, almost all of which were on that exact topic, conveying without words how much the boy disagreed with him.

Natsu rolled his eyes in answer. "It's all ancient history. I just don't see why I should care that some witch was responsible for creating Weapons seven hundred years ago."

"Eight hundred," the boy corrected him. "It was eight hundred years ago. And the witch's name was Arachne."

Natsu tapped his notebook with his pen. "Hey, you know a lot about this subject, right? Would you mind helping me with my paper? I'm not asking you to help me with writing it. Just tell me about this whole history stuff."

"Will you go away and leave me alone when you're done?"

"Do you want me to?"

The boy opened his mouth, probably to say yes, but, again, hesitated. He looked at Natsu then at the books then back at Natsu.

"I don't know," he said finally.

And he sounded so lost that Natsu felt almost bad for disrupting his day like this, except that if the answer was "I don't know", then maybe this disruption wasn't such a bad thing for him after all.

"So how about it? Please? There's no way I'm going to read all these books and write my paper by the end of today, and it's not like the teacher said anything about me having to read the information myself. I swear I'll listen extra carefully. I'll even buy you dinner too."

"You don't have to do that."

"It would just be my way of saying thank you. After all, everyone has to eat, right?"

Natsu watched the other boy struggling to decide how to respond to this current situation with more than a bit of amusement and came to one conclusion. Whoever he was, the person across the table from him really had to get out more. He'd clearly been spending too much time in the library, and that couldn't be healthy for anyone.

.

Errand

It was a week before Natsu saw the strange boy again, although not for lack of trying. He'd dropped by the library with such abnormal frequency that his classmates had begun to ask him if something was wrong. Briefly, Natsu entertained the thought of asking his friends to help him search. But in the end, he discarded the idea. The boy probably wouldn't react well to a bunch of strangers scouring the school for him, not with the way he'd reacted to Natsu initiating a simple conversation.

When he finally did run into his target again, it was purely by accident. One of the teachers had asked Natsu to help her carry a bunch of new textbooks to a different classroom. Halfway down the wide, sunlit corridor, he spotted a familiar figure exiting a room a few doors down—an office, if he remembered correctly. Natsu's eyes widened. He set the pile of textbooks on the carpeted floor and charged down the hallway, shouting.

"Hey! Wait!"

The dark-haired boy jumped, startled.

"It's you," he said when Natsu stopped in front of him.

"Yeah, glad you remember me. I forgot to introduce myself last time. I'm Natsu."

The boy gave Natsu an odd look, caught somewhere between confusion, surprise, and trepidation. "You're talking to me again."

Natsu rolled his eyes. "Way to state the obvious. So anyway, what's your name?"

The hallway was quiet around them, although faintly, they could hear the murmur of distant chatter and laughter. Natsu waited patiently for the other boy to think about this, glad that there was no one around to interrupt them.

"Zeref," he said finally.

"Great. That wasn't so hard, was it?" Natsu grinned. "So, you up for dinner today? I still owe you for helping me out. I went back to the library after I turned in my paper to look for you, but you weren't there."

"I'm kind of busy today."

"With what?"

Zeref gestured vaguely with the notebook in his hand. "I'm observing some of the first years' training sessions."

"Is this about the research you do?"

"Basically. And one of the teachers asked me to keep an eye on a few students for him. They've been having trouble, and he wanted an extra pair of eyes. Something about their soul wavelengths being unstable lately. I'm headed there now."

"Give me a second, and I'll walk with you," Natsu said.

He ran down the hallway. Zeref watched him retrieve the pile of textbooks then jog back, and part of him wondered why he waited.

"These are going to a classroom not too far from the usual training rooms," Natsu explained as they started walking. "If you're helping to monitor these students' wavelengths, does that mean you can see souls?"

"In a way."

"Are you a Meister then? That's normally a Meister ability, isn't it?"

"...I'm a bit atypical."

"So then you're a Weapon."

Zeref frowned uncomfortably down at the notebook in his hands. Ahead of them, a group of students hurried past on their way to class. He paused and waited for them to move out of the way before continuing forward.

"Does it matter?"

Natsu shrugged. "Don't know. It might matter. And even if it doesn't matter now, maybe it'll matter later."

"I see."

Zeref pondered this for awhile in silence.

