A/N: Fun fact, Rei can also be translated to 'ghost', meaning that the lineage of names in his family is Spirit - Soul - Ghost. Even though Spirit and Soul aren't actually related. Fun stuff ^^ (Armed with that knowledge, go look up the lyrics to Dementia by Owl City. Although Rei and Ayame are still rather far from the point where they start seeing each other that way~)

Mifune's names for the sword cuts might be different in different styles, but I'm using the names we use in my battojutsu class for them. Since we have the same names for the stances he names in the manga (Hasso-no-kamae and Waki-gamae), it felt like a safe bet.

Review Responses:

fanficlove2014, thank you! Glad you like it! Rei wouldn't be the main character without a few interesting things happening with his soul, but it will be a while yet until those things are revealed.

AmyNChan, Liz and Patty's backstory probably had something to do with it. As Ayame pointed out, that sort of thing just isn't right, and we all know how Kid is with things that aren't right.

fpjohn, and monkey d garp, no worries. I already have a few of Rei and Ayame's resonances planned out (like Black Star and Tsubaki, they have more than one), but as I pointed out to fanficlove2014, it'll be a while before they're ready to do that sort of thing (remember, Maka and Soul didn't get Witch Hunter down until their second year, which is when the show was set). Not too much longer till the first one, though. Also for the cast, I can't make links because the site won't allow you to post links or anything that looks like a link, but you can go to LianneSilver927's Tumblr and look under Art to find it. Thanks for reading.

Disclaimer: I don't own Soul Eater.


CHAPTER FOUR

The Grimoire of Reality; Rei vs. Morgan!


Clark gripped the pendulum blade's handle with both hands, letting out a loud yell as he swung the blade in a wide arc overhead and brought it crashing down to the ground. Rei jumped back just in time, Ayame's shuriken form held in front of him like a shield as the force of Clark's blow split the ground in front of him, shockwaves forming identical furrows on either side of the main slice.

"Yeah!" Vayne shouted from the orange-tinted space within his weapon form. "Go for it!"

"Tch," said Rei, gritting his teeth as the wind from the slash washed over him. He held Ayame's shuriken out in front of him with one hand, the large star-shaped weapon held across him to shield him as dirt and loose rocks shaken free by Clark's strike pelted them.

Inside her own soul space, Ayame had both her arms spread open to shield him, a scowl on her face. "How the hell can that skinny bastard even lift that?" she asked.

Rei tightened his grip on the handle in the center of the shuriken, charging forward in the aftermath of the strike. "That's what I'd like to know!" he yelled as he leaped into the air, lifting Ayame high over his head and bringing her down over the top of Clark and Vayne.

Vayne's weapon form was a large crescent-shaped blade, almost as tall as Clark was and just about as wide. It was a pendulum blade, the sort of thing that one might expect to find dangling overhead, but instead of a chain at the center of the blade, there was a long handle, allowing Clark to pick it up with one or both hands. Its sheer size and momentum made it a difficult weapon to wield, and made the ability to match wavelengths even more important.

The one time Rei had tried to wield Vayne, their wavelengths had been out of sync to the point where even the slightest movement made Vayne's momentum get the better of him, and the two of them had wound up spiraling wildly out of control and causing severe damage to their surroundings. It could have been much worse, had Maka and Soul not been around to separate them. Rei had never tried to wield Vayne again.

Clark, however, didn't seem to have that problem.

"Above!" Vayne yelled as Rei reached the peak of his jump, cutting downwards at Clark's head.

Clark reached up, sunlight reflecting off his glasses as he adjusted them. "I know," he said, gripping the pendulum blade's handle with one hand and swinging it up to meet them. The shuriken's blade scraped against Vayne's flat as Rei crashed down and Clark turned, the momentum being built up by the pendulum sending Rei flying back. He flipped over in the air, landing crouched on the grass of the training forest and sliding backwards, Ayame held out in front of him.

Before Rei could fully recover, Clark completed his turn, using the momentum he had built to bring Vayne down onto the ground from overhead, slamming the blade into the earth. Energy shot outward in a line from Vayne to Rei, and Rei had to jump to the side and roll as the earth split in front of him, a blade of wind cutting through the space where he had been. The blade continued, tearing through the tree behind him and tearing one of the branches right off. His grip on Ayame's handle faltered, then tightened.

