Chapter 11-
The Mission That Underwent
What's So Big About a Necklace?

Narrator's P.O.V

It was the next day when Shonaku was going to take on her very first mission. Even though she had killed kishins before, this was quite exciting for her. Maka and Crona accompanied her while Professor Stein supervised to test Shonaku's abilities. The location of this kishin Shonaku was going to kill roamed around the bottom parts of Death City. The mission began early in the morning and the four walked down the roads.

"I hope you do w-well on your mission..Shonaku." Crona told Shonaku.

"Well, I don't mean to brag, but I've fought a bunch of these guys before so of course I'm gonna win!" Shonaku boasted. She began to skip a little and tilt her head side to side. Crona giggled softly, one arm holding another. Maka smiled gladly at the two.

After a while, they all reached a corner of an abandoned building which lead to a narrow alley. The alley was dark though and nothing could be seen beyond that point. It would have been guessed that there was a dead end in that alley. Professor Stein walked ahead of the three and turned around to face them. He turned to Shonaku.

"Alright, Shonaku your mission is to kill Hannan Tall. He's been sneakily walking the streets of these parts of Death City and eating human souls. Watch out though, he has a way in convincing that he's as innocent as you. Are you ready?"

Shonaku nodded in assurance. She turned to the others. They all smiled at one another and Shonaku made a peace sign, then walked over to the dark alley. She placed her goggles over her face and made a devilish smirk. There was almost nothing Shonaku wouldn't be prepared for, she was always ready. A pair of Bazookas formed upon Shonaku's arms. When she approached the alley, there was a boy. He had black matted hair, pale skin, soft gray eyes, and ways unusually tall. He looked so white like a ghost, it seemed like he was dead. He was crouched all the way to the corner of the dead end shivering so violently. When Shonaku entered this dark alley the boy noticed her. He was about 16 years old.

"W-who could you b-be?" He asked Shonaku in such a way that she could barely managed to hear. "I'm Shonaku Miwasaki. And who are you might I ask?" She replied.

"Th-there's a kishinn who's watchingg me..He's tried to eat my soul and it's sc-scary..please help me I beg of you, Sh-Shonaku.."

Shonaku eyed the boy suspiciously. "Oh yeah? And where would this kishin be?" The mysterious boy pointed a shaking finger to a window panel right behind them. Shonaku turned around to see this window herself as well.

"He-he's in there..please help me! I've been so paranoid by this kishin..He won't go away..You can't see him but he's there..If you went in, he'd be right in there.."

Shonaku walked a little towards the building with the window at a slow pace. Then she stopped. She stared at the window, the empty and dark window. She spoke up.

"You know, you're pretty stupid if you thought I was going to fall for that one. First of all, if there really was a kishin in there, I would've known it since I saw the inside of that building when I passed by it. The kishin definitely would've attacked me then, I'm sure of it. And second of all, why should I even listen to your ass? Don't you know, I don't trust people as easy as that."

There was a silence.

A dripping noise could be heard. Shonaku already sensed this guy when she glanced at the dark alley. She was prepared. She slowly turned around to confront the boy again. Except it wasn't like him when she first saw him. Now his height was a freakishly tall height, his spine stuck out in a disgusting manner. He was practically the color white, and his eyes bled red. He mouth was a huge grin with long sharp teeth, blood oozing out. His hands were long, his fingers like sticks.
"Well, it seems like my plan backfired now. And I thought it would work, considering how foolish you sounded going along with it. I guess I'll just have to eat you right here and now." He licked his lips with his last comment. Shonaku glared at him and went to attack mode. She was ready, nothing was going to stop her.

Hannan was the first to attack. He made an attempt to grab Shonaku with his long thin hands, but Shonaku quickly back flipped. She blasted the kishin with four shots to back him away. She then jumped high into the air and side kicked Hannan in the face. Hannan stumbled a few steps backwards. He made another attempt to grab her, his slobber flying everywhere. "Is this all you got dude? C'mon I've fought tougher kishins then your ridiculous ass!" Shonaku continued to fight against this kishin called Hannan Tall.

The other three observed Shonaku's attack moves and skills. Professor Stein was quite impressed by this, but not as surprised because he's seen it all before. Maka watched intently, Shonaku was pretty strong and Maka thought of it as a trait she might have gained from family. They were like moves she hadn't seen from someone like her before. This only brought Maka back upon the subject of her being easily defeated by those kishins from her recent mission. The thoughts pressured her so, and irritated her. She wanted to talk about it with somebody, but wasn't sure who. She turned to Professor Stein.

"Professor Stein, I have a question." Stein looked at Maka and pushed up his glasses. "And what might that be?" Maka looked another direction not wanting to look at the mad scientist in the eye. "Well, what can you interpret about someone who's taking a break from fighting for a very long time, and when it's time for them to get back on the battlefield, they don't fight as strong as they did before? Is their strength not as strong as before?"

Stein responded. "When that is so, it could possibly mean that they're just a little rusty with their skills and probably would need to train to refresh their skills. Why do you ask, Maka?" Maka rubbed the back of her head. "Oh-oh nothing! Hehe, I was just wondering cause you know..hehe.." Stein looked at Maka curiously for a moment, then proceeded to continue his watch on Shonaku.

Shonaku was ready to slam down and perhaps fracture his lengthy arm, when Kishin Hannan made a move to grab Shonaku by the chest. Then without hesitation, Shonaku quickly dodged this instead of attacking. Maka, Stein, and Crona saw this in surprise.

