Tsubaki looked at the three of them with a questioning look, "... What?"

The black-haired Dotew on the left scoffed, "Sheesh, I figured he'd pick an idiot, but really, she's this stupid?"

The blonde Dotew on the right sighed, "Amund, you're being very rude to this beautiful, young woman, how dare you?"

The red-haired one in the middle looked at her seriously, "Tsubaki, as you could guess, I'm Ares, Dotew's other self"

Tsubaki figured it out, "So, these two are his other personalities as well?"

"Not quite, these two are both sides of Dotew's original personality, brought about by the same person. They're both a part of the real Dotew, but neither of them are complete"

Amund stuck his nose up in the air, "Pfft, like I need a worthless man-whore like that to live"

The blond put his hand on his chest, "To refer to me with such vile language! I am no such beast!"

"So you've never had more than one lover at a time?"

"Of course I have! What kind of heartless, selfish, and undignified prince would dare turn away any princess?! To refuse a beautiful princess her desires, only a cruel, heartless cur would regard such a thought as acceptable"

"Like I said, Romeo, you're a man-whore"

"I don't care for your comments, Amund, all you do is make people cry"

"It's my job to scare people senseless, if I didn't, we'd be broke, not that you care, spending it all on that stupid mansion"

Ares lost it, "Would the two of you shut up?! We have a serious problem here! Neither of you are helping us get the kid back on his feet!"

The other two turned to look at Ares at the same time, "Like you care, you just don't want to lose your precious body"

Tsubaki was lost, so she decided to be forward, "Where's the real Dotew?"

All three of them shut up, then spoke in unison again, "We have no clue"

"What do you mean, you don't know where he is?! Aren't you a part of his brain?!"

"Only a part, when you dream, there's no telling where your mind could drift. Your guess is as good as ours, his brain is a labyrinth that none of us can navigate"

Tsubaki looked around, to see that there was nothing but a blank, white floor, that stretched for miles, "Hey, what kind of floor is this?"

"Huh?"

Tsubaki bent down and felt the floor, it was waxed marble, "This is a dance floor, like the ballroom at the academy. Dotew can't see colors... is he dreaming about the dance?"

The three people before her became stunned, and Romeo spoke his mind, "The dance... it does smell like the dance floor at the mansion..."

Amund put his hand to his chin, "The sound bounces like it did before I passed out, too..."

Ares slapped his forehead, "Of course he'd be dreaming about that, he worked himself useless trying to get that dress"

Tsubaki tilted her head, "So, he's nearby?"

"Like we said, we couldn't find the kid right now if we tried"

Tsubaki sighed, "Then could you at least help me look for him?"

Amund groaned, "If he doesn't wake up, neither would the man-whore, but since that means I wouldn't either, I have no choice but to help you, so don't get us lost.

Romeo held his hand out, "For a fair princess, anything"

Ares started walking forward, "This could take a while..."

Tsubaki saw something in the distance, "Hey, who's that?"

Everyone looked to see a student they didn't know, their skin and clothes were all black and white, void of all color as he danced with a partner that was as colorless as he was. The students danced past them and then vanished, like they had never been there. Ares watched them vanish, "Those are students from the academy, they were at the dance"

"Maybe they were black and white because Dotew can't know what color they are"

"That theory might not hold up, look", Ares pointed to a handful of people that Tsubaki recognized in full color: Patty in a beautiful blue dress, Blair, in her stunning and alluring dress, and Maka, in the beautiful scarlet dress that brought out a new beauty in her.

"Why are they in color?"

Romeo smiled, "A princess in full blossom deserves a dress and color that draws out their inner beauty, sadly, only words of color reach our dear Dotew, so he couldn't dream of other people in color"

"Oh, so he only can see what he knows about. Hey, isn't that Dotew there?"

Everyone looked to see a depressed-looking Dotew, staring at the floor without saying or doing anything. Amund tapped his shoulder, "Hey, c'mon, let's go, I'm tired of waiting, I wanna get out of here"

Dotew just stared quietly, he didn't even bother to look up for a second, or move. Ares squatted down and tried to get Dotew's attention by snapping his fingers, "Hey, kid! Wake up!"