"Don't let him psyche you out, Rei!" Ayame said, looking back at him.

"Yeah," said Rei, his eyes narrowing. He drew in a deep breath, adjusting his stance and facing Clark. "I know."

"Let's go!" Ayame shouted as Rei charged forward, swinging the shuriken at Clark.


The wind from Clark's attack cut through the forest, blowing past the clearing where three of the DWMA's teachers were seated, enjoying their lunch while ostensibly supervising the spar. Stein reached out without a word as the wind blew through, holding their plates down as Marie shielded her cup of coffee from the dirt and debris and Maka moved to hold the corners of the blanket they were sitting on down. The wind passed, the sounds of steel on steel and the shouts of the combatants replacing it, and the three of them began eating again as if nothing had happened.

"Well, I see they're energetic," said Stein, reaching for one of Marie's sandwiches.

"They're so cute," Marie said with a smile, blowing across the surface of her cup of coffee before taking a sip. "They remind me of you when you were their age, Maka."

"Do they?" asked Maka, smiling. She reached out with a pair of chopsticks, picking up a bite of food from her bento. Behind her, the sound of someone or something crashing through the foliage rang out. The three of them looked up, a perfunctory glance to make sure no one was seriously injured, before going back to their meal.

"Yes," said Marie. "You and Soul. Where is he now, by the way? I know you two usually have lunch together."

"Kid sent him on a quick assignment," Maka said, all three of them pausing to look up as Rei and Ayame sailed overhead, the two of them thrown off by one of Clark's powerful swings. He landed on the ground, gritting his teeth and quickly pushed himself back up, launching himself over their heads as he charged at Clark again. Maka went on speaking as though nothing had happened. "Something about there being more ravens in town than usual. He sent Soul to investigate."

"I wonder how that's going," said Marie with a concerned frown.

Across from her, Stein said nothing, simply adjusting his screw.


"Shoo!" said Soul from where he stood on a rooftop somewhere, waving his hands at the multitude of ravens that had gathered there. "Come on, shoo! Go away! Get! Leave! Shoo!"

He walked through them, black feathers fluttering in their wake as the ravens jumped off the rooftop in a dark cloud, wings spread. The moment he moved past them, they settled on the rooftop again, eyeing him with beady black eyes. Soul grit his teeth, spinning back around to face them and letting his arm transform into a scythe blade.

"Go away!" He swept the blade low, causing the ravens to leap into the air, hovering an inch or so from the ground before settling back down into the rooftop. He swiped his scythe arm through the air a few more times, but each time the ravens only moved to get out of the way, landing back down on the rooftop as soon has he had passed.

"Get lost! No one wants you here!"

The nearest one cocked its head at him, several of its fellows following suit. Soul slapped his human hand to his face in frustration, letting out a groan.

"Why am I doing this?" he muttered to himself, looking out over the city. "I'm a Death Scythe, not a janitor. Freaking Kid. Could have just sent Spirit."

"Caw!" said one of the ravens loudly, the one that had tilted his head at him.

"Aw, shut up!" said Soul, shooting that raven a glare.


"I'm sure Soul's doing fine," said Maka, taking another bite of food. "But speaking of Kid…"

She reached into her pocket as she chewed, pulling out a small, rectangular hand mirror. Kid took his role as Shinigami-sama seriously enough to not want to show any favoritism to Rei or Vayne or Ayame, but Maka had a feeling he might want to see this fight. She fogged the surface of the mirror with her breath, tracing out 42-42-564. The mirror glowed before being replaced with a view of Kid sitting at his desk in the Death Room, his own (perfectly symmetrical) lunch spread out in front of him.

"Maka," he said, nodding. "What's up?"

"I just thought you'd want to see this," said Maka, smiling. "Rei and Vayne are sparring against each other."

"Oh." Kid leaned closer to the mirror, interest in his gold eyes. "Show me."

Maka nodded, turning the mirror towards the fight. Rei was charging at Clark again, the wind from Clark's swings whistling through the trees and nearly spreading dirt and leaves over the teachers' lunch. Rei brought Ayame back for a few more strikes, swinging the shuriken down in quick succession, but Clark blocked each one, kicking up stronger and stronger breezes.

"Ah, fantastic," said Kid. "They've each grown tremendously."

