Oh my gosh! Thanks so much for the support, guys! I feel loved, I hope this chapter is up to your expectations! I put a little of all of my first three reviewers' ideas and suggestions in here, so say thank you to:
Excel Fusion
PrankK1ng
wildface97
They are what inspired me to write this next chapter, so SHOW SOME LOVE OR SOMETHING!
Disclaimer – Man, all I own from Soul Eater is a copy of the first volume of the manga. Pretty cool, but don't think I'm going around saying I wrote it or anything.
The Battle at Gallows Mansion (Trial 1)
Maka's POV
It was a pretty nice day. Not a lot of clouds… sunny, warm weather… a cool breeze and not as dry as usual. I wonder if it's like this in California. We live in Nevada, so I wouldn't know much about that state. Sure sounds interesting though.
I sat on a bench somewhere around Death City, sitting cross-legged in pink sweatpants and a matching sweatshirt. You know, those zipper things. I let my hair down for once, letting the wind intertwine with my hair and neck. It felt nice.
I was reading a book.
It really was an interesting story, don't get me wrong. The lead is strong and smart, but somehow the author is able to make her make mistakes no matter the situation. I really enjoyed the read.
Sad thing was that Soul was there too, and he got bored pretty quickly.
"Maka! Let's do something cooler for once! It's a great day, why not play soccer or basketball or something? The kishin can wait a little while." Soul whined. He was sprawled out next to me on the bench, sleeping through the sunshine.
I turned from my book to stare at him. "Why can't we enjoy the peaceful and quiet days? If madness is going to take over, I'd like to remember the feel of sunshine and the kids playing in the streets. Not gray skies and a bunch of psychos getting stoned or something." I deadpanned.
Soul raised his eyebrow in question, and I shrugged to answer.
My albino weapon partner looked at my book, and asked, "What the hell's so interesting about that book that it makes you wanna enjoy nothing for a day?" He moved closer to me. I held the book close to my face so that he wouldn't read it. Soul ignored it and moved his head in front of my face, with his hand accidentally leaning on my leg.
I flushed a little about how sudden it was. I then grumbled to myself while snapping the book in his face and then proceeding to push him off to the ground.
I clutched my chest. "Personal space. Get some; don't steal mine!" I pouted. Soul rubbed his head.
"…Stupid books…" He murmured before going back to his side of the bench. "Still, can't the Kishin come back already so we can defeat him and I can become the next Death Scythe?"
I looked toward him. "Don't go asking for trouble! The kishin is ten times worse—no, 100 times worse—than some witch. We can't get too confident with these easy times. Let's just rest from that intense training Sid put us through." I rubbed my shoulder, which was dislocated the other day.
"It's not that I'm looking for trouble; trouble is just attracted to my coolness!" Soul retorted, then gave me a toothy smile. I rolled my eyes and continue this book.
What he said was partially true. As Death weapons and meisters, life will never be normal. It's like an unwritten code.
Tsubaki's POV
Black*Star and I were out shopping in Death City; enjoying the fresh air and cozy day. Black*Star tried to get me to race him many times, but I didn't want to annoy anybody trying to get some rest. Black*Star, on the other hand, was storming through the crowd, proclaiming his invincible abilities—the usual.
"YOU ALL HAVE TO BOW DOWN TO ME! I AM THE ULTIMATE BLACK*STAR, AND I WILL SURPASS GOD!" His childish voice rang through the streets of Death City. Most people ignored him, but some gave us a look.
As I kept an eye on my meister, I didn't notice when I bumped into someone a bit shorter than me. "Oh, I'm sorry!" I apologized, and helped the person up, who I then noticed was Death the Kid. "Kid? What are you doing here?"
He rubbed his head and got up. "Oh, hey Tsubaki. I was taking a stroll with Liz and Patty. So many unsymmetrical things here…" I noticed someone, or two, missing.
"Where's Liz and Patty again?" I searched the street. Death the Kid frantically searched around.
"Did I lose them again?" He wondered aloud. I sweatdropped. Lose them…?
I snapped my head to a loud noise coming from up ahead, and I saw Black*Star and Patty climbing trees. "Black*Star! What are you doing?!" I ran over there, with Death the Kid on my tail. Liz was at the base of the tree, trying to convince them to come down.
"Black*Star, get down from there!" I shouted.
Black*Star laughed, then shouted back, "C'mon, Tsubaki! If I'm gonna surpass God I have to be able to climb trees! YAHOO!" He pumped his fist. I shook my head.
"Patty, get down from there. There's no way we're gonna surpass God, let alone try, so you have no excuse." Liz whined a little. Patty popped out of the brush of leaves and branches in the tree.
Her giggle was similar to a monkey's, but she shook her head. "Nope~ I wanna climb this tree!"
Death the Kid, exasperated, finally spoke up. "Patty. As your meister and a Grim reaper, I order you to get down from there right now! You're making this tree asymmetrical with the other trees!" Of course… Liz and I facepalmed.
Patty thought about it for a little while. She then put one finger up as to say "In a second," and climbed up to where Black*Star was surveying the area.
"Patty…?" All three of us said. Patty stretched out while behind the assassin, then pushed him from the tree. We all widened our eyes, and Black*Star yelled out in shock. I ran over and caught him in my arms. He looked at me for a second before smirking and he jumped out of my arms.
"What the hell was that, Patty?" He asked.
"That's for thinking I couldn't climb~" Patty cheered, then climbed safely down the tree. Liz had an unimpressed look on her face.
"You don't just take revenge on people!" Liz complained. I laughed a bit.
Black*Star went over to Patty and shook her hand. "So I guess we're even now." Patty nodded.
Kid stormed over and pushed Patty out of the way. "Black*Star, you totally messed up the balance of the tree! Now it looks different from the other trees! You know how much that irks me! Don't do it again!" He warned.
"Now Kid, he just wanted some fun. Don't me such a killjoy." Liz interrupted.
"I'm not a killjoy! I'm just stating the facts. Black*Star can't be symmetrical."
Black*Star frowned deeply. "You think I want to be symmetrical? Yeah, right!" Black*Star laughed, then got an idea. He first took off his right shoe. He then ripped off the left leg of his pants. I flinched. I'll have to fix that later. Black*Star ran over and grabbed some paint from… who knows where, and painted the right side of his face orange, and the other side green. Each time he did this, you could see the horror in Kid's face deepen until he was completely mortified.
"STOP IT! YOU IDIOT! You're ruining the delicate balance of symmetry—" Kid got cut off with his own gagging and coughing. Black*Star laughed, then put himself in an asymmetrical pose, which made him cough up blood.
"HAHAHA! I'LL NEVER BE SYMMETRICAL!" Black*Star yelled, then quickly started running when he saw Death the Kid coming at him.
"I'll get you for this!" He screamed. Liz, Patty, and I looked at each other before following the chase.
Soul's POV
I looked at Maka again. Her face was scrunched up, and her leg was crossed; she was staring at her book.
"Maka, what the hell is so interesting with that book?" I leaned back, trying to get a read at it. She snapped it closed.
