A/N: It has come to my attention that there is at least one other fic where Stein and Marie's child is named Shelley. I'm not surprised, because I'm fairly certain I'm not the first person who thought Shelley (after Mary Shelley, the writer of Frankenstein), would be the perfect name for a Stein x Marie baby. I didn't intend to copy anything, but the name Shelley Stein has been firmly in my headcanon for a while, so I'm just going to go along with it. If anyone has any issues with it, please let me know in a PM and I can see what I can do.

Happy Halloween, all! Enjoy this spooky chapter, and don't eat too much candy. Tomorrow, NaNo starts, but I'm gonna try for an update a week at least.

Review Responses:

fanficlove2014, Vayne takes his duty as best friend very seriously, and part of that duty is to make sure Rei is slightly uncomfortable at all times. And yes, Spirit is still a dork, despite being probably in his fifties by now.

AmyNChan, I tried to make the mission spooky in the spirit of Halloween. I'm guessing I succeeded? And Spirit sees a successor in Rei (he's wrong though~).

owliang, thanks for the review! I appreciate it and hope you enjoy this chapter!

fpjohn, thanks! Glad you liked it!

monkey , yeah. It didn't all fit in one part, so you get a two-parter~

mercer heller, Rei and Ayame will get there when they get there, but they're a slow-burning ship. They're only 13 at this point, remember. They've got plenty of time.

garth, unfortunately, he does not. But that doesn't stop Spirit from believing he does.

Disclaimer: I don't own Soul Eater.


CHAPTER SIX

The Red House Part 2; Doll of Despair


Rei landed on the ground with a thud that knocked the wind out of him, the impact sending Ayame skittering out of his hands. He let out a hissing breath, sliding his hand underneath himself to push him up to his feet. The world around him was dark, walls, floor and ceiling nothing but endless black. Beside him, he saw a flash of light and then Ayame was on her feet as well, taking a step back to put herself closer to him but not taking her eyes off of her surroundings.

"Rei," she said, her voice echoing oddly in the strange space. "You okay?"

"Yeah," said Rei. "I think so. You?"

"Fine," said Ayame.

She looked up, the way they had come. Rei looked as well, but the darkness stretched on endlessly, without any sign of ending. There was no sign of Morgan or Cassie, no sign of the room.

"Where are we?" Ayame asked.

"No clue," said Rei.

He looked around sharply as the space suddenly changed, the darkness pulling away from them and revealing wooden floorboards and a carpeted floor, the living room of the house they had just left.

Someone was standing behind the couch, smirking at them. Her eyes were black, soulless, the same eyes of the creature that had accosted him and attacked Morgan, but everything else about her appearance was different. She was tall and pale, wearing a white nightgown, beautiful in a knife-edged way, with red lips and nails painted black. Her hair no longer draped around her face, but flowed with life and volume, at odds with the blackness of her eyes. A pointed hat lay perched atop her head, and a shiver ran down Rei's spine.

Her smirk widened, showing a flash of white teeth, and she extended a hand to him. As she did, Rei saw that her form was slightly transparent, revealing the soul within. It was deep pink, swirling with power gathered close to itself.

A Witch's Soul.

"Rei," Ayame said, and Rei realized that Ayame could see it too, as if the soul was no longer attached to a physical body. "That's—."

"I know," said Rei, holding out his hand to Ayame. "Kusarigama form."

Ayame nodded, transforming in a flash of light. Rei curled his fingers tightly around her hilts, sinking down and waiting. His heart pounded in his chest, but he tried to keep himself calm, tried to keep his eyes on the witch.

No. Not a witch.

A witch's ghost.

Her lips parted in a wicked sneer, her face twisting into something unnatural as she turned to Rei. When she spoke, her voice had a rattling quality to it, like bones.

"Do you mean to kill me, boy?" she asked, letting out a high-pitched laugh that grated. "I've not fallen so far."