"What's that?" asked an excited voice from behind Kid. Before the shinigami could react, Patty charged into the shot, pushing Kid's head out of the way and leaning close to the mirror. "Vayne's fighting? Yeah, get him Vayne! Split in him half! Cut off his head!" She pumped her fist excitedly in the air.

"Patty, that's my son…" said Maka, frowning.

"Gently!" Patty added.

Kid growled in frustration, reaching up and pushing Patty's face out of the way. The two of them struggled, Patty's shouts muffled as she tried to resume control of the mirror again.

"Anyway—," Kid said, sounding strained as he tried to keep Patty back. "—Thank you for showing me this, but I'm afraid I have to work—."

Patty opened her mouth suddenly, sinking her teeth into the meat of Kid's hand. Kid let out a very un-shinigami-like yelp, jerking his hand back away from her and letting Patty surge forward, filling up the mirror again.

"Yeah!" Patty said. "Come on, Vayne! Show 'im what you're made of!"

Kid struggled from beneath her as she pinned him down, his hand going up towards the mirror. The connection winked out, the surface of the mirror becoming glassy again. Maka pulled it back to her, glancing down at her own reflection.

"Some things never change," Stein noted, taking a bite of his sandwich.

"You're telling me," said Maka, putting the mirror away.


Clark spun to face Rei, bringing Vayne around in a powerful swipe. The blade caught Ayame between two of her shuriken's points and she grit her teeth, letting out a grunt of pain and effort as the two of them were forced back again. Rei landed lightly on the ground and ran, not giving Clark time to follow up on his attack as he moved opposite Clark's rotation, trying to flank him. Before he could get there, though, Clark finished his turn and faced him, grabbing Vayne in both hands and readying a strike. Rei quickly doubled back, looking for an opening.

"Throw me," Ayame said, her eyes narrowed from where she hovered in her soul space. The unearthly light around her gave her a blue tinge.

"You're sure?" Rei asked, glancing down at her.

"I'm sure," Ayame said. "Throw. Run. Regroup. Do it now."

"Roger."

Rei leaped to the side, landing lightly on the ground and turning to build up momentum. As he reached the end of his turn, he released his hold on Ayame, the shuriken flipping end over end in the air as she flew horizontally at Clark.

Clark raised Vayne up to meet her, swatting the shuriken out of the way with a powerful swipe. As the attack connected, Rei turned, dashing out of the clearing and into the cover of the trees. Ayame spun through the air where Clark had deflected her, banking and turning suddenly. She sliced through the foliage, coming at Rei from his right side, and Rei quickly reached out a hand, grabbing her and skidding to a stop. He could hear her breathing hard as he closed his hand around the handle, stopping the rotation.

Rei quickly spun around in the direction he had come, listening as Clark charged into the trees after him, his heavy footfalls giving his position away as he sliced through the foliage in an attempt to reach them. Vayne wasn't as maneuverable as Ayame, and their movement into the trees had bought them some time, but Rei knew it was only a matter of time until Clark caught up to them again.

"Plan?" Ayame asked, when she had caught her breath.

"Working on it," said Rei, looking frantically around the area as their heavy footfalls came closer. An idea came to him then and he spread his legs apart wider, taking a stance that was lower to the ground.

"Hey, Ayame," he said. "You remember what Mifune-sensei was saying about reach and zones of safety?"

A grin appeared on Ayame's face as she realized where he was going with this. She sank down lower in her soul space, mimicking his stance. "Sure do," she said.

"What do you think Vayne's outer reach is?"

"Way bigger than mine."

"And his inside reach?" Rei asked.

Ayame's grin widened. "Way shorter than mine. You sure about this, though?"

"No," Rei admitted, feeling his stomach flutter with nerves. "But let's do it anyway. Kusarigama Mode."

Ayame shifted forms, her kusarigama's twin scythes settling into Rei's hands. He tested their weight, then looped the chain of the right-hand scythe around his palm, pulling it tight. Ayame's chain was cool against his skin, a reminder that she was there.

"Get ready," Ayame said, as the sound of pounding grew closer.

"I am," said Rei.

"Now!" Ayame yelled, as Clark charged out of the underbrush to face them. But Rei was already moving.