"Why don't we just—"
All of a sudden, there was this really loud, stampeding kind of noise coming from down the street. That's when we saw Black*Star being chased by Kid, who was on his skateboard, death in his eyes. Oh, wait.
"HI SOUL! HI MAKA! GOTTA CATCH UP LATER BYE!" Black*Star jumped and waved to us, then continued on.
"GET OVER HERE, COWARD! I'LL BLAST THAT BLUE HEAD OF YOURS RIGHT OFF!" I stared in shock as Kid buzzed on by.
Patty, Liz, and Tsubaki came next. Patty skipped on in, laughing, and followed the trail. Tsubaki came in second, trying to calm everyone down. Liz panted, exhausted from running.
"What the heck is going on here?" Maka asked them.
Tsubaki sweatdropped and Liz groaned. "Kid got angry at Black*Star again." Liz stated.
I rolled my eyes. So, the usual. "Let's go stop 'em before they tear down Death City." I said. Everyone nodded, and we ran in Patty's direction.
When we finally caught up to the two, we were in the outskirts of Death City. It was somewhere barren and dark, with a ton of dead trees. We were all catching our breaths. Black*Star and Death the Kid stood across from each other, ready to pounce the other.
"Black*Star, please stop this!" Tsubaki went running over to him.
"Kid, just get over it. He just wants you to get angry." Liz reasoned.
They didn't listen.
"Tsubaki." Black*Star held out his hand. Reluctantly, Tsubaki changed into one of her many forms.
"Liz. Patty." Kid stated. Shaking her head, Liz changed, as well as Patty, fitting into his hands.
Black*Star held his weapon in an offensive position, and Kid got his guns ready.
Maka walked up. I tried to stop her, tried to say this probably wasn't a good idea, but she was relentless. "Think about this. You sure you want to do this?" She looked to both meisters. Looking at her, then back at each other, they didn't respond.
Maka crossed her arms. "Idiots. Don't kill each other, now."
"No promises." Kid replied coldly.
"Tired of your nagging, Kid. I'm gonna surpass god, starting with defeating you." Black*Star flashed a smile, then ran in for the first hit.
Before he could reach his target, a pale hand stopped him dead cold. I looked up, and saw our crazy teacher in his chair, Dr. Stein.
"Professor Stein?" Maka walked over to him.
Black*Star angrily got up and yelled at the professor. "The heck was that?! Kind of in the middle of something here! Get your hand out of my face!"
Stein slowly looked at his hand, smoke peeping out of his mouth. "…Oh, look. There's my hand."
"Damn right it is! What the hell are you doing here?" Black*Star pointed at our teacher. I lazily walked up to him, along with Kid and Liz and Patty in human form.
"Well, when I heard all the commotion, I had to see what was happening." He took out his cigarette, and crushed it. Wiping his hands, he stood up.
"Alright. So, what are you doing around here, eh? Fighting again? This isn't the type of training I would recommend."
"Kid and Black*Star are angry at each other again." I said.
"They need to resolve their problems, Professor." Maka elaborated. Stein rubbed his chin, and thought for a while.
"…Come with me."
No POV
The group of children followed their bespectacled professor to an interesting house sitting in a dark, wooded area with layers of fog finishing the graveyard look. The house itself looked like a log cabin, cozy and worn. Tombstones were randomly laid around the yard beside the house, some broken, some in crumbles.
"Who the heck would live here?" Black*Star bluntly stated, unimpressed. Stein turned to look at the young assassin.
"Don't you know? He took care of you since you were young." He chewed a little on his cigarette stick, something that made Maka gag a little.
Tsubaki accidentally interrupted, "Sid?"
"Good, at least Tsubaki knows for you, Black*Star." Stein grunted and rolled his chair over to the door, and crashed into it to knock.
After a few seconds, the large blue zombie opened the door. "Stein? What are you doing here with them?" Sid asked.
"It seems that Black*Star and Kid want to settle a little score." Stein muttered with amusement, and then proceeded to smirk. His cigarette was long gone now, and crumpled somewhere on the ground. As quickly as it left, he took out another one, and lit it up. "I think we should do… that." He emphasized. If Sid could, he would've smiled.
"I got what you mean." Sid pointed to himself. "I'll go get it set up, but let me call Nygus and Azusa first. I'll alert Lord Death, too. I'm sure he'd love to watch."
"Um, if I may ask, what are you guys doing?" Kid questioned. Stein turned to look at them and flashed his glasses, while giving off a very condescending smirk.
"That's the fun part."
Liz's POV
As it turns out, Stein led us back to Gallows Mansion, where Kid's dad was waiting for us. He stood at the top of the staircase, still staying perfectly symmetrical. Too bad Kid was too busy looking at the bad things instead of concentrating on the nice parts.
"Ah~ Here you are! Now we can begin!" Lord Death sang in that goofy voice. He… floated… walked… drifted over to us.
"Lord Death… what exactly are we doing?" Maka asked, with a suspicious look in her face.
"Good question, Maka! I should answer that, huh?" Lord Death cocked his head playfully… I think. It's hard to tell what he's feeling… sort of creepy…
"Basically, you three meisters and your weapons will take place in a little contest… The Three Trials of Gallows Manor~" Lord Death cheered, and Patty and Black*Star gave a holler. The rest of us were just lost.
Soul spoke up first. "The hell? 'Three Trials'? I've never heard of that before…" Maka tapped her chin, then jumped up and gasped.
"I remember now! I read about that in The History of Death City! When Lord Death issued for a manor to be built specifically for himself… he ordered three cousins to do it… but when they were going to be paid, Lord Death handed over a very gorgeous diamond ring to one of the cousins who was planning to propose, but the other two got angry and they all fought for the ring. Apparently, it had magical qualities to entice the wearer into becoming deeply attracted to whoever gave it to them. Hmph, how selfish of men to use magic to get a woman."
My mouth practically fell to the floor. "Th-There's really some ring that can do that?!" I blurted. Something like that could be pretty useful…
Maka nodded. "Yeah, and when their fighting got pretty destructive, Lord Death created three trials to decide the winner, called 'The Three Trials of Gallows Manor'. Those three trials all played to each of the cousins' strengths, so it ended in a draw, and Lord Death still has the ring today, waiting for three more challengers for the ring."
Wow… with that, I could… I caught myself, for some reason, staring at Kid. Weird. At least he didn't see that dreamy look I had on my face… I paid attention to Lord Death instead.
"All that Maka has said is true. If one of you three can win and gain the ring, I'm sure all your conflictions will disappear~" I saw Black*Star and Kid look at each other, and I could practically see the electricity bouncing off of each other's foreheads.
Stein spoke up. "So, whadya say? Up for a little competition?"
"I AM SO IN!" Black*Star jumped up on the table and danced a little.
"I-I guess I'm with him then!" Tsubaki sweatdropped, then got him down from the table.
Patty and I looked at Kid. "Well… I don't have much use for an attraction ring, but if there's any chance at beating him in a competition, I'll take it." He rubbed his chin.
"Yay! We get to fight!" Patty jumped up and down. I facepalmed.
"Well, if I don't join in, Kid will have a mental breakdown, so, I'm game. Besides, the ring sounds cool!" I agreed.