"I don't need to kill you," said Rei, noticing now that a dagger had been driven into her ribs, through the fabric of her dress. "Someone already has."

The ghost howled in rage, snarling at him as if he had been the one to do it. "Foul human," she said. "I should never have trusted him. No, no, I shouldn't have. But it no longer matters. He had his reward, as will you."

"There's no point talking to her, Rei," said Ayame, her eyes narrowed as she floated in place, waiting for him to move.

"Yeah," Rei said. "I know."

He let out a shout as he charged forward, scythe blades poised to strike.


"Morgan!" Cassie yelled, quickly running over to her meister and kneeling down in front of her.

Morgan struggled with the hands still wrapped tightly around her throat, trying to pull them free even as her vision started to blur, the feeling starting to disappear from her fingertips. Cassie tugged at the hands as well, her eyes wide in panic, but it was no use. The hands held tight.

The weapon let out a cry of frustration, sliding back. She held her hands out in front of herself, pointing them at the hands.

"And then the wind around the hands turned into blades," she intoned. "The blades sliced the hands to ribbons, but didn't harm Morgan."

The wind suddenly picked up around her, surging inward and slipping past Morgan's fingers to cut through the hands holding her. Morgan gasped as the hands released and air suddenly flooded her throat, coughing and spluttering as she fell to the ground. She pushed herself up on her arms and retched, Cassie quickly coming up behind her to hold her hair out of her face.

"You're alright, Morgan," Cassie said. "You're alright."

Morgan took in several shaky breaths, her shoulders trembling. Cassie shifted her hands to Morgan's shoulders and, when she was relaxed, slowly drew her back up to her feet.

"Rei and Ayame?" Morgan said, when she finally found her voice. It was hoarse, and her throat still hurt from her ordeal.

"Gone," Cassie said. "They went through the wall."

Morgan turned, facing the wall that Rei, Ayame, and the ghost had disappeared through. It was solid again, dilapidated and in ill-repair but with no sign of the portal that they had gone through. She stared at it, feeling something unsettled deep within her, deeper than the boundaries she had erected around herself.

There was something…strange about that ghost.

"Morgan?" Cassie asked.

"We have to help them," Morgan said, stepping towards the wall. She held out her hand to her partner. "Cassie."

Cassie nodded, shifting quickly into weapon form. The familiar weight of the grimoire settled into the palm of her right hand, the book opening to a blank page. Morgan turned towards the wall, wracking her brain for the exact sequence of words that would unlock it, the words that would allow them to go through the wall and find their friends.

Before she could do that, the door to the room creaked open behind her.

"Morgan," Cassie warned from the light pink of her soul space.

Morgan turned her head, facing the door. A small creature was standing in it, running through the open door on small legs that rattled as it ran towards them. She tensed, holding out a hand towards it, but before she could speak a spell, the creature skidded to a stop in front of her, looking up at her.

It was a doll, the porcelain figure of a little girl, looking up at her with fearful eyes. She noticed that the porcelain was chipped and cracked, tatters in the doll's once beautiful dress,

"They're coming," it said. "Please help us. I don't want them to take us. Please help us."

Shadows burst into the room in the doll's wake, shooting straight for Morgan and Cassie.


Rei charged straight out of the shadows, Ayame's scythe blades pointed at the ghost of the witch. She smirked, floating out of the way on insubstantial legs, one hand extended towards him. A bolt of something ethereal shot out of her palm, slamming straight into the center of Ayame's chain. It passed through the chain and passed straight through Rei's torso, leaving no wound but instead a profound feeling that something was breaking.

Ayame screamed.

The bolt exited through his back, slamming into the wall and embedding itself there. As it did, the kusarigama in his hands shattered into shards of light, forming a nebulous cloud around him. He looked over his shoulder.

The bolt was embedded in the wall, something hanging from it, something in the shape of Ayame's kusarigama form, pinned to the wall by its chain.