"That could've gotten him good! Why did she just dodge him like that?" Maka asked.

Professor Stein said, "I don't know." It was all he could think of.

Hannan also saw this and continued to grab ahold of Shonaku's chest. She frantically dodged over and over again, not attacking once. Hannan, at one point, almost reached so close for Shonaku's necklace. And as an effortless move to prevent him from touching it, she slapped him hard. She then grabbed her necklace and stuffed it in her shirt. In her last moves, she blasted him a few more times with a couple of more upper side kicks. Her last shot went to Hannan's chest, and just like that, a hole blasted through. His body collapsed to the floor, and a kishin soul hovered in the air. Shonaku panted heavily, forming her arms back to normal ones, and removed her goggles putting them back on her head. After that, she took out her necklace again, sighing out of relief as she did so. She grabbed the kishin soul and walked back to the others.

She reached her arm out with the soul as in meaning to give it to someone. Maka looked and Shonaku in confusion. "Here, I got the soul so take it." Shonaku told Maka. Maka stared blankly. "Uh..Shonaku..This is yours.."

"Mine?"

"Yes. Wait, do you even know what to do with this?"

Shonaku thought about it. "Umm, well, after I kill a kishin I just leave the soul behind or something. I mean I can't keep the damn things as a souvenir and what not. I'd have way too many of them by now." All three of the others sweat dropped at Shonaku's remark.

Apparently, Shonaku had no idea about what she was suppose to do after killing a kishin.

"Sh-Shonaku..you're suppose to eat those..." Maka said. Shonaku had a dumbfounded look on her face, and examined the kishin soul she held. "Really? How? What for?"

"You're telling me that you've never eaten a kishin's soul when you killed it afterwards?" Stein asked.

"Yep."

"Eating these can make you stronger, Shonaku."

Shonaku looked at Stein, then at Maka, then at Crona. And finally the kishin soul.

"Ohhhh..." Was all she could say.

I can't believe this.. was pretty much what they all thought in their minds.

Shonaku looked at the soul skeptically, trying to find a way of how she could really eat this. Eventually, she put her mouth on the soul and began to chew on it. She swallowed it whole afterwards. Her eyes filled with gleam.

"Wow, that actually tastes pretty good-"

Suddenly Shonaku's necklace glowed brighter, almost blinding the four. Some force pushed Shonaku to the ground, then the light faded away. Maka looked around and back at Shonaku.

"What was that?" She asked. Shonaku stood up and dusted herself. She made a frowned face along with a nervous laugh.

"Uh..It's probably n-nothing.." She said. The three stared at her a bit confusedly. Shonaku didn't want anymore pressure intended for her so she walked past them and said, "Well, we better get going! Our mission is done here so let's go! Haha!" She too off in an inhuman speed. Maka told her to wait up, but Shonaku didn't hear her. The three looked at one another oddly, then walked after Shonaku.

Even when the three arrived at the DWMA, Shonaku was no where to be found. Stein didn't think much of it and said he'd go back to his daily work. So it was up to Maka and Crona to find wherever the hell Shonaku went. After 20 minutes of searching, Maka decided that she and Crona split up to find her. Crona agreed with this and searched out. But, something in his mind told him that she'd be in one of the most obvious places in the academy. He ran to where the balcony was in hope of finding her there. And sure enough, she was. But Crona saw that Shonaku was talking to herself. He didn't mean to ease drop or anything, but whatever Shonaku was saying caught his attention. Since there was so much greenery surrounding the balcony, Crona quietly hid behind some bushes. He listened carefully at Shonaku's words.

"I fucking hate this. It isn't fair. This stupid thing is always getting in the way!" There was a silence. Crona looked above the bushes to peek. Shonaku was trying to rip off the necklace from her neck. She didn't bother to pull it from her neck over her head for some reason. Shonaku then grunted in annoyance. "I'm always stuck with this, and the sign still doesn't make any sense! I would ask more things about this stupid gem stone if she were still here. But..She's dead of course.."

Shonaku gave a long stare at the necklace. Then out of the blue, she began humming. It was humming that Crona had never heard before. It sounded more like some sort of lullaby. Crona decided that now was a time to call out for Shonaku. But this necklace. He had been curious of it for so long. Would it hurt to ask now? Every little thing puts Crona's mind to curiosity with this necklace. It couldn't be that bad to ask, at least if it's something holding her back.

"Sh-Shonaku!" Crona called out.

Shonaku jumped, startled, and quickly turned her head to Crona.

"C-Crona?! When were you there?! Did you hear what I said? Were you ease dropping?!"

"I uh.." Crona couldn't really say anything to that.

"Crona, listen to me." Shonaku told him. "Did you, or did you not overhear what I was saying." Her tone in voice began to sound serious and low. Just like those other times. Crona stood out more from the bushes and looked down at the floor. He nodded and atlast spoke.

"I-I did..."

Shonaku kind of gave him the glare that almost seemed like she wanted to kill him for hearing so. But she only sighed.

"I've asked you about it so many times, why can't you just say it?"

"Because it's personal. And this necklace..has to do with a lot more than you think..." Her voice softened.

"But...I know you all will eventually find out...I just...might as well tell you.."

Crona waited for the rest that she was going to say. Shonaku hesitated for a moment. She clenched onto the necklace, looked at Crona, and said,

"Crona. Really, I'm not suppose to be here. I'm suppose to be dead. I died before."