Maka crossed her arms for a minute. "I don't have any part in this competition… I don't see the point in partici—"
Soul jumped on Maka. "No way am I sticking out of the action! Besides, with that ring, I can finally ask Bl—"
"MAKA… CHOP!" Maka interrupted with her famous attack, which left Soul on the ground, bleeding. She turned to Lord Death. "Well… I guess, if you need three challengers…"
Tsubaki's POV
Immediately, Lord Death split us up with our respective partners. Black*Star and I were taken to an unknown room, where we were told to wait until further notice.
"Come on! I want to get to the action already!" Black*Star angrily stomped on the ground in impatience.
"Well, Professor Stein told us to stay here for now. I'd wait." I sat on one of the couches and smiled reassuringly at him. Black*Star groaned and plopped down on a chair.
"This is boring… I wonder if the others have already started the first trial!" He muttered.
Death the Kid's POV
Marie Mjolnir led us to a spacious, seemingly symmetrical room. I ordered Liz and Patty to sit on the respective sides to maintain that sense, while I stood in the middle. I tapped my fingers together.
"Why are you making such a serious face? Are you constipated or something?" Patty asked with no shame. I frowned immediately.
I sighed and replied, "Patty, I am trying to figure out what father has in store for us. Who are these cousin carpenters and their 'strengths'? Time like this is crucial to formulate a plan."
Liz scoffed. "Are you that serious about this? It's just an attraction ring. It's not real love. What would you use that for? You got a crush on a girl or something?" She bore into my face menacingly, as if my expression would give anything away.
I flinched and looked away from glare. I flushed the tiniest bit. I calmed down, then answered with as little emotion as possible. "I am merely doing this to show that asymmetrical fool his lesson! I don't care about the stupid ring." I shouted a little bit at the end, which made my answer look a bit forced. Patty laughed so much she started bawling tears of humor on the ground.
"KID'S GOT A CRUSH! HAHAHA!" I stared in horror at the smaller of the Thomson sisters experiencing something I would call a seizure if I had not known the reason.
Liz smiled. "Who is it?" She leaned in closer to me. Patty ceased her laughs to join her. I blushed and backed away.
"I don't have a crush! And even if I did, I wouldn't tell you!" I protested. They wouldn't hear it.
Liz laughed. "Ha! I bet it's Maka! She's pretty symmetrical, huh? And she can see souls just like you!" She hooked one arm around me.
"I do not hold any sort of feelings for her!" I've never even thought of that, love isn't something going through my mind. Liz tapped her chin.
"So who is it? Tsubaki?" Liz interrogated. Both of my weapons leaned into me, which only made me feel worse.
"Of course not! I admire her skills, not to mention her patience level… but that doesn't mean I like her!" I'm sure my face was red as of now. Liz smirked and crossed her arms. Patty came over and took my arm.
Looking me in the eye, she questioned, "So then who's this girl? Kim? Jackie?" I looked at her large blue orbs and tried to shake her loose.
"Can we change the subject please? Like, look at that vase. The art is not symmetrical!"
Soul's POV
Death Scythe, AKA Spirit, brought us to a beach themed room. Before he could say any more, Maka slammed the door in his face.
Looking over from my spot on the hammock, I noted sarcastically, "Someone's pissed." I watched Maka slip over to a chair kind of hammock. She leaned back and facepalmed.
I shrugged to myself and laid back on the hammock. Maybe we can catch some Z's before the first trial.
"Soul?" I heard a murmur from the chair. I turned a little and replied.
"Yeah?"
Maka didn't move for a long time. Maybe she was finding the right words. I guess it can be pretty hard.
"…Will my dad… ever, will he ever become a good man?" She struggled. I opened my eyes and saw Maka in a fetal position on the chair, her eyes clouded.
I smiled. "He's been trying." We both looked at each other, unmoving.
Maka stifled a laugh. "I guess so. Not all guys can be bad, I guess." She looked at me.
"Maka, please. I'm cool." I pronounced, then leaned back in the hammock.
We'll be ready.
Someone's POV
Blair the Cat pranced around the nooks and crannies of the city, peering for any familiar faces. When she woke up, the apartment was silent, and the only sign of the weapon and meister was a note Maka left stating that they would be out for a little while and that breakfast was in the freezer.
She waited there for a while; eating, going through Maka's drawers, and leaving a thong or a bra in Soul's bed, but no one came home.
So there she was, searching for her lost owners. Blair overheard some random passersby talking about something interesting happening at Gallows Manor. She perked her ears, and headed straight for Death's manor.
'Maybe Soul and Maka are over there! And if they're not, I'll just ask that reaper boy~' She thought.
When she arrived at Gallows Manor, she noticed that the interior had changed completely. Blair also noticed Spirit walking and giving orders. She brightened up, then transformed to her human form and putting on some clothes before she greeted him.
"Hi, Spirit~ Do you know where Soul and Maka are?" She already had her arm looped around his, and he looked at her gleefully. Blair loved their flirty relationship. Nothing absolutely serious was going on, but she would suggestively hint innuendos in their conversations, and he would do the same.
"Well, they should be in their rooms right now. They're participating in a challenge for a love ring!" Blair widened her eyes, it was surely interesting. "But I'm so torn! Should I root for Maka to win, or should I hope she loses so she won't get that ring! I refuse for any guy to come near my Maka!" Blair watched Spirit crumple to the ground, crying. She rubbed his back.
"Well, Soul could always—" She tried reasoning, but Spirit shot back up and protested.
"No! That would be worse! He could put it on Maka's finger…" Blair shook her head. Comforting a worrywart of a father would not be easy.
A chill was felt in the air. Spirit flinched and hid behind Blair. "What is it?" She asked.
Spirit held a shaky hand toward the dark aura approaching. "It's her."
Out of the shadows came a cold, brooding figure. Her glasses flashed before coming out of the random shadows.
"Death Scythe. My name is Yumi Azusa, get it right. By the way, shouldn't you be over there, getting ready to host this challenge your daughter is participating in?" Azusa scolded him. Blair sweatdropped, and got Spirit over to the microphone, waiting to be tested.
With Spirit silently sobbing, Blair had no choice but to take over for the time being. She grabbed the script and got ready for the beginning of the challenge.
"Welcome everyone, which means everyone from the DWMA! Nice seeing you here at Gallows Manor! I will be your commentator for the time being until our own Death Scythe, Spirit can… um… come back! Anyways!
Tonight, we shall witness The Three Trials of Gallows Manor! Our three competitors are…" Pointing toward a giant ring in the middle of what appeared to be a stadium, Blair led the eyes of the viewers to the left door. "Black*Star and Tsubaki!" The door slid open, revealing the duo in their usual outfits. Black*Star immediately ran to the middle of the ring and jumped and smiled for all the audience. Tsubaki waved happily, coming up next to Black*Star.
"In the middle, we have Lord Death's own son, Death the Kid and his Demon Twin Guns, Liz and Patty!" As soon as the door opened, all three jumped out, and landed in the center, creating a famous Kid formation. The crowd clapped and cheered for them.
