A/N: Clark's battle theme is Concept of Love from the Jet Set Radio Future soundtrack. Keep that in mind for…certain scenes. Enjoy, and thanks for putting up with the slower updates due to NaNoWriMo!
Review Responses:
fanficlove2014, yep. Marie has some interesting logic as well, although it sometimes gets overshadowed by Stein (her infamous toilet scene, for instance). And Black Star really encourages Ayame's tendencies and doesn't really understand this whole 'don't let the kids swear' thing. XD
AmyNChan, Cassie is…not the most observant of people, lol. Don't worry, Clark and Vayne are both straight (despite admittedly being somewhat shippy. They can't help it. It's a partner thing).
fpjohn, thanks, glad you liked it! Poor Stein, lol.
monkey , Clark is actually straight, but you can't blame someone for wondering (unless that person is Cassie who really should know better).
mercer heller, I've been considering it, but there's some people Rei needs to train with first before he gets to the level where Black Star won't just break him. Thanks for reading!
Disclaimer: I don't own Soul Eater.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Death Fest Pt. 1; The Tournament Begins!
Ayame grinned as her opponent came towards her, sinking down into a crouch and holding her arms open to receive him. As he ran at her, she clasped her hands around his arms and pressed her shoulder against his chest, loading him onto her back with a slight grunt of effort. She turned, sending him flying down onto the mat. He struck it hard, letting out a grunt of impact, and didn't get back up.
"Alright," Ayame said cheerfully, dusting her hands off and looking around at the class. "Who's next?"
The ones who were still standing took a collective step back. From the ground, Ayame's former opponents let out pained groans.
Mira Naigus, DWMA nurse and unarmed combat instructor, stood just off the sparring mat, a clipboard in her hand. She glanced down at it as Ayame raised her arms over her head in a lazy stretch, marking down a few things next to Ayame's name.
"Ayame's combat abilities and form are excellent," Naigus said. "Of course, I wouldn't expect anything less from someone from that family."
Mifune grunted from where he was leaning against the wall next to her, his arms folded. "She lacks discipline," he said.
"They're first-years," Naigus said. "They all lack discipline."
Mifune said nothing in reply, continuing to watch the spars. From the center of the mat, Ayame grinned, turning around to scan the rest of the room again.
"Come on, nobody?" she asked. "Nobody at all? No one wants to face the next Death Fest tournament champion? Come on, you guys, I'm not even tired yet."
"Of course no one's going to want to spar with you, idiot," Rei muttered under his breath from where he was leaning against the wall, a bottle of water in his hand. "You keep breaking them." One of her latest opponents groaned at him from somewhere near his foot, and Rei frowned at him before taking a sip of his water.
"She does get a little…overly exuberant," Cassie noted, looking up from her book to poke the poor semi-conscious student with her foot.
Morgan hummed in response, but didn't move to step forward, instead glancing at Vayne. Rei followed her glance, turning towards the pendulum weapon. Vayne was stretching, but at their glances he jumped up, holding his hands towards them.
"Hey, don't look at me," he said. "I'm tapped out. And I'm not crazy."
"Interesting," said a voice, making Rei look up. Clark brushed past them, walking towards the mat. Vayne stared at him as he stepped up onto it, his eyes widening.
"Clark?!" he asked.
Clark came to a stop in front of Ayame, experimentally rolling his shoulder. The class stared at him, suddenly deathly silent. He gave her a smile. "I'll take you on, Ayame," he said.
"You sure, pretty boy?" Ayame asked, turning her grin on him. "I'm not exactly great at holding back, you know. Would hate for anything to happen to your face."
Clark smiled, and something harsh took over his expression for a moment, his smile becoming a smirk. He reached up, pulling his glasses off of his face with one hand and pushing his hair back with the other. "That's a risk I'm going to have to take," he said. "Vayne."
Vayne straightened up automatically, looking at Clark in confusion. "Huh?"
Clark flicked his hand towards Vayne, his glasses flying towards him in an arc. Vayne's eyes widened and he stumbled forward as he reached for them, barely managing to catch them. The blond meister turned towards Ayame, holding his hand towards her.
"Ladies first," he said.
Ayame grinned, sinking down into a crouch. "Oh, you're going to regret that, pretty boy," she said.
She launched herself at him suddenly, almost too fast to see. Her left hand came up in a punch, moving towards the side of Clark's head. Rei sucked in a breath, bracing himself for the carnage that would inevitably ensue.