Eventually, Natsu continued, figuring that he might as well introduce himself a bit more, "I'm technically a Meister, but I still haven't found a partner, so I'm not sure I can say that really. I wanted to work with a Weapon with fire-type abilities, but I only know of one at this school right now and she's already got a partner."

"Why fire?"

"Because it's the coolest element there is!"

"Oh."

Well, Zeref supposed that was as good a reason as any.

"Anyway," Natsu added, "I've kind of given up on that idea. Right now, I really just need to find someone I can actually work with. My friends have all started going out on missions, and it's annoying not being able to go too. I mean, I've done some info gathering and reconnaissance type stuff, but nothing really serious."

"If you're looking for a partner," Zeref said, turning left into another corridor, "you're wasting your time talking to me. I can't work with anyone."

Natsu laughed a little sheepishly. "Well, I can't say it didn't cross my mind, but that's not going to make me stop talking to you. You're obviously super smart, and you're... well, kind of interesting."

"Strange, you mean."

"You say that like it's a bad thing."

"Isn't it?"

"Of course not. Anyway, "strange" is pretty normal here in this city."

"I suppose that's true."

Ahead of them, the corridor ended in another hallway lined on one side with floor-to-ceiling windows. The training rooms were towards the right, while the regular classrooms meant turning left.

They paused at the intersection, and Natsu asked, "So when are your observations over?"

"I believe the class is about one and a half hours today. Why?"

"Dinner, remember?"

Natsu didn't give him the chance to protest. Instead, he bid the other boy a cheerful "see you later" and headed off to finish his errand.

.

Dinner

Zeref had no idea why he was going along with this. Since the incident a year ago, he hadn't been able to bring himself to look any of his classmates in the eye, and he'd barely spoken to any of the students in other years. He didn't attend classes, because he didn't have to. He was good at learning on his own, so he planned out his own studies and simply checked in periodically with the teachers. As far as academics were concerned, he was far ahead of his peers anyway, and when he wasn't studying, he mostly worked with the staff, a majority of which were adults. Lord Death had told him that he ought to try harder to interact with the other people his own age at the school. But... well, he hadn't been very motivated to try.

What was the point?

"There are some people who like to be alone," Lord Death had conceded when he'd asked this. "But I think you need a few more life experiences before you decide that for certain. Who knows? Maybe you'll find that it makes the world a bit more... fun. So give it some thought, 'kay?"

Frankly, it was a little bizarre sometimes how fatherly the shinigami could be. Especially with the skull mask he always wore. Then again, Lord Death did have a son who was about the same age as many of the students here.

Fun. Zeref wasn't sure he knew what "fun" was really, or if he'd even recognize it if he experienced it. He didn't think he really wanted it, to be honest. All he wanted was for the world to feel a little less dark.

Maybe that was why he was here.

"Hey, you still with me? You don't mind pumpkin cuisine, do you? The pumpkin ravioli and the pork and pumpkin dish is pretty famous, but I know some people don't like pumpkin."

Zeref blinked and refocused his eyes on the menu Natsu was waving in his face. "I don't mind."

"Okay, but let me know if there's something else you like better. There's no such thing as a kind of food I don't like, so I really don't care. This place is just nice because they give you giant portions of everything you order. It's really good value for money." Natsu lowered the menu and quirked an eyebrow at him. "You zone out a lot, you know?"

"I don't usually eat with anyone," Zeref said by way of explanation.

Now that Natsu mentioned it, there really were a lot of other students at this restaurant. Every table and booth was occupied by young people dressed in one or another of the Academy's uniforms.

The decor was a lot cozier than Zeref might have expected, had he known that the theme of the diner revolved around jack-o-lanterns. Rather than the vivid orange of the average pumpkin, most of the restaurant had been furnished in shades of warm mahogany and a creamy orange more reminiscent of cantaloupe. Grinning lanterns made carefully from fabric and wire hung at intervals from the ceiling, and the porcelain, pumpkin-shaped salt and pepper shakers smiled at them like they were happy to be of service.

Zeref had no idea what to order, so Natsu ordered for the both of them before pushing one of the two mugs of... something that the waitress had given them across the table to Zeref. The liquid was... orange. There were tiny pumpkin-shaped somethings floating in it.

"Try it. It's not nearly as sweet as it looks," Natsu told him. "It's a signature here, and they give everyone a cup when you're here for dinner. Those are marshmallows, by the way. It's crazy how far some of the shops around here will go to stick with their theme, but I guess it's one of the cool things about this city too."