He held out his hand and Ayame reformed in it, the shards of light gathering together and forming the short ninja sword. She was breathing heavily in her soul space, her arms spread out to either side of her as she glared at the witch. He closed his hand around her hilt and could feel her anger.

"Rei," Ayame said. "I can't reach my kusarigama form…"

The witch tilted her head, regarding Rei and Ayame with interest. "Oh," she said. "You have more than one form. I see. Could you possibly be the Dark Arm, little girl? The scion of the Nakatsukasa Clan? Well no matter." She spread her arms wide, the darkness around her coalescing into a living thing, thick shadows wrapping around her. "Come to me," she said. "Fight. I will seal off your weapon forms, one by one."

"Ayame," Rei said, reversing his grip on the ninja sword as he sank into a low stance.

"Yeah," Ayame said. "I know. Not on her terms."

Rei nodded. Charging the witch head on would be foolishness, especially when it was clear that she was ready for them.

Instead, he ran to the side, darting into the shadows of the stairwell to the right of the living room. He ran up the stairs into darkness, concealing himself in it as the witch turned to follow, letting out a shriek of anger.

"Trying to hide from me, boy?" she asked as she floated her way up the stairs, the house shaking with the force of her anger. "It won't work. I am the queen of these shadows!"

Rei leaped at her before she could reach the top of the stairs, the ninja sword pointed at her head.

She raised her hand before his attack could connect, another bolt forming in it as she pointed her hand at him. He grit his teeth, trying to change his direction, but it was too late. The bolt slammed into him and Ayame, throwing him back against the wall and through it as the creaking timbers splintered beneath the force of the blow. He felt the ninja sword leave him, the short dagger shattering and Ayame becoming formless light again.

He landed on the floor of the guest room, sliding back on the carpet. The back of his head struck something hard and he turned, his eyes widening as he realized what it was.

It was a doll, made out of porcelain and dressed in blue. A child's doll.

There were spirits in the guest room, he realized, sitting on the beds and watching him with sightless eyes. A boy and a girl. The girl couldn't have been older than eight, the boy no older than ten. They moved their heads to track his path as he sat up, but otherwise remained seated on top of the beds, unmoving.

Rei raised his hand to his mouth, wiping away a trickle of blood.

"I don't understand…" he said, looking from one child to another. He struggled to his feet.

That was when he noticed the bolts holding each child in place, pinning them to the bed. The same sort of bolts that had sealed away Ayame's weapon forms.

He understood then, anger flooding him. Ayame seemed to feel it too, because he held out his hand and she transformed without a word, becoming a katana.

The witch appeared in the doorway to the guest room, floating there. She watched him from beneath shadowed eyes, her lips curved into a smirk.

"You killed them," Rei said, feeling anger run through him. "You killed these children."

"I erased them," said the witch, sounding proud. "Erased their very existence! I made the world forget they had ever lived."

Rei snarled, letting out a shout of anger. He charged forward, Ayame's katana form gripped in both hands as he pointed it at the witch.


"Ventus!" Morgan intoned, the grimoire in one hand as she held out her other. "Ventus, clipeum, venti!"

The wind howled, rushing around Morgan, Cassie, and the doll as it rushed to follow one of the verbal shortcuts that Morgan had established with Cassie. The grimoire usually required a lot of words to have any sort of effect, but the shortcuts had been a way to get around that, to compress meaning into a handful of meaningless syllables. The shadows struck the wind shield and the doll whimpered, clinging tightly to Morgan's legs. Something howled as the tendrils of shadow slammed ineffectually into the dome of wind, something from deep within the veil of darkness.

"Something's there, Morgan," Cassie said. "Something big."

"I know," said Morgan. To the doll, she said, "Stay behind me," stepping forward and towards the inner limit of her shield. She stopped for a minute to think, letting the tendrils hammer away at her dome. Once she spoke another invocation, the dome would disappear, leaving her momentarily defenseless. She had to make it a good one.

