Story Note: A little heads up about the format; the POVs between Maka and Soul switch a few times before they actually meet. It shouldn't confuse anyone, but just in case.

Disclaimer: I don't own Soul Eater.

Noches de Polvo
Chapter 1: A New Bounty?
by. xxBurningxx

"Okay filthy scum, just drop the bags, and I won't have to shoot you." With a pistol firmly gripped in her hands, Officer Maka Albarn aims her gun towards the criminal. He's caught in a tense position, hesitating by the bank's back entrance. In his hands are two leather bags filled to the brim with money. The ruffian snarls at her, but obeys nonetheless. After he's dropped the bags, Maka advances, her gun still poised to shoot. As soon as she's close enough, she swiftly snaps a pair of handcuffs onto the man's thick wrists.

"What're you gonna do now? Kill me?" He spits as she gives him a harsh shove in the direction of her horse, which is nibbling idly a couple of feet away. They're already in the town of Eastwood, but she still needs to get the criminal to Death Town, which is both her hometown and where the small bounty was originally posted.

"If I were going to kill you, I wouldn't have bothered 'cuffing you," she says, half lifting and half pushing him onto the horse so that he's laying on his stomach on the back end of the steed. The horse snorts in obvious distaste of having the grimy man on her back. "It's okay, Blair," Maka says soothingly to the female horse, giving her a slight pat on the head. "I know you don't like transporting gross men like this, but we have to." Maka's horse, Blair, is solid black, with a very faint tint of brown that almost gives her a purple-ish hue in the glint of the sunshine.

After the man is set on the horse, Maka walks a few paces over and retrieves the pair of money bags. She's just about to walk back to the bank when-

"Oh, thank you so much!" A man comes running frantically out the bank's back door, his panic quickly turning to relief at the sight of the handcuffed man and Maka's officer badge. Maka makes the safe assumption that this man is the banker; he wears a formal black vest on top of a thin white undershirt, the normal clothing for someone who works at a bank. Maka nods and tells him that it's no problem as she holds the bags out to him, gesturing for him to take them.

"Please, I insist you take a little something, as payment for your good deed!" The banker says quickly before Maka can turn away. He's about to open the bag to retrieve some money when Maka interrupts him.

"Oh no, sir, it's not the money I'm concerned about, I'm just glad that this worthless trash here won't be able to cause any more harm. Please keep it." And it's the truth. Officer Maka couldn't really care if she were paid or not because to her, serving justice is a reward in itself.

The banker eyes her for another moment before nodding and giving her another round of thanks. After that, they part their ways, that same feeling of accomplishment rising in Maka's chest every time she does something good. She wipes her hands as if ridding them of dirt before walking back over to Blair and the struggling man.

Maka hops onto Blair and grabs the reigns as she gives a small smirk, proud to have captured another villain.

She tips her hat downwards so that it blocks out the sun's rays before prodding Blair into a light trot towards the dusty road that exits Eastwood Town. There's still a couple of towns between her and Death Town, and if she wants to make it to the next town before nightfall, she needs to leave now. So, with a good mood hovering over her, she gives a tug on the reigns, and races down the dusty road, ignoring the grunts and groan from the man behind her.

"Let's start with $1000," he says with a grin. Somewhere behind his eyes, there's a dangerous sparkle that is sure to bring him misfortune someday. In the local pub in Death Town, three men are gathered at a round table for a game of Liar's Dice.

"Eh, Eater, you're drunk, you sure you wanna do that? If so, I'm in. Winner-take-all?"

"First off, I'm not drunk. Second, I'm up for it." Gunslinger Soul Eater sits at a round table, occupied by two other men. The one to his right being an old acquaintance, Rick Cheshire, and another to his left being a scruffy man he'd never seen before. Soul lifts his cup that contains five dice and begins to shake it temptingly. With his other free hand, he takes a swig of alcohol.

"Okay, don't come cryin' to me when you wind up-a broke," Rick says with a cruel smile, knowing that this would be an easy ticket for some cash. The scruffy man grunts in agreement before also picking up his cup. There's a cigarette hanging out of his mouth, smoke curling around his face. After Soul gives another nod, the three man shake their cups and slam them against the table with a loud smack.