Zeref tilted the mug, watching the miniature marshmallow pumpkins bob about in the orange cream before taking a tentative sip. It was actually pretty good, kind of mellow and not all that sweet. Although he supposed that if he was really averse to pumpkin, it would be a different story.

"You like living in this city then?" he asked after a moment.

"Yeah, I'd say I do. How about you?"

"I don't know. I hadn't really thought about it."

Natsu didn't push the subject.

"Living here's been interesting with all the weird stuff that goes on," he said instead. "I traveled a lot with my dad when I was a kid, and Death City's definitely got most places beat in strangeness."

"Is that why you decided to attend school here?"

"Nah, I mostly enrolled here because I like fighting. I'm good at it, and Dad said I might as well do something useful with it."

"That's very straightforward."

"Guess so. And you? Did you have a particular reason for studying here?"

Zeref hesitated then said, "I was—am—interested in Magic Tools, so the Academy was really the only place I could go."

"I think I've heard the term somewhere, but I have no idea what they are."

"I suppose you could think of them as magical technology, or enchanted items. The earliest and most powerful Magic Tools were created by a wizard called Eibon centuries ago. Some of them were said to be able to change the world as we know it."

"Isn't that kind of dangerous?"

"Of course. But it's really very fascinating." Zeref stopped.

Natsu was grinning.

"You get really excited about these things, huh?"

And the boy was definitely excited, Natsu could tell, even though he got excited in such a quiet kind of way. He seemed less uncomfortable too, or at least he wasn't casting anxious, sidelong glances at the other tables anymore.

Good.

Natsu settled down and got to the business of coaxing his half-reluctant dinner companion into a proper conversation.

.

Rumors

"Zeref, huh? Is that the stranger from the library that you told us about?"

"That's right. He should teach our history classes. He's way better at it than the history teacher we've got."

Lucy propped her chin in her hands. She was facing the front of the large classroom, but her gaze was unfocused and elsewhere. The teacher hadn't arrived yet.

"I think I've heard the name before."

Natsu raised an eyebrow. "Yeah?"

His friend Lucy was part of the school paper, so she tended to be well caught up on student news. Around them, their classmates chatted amongst themselves, the noise masking their conversation.

Even so, Lucy lowered her voice when she continued. "He was in the class a year ahead of us, I think, but he dropped out after only a few weeks. No one seems to know exactly why, but the rumor is that something went really horribly wrong the first time he transformed. One of the other students in the journalism club wanted to write about it, but she was told to leave it alone."

Natsu frowned. When Zeref had told him that he couldn't work with anyone, Natsu hadn't thought it was that serious. Of course, after spending so much time with the boy over the last few days, he should have known better. Zeref was definitely the kind of person who took most things in life extremely seriously.

Natsu was still thinking about this when he dropped by the library with his history homework later that afternoon.

Zeref was completely unlike anyone Natsu had ever met before or ever thought he might meet. He was also, Natsu had quickly decided, a genius. He could explain almost anything in any subject that Natsu didn't understand in a way that made it seem simple, and he couldn't quite seem to understand why other people couldn't do the same. Zeref wasn't arrogant or anything. He was just honestly confused when other people couldn't keep up with him, and it was honestly kind of cute. It was convenient too. Natsu's grades were most definitely improving. It just seemed like such a waste that Zeref isolated himself in the library most of the time. And it was somehow all because of something that had happened over a year ago.

Maybe he should have left the issue alone, but Natsu was curious. How bad did an accident regarding an out-of-control ability—not an uncommon occurrence at the Academy by any means—have to be for someone to withdraw like this, and with the support and consent of all the teachers, no less?

And so, after they'd discussed the homework questions Natsu had had doubts about, he made sure no one else was around and told Zeref what he'd heard.

Zeref stilled for a moment, about to take a book from the top of the stack by his elbow. After a second, he finished setting the book down in front of him then said quietly, "I suppose I should be grateful there isn't more gossip about it."

"Do you want to tell me about it?"

"Not really."

"All right then."

Zeref hesitated. "You're... not going to keep asking?"

Natsu shrugged. "It's your story. If you don't want to tell it, it's your business. Doesn't mean I'm not curious, mind you, but you've got the right to decide."