"The room burst into light," she said, "eliminating all the shadows and revealing the form of the enemy."

The words scribed themselves into the grimoire in an ornate hand, light flaring up just as she had commanded it. The light, as brilliantly bright as the shadows earlier had been deep and dark, hurt her eyes, and she blinked tears out of them as she tried to focus on the enemy. With the shadows gone, its form was clear, a vaguely humanoid creature crouched on the ground, its body made of dense shadows. Despite its vaguely human appearance, there was nothing human about it at all. Instead, there was something feral, animal-like about its presence.

"The familiar," Morgan said, understanding. If the ghost had been the ghost of the witch, it only stood to reason that her familiar would have followed her.

"Be careful, Morgan," Cassie warned, her expression grave.

"I know," said Morgan.

"It's going to get us," the doll wailed, its voice the voice of a child. "It's going to make us disappear…"

"No one's going to make you disappear," Morgan said, stepping forward. "Not while I'm here."

The familiar snarled, charging at Morgan. She raised her hand, pointing her palm upwards at the ceiling. "The light took on a solid form and rained down, forming a cage that bound the creature."

The light shot down from above, coalescing and forming liquid bolts as it slammed into place around the familiar. The creature thrashed from within its cage, running its clawed hands across the bars and spinning as it tried to break free. She heard Cassie let out a yelp of pain as the creature's claws slammed into the bars, felt her partner strain to hold it there.

"Morgan, hurry!" Cassie said, her eyes widening in desperation. Morgan could hear the strain in her voice. "I can't hold it for long!"

Morgan stared at the creature, her mind racing as she tried to think through her options. The doll was pressed close to the back of her legs, shivering in terror. The creature was thrashing in the cage, threatening to break it. It slammed against one wall and light splintered, Cassie letting out a scream of pain as a crack appeared in the light. Her partner hugged herself tight as her soul space shook around her, blood appearing from a cut on her forearm.

Morgan felt panic rise up within her. She didn't know what to do, knew that if she tried anything, she had to make sure it purified the familiar in one strike. Otherwise the cage would disappear and the familiar would tear her apart. But if she didn't do anything, the familiar would break through the cage and tear them apart anyway.

It would tear Cassie apart.

"Morgan!" Cassie cried.

Her free hand clenched into a fist, trembling as she stared the familiar down. She had to do something, but what? She didn't know what to do.

And then suddenly she did.

She inhaled deeply, calm settling over her as the weight of her decision dropped down onto her shoulders. She unclenched her fist, opening her hand again and pointing her open palm at the creature in the cage. Power flooded through her, just a trickle. It poured through her, seeping into her skin, veins, and blood, and bringing with it the sweetest euphoria.

"Corvus!" she intoned, her eyes flashing as she held her hand out towards the creature. "Corvus, fata, fata morgana. Cassie! Ignis! Now!"

Fire blossomed from her hand, shooting straight at the creature as the cage crumbled. Around Morgan, the shadows coalesced, forming the outlines of dark wings.


The witch extended her hand as Rei charged at her, a bolt of shadow forming in it. This time, Rei was ready. He dodged to the side, continuing to run at her as he dropped his sword, preparing for a rising cut. Power thrummed in the air as he ran towards the witch and the witch turned to meet him, muddying his senses. Witch's power, and a lot of it. It flooded the air, making it hard to breathe.

He charged through it anyway, letting out a shout of rage as he swung Ayame's sword upward, the rising cut that Mifune had taught him.

The witch simply slid out of the way, sliding back into the hallway as his cut passed harmlessly through the air.

"How little you understand," she said, laughing. "What a child you are."

A bolt passed through him again, this time without any force. Ayame's katana form shattered, the blade appearing pinned to the wall where the bolt held it. Still Rei charged forward at the witch, holding his hand out to the nebulous light that was Ayame.

"Shuriken Mode!" he said.

