Chapter One: Death City

AN: I don't even know anymore man. This chapter…I'm not sure if I like it or hate it. It started off good but I don't know maybe I'm being too harsh on myself. Pretty much all that happens here is that Soul and Maka meet, however they don't know each other's names…Yes, Soul still likes teasing Maka and he will eventually get Maka chopped.

Death City wasn't on any map though just about everyone knew where it was. It wasn't a place people often visited, even though it's crime rate was rumored to be an ever elusive zero, mainly because it was crawling with assassins. The bulk of society left them be, seeing them as a necessary evil, but there where those (either due to fear of them becoming too powerful or that their nefarious deeds would be discovered) that wanted the city and its inhabitants destroyed. Thankfully, while everyone knew where it was it was impossible to find. Unless you had a map.

Maka Albarn had found one of the few. It was crumpled from being shoved in the back of a drawer and worn due to age but it was still legible. A fact that the young woman was thankful for because, if it hadn't been, then she would have died in the middle of the God forsaken desert trying to rescue a man she wanted to beat over the head with the largest book in her collection.

Her father had always been secretive about his life before he met her mother and it had always bothered her (not as much as his playboy nature but still). He'd never spoken about his family and only made a vague comment about an old friend. The one time she'd asked him about jobs he'd had before becoming a police officer he'd clammed up and refused to say a word about it. He'd never even bothered to tell her, or her mother, when he was from. His unwillingness to talk about his past drove a wedge between father and daughter, or rather widened one made by him cheating. That's why when her parents finally divorced she moved with her mother half way across the country. Her father had tried to call and write but the calls went unanswered and the letters were shredded before being opened. After a year they finally stopped.

Three days ago she'd received a package with no return address. Most people would have freaked out and called the authorities, Maka reasoned that since she was no one of importance she didn't have to worry about it being a bomb. Inside she found a series of leather bound books. Slightly confused, since she hadn't ordered any new books in the last four months, she picked up one causing a piece of scrap paper to flutter out from between the pages and land on her kitchen table. After setting the book down she picked up the paper and bristled. She almost threw the note, and the books, in the trash but something caught her eye. Her father's handwriting was normally incredibly delicate looking but this note, while still recognizable as her father's handwriting, was rather sloppy looking. Slowly she dropped down into one of the high backed kitchen chairs, curiosity winning out over her distaste for her father. The note read:

Maka, I know we haven't spoke in years and you have every right to be mad at me but this is a matter concerning your safety. Remember when you asked me about my life before I met your mother? I never told either of you because I thought by keeping it a secret I could protect you. I was wrong. I was born in Death city and was one of the first to undergo genetic modification. After I left I hid my abilities and hoped that no one would find out. It turns out that there were many people looking for me and I have been found. By the time you read this I'll probably be dead, but they shouldn't have found you yet. At the bottom of the box is a map to Death city. Please go there and find a man named Dr. Stein he's an old friend and will help you...just don't lower your guard around him and you'll be fine. I'm sorry.

Love, Papa

For a moment all Maka could do was stare at the letter in her hands. Her expression was blank and she wasn't completely sure how she should feel. Her father might be dead and someone now wanted to come after her. Why? She was just a librarian in a town that was so small it wasn't even on maps. She didn't have any special talents other than being above average intelligence and being good at solving puzzles. Why would they come after her?

The more Maka thought about it the madder she became. She wanted to repeatedly wack her father in the head with her copy of Of War and Peace. The thought of him being dead was impossible. He was too resourceful, and damn good at avoiding people. She had no doubt that he was in danger. He wouldn't have divulged his past if he wasn't. She knew she'd end up going to Death city she couldn't let her father die, even if he was a lieing bastard. If he had friends here they would probably be willing to help...though that one comment about Dr. Stein did make her a little nervous.

She leaned forward and rummaged through the rest of the books to find the crumpled old map. After scanning it quickly she laid it face down on her table and set about packing, all while cursing her stupid father under her breath.

