Here's the latest chapter

I don't own Soul Eater or anything like that.

It was about one in the morning, around the time that a nurse in her mid-thirties clocked out from the local hospital and went home for the night. Ever since she bought her new house five months back, she had to pick up extra hours at the hospital if she wanted to think about having a family anytime soon.

She parked into the driveway, got out of her car and walked towards the door scrounging her purse for her keys. She looked up and noticed that there was a dim light peeking from the windows. She sighed assuming her newlywed husband, an accountant was responsible, or in this case irresponsible since he always did trivial annoyances such as leave the lights or the water running, leaving the toilet seat up and forgetting to flush. She loved him to death, but wondered if he could ever live without her.

She walked to the door and was still having a hard time finding her keys. That was when she realized that light was peeking through the door. "You got to be kidding."

She opened the unlocked door and closed it before locking it. She was at her wits end and was going to chew his ear out tomorrow at breakfast. Screw it, she was going to leave him to make his own breakfast. Which meant he was going to have to starve at work tomorrow.

She turned off the lights and walked into the living room, stumbling on a pretty familiar sight. Her husband was asleep on the recliner while the TV was roaming with late night infomercials.

This was getting ridiculous. She walked towards the TV and turned it off. "Come on Thomas, get up already."

She didn't get a single response, which was normal. He could have slept through an earthquake and even through an apocalypse. It was his inhuman snoring that blocked out all the other noise. She had half a mind to leave him there, but she knew he would be mad otherwise.

"Let's go, head to bed."

She tapped his shoulder, and felt something wet and sticky on her fingers. "The hell?" It was too dark to see, and it smelled rusty and metallic. Working in a hospital, she was familiar to the scent of blood. That was when she realized that he was quiet, too quiet.

She took out her phone and turned on the flashlight app. She turned to him and dropped her phone in horror before screaming at the sight of her husband's corpse. His eyes were wide open in horror, his hands were nailed to the armrest of his chair. But the worst of it, was the fact that the skin of his face was completely gone. Nothing but a pile of muscle, eyes, and teeth.

"Shh…shh. shh. shh."

Something pricked her neck and something was flowing into her bloodstream. It was causing her head to lighten and her muscles to go numb.

"We don't need you screaming, not before I could have my fun, Miranda." A raspy voice whispered in her ear.

The woman named Miranda was drifting in and out of consciousness. Her eyesight was woozy and blurry. "What the hell happened?"

"Awake sweetheart?"

Miranda's eyes shot open and she looked around before assessing her own self. She was currently in her kitchen. Bound and gagged to a chair, stripped to nothing but her underwear. In front of her was a man in his early forties, with salt and pepper hair and a somewhat flushed face. "Thomas?"

Her husband Thomas was at the kitchen counter, making use of their electric knife sharpener on a kitchen knife. "Wh-what are you doing?"

"Glad to see you're awake, I didn't feel like waiting. Glad the sedative only worked for about twenty minutes. I was afraid you'd never wake up."

"Don't screw with me, what are you going to do with that!?" She suddenly thought back and saw her husband lying on the couch, dead, his face carved fresh.

That was when she came to the realization. "Who are you?"

"I'm Thomas. I'm your loving, simple-minded, idiotic excuse of a husband. We've only been married for half a year now."

Whoever he was, Miranda knew he wasn't who he said. She struggled against her restraints and only found herself even more trapped.

"That was a little harsh. He did know some things, like if you pull or even tug on a constrictor knot, it just gets tighter and tighter like an actual snake. Pretty fun fact."

Tears and fear started pouring out of her. Was she going to die? In an even more brutal way than her husband. "Why are you doing this? If it's money I'll give it, just please leave."

"Why would I do something like that? So you could call the police and the ruin what I worked so hard for? Please." He took out a bottle of handheld lotion from his pocket and proceeded to rub it on her face. Miranda struggled and spitted, but his callous hands gripped her head like pliers. "This'll make your skin extra nice and soft."

"Please you don't have to do this. I'm begging you."

"If you only took in those extra hours, perhaps this wouldn't have happened. Considering what I'm about to do to you." The fake Thomas stood up after putting the lotion on her thoroughly and grabbed his knife-set.