Ayame nodded, light coalescing until it formed that dark star. He ran at the witch as the witch raised her hand, bringing the great star-shaped blade over his head and slamming it down at her. Before she could form a bolt, he dropped down, moving so that both he and the shuriken were below her upraised hand as he charged at her.

The witch simply waved her other hand, shadows latching onto him. They wrapped tightly around his middle, picking him up and throwing him through the open door and into the master bedroom. He crashed into the wall, slamming into something made of glass that shattered with the impact. Glass dug into his back and shoulders and Rei let out a cry of pain, sliding off the wall and onto the floor.

"Rei!" Ayame shouted.

"I'm fine," Rei said with a groan, struggling to sit up. He turned his head, trying to see what he had crashed into.

It was a framed picture, now hanging lopsided on the wall behind him. The glass of the frame was broken, but the picture beneath it was fine, the image showing as clear as day even in the darkness of the room. It showed a woman, the witch, dressed in a wedding dress, a man at her side in a suit. Both of them were smiling, but there was a darkness in the woman that the picture seemed to grasp, a darkness that went unnoticed both by the man and the children standing on either side of them, the boy and the girl he had seen in the guest room earlier.

He straightened up, trying to push himself to his feet as the witch floated into the room. He barely noticed the bolt as it slammed through him, pinning Ayame's shuriken form to the wall and causing Ayame shatter into light, a cloud of light floating around him again. His eyes moved from the witch to the bloodstain on the bed, understanding now. The children, the bloodstain, the dagger in the ghost's side, the way she had spoken about a man.

"You killed his children," he said, his voice low and soft. "And he killed you…"

"He loved those wretched brats more than me," the witch said, holding out her hand towards Rei. "That could never be allowed. So I erased them! Erased them from everyone's memory, including his."

"But you didn't," said Rei. "You couldn't erase them fully. He remembered, didn't he? And then he killed you."

"He killed me," the witch admitted. "But he was too much of a fool to realize what he had done. Who I was."

"So he killed you," Rei said, still not looking up. "And then because he couldn't see your soul, he left it here. Left it to haunt this place."

"He betrayed me!" the witch shrieked. "He. Betrayed. Me!"

"He betrayed you," said Rei, his eyes shadowed by his hair. He straightened up, extending his hand to his side. "That's a laugh. Ayame."

"Rei," Ayame said from within her soul space, looking uncertain. "We don't have anything left. All we have is—."

"I don't care!" said Rei, looking up. His eyes narrowed at the witch, his hand still extended towards Ayame. "I don't care! He trusted you, and you betrayed him. People that betray other people's trust…those are the type of people I hate the most!"

"Rei, we can't," said Ayame. "We can't use that. I can't—."

"Don't worry, Ayame," said Rei, interrupting her. "I'll help you. Trust me."

"I—." Ayame hesitated, then nodded, her eyes narrowing as she sank down into a fighting pose. "Understood!"

He charged forward, light swirling around him.

The witch laughed, extending her hand towards him. A bolt of shadow appeared in her palm, flying at him.

"Smoke Bomb!" Rei yelled. "Now!"

Ayame nodded, the light flaring as she transformed into her smoke bomb form. There was an explosion and then mist flooded the space where Rei and Ayame had been, hiding them from view.

Rei exploded out of the fog, charging at the witch from her left. The witch slid back, her eyes narrowing as she fired a bolt of shadow at him. The bolt struck him dead-on, but instead of anything happening to him, he froze, shattering into a million pieces of light. The witch's eyes widened as Rei appeared out of the shadows behind her, his feet braced against the wall. The light from the broken shadow dummy wrapped around him, hanging around him in a cloud as he charged at her.

The witch smirked, turning her head to face him, and in an instant he was back in Mifune's class again, watching Morgan as she turned towards him, seeing the smirk on her face that told him that he had lost.

But it was different now. He wasn't going to lose this time. His eyes narrowed.

"Ayame!" he said. "Cloak of Shadows Mode!"