He ran forward, his right-hand scythe close to his hip and his left-hand scythe extended in front of him. Clark brought Vayne over his head as Rei neared, slamming it down in a powerful arc. Rei saw the pendulum move as if in slow motion, saw the narrow window of opportunity he had before it would come crashing down, breaking bones at the very least if not cutting him entirely in two. He tried not to think about that, tried to trust that Vayne would hold back, tried to focus entirely on what he had to do.

"GO FOR IT, REI!" Ayame shouted, the scythes warm in his hand. Vayne's slash came down, nearing his head.

At the last instant before it connected, Rei ducked and put on a sudden burst of speed, moving past the blade and inside Clark's reach. He reached up with the left-hand scythe, hooking it around the back of Vayne's blade and keeping it down as the right-hand scythe moved up, stopping an inch from Clark's neck. It froze there as Clark stood up straighter, his eyes wide. Rei looked up, his heart pounding, saw the position they had ended up in.

"We did it!" Ayame yelled, breaking the silence as she jumped excitedly up and down. "We won!"

There was a flash and then Vayne reappeared, standing on the ground beside Clark and rubbing at the back of his neck. "Nice one," he said, giving Rei a sheepish smile. "Thought we had you for a second."

He extended his hand. Rei drew back from Clark, breathing heavily now, and let Ayame return to human form. His hands free, he reached out, clasping Vayne's hand with his own.

"Good job," Vayne said.

"Yeah," said Rei. "You too."

"Come on!" said Ayame, slapping Rei on the back hard enough to nearly send him stumbling forward. "Give your weapon some credit!" She grinned as she said it, showing him that he wasn't really mad.

"Sorry, Ayame," said Rei, releasing Vayne's hand. "Couldn't have done it without you."

"I'll admit to being a little disappointed," said Clark, taking his glasses off and cleaning them before putting them back on his face. "But still, good job, Rei. Ayame." He extended a hand towards Rei, one that Rei took. Clark smiled as they clasped hands, his grip tightening briefly.

"Still," he said. "Don't think that same trick will work next time."

"Oh, next time," said Ayame, turning towards Clark. She gave him a challenging smirk. "Is pretty boy saying he wants to go again?"

"I'm always ready to dance with a beautiful lady," said Clark, returning her smirk with one of his own. It faded as he glanced down at his watch, his expression growing concerned. "But maybe not right now. We're about to be late to Mifune's class."

That cut the revelry short, eyes widening all around.

"Crap!" Ayame said, shoving Rei towards the school and reaching around him to do the same to Vayne. "Come on, losers, get moving! We can make it if we run!"

"Slow down, Ayame!" Rei said, as he hurried to catch up with her. "We still have a few minutes!"

"I don't know about you, but I take more than ten seconds to get into my gym clothes!" said Ayame from ahead of them. "And don't try to say anything, Rei!" she added as he opened his mouth. "You take longer to get ready in the morning than I do!"

Vayne laughed, falling into a jog beside Rei as the four of them ran towards the school. "She's got you there," he said.

Behind them, Clark began falling behind, his arm extended dramatically towards them as they neared the school gates. "I'm not going to make it," he said. "Tell Cassie I love her."

"Shut up and run, both of you!" said Rei, reaching back and grabbing Clark by the arm. He pulled the other meister between him and Vayne, forcing him to pick up the pace. Ahead of them, Ayame charged through the school, her hands trailing behind her as she ducked into the wind. Vayne nodded, grabbing Clark by his other arm, but couldn't seem to resist one last quip as they ran up the steps and into the building.

"She wouldn't have heard you anyway…"


Ayame held the wooden sword up over her head, bringing it down in a straight cut. She kept her grip relaxed, holding it in the end position and trying not to turn towards Mifune. He nodded at her out of the corner of his eye.

"Kesagiri," he said.

She moved the sword to the right, positioning it so it was beside her head, then brought it down in a powerful diagonal cut. At Mifune's nod, she shifted her stance, doing the same thing on her left side.

"Yokogiri," said Mifune, his expression unchanging.

A horizontal cut. She brought the sword across her body and stepped to the side as she swung, using her hips to add power to the swing. The wind rushed past in the sword's wake, whistling behind the wooden blade as she drew it to a stop.

"Kiriage."

The last of the basic cuts. Ayame took a step back, shifting into waki-gamae, a hidden stance where the blade was pointed behind her. She shifted her weight and swung, the blade moving upwards in an ascending diagonal cut. Ayame held her position as the cut finished its arc, not moving.