"And just so you know, I don't have to do what I do. I just enjoy it."

Other than the sound of skin piercing, shrieks of pain and agony erupted through the house before it went quiet, dead quiet.

Kurai and Lisa were sparring. Kurai was practicing with Kimi in her short sword form while Lisa held a curved, two foot sword that was her partner. Even though she was blind, Lisa was incredibly skilled in close range combat, on par with Kurai despite the gap in experience and training.

"How the hell is she able to block if she can't see? It's almost like she can read our minds."

"Oh more blind jokes that's nice!" Lisa yelled sweeping his leg. Kurai clenched his blade in his teeth and caught the ground, springing off a good few feet and jumping back on his feet and placing Kimi back in his hands. "Her reflexes are incredible. I've heard how blind people have super-senses, but to be able to hear thoughts-"

"Revert, Kimi-nee," Kurai released his sword and it reverted back to Kimi.

"Hey, next time don't put me in your mouth," She said wiping the saliva off her arm. "Why did you give up so easily?"

"I can't land a hit, so it's my loss." Kurai held his hands in defeat with a reassuring smile. "But that'll be reassuring, having you as a partner."

"As do I."

"Ugh, you two talk more like a couple than friends." Kimi complained.

"That's just how Lisa-san is." Kiria replied casually.

Lisa's cheeks puff before turning to Kiria. "Kiria-chan, please don't use –san with my name! –chan or –tan will do. If you want you can also call me Lili."

"She's like a child," Kimi said to herself.

"You should try, it's rather calming, Kimi-tan." Lisa said. "As partners, as well as fellow witches, we should both try to get along. On that note-" She gave Kimi a serious look before suddenly groping her breasts. "What the hell do you eat to get boobs this big?"

"Hey, quit touching those! What are you five!?"

"I see it's quite lively over here." Black Star said patting Kurai on the back, "Brings me back to when I was younger."

"I know…Hold on, sensei, where did you come from!?"

His teacher gave a confident grin and gave a thumbs up. "As a skilled assassin, I must be able to hide my presence."

"Awesome!"

"I actually heard you come in. Your inner voice is too loud." Lisa said trying to grab Kimi while the latter was pushing her away. "I was too distracted with monster boobies to say anything."

"Don't use my breasts as a scapegoat!" Kimi yelled with an angry look.

"Anyway, the reason I'm here is because Kid wants to see you lot." Black Star told them.

"How come?" Kiria asked.

"He has an assignment he wants you kids to handle."

The five entered the Death room and were surprised seeing Lord Death and Soul along with two other people. One man and one woman,

One of them, a young man had a black jacket with that little soul logo on the back with a long-sleeved white shirt under it and cargo pants. He had unruly black hair, only long enough to cover his eyes. He had a peculiar aura that was difficult to read.

The young girl had long, light-blue hair and green eyes. Her black leather jacket was tight fitting, revealing her stomach and midriff. She wore a pink plaid skirt with heeled boots.

"Hello! Hello! Welcome back!" Lord Death waved to him. "Thank you for coming on such short notice."

"Thank you for having us, Shinigmai-sama." Kiria said with a bow.

"You said you had an assignment for us, sir?" Lisa asked.

"Right, right. But before that, there's two people I'd like to introduce you to." He gestured his hand to the two of them.

The girl placed a hand to her chest. "My name is Mizuno Wester. I'm a weapon."

"..." The young man merely looked at them in silence. At first, they merely assumed he was mute or wasn't much of a talker. However:

"ZZZZZZZ"

He made a snot bubble while his head rolled down.

""He's asleep!"" Everyone except the girl named Mizuno yelled in unison.

Soul pinched the bridge of his nose and handled the introduction. "This here is her meister Zeke Reiner. They're a weapon pair who's a part of the summer program."

"I didn't see them at orientation." Kurai told them.

"They were both late comers, so it's no surprise that you haven't been properly introduced." Lord Death told them. "Anywho, word is that you are attempting to form a party of your own. Good news, from here on out, these three will be your new comrades."

"What?" Kurai and Lisa were stunned from what he said. It was true that they we're looking for a third pair to form an official party, but they were hoping to come across said member themselves.

