A Meisters' First Mission & Souls'... Nosebleed?

.".".".". A week later .".".".".

Soul and Alice had been training under Professor Steins' supervision, making sure they were both well prepared. Alice had successfully mastered her soul wavelength with her partner and on the first try too. Stein was impressed, not many meisters' can match their wavelength with other demon weapons, at the time, and only he could wield any weapon with ease. Now Alice is fully prepared for her mission with Soul Evans.

Alice made sure to gather up her belongings for the trip with Soul. She scuffles around the bedroom placing her items that were necessary for her backpack. Making her way to the closet, picking out the clothing she will be wearing for her mission. As she got dressed, Alice walked over to her mirror staring at herself; she wore a red, black, cream striped sweater that covered her black colored shorts. Along with her suede over the knee boots, which were in a dark ebony color and had laces located in the back, it dangled neatly in a bow like a manner; which was located next to her backpack.

A soft hum vibrated from her vocal cords, 'My hair would get in the way of our mission. I better comb it up just to avoid any unwanted distractions.', grabbing a large hairbrush, as she began to gently comb her long wavy hair. Soon she began to braid her hair, a slow and steady process until she finally finished, wrapping a thick rubber band to keep her braid in place.

Making her way back to the mirror, her eyes fixed onto her reflection. A smile made its way to her lips; she caressed her braided hair as her hand made its way down to her neck. Her delicate fingers were tracing an old scar, the jagged skin had a faint flesh-colored, and the puffy pink skin was held in place by stitches around her neck. Alice's' pupils dilated staring at the unsettling mark, a soft sigh escaped her lips before placing her choker; the one with the Lord Death pendant.

A faint knock was heard as the girl swiftly grabbed her backpack, along with her boots, as she ran out of the bedroom and stopped in front of the door. Putting on her boots, she opened the door revealing a droopy looking Soul, his hands shoved inside his black leather jacket; his headband was holding most of his bangs back, he wore a pair of light brown pants, and an orange shirt which had the logo of his sweatband emblazoned that was located on his left breast.

She smiled, waving her hand at him, "We'll be leaving on my motorcycle." he said as he tried to sound cool. Nodding in response, she closed the door to her apartment locking it behind her.

Alice followed Soul down the stairs, making their way out of the building where his motorbike stood a few inches away from the entrance. Soul got on his bike, as the engine roared to life, Alice sat behind him unsure if she should hold onto him or the metal like chair behind her, "Hang on tight!"

Her eyes widen as the bike began to gain speed, suddenly she threw her arms around the boys' torso. Soul was taken by surprise by her actions; he blushed feeling her grip tighten, 'Guessing she's not used to being on a motorcycle.' a wide grin spread across his face revealing his sharp teeth.

Soul glanced to one of his rearview mirrors; the buildings of Death City were no longer in his sight. He kept his eyes on the sandy road in front of him. Shining high above the sky was the sun, a huge grin on its lips, laughing loudly. Hours had gone by, traveling from city to city had drained Souls' energy, and he could barely keep his eyes open. Alice made Soul stop by a motel where both would be staying there for the night. Luckily, she brought extra clothing in her tiny backpack, she couldn't explain how her backpack works and she is lucky it could fit some clothing. You could say the bag is magical, but Alice thinks that its tiny appearance is what fools people, thinking its small.

Alice plopped herself on the twin sized bed; her tiny backpack was on top on the pillow above her head. The room was quite roomy, and there were two twin sized beds next to each other; while a tall lamp in between the beds was, what separated them. Soul sat on his bed with his cheeks heated up, his new partner was causing him to be all flustered when he looks at her. Even if he kept his composure around her, he still managed to blush just by the slightest actions she would be doing.

'Keep it together Soul, she's just like being with Maka.' he thought to himself, his eyes remained closed. Alice had made herself comfortable on the bed; her hands were next to her head as she closed her eyes. Soul glanced at the girl, his face becoming redder than his eye color. He could feel his nose bleeding; Soul quickly entered the bathroom across the room, closing the door behind him. Grabbing a piece of paper and shoving it in his nostrils.

"Damn, this is not cool." Soul murmured to himself, whilst cleaning his nostrils. A sigh escaped from his lips, staring at his reflection in front of him, "Keep it together Soul. I can handle a girl like her.", he said with confidence, exiting the bathroom.

Soul stood there, eyes wide, and his mouth gaping wide that touched the floor. Alice had changed into her purple nightgown; its silky fabric hugged her figure perfectly, and it was slightly transparent, the nightgown had a V-neck line as it showed off her delicate looking skin around her chest area. The gown was designed to have thin looking straps, as it showed off her perfect complexion of her arms. Alice raised her head, gazing at the boys' utter shock written across his face. Her cheeks began to heat up uncontrollably; she grabbed a nearby remote and threw it at him, hitting him in the face with such force. He cried out in pain falling onto the floor, as he bleeds through his nose.