The light wrapped tight around him, forming the dark cloak that rested over his shoulders. Before her form could shift and fade, before she could lose control of it, he opened his soul up to her, his soul brushing against hers. She replied, letting out a loud yell as tendrils reached out from her soul, touching his.

"Soul—," he yelled, Ayame following him.

"—Resonance!" she finished.

The cloak burst into light, the iridescent colors replacing the original black of the fabric as the power of their Soul Resonance rippled through them. He could feel the strain the Cloak of Shadows form placed on Ayame, felt his own soul reaching out to bolster it, supporting her. Ribbons of iridescent light burst out of the cloak in all directions, each one tipped with a single glowing blade.

"Shadow Rain!" Rei and Ayame yelled at the same time, the ribbons crisscrossing until they filled the entire room.

The ribbons banked and shifted direction, eight of them shooting towards the witch from all sides. The blades tore into her and she screamed, disappearing in a flash of bright light. The light tore through the space around them, shredding the darkness to pieces and ripping the illusory house apart. When the light cleared, Rei found himself in the real master bedroom again, hovering in the air in front of Morgan and Cassie.

He landed softly on his feet, the light around him fading. There was a flash and then Ayame reappeared beside him, rocking back on her heels. She looked down at herself, examining her arms as if she was surprised at her own form.

"They're back," she said, at Rei's questioning glance. "All my weapons."

"Good," said Rei, drawing in a shaky breath. "It looks like we won."

"Yeah," said Ayame, smiling breathlessly at him. And then, before he could react, she leaped forward, throwing her arms around his head. "We did it!" she yelled, "We won!"

Rei tensed, his eyes widening as she tightened her hold. "A—yame," he groaned. "Can't—breathe!"

"Oh, sorry," said Ayame, releasing him and stepping back. He rubbed at his neck, turning towards Morgan and Cassie. The two of them were seated on the floor, both looking exhausted. There was something in Morgan's hand, a cracked porcelain doll that tilted its head up at them, eyeing them with fearful eyes.

"Morgan?" Rei asked, his eyes moving from her to the doll. "What's that…?" There was something moving inside of it. A soul, he thought, activating his Soul Perception.

No. Two.

Morgan looked away. Cassie answered for her, raising her head.

"We think it's the souls of the children who were killed here," she said. "The witch's familiar tried to eat them, but we defeated it."

Rei stepped forward, looking down at the doll. It buried its head into Morgan's blouse, not looking at him.

"What do we do with them?" Rei asked.

"They need to pass on," Cassie said, solemnly. "But they don't want to go. They're scared."

He drew in a breath, feeling a wave of cold pass over him as he looked down at the doll. Rei crouched down in front of it, extending a hesitant hand towards it. The doll shook its head, turning back towards Morgan.

"Don't be scared," Rei said. "It'll be okay."

"We don't wanna go," the doll said. "We wanna stay here. We wanna wait for Papa."

"Your papa…" Rei began. He felt his throat close up and he swallowed, trying to clear it. "Your papa isn't here anymore. I think he'd want you to be at peace. Both of you…"

The doll looked up at him, and even though its face was porcelain, Rei imagined he saw tears in its eyes. "It's not going to hurt?" it asked.

"No," said Rei, holding out his hand. "I promise."

The doll reached out as well, its hand touching Rei's. The moment it did, it crumbled, the porcelain falling away and revealing the two souls within it, bound tightly to each other. Cassie let out a breath of air as Morgan slowly drew her hands back, letting the souls drift away. They floated upwards, towards the ceiling, still intertwined with each other before disappearing from sight.

Rei let out the breath he was holding, blinking moisture out of his eyes. He stood up, dusting his hands off of his pants and looking back at Morgan and Cassie. "Are you two okay?" he asked.

"Yes," said Morgan, speaking the first words he had heard her speak since returning. "We're fine. You two?"

"Fine," said Rei. He took a step back, taking in the room. It was quiet now that the ghost was gone, a stillness settling over the place that hadn't been there before.

