If your wondering what's been going with the updates. Well, I had to take some time to plan some chapters. While adding in some updates in the previous chapters. And so you know I also been working on another story. So I've been going back and forth with each stories, while also working on mini projects in Deviantart. So please understand. Thank you!

Edit: I decided to to edit this chapter to add some details that I should've put before, cause I felt this chapter fell flat without important info. I'm sorry for the long wait, I should've looked over it and rewrote it to make it better. You could say it's a habit of mine, I apologize for that. Keep in mind that I tend to rewrite a lot, but I know now that I have check over it before

Now, enjoy the story!

Chapter 10

The Fire Swordswoman and The Assassin

Lord Death couldn't be more happier when he found out that the troupe of Black Crows were finally put in their place after all the trouble they caused to the innocent civilians. And it was all thanks to duo that he summon over.

"Well Ms. Seraphina, I must say you seem to have made impressive progress," Lord Death said in a pleasing tone. "But of course, I'd expect that from my favorite three-star-meister!"

Before him stood two students. The redhead tomboy Furrah Seraphina, and the tall young man with the suit and glasses Leonardo James Nicolas. They came to the headmaster to address the situation that happen last week at the strip club.

"Sorry, we weren't able to find the chainsaw man, sir." The red-haired girl said with her head lowered in disappointment.

He remembered that time he ordered Furrah and Leo to hunt down Griko, one of Arachne's old henchmen. The spider witch maybe dead, but her companions were still on the loose. After the final battle with Asura Acrophobia was taken down, but some of their members are still alive and could be causing trouble elsewhere. The only ones who was off the search list was Mifune and his little witch Angela. Lord Death welcomed them to the school since they were no longer considered a threat, with Mifune being reformed and Angela who was only a child. He offered them a new home in Death City in the neighborhood. Mifune became a teacher in the academy, and would teach trainees while Angela attended the DWMA's preschool.

All's well in the meantime, but he needed someone to hunt down the chainsaw weapon. However, he couldn't just hire anyone to do it, since Griko was in fact a deranged man and severely dangerous. Most of the students were either one-star-meisters or still recovery from the final battle with Acrophobia. So he decided to hire the youngest three-star-meister in the academy, the Fire Swordswoman Furrah Seraphina and her weapon partner Leonardo James Nicolas the Flame Sword.

"Oh, don't worry about that," the headmaster said waving his large hand down. "You did what you could, besides what's important is that you manage to achieve 88 kishins souls yesterday! Your on a roll into achieving 99 soon!"

"Well, we probably would've gotten more souls if Furrah didn't run off on her own again." the young man folded his arms as he scold at his meister.

Furrah just put her hands in her pockets, and stood in a laid back position. "Oh, c'mon Leo. I was only trying to seek information of Arachne's old goon," she said while hiding a smirk behind her mask. "Plus, that Johnny bastard deserved a beating anyway. It's what he gets for underestimating me."

Leo just shook his head in doubt. What was he going to with her? She never stays put when he tells her to. Furrah was a strong and independent person, but her stubbornness can be a hassle to deal with. He would tried to persuade her to be less assertive, but when he did she would get overly aggressive with him and not listen.

Furrah was a tough cookie, but she can't let that get the best of her when she and Leo are on an important mission. Even so, they were able resonate souls without any trouble. After doing so, he realized that she was a firm person who wanted to get the job done. Deep down inside that tough act, was a determine young girl who just wants to be the strongest in the world.

"Anyways, what matters is that you stop the Black Crows from causing anymore trouble," Lord Death said in his squeaking high-pitch voice. "It's was smart of you to get the police involved, now they're completely put down!"

"Of course I had to inform the police," Furrah said in her deadpan attitude. "It's not like I was gonna walk away and leave a bunch of knocked out men in a club."

"Even though, we had to answer some questions to the authorities." Leo said still displeased.

Furrah just shrug it off and rolled her eyes as if it wasn't a big deal. Seriously when will he let that go already?