Mifune studied her for a moment, taking in her stance and position before nodding. "Good," he said. "Help the others."

Ayame nodded, a grin on her face as she lowered her sword. "Hai, sensei!" she said cheerfully, running off to where her classmates were still working through the cuts. She stopped to correct Rhythm's balance and Morgan's footwork, then came to a stop in front of Rei, watching as he swung his sword in a downward diagonal cut over and over again.

"Bigger, Rei," she said, moving both her hands in an expansive gesture. "Come on. Cut like you mean it."

"I'm trying," Rei hissed, gritting his teeth as he swung his sword down again. He pulled it close to himself at the very end, cutting the arc short.

"Have some confidence," Ayame said. "Come on. You can do it!"

"Ayame, I said I was trying," said Rei.

"You can do it!" Ayame said. "I believe in you!"

"Ayame—." Rei grit his teeth in frustration, swinging his sword down in a powerful arc. The wind whistled behind it as it stopped at the end position and Ayame blinked, before her grin slowly spread across her face.

"See?" she asked. "I knew you could do it!"

Rei opened his mouth as if he was about to speak, but before he could say anything, Mifune clapped his hands once and the activity in the room ceased. Ayame blinked, looking over her shoulder as Rei lowered his sword to his side, watching Mifune. The swordsman walked into the center of the dojo, the class turning to follow him.

"You're each doing acceptable work with the sword," he said, "And it has come to my attention that each of you has had some time to work on your partnership. So today, we're going to start working on specific combat arts, starting with what you know so far." He held his wooden sword in both hands, holding it point down towards the ground like a staff and tapping the wooden floor of the dojo. "Sparring class," he said. "Everyone return to your partners."

There was silence as Mifune's words sank in. Rei blanched as he understood what Mifune was saying. Ayame grinned.

"These are the rules for sparring in this class," said Mifune, once they had all assembled their pairs again. Flashes of light appeared in the room as the weapons shifted, swords, staves, scythes, spears, and various other implements of destruction appearing in the hands of their respective meisters. Ayame rocked on the balls of her feet next to Rei, not shifting yet.

Mifune held up one finger. "One: The spar stops when someone forfeits or when I say stop. No exceptions. Two: No mortal injuries. Weapons, hold back from cutting. Three: Leaving the dojo through any means constitutes a loss. Other than that, there are no rules. Who would like to volunteer to go first?"

"We will!" said Ayame, grabbing Rei's hand and holding it up.

"We will?" asked Rei, glancing at her.

"Sure we will," said Ayame, grinning back. "Don't worry. After our lunchtime victory, how bad can this be?"

Mifune nodded. "Very well," he said. "Rei. Ayame. Choose an opponent."

Rei still looked uncertain, so Ayame gave him an encouraging smile, patting him on the arm. "Don't worry," she said. "I'll pick an easy one."

She stepped forward, moving into the circle that had formed around Mifune and looking at the members of their class. Ayame frowned in thought, studying them. Rei was still nervous about fighting sometimes, but he had been doing a lot better lately, so she resolved not to make this too hard on him. She passed over several fun-looking but intimidating weapons, deciding that she could have her fun when she'd built up Rei's confidence enough. Her eyes moved over the class, looking for the easiest opponent in existence.

They landed on Morgan, standing with Cassie in weapon form at the edge of the circle. Cassie's weapon form was a large, thick book, several ornate designs inscribed into the leather around her cover. It looked like a heavy book, but other than that, there didn't appear to be anything dangerous to speak of.

"I pick Morgan and Cassie!" said Ayame, pointing at them.

Morgan blinked, gesturing at herself and the book in her hand.

"Me?" she asked.

"Yep," said Ayame. "Unless you're scared."

Morgan said nothing in response to that, quietly stepping forward. Ayame grinned and rocked back on her heels, shifting into kusarigamaform and landing in Rei's hands. She felt Rei's uncertain grip on her as his fingers closed around the hilts, then sank back into her soul space and grinned as Rei stepped forward as well. Mifune looked between the two of them, stepping back and signaling the class to give them some room.

"Very well," he said. "Rei and Ayame versus Morgan and Cassandra. Begin."