Silence descended—but a comfortable silence. Natsu moved on to his science homework while Zeref started to read the new book, a notebook open on the side in which he occasionally wrote a note. Natsu could have gone home or dropped by one of his friends' places to finish his schoolwork, but there was something about the quiet of the other boy concentrating on his studies that made it easier to concentrate on his own studies too. In any case, Natsu had found that he got way more work done in way less time this way.

Natsu was just putting his math homework away, the last thing he needed to do today, when Zeref suddenly spoke up.

"I don't really remember what happened."

Natsu looked across the table, but Zeref's gaze was still fixed upon his book. He didn't interrupt, just waited patiently for Zeref to continue.

"Apparently, we put our entire class in the infirmary. It was a miracle that no one was killed, at least that's what the teachers said. The classmate I partnered with, I don't remember his name, but he had no memory of what happened either. We ran a few tests, and we determined that it was something to do with my abilities and not his. I haven't attended any classes since then. Dr. Stein offered to try working with me, but I said no."

That name sounded familiar.

"Dr. Stein? Do you mean the teacher?"

"That's right. He's one of the best Meisters to ever graduate from this academy, and since his soul wavelength is very flexible, he can sync with different Weapons relatively easily."

"Yeah? So why'd you say no?"

"He... makes me uncomfortable. He likes to take things apart, to understand them. I prefer to put things together. Create something new. Honestly, I think he's really just interested in studying me."

Natsu thought about the mad scientist of a teacher and the last few lessons Natsu's class had had with the man, which had consisted mainly of dissecting a series of dead animals.

"You're probably right," Natsu said.

There was another long silence. Zeref finally glanced over at him, searching his face—for what Natsu wasn't sure. Natsu held his gaze steadily until Zeref looked away again.

When the other said nothing more, Natsu cleared his throat and said lightly, "So... I have a theory test coming up. Mind helping me study? Maybe over dinner?"

Zeref relaxed at the change of topic, thought for a moment, then nodded.

.

Connections

Zeref picked up the manila folder that Sid had left on the corner of his office desk and leafed through it.

"Are these the cases you wanted me to look into?"

"Yeah, those are the ones. Thanks for your help with all of this."

"It's no trouble."

Before Zeref could leave, Sid added, "I'm glad to see you're finally making friends."

The boy paused in the doorway and glanced back over his shoulder. Although he didn't say anything, his confusion was obvious.

Sid Barrett, the Academy's only undead teacher, rubbed thoughtfully at his chin while he regarded his former student. Sometimes, Zeref wondered why it didn't feel more strange that the man had died and then gone right on teaching afterwards. But then, Sid had changed so little after his death that it hardly seemed to matter.

"You've been spending a lot of time with Natsu Dragneel, right? It's good that you're connecting with other people your own age. We've been concerned."

"Why?"

As far as Zeref was concerned, it wasn't like he had suffered any from pursuing his academic studies alone.

The zombie shrugged. "It can be dangerous, spending too much time in your own head. We need other people to help us grow, and sometimes to keep us sane. Besides, you never seemed that happy to be alone, if you ask me. I could be wrong, of course."

He paused and caught Zeref's gaze as though asking without words what he thought of this.

And it was surreal for Zeref to realize that yes, Natsu was a friend, wasn't he? At the very least, they genuinely enjoyed each other's company. They were very different people, but somehow, being around Natsu was comfortable. Easy even.

Somewhere along the way since the incident that had landed all his classmates in the hospital, Zeref had subconsciously given up on ever being able to connect with anyone. But Lord Death was right; he wanted this. Being alone was okay for awhile, but he'd missed having people to talk to.

"No," he said finally, "I think you might be right."

Zeref took a step then paused again, half asking and half wondering aloud, "Is this really okay?"

Sid rubbed the back of his neck, baffled. "What, making friends?"

Zeref hesitated. When asked like that, his worries seemed rather silly.

"Never mind," he said. "It's not important."

He stepped out of the office. But as he started down the hallway, he thought he heard Sid call after him, "Just give everything a chance and see where it goes."

TBC...

AN: Okay, maybe a bit weird, but this story's been stuck in my head for awhile, and I've always really liked Soul Eater. Some of it can be really silly, but the world also has a lot of really interesting philosophical concepts. Anyway... I'm not posting this as a crossover because there will only be minor appearances by the original Soul Eater characters.

I wanted to put up the next chapter for Things We Dream, but unfortunately, I'm still stuck about three fourths of the way through. So I decided to post the first chapter of this story instead, since it seemed to have turned out fairly well.

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