"And finally, in the right door, Death Scythe's daughter Maka and her weapon, Soul Eater!" Blair waved at them, causing both of their faces to become flushed with embarrassment. At the sound of his daughter's name, Sprit "revived" from his inner dilemma to take over for his catty sidekick.
"Oh, and here we have Death Scythe! He's come back~" Blair handed the microphone to Spirit, who happily accepted it.
"Oh Blair, if you wanted to join me, you could just delve right in~" He wiggled his eyebrows at her. He didn't realize that what he just said was heard throughout the stadium, and the students covered their eyes and ears in disgust. Some, however, whistled and hooted.
Taking the microphone, Blair continued. "Anyways, let's start by hearing the rules from Lord Death!"
From another place in Gallows Manor, Lord Death announced the rules in his chipper voice. "There shall be three trials, each concerning a certain strength that the original three cousins had! You may use your weapons and any sort of power you can come out with~ Any dirty tricks will be frowned upon and any brutal deaths shall be censored~ Are you ready?"
"YEAH!" Black*Star jumped up and fist pumped. Tsubaki nodded.
Kid shook his head. "Really father… do you need this much of a crowd? Such publicity…" Patty smiled and waved at all of her friends from school.
Soul yawned. "Let's get this done before it gets late." Maka narrowed her eyes.
"That does not make you look cool."
Spirit took the microphone. "Now, this first carpenter was a man named Wyatt. He was very smart in mathematics; numbers were his thing. He even claimed to have an eidetic memory, which means he could just look at something and remember it for life! So, for the first challenge, you'll have one minute to memorize the areas of thirty gems. Don't worry, each of your gems is a different shape and color, so no one will get mixed up or try to cheat.
Along the way, you may face some monsters and such, but as long as you aren't separated from your meister or weapon, you should be fine!"
Maka, Soul, and the others took their spot behind the starting point. "And now, the map! Sixty seconds on the clock! GO!"
Kid's POV
Memory. The first trial was to memorize thirty different locations that could be anywhere on a giant map. It didn't seem too hard, considering the fact that I had three on my team, and three minds to memorize three different sections.
I was a rather smart person to begin with. The challenge would be much easier for someone such as myself. When Spirit revealed the map, I scanned the center section, while Liz and Patty took the other sides. I never took my eyes off once, not even to look at Black*Star, who was most likely fumbling, or Maka, who would probably be the only one to really try to memorize the map on her team.
At the last second, the doors were raised, and we could venture into the maze, which appeared to be a tropical jungle. How my Father was able to do this, I question greatly.
To decrease the chance of someone getting lost, Liz and Patty transformed and I held them in my palms. Sadly, Beelzebub was not available, so travel by foot was my only option.
I closed my eyes for a quick second to try and recall the ten areas I memorized. I neatly organized the map in my head, and once I knew their locations, I was on the move.
"Kid, you got one yet?" Patty asked, noticing I halted to a stop. Both of them transformed to their human forms and I motioned for them to look ahead.
"Behind that door is where the first topaz on the list. To unlock it, it appears that we will have to solve a math problem…" I rubbed my chin. "Do either of you have something to write with?"
Liz looked around, then found something. She held it up to me. "This might etch in well." I took it and turned around. "Let's do this, then."
Black*Star's POV
The minute I got into the jungle, we faced a ton of tiny little gargoyle-type monsters.
"HA! If ya think this is going to stop me, you bet wrong! Tsubaki!" I held out my hand.
"Right." She replied, then changed into a shuriken. I threw it at the little guys, and they immediately evaporated into yellow dust. We thought we had it in the bag, until they just reformed and respawned.
"Black*Star…?" Tsubaki asked worriedly.
"HA! As if that would stop me!" I charged once again into them, this time with a ninja blade. They made a horrible screeching sound, and dashed away from us. Luckily, I was able to slash one of them again, but it respawned to make two more.
Tsubaki flashed from the ninja blade. "I think we need a new strategy, Black*Star. We need to try trapping them, maybe?"
"We should try trapping them! Yeah!" I exclaimed. "Let's get out the chains!" Tsubaki transformed back to human, except her ponytail, which became a chain. "Do it, Tsubaki!" I ordered.
She ran to the fleeing monsters, and whipped her hair so that the chain would wrap around them, and those little suckers were trapped.
I walked over and tied them together, while Tsubaki released her ponytail chain from them. As soon as they were finally out of our hair, Tsubaki asked me if I remembered any of the locations.
"Um… not really! But I know what they look like! Let's just see if we can find one!" Tsubaki sighed.
"It's okay, Black*Star, I remembered a few. Let's go…"
"Let me lead!"
"You don't even know where they are, though."
"But the star, Black*Star, always leads! HAHAHA!" I pumped my fist and Tsubaki pretended to follow me, but we both knew I wasn't leading us. The things she does for me…
Maka's POV
"Soul! I know there's one over here! Just listen to me!" I insisted.
Soul barked back, "No way! The gem is obviously over here! Just listen to me, Maka!" I crossed my arms and huffed.
"Not gonna happen, Soul!"
Soul gave up, groaned, and left to go wherever he thought was a good place to search for the gems. I watched from the corner of my eye as he walked away, and then went my own way. I don't need him, I'm perfectly capable of finding everything by myself.
I covered the area. It was harder because Soul wasn't here, but that doesn't matter. I found one gem, which was good. I looked to see Kid, Liz, and Patty open a door and find one as well. Patty then led them to where they could find two more.
Bad; that means they'll soon be ahead. I walked away and tried to recall the map. Sadly, wherever I looked, I couldn't find any of our gems. I almost stepped on these little gargoyle monsters, but they screamed, letting me know. I looked at the rope and noticed the work of Tsubaki and Black*Star. I slowly backed away, knowing that without Soul I couldn't fight them.
I plopped down on the ground by a tree, and sighed. Maybe Soul found the other 29 already, and I was completely wrong. It's not easy to admit, but what if it's true?
"What if I'm just a huge idiot? Maybe Soul was right this entire time…" I muttered to myself in defeat.
Liz's POV
I stretched out my aching limbs. Kid, Patty, and I have been walking around forever, solving riddles and outsmarting the many traps and tricks Lord Death put around here. We found about 18 of the 30 gems required.
"Kid, let's break for now. We've been at this for a while now, you must be tired." I tried to convince the workaholic of a reaper to cease for now.
"Hmph. 18 is an even number, at least, so I guess we can stop now." Kid stopped and dusted himself off. This place was a disgusting mess; Lord Death didn't have the sense to keep all the bugs and stuff away? I've smacked at least 20 mosquitos going for my blood today.
"Yay! Hey, Kid! Can we play a game?" Patty ran up to our meister, hope gleaming in her eyes. She grabbed his arms before he could object, and dragged him around to play. He fought around for a while, trying to break free, but that Patty's a strong one. I watched the two lovebirds in content.
…Wait, lovebirds? Did I really think that? I mean, sure, he's our meister, there's potential, just like Soul and Maka or Black*Star and Tsubaki, but we're a twin weapon team, and I'm older than him, and Patty's just so different from him. I couldn't believe I actually thought they acted like a young couple. Do Kid and I act like that? Sure… we live together, and we sort of just work together, but… that wouldn't happen, right? I mean, even if I liked Kid, and Patty liked him, I'd just let Patty take him. It's better that way.