Ayame rushed towards the meister, her fist flying through the air. Clark didn't move. And then he did.
He ducked under her blow, sidestepping it neatly and swiping at her neck with an open-hand strike. Ayame's eyes widened briefly as he moved to the side and Rei saw something light up in them as she blocked Clark's blow with her forearm, dropping down into a crouch. Her leg unfolded with a snap as she twisted to the side, kicking at his torso.
Instead of trying to dodge, Clark moved with her, surging forward just as she kicked at him and clasping one of her wrists with both his hands. He turned in the same direction that she did, moving out of the way of her kick and pushing her towards the ground. Ayame took a back roll as she lost her balance, flipping back over and getting easily to her feet.
She rushed forward as soon as she was back on her feet, lashing at Clark in a complex series of blows and kicks, most of them aimed at his head. Clark smirked, swaying gracefully from left to right as he avoided each blow, Ayame's hands and feet coming within millimeters of him each time.
Rei stared, openmouthed, as Ayame drove Clark back across the mat, Clark still dodging each of her blows. Sweat glistened off of Ayame's brow as she moved, droplets gleaming in the air as she kicked at Clark. Both fighters were smiling, Clark's smirk matched by Ayame's savage grin. They were enjoying this, he realized, but since when could Clark move like that?
"Oh no," Vayne said, still holding onto Clark's glasses. "There he goes…"
Before Rei could ask him what he meant, Ayame moved suddenly in a grand gesture, throwing her entire body into a high kick as she swung her foot at the side of the Clark's head. The move was one he'd seen her employ a thousand times, but she over-rotated a fraction as she turned, her momentum carrying her just a little too far. It was a small mistake, but Clark noticed it, his smirk widening as he ducked under her kick and unfolded from beneath her, aiming an elbow strike at her face.
Ayame swatted his strike aside with her palm, managing to deflect it as she regained her balance. She kept his hand there with her palm as she ducked, winding up a powerful punch with her free hand and aiming it at his belly. Clark twisted aside before her strike could connect, the blow missing him by a fraction as he slid inside her reach. He aimed an elbow strike at her collarbone, following it up with a quick snap of his wrist and sending his knuckles flying right at her nose. Ayame jerked her head and upper body back, dodging both strikes, and Clark ducked, sweeping his foot out in a wide arc at her ankles.
She braced her hands on both of his shoulders as she leaped over the foot sweep, then dug her fingers into the fabric of his gi as she landed on the ground, planting her weight firmly and throwing him to the side with a grunt of effort. Clark went flying, but managed to make it look graceful as he flipped over in the air, landing lightly on the ground. He flicked his hair out of his face with a jerk of his head, beads of moisture flying as he turned to face Ayame. Something gleamed in his eyes as Ayame charged at him, his smirk growing just a little more savage.
Ayame threw a punch at the side of his head. He ducked under it easily, but she had been feinting that time. Her second punch, the one with her other hand, connected with his side, sending Clark pitching to his right with a grunt of pain. She spun towards him to follow up, her leg snapping towards his chin. Clark drew in a breath sharply through his teeth, darting to the side and placing one hand on her ankle to keep her in place and deflect the blow. With the other hand, he darted forward, swiping it at her collarbone.
Ayame grunted as the blow connected, Clark's hand coming down on her left side, just across her collarbone. Clark pushed off on her ankle as his hand struck, upsetting her balance and pushing her over backwards. She landed on her back and quickly spun around so that she was standing, aiming another punch at his face. Clark stepped back out of the range of her strike, catching her wrist before she could pull it back and moving close towards her again, pinning her wrist to her own chest.
Something changed in his soul wavelength, something like static electricity humming in the air around him. Rei watched, his eyes wide, as Clark's soul flared up, light shining around the orb as he moved his left hand, folding down all but the first two of his fingers. The light crackled around his soul, arcing from his center to his fingertips in a bright white line and out through Ayame as he moved his left hand sharply, his fingers stabbing at her shoulder.
Her hand in his went limp. Ayame's eyes widened as the two of them jumped backwards and away from each other, her arm hanging loosely at her side. A spark of white light appeared from Clark's fingertip as he straightened up, watching her. She glanced at her numbed arm, rolling her shoulder experimentally, then looked at Clark.
To Rei's surprise, she didn't charge forward. Instead, she grinned, inclining her head at him.
