CHAPTER SIX: Crow Song

A long night of closing up a rather serious injury had left her with very little energy the very next morning, and while Serah could most definitely understand why that was, while she should have been getting some sleep, she had been spending the whole time practically reeling over what had happened. Having decided that she didn't want anything to do with Black Star at all, she did wonder what his problem was. This lead to a long night full of internal cursing and the need to try and find something to blank out to – she had managed to blast enough music into her reeling mind to render it slightly motionless, enough so to get somesleep.

Serah walked into the classroom through the open door, her hands holding a book practically in front of her face as she walked, due to a lack of intact glasses – amazingly enough, she hadn't collected anything on her way through. Wearing a pair of brown karki shorts over her tights, and a puffy, white lace tanktop, Serah hoped that her now bandaged arm would cammoflauge with the white material, making it difficult for onlookers to see her damaged arm. However, unlike the normal day, where she was usually here before everyone else, she was one of the last people in class, and a few people looked up for some reason. From a glance around class, Serah spotted Maka and Soul's seat's empty, as well as her own, which meant that she wasn't the last one, much to her relief. Her headphones were blaring music loud enough for passers by to hear without difficulty, and while she was content with that, she had to turn it down as she approached the steps to the benches where everyone sat. She loved Girls Dead Monster, but she couldn't have it blaring through class all day – at least, not too loudly, anyway.

Her arm was killing her – with no painkillers she could take without ending up with her breakfast making second appearance, she was in for a long day of pain. Of course, thanks to her clumbsiness over the years, she had all the butterfly sutchers needed to mimic stitches stowed away in the huge first aid kit she had been keeping for such emergencies. Of course, there was a thick bandage patch over the gash, and her arm was wrapped thickly with many bandages – and yet blood still seeped through the bandages and all while she slept for that tiniest hour. Serah managed to weave past a few people, her gaze still upon her book as she moved. She didn't have her bag this time – she didn't want to agrivate the arm too much, so she left her textbook and pen at home, and just brought her novel. And considering how sharp her circlets were to break through the box yesterday, she didn't feel comfortable bringing them with her to the academy so soon after injuring herself.

She stepped past a black-clad being without the usual difficulty that was brought upon her by her usually filled to the brim over-the-shoulder-bag she had with her on most days. She carefully set herself in the seat that was her usual place along the middle row of benches, and she set her book down carefully as she pulled out her MP3 player, switching the song to Crow Song as she heard other people beginning to enter the class – of course she could hear everyone else, she had her headphones around her neck, although, as she ignored a glace from her right, she lifted her headphones gently, to place them on properly. This was going to be a very, very long day.

This time, Serah didn't ignore the glance she felt hit the side of her face – she looked up at who had glanced at her, to see Death The Kid frowning down at her for some reason she couldn't really comprehend. She blinked, looking away as she felt him look away from her, and she placed her gaze down upon her book in her lap after a few moments. What did she do wrong? Asside from managing to gash her own arm open, and bumping into him, she did absolutely nothing. The faintest hints of movement to Serah's right, past Death The Kid, came to her notice, and as she looked around to see who it was, her gaze fell upon the form of Liz, who was seated on the other side of Patty. She was waving in a half-hearted manner, and as soon as she saw that Serah was looking, she lifted her arm slightly, and pointed at it with her other hand, motioning at a sign of 'don't worry about it' as she waved in a kind of dismissive manner?

Serah let out a breath after a few moments, resting her head down upon the edge of the bench as she set her book open in her lap, contenting herself with reading the novel like that – there was enough light for it, and without her glasses, she practically had to have the book in front of her face to be able to read to begin with. Class would be starting soon, but that didn't mean she couldn't read while she waited for the start – however she was a little self concious about that look that Death The Kid had cast her. While it was her fault she bumped into him, she felt certain that she didn't deserve a look like that.

Track clicked over again and again, and while Serah slowly read the page she was on with her glasses-less vision, she began to wonder what was going on with class – her hair hid everything from her peripheral vision, and with her forehead resting against the edge of the bench, there was no way she could see anything in front of her. Or maybe because of the blood loss from yesterday, she was just so damn tired that she didn't hear class start and that it was around twelve. She had to resign herself to the thought that she must be too exhausted to register that anyone was there, and she was missing the vivisection. If Serah were a near-extinct bengal tiger, she wouldn't want to bump into Stein down a dark alleyway – she'd probably never recover from the vivisection.

Serah flinched as she felt something suddenly pull the headphones from her all of a sudden, and as she sat bolt upright, she saw her headphones clunk to the benchtop like it had just been dropped. She blinked, seeing that quite a few people were looking at her, as well as a perfectly present Stein, who was seated on his chair as he took attendance. Who had grabbed her headphones...?

"You're required in the Death Room." Stein's voice came through the pure confusion of her thoughts, causing Serah to snap her gaze to Stein immediately. A large cage was situated just next to Stein, housing a terrified looking hyena inside – had it heard of what was going to happen to it? "Sleeping in class is not the best way to spend your time."