Romeo frowned as he stared at Dotew, "That's strange, he's not as cheerful as normal. That's a shame, the princesses love to see him when he's smiling"

Tsubaki tried to get within his sight, "Dotew, are you okay? You look down"

Dotew sighed, "I'm fine, I'm just sad I won't get to dance with Master Tsubaki at the school dance, but I asked Ares to, so it should be alright, right?"

"But what if she wanted to dance with you?"

Dotew looked a little sadder, "Don't say that, it makes me feel sadder. But, this is a dream, right? Maybe I can dance with her here..."

"Then we should dance, okay?"

Dotew looked up, and then held Tsubaki close as he started to dance slowly, a soft melody playing in the background. He smiled, "Even though it's just my imagination, I think you look really beautiful in that dress"

"Thank you, I'm really happy that you got it for me"

"Well... I know that you wouldn't go buy one, so I tried to make sure that you had one for the dance"

"I heard about what you did to get it, it means a lot that you put so much effort into getting it"

"No... it wasn't that much... besides, I really do love you, Master Tsubaki"

Tsubaki looked at him, her face red as a beet, "Dotew..."

Dotew smiled, "I'd never have the guts to tell you, though, I guess that makes me a coward. It's ironic, that I can show my love better than I can say it... even though I try to make every girl happy, when it comes to you, I'm so clueless... how dumb is that?"

Tsubaki hugged him tightly, "That's so sweet, to try so hard, even when you feel like you're not getting anywhere, you just keep pushing, don't you?"

Dotew held her gently, "I do... because I really just want to hold you, like I do now. But... I'm too afraid to let you in, to let you see everything I've done, to see all of who I am, I would be terrified if you were here right now, to see the destructive side I hide, or the childish side of me I can't live without. What would I do if you got scared off? Would you hate me for all the girls I've been with, or for all the people I've purposely terrified? If you hated me... I don't know what I'd do"

"I could never hate you"

"I wish that I could really hear you say that, but with everything I've done, I wouldn't blame you for hating me"

"Dotew..."

"I mean, to be honest, I spend half of my time flirting with girls…"

Amund smiled and pointed at Romeo, "Told ya! Man-whore!"

"... and spend the other half getting paid to make people cry"

Romeo smiled triumphantly, "Like I said, I have a much nobler cause"

"Either way, I don't think I could ever deserve love from you, at least, not in the way I want… Master Tsubaki"

Tsubaki stopped dancing, and then laid a hard slap across Dotew's face, "You're an idiot"

Everyone stood, stunned, only Dotew could speak, "Master…"

"Of course I love you! Stop being an idiot! If you really love me that much, just say so! Stop being so guarded! If you want me to be with you…", she pulled him in close, "… you have to let me in"

Dotew froze up, he didn't know what was going on, was this real? Or a dream? No, it didn't matter if it was or wasn't real, he threw everything in the wind, and he kissed Tsubaki without a second thought. Tsubaki felt the soft touch of his lips, and she realized that he was doing more than just being open with her, he was letting every barrier he had down, and was trusting Tsubaki.

Tsubaki opened her eyes, and saw everyone standing over her. She sat up, realizing that she had been laying in an infirmary bed. She turned to her right to see that Dotew was still asleep, "Dotew..."

Maka leaned towards him, "Hey, Tsubaki, whatever you did, it's working! His soul is pushing away the shockwaves!"

Everyone observed as the lightning around his body twisted itself into a chain, which sub-sequentially shattered. Lord Death clapped, "Good job, Tsubaki! It's official! Dotew is free of his bond with his first master!"

The shock continued as a new electrical current ran over Dotew's body, this current was black, but aside from that, it formed a chain and shattered just like the other current. Kid observed it, then tried to figure out what it was, "Did he just break the connection with you as his master, father?"

The reaper sweated, "It would appear so, now Tsubaki is his only master"

Everyone held their breath as a third current swept over Dotew's body, this one was a bright pink, and formed a chain as well. However, this chain tugged and pulled strongly, without shattering, and then gently was absorbed into Dotew's skin, forming a heart over the center of his chest. Once it burned through his clothes, it was apparent that the shape was now a permanent part of his body.

As he continued to breath softly, Dotew smiled. Everyone let out the breath they'd been holding when the door swung open, and a very beat-up Justin Law walked through the door. He was covered in bruises and scratches, and his left arm was broken, but Justin smiled like he always did, "So, how is Dotew?"