He struck his sword against the ground, the sound echoing throughout the dojo. Rei charged forward at the signal, Ayame's kusarigama form tight in his hands.


Rei charged forward, the scythe blades held out at his sides. He didn't give himself time to think or second-guess, pouring everything he had into the attack. He didn't know what Morgan could do, but he knew if he hesitated to think about it, he would be lost and he didn't want the rest of the class to see that. So he closed the distance between him and his opponent in one quick dash, scythes poised to strike.

Morgan didn't move as he ran towards her, didn't do anything except to hold Cassie out in front of her and slowly open the book. She held it out to a blank page, raising her head to watch him. He neared her. She cleared her throat.

"Ventus!" she said, her voice sharp. "Ventus, ventum, venti!"

The wind howled suddenly, slamming into Rei from his left side before he could reach her. His eyes widened as he found himself suddenly knocked off his feet, and he flipped over in the air, landing on the ground a few feet away from Morgan and skidding back. Morgan's eyes darted towards him, and before he could recover, she was already raising a hand, the wind dying down as the book began to glow.

"Ignis!"

He darted out of the way as a gout of fire tore through the air, heading towards him. The flames heated the air in their passing, a wave of heat washing over him as Rei tried to find a clear spot in the dojo. He tightened his grip on Ayame's hilts, trying not to panic.

"Easy fight, you said," he said as he skidded to a stop on the smooth wood of the dojo floor. "Don't worry, you said."

Ayame floated in her soul space, looking alarmed as she held her hands out to her sides. "Don't worry, Rei," she said. "We can still do this."

"Yeah, sure," Rei said, but he wasn't going to waste breath on arguing. He ran forward towards Morgan, trying to pick up speed. "Shuriken Mode."

Ayame shifted in his hands, taking on her shuriken form. Rei gripped her handle tightly in his right hand, running towards Morgan.

"Ignis!" Morgan said again, holding up a hand towards him.

A second blast of fire appeared in the air in front of her, shooting at him. Rei swatted the blast aside with Ayame's shuriken form, sliding to the side on the smooth wooden floor before she could target him again and running towards her.

"Katana Mode!" he said.

She shifted in his hand, becoming a steel sword with a black hilt. Before Morgan could react, Rei darted forward, coming at her from the side with sword in hand. He saw her eyes flick towards him as he ran, saw the alarm in them as she tried to turn, but she would be too slow. He saw that, could feel Ayame's anticipation as he gripped the sword hilt in both hands, preparing a rising cut.

"And then there was ice," Morgan said suddenly, as though she was reading a story aloud. "It appeared on the floor in a circle around Morgan, slippery and wet."

A wave of cold shot outwards from her, frost crystals appearing on the floor around her.

"Oh, no way," Ayame said, her eyes widening. Rei's eyes widened as well as the floor beneath him suddenly turned to ice. He slipped, losing his footing and sliding across the floor. Students moved out of the way as he crashed to a stop against one of the walls, the impact knocking the wind out of him. Morgan went on reading, not looking up.

"A knight of ice rose up from the ice on the floor," she said, her brow furrowing in thought and concentration. "It had a sword in its hand. It carried a shield, and moved itself to protect her."

Rei grit his teeth, staring as an ice knight did rise up from the ground, taking a protective step in front of Morgan. It wasn't that big, about as large as she was, but it was squat and stalwart, dressed in ice armor and carrying a long sword. It turned to face him, sword and shield held at the ready, and he noticed that the ice on the floor had disappeared, the floor becoming wooden again.

"You've got to be kidding me," Rei muttered under his breath, standing up.

"Rei—," Ayame began.

Rei ignored her, darting forward. The knight raised his sword to meet him, swinging it down in an overhead chop. Rei blocked the blow with his own sword, Ayame's katana form slicing through the ice of the knight's sword and shaving off splinters that clattered to the ground. Before the knight could reposition itself, Rei dropped low, swinging his sword in a low slash and cutting through the knight's ankle. It pitched forward, but not before bringing a large, gauntleted fist down, the punch knocking Rei off his feet and sending him flying.

He tasted blood in his mouth, but he somehow managed to land on his feet. Something wet and warm trickled down the side of his face. Morgan wasn't moving, he noticed as he swayed unsteadily. She stood in place, her hands on the book, her eyes flicking from the knight to him as the knight stood up as well, its weight unsteady on its injured ankle.