"Anyways," Lord Death said as he clasp his large hands together. "You two did a good job shutting down the Black Crows. Don't worry about the search for Griko, just take a little break for now, you've earn it."

"Thank you sir," the young man said. "We appreciate it."

"Yeah, now I can focus on martial arts practice." The redhead girl said as she put her hands in her jacket pockets, and walked away to the exit.

Leo and Lord Death watch as she left the Death Room. Even after that mission, she still continued to focus on her combat skills. As if a battle wasn't enough to her. He get that she desires strength, but it apparently was the only thing she cared about.

"I'm sorry about that Lord Death," Leo apologized. "She's very headstrong as you can see."

"It's alright," The headmaster said in his typical cheerful tone. "Furrah's a very passionate young lady, I can see that in her soul."

"Damn it!" Black*Star said furiously as he rapidly kept beating the punching bag before him. "How can I the Great Black*Star possibly let a kishin egg get away!"

He was working out in the gym, mostly likely to get his anger out from a failed mission to capture the kishin egg that was on the loose in Nevada.

"It's because you weren't paying attention," Tsubaki said holding a towel and a bottle of water for her meister, so he doesn't get dehydrated. "When we were going against the kishin egg, you got overly excited and continued to boost your overconfidence without thinking about the consequences."

The time they were assigned to go after a kishin egg, Black*Star and Tsubaki went to Nevada to go after it. However, Black*Star's overconfidence got the best of him, and as a result he ended up losing track of the creature they were assigned to take down. When he finally got the kishin egg in site, he tried to struck it down but it eventually send him flying due to the young assassin's cockiness.

"Yeah, but I nearly had it if it didn't smack me like some sort of bug," Black*Star was agitated as he punch the bag so hard, it nearly flew of the hook chain. "A big star like me should never get wiped out like that!"

Black*Star was pushing himself too hard again, his partner could tell he's overdoing it. Anymore of this and he'll passed out from exhaustion.

"Black*Star you should take a break," Tsubaki said handing him the towel. "You've been doing this for hours. It's best to save your energy when you need it."

The young assassin looked back at the tall girl. He could see the fret in her indigo eyes. He didn't mean to make her feel this way, but at the same time he appreciated the fact that she cared for him. He decided to take 5 for now, it's not like the gym was going anywhere.

"You're right," Black*Star said as he took the towel from Tsubaki's hand. "Sorry to trouble you Tsubaki."

He wipe the sweat off his face with the towel, and grab the water from his partner's other hand and chugged it down. Tsubaki knew he'd been parched from all that punching. She couldn't help but let a chuckle escape her mouth. Black*Star may not be the brightest person, but he was a strong-willed boy who just wanted to be the best, which wasn't a bad thing.

"I think I'm gonna hit the showers," the blue-haired boy said after wiping his mouth. "It would suck for the Great Black*Star to stink during next period."

"I'll accompany you," Tsubaki assisted. "Just to walk you there of course."

"Alright," Black*Star conquered. "I don't see why not."

The Shadow duo made their way to the boys locker room. As they were walking, they passed by the training room where students practice their hand-to-hand combat skills. They notice a large crowd of students crowded over the window.

This peaked Black*Star's curiosity. Could there be someone that was hogging up the spotlight? The young assassin narrowed his eyes in anger. He didn't like the look of this, only he was allowed to be the center of attention when it came to fighting. He shoved a couple of people aside to get a better view. Then his eyes widen in astound, this person wasn't the type he was expecting. It wasn't some muscular guy, or even a senior student as he thought.

But he couldn't even tell what this person was, it seem like someone close to his age. More, importantly it hard to tell the gender. He squinted his eye to clear his vision, it looked like this person was a boy. They had red ruffled hair, yet their eyes were big and feminine, and the chest didn't seem visible, unless they were flat-chested like Maka.

Judging by the masculine appearance, he came to the conclusion that it was a boy. At Least, that's what he thought. This redhead, was beating the crap out of all his opponents like nothing. Black*Star was stunned by his actions, he dodged every attack that strike towards him, and flip his opponent by their feet. He look invincible, almost as if he was a professional fighter.