Ugh, why am I even thinking of this? I should stick to some boyband crush, or maybe a guy from the DWMA. So far, though, none of them are around my age, and "my type". I sighed, imagining a magazine in my hands to flip through. I could hear Patty's squealing and Kid's anger. Maybe Patty is right for him. It's weird, though, I almost thought Patty and Black*Star could work, too… which would let me have Kid… I mean, not that I'd want to… maybe Kid isn't into us. Maybe he's into Maka or something. I could see it happening, too. And that leaves Soul and Tsubaki, which would never happen. So…
I rolled over. No use thinking of it. I tried to catch some Z's and forget all of the romantic pairings I just made up in my head. "Hopefully someone will remember to keep looking for the gems…" I thought to myself.
-(**)-
When I awoke, Patty was stomping on my stomach in anger. Rubbing the sleep out of my eyes, I found that the sun was setting. I stood up, and I saw Kid glaring at me.
"At least we found you! I was about to go crazy without someone on the other side of me! We couldn't find you, and Patty kept dragging me around to go grab jewels! We have 28, we only need two more! Let's go, go, go!" Kid pushed us together in one direction, leaving me bewildered and Patty cheerful as usual.
Blair's POV
I watched a huge screen in the camera room where we could easily monitor each contestant. Soul and Maka were still on their separate ways, and Spirit's been happy for those two to be separated. So far, they've found about 6, which is nothing compared to Black*Star and Tsubaki's 20 jewels found. But it's that Reaper boy and his two girlfriends Liz and Patty who are in the lead with 28!
I grabbed a cup of milk and sat on the armrest next to Spirit, who was on his third glass of wine. He's been giving a toast to everyone for Maka's separation from Soul.
"Spirit, they haven't really separated. They're just in an argument! Don't you want Maka to win?" I eyed him.
"Of course Daddy wants his little girl to win! But I don't want her to win an infatuation ring!" He stood up, obviously drunk, so I sat him back down and rubbed his shoulder.
"Maka's growing up, Spirit. You should, too." He looked at me, his heart broken. To ease the pain, I seductively rubbed against his legs to distract him. He took the bait, and we sat there for a while.
"Blair-chan~ Maybe we can- hic! –Go and just take the- hic! –infatuation ring…- hic! –so when Maka wins,- hic! –She won't get the ring!" Spirit articulated through the wine. I laid him down to nap.
"I think Spirit needs a nice nap now~" I transformed into a cat and cuddled on his back, just to keep him company. He needs a babysitter more than those two kids, that's for sure.
Tsubaki's POV
"I think we did pretty good, Black*Star! 20 jewels, and just 10 more to go! We're lucky I remembered a few, and you found some of them randomly, too!" I cheered as I slipped back on the bag containing the gems. "We should take a break and rest for a while." I followed Black*Star, who was climbing up a tree to find the right spot to nap in.
"Yeah, I think tomorrow we'll get the rest! My muscles are aching for action!" He found a thick and sturdy bough, and leaned up against the trunk, leaving me some room.
"Actually, that might be the ache of fighting all those monsters we ran into. I wasn't expecting that many!" I climbed next to him so that he was leaning on my shoulder. His face dug into the crook of my neck, and he was almost asleep.
"It was fun, Tsubaki. Now I'm just really tired." Soon after, he began snoring. I smiled to myself, and followed his example.
Soul's POV
I was sitting on the dirt ground, tracing pictures with a stick. I only found about 5 of them. I wonder if Maka already found like 20 of them. She's smart like that.
I laid back on the ground, staring up at the night sky and the forming stars. Maybe Maka would be better off without someone like me to drag her down. I might be cool, but Maka's stunning.
I erased all those thoughts and played more with the stick. I dug holes, drew pictures, and bent twigs. I was about to fall asleep. I was just waiting to see if Maka was going to show up with a bag chock full of gems.
When I didn't see or hear her coming, that was my cue that it was about time to forget for a night and just sleep. I drifted off. Besides, even if we barely found any gems, I bet Black*Star and Kid haven't found them all either.
When I opened my eyes again, I saw her. It was Maka, who was kicking me in the arm. "Wake up, Soul! I just saw Kid with 28 gems, and Black*Star with 20!"
I yawned. "Wait, then how many do you have?" I saw her discomforted face. It seems that she didn't get many, either.
"…I couldn't find them at first, Soul… I only had one. Then I stumbled into a few monsters who had some gems. Seven, to boot! Now I have 8 gems. You?" She dropped the burlap sack on the ground. When I looked inside, I saw our purple, perfectly shaped gems. I reached into my pocket and pulled out the five I had.
"That makes 13. We still have a ton to go." I stated obviously.
Maka sighed. "If we're going to catch up to Kid and Black*Star, we'll have to pick up the pace and try to remember where the pieces were. Which means, we'll need to cooperate. You with me, Soul?" I looked up at the seemingly shining figure of Maka, smiling and holding her hand out.
I took it, and she pulled me up. "I'll always be with you, Maka. We're partners, and we got to stick together. 'Til I become one of Death's weapons!" I raised my fist in the air. Maka laughed, but that was short-lived. Apparently, she remembered where some of the gems were, so she grabbed me by the ear and followed her instincts.
Death the Kid's POV
We practically swept the whole area for the last gem. We found one of the two in a puzzle trap earlier that took a short amount of time to solve. Ours were crystal clear; the only color you'd find would be the light reflected from other objects. Yes, I'm aware all color would come from light reflecting off of them.
Either way, we needed one more. I was itching to get it, too… uneven numbers do not suit me. I even forced Patty to wear the sack and stay in the back of me, just so I wouldn't be reminded of it.
"Kid, do you even know where we're going? Because I honestly don't think we're going the right way…" Liz questioned.
"Don't worry, Liz. I know exactly where I'm going. If I recall correctly, the last gem should be somewhere in the hollow of a tree; it's in this area." I pictured the map in my head. "Yes, we need to go there now."
Patty cheered. "We're gonna win! We're gonna win!" She hopped around excitedly. "The infatuation ring is ours for sure!"
I grabbed her by the collar. "Slow down, Patty. This is only the first trial. We still have two more to go through." She quickly got discouraged, but bounced back as quickly as she left.
"That's okay! We'll win this one for sure!" She slowed her pace to walk next to Liz. I sighed and shook my head. I hope she didn't just jinx it for us…
*)(*
I shook my head, aghast. "I-It's not here…" Liz looked in the hollow one more time as a desperate attempt. "I can't believe it…" I slumped to the ground.
Liz groaned in exasperation. "Kid, it seems that you were wrong this time. We might've already gotten this one, or it was never there to begin with."
I watched Patty, cross-legged on the ground, rubbing her chin. Was she thinking?
She then spoke up. "I don't remember ever getting a gem from here, but I know there was one here."
I widened my eyes. "Are you sure? Are you absolutely sure there was one here?" I interrogated.
For once, Patty looked at me semi-seriously. "Yes, I'm absolutely positive a gem used to sit in that hollow." Both Liz and I looked at each other. Out of character much, Patty?