"You might be wary seeing as you just met the guy. He has quirks here and there, but I can assure you that he is a very capable meister. Just last week he brought back fifty-two evil souls all in one day, and did it rather swiftly."

"That's a lot of souls." Kimi said.

The boy's snot bubble broke and he suddenly appeared in front of Lisa and Kurai, holding out both his hands. "As comrades...let's...get along."

Normal people would've been weirded by his behavior.

"Sounds good to me."

"Glad to have you on board."

Kurai and Lisa shook his hands and greeted him casually, they couldn't care less about his oddball nature.

Kimi gave a shocked look seeing that. "They don't seem to give a crap."

Kiria walked up to Mizuno and held her hand. "My name Kiria Konime, nice to meet you, Mizuno-san."

"Nice to meet you," Kimi said holding out her hand.

"Don't get casual with me you two bit weapones." Mizuno suddenly scoffed. Kiria held a surprised look while Kimi was severely pissed off. "What the hell did you just say to me?"

"You heard, we don't need you getting in our way." Mizuno said.

After Kurai heard that, he stepped between them with a severely pissed off look. "What the hell did you just say?"

"My, don't you have balls, even if they are tiny." Mizuno scoffed. "We don't need half-wits like you for a job so simple."

"Why you-"

Before things escalated, Kiria and Zeke pulled their respective partners away.

"Kurai-san, don't."

"Thats enough, Mizuno."

"Oh dear," Lord Death said.

"I see she's not one for first impressions," Soul said to Death. "Alright, that's enough! Break it up all of you!" He ordered everyone. "Whether you like it or not, you're a team. You'll have your differences, but suck it up and deal with them. Right now, we have an assignment that we want you lots to handle." Soul pulled out a file and handed it to Kurai. "Police reports. Yesterday night, in a suburban neighborhood of San Diego, California, a married couple were found murdered in their home. No signs of break in or struggle. Wife was bound and gagged in the kitchen and the husband was crucified to his chair."

"So was it a robbery?" Kiria asked.

"Somewhat...the one who did it, stole their faces." Soul said.

Everyone had question marks on their heads hearing that. Kimi said, "I'm sorry did you say-?"

"Their faces, caved right off their heads." Soul said. "This is about the third one in a month. And here's where it gets bizarre." He walked towards the giant mirror and tapped it. The image within it distorted until it was showing footage of what appeared to be a bank robbery. The gunman who carried in Uzi, wore no mask, showing a clear image of her face. She was a woman in her late thirties, with long brown hair tied in a ponytail. "Miranda Hugh, robbed a bank and killed three police officers a day before she was found murdered along with her husband Thomas."

"So what, this guy takes people's faces after killing them and then frame them for robbery and murder?"

"Seems like it. Except he doesn't kill them immediately. The autopsies found hints of saline on the victims shoulders and legs, tears. This bastard skinned them while they were alive, kicking, screaming, and crying."

"Never thought I'd be glad to be blind. I do not need to see that." Lisa said.

"So we're dealing with a shapeshifting Leatherface." Kurai said.

"And we need you to kill and bring this creature's soul before he does any more harm." Lord Death told them clenching his fist. "I want this bastard's soul ASAP!"

"Yes sir!" Everyone except Mizuno yelled. "Tch."

E.A.T meisters were granted different privileges when it came to travel. Free plane tickets, and they were even able to drive vehicles without a license.

The newly form group of three were driving to their destination with Kurai, behind the wheel. He and Zeke were the only ones who knew how to drive, but with his frequent sleeping habit, everyone, even Mizuno decided against it.

The one issue was that the car was compact and couldn't fit seven people. So all the weapons had to remain in weapon form and stay in the trunk to save space. They insisted they didn't mind, Mizuno saying she was going to sleep the whole time.

Driving from Death City to San Diego was less than a five hour trip. As long as they followed the map, they would be there before dark.

Lisa rode shotgun while Zeke was fast asleep in the back.

To pass the time, Kurai and Lisa wee catching up on their studies for Monster Hunting 101.

"Best way to kill ghosts?" Kurai asked before pausing. "And if the body is cremated?"

"Salt and burn the bodies. If cremated, burn whatever's tethering them to the living." Lisa answered.

"Werewolves?"