"Not bad," she said. "Guess you're not entirely hopeless after all."
Clark stared at her for a moment and then exhaled, slowly relaxing his hand and unfurling the rest of his fingers. The electricity around him dissipated, the wild look in his eyes disappearing. When he looked up at Ayame, his smile was normal again, the hair he had slicked back with one hand falling back into its usual position. Rei exhaled as well and realized he had been holding his breath.
"You were quite brilliant as well, Ayame," he said.
"Alright, teach," said Ayame, looking at Naigus. "I'm good for the day. You can give someone else the floor now."
Naigus nodded, marking down something on her sheet. "Would someone else like to take the mat?" she asked. "Vayne?"
Rei turned towards Ayame as Vayne stepped forward, passing Clark his glasses and a bottle of water as he walked up onto the mat. She settled against the wall next to him, a towel slung over her shoulder and a contented smile on her face as she rubbed at her numb arm. The fingers of her limp hand twitched, a sign that the feeling was coming back.
"Why'd you stop?" Rei asked as Clark moved out of earshot, drinking down his bottle of water.
"Cause it's a spar," Ayame said, smiling at him. She picked up her towel, wiping at her face.
"So?" Rei asked.
"Pretty boy was taking it a little too seriously, bringing out the big guns with that wavelength attack," Ayame said. "If I'd let it go on, it would've become a fight. And I've got a few surprises of my own." She smirked at him, raising one finger and letting it transform into a blade. It gleamed black in the sunlight coming in through the dojo's high windows, and Rei shivered.
"Believe it or not," Ayame said, her hand returning back to normal as she picked up her own bottle of water. "I actually like Clark."
She smiled at him, then raised the bottle to her lips, drinking deep.
"So yeah, tomorrow, while you guys are at the tourney, we're planning on working the booth in shifts so that we can come out to watch your matches," Vayne said, his hands clasped together on the back of his neck as the six of them walked down the corridor towards the dojo, Vayne and Clark leading the way. "I'm gonna be spending most of my time outside with the sign, so I'll get to keep an eye on the tournament rankings."
"Because he's too chicken to actually work in the haunted house," Ayame whispered to Rei from where they walked in the rear of the group, snickering. Cassie and Morgan walked just ahead of them, Cassie humming to herself with her headphones on as Morgan walked stoically, her eyes fixed ahead of her.
"I heard that, Ayame," said Vayne, looking over his shoulder and shooting her a glare.
"I do hope I didn't hit you too hard, Ayame," said Clark, smiling at her from over his shoulder. "I'd hate to be responsible for affecting your performance in the tournament."
"Nah," said Ayame, placing a hand on her shoulder and rolling it. "Feels just fine. It's gonna take more than a little tap to put me out of the action."
Rei shoved his hands into the pocket of his coat, trying hard not to think about the tournament tomorrow. Each time he thought about it, his stomach started churning uncomfortably. He told himself that it wasn't going to be that different from a mission or a spar, but he couldn't seem to make himself believe that.
"Where'd you learn to fight like that anyway?" he asked Clark, since it was easier than talking about tomorrow's matches.
"Oh, I did some martial arts as a kid," said Clark, shrugging.
"What kind of martial arts?" asked Ayame, interested.
"Hmm…kenpo, aikido, karate, that sort of thing," said Clark. "I did a little jiu jitsu, but the grappling really wasn't my style. Nothing too impressive. I'm sure it's nothing compared to your own combat training, Ayame."
"Sounds pretty impressive to me," Rei muttered.
His own combat training had consisted of joking around with his siblings or half-heartedly attempting to imitate his mother's stances while she practiced before going back to his book. Knowing that didn't make him feel any better about his tournament chances.
"Not at all," said Clark, still smiling genially. "It was only a hobby."
Rei frowned at Clark, watching as the other boy turned his attention back to the path ahead. Clark seemed to be his usual self now, cavalier and acting like the spar earlier had been nothing worthy of mentioning, but that wasn't how he had been in the fight with Ayame. There was something lurking inside him, Rei realized, something that he'd glimpsed in that spar that had almost come out. Now that he'd seen it, he wondered if he would ever look at Clark in the same way again.
Then Clark rounded the corner and blinked in confusion as a small child barreled into him and threw her arms around his waist, and Rei had to revise his opinion.