Dotew's eyes fluttered open, "Justin…"

Justin sat down beside Dotew's bed and cradled his head, "Dotew, I'm so sorry, I failed both you and my Lord…"

Dotew smiled, "It's not your fault Justin… I know you did your best"

"That doesn't matter, I still failed you… that's unacceptable"

Dotew pulled him in for a hug, "Justin, you're too hard on yourself, I could never ask you to strike me, I know you couldn't bare the thought of it"

"But still… you needed me, and I was weak… I'm pathetic"

Dotew kissed his forehead, "You big dummy, you're amazing, that's why you failed. How could anyone expect someone to beat a fellow servant of Master Lord Death?"

While everyone else was too busy being confused, Justin smiled at Dotew, "You and my Lord… you are both so forgiving"

Dotew licked a scratch on Justin's face, "I'm still mad at you for making me hit you, though"

Justin laughed, "I wonder what divine punishment I'll receive…"

"It's not divine punishment, I'm just upset that you made me hurt you"

"That reminds me, in that fight, you got very dirty, you probably need a bath right now, don't you?"

"No! I don't need a bath! I swear!", Dotew jumped up to run, then collapsed as soon as his feet hit the floor.

Justin caught him and sighed, "Oh, Dotew, even now, you still fear baths so much. Tsubaki?"

Taubaki snapped out of her confusion, "Yes?"

"You should give him a bath now, while he's too tired to fight against it"

"M-M-Me?!"

"Of course, you are his permanent master now"

"P-Permanent master?"

"It means that Dotew accepted you as more than just a master, you are his only master, and you're the only one he'll ever have from now on. He's devoted himself to you over everyone else in the world. To be honest, I'm a little jealous"

"Devoted… to?"

Dotew stood up, "Let me go, I'm fine, besides, there's something I need to do"

Dotew smiled as he continued to play the violin, he was happy to make amends for ruining the first school dance, so he held a second one the night after, and personally set everything up, the food, the drinks, the decorations, he even played every song himself, expanding the possibilities of each instrument as he created a symphony using each one.

Once he finished the violin solo, he grabbed the microphone, "Ladies and gentlemen, I'm aware that this is supposed to be a school dance, but if I may, there are some people I need to make amends with more than I do anyone else, so, if Death the Kid and dib would come to the center of the dance floor, please"

Kid and dib were both surprised as they were pushed to the center of the dance floor by Liz and Patty. Kid looked to Dotew, "What is the meaning of this?!"

"I saw that I interrupted your dance yesterday, so today, I want to make it up to you with a special song dedicated to you two", Dotew picked up a saxophone and began to play a slow and spirited tune. Though they wanted to watch dib and Kid dance, the rest of the crowd got so caught up in the tune that they couldn't help but dance.

With the entire dance floor full, Kid felt more at ease, like he wasn't being watched. His gaze was now filled by dib's beautiful smile, "dib… there's something I need to tell you"

The song came to an end as dib pulled Kid in, taking full advantage of the moment to whisper in his ear, "I know, Kid… because I love you, too"

Dotew smiled as he watched Kid plant one right on her lips, he had planned it all out with dib beforehand, but the way it was perfectly executed, Dotew was impressed. He waited for them to get off the dance floor before he straightened his tie, "And now, my final number for the night, this one goes out to my dear friend Maka, who was there for me when I couldn't be there for myself"

He took a bow before he walked over to a piano and adjusted his fingers to the keys, "Before I begin, would Maka and Soul please come to the center stage? This piece is an original, based off of Soul's unique style, so please, I do hope you enjoy this oddly compelling piece"

Soul was going to look at the piano, but Maka caught him off-guard and took his hands, "I told you that I wanted to dance last year, so this year, you don't get a choice"

Soul would've protested, but his voice was cut off by the sound of the piano. The notes were slow and seemingly random, yet in that order, they created a somewhat beautiful song that was perfect for Maka to dance to, even if she was clumsy in her new heels.

Maka smiled, "Isn't this nice?"

Soul smiled, "You have gotten much better, as a dancer"

"Soul, are you worried about me, now that I'm supposed to be the weapon?"