The trip to Nevada hadn't been too bad, other then the fact that she had a tub of lard practically laying in her lap the entire time and the guy next to her had a bad habit of drooling as he slept, something Maka could not stand. The stewardess had been nice and the flight had been on time (both arriving and leaving). Her rental car had been ready when she arrived and had GPS, which had been incredibly helpful in finding Death Valley.

The trouble began once she was in the sand pit. While on the road the ride had been smooth, though once she went off road she began cursing her father loudly. One of the tires decided to give out about thirty minutes into the trip so she had to put on the spare which was smaller then all the other wheels so the car began to do some weird wobbly lurching thing. Another hour later a rock popped another tire. By that time it was dark and Maka decided, After screaming loudly at the desert, that she'd stop for the night and and continue at dawn. In the morning she'd felt better and all was going well...until the car sputtered and gave out ten miles before reaching her destination. Angry beyond belief she grabbed her one bag, several bottles of water, and began her trek through the desert.

By the time she arrived in the city it was near dusk. She was sunburned and her feet hurt but she still couldn't help but feel a sense of accomplishment. She'd made it. She wanted to cheer but instead remained quiet. She didn't really want to run into any of the cities inhabitants or rather draw their attention. Since outsiders didn't go to Death city she was unsure how they'd react to one.

Slowly she continued walking. Every once in awhile she'd glance down at the address her father had scribbled in the corner of the map. Though with no knowledge of the city it wasn't very helpful. Asking for directions was out and she doubted they had a town directory. She doubted she'd find the place before nightfall, if at all.

Maka remained lost in thought until she bumped into something hard. At first she thought it was a wall, but the last she checked walls weren't warm and didn't have heartbeats. Swallowing Maka looked up, and up, only to meet a set of cold red eyes. She'd always thought red was a warm color, something that invoked thoughts of fire and heat, but those eye made her shiver. Her mouth went dry but she refused to be intimidated. Stealing her self she forced her gaze away from his eyes and took in the rest of his face. He had messy shock white hair, while its color made him look old it's style was boyish. His skin was tanned but not overly so. His jaw was strong and clenched tightly. His mouth was set in a dissatisfied frown, almost like he didn't like what he was seeing while he looked at her. His lips parted and revealed teeth that would have made a shark jealous. "What are you doing here?" He growled.

His voice was harsh yet oddly hypnotic, she found herself wanting to hear him speak again. The thought was so out of character for her that it snapped her back to reality. She was standing face to face with a very large, very tall man that was probably one of the city's assassin's. Unsure exactly how to deal with him she decided to do what she always did when confronted with pushy men. She tightened her grip on her bag, kneed the man in the testicles and ran like hell. A satisfied grin split her face as she heard the man curse under his breath.

She managed to get half way down the street before he was able to right himself and chase after her. She would have been impressed by his speed if he hadn't been using it to catch her. The man had ended up in front of her, once more causing her to run into his chest. Before she could react violently to being cut off the man grabbed her wrists in one of his large gloved hands and backed her into a wall. She squirmed a bit then tried to knee him again. This time the white haired man twisted his body causing her knee to do nothing more than ghost by his thigh. Once her foot was back on the ground he leaned into her and pressed her fully against the wall. Unable to lift her legs or move her arms she shot him a Death glare and silently cursed the fact that looks couldn't kill.

Once she quieted down the man spoke, his teeth flashing dangerously in the dimming light. "I'll ask you again, what are you doing here?" His voice was much harsher this time, but she really hadn't expected him to be nice to her after her knee met such a sensitive area.

Maka thought about not answering and continuing her one sided glaring match, at least until she realized how close they were...or rather realized how close his face was to her's. Her face heated and she tried to move her head back, only to smack it against the stone wall. She refused to allow herself to panic, instead she snapped at him. "If I tell you will you get your heavy ass off me?"

