Lord Death stood before his mirror, Maka standing a few feet behind him. The young meister had just finished sharing what she had learned from Circe with the Grim Reaper, and he was now silently pondering it. His silence made Maka nervous. It was impossible to tell what was going on through his mind thanks to that mask, and even if it wasn't there, she doubted she would've been able to read his expression anyway.

She was about to turn and leave when Death suddenly gave a heavy sigh. "I should've seen this coming from the beginning," he said with a tone of regret. "Hecate always did believe in an eye for an eye, and she always strove to make a perfect society. But I never once thought that she would go quite this far."

Maka gave a slight nod. "I was shocked to learn about that myself. What do you think drove her to do this?"

Death shrugged. "I'm not entirely certain. Perhaps she has merely misguided herself, and created a delusion where she can create a world that mirrors her mindset, or she may have always been this twisted. I can't say for certain though. She was never the expressive type."

"So we'll have to find her fast before she can cause any significant damage, right?" Maka asked seriously.

Death shook his head. "I have the feeling that she's already on her way here."

"What? Why?"

"Because of you, Maka Albarn. Hecate likely already knows that you carry her sister within your soul, so she's probably going to come after you at some point. And get the feeling that that day is going to be-" Suddenly, the sound of an explosion interrupted him. After a tense moment of silence, he said, "… very soon."

-o-

Hecate walked forward down the street, barely taking notice to all of the attempts of the meisters and their weapon to destroy the witch. She had an unbelievably powerful barrier surrounding her and he group of assassins. Raith complained that he wanted to kill the meisters, but couldn't because the barrier worked both ways. He was quickly silenced by a quick, emotionless glare by the ancient witch.

She watched as several meisters seemed to be resonating with their weapons. She scowled at this. "How annoying," she said in a slightly irritated voice. She raised her hand and said, "Pulse." As soon as all the meisters launched their attacks and hit Hecate's barrier, they were sent flying by a massive shockwave of sheer force, some crashing into buildings, most ending up with broken bones. Hecate simply continued forward until the Death Weapon Meister Academy came into view. She raised her arm over her head. "Go," she said to her followers. "Do whatever you please. But Maka Albarn is mine."

All five of the assassins behind her sprinted away to do their own thing. Hecate couldn't help but notice that Bishop and Lillian both looked like they had something particular in mind. She ignored it. Whatever they were going to do, it wouldn't affect her plans in any way.

-o-

Black Star and Tsubaki leaped from rooftop to rooftop towards where the series of explosions had been coming from. Both young ninja had already been waiting for a moment like this, when they would have to face the enemy that now threatened their hometown. Black Star grinned in anticipation. He was hoping that he would get to fight that Bishop guy again. He had a score to settle with that jackass.

Tsubaki's eyes flinched slightly. "Black Star, I sense him! That guy we fought when all of this started!"

That made the blue-haired ninja's grin grow wider. "Heh, I'm looking forward to this! I'm gonna get me some payback for what that guy did!" The duo continued across the city, both keeping an eye out for the smoker.

Eventually, they stopped in front the very man that they were looking for. He was standing casually on the roof, his hands in his pockets and a cigarette hanging from his lips. He had a small grin on his visage. "About time you got here," he said as he took his cigarette out and breathed out a small cloud of smoke. "I was getting tired of waiting for you two. I sincerely hope that you've gotten at least a little bit better."

Black Star smirked cockily. "We've been training non-stop ever since we last fought you. You're no match for the man who's gonna surpass God!"

Bishop chuckled. "I seem to remember you saying something along those lines last time. Be careful kid. The higher you reach, the further you have to fall. Believe me, I know. I've experienced it before."

Black Star raised an eyebrow at that. "What the hell does that mean?"

"Fight me and find out, kiddo," Bishop replied as he made a "come here" motion with his finger.

The young ninja nodded and said, "Tsubaki, kusarigama mode!" Tsubaki immediately transformed into her familiar sickle-and-chain form, and Black Star grabbed the hilt of both ends of the weapon. "All right, Bishop! No holding back this time! Right to the death!"

Again, Bishop chuckled. "What a funny choice of words. All right then." He replaced his cigarette and returned his hand to its pocket. "Come at me whenever you're ready, kid."

With that said, Black Star charged at him, Tsubaki's blades ready to cut through something. He hacked at Bishop, who simply ducked under the attack. The would-be assassin attempted a downward slash, but Bishop rolled out of the way before the blade could make contact with him. The smoker then delivered a back kick straight to Black Star's face, which sent the boy skidding across the floor toward the edge of the building. When he recovered from the blow, Black Star charged again.

"Tsubaki, ninja sword mode!" he shouted. Tsubaki quickly shifted into a short blade, which Black Star held in a reverse grip. He swung the blade at Bishop's ankles, but Bishop jumped over the attack, flipped forwards once, and slammed the back of his foot into the back of Black Star's head. The blow was so strong that it forced the young assassin straight off the roof and through a building across the street before he crashed into the street on the other side.

"Black Star!" Tsubaki called to her meister worriedly. The boy groaned as he sat up and rubbed his head in pain. "Black Star, are you all right!?"

"Ugh… I'm fine," the meister assured her. "I've been through way worse than this. You of all people should know that by now." He stood back up on his feet. "And I've never given up easily! I can already tell that I've found the perfect opponent to test my skills out on!"

Tsubaki sighed at that. Her meister truly was thick-headed. It was then that she noticed an upward breeze. But the wind doesn't go up, does it? She then focused above, and was shocked by what she discovered. "Black Star, look above you!"

Black Star looked at her in confusion for a moment, then looked up. His eyes went wide at what he saw. Bishop was standing upside down in midair, smirking down at the meister and weapon. "W-what the? How are you doing that?"

Bishop gave a little laugh as he turned upright and slowly descended back to Earth. "Let me tell a little story, kid. A story about a fellow who sought to achieve status above that of the gods. His name was Aeolus, and he was the Master of the Winds. Though his powers were godlike, he was not classified as a god. Eventually, he got sick of his lack of title and challenged Zeus, the King of the Gods, in single combat, claiming that he was superior to the king. Zeus was infuriated by Aeolus's claim and accepted the challenge. The king won without even the most minimal effort.

"As punishment for his insolence, Aeolus was rendered mortal and banished from the world of the gods. He traveled the world then, angry and vengeful. He eventually settled for trying to outmatch Death so that he could buy himself time to plot out his revenge against the gods. He found the Grim Reaper and challenged him to single combat, and after an epic battle between the winds and death personified… Aeolus was defeated. However, his soul refused to die. It stayed in his body, and kept his body alive. To this day, the Master of the Winds wanders the Earth, aiming to achieve his goals by whatever means necessary."

Black Star stared wide-eyed at the man standing in front of him. It took him a second to put two and two together. "So… you're saying that you're…" He trailed off.

Bishop nodded with another chuckle. "That's right, kiddo. I am the Master of the Winds. My true name is Aeolus."

-o-

Fun fact: Black Star's initials are BS. Think about it.