"Could this a be a worthy opponent for the Great Black*Star?" The young ninja assassin thought.

He didn't know whether to be jealous or impressed. But either way, he's found himself a rival.

Furrah wasn't surprised by how she automatically became the victor again during training. All those years of hand-to-hand combat practice with her brothers really paid off. But it wasn't enough, she needed to get stronger. She had to keep her strength up, if she was gonna fulfill the promise she made. To the person who truly cared for her. She will not rest even if it kills her.

Ever since she join the DWMA the first thing that came to her mind was becoming the strongest woman in the world. It was her number one priority, everyday before class she would train at the gym, then after class she would attend martial art practice. It may sound like a hassle, but for Furrah it was more of a schedule. Even after a three-star-mission she would continue to attend martial arts practice everyday, and has never bailed on it once. She dedicated her life in being a full-fledged warrior, she may have succeeded in becoming a three-star-meister but that wasn't enough for her, there was still more she needed to accomplish.

She wanted to continued her training, but her blood sugar was started to get low. It was best for her to grab some grub to keep energy up. She decided to stop and have a lunch break. But first thing first, she needed to go and change. Her martial arts uniform was already drenched in sweat. And she hated to smell as a woman.

Furrah grabbed her towel and wrap it around her neck, then she grab her water bottle and took a few sips before leaving the room. She ignored the group of students that were watching her through the window, it wasn't the first time she got unwanted from the academy. It's like they never seen a girl do martial arts before.

"Oi, redhead!" a voice came from behind Furrah. She turn to see who dared to called her out during her break.

She came in contact with a boy with spiky blue hair. He was wearing orange tank top, and black jogging pants. She notice the star tattoo on his right shoulder. He seem to be a bit muscular as if he been working out.

Wait. Why is she even bothering with him? He's not worth the attention. She turn her back on him and proceed her way, no even saying a word.

"Hey!" the boy shouted. "How dare you walk away when your god is speaking to you?!"

God? What the hell was he talking about? This kid is only a student, and he thinks he's a god?! Please, the only god he'll ever be is the God of morons.

"Look bluey," Furrah said as she shot back at the blue-haired boy. "I don't have time for your bullshit, I have more important things to do than hear your big mouth."

"What?!" Black*Star yelled being offended. "How dare you back sass your god?! Are you trying to challenge me?!

"Challenge?" Furrah raised a brow. "Why would I challenge someone who smells like a dead pig?"

"It's called manly sweat," Black*Star said with a cocky grin while putting his hands on hips. "A man has to sweat in order to gain his manly strength."

"I don't think men have balls that are the size of baby wieners ." Furrah said with a smirk.

Black*Star's eyes grew as wide as saucers. He couldn't believe what this person just said. He dared mock his manhood? That's it, he messed with the bull, now here comes the horns. He cracked his knuckles until they were flexible, he prepared to give this asshole a nice beating. He'll show him what happens when he teases the Great Black Star.

Furrah took notice that the boy was about to punch her. But she didn't care. Does he really thinks he can get at her? This was truly laughable, she's been through way worse than just getting a punch. She just stood there ready to take the blow, as if it was nothing.

The ninja assassin was baffled as to why the redhead wasn't scared. This gotta be an act, there's no way anyone would just stand there without even quivering, when they're about to get punch. He's probably just holding in his pee so he doesn't wet himself.

"Alright redhead," Black Star said as he walked up the red-haired person. "You asked for it! Say your prayers!"

Black Star held back his right arm and tighten his grip, so his fist was as hard as a rock, and throw it towards the face. But before he could even touch them, his fist was halted by a grasp.

Furrah in the nick of time grabbed Black Star's fist right when it came a few inches to her face. The assassin widen his eyes in shock, as he didn't expect her to react that quickly. How did she manage to even do that? He was caught off guard.

"Too slow." the red-haired girl said with a smirk still on her face.

With a good grip of his fist, she lifted Black Star off from the floor and threw him over her head. She released her grasp, letting the boy land on his back.