He spat blood out on the ground, holding his katana out in front of him in a ready position. He was aware of everyone's eyes on him, aware of Mifune watching and evaluating, but at the moment, it hardly seemed to matter. His eyes moved from Morgan to the knight, his mind racing.

"She can only do one thing at a time," he said, keeping his voice low for Ayame's benefit. "She can't manage more than one invocation at a time. If she wants to do anything else, she'll have to dispel the knight."

"Alright." Ayame sounded subdued, her usual grin a thoughtful frown as she watched him. "You have a plan?"

"Maybe," said Rei. "Kusarigama Mode. And get ready to fly."

Ayame nodded, her weapon form shifting in his hands to the form she had started with. Rei ran forward, hoping this would work as the knight turned towards him, sword and shield held at the ready. He ran towards the knight, then suddenly changed course as the knight turned to meet him, leaping into the air and darting to the side. As he leaped, he let go of the left hand scythe, flinging it at the knight.

"Now, Ayame!" he said.

The scythe moved through the air, the chain extending as Ayame let out a loud battlecry. It whipped around the knight, binding it tightly in place as Rei landed on the ground, holding the chain in his left hand and the scythe hilt in his right. He landed behind Morgan, scythe extended as he moved to slash at her.

Morgan turned as if in slow motion. Her eyes landed on him and he saw her smirk. It made his blood run cold and made him realize that he had made a mistake.

The knight shattered suddenly as she turned the page, the grimoire's new page blank in front of her. She spoke, and Rei saw the words form on the page as if she had written there.

"Ventus," she intoned again. "Ventus, procella, venti."

The wind howled, stronger than before. Before Rei could react, it slammed into him, pitching him into the wall. He heard wood splinter and break, felt pain as he tore through it, landing in a dizzy heap on the floor at the other side. A dust cloud appeared behind him and he coughed, the world spinning in place.

"Rei!" said Ayame, appearing at his side in a flash of light. She brushed dirt and debris off of him, bending down to help him up. "Are you okay?"

"Rei's out of the dojo," said Morgan, shutting her book with a decisive thud and glancing at Mifune. "I believe by those rules, I win."

Rei almost didn't hear what happened next as Mifune declared her the winner. The world spun alarmingly as he turned his head and he closed his eyes, leaning into Ayame.


"All better now, sleepyhead?" Vayne asked with a laugh as they were walking away from the school later that day, Rei still holding an ice pack to his head. He scowled at his friend, moving the ice pack to another sore spot. His spar with Morgan had left him with a few cuts and bruises, but nothing more serious than the damage to his pride, especially considering Clark and Vayne's easy victory in the next match.

"Shut up," he said. "Stop gloating."

"We'll get her next time," Ayame said, walking backwards and giving him a reassuring smile that had a little too much pity for his taste. "Don't worry."

"Who's worrying?" Rei asked, raising an eyebrow. The motion made the wound on his cheek sting and he hissed, looking away.

"I hope you don't feel as bad as you look," Clark said. "I'd hate to see you collapse at the movies because of your condition…"

Rei's eyes narrowed. "One more word about my condition, four-eyes, I dare you."

"Hey," said Vayne, interrupting them. "Isn't that Morgan and Cassie over there?"

Rei looked up. Sure enough, Morgan was standing at the steps to the school, Cassie beside her. She was dressed in her usual attire again, a deep purple blouse, a pleated black skirt, and boots. Cassie stood beside her in a pale pink coat and ripped jeans, her headphones hanging around her neck.

"Alone again," Clark noted, shaking his head. "It's a shame."

Rei frowned. Clark had a point. As far as he knew, Morgan didn't talk to anyone, didn't seem to have any other friends aside from Cassie. And while Cassie was friendly enough, she didn't usually hang around anyone either.

"We could invite her to the movies," he said, uncertainly. "Maybe."

"Great idea," said Vayne. He cupped his hands around his mouth, shouting to them. "Hey, Morgan! Cassie! We're heading to the movies. Wanna come?"

Morgan looked up, turning towards them. At first, Rei thought she hadn't heard, or that she was planning on ignoring them, but then her expression changed as she registered that they were talking to her, becoming confused and skeptical. She pointed at herself.

"Us?" she asked.