"I-I'm sorry!" Serah almost squeaked, springing to her feet quickly as Stein raised an eyebrow at her response. A dull thud echoed a second later, causing Serah to quickly gather up the book that she had dropped, and her headphones from the bench before beginning to quickly make her way past the staring people and out of the classroom. A few people in the class laughed at her, but she tried her best to push it from her conscious thought as she stumbled a little on the steps out of the row. How nice it was for Stein to keep silent while she was making a complete fool of herself.

Serah came to a halt twenty meters down the corridor, leaning against the wall as she tried to sort herself out – Her face was beet red, and she could feel the shaking of her breath from embarrasment. She looked down at her book as she focused on blanking her mind out, to see that the top part of the spine had a nice dent in it – she must have dropped it hard then, if the spine, of all things was the one that took such damage. She carefully lifted her headphones back to her head, putting them back in place as she straightened her top and pulled her shorts up a little bit. It really was just her luck today, wasn't it?

"Serah?" Came a familiar voice from behind, causing Serah to blink in fright. She turned her head to look at who had called her, to see the only two people she spoke with of late – Maka and Soul. Both were approaching her, Soul with his usual cool pose of hands burried into his pockets as he walked in a slightly slouched manner, and Maka with her normal straight backed stroll. However, unlike what Serah had expected, they had come over with the purpose of going in this direction, she took notice of this as she carefully pulled her headphones from her head. "What's wrong? Your face's beet red."

"Uhmm … " Serah began, glancing away momentarily as she secured her book in place. "I fell asleep in class …. and Stein decided to point it out." Serah spoke – Lied, more or less, and she saw Maka blink, while Soul just grinned. "And I've gotta go to the Death Room, too ..."

"Really? That's where we're going, too." Soul spoke, and Serah looked from Soul, to Maka, then back and forth again. Okay, this was beginning to get weird …

"I see." Serah spoke, and she blinked as Maka and Soul began to walk onwards at a stroll. "But – why would we all have been called?"

"Dunno." Maka spoke, glancing back at Serah momentarily. "People get called all the time – you just get used to it." Serah let out a breath after a few moments, beginning to follow after several moments – it wouldn't help for her to stand there looking pathetic all morning. Soul and Maka conversed about something, probably what was going to be made for dinner that night, and as Serah followed behind a few paces back, they soon reached the Death Room. Maka pushed the door open without so much as a hesitation, causing Serah to blink in mild surprise – was she the only one that hesitated when she came here?

"Why hello! Come in! Come in!" Came the usually awesome bouncy voice belonging to Serah's favorite adult in the whole city, bringing a smile to her face. While he was technically a Grim Reaper, Lord Death just didn't fit the description – In Serah's head, all she could think of was a chibi skeleton with a huge, oversized scythe, and struggling to stand up straight in a heavy cloak when it came to picturing a Grim Reaper – completely different.

"Good morning, Lord Death!" Maka spoke, a cheerful tone to her voice. Serah closed the door behind them quietly, hesitating before she began to walk onwards – Maka and Soul were already down in the main part of the Death Room, standing in front of the ever present Lord Death.

"And Serah's with you too! Excellent!" Lord Death spoke, and Serah let out a weary breath as she came to a halt just next to Maka, making sure to keep her left arm mostly hidden in the folds of her white top. "I'm very glad you came on such short notice. I have a little extra lesson for you three."

"Really?" Maka spoke, and Serah blinked slowly as she glanced at Maka momentarily. "So, no Black Star, Tsubaki, or Kid?"

"Not this time." Lord Death spoke, and Serah had to stop herself from letting out a breath in relief – having an extra lesson with Black Star of all people would kill her; she still hadn't come up with a way to deal with the boasting, egotistical brat that just caused her more trouble than was necessary. "This little extra lesson is a small one, so we don't need to involve more than you three." Serah glanced at Maka again in moderate confusion, to see the young woman cast her a similar look, before they both looked back at Lord Death.

"I'm just wondering." Maka began, and Serah raised an eyebrow as she heard that tone in Maka's voice. "If it's something Soul and I can handle, then why is Serah coming with us?" She seemed to pause for a second as Lord Death tilted his head to the right slightly. "I-I'm not complaining … but I thought you would want her to have a Meister before she starts helping with Kishin eggs?" That was a low blow there. Even though Maka was completely right, that didn't stop Serah from casting her a prickly look of irritance.

"I know." Lord Death spoke, causing Serah to look back at him after a second. "However she should go out and learn the way things are done – and if Serah can get her hands on a Kishin Egg or two, then it's even better." Serah blinked, not quite sure how to take that one – and it was obvious from the look across Maka's face that she didn't know how to comprehend that one – Soul just looked somewhat bored.

"I'd be treating it like I am my own Meister, in that regard." Serah spoke quietly, and she saw Lord Death bounce in place for a moment.

