5. Shards
A Lesson In Broken Glass?
"How did it go last night?" Tsubaki asked Maka and Soul as the Cresent Moon Class sat, waiting for the Professor.
"It went well." Maka said proudly.
"We won, anyway." Soul muttered.
"Well that's good." Liz said, not sounding very interested, "Hey, we were thinking about getting together later. Just to eat or hang out." There was a mutter of ascent among the group, Liz turned to Mimiko, "What do you think, Mimiko? Want to come?"
"I'd love to." Mimiko said, "But I have extra lessons with Professor Stein. The way he tells it, it kind of looks like I will never have a free moment ever again."
"Bummer." Liz turned to her sister and Mimiko suddenly felt uncomfortable again. She whipped around to see Maka, sitting behind her, staring at her again. Not exactly seeing her, but seeing into her.
"Could you please stop looking at my soul?" Mimiko asked sharply, self-consciously clutching a book to her chest.
"Don't be rude." Soul said, poking his partner's arm. Maka blushed.
"Sorry, it's just..."
"Interesting." Mimiko finished dryly. Before Maka could apologize further, Professor Stein rolled in. He set a glass of water on his desk and picked up his clipboard.
"Quiet everyone." He said, "We've got a lot of ground to cover today."
When the class was dismissed for lunch, Maka held back. Black Star dashed out of the room at once, followed quickly by the Thompsons. Soul stayed by Maka, watching her curiously.
"Go on, you guys. I'll catch up in a minute." She forced a smile. Mimiko raised one eyebrow at her neighbor before leaving the room. Crona hesitated, then followed her, Kid slowly brought up the rear. Soul and Tsubaki remained, Soul with narrowed eyes, Tsubaki with concern. "I just want to talk to Professor Stein for a minute."
"About Mimiko?" Soul asked. Maka didn't answer. "Come on, then. Let's go ask him." Maka smiled at his support and looked at Tsubaki, who nodded. The three of them approached Professor Stein, who was sitting by his desk.
"Professor?" Maka asked as they approached. The mad scientist looked up in acknowledgment. "Professor, we were wondering about Mimiko's soul."
"I figured you were. The way you kept staring at it." Stein said flatly, causing Maka to blush again.
"What can make a soul shatter like that?" Someone asked from the doorway. They all turned to see Death The Kid in the door frame. Slowly, he walked in to stand next to Soul in front of the Professor, "And what can you do to fix it?" Their teacher sighed and he picked up his glass of water. He tipped it up and drained it in a few gulps. Satisfied, he set the empty cup back on the table. For a moment, he waited, looking like he was ready to say something. Instead, he swung his leg out and rammed his foot into the desk. The glass toppled from its platform and fell with a crash against the tiled floor. Broken glass spread across the floor with a tinkling sound.
"Leave it." Stein ordered as Tsubaki bent to help clean up. She straightened obediently and gave Stein her attention. "Let's say that this glass was Mimiko's soul. It was whole and in tact, a completely normal glass of water. But one violent kick sent it spiraling down, shattering it. Look down, what do you see?" The four students looked at the floor.
"A broken cup?" Soul asked.
"Shards of glass." Maka answered.
"That's right. Now let's compare it to a soul. When it shattered, shards of it were sent everywhere. I could pick up the individual pieces and glue them back together, though that isn't very probable. In theory, though, it would work."
"So you can just piece a soul back together?" Kid asked in surprise.
"Not exactly. It takes conditioning and resonance to fix a soul, it takes a lot of will power. A lot of people who try to rebuild their soul give up after the placing of the first shard."
"Why's that?" Maka asked.
"It's exceptionally painful. Look at the broken glass again, it's a mess. And the loud, destructive sound it made when it fell. All of this was taking place inside Mimiko. Shattering is painful enough that the memory of it alone will keep people from trying. That's part of the reason Mimiko doesn't want a weapon partner, resonating with a partner would be... Of course, the first shard is marginally worse than the others, you don't know what to expect. I can't say it's the type of pain that you ever get used to, but the more the soul comes together, the harder it is to give up."
"And if you can get all the pieces back, her soul will be whole again?"
"Obviously a process like that would take several years. Like this glass, it's highly unlikely that I would find all the necessary shards when I tried to assemble it. Even if you think you're healed, there's always a couple of pieces disconnected. Those would cause more pain. And it would never stop." Stein explained.
"So Mimiko is always in pain?" Tsubaki asked, horrified.
"Right now most of the pain she suffers is emotional. Our training can help her soul be more flexible, and arrange all of the shards for a faster recovery. But when she resonates with a partner and that first shard is replaced, it's possible that Mimiko will be in pain for the rest of her life. Mimiko is hesitant to have a weapon partner again, partly because once she starts, she won't be able to stop it. The only hope she has of escaping the pain after that is to completely reassemble her soul."
"But you said that was highly unlikely." Maka pointed out.
"It is." Stein sighed, "Normally, we'd respect that. We wouldn't ask it of anyone, especially someone so young, but Mimiko is a valuable asset. The strength of her soul, the flexibility of it, and her magic would make her one of the greatest meisters to have attended the academy."