"Silver bullet to the heart." Lisa answered confidently. "Every time."

"Vampires, and not the shitty Dracula kind?"

"Decapitation. You can also kill them if you pump enough dead man's blood into their bodies."

"Smart girl. Here's a tough one...shoujo? Bonus, how do you find one?"

"You need alcohol to see them. If you're hammered, you can see them clear as day. Only way to kill them, Japanese sword blessed by spring water and a monk."

"You heard my thoughts on that last one, didn't you?" Kurai suddenly asked.

"You know me so well." She teased before turning back seeing Zeke passed out cold, evident from the snot bubble. "Good he's asleep." She turned to Kurai. "Kurai-chan, we need to be careful around him." She suddenly said.

Kurai looked from the road to her and saw a serious look on her face. "Can't say I've ever seen you serious. That's rare. What's bugging you?"

Lisa gulped before turning back making sure he was asleep. "Ever since we met him, I couldn't once ever hear his thoughts. It was all blank and silent, it was weird. Even now, I can't get a single reception."

"What about his partner?"

"Clear as day. Read her like an open book." Lisa said. "My ears have never failed me. I don't understand how that's possible. This guy, he isn't normal."

"Says the witch who can hear people's minds. If you've forgotten, we have a truck full of Demon weapons, and we're going to San Diego to hunt a shapeshifter." Kurai laughed. "None of us are normal. But what do you think? Magic, or-"

"I might be starting to go deaf?" Lisa interrupted with a sour expression. "My hearing is not on trial. Speaking of which, can I ask you something? Why does your sister hate me?"

Kurai sighed. "She doesn't hate you. The thing is, she's not really into the supernatural. She's not a fan of witches. It was a pain in the ass convincing her to come to the school."

"Is it because of her sister?"

"Kimi-nee was adopted. Her sister was trying to turn her into a demon sword. She killed hundreds of people and forced her to eat their souls. She was close, but my parents killed her before Kimi-nee could turn. That's all I was told."

"I've heard rumors of a witch named Saiyan who was killed by a meister/weapon pair. But to be forced to eat human souls, poor thing."

"The thing about Kimi-nee, she's not too open with her emotions. When we first adopted her, she was a complete pain in the ass. She refused to talk to us, and just kept herself in her room. After we got the paperwork filed and we officially adopted her, mom made a feast. I mean spaghetti, her signature garlic bread, it is divine. It was the first time she ate something other than human souls, and she teared up. I never saw that side of her." Kurai gripped the steering wheel till the white of his knuckles shown. "And I never want to see that side of her ever again."

Despite being able to not see it, Lisa was able to hear the muscles in his hands tighten. "Kurai-chan."

She wasn't the only one. Unbeknownst to her, Zeke was awake the entire time, and listened to every single word, and sat there in silence with a complicated expression.

After the five hour trip, Kurai finally parked the car at the first motel they could find and opened the trunk. He, Lisa, and Zeke grabbed their partners and watched them return to human form. All the girls stretched their limbs.

"That was the best nap ever." Kimi said.

"About time we got here." Mizuno grumbled before turning to Kurai. "Next time watch the speed bumps, the rattling kills my back."

A tick mark appeared on Kurai's head as he lunged at her with Kimi in his hands ready to stab her. If only Kiria wasn't restraining him.

"That aside, where should we look first?" Nagi asked.

"Now that I think about it, how are we going to find a shapeshifter, and in this city?" Kimi asked looking around at the hundreds of civilians passing by them.

"Good point. Talk about finding a needle in a haystack." Kiria commented. "Even if we did find it, it could just change instantly."

"Not exactly," Lisa said. "Shapeshifters don't just change like in comics and cartoons. Monster Hunting for Meisters 101. Shapeshifters don't instantly morph, they go through a rather…interesting metamorphosis."

Monster Hunting is a course at the academy that all freshman Meisters were required to take for graduation, and just how it sounds, it's where they learn the traits, strengths, and weaknesses of all monsters and how to hunt them.

"Interesting how?" Kimi asked.

"They shed their skin like a snake, and out pops their new persona." Kurai said. "Gross." Kimi gagged at the thought.

"Shapeshifters usually take the form of victims they killed and hide the bodies, assuming their lives, personas, and everything." Zeke added.