Soul lifts his cup. Two fives, a six, a four, and a two. He smirks, "Who's goin' first?"

"You go ahead, Eater, give it yer best shot," Rick says to him.

"Okay then, nothing like a good ol' game of Liar's Dice, right?" Soul says with a chuckle. He takes one more look at his dice before deciding what his bid will be. Might as well start off safe, right? "Eh, two fives."

The scruffy man, who finally states his name to be Jak, is to Soul's left, indicating that it's his turn. He narrows his eyes at Soul suspiciously before finally saying, "Yer' a pussy."

Soul just smirks at the comment.

"3 fives."

"4 fives."

Back to Soul, he debates whether there are a total of 4 fives or not. He figures, probably, odds are, if he rolled 2 fives, there has to be another double pair somewhere on the table...But then again, he doubts that there are a total of 5 fives. He takes a chance, because where's the fun if he didn't?

"5 fives."

Jak takes a drag on his cigarette before saying, "Liar." The men all life their cups and inspect the dice. Soul quickly counts the total number of fives. Only four. And not a single Ace to count as a wild.

"Damn it." He tosses out one of his die before slumping against his chair. What a way to start a game, especially one with such a large bet. The game continues onwards for a little while, each player rolling and bidding and calling out 'liar'.

When Rick Cheshire is finally out of the game, Soul is down to two dice, while Jak has three. Rick was pretty upset when he realized that he had just lost one-thousand bucks out of his pocket, but unlike Soul, he has a larger access to money, and could easily gain that back within a week's time if he really wanted to. Soul, on the other hand, probably just bet 3/4 out of his entire profit. Rick sits there with mild interest as he waits to see who wins.

"Lia'" Soul says, hoping that Jak's bid of 3 twos was false. When they lift their cups, Jak already has 2 twos, and for a moment, Soul gets his hopes up. But then he realized...He groans. He just had to roll a one. He removes a die from his cup, now left with only one die.

"Oooh, looks like Eater isn't doing too well..." Rick says, his tone drawling out mockingly. Soul sends him a sharp glare that holds a warning, something like, 'Shut yer trap before I shoot you.' The two roll their dice again. Soul looks at his roll. A six. If only it were his turn, but it isn't.

"2 sixes," Jak says.

And Soul is officially stuck between a rock and a hard place. He has a six, and if Jak either has a six or a one, then he wouldn't be a liar. But, if he say's 3 sixes, there's a high chance that he's wrong also. After a few moments, Soul takes another swig of his beer, finally saying, "...3 sixes."

"Liar."

It almost seems as if time itself slows as the two men lift their cups. Soul hesitates in anticipation.

Soul has a six.

Jak has a six. And a five. And a...four...

"Fuck!"

"Cough it up boys, both of 'yall." Reluctantly, both Rick Cheshire and Soul withdraw the said amount of money from their pockets. As soon as the cash is out of his hands and on the table, Soul turns around and leaves the pub. He's pissed and doesn't want to be in the same room as that bastard Jak. Outside, it's night time, and Soul leans against the side of the building. He muses about what he should do now. He's just lost almost all of his money because of a foolish game, and now he doesn't even have enough to pay for his hotel rent. He's gonna need a quick job for some cash, and soon...

"Ah! Good job, Officer Albarn." Maka is glad to see that Sheriff Law is pleased with her latest capture. After a couple day's time, she traveled back to Death Town with the criminal in tow. She, for the most part, likes her boss; Sheriff Justin Law. He's a very religious man whom always attends church and prays whenever he possibly can, and because of this, he agrees with Maka's liking for serving justice when it's due.

The only thing that was a little offset about him was his oddly bright blond hair and the color of his eyes: a light and yet dark blue that almost seemed to create a purple-ish color. And then there was his choice of clothing. He wore the normal sheriff's outfit that seemed perfectly normal, but if you looked closely, you'd notice the number of crosses that adorn his body. Multiple necklaces and rings. Other things of that sort. It's always kind of crept Maka out.