"Black Star!" Tsubaki ran to her meister's side to make sure he was alright.

Furrah came to the conclusion that this boy was indeed an idiot. He should be more cautious before challenging a unknown opponent. That's what happens when you underestimate someone your unaware of.

She turn around to face the young boy that was laying on the floor in defeat. "Let this be a lesson to you," she walk over his body as she proceed her way not even looking back. "Don't start a fight you can't win."

Black Star slowly got up on his knee. His back was still sore from the hard fall on the cold concrete floor. He felt his spine being fractured from the impact. This person was stronger than he thought. But how? How was he stronger than him? No one is stronger than the mighty Black Star.

"Hey," he manage to choke out a word before the redhead could get away from his presence.

Furrah turn once more to see whatever the hell he had to say now. Hasn't he had enough already?

"What's your name?"

The young girl faced away from him, not wanting to show him her puzzle expression. Seriously, someone just flip him over and the first thing he ask is her name? Whatever.

"It's Furrah Seraphina," she introduced herself. "Don't forget it."

The redhead proceed her way to her destination. Leaving the boy in a humiliating defeat.

The young assassin manage to finally get back on his feet, while Tsubaki hold his weak body so he wouldn't fall.

"Black Star are you alright?" the shadow weapon asked in concern.

Black Star didn't respond, but instead came to a realization.

"I see," he said with a cocky smile on his face. "So, that's the kind of person he is."

"Black Star?" Tsubaki question as she grew a puzzle look on her face.

The Shadow meister turn his back as he had a change of heart. This opponent of his seem to intrigued him, and this was him the Great Black Star he was talking about. Himself. The one who sore to surpassed god. To think he found someone who was at his level. If that was the case, then he needed to get stronger if he was gonna be facing of against him. There could only be one strongest student in this academy. If that redhead wants a competition, he'll have one.

"Tsubaki," Black Star said before looking back to his weapon. "Tell Professor Stein that I passed out during training."

"Why?" Tsubaki asked while raising a brow.

"I have some self-thought training to do," Black Star replied. "If I'm gonna be the best I could be, then I need to become stronger...than him."

Maka invited Ayumi over to her and Soul's apartment to study like she promised her. Ayumi was fascinated by their home, the living room was roomie and the kitchen was stunning, even better than her own kitchen which made her feel jealous.

The two girls were studying in Maka's room while Soul was studying in his room. It went smoothly for the scythe meister, of course studying was not a problem for her since she's done it multiple times. For Ayumi it was the exact opposite, she had trouble keeping focus since reading wasn't her thing. She was more a visual learner, since watching something was more easier than scanning through a bunch of words.

"Uuuugh!" Ayumi groaned in frustration. "How can you read through all this like it's nothing?"

Maka giggled at Ayumi's reaction. "It's not that hard, you just have to take one sentence at a time."

"Easy for you to say," Ayumi said while tapping her pencil on Maka's desk. "You're used to reading books, I on the other hand just read manga."

"So? What the difference?" Maka ask which caused Ayumi to raise a brow. "Books and mangas are both novels, the only difference is that mangas contains pictures while books only have words, but other than that it's still the same thing. Reading is reading."

That statement gave Ayumi a new realization, she never actually saw it that way. Most of her life she thought that reading was always in books without pictures. It was hard for her to get into literature because there was never any illustration to represent the story. Scanning through texts was something she found uninteresting.

"I just don't understand how can you read a novel with the lack of pictures," Ayumi said still puzzled.

"That's when you think of the pictures in your head," Maka said pointing at her noggin. "Reading allows you to envision what's going on in your mind. It gives your brain a good workout when you think about it."

Ayumi widen her eyes a bit from the words Maka just spoke. She never thought about it in that perspective. To her, reading was boring because of the word-filled pages. Going through them made her head hurt. But from Maka's perspective it was more than just scanning through paper, but rather than envisioning the story in your mind.

In other words, it gives the reader the ability to think of the story however they want. But in manga the images are already there for you see, basically showing the author's vision of the story itself. Reading must be more valuable than she thought.