The child was a girl about six years old, brown-haired and hazel-eyed, and wearing a light pink dress. She giggled at him, tightening her hold. "Clark!" she said, excitedly. "We missed you!"
Clark blinked down at her, momentarily stunned as she was joined by a younger boy, also brown-haired, who promptly attached himself to Clark's leg.
"Amelia? Jason?" Clark asked, putting his hand on the girl's head. "What are you two doing here?"
He looked up and seemed to freeze for a moment. Rei rounded the corner, looking over Clark's shoulder and nearly bumping straight into Morgan as he did. His parents, Maka and Soul, were standing in the hallway, looking like they'd been about to leave the DWMA for the day. Standing with them were another couple, both of them dark-haired and smiling at Clark.
"There you are, Clark," Maka said, stepping forward. She smiled at him as well. "Your parents arrived today. I told them you might still be in the showers after Naigus-sensei's class. We were just waiting for you."
The man walked over to Clark, enveloping him in a hug. A half-beat later, the woman joined him, embracing Clark as well.
"It's good to see you, Clark," said the man, Clark's father. "We missed you."
"Hi, Dad," said Clark, still looking stunned. He stood stiffly in their embrace, his eyes fixed ahead of him. "…Mom."
Clark's parents pulled back, his father leaving his hands on his shoulders. "Are you going to introduce us to your friends?" his father asked.
Clark blinked, and then seemed to recover. "Uh—yeah," he said. "Um…Mom, Dad, these are my classmates—Rei, Ayame, Morgan and Cassie. And this is my partner, Vayne."
"It's good to meet you, Vayne," said Clark's father, clasping Vayne's hand. "We've heard a lot about you."
Cassie unhooked one side of her headphones from around her ear, leaning towards Rei and Ayame. "So by partner," she said, one hand cupped around her mouth. "Does he mean…?"
"He means like me and Rei, Cassie," said Ayame, "Get your mind out of the gutter."
Cassie frowned. "You know, that really doesn't hel—ow! Morgan, what was that for?"
"I'm listening," said Morgan, lowering her arm from where she had elbowed Cassie in the side. "And they can probably hear you."
Cassie frowned, rubbing at her ribs as she turned to watch the conversation, tugging her headphones fully down around her neck. Clark's mother had just managed to pry the children off of him and was smiling at him, her hand on the little boy's head.
"We were just having a chat with your homeroom teacher," said Clark's mother. "Mrs. Evans was saying you two went to Japan."
"Uh—yes," said Clark, with a glance at Vayne. "We did."
"How exciting," said Clark's mother, "You're going to have to tell us all about it."
"Well, there's not much to tell," said Clark. "The mission was to stop an oni—um, a monster—from terrorizing a small village. We went, but the monster was too afraid to fight. Um, it—."
"It took one look at me and ran away," said Vayne, placing a hand on Clark's shoulder. "So, you know. Easy A. We spent the rest of the time hanging out in hot springs and shopping in Tokyo. Uh—you didn't hear that, Maka-sensei."
Maka frowned at him from where she stood next to Soul, her arms folded, but she said nothing.
"That sounds dangerous," said Clark's father, looking back at Maka. "Are you sure it's safe to send them out on assignments like that?"
"As safe as it can be," said Maka, "They went out in groups, and their assignments were rated to their levels. Don't worry, they're very capable."
"Even so," said Clark's father. "Don't you think they're a little young—?"
Clark interrupted him, tugging on his sleeve. "Uh—Dad?" he said. "We're, um, heading out to put the finishing touches on our haunted house booth now, if you guys want to take a look at it."
"Haunted house!" said the little girl, Amelia. "I want to see the haunted house! Mama, can we go see the haunted house?"
"Haunted house!" the little boy echoed, stumbling over the syllables.
Their mother hesitated for a moment as she looked down at them, then smiled, looking back up at Clark. "Of course," she said. "Your brother's going to show it to us now. Thank you for waiting with us, Mr. and Mrs. Evans." She turned towards Clark. "Did you know that Mr. Evans is apparently something called a Death Scythe? What is it that you do for the school again, Mr. Evans?"
"Administration," said Soul vaguely, his hands in his pockets. That was probably smart, Rei thought, given the Greysteils' reaction to hearing about Clark's mission. They probably wouldn't react too well hearing about the entire DWMA military arm.
"How grand," said Mrs. Greysteil, smiling, "My cousin acts as an administrator for a private school, back in Virginia. It's a thankless job, isn't it?"