Soul sighed, "… Yes, I-… I'm terrified that I'll screw up and get you killed. Pretty uncool of me, huh?"

Maka held her hand over her mouth, trying to contain her laughter, "Pfft… ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!"

Soul grimaced, "What's so funny?"

"Soul… that's how I feel every day when I use you as my weapon. It's how every miester feels, it's okay, you big dummy. No matter how hard we fall, I know that you'll be there to catch me"

Dotew smiled as he let the piano fall silent as he pulled a string that had remained hidden during the dance. Since the other end was tied to Maka's heel, she fell instantly, forcing Soul to brake her fall. Maka looked down at Soul, as he lay against the floor, "I'm sorry, I don't know why I…"

Soul looked away, "It's alright, I don't mind…"

Maka looked down and noticed that Soul's tie had come undone, "Here, let me fix your tie"

As she started to fix it, Dotew raised finger, forcing one section of the floor up, shoving Soul's lips into Maka's. It was so sudden and strange, but neither of them dared let it go, the two of them both leaned into the sudden kiss, as Dotew smiled mischievously on the stage. His smile broke when he heard footsteps, those of a girl about his height, with a ponytail, "Hey, Master Tsubaki, are you enjoying the dance?"

Tsubaki smiled, "You didn't have anything to do with that, did you?"

"I'm a lover, a fighter, and a best friend, so it probably did, but then again, I just sped up the inevitable. Two people like that, they're meant for each other"

"Is that so?"

"Yeah, I can tell, her eyes shift when she looks at him, and his smell changes whenever he thinks about her. The only real surprise is that they hadn't done this sooner"

"Speaking of things that need to be done, do you want to dance?"

"D-Dance? Me?"

"It is a dance for the school, and aren't you a part of it now?"

"B-But I can't dance…"

"I'll lead, it'll be fine"

"No, if I go out there, I'll just fall and make you look bad"

"It's okay if you fall, I'll help you get back up"

"The music will throw off my echolocation, I'll be totally directionless out there"

"Then you'll have to trust me", Tsubaki held out her hand.

Shaking, Dotew took it, "Just, be careful, okay?"

Tsubaki led him out onto the dance floor as a band began to play. She started off slow, trying to teach him the steps one at a time. He was starting to get the hang of it when his foot slipped and he hit the floor hard, "Are you alright?!"

Dotew felt tears falling down his face, "… I just messed up your perfect dancing, I'm sorry master, I'll excuse myself…", he dragged himself in the direction of the door, unwittingly crashing into the punch-bowl table. After he effectively drenched himself in the sticky fruit juice, he calmly rose to his feet and walked back towards the door, hitting his head on the doorway.

He held onto his impact points as he exited the room. As he dashed away, Dotew felt like the biggest moron on the planet, he knew he couldn't dance, he'd tried to, many times before, but he always landed on his butt, no matter what tricks he tried to use to keep on his feet. Why did he think he could dance now? He was just fooling himself.

Tsubaki sighed, she didn't mean to upset Dotew, she just wanted him to have his dream. Blair tapped Tsubaki on her shoulder, "Tsubaki, by any chance… did you dance with Dotew in his dream, yesterday, that is?"

"Yes, why?"

Blair sighed, "I was afraid of that… you see, Dotew's always loved dancing, but no matter how hard he tries, he can't dance"

"He can't dance?"

"Nope, he went to private dance lessons for two years straight before he finally gave up trying to dance. He was so sad, so I can imagine he would dream of being able to dance. I feel kinda bad for him, he tried so hard for so long, it really brought me to tears when I saw him quit"

"… What have I done?"

"Don't blame yourself, Tsubaki, Dotew may have fallen down, but for him to at least try dance, that's something I never thought I'd see again. Besides, you couldn't have know that he can't dance, only a few people do"

"… Is there anything I can do to make it up to him?"

"Well, if you tried to cheer him up, he'd feel bad about you trying to console him over a mistake he considers to be his fault. Then again, if you punished him, instead of feeling better like he normally would, he might see it as you being mad at him… it would probably be best if you just leave him alone and let him try to cheer himself up"

"Well, where he go to do that? I just want to know where he'll be, so I won't worry about him"

Blair felt herself begin to sweat, "Don't worry about him, he'll be fine"

"Don't say that! It makes me worry more!"