"That's terrible." Maka growled.
"You'll remember that the decision is up to her. Mimiko will not be assigned a weapon until she decides that she's ready for one. She will be fully informed of the benefits and consequences, then she'll be able to make the decision herself."
"Does she know all this?" Kid asked.
"She does." Stein searched his lab coat's pockets, "She knows all of it, but I don't think her concern is the physical pain. The shape of her soul will greatly help her heal, it will diminish the pain and function as her soul would normally. It's hard to say exactly, but I think the everyday pain won't be something too extraordinary. People with scars and chronic pain know it, and they live with it. I also think that Mimiko's soul will heal faster. All in all, Lord Death and I are of the opinion that the benefits greatly outweigh the consequences. It will still be hard for her, and that's why this is her decision."
"And what does Mimiko think?" Maka asked stiffly.
"Like I said, she isn't too concerned about the pain. She knows pain, and she's strong. I said the pain was part of the reason she didn't want a weapon. It's a small part." Stein pulled a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket and opened it, pulling a stick out and placing it between his lips.
"What's the other part?" Soul asked.
"She's just not ready." Stein answered simply, "Her soul shattered for a reason, she has to come to terms with that before she can move on."
"What caused her soul to shatter?" Kid asked.
"That is between Mimiko and whoever she decides to share it with." Stein answered as he lit his cigarette.
"Do you know?" Maka demanded.
"All the bloody details." Stein confirmed, "But not from Mimiko. Go have lunch."
"That doesn't look right." Liz told Tsubaki in disappointment. Liz had her homework spread out over Maka and Soul's kitchen table. Tsubaki, who had offered her help, hovered behind her. Patty had long since abandoned her schoolwork and was laying on her stomach in the living room, joining Maka, Soul, Crona, and Kid in listening to Black Star tell a probably much-less-than-true story of his latest accomplishment.
"Let's try looking at this differently." Tsubaki suggested kindly.
"I guess." Liz sounded doubtful.
"And then the Mighty Black Star arrived on the scene and they quaked with fear." Black Star stood in the middle of the living room, gesturing dramatically, "They knew they couldn't win, so as soon as they saw me they ran for cover. Of course, there's no escaping Black Star."
"Why do we have to learn this, anyway?" Liz threw down her pencil, picked up her eraser, and began to feverishly rub it against her last answer. Before Tsubaki could answer her, the door opened and Blair walked in.
"Hey, Blair." Maka stood up and walked to the kitchen, "You're back kind of late, aren't you?"
"I got caught up downstairs." Blair explained as she took off her jacket, "I ran into Mimiko in the lobby. She went shopping today and four guys are helping her carry in her things. Four hot guys." The cat's eyes sparkled.
"Mimiko's back?" Maka asked, moving past Blair to the door, "Maybe she can still come over."
"Wait, Maka!" The cat chased after her, "Maybe you shouldn't bother her right now." It was too late. Maka was already out in the hallway, walking toward the neighboring apartment. The door was flung open and a few of the guys that Blair mentioned earlier were filing in and out, carrying Mimiko's new merchandise. Mimiko was standing near the door frame, facing away from Maka. The Scythe Meister walked up next to her neighbor as one of the men carried in a headless designer mannequin that Mimiko could use to make her clothes.
"You went shopping?" Maka asked the obvious cheerfully. Mimiko turned her head slightly to look at her neighbor and Maka stifled a gasp, understanding why Blair hadn't wanted her to bother the girl. Mimiko looked tired. She was beyond tired, she was the very image of death. Her face was pale and drawn, her eyes were dull and slightly red, and there were dark bags under her eyes that hadn't been there that afternoon. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine." Mimiko forced an embarrassed smile, "Working with Professor Stein is just...draining."
"Well, everyone is over at our place, I came to see if you wanted to come." Maka offered.
"Sounds good." Mimiko sighed, straightening and turning away from the door.
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah, they don't need me for this." She gestured to the movers, still going in and out of her apartment. She followed Maka down the short stretch of hallway, into the neighboring apartment. Everyone greeted them enthusiastically as the two girls found spots in the living room.
"I give up." Liz mourned, laying her head down on the kitchen table.
"No, you've almost got it!" Tsubaki encouraged her, patting her back soothingly.
"You missed my story." Black Star complained, "Thankfully, there's plenty more where that came fr-"
"Stop with the stupid stories already!" Liz shouted from the kitchen.
"Don't listen to her, she's just frustrated." Tsubaki put in nervously.
"Hunf." Black Star crossed his arms.
"Maybe you should take a little break from story-telling." Maka suggested.
"Actually, I'd rather hear about how the Academy's branches work." Kid said, looking at Mimiko.
"Yeah, tell us some stories about that!" Patty agreed happily. Everyone, deathly curious to hear about the mysterious Death Branches, looked expectantly at Mimiko. She took a deep breath and smiled.
"Well," She said, "where should I start?"
I know, I know! Sorry this took forever but I've been busy with college stuff (and stuff).
So don't forget to review!