"Sometimes," said Soul.
"And are you related to the violinist Wes Evans?" asked Mrs. Greysteil. "We heard him perform a few months ago, and he mentioned this school. It was a brilliant performance."
"My brother…" Soul began.
"Ah, I thought so!" said Mrs. Greysteil, clapping her hands together before Soul could finish. "I saw the resemblance. Do you play an instrument too, Mr. Evans?"
Rei inwardly winced. Thankfully, Maka stepped forward, stopping Soul from having to answer that.
"I'm sorry to interrupt, but we really have to go," she said, smiling at Mrs. Greysteil. "We have to pick our daughters up from school. You know how it is."
"Of course, of course," said Mrs. Greysteil, waving her hand. "I'll see you tomorrow, I'm sure."
"I'm sure," said Maka. "Most of the exhibits will be open tomorrow, and they should all be appropriate for children. The tournament will also be available for viewing if you want to get a taste of what the E.A.T. class learns here."
"Tournament," said Clark's father, turning towards Clark. "Well, that brings back memories. Are you joining that, son?"
"Not this year," said Clark. "But my friends are." He gestured at Rei and Ayame. Ayame grinned, raising her hand in a confident wave as Rei did his best to not be seen. Maka smiled at him.
"Rei is my son, actually," said Maka. "We're all looking forward to seeing how the tournament plays out."
"Oh, well, good luck," said Clark's mother, smiling at Rei. "Honestly, Mrs. Evans, you look too young to have a boy Clark's age."
Maka's smile grew a little strained, her eyebrow twitching. Rei, knowing how sensitive she was to anything that she could possibly have in common with her father, winced, but Mrs. Greysteil didn't seem to notice.
"Thank you," Maka said. "I was twenty-four actually."
She didn't need to know that, Mom…Rei thought, groaning inwardly. He exchanged a glance with his father, who was wearing the exact same expression. If Mrs. Greysteil noticed that anything was amiss though, she didn't show it.
"Well, he seems like a fine boy," she said. "I hope everything goes well tomorrow."
"Mama, what about the haunted house?" Amelia asked, tugging at her skirt.
"Yeah," echoed Jason. "Haunted house."
"Yes, yes," said Mrs. Greysteil. She nodded at Clark. "Lead the way, Clark dear."
"And then after, how about you show us where you live, and then we take your friends out to dinner?" Mr. Greysteil asked.
"Dinner sounds great!" Cassie said, before Morgan could stop her. Morgan looked from the Greysteil family to Cassie and back to the family again before shooting Cassie a desperate look that Rei couldn't help but empathize with.
"Dinner sounds good…" Rei began.
"—but we can't stay out late, because we're prepping for the tournament!" Ayame finished, grinning at the Greysteils. Rei glanced at her as she settled back into her spot beside him, silently grateful.
"Of course," said Mr. Greysteil, "Wouldn't want to keep you two. I'm sure you're looking to get an early night's sleep. So, Clark, lead on."
Clark cleared his throat and nodded, leading them in the direction of the haunted house.
Rei sat on his bed later that evening, his eyes fixed on the moon through his window. The perpetual crescent moon was hanging overhead, leering down on the streets of Death City. It grinned, and for a minute Rei thought that it was laughing at him.
All around him, the apartment was dark. He and Ayame had gotten back from dinner with Clark's parents a long time ago. It was well past the time when they should have both been in bed.
The door to his room slid open with barely a whisper.
Rei didn't look up.
"You're still awake?" Ayame asked from the doorway, her voice soft in the quiet of the room. She stepped forward, her footsteps barely audible as she approached him. "You really need to go to sleep, Rei. You'll be tired tomorrow."
"I know," Rei said, not looking at her. He kept his eyes on the moon. He knew that he should have been asleep, but his mind was still racing, still thinking about the tournament tomorrow. Each time he thought about it, his stomach tightened in knots, and he knew that sleep wouldn't come.
"Are you still worrying about tomorrow?" Ayame asked. "We'll be fine, Rei. Don't worry about it. You don't need to freak out about a little tournament when you have a weapon like me."
He didn't say anything, because there wasn't much he could say to that. Instead, his fingers closed tightly around his knee, digging into his skin through the fabric of his sweatpants.
Ayame stared at him for a moment more before letting out a breath in a huff and walking away.