Ayame tugged at his sleeve. "Rei," she said, drawing his attention. "Look."

Rei turned. A soul was hovering in the room, pulsing with a deep pink light. The Witch's Soul.

"Is that it?" Cassie asked. "The soul?"

"Yeah," said Rei.

"Once we get this, we'll be done with the mission," said Ayame.

Rei nodded. "Yeah," he said. "That's right."

"What are you waiting for, Rei?" asked Morgan, not making a move to get up. "You defeated the ghost. It's yours. Take it."

He drew in a breath, turning to face the soul. Then he reached out, letting out that breath all at once as he extended his hand towards it.

"Soul Retrieval complete."


"I can't believe we have to give it away," said Ayame later that day, as she and Rei walked down the long, guillotine-lined path to the Death Room. Rei walked beside her, the Witch's Soul cradled carefully in his hands. It felt insubstantial, almost like holding air, and yet it held a weight to it that he couldn't quite describe, and a power he didn't need Soul Perception to sense. He sighed.

"You know the rules, Ayame," he said. "It's part of the accords."

"I know, I know," said Ayame, her hands laced together behind her neck. "But come on. We worked hard for that one."

"At least we won," said Rei, giving her a sidelong glance. "It'll go on our record. We beat the remnant of a witch. And we figured out a new attack, so it's not a total loss."

Ayame said nothing, her eyes drawn to the ceiling. Rei sighed again, turning his attention to the path ahead. He stopped suddenly, feeling a wave of awareness crash over him that made him freeze in place. Ayame stopped walking as well, arching an eyebrow at him.

"Rei?" she asked, concerned.

"There's a witch in there," Rei said, inclining his head towards the Death Room.

Ayame's frown deepened, but she said nothing, walking with him into the spacious, open room.

Shinigami-sama stood in front of his desk, waiting on the white platform beneath the Death Room's artificial blue sky. On one side of him stood Rei's father, Soul, watching the two of them with a frown on his face that didn't give anything away. On the shinigami's other side stood two women.

One of them he thought he recognized from his childhood, although she was nearly eight years older them him. She wore a white jacket and traveling clothes, her white hair tied loosely into a braid behind her head. Her eyes, behind a pair of glasses, were gold.

The other one was the source of the soul he had sensed while walking towards the Death Room. She wore a deep green dress, one that ended just above her knee, and wore a hat in the shape of a chameleon on the top of her head. Her hair was long and brown, falling past her shoulders. Her eyes were a pinkish red. She turned towards him as he stared at her, gloved hands at her side as she offered him a bright smile.

"Ah, there you are, Rei, Ayame," said Shinigami, drawing Rei's attention back to him. The man his parents still called Kid was dressed in his signature symmetrical outfit, his gold eyes falling on the soul in Rei's hand. "I see you've brought it back. Good. Morgan and Cassie aren't with you?"

Rei shook his head. "Cassie was feeling sick. Something from the house," he said. "Morgan took her to the dispensary."

"I see," said Shinigami. "Well, let me introduce to you Angela Leon, spear meister and Deputy Ambassador to the Witch Assembly. Hand the soul over to her, if you will."

"Thank you for your hard work," said Angela, extending her hands. Rei hesitated for only a moment before holding the soul out to her, letting it float between his hands and hers until she was cradling it carefully.

"Yeah," he said, "No problem."

"We'll take it from here," Angela promised, looking back over her shoulder. "Shelley?"

The other woman, Shelley, nodded, following Angela out of the room. Rei waited until their footsteps had faded away before turning back to Shinigami and his father.

"I didn't know we had an ambassador to the witches," he said.

"Two," Soul said, his hands in his pockets. "Angela's only a deputy." He looked at Rei, his expression softening slightly. He offered him a smile. "You're doing alright, Rei?"

"Yeah," said Rei. "I'm fine. A little shaken up, but fine."

"Good," said Soul. "Your mom was worried, you know."