Liz fell on her back. "I'm so sick of this. When will this challenge be done already?" I leaned against the tree and watched her dirty blonde locks of hair entangle themselves with the ground, and her eyes shut calmly, and how each of her intake of breath—
I quickly turned away. What was that? Was I staring at Liz, and thinking those things? How disgusting of me…
I tried paying my attention to other things happening, such as Patty, who seemed to be scanning the area in a most immature manner. "Patty, what are you doing?" I interrogated.
"Shhh!" She quietly ordered, then continued her fruitless search. "I'm looking for it!" Patty then started to climb the tree in an obviously suspicious way. After looking again, she sprung off the branch and slid down the tree, squealing in delight.
Liz looked up from her rest. "What is it, Patty? Did you see something?" I looked at Patty as well, suddenly interested in the results of her search.
Patty gave us a catty smile, and cheered. "I saw a squirrel!" Liz and I groaned simultaneously. "…Carrying our gem in its mouth!" she finished.
We both sprang up. "Let's go look for it, then! No time to waste!" We ran off in search of the thieving squirrel, following Patty's lead.
She skipped along happily. "Let's go get the cute squirrel! Yay!"
I turned to Liz, who asked, "Why do you think a squirrel has a gem? Kind of bizarre, don't you think?" I rubbed my chin.
"Considering my father, this is probably a futile attempt at comic relief. Either way, we have to find that squirrel or I'll never hear the end of it from that vertically challenged excuse for a star…" I grumbled. Okay, yes, I was still angry at Black*Star. I can't help it when he provokes me like that.
"You don't have to be that cruel. Let's just concentrate, shall we? Look, I think Patty found it!" Liz pointed out to where Patty was jumping and smiling. I followed her and saw it.
It seemed like any normal ground squirrel, except for the crystal in its mouth. I didn't think a squirrel's mouth could stretch to that length. Patty snuck up on the little guy, and snatched him up.
"Haha! I got him! Now get the gem, Kid!" Instead of listening to her, I stared at the squirrel, which was showing some odd behavior. I expected it to thrash about in her arms, but this one seemed very… calm. Oddly calm. I slowly walked up to it, about to pry open its mouth, but in all than less than a second, the squirrel's eyes bulged out, turning a gross red. It jumped out of Patty's arms, and grew to an unimaginable size.
Liz immediately reacted, by screaming in horror, "AHH! IT'S A DEMONIC SQUIRREL!" She shook and pointed at the obvious. I frowned. Of course it wouldn't be that easy. I quickly grabbed Patty's hand and led both her and Liz away from the squirrel, if one could call it that.
I whispered to both of their trembling figures. "Come on, we need to get that gem out of its mouth." They both nodded to me in agreement, and transformed into the Twin Demon Guns.
"Alright," I murmured to them. "let's get this guy."
Blair's POV
I was aware what I was doing was wrong. Unfortunately, when I saw Spirit like that, I couldn't just ignore him. After he passed out, I slid out of his arms while still in cat form, and silently crept away from the scene.
I made my way to the infatuation ring.
(_-_)
Liz's POV
The demon squirrel's pretty tough. Our blasts aren't that effective against it. It almost seems like we're tickling the monster.
Patty spoke up in weapon form. "You know, Kid, I don't think this guy's going down that easy. We're gonna need something stronger, Kid!" she insisted.
"Yeah, but is there anything around here we could use?" I wondered.
"…I'll find something." Kid said. He led the monster around as we searched for an item large and heavy enough to crush it.
I noticed a large rock; large enough to probably crush that demon squirrel thing. What was that thing?
"Kid! Look over there!" He saw it and smirked.
"Good work, Liz." I smiled in response. I hoped this plan would work.
Black*Star's POV
After a few hours' sleep, I woke up with a big start, and started stretching immediately for the day. "Hahaha! Come on, Tsubaki! Let's nab the rest of those gems!" I was swinging from a tree branch while I watched her eyes open and notice me.
"Alright, Black*Star… let's get this done!" She smiled happily at me. I gave her a thumbs up. I began to jump from tree to tree… just like an assassin. Tsubaki followed behind.
"Do you know where the rest are, Black*Star?" She asked. I tried racking my brain for anything, anything that could direct us to the topaz yellow-ish jewels.
"I can't remember, actually. Don't worry though, Tsubaki! I'm going to surpass god, so this kind of thing is a no-brainer! I got it!" I cheered into the trees.
"O-Oh, is that so…"
I looked back at her doubtful face. "Let's not sweat it, I'm the one and only Black*Star! I can do anything! YAHOO!" I swung high into the air. Looking down on the jungle was quite a view. On my way down, I caught a glimpse of something carrying what looked like our gems!
When I landed, Tsubaki caught me. "Black*Star! You look like you just won this thing!" I felt my face grinning.
"That's 'cause we did! Follow me, Tsubaki! I found them!" I took her by the hand and led her to the place I saw.
When we got there, we just missed some sort of hermit crab thing drop the gem into a hole, which was then sealed off. I tried prying open the rock covering the entrance, but nothing worked.
"Black*Star, hold on. I think the hermits are trying to tell us something." I stood back, and stared at them.
"Tsubaki. You crazy? There's no way—"
"I'd watch that mouth of yours if I were you."
I flinched in shock, and looked down at the hermit crab making a face at me. "Wait, what…?" I was clueless.
"We're here to guard the ten topaz gems until the one who is looking for them comes."
I pointed to Tsubaki and I. "That's us! We're looking for them!" I explained.
"Really? Good. Now, to unlock the charm and gain entry to the gems, you must answer this riddle."
"…What?! You serious! There's no way I'm answering some stupid—" I crossed my arms in anger.
Tsubaki cut me off, though, and said, "That's fine with us. What's the riddle?"
I took her and whispered in her hear. "You sure about this? I don't want to solve anything, I'd rather fight the guy instead!"
She shook her head. "Let's not waste time. If we can solve this, we win!" I looked at her. Should I trust Tsubaki? I guess we might as well.
"Fine. Let's just get this over with quick." I glumly agreed.
"Good. This is the riddle: Four men were on a boat in the lake. The boat tips over, and all four men sink to the bottom of the lake, yet not a single man got wet! Why? Answer this in fifteen minutes, and you shall win this trial." They quickly scuttled away after that, leaving us to wonder.
"…ARGH I CAN'T THINK OF ANYTHING MY BRAIN HURTS!" I yelled. I tried running over and punching the rock to dust, but something wouldn't even let me touch the rock.
Tsubaki caught me by the arm and brought me back. "Black*Star! Stop that, that's not going to work. We're going to have to solve the riddle if we'll ever win."
I tried sitting down and thinking about it, but every ten seconds I'd lose my cool and try to strike the rock again.
Maka's POV
"Hmm… that makes 27. I can't believe we found this many, Soul! We're finally catching up to them!" I smiled. "We actually have a chance of winning the first trial!" I pumped my fist.
Soul dropped to the ground. "Maka…" He looked like he was about to pass out. I widened my eyes.
"Soul…! W-What's wrong? Soul!" I shook him by the shoulders.