"Say Maka?" Ayumi asked.

"Hmm?" Maka asked tilting her head.

"Is that why you enjoy reading so much," Ayumi questioned the blonde girl. "Because, they let you envision your own fantasy of the story?"

"You could say that," Maka replied. "But I mostly just like to read for fun, it keeps my mind occupied for the time being."

Even though it's only been a couple weeks, Ayumi still doesn't know Maka that well. Other than her tough and headstrong personality of course. But other than that she still hasn't been able to figure her out yet, it's almost as if Maka herself was a whole new book waiting to be explore too. Who would've thought?

"What's all the commotion?" a voice said.

The two girls turn to see who the voice belonged to. It appeared to be a purple cat with a witch hat.

"Oh hey Blair," Maka greeted the cat. "We're just studying for the test."

Blair took notice of the girl that was sitting next to Maka.

"Maka dear, who's your new friend?" Blair asked as she jumped on Ayumi's lap.

"This is Ayumi," Maka introduce her pet to the raven-haired girl. "She's a new student in the academy."

Ayumi's eye began to sparkle as she realize how cute Blair was.

"Maka, you never told me you have a pet cat," Ayumi said as she pet Blair's soft fur which Blair was obviously enjoying it based on her vibrate purring. "She's so cute! Where'd you find her."

Maka kinda sweat-dropped as she remembered the time her and Soul met Blair. It was when they were close to making Soul into a Death Scythe, they ended up getting into a fight with Blair mistaking her for a witch when it turn out she was just a magical cat. Not to mention the disgusting nosebleeds he got when Blair was naked…!

Maka furiously grabbed her book and smashed it on her desk leaving a huge crack, which gave Ayumi big fright that nearly made her wet herself.

The sandy blond girl took notice that she scared her new friend.

"Sorry Ayumi," Maka apologized. "I got carried away by my thoughts."

"I-It's okay," Ayumi stuttered.

She wondered if that's what Maka does on a daily basis whenever she pissed. One thing's for sure is that she knew not to make her mad ever. She definitely wouldn't want to get hit by those hard covered books.

After a hour of studying, Maka decided to whip up some dinner and call it a night. Right when Ayumi was about to pack and leave Maka suggest that she stayed for dinner. It was awfully late, and the only thing she had at home was leftover ramen, but she was craving for something more so Ayumi accepted the offer.

Soul came over to the table when he heard it was time to eat. Maka made her well-known curry and served everyone. Ayumi sat opposite while Soul and Maka sat next to each other. The curry was delicious, it seem to have a different flavor compared to the curry she ate back in her homeland.

She could tell that Maka added her own ingredients to make it taste different than the original recipe. It had a spicy yet tangy taste when it hit her tongue, she savored the delicious flavor as it went down her throat.

"How is it Ayumi?" Maka asked.

"It's amazing," Ayumi said still astound. "I've never tasted anything like it!"

"That's because I added some other spices to make my own recipe out of it," Maka explained. "I like to mix things up every now and then when it comes to cooking."

"Yeah, it's not the best dish," Soul said deadpanned. "But it's tasteful enough."

Maka give Soul a dirty glare from his mean comment. That ungrateful jerk never appreciates her cooking.

"Well I think it's great," Ayumi said trying to lighten the mood.

"Thank you Ayumi," Maka said with a warm smile. "At least someone here values my cooking."

Soul just scoffed and rolled his eyes as he continued to eat his meal. Maka narrowed her eyes at him aware that he was ignoring her. Ayumi took notice that the two partners were getting at each other so she decided to change the topic.

"Anyway," Ayumi spoke up. "I'm curious, how did you two meet each other?"

The young battle ax figured it was best to get to know her new friends, even though a couple of weeks have past since she attended the DWMA and met Maka and the gang, she still wanted to know more about them and lives.