Instead of walking to the door, she walked over to his desk, pulling his chair out and dragging it to the side of the bed. Rei did look up then, turning towards her in surprise as she set the chair down and plopped herself into it so that she was facing him, her arms crossed and a look of determination on her face.
"Ayame?" Rei asked.
"If you're not sleeping, I'm not sleeping," said Ayame. "I'm going to sit right here until you sleep. But just so you know, if I don't get any sleep, that means I'm also not going to be 100% tomorrow."
Rei blinked at her in surprise, his eyes wide as he met her own. Ayame's expression didn't change, her eyes narrowed in determination and her arms crossed in front of her chest. If he didn't sleep, she wouldn't sleep. If she didn't sleep, she wouldn't do as well tomorrow. And it would be all his fault.
He felt a flash of frustration, and then a smile that came to his mouth before he could stop it. She had him and she knew it.
He found that he didn't really mind.
"Alright," he said, forcing a scowl onto his face as he settled back onto the bed, throwing the blankets over himself and turning onto his side so that he was facing away from her. "You win."
Ayame didn't move, continuing to watch him. She remained there until sleep claimed him, then got up and quietly left the room.
Ayame walked through the DWMA in the last hour before the Death Festival actually opened, a grin on her face. She moved past groups of students rushing to make last minute preparations to their booths or chattering excitedly as they ran towards the tournament arena, moving through the school's twisting maze of corridors and hallways until she came to Class Moonless Night's haunted house in the dojo.
She walked past Professor Stein giving Jonas what sounded like a long and potentially terrifying lecture, complete with a list of approved chemical mixtures that he was not to deviate from under any circumstances, past Ophelia putting the finishing touches on her partner's undead demon warrior costume, and past the pair of girls dressed as ghostly maids who were setting up the haunted house's waiting area/maid café, filling up coffeemakers with water and making sure tables and chairs were set up and ready, finally coming to a stop at where Vayne and Clark stood, both of them already in costume as they supervised the process.
The two of them were dressed as some strange combination of vampire and butler, their costumes more or less matching. Vayne had the sign for the Class Moonless Night booth already in hand and Clark was looking through a clipboard, probably trying to put any last minute things back in order. They both stopped as she approached them, looking up at her. Clark's smile looked a little strained, although whether it was from the stress of putting together a booth this large or from his family being in town, Ayame wasn't sure.
"Where's your family, Clark?" Ayame asked, glancing around. She hadn't seen anyone on DWMA's campus yet that weren't students or staff. Clark's grimace told her all she needed to know about his mental state.
"They're coming over when the exhibit officially opens," Clark said.
"Where's Rei?" asked Vayne.
"Psyching himself out," Ayame said, grinning. "Where else?"
"Typical," said Vayne, giving her a tired grin back. "Are you heading out too?"
"Yeah," said Ayame. "Opening ceremonies are in half an hour. Just wanted to check in on things here. You're coming out to watch the fights right?"
"Just text Vayne when your fights are," said Clark. "We'll be there."
"Oh yeah," said Vayne, looking up as though he had just remembered something. "Morgan and Cassie are gonna be late—apparently Morgan still needs to get her make-up on or something?—but Cassie said to wish you guys luck, so you know, good luck."
"Thanks," said Ayame, "You guys too."
She waved at them, walked out through the door (where Stein was still lecturing Jonas) and made her way back to the arena.
The earlier matches of the tournament would be fought in two locations, the DWMA's colosseum and the open training field behind the school. In order to keep things flowing so that the tournament finished at the end of the day, the participants would be divided up into two groups, the tournament running as normal at each location until each group was down to their final pair. The finals would be held in the colosseum later tonight, after which Shinigami-sama would host the closing ceremonies. Ayame didn't particularly care which group she was in, as long as she and Rei got to stand on the winner's stage at the end of the night.
There were exactly 32 pairs waiting in the wings for the tournament to begin, Shinigami-sama absolutely refusing to host the tournament with any number of people that wouldn't result in a symmetrical bracket. She made her way to the waiting area under the raised seats of the colosseum, moving past the other participants until she found her partner.
Rei was seated on a bench, staring down at his hands with a nervous expression. She plopped down into the seat next to him, stretching out, and he jumped.
"Ayame," he said. "Don't scare me like that!"
"Oh, come on, you should know it's me by now," said Ayame, grinning at him. "How do you feel?"