He started shaking, and looked up at me. "M-Maka… …food… I'm so HUNGRY!" I quickly realized he was faking injury, and just wanted a bite to eat. So, I served him a hot plate of…
"MAKA… CHOP!"
After that, I left Soul to go collect the fragments of his lost brain cells and went to look for any more gems. After about twenty minutes, I was able to find the last three behind… um… a waterfall… that was a weird experience.
When I came back, I held the three gems high and ran over to Soul, who had his hat over his eyes. He saw me, and jumped up. "Maka! You got it!" We ran over and hugged each other. "Great… now to add it to the bag and finish this!" He turned around to look for our bag, but found nothing.
"Soul… where's the bag holding 27 of our purple gems…?"
"Um… it's out for a restroom break…?"
No POV
Death the Kid stood proudly upon the rock which crushed the demonic squirrel, which finally ceased its movement. Patty, one half of his weapon team, snatched the clear crystal from the monsters mouth. Liz wouldn't do it because… of the "saliva and germs", or so she said.
The young blonde handed Kid the gem, and he held it to the afternoon sky. He took a deep breath, and leaped from the stone. "Now this completes our 30-piece set! The first trial is ours! Liz, hand me the bag!"
Liz, who was leaning against a tree eating a fruit, tossed him the bag casually. Kid caught it, naturally, but freaked out on her. "Liz! Be more careful with this!" He barked.
She quickly got irritated with the reaper, and muttered out of hearing, "I apologize for not being OCD, Mr. Symmetry…"
From the viewers' room, cameras focused on the three, and cheers were heard. Lord Death, finding that Spirit was drunk and Blair disappeared, decided to take it from there.
"Yeah! Looks like Death the Kid has won the first trial! Now, who will come second and third!? Black*Star and Tsubaki, or Soul and Maka? Let's see what they're up to!"
The audience watched the screen as Black*Star and Tsubaki were shown, in a frantic state. They were up against a riddle; something that requires wit and brains.
Stein took a whiff from his pipe. "Who would've thought it would be Black*Star to go up against the hermits? I wonder if this was your doing, Azusa…?" He looked at the spectacled woman, who merely adjusted her own glasses in response.
"The boy needs to realize." Azusa replied. Stein clicked his tongue.
"Heartless as usual."
"You dissected your weapon partner."
**()**
"Let's check in on Soul and Maka, okay?" The screen changed to show Soul and Maka, searching endlessly for the missing bag.
"I don't get it! How do you lose something so important, Soul?" Maka let her anger out, once again, on the albino weapon.
"Hey! I'm sorry, but it's not my fault you wouldn't feed me! I was seriously hungry, and then you hit me, again, and I was too dizzy to pay attention to some bag!" He argued right back. Maka huffed.
"At this rate, you know, we're going to be last."
"Yeah. But This is only the first trial; there's two more, Maka. We can still win this and stop those two from arguing all the time." Soul forced her eyes to look at his. "You know as well as I do that if either one of them win, then it'll just get worse from there. We. Need. To. Win." He tried talking some sense into Maka, who stared in response.
"S-Soul… okay…! I got it! We can't give up now! Thanks, Soul." Maka sent Soul one of those charming smiles of hers and began searching again.
"Hm. Well, now that we have tha—" Soul suddenly stopped and felt for his headband, and realized it had gone missing. He then heard a loud screech. Looking up, he saw a bat, carrying his trademark "SOUL" headband. It seemed to mock him, then fly away. Soul quickly became exasperated, and chased after the culprit.
"Soul? Where are you going?!" Maka exclaimed. She followed him as well, which led her through the jungle to a cave, apparently where the bat's habitat was.
"Do bats normally show up in jungles? Why a bat?" Maka criticized, to no one in particular, of course.
One grim reaper did take it to heart, though. "Hmph! I just thought bats would add to the creepiness! Bats live everywhere imaginable, you know!" If he wasn't wearing a mask, you would see him pout.
Sid, who was helping out, sweatdropped and said matter-of-factly, "You know, she didn't mean to accuse anyone, Lord Death."
"Still!" He whined childishly. "It was hard trying to find a whole colony of bats, and don't even let me mention how difficult and trying it was to have them nest there, they stained my robe with guano! Disgusting!"
Sid the zombie sighed. 'Sometimes he can be difficult…' he thought.
A purple cat slid by the two arguing meisters, otherwise known as Lord Death and Sid, to continue her search for the prize.
'Spirit really cares about his daughter… well, Maka needs a father figure in her life~ Even if she resents him as much… Maka…' the cat's thoughts clouded her mind, and she was almost seen snooping.
'Maybe Maka's one of those girls where you can't tell what she really thinks of you. I know I still wonder if I'm a pet or a nuisance… maybe both, but I honestly think I could be better~ I bet even Soul wonders from time to time, teehee~'
Maka's POV
I watched Soul as he tried to reach the bat holding his headband. I groaned. It was so hot and muggy in there… "Hey, how long are you going to take, Soul? We need to get back out there!" I insisted.
"Just a minute, Maka! I almost got the bastard!" He tried giving another jump, but failed epically as usual.
"How can you even see? I'm standing two feet in front of you and it's hard to make out your features." I remarked.
"Would you just hold on! Look, I- OW! That bat dropped something on my head!" Soul went down to pick it up. "M-Maka… it's… our gem! It's all purple, see?" He raised it up to the light, and it was confirmed; that was the gem.
"That means… these bats have it?!" I realized. In that instant, they began flying as one swarm and chased us out of the cave. Their screeches were uncoordinated and all over the place, but that frightened us all the more. We could see the bat holding the headband and one right next to it holding our bag.
"We need to get that back, Maka… I love my headband!"
"Yeah, well, I love the thought of finishing this trial already!"
We quit our banter to tackle the main conflict. Soul transformed into a scythe, and landed into my arms. "Let's get this done quick. My stomach's growling." He grumbled.
I nodded, and quickly made a lunge towards the bats. All I did, though, was fly through them. They separated to make an easy hole in their swarm.
I made a tough landing, but I got back up on my feet. "Soul, this is going to be tricky for us."
Soul scoffed. "There hasn't been one problem we haven't solved, Maka. I don't want some crazy bats getting in our way." I agreed.
I tried jumping again and slicing at different angles, but the bats were swift. I couldn't catch up. "Soul… we need to corner them…"
Soul appeared from his weapon form. "Let's do it then, Maka!" I then charged at the bats again, and caused them to start moving toward a corner.
"Bats aren't blind, but I'm sure all that time in the darkness affects their usefulness in light. They're still getting accustomed!" I stated finally as I made one final slash, breaking their swarm. The bat holding Soul's headband also fell, and Soul reached from scythe form to grab it before it fell.
"Ah! That's better! Now, let's get the last thing on our list, Maka! That bag is ours, thieving bat!" Soul shouted. Naturally, the last bat standing was the one holding the gems.
I smiled and moved into battle stance. "This one's a fighter, Soul. Be prepared."
The bat was pretty tough. We made a few slashes at it, but that thing has dodged most of our attacks. We tried many tactics and battle styles, but this thing was inhumanly fast.
I was starting to tire from the attacks. "This thing… I can't believe…" I managed to speak while breathing hard.