"Sure, why not?" asked Vayne. "The more the merrier. Right, Rei?"

He wanted to kick Vayne. Since that would definitely not endear him to either Morgan or Cassie right now, he settled for glaring at his friend, turning to Morgan. "Uh, yeah," he said. "Come with. It'll be fun."

"We're watching Chainsaw Carnival IV," said Ayame with a grin, lacing her fingers together behind her neck. "It'll be a blast."

"No, we're not!" said Vayne, paling at her words. "We're watching the space movie!"

Ayame made a face. "I don't want to watch a boring space movie," she said. "I wanna see the chainsaws!"

"We are not going to see the chainsaws!" said Vayne, shaking his head. "Not, not, no way, nuh-uh, no!"

"Chicken!" said Ayame, grinning at Vayne.

"I am not a chicken!" said Vayne, shaking his head. "I just…I just don't like chainsaws."

Ayame made chicken noises at Vayne, moving her arms in the shape of wings. Vayne glared at her.

The sound of a giggle made them both look up, turning towards Morgan and Cassie. Morgan was smiling, turning her face away to hide the gesture, and Cassie was giggling into her sleeve.

"Can we go?" Cassie asked, looking up at Morgan. "Please?"

"I—." Morgan started to speak, then hesitated, looking away.

"Please?" Cassie asked again. "It'll be fun."

"I—um—sure," said Morgan. "We can go to the movie."

"Yay!" said Cassie. Without a word, she stepped forward, joining the group. Morgan hesitated before moving to join her, and they stepped aside to give her room, absorbing the two of them as they started walking down the steps.

"As I was saying," Vayne was saying as they walked down the steps. "We are not going to see any chainsaws or carnivals. No way, no how, no chance."

"A love story, then?" asked Clark, pushing his glasses up. "Something romantic?"

"Not that either," said Vayne with a scowl, shoving him with a hand.

"Well if Vayne would rather wait outside with the kiddie rides…" Ayame began.

"Hey!" said Vayne, turning towards her.

Their laughter followed them as they moved down the steps, heading into the city.


Meanwhile, elsewhere in Death City…

"The sun's starting to set," Kid said from the hand mirror in front of him. "How's the mission going?"

"See for yourself," said Soul with a scowl, turning the mirror up. He was seated cross-legged on the rooftop, scowling. Ravens were perched on his arms, legs, and the top of his head, one of them trying to peck at the mirror. Kid blinked, staring at him.

"I…uh…see you're experiencing some difficulties," he said.

"Don't say it," said Soul.

"Caw!" the raven on top of his head said, tilting its head to the side. Soul folded his arms as it shifted and pecked at its neighbor.

"This is so not cool," he muttered.


Bonus Scene/Omake:

(Dedicated to any Akagami no Shirayukihime / Snow White with the Red Hair fans in the audience. If you don't know what any of those are, all you have to know is that it's a really sappy love story and Obi is kind of a ninja.)

Ayame let out a high-pitched squeal from where she lay on the floor of her bedroom, clutching the manga tightly to herself. She lay on her stomach, kicking her legs back and forth with excitement and pounding them against the ground as she stared at the pages.

"Obi!" she said, letting out another squeal of excitement and giggling as she rolled over and hugged the manga to her chest. "Why is Obi so cool?" she asked no one in particular as she raised the book up, flipping the page. She let out another squeal, kicking the floor…

X

Thump, thump. Thump thump.

Rei frowned from the kitchen as he heard thumping noises coming from the ceiling, glancing up. Was it just his imagination, or could he hear high-pitched squealing as well? He glanced down at the stew he was making and back up to the ceiling as it started again, then made a decision, placing the lid on the plot and walking up the stairs.

"Ayame?" he asked, wiping his hands on his apron as he reached her room. He reached for the door. "Everything okay in there?"

Rei pushed it open. Ayame was seated on the floor, her hands behind her head as she did sit-ups.

"1245," she said. "1246. 1247. 12…"

Rei frowned, drops of sweat appearing on the back of his head as he closed the door, moving back down into the kitchen.

X

The moment the door was closed, Ayame rolled over, pulling the manga out from its place beneath the pile of pillows and stuffed animals next to her and opening it to the page she had stopped at. Her face warmed as she looked down at the pages, letting out another giddy squeal.

"Obiiiiii!" she said again.