Rei scowled at her, but glanced away, looking back down at his hands. "As well as I'll ever feel, I guess," he said. "How are the others doing?"
"Scrambling," said Ayame. "Clark's stressing himself out as usual. Morgan and Cassie are running late. Vayne says everyone says good luck. You ready to go?"
"No," Rei admitted. He drew in a deep breath then raised his head, giving her a tentative grin. "But we might as well go do this, huh?"
"That's the spirit," said Ayame. She got to her feet just as the whistle sounded, calling the participants out into the center of the colosseum, and offered Rei a hand. He took it, letting her help him up.
"Come on," Rei said, releasing Ayame's hand. "Let's go see who we're fighting first."
Ayame grinned, following him out into the open air.
Soul glanced down as his phone buzzed, the messages from Wes coming in at the same time as a whistle sounded and the crowd around them erupted into cheers. He leaned back against the bleachers and swiped his thumb over the lock screen of his smartphone, revealing the texts.
08:00 Sorry again about not being able to make it. Cathy has a recital today.
Tell Rei I said good luck.
He smiled in spite of himself, tapping out a quick reply. Beside him, Cori nudged his leg impatiently.
"Papa," she whined, "It's starting!"
"Alright, alright," said Soul, slipping his phone back into his pocket. "I'm watching."
Maka walked past him, Annie clinging tightly to her skirt. The little girl sat down next to her sister as Maka passed out the candy she had bought from one of the vendors, settling down on the other side of the twins and pulling her phone out to take the videos she had promised Black Star and Tsubaki.
"Send me those videos when you're done," Soul said.
Maka blinked up at him in surprise and then smiled as she realized where those videos were meant to go.
"Sure," she said, nodding.
Cori tugged on his sleeve a little more insistently and Soul relented, leaning forward slightly so that he could see the tournament participants gathered on the floor below. He could see Rei and Ayame standing close to the edge, both of them looking up at the balcony where Kid stood, Liz and Patty on either side of him and a large screen arranged symmetrically behind him.
"Welcome," he said, "to the DWMA's Death Festival. As you know, the festival represents the strength and passion of the DWMA's heart, its students. The festival…"
Soul started to tune out again, glancing back down at his phone.
"Papa!" said Cori sharply, nudging him in the side. Soul jumped.
"Yeah, yeah," he said, scowling as he put his phone away. Cori smiled in contentment, kicking her legs back and forth from where they hung over the edge of her seat. Soul looked up to see Maka smiling at him and gave her a look that said that next time, she could sit next to Cori. Maka's smile only widened and she shook her head, placing her hand on Annie's head as Kid's speech went on.
Still, Soul thought, folding his arms and reluctantly looking back at the shinigami on the balcony, at least Maka was in a better mood than she had been last night. Her rant about the conversation with the Greysteils had gone on for a while. Soul winced slightly as he remembered some of it ("Who are Mr. and Mrs. Evans anyway?!" and "Did you hear her? 'My cousin runs a private school…'."). He'd known people like her before, back before joining the DWMA, and he was more than happy to let Wes deal with them.
Soul looked down as Kid's speech drew to a close, his eyes on the group of students gathered there. Kid spread his arms out in a grand gesture, getting ready to open the tournament up. At…exactly 8:08, Soul noted, his eyes going to the time printed on the upper right side of the tournament scoreboard.
"I expect fair and honest fights from each of you," Kid admonished. "Let the Death Festival tournament begin!"
At his signal, Liz and Patty each pressed a button, the tournament bracket appearing on the scoreboard. It was unclear to Soul why there had to be two buttons for this function, but he supposed it had something to do with symmetry. His eyes moved to the scoreboard as the brackets appeared, two separate groups of sixteen culminating in the finals that were scheduled for—no surprise—8:00 PM.
Rei and Ayame were in the colosseum group. Grayson and Richard, the two-time tournament champions and the people who Soul knew Rei had had some trouble with, were in the grass fields. Even from his place in the stands, he could see Rei relaxing after realizing that, his eyes fixed on the screen. Soul exhaled, not realizing that he was slightly worried about that confrontation until just now. He looked back at Rei and saw the exact moment when his son found his name in the bracket, the tension returning to him again.
Grayson and Richard might have been in the grass field group, but their lackeys, Xiaoying and Seth were not.
And they were the ones that Rei and Ayame were going to have to face first.