"Thank you, sir," she says, nodding at him. "I've already locked him up in one of the cells here at the station."

"Very good, as always. And of course, you're reward! How much was it again? Not much if I can recall...$80?" he says, looking around for something.

"That's fine, sir," she says with a slight smile.

After all of the business is sorted out and she's received her pay, Maka heads to her house, which is close the outskirts of Death Town. She lives alone in a small little cabin with one bed, a table, a chair, and not much else. She has room for her supplies for when she travels to take bounties; a tent, herbs and dried plants, dried meat, ammunition, pistols and guns. Everything that she needs fits together cozily in her "home."

In fact, everything in Death Town is quite cozy. It's not a large town like Lynnbird Ranch, but it's not super small either. Everything in the town is spaced out nicely; there's a general store, bar and pub, doctor, bank, train station, sheriff's office, everything a town could ask for is in Death Town.

Maka has everything she could ever possibly want, except for one thing that's been bugging at her consciousness lately. She's 24 years old and has never been in a relationship with a man; never even considered it, mainly due to her childhood past. Most times, she despises men as a whole, but then there are times when she muses to herself about such things. What could it possibly be like to be in love?

To live with someone who didn't just want you to abuse you, yell at you, hit you, rape you.

To be with someone who actually cared, worried about you, was there for you.

Sometimes, thoughts like these run wildly through her head. Maka sits down on her bed and stretches. With a sigh and a yawn, she wonders...

If only...

"I dunno if you've heard about it, Eater, but I hear there's a new bounty out...Yer low on money, cash? After that last bet, I bet yer more broke than a-"

"Cheshire, if you know what's good for ya, you better close that damned mouth of yours," Soul says, spitting onto wooden floor when no one's looking. Rick Cheshire chuckles a little bit and takes a drag on the cigar that lingers in his mouth. "Although, tell me more about this bounty..."

"I hear it's just been put up this mornin'...Pretty decent reward if yer don't say..." he says as he bangs on the counter, signaling for the bartender to bring another shot of whiskey.

"Ya know, if I had the money, I'd say the round's on me...But ya know..." Soul begins, ordering another round for himself. The bar is filled with other people, other conversations milling all around them. The noise is one of the reasons why Soul even bother's coming; because the noise helps muddle his thoughts and worries that no one besides himself see.

"Aw, don' worry 'bout it, Eater. I gotcha covered, for this one only though," he tells him with a slight smirk. "You outta go take a look at that bounty...I'd take it myself, but I just don' fell like it...But, you know me, I'm quite the slacker."

"You said it, Cheshire, not me." At that, Rick gives a hearty chuckle and Soul simply smiles. He'd have to take a look at that when he has the time...

Maka wakes up one morning when she dully realizes that her amount of pistol ammunition is running low. With a soft curse, she dresses in her usual officer outfit and hops onto Blair. She could have easily walked the distance to the general store, but it was on the opposite side of Death Town, and frankly, she didn't feel like it. She was walking past her job when a familiar voice calls out from the entrance of the Sheriff's Office.

"Officer Albarn? You outta check out the newest bounty that's been put up." Sheriff Law makes a choppy gesture towards the number of papers pinned against the wall to the left of the door, "I think that you might be interested in it!"

She tips her hat in acknowledgement and replies, "I'll be sure to do that, sir..." He nods and returns back to the office as Maka makes her way toward the Death Town general store. Slightly curious about the said bounty, Maka makes a mental note to be sure to come back.

It's only after she's returned to her small home and packed away her ammo that she takes her boss's advice to look at the newest bounty. After securing the pistol ammunition away in a chest that's located below her bed, she steps outside and begins walking towards the office. When she arrives, she scans over the bulletin at the combination of varying papers that rustle in the wind.

But there's one that's larger than the others. It overlaps and covers a number of other posters, and on it is a rough picture of a scruffy looking man with a short but scratchy beard and a wide jaw line.