"Oh, we've met in a recital," Maka said as her mood switched from angry to pleasing. "Soul auditioned in a piano recital, and that's where I first met him. I was in the the audience watching him perform on stage, he was playing the piano in such a strange rhythm that I never heard before. After the audition was over, I went backstage and I ask him to play it again for me. I sat down and listen to the melody again, it sounded so dark yet so mysterious. Even though, I didn't understood it was incredibly interesting so I went up to him and ask him if we could be partners since he had the potentially of being someone I could trust."

Ayumi stop in awe while the spoon of curry was inches away from her mouth. She never thought their origin would be like that. The story of how they met sounded beautiful, just the way Maka described was poetic itself.

Based on how Soul and Maka behave around each other, she figured Maka met him from the streets the gang of bad boys. Guess, there more than what meets the eye.

"Soul you played the piano?" Ayumi asked the demon scythe.

"Yeah," he replied. "But, I never like it. I was more less force into playing it."

"Why?" Ayumi asked as she muched into her curry.

"My family was known as the best musicians in the city," Soul explained. "They were known for playing an instrument, and they wanted me to play the piano, even though I never wanted to play it, I had no choice."

The albino's backstory made Ayumi's heart break a bit. It made her rethink of her judgment on Soul. He may at time act like a jerk or not care about what's going on around him. But, maybe there's a reason why he's like this. Maybe his parents forced him to do things he didn't want to do, and they wouldn't allow him to be his own person.

That could be why he was the like this now. It made her feel regretful that she misunderstood him.

"I'm really sorry," Ayumi said putting her spoon down.

"Hey, it's cool," Soul said as he waved his hand in a 'no worry' fashion. "That's all behind me now. Besides it's uncool to let the past get you ya know?"

"Yeah, you're right." Ayumi agreed.

Once everyone was finished with their dinner, Maka took the empty dishes and washed them off in the sink.

"That was delicious Maka," Ayumi said as she patted her stomach. "You know, you and Soul should come over to my house next time for dinner."

"Yeah we should," Maka conquered. "We never been to your place yet, and we could invite the others as well. I'm sure they'll love to see your house."

That did sounded like a good idea, especially since it felt lonely in her house without any guest. But she'll need to do little bit of cleaning before she gets any visitors.

She hasn't forgotten what Esmeralda told about keeping Maka close to her. So far, there relationship is going good thanks to the dinner they had together. Maybe, she was right. Maka is helping her get better. She wasn't as nervous as she was when she first set foot on Death City.

Yeah, Esmeralda was right, if she spends more time with Maka, her mental illness with finally go away.

"Oh, uh Maka?" Ayumi said sheepishly.

"What is it?" Maka asked.

"This may be embarrassing but...can I use your bathroom?"

"Oh sure," Maka said.

The scythe meister gave Ayumi directions to the bathroom. She walked a on fast paced while holding in her bladder. She knew she shouldn't of drinking all that lemonade, but she couldn't help herself.

Once she found the door to the bathroom, she quickly grab the knob and twist it open. Only to discovered a naked woman with purple hair in the tub cover in bubble froth.

"Oh hello there Ayumi," the woman said in merriment. "Would you like to take a bath with me?"

Embarrassed, Ayumi quickly shut the door down without a second thought, her face turned completely red from the embarrassing. Since when did Maka and Soul had a woman living with them?

A/N: There was that error that I'm sure everyone was familiar with. Since the anime ended too early it left a lot of unanswered questions and unsolved problems. More specifically the members of Arachnophobia still being alive and not put down. They could've at least show a epilogue scene with Mifune being a teacher and Angela attending the school as a preschooler. But no they just showed them sitting beside each other not knowing what to do with themselves, I know that they ended going to the going to the academy but they never actually showed it.

And for those of you who wondered what happens to them in the manga, well (Spoiler) Mifune dies and Angela ends up going to DWMA instead. Which I find it pretty upsetting since Mifune had potential to a be a reformed villain, I mean he wasn't all that bad, he was just doing his best to take care of Angela. I really didn't how they killed him off in the manga, when they've done more with his characters.

Lastly, I forgot to add the scene where Ayumi is studying with Maka at her and Soul's apartment. I wanted them to have a bonding moment.