"We can't use Soul Perception either because they can even mimic the soul wavelengths of humans." Kurai said. "Lisa-chan, can you use your hearing to find it through its thoughts?"

"Even if I could, there are too many people." Lisa said putting her fingers in her ears. "Listening to these scattered voices already is giving me a splitting headache."

"Hold on, if he does in fact hide the bodies, why didn't he take the victims?" Lisa asked.

"Probably for show, he wants us to know." Kurai said. "Here's something that's bothering me, shapeshifters don't just shed when taking on someone's appearance. They also have to shed regularly like a snake. The normal span is once a day, but some would have to shed regularly. They'd have to find someplace to hide while they're doing that."

"I wonder…" Zeke looked down and tapped his chin before looking down at a pothole. Kurai's and Lisa's eyes followed his and all three gave a grim expression.

"""Not it!""" All three of them yelled in precise sync, repeating this several times before going to a standstill.

"I vote Lisa goes." Kurai suggested.

"Agreed." Zeke said.

"Hey!"

Kurai and Zeke drove down to the police station and found a place to park. Without Lisa and Nagi, all three of their weapons sat in the back mushed together with Kiria in the middle. Kurai and Zeke were able to hold a conversation, while all Kimi and Mizuno did was glare at each other with scalding hatred in their eyes, while Kiria was trying to keep them from killing each other. "Alright, let's go." The both of them got out.

"We'll be back in a few minutes, you guys sit tight."

"Wait, why?" Kimi asked.

"If we went in with a big group, they might think were meddling kids. If we go in with swords and a bow, we'd probably get arrested. We won't be long." Zeke said before turning to Mizuko. "Play nice."

"Do I look like a dog?" Zeke threw something on her lap and she looked down at a box of jawbreakers. "Well, if you insist." Her eyes lit up like a child and she placed several in her mouth, swishing it all around with flushed cheeks.

"Mind if I have one?" Kiria said reaching out for one. Mizuno hid the box and hissed with cheeks stuffed like a squirrel. "Did she just hiss?"

"That should keep her quiet for a few hours." Zeke gestured to Kurai. "Let's go."

The two walked inside the police station and asked the receptionist if they could talk to the detective involved in the case.

"Will Morrison, nice to meet you both."

He wore a suit accustomed to that of a detective, and had black hair that was slowly turning gray.

When he first saw two fourteen year old boys, he showed them to the door. It wasn't until he saw their student that he changed his tune.

"A shapeshifter? You boys realize that's only in folklore."

"So is everything else we fight, but it had to come from somewhere." Kurai said.

"I'm getting too old for this shit. Trust me, when you boys are in this line of work, you think you've seen it all. But this…"

"If you could be so kind as to ask your men to step down from this case. Let us handle this."

"You think we can't handle one person?"

Zeke shook his head. "It's not a person, it's a creature that can take on human form. This one is particularly dangerous…"

With Nagi strapped to her side, Lisa used her powers to summon two bat like wings and flew through the sewage drain. She absolutely refused to ruin her new shoes, and especially inside of a sewer. Despite the smell of fermenting waste and urine and the occasional sounds of rats skittering, it was extremely quiet, which was peaceful on her ears.

She hummed a little tune to herself the whole time while navigating the sewage drains.

'Lisa…stop right here.'

"Nagi-chan?" Lisa did as told and stopped, hovering in place. "What's wrong? And what's this smell?"

She picked up a scent different than usual. It was rusty, and metallic, like the smell of blood.

Nagi was the only one able to see what Lisa couldn't, and when necessary, acted as her eyes.

"What's wrong Nagi-chan?"

Lisa was unable to hear Nagi's thoughts while he was in his weapon form. Nagi was aware and thankful of this one weakness. He didn't need her seeing what he was looking at with a disturbed expression. "We should get out of here."

In front of the two was a wall with a dim lighting. It looked like a shrine, with rows, and rows, and rows of masks made completely out of carved faces, hanging in line. Faces of different ages, race, and gender. Below the wall was pile of blood and peeled skin that looked a lot like slime.

For a while, I thought I'd never finish this, so I made it a part one. I'm not 100% when I'll update, but hopefully within a month or two.

Until next time.