Kid put his hand on her shoulder, "Tsubaki, Dotew is more than capable of taking care of himself, just leave him be"

"You know, don't you, Kid? Why won't you tell me?!"

Kid flinched, "What? No, how could I possibly-"

Patty burst into the room, "Hey! Tsubaki! I need someone to come with me to a fancy party tonight at an old mansion, could you come with me?!"

Kid turned to see Patty was begging Tsubaki with her big puppy-dog eyes, "Um, Patty, what time is this party at?"

"It's at midnight! It's gonna be freaking awesome!"

"Patty… you shouldn't be going to parties after midnight…"

Tsubaki smiled, "Sure! Maybe it'll help me get my mind off of today's incident"

Patty started whooping over Kid's attempts to dissuade Tsubaki, "WHOO-HOO, YAY! THIS IS AWESOME!"

Maka saw what was going on and stepped in, "Hey, Patty? Why don't we all go? It would be nice if everyone went right?"

Patty gasped, "That's a really cool idea! Thanks, Maka, I'll go tell Liz she has to come, too!", Patty darted off, leaving a trail of smoke behind her.

Maka lead in to whisper into Kid's ear, "We're gonna have to explain it to Liz, dib, and Soul, that way they can help us keep the situation under control. This could get messy"

Kid sighed, "Let's just hope that Dotew doesn't make this too much harder on himself"

Romeo stood at the top of the stairs as he shouted, making sure all the girls could hear him. He held his hand out, "My dearest princesses, if I me so selfish, tonight, I am going to attempt to dance, but I must warn you, I am talentless when it comes to dancing… so if you could find it in your hearts to assist me, I would very much appreciate it. And of course, each participant will recieve a free scheduled night with any of our patrons of your choice, thank you"

Maka and Kid were glad that they stepped into the mansion before anyone else, but how were they supposed to deal with this…?

Next time on Soul Eater(fanfic version):

Maka sighed as she picked Romeo up off the floor, "How many times have you fallen down tonight?"

Romeo fought back tears as he got his feet back on the the ground, "Thirty-seven… but, I can't give up!"

"You really love Tsubaki, don't you?"

"I do, but, I need to do this for myself, too. I've dreamed for so long… that I could move side-by-side with another person, while music plays. Without the ability to see, it's nearly impossible… but I can do it, I don't need my eyes!"

"Wouldn't you like to see? Like, maybe find a spell that allows you to see?"

Romeo frowned, "No… my eyes are charmed, the only way I could ever use them is… if I wanted to see the first and last thing as myself, before turning into a monster"

"Tasting blood would let you use your eyes?"

"Yeah, that's why I made Lord Death promise to watch me, because sometimes, I just want to see the smile on people's faces, without having to guess colors or shapes. But for now, I've seen Master Tsubaki in my dreams, and she even smiled, so that's enough for me, I don't need to see anymore"

"Really?"

"Of course, if I know how beautiful Master Tsubaki's smiled is and I can help her keep smiling, what more do I need?", he was smiling, right up until he tripped over his foot and landed right on his face.

Maka didn't move, "Are you okay?"

"Ow… yeah, I'm okay. But I think thirty-eight is enough for one night… I'm gonna go… somewhere else"

(0|0)

\/\/\/

Kid sweated as he shouted to Patty, "Are you sure this is the place?!"

Patty could barely hear him over the booming music, but she was too busy dancing to care about what he said anyway, "It's been so long since I've gotten to rock out here, this is awesome!"

Kid turned to look at the D.J. to find that it was a familiar face. The D.J. pulled off his headphones, "Alright, party people! This is Amund, coming to you with the best tunes I got! Now, it's been a year since I've come to you with that special it-factor that makes the Shout Shack what it is! So now, I'm giving you all I got!"

Patty held out two earplugs for Kid, "Take these! If you don't, Liz will blow out your eardrums!"

Liz started to sweat, "Patty… what are you talking about…?"

Amund spun the disc and the lights began to change, making the room dark enough to see shapes, but not enough to recognize anything, "For the faint of heart, I suggest you keep your eyes closed and remember, technically, I'm not allowed to hurt you…"

To be continued on: Relentless Trials, Harsh Light and Shifty Darkness?