WOLFMAN NO-FUTURE

HAS MURDERED ABOUT 30 PEOPLE

WANTED

DEAD OR ALIVE

REWARD: $13,000

LAST SEEN BY FORT HUMPHREY

Maka's slightly bent over, about to inspect the poster more closely when suddenly, before she knows what's happening, a hand reaches out in front of her and snatches the poster, ripping it off of the wall.

"Hey-!" she begins in alarm when she turns to see who's the culprit. She's a little caught off guard by the body figure she's met with. Bright white hair, a shotgun slung across his back, and adorned in a black trench coat, he's startlingly attractive in the sense that he stands out. "I happened to be looking at that!"

"Well, you're outta luck, 'cause I have it now..." he says, glancing over at her. The crimson color of his eyes that meet hers are a bit unsettling, and she's a bit shocked by the tone of voice he uses.

"Mister, do you know who you're speaking to?" she asks, narrowing her eyes at the strange man before her.

"Yer an officer. Besides that, I don' really care," he replies, not looking at her, but rather, the poster. She's instantly filled with distaste for the man; her already placed disliking for men in general taking effect.

"Okay then, Mister...?"

"Eater."

She raises an eyebrow at this, but continues anyways, "Mister Eater, I'm going to ask that you return that poster..."

He looks at her again before saying, "No can do, Officer. I'm afraid that this bounty's taken." He then proceeds to fold the paper into a small square before stuffing it into the front pocket of his coat. She glares at him, almost growling when he has the nerve to smirk at her. "Sorry miss, but I really need the cash right now..." And then he begins walking away with a calmness that irritates the officer.

She glares daggers into the back of his head while her mind races. 30 murders...That just wasn't right. This murderer needed to be taken care of, and for some reason, Maka felt like this odd white-haired man wouldn't get the job done. Before she knows what's happening, the words are out of her mouth.

"Wait." She starts with an annoyed reluctance, "I'm coming with you."

At this, he stops. Glancing back at her, his face gathered in a somewhat confused expression, he says, "Eh, what? Sorry, but I'm not gonna split the reward if that's what yer thinkin'."

"No," she says, shaking her head, "I want to kill this "Wolfman" person. He deserves to be dead."

"Wait, so you don't want any of the money?" He asks, his eyebrows raised. He spits onto the dirt beneath him.

She takes a few steps until she's closer to him before replying, "Nope."

A number of thoughts are running through his head. He could probably handle this on his own, but if an actual officer was willing to help him...For no price...He'd probably get the job done faster...She'd have plenty of access to ammunition and weapons...

Taking another step towards her until he's directly in front of her, he holds out his hand, offering to shake with her.

And for the first time, he grins, showing her his row of pointed canines that make her breath hitch. She's never seen anything like it, and she wonders how such a thing is possible...

"Well then...If that's what you want...Partners?"

She glares at him a little bit, narrowing her eyes. After a moment, she holds out her hand as well, shaking his larger and more tanned one.

"Partners."

A/N: Alas, your first official Chapter 1 of Noches de Polvo.

Because Blair just HAD to be the horse! And I think that Justin Law makes for a fitting Sheriff, don't you? So, even though Maka muses about being in a relationship, she still really dislikes men...

Oh, and Rick Cheshire is a character that I've created (whom is mentioned in another story of mine, Believe In Me, as well as my Pokemom story Gone Forever)...I guess he'd be considered an OC but...He's not actually a big character or anything and this chapter will most likely be the only time you'll see him. If you want him to have more screentime, I guess let me know...

Anyways, I wasn't quite sure how I should've had them agree on the bounty, so this just sorta happened...And also, I have no idea if I'm getting my Old Wild West facts straight. I've no idea if I'm calculating the money worth right, and I kind of suck at making the accent work...But you gotta remember that my only sources are history class, a few movies, and the video game Red Dead Redemption (as follows)

History class - %30

Movies - %10

Red Dead Redemption - %60

So you see, I must thank that video game for my facts. But I'm still clueless as ever!

Yup, so I apologize if anything's wrong about it, and please feel free to point it out! Constructive criticism is welcomed with opened arms! Thanks for reading! I also reached my word goal! Yaay!