His mouth twitched into a humorless smile. "Technically, tiny tits, my ass isn't on you." Maka huffed and wiggled, trying to knee him again. His smile dissipated and he snarled at her. "Stop moving!" pressed as close to him as she was she could feel the erratic pounding of his heart against her collar bone. Had it always been like that?

She was still furious at him for pinning her against a wall, and for the comment about her boobs, but she forced herself to calm enough so she wouldn't yell at him. "Fine then," she hissed through clenched teeth. "if I tell you will you back up?"

He was silent for a moment. "Only if you don't knee me in the nuts again." he responded.

"Fine." She grumbled. She took a deep breath then let it out. "My idiotic papa got himself kidnapped and informed me, via letter, that they'd be coming after me so I needed to come to Death city and find an old friend of his named Dr. Stein." With that said Maka readied herself for his response. She wasn't quiet sure what she'd been expecting him to do but him releasing her and stepping back definitely wasn't it.

He seemed to have decided to believe her but now seemed to be wondering what to do with her. Maka took the chance to take in a bit more of the man then his devilish facial features...She wasn't checking him out. No, she told herself, she was sizing him up.

She'd already realized he was tall, but being a little less than a foot away from him made her realize just how tall he was. Maka was not a tall woman. In fact she only stood an inch above average height but she still rarely met a man that was more then two or three inches taller than her. This man had to tower over her by at least a foot. It made her feel so small...and weak. Neither were things she liked to feel. Even though his arms were crossed over his chest and his leather jacket was drawn tautly over his shoulders, she didn't see any sign that he had the muscle necessary to pin her to the wall. In fact his build didn't seem capable of supporting a lot of muscle. His waist was narrow, his limbs long, and even though his shoulders were wide he looked...delicate? No. Feminine? Definitely not. Aristocratic? It was odd but it was the only thing that seemed to fit.

Her thoughts were disrupted by a snort, "Are you done ogling me yet?" He half growled while flashing his teeth, in what he was trying to pass off as a smile. He shifted his weight and seemed uncomfortable with her staring at him.

"I'm just seeing how much force I'd need to put behind throwing you if you act up again." She snapped. If her face wasn't already red because of her sunburn it would be now.

He snorted again. "As I recall you struck me when all I did was as a question."

Maka couldn't help but wince. She had acted harshly but dammit she was scared. She wasn't going to tell him that so instead she raised her head and stared him down. "It doesn't matter now, do you know where Dr. Stein lives or no?"

The man sighed and ran his fingers through his snow colored hair. "Yeah, I'll take you there...only because I happen to be going there myself and it wouldn't be cool to let you wander around kicking my co-workers in the nuts because you don't like the profession or something." Without saying more He spun on his heel and began to walk away leaving Maka to trail after him wondering what adult male used the word cool.

SoulEater wondered what in the hell had possessed him to approach yet alone talk to the girl who was now following closely behind him. Maybe it was because she looked like she was only fourteen or so...especially with her twin pigtails. Maybe it was her lost, and angry, expression. Maybe it really didn't fucking matter because even if he hadn't walked up to her she would have ran in to someone else who'd point her in the right direction...or called Stein who would have called him to come and get her. Despite being assassins everyone in Death City was pretty friendly...with the exception of him. Hell even Stein was friendly, in a creepy sort of way and only so you'd let him cut you open.

The walk to the lab was fairly silent. Every once in awhile they'd come across someone who'd squeak or make some other uncool noise before running off in the opposite direction. Every time it happened he could feel her turn to look at him, wondering why people reacted in such a way to him, as though his looks weren't reason enough. Even though it'd been happening for years it still didn't mean that some part of him didn't hurt when they ran like that. It made him feel like a little kid all over again...

He quickly squelched that train of thought. Nothing good came from the past, and the last thing he needed was to throw another fit when he'd barely calmed down from the last one (and only thanks to a dose of heavy drugs). They were growing in frequency and severity. He, and everyone else, doubted his mind could take many more of these missions before he fully snapped.