"Pretty much." Lord Death spoke, and Serah increased her grip of the book in her grip carefully. "This is just for you to observe, but if you feel inclined, there's no reason why you can't start the other parts in becoming Meister and Weapon while you're waiting."

"I understand." Serah spoke after a few seconds, and she saw Lord Death bounce on his spot in front of the three of them momentarily, once again.

"Now, getting back onto topic - There's a small gathering of criminals along the outskirts of Paris trying to become Kishin Eggs. I'd like you three to go and deal with them." Serah blinked, chewing on the inside of her bottom lip slowly as she listened silently – this was not good, most definitely not good; Serah didn't even take a proper look at her circlets after all the trouble yesterday – how was she supposed to be of any help when she didn't have a chance to train with them? Maybe she had to take a stab? Ooh, too bad the Circlets had no 'points' to them. "Maka, as you're the only one that can sense other souls, you'll have to advise Serah of exactly what's out there – unlike you and Soul, this is very new, and accidents are more common with a lack of information."

"Right." Maka spoke, and there was a strange level of seriousness to her voice – Serah even looked up at her out of confusion at the tone.

"Now, I'll be expecting an update as soon as you've completed the lesson – and don't forget, today and tomorrows classes are off for you to complete this task." Serah blinked at this, tilting her head slightly as she looked back at Lord Death. This would make it three days in a row she skipped out of classes early at least.

"No problem, we'll get this done quick." Soul spoke, for the first time since they entered the Death Room – Serah had actually forgotten he was there, so the sound of his voice all of a sudden almost made her jump.

"I'll be counting on you!" Lord Death spoke, and after a moment, he lifted one of those huge inflatable hands from his side to begin waving. "I'll catch you later! Have fun now!"

"Later!" Soul spoke, seeming to turn on his heel as he took a pace back carelessly.

"Bye." Serah heard Maka speak, looking from Maka and Soul, then back to Lord Death again as she saw the two begin to turn and leave.

"Goodbye, Lord Death." Serah spoke quickly, turning to follow Maka and Soul quickly, before she lost them. Lord Death spoke nothing, and as Serah blinked in mild confusion, she saw Maka disappear through the door of the Death Room. Picking up the pace so she wouldn't get left behind, the tiniest hints of Maka speaking came to Serah's notice – although she wasn't close enough to hear what was said – All she was focusing on was not losing Maka and Soul.

She stepped carefully through the doorway to the Death Room, pausing momentarily to turn and push the door shut carefully behind her as she moved. Upon her attempt to turn and continue at a brisk walk, she felt herself walk into something so suddenly she was sent stumbling backwards into the now closed door of the Death Room. Snapping her gaze up to what she had walked into, she felt all the colour drain from her face as she saw the form belonging to Death The Kid standing there, looking down at her with a look of irritation across his face.

"I-I-I'm sorry!" Serah stammered, immediately stepping around Death The Kid and the ever present Liz and Patty, sprinting onwards as she felt embarrasment take it's place in the centre of her emotions once again. How the hell did they suddenly end up right where she was walking like that? Twice in less than twenty four hours already – Serah hoped more than anything else there wouldn't be a third time.

Reaching the expanse of the paved area outside of the Academy, Serah came to an inelegant halt as she breathed deeply to catch her breath. Leaning forward with her hands to her knees, she fought to try and get a hold of herself. This wave of embarrasment that overcame her once again was more problematic than it really should be. Maybe it was that look of irritation he shot at her all the damn time that got to her – yeah, that was probably it. Serah let out a breath as she straightened up, and looked around as she tried to figure out what she was supposed to be doing – Something was missing, and she was supposed to be doing something, but her brain just wasn't working for her.

Looking at the area around her, Serah raised an eyebrow wearily as she rubbed her bandaged arm gently. She was strangely coordinated for someone with horrible balance, and there was no heavy bag weighing her down on one side to make her balance even worse. What was missing to have her notfall over while she was running? Asside from the huge shoulderbag she carried on a normal day. Looking down at her strangely empty arms, Serah frowned marginally as she tried to figure out what was missing. Something was – but what was it? She never walked out of home without some form of a book – and then it clicked in place. She dropped her book when she bumped into Death The Kid – that must be it! There was no other way she could have dropped her book and not noticed it – it was the only time she had blanked out enough to actually not notice.

"Serah?" Came the voice belonging to Maka, causing Serah to blink in surprise, looking around to see Soul and Maka standing just a few paces behind her, Maka looking confused as Soul just stood there in that 'cool' pose he liked with his arms folded behind his head. "How'd you get out here before us? Didn't you hang back or something?" Serah blinked, her confusion beginning to leave her as she continued to stare at Maka. And this reminded her of what she was supposed to be doing – going out on an Extra Lesson with Maka and Soul.

Serah cursed her luck as she looked away from Maka, shaking her head slightly as she thought on what she was going to do – not enough time to go and get her book back from wherever she had dropped it …

And that was one of her favorites, too.