The bat would never attack back; probably because if it did, we could easily grab the pouch and be done with this. So it kept on the defensive.
"Maka, you look so tired." Soul noticed. I was breaking a sweat, but I shook my head.
"We need… to finish this…"
"Maka…" Soul looked at me from his scythe form. "…okay. I'm with you. Just, don't tire yourself too much."
I went at the bat again, over, and over, and over. Nothing. None of the slashes hit. This battle was pointless.
But then, why… would… the bat look, fatigued…? It was starting to breathe heavier, as well. I could see its soul struggling with something.
'Wait… why…? …! Hold on! The pouch; it must be heavy, that's it. It's probably a workout just to hold that thing up. Now, we just have to keep it moving!' My inner thought train ran with a new burning power.
"Soul! Let's keep this up!" I shakily declared, standing up from crouching position.
Soul transformed back to look at my injuries. "Maka, are you sure? None of your hits are working, and you look dead tired." Sure, I needed a little support to stand, but this needs to continue.
I nodded. "I'm positive." Soul must've guessed what was going on, because he complied and changed into a scythe again. "Thank you, Soul…" I whispered.
We were back again, in the same sequence. Slash after slash, dodge after dodge… but this time, there's no way we were going to lose!
Finally, after a long line of struggled slashes, the bat could not hold its weight with the bag, and fell.
Right at the same time, I also fell from heat and fatigue. I watched from the corner of my eye as Soul transformed, already grinning. He snatched the bag from the bat and added the last gems to the pouch. Once finished with that, he knelt down beside me and lifted me up.
"What a stupid fight with a bat. You realize if it wasn't carrying that thing, you would've passed out first?" Soul stated.
I stifled a laugh. "Shut up, Soul. It was the only thing I could think of." I tried slapping him in the face, but all I could pull of was a simple touch. "Who knew I could get this tired?"
"Well," He began as he lifted me off the ground, "I'm guessing that you haven't been eating a whole lot, huh?" He propped me over his shoulder, which gave me the chance to weakly punch his back.
"You just ate, Soul!"
No POV
"…and in second place, Soul Eater and Maka Albarn! I never would've guessed after that whole bat thing, though." The staff still couldn't get Spirit to sober up, so Lord Death continued the commentary.
"Let's hear some thoughts from a fellow DWMA member! Ox Ford, what are your thoughts on the trial so far?" The springy man in the coat handed over the microphone to a young, nearly bald man with odd glasses.
"Hmph, if I were in there all the gems would have been accounted for a lot sooner! My intellect is highly superior. Although both Death the Kid and Maka's teams have shown some competence in the intelligence level, I am highly ashamed for Black*Star! He couldn't solve that riddle!" Ox spoke.
"Ah! That's right! Last time we saw them, Black*Star and Tsubaki were about to get the last ten gems when a group of hermits took the gems and hid them with the answer to a riddle as the key to the lock. Let's check in on them, hm?"
%%%%%%%%%
The blunette and the taller girl sat dejectedly in a corner. Apparently, the amount of time allotted had ran out, so the riddle was left unsolved.
"I can't believe we couldn't figure it out…" Tsubaki sighed.
Black*Star punched the ground. "Stupid puzzles… stupid trial… stupid Wyatt and his brains... why did he have to be some idiot with eidetic memory, anyway?!"
The hermit crabs the duo met earlier appeared again. "It seems that you couldn't unleash the last gems you need. Would you like a hint? Don't think too hard on this puzzle. Now that the fifteen minutes has passed, you have failed to prove your brains. Fortunately for you, though, you can still unlock the stone, but your intelligence will forever be marked low!"
Black*Star brightened up. "We can still open this thing? Seriously? YAHOO! I DON'T CARE WHAT INTELLIGENCE LEVEL I'M ON, IF WE CAN STILL DO THIS, THAT'S ALL I CARE ABOUT!" He dashed over to the rock again, and Tsubaki followed.
"Can we hear the riddle again?" She asked.
"You may. Four men were on a boat in a lake. The boat tips over, and all four men sink to the bottom, yet not a single man gets wet. Why?"
"Hmm," Tsubaki thought out loud. "We can't think too hard on this one, Black*Star…" She tapped her chin.
Black*Star then pointed something out. "Wow, the words here are so weird. I'm sure if they said it differently, it would make sense, huh, Tsubaki?"
The black haired weapon widened her eyes. "…The wording! That's it! If we don't think too complicated, we can just point out the obvious! Thanks for that, Black*Star!" She ruffled his hair a bit, not noticing the slight insult it implied to him.
"Let's see… if the meaning of any one of the words changed, that would change the whole puzzle… maybe one of the words we assumed just meant one thing really meant another! Okay… um…"
"OH! I know! It's 'man', isn't it? Maybe they're really some sort of fish creatures or… um… some kind of…" Black*Star offered, but to no avail.
Tsubaki paced back and forth, deep in thought. 'It shouldn't be that hard… I know the answer is staring right in the face! What is it? Not a single man—'
"…OH MY GOSH I HAVE IT!" Tsubaki suddenly announced. Black*Star snapped his head towards the outburst coming from the usually quiet and shy weapon.
Tsubaki made her way to the rock where the hermits were anxiously waiting as well.
"The answer to the riddle is: Since all four men were married, not a 'single' man got wet!" The words came out forced a little, but she got her message through.
Black*Star opened his mouth in shock.
"…THAT'S THE ANSWER?!í"
"Aaaalright! Let's hear the results of the first trial!" This time, Spirit was heading the commentary. Stein and Azusa managed to bring him back… with a few threats.
"In first place: Death the Kid, Patty, and Liz! They managed to grab all 30 and put them in the bag before anyone else!
In second place: Soul Eater and Maka Albarn (my Maka…)! They grabbed the stolen bag in an odd battle with a swarm of bats!
In third place: Black*Star and Tsubaka Nakatsukasa, who had their troubles with a confusing riddle! Let's give a hand to them solving it!"
Kid was found resting in his original waiting room while Liz touched up her makeup and Patty took a random nap.
Black*Star raged around the room in anger, not only for being in last place, but at the stupidity of the riddle itself. Tsubaki could only watch the room fall victim to its occupant's rage.
Meanwhile, Soul and Maka were sharing a tender moment… something a bit rare. A sleeping Maka was leaning against Soul, using him as a figurative pillow. All Soul could do was sit there and be that pillow for her.
Meanwhile, Azusa was exhausted from two days of nonstop monitor. "I can't believe all that was just the first trial… and we still have two more to go…"
YES! DONE FOR NOW! I decided to split this chapter into three, considering that if I let it run like this it could be over 33,000 words. Right now it's over 11,000. Anyways, I'm sorry for dying so much, but I couldn't help it DX I'm actually sick right now, but I was determined!
AND IT'S ALSO 1:30 IN THE MORNING, I APOLOGIZE FOR CRAP WRITING
So, since this party isn't done yet, I'll save the other stuff for a couple chapters later. I don't plan to take requests for more party ideas yet, but if you have an idea for another party chapter, I'd be glad to take it into account.
So, now that reviewing is easier, would you mind if you did? This was really difficult to write~ 0w0