If that happened the short leash they kept him on would become a hangman's noose.

He peaked back at the girl who seemed to be in awe of the scenery. It'd baffled him the first time too. Even though they were in the middle of a desert the city was full of green. Huge trees and shrubs lined several of the streets and filled massive parks. Most of the inhabitants even kept lush gardens. Hell, even he wasn't immune to Death city's favorite pass time...though he preferred cacti and carnivorous plants. It looked more like a town you'd find in some state where it rained every day, and yes Death city did use a lot of water. But it was worth it. When you're surrounded by death at work, it's nice to come home to a place so full of life.

The closer they got to Stein's lab the less green everything got. It wasn't as though they were coming to the end of the city and things were starting to look more like desert terrain, it was just that everything seemed to have died. The trees were just as large here as everywhere else, but these ones were devoid of leaves. Their branches were twisted and pointed heavenward, silently pleading for rain...or to be put out of their misery. Their gnarled roots had slithered under the sidewalk, lifting up panels and making the road uneven. On either side were withered shrubs and bones. SoulEater had never really been sure what, or whom, the bones belonged to but he figured Stein had probably placed them there to scare people. He was a sadistic fuck who loved to scare people just for shits and giggles.

As if the area surrounding the lab wasn't creepy enough, the lab made the place look like a stage for a horror movie. At one time the building could have been a hospital. It had the right structure, however instead of being white it was a dingy grey with zig zagged stitch marks snaking over it. Stein had a thing for the stitched together look. He'd even tried to get SoulEater to fallow his odd fashion sense, however he looked creepy enough without looking like Dr. Franken Stein's monster.

SoulEater dislodged his wayward thoughts from his head with a small shake before peeking back over his shoulder at the girl, again. She was still behind him, her chin lifted defiantly, silently telling the eerie scenery that it wouldn't scare her or sway her from her mission.

Despite the tone she'd taken when she talked about her father it was obvious she loved him. After all what sane person would risk their life hiking through the desert and walking into a nest off assassins for someone she didn't care for.

He tried not to think about it anymore as they approached the lab's heavy metal door. After spending a minute shuffling around in his pockets he was able to fish out his keys. He quickly unlocked the door and walked in, leaving her standing in the doorway. He walked over to the stitched together couch and plopped down. It took a minute before he heard her enter and gently shut the door behind her. She wandered towards him and sat in a battered burgundy chair. The silence stretched on for several minutes. Before the girl spoke, her voice stiff. "Where is Dr. Stein?"

SoulEater had allowed his head to lull back over the couch so he could stare at the stitches in the ceiling. "He's out, probably won't be back for a few days." He responded plainly.

"What am I supposed to do here for a few days?" She growled. She obviously didn't like the idea of sitting around doing nothing.

He shrugged. "I don't know, figure out some way to entertain yourself." The girl huffed then crossed her arms. They sat in silence for a few more minutes, his fingers tapping against the couch in time with a song only he could hear. The soft melody fluttered like a tiny bird's heart. It was sweet and quieted the memories in head, allowing him to drift aimlessly for the first time in years. He wasn't sure what had caused it...but he decided it didn't matter.

A short loud series of buzzes pulled him out of his peaceful state of mind. Irritated he pulled the small silver phone out of his pocket, checked the caller ID, and cringed. He debated for a minute whether or not he should answer. Letting a soft sigh out he flipped the phone open and held it as far from home head as his arms would allow.

"This is the great BlackStar!" the man on the line screamed as loudly as he could. "Your God has called to check in on you!"

SoulEater frowned before his red gaze drifted over to the girl, who looked a little startled by the sudden screaming. He almost wanted to tell her that he was always that loud but was silenced by the sound of the front door being kicked in. Before he could turn his head a blue haired man stood on the coffee table. His green eyes bright and his smile wide as he gave some speech about his greatness and the duties of a God...which SoulEater was sure all of Death city could hear.