She gasped, running over to the now-injured Soul. Alice crouched down next to him, worriedly shaking his shoulders lightly. Soul moaned out in pain, "Nah, it's alright. I-I'm fine." she sighed in relief, placing both hands on her chest. As Soul lifted his head up, his eyes landed on her chest taking notice of how slightly large they looked. What's worse? She was still crouched down and her chest was in his line of sight. Blood trickled down his nose, as his head fell back to the floor with a loud thump.

'Soul!?'

There was more blood coming out of his nose. Alice scurried around the room searching for something to clean the blood, finally, opening one of the drawers there was a white hand towel neatly folded. She grabbed it, walking over to her friend, kneeling beside him as she gently wiped off the blood from his nose.

Soul was taken aback by her wiping away the blood; he could only stare at her in shock whilst she cleaned his bloody nose. A light blush appeared on his cheeks, as he avoided her gaze. She too couldn't contain a blush forming on her cheeks, but she ignored the warmth of her cheeks and continued to clean his blood.

Once she was done, Soul sat up on the floor rubbing his head while his eyes stared off elsewhere. A smile formed on her lips as she held the towel to his nose, catching his attention. The silence they shared was a little uncomfortable, but she never minds it. She was used to it. Soul stared at her lilac eyes, and he could have sworn her pupils were a crescent-shaped. Though he was too mesmerized by her gorgeous eyes, he unknowingly leaned forward. Alice blinked in confusion, before covering his face with the stained towel.

Soul muffled against the towel, a giant sweatdrop appeared on his head. Alice giggled softly, watching Soul struggle with the towel against his face as he grabbed her wrist, pulling it off his face, "Hey, what's the big idea? I could have suffocated you know!" he exclaimed a hint of irritation hinted in his voice. Alice could only smile, throwing the stained towel at his face making him more annoyed as he is.

Alice stood up walking over to her bed, plopping herself on the soft mattress as she threw the covers onto herself. He sighed, cleaning the left-over blood from his nose, as he then lay down on his bed staring at the ceiling. Souls' eyes landed on Alice, who was fast asleep. Staring at her sleeping face made his cheeks burn, he cursed at himself mentally as he looked away from the sleeping meister.

'I'm starting to Miss Maka.', he rolled onto his side, his back facing the girl. Slowly his eyes began to give in as he fell into a deep slumber.

.".".".".". Meanwhile at the DWMA .".".".".".

Lord Death stood in the middle of the death room, staring at the mirror in front of him. Behind him was an anxious and impatient looking Stein? His gaze piercing at the Shinigami whose back was turned, yet, he still felt the professor's gaze piercing through his back. Stein was irritated. Ever since his student had left the city, he had become rather worrisome. He could feel his stomach twist into a painful knot, leaving him to feel uneasy. Something terrible was going to happen, and he couldn't just stand there to do nothing.

The professor turned around, walking away before suddenly the grim reaper spoke, "And where are you going, Stein?" his goofy voice echoed throughout the room. Stein didn't bother to turn his gaze at the grim reaper, "I'm going after my student."

"You cannot interfere with her mission. This is something she must handle for herself; surely you must know that by now." Death gazed at the professor, who stood in silence as he continued, "Then why go after her?" Death asked with curiosity, "Tell me, Stein, why is this girl so important to you?"

"She is…" Stein lowered his head slightly. He took out one of his hands from his lab coat, placing his hand on his sternum where he wore a peculiar crescent-shaped necklace that hung neatly around his neck, "A captivating test subject."

Lord Death hummed with delight, staring at the professor fiddling with something around his chest area. Death suddenly jerked forward, his head tilted to the side, "Don't tell that you've come to care for the girl?" his words rung in the air around them; Death was stunned. Stein was feeling towards this girl, and yet, she can't even muster a single word other than write on a piece of paper.

He was flabbergasted, Stein being attracted by Alice? It simply didn't make sense, this is Stein! He is incapable of feeling love, not to mention he cannot grasp its true meaning. But, Death believes that everyone can change their life around, by changing they gain something far greater than what it could have expected it to be. His thoughts were quickly interrupted by Steins' footsteps as he walked away, leaving the Death room without a single word.

"Oh my..." he chimed worriedly, swiftly turning around and staring at the mirror, as it began to shine before him. Death stared intently at the screen, observing the sleeping figure of a young girl; Alice. The grim reaper pondered for awhile until finally, he had pieced things together.

"Ah… Stein is in love with her.", if he had a mouth upon his white cartoony mask he would've had the biggest smile. Death sang happily to himself whilst observing the girl, who slept peacefully.

Alice snuggled into her pillow; a soft sigh escaped her lips as she slept. Her braided hair had untied itself, as it hung freely across the mattress. She slept comfortably on her left side. The girls' bangs hid some of her slim features; her mouth was partially opened breathing in the air through her nose, and exhaling from her soft pink lips.

The night was peaceful, both her and Soul slept with no trouble. Though, Alice had been shivering, not out the air-conditioned room, but from fear. She broke out a cold sweat, her lips quivered and her breathing had become shallow. Her fingers curled up, holding the sheets tightly.

Lord Death watched in silence, his mask formed into a concerned look, "Oh, dear.", his right giant foamed gloved hand appeared, placing it onto the large mirror as he watched helplessly at the trembling meister before him.