Rei smiled back, lowering his eyes so that Soul couldn't see the sudden wave of relief that washed over him about being home.

"She usually is," he said.


"There it goes," Ayame said a little later on, watching from the balcony as Angela and Shelley left the DWMA grounds, the Witch's Soul encased in a box that the young witch held close to herself. Morgan and Cassie stood beside Rei and Ayame, the weapon seeming to have recovered from her earlier dizzy spell. They watched the procession solemnly as well, Cassie resting her elbows on the balcony. "My easy ticket to Death Scythe-dom."

"Are you really upset?" asked Rei, glancing at her.

Ayame flashed him a grin. "Nah," she said. "I don't need a Witch's Soul to be awesome. I already am."

She pushed herself backwards away from the railing, falling into step beside Rei as the four of them turned to leave. They stepped back into the shadows of the school, walking down the empty halls and towards the stairs that led to the exit.

"Besides," Ayame said. "It was kinda iffy how we just used to hunt witches like Angela for their souls. I mean, they're people too, right?"

"They're evil though," said Rei, "or at least most of them are. They can't help it. It's the Pull of Magic. Witches that don't feel it, like Angela, are really rare."

Morgan drew ahead suddenly, walking past him. Rei frowned, slowing down and watching as she made her way down the steps.

"Morgan?" he asked, "Is something wrong?"

"I'm tired," she said, "I'm going to bed."

Cassie blinked, watching as Morgan walked away. "Morgan?" she asked, hurrying down the stairs to catch up with her. "Morgan sweetie, wait up. I'm coming with."

Rei and Ayame watched as Cassie and Morgan disappeared around the corner, their footsteps fading away. They glanced at each other.

"Sleep sounds great, actually," said Ayame, raising her arms over her head and stretching. She stifled a yawn. "I'm really tired. Catch some z's before Vayne and Clark get back?"

"Yeah," said Rei, nodding. "Sounds good to me."

The two of them turned, walking as one down the stairs and out of the school, towards their apartment. Towards home.


A/N: Rei and Ayame's Soul Resonance theme is The One Star from The World Ends With You. All of Rei and Ayame's themes are from that game, but none of the others are.


Omake

Rei and Ayame's Apartment

"And then," Cassie said, spreading her arms dramatically, "The room changed, and the lights went dim, and the bed was soaked in blood."

"Noooooo," Vayne squealed from where he was cowering behind the couch, his hands pressed tightly over his ears. "Make it stoooopppp!"

Clark shot him a glance from where he was seated on the couch, listening to Cassie tell her story. Morgan, Rei, and Ayame had taken various seats around the room as well, packets of Japanese treats spread out on the low table in front of them from Clark and Vayne's mission. "Go on, Cassie," he said, offering her a smile.

"And then," Cassie continued, "There was a loud howling sound, and a rush of wind. The house began to groan and creak."

"La la la la la, I can't hear you!" said Vayne, drawing his knees up close to his chest.

"Vayne, come on," said Ayame. "You lived in Shinigami-sama's house."

"It's not the same," Vayne moaned.

Clark continued listening calmly, motioning for Cassie to go on.

"The room fell into disrepair. The windows cracked. Spiderwebs appeared on the walls."

"Why is it always spiders?" Vayne asked, beginning to rock slowly.

Cassie took a deep breath, her expression growing grave. Ayame, Rei, and Clark leaned forward almost unconsciously, listening to her words.

"And then, suddenly…" she said, "there was no cell signal…"

Clark let out a high-pitched squeal of terror, vanishing behind the couch to curl up next to Vayne. Vayne paused in his rocking to glance at his partner, uncovering his hands from around his ears.

"Seriously?" he asked, flatly.

"No cell signal," Clark muttered to himself, his face pale. He hugged his knees close to his chest, rocking back and forth. "No cellphone service, no internet, no Deathbook, no video chat…"

"And people said I had problems," said Vayne.