Standing in the middle of a grassy field, pissed off and as short-tempered as a feline, was Maka Albarn. She was soaked, hair frizzy from the ongoing rain. Her clothes were caked with mud and grime, torn by different elements. With bitter hesitation, she pulled off her meister gloves and tossed them onto the ground. It wasn't as if she'd need them.
The reason Maka was up at three in the morning by herself? Training.
Hardcore...
Mentally and physically exhausting...
Training.
Maka spread her legs into a sturdier stance, lowering her head with determination. "Come at me, Black Star!" Wild fury grumbled along the lines of her view, ringing in the air around her and the shadow weapon meister. "You asked for it!" Black Star's voice came at her hard.
Almost as hard as his fist flying into her gut.
Maka flew backwards, her back smashing into a tree. She fell on her feet, body trembling. She was already bruised and bashed up. She could barely feel the impact of Black Star's punches anymore. She was lucky Black Star was a fair guy.
'No wavelength attacks' they'd agreed before they began sparring. The agreement stood firm. The two meisters only exchanged fists. Skin on skin.
"Had enough, Maka!?" Black Star screamed, slowly making his way towards her. Maka spat some blood onto the grass, her lips curling into a grim smile. She chuckled. "You'll have to do better than that!"
Black Star scoffed, but grinned none the less. "Well then, here I come!" Black Star ran at Maka and in a blur of speed and determination, he struck her to the ground. "Never doubt the great Black Star." He stated smugly, folding his arms over his chest. Maka shakily lifted herself off the ground, spitting a wad of blood onto the burnt yellow grass. Black Star grinned, extending his hand. Maka grabbed it without a second thought, a bitter smile crossing her features. "Shut up."
Maka dusted off her jacket and placed one hand on her hip. "So where do you think this mentor of ours is? The one Lord Death assigned to us…" she questioned, looking around at the surrounding forest. Black Star shrugged, carelessly falling onto the grass. He stretched and rolled on his side. "Don't know, don't care."
Maka was about to scold her friend for being too laidback, but was cut off by a gust of wind. Trembling lightly, she lifted one shaking hand to touch her cheek. She felt it run down her skin. Something had cut her. Crimson stained her fingers and ran along her hand, pooling in her palm. Black Star shot up, staring at the blood with frustration. With a curt movement, both meisters turned to look at a small opening in the forest.
Standing with his hands shoved into his lab coat, his glasses gleaming in the bright moonlight, was a man. His pale lips cured into a warm smile against his dull gray skin. Patchwork covered both his clothes and face, giving him resemblance to a rag doll, tattered and thrown away. He waved to the duo in a friendly manner. "Good morning, you two! I assume you are Maka and, let me guess, the great Black Star? I've heard so much about you."
Behind his glasses, Maka caught a glimpse of a dark glare. Instantly, a chill ran along the length of her spine and wandered throughout her body. His kindness was false, no doubt. Maka glanced at Black Star. From the vicious expression on his face, it seemed that the star clan meister knew it too.
"Let me introduce myself." The patchwork man slowly came closer, the faux smile still etched onto his lips. He gently lifted his glasses so they rested more steadily on his nose. "I'm Professor Stein. Lord Death assigned me to teach you two from a meister's perspective. Your weapons will be trained separately, as you know. Seeing as up until now, you've been trained with your weapons, take this time to learn about yourself as an individual." Stein paused, his grin gradually becoming something more sinister. Maka saw in the older man's soul a hint of madness. It fluctuated within him, lashing around like a bird trapped in a cage. Somehow it worried her.
Stein continued. "The first lesson is to pay attention to your surroundings. I could have killed you, Miss Albarn. Instead, I simply chose to shoot a small wavelength at you." He turned his attention to Black Star. "I understand you have great wavelength capabilities."
Black Star took a step forward, his fist braced in the air. "Of course I do! Besides that, who do you think you are!? Attacking my friend and thinking you can get away with it."
Maka hadn't thought Stein could be any creepier until the patchwork meister's grin spread even more. She could see it even more clearly than before… the madness in his soul. Maka placed one hand on Black Star's shoulder. He looked at her, staring at her with his eyebrows furrowed. "What!?"
"I sense something strange with his soul." Maka explained breathlessly. The feeling his soul gave her was unsettling. She felt nauseous. "You shouldn't rush into a fight with him."
"Then what should I do?" Black Star questioned impatiently, shrugging Maka's hand away. Maka lowered her head thoughtfully. "I…" she muttered softly. "I don't know-"
"You silence yourself and listen." Maka cringed at the sound of the speaker's voice. Why was he everywhere she was? Couldn't he disappear for just one day? That's all she wanted.
Kid leaned against a tree, Liz and Patty to his sides. Stein's smile dropped, his expression serious as he analyzed Lord Death's son. "You've come to observe, Kid?" he asked, voice lacking concern. Kid replied with only a nod, focused on Maka. Maka shifted under the weight of his stare, glancing around with a scowl on her face. Was she that weird that he needed to stare at her all the time? Maka brushed a loose strand of hair out of her face. Was she that disgusting?
Without another moment's hesitation, training begun. Maka and Black Star were sent to run until tired, then spar. They entered a tag team fight against Stein (which ended with Maka down for the count and Black Star rolling in pain on the ground from an overpowering wavelength hit). From her crumpled position on the ground, Maka could see Kid move away, a scornful glint in his eyes. She wanted to know why he always seemed so overwhelmed by disdain. The entire session, all he'd done was stare at her until she could feel his gaze burning into her. And now he had suddenly run away.
He wasn't the one in pain. So why did he seem so… frustrated?
"Okay. I think we are almost done for the day. Go get a drink, catch your breath, and come back for a final spar. We'll continue after that for the next week." Stein's voice barely registered in Maka's head past 'catches your breath'. Before Black Star could approach her, she was gone, rushing in the direction of the reaper. It didn't take her long to find him. He was one his knees, hunched over in the dirt, clutching his head. Blood ran down from his scalp where his nails were jammed into his head. Maka watched with horror as he removed his hands from his head and…
Licked away the blood?
No… he savored it. It wasn't quick or simple. He cleaned each fingers like the crimson fluid on his hands was precious.
Maka's mind withered away. She screamed without thinking, covering her mouth when she realized what she done. Kid's gaze locked on her, his gold eyes wide with a strange display of insanity. His lips widened into a nervous grin. "Hello, how are you? Is that what you humans say?"
Maka moved to run, but he was faster, striking at her. Maka raised her palms to block, curling then as the pain ripped through her hands. She rocked back and forth, howling in pain. Kid's grin faltered just a bit. His eyes came back into focus, his expression now twisted with both sadness and confusion. He blinked. "M-Maka…?"
"You freak!" Maka hissed, halfway clenching her fingers, but stopping each time the hurt exploded onto her fingers. There it was again. That stare he always had, though this time it was intertwined with an emotion Maka couldn't quite pin. She didn't care. She'd had enough.
"Why do you keep looking at me that way!? All you've done since I met you is mess with me!" Maka hissed, balling her fists against the ground. Her bleach white palms were stained with crimson, her green eyes hollow with grief. "What do you want from me!?"
Kid gritted his teeth, lowering his head to avoid looking at the girl before him. He was still getting used to humans… still trying to understand them. How could he have expected her to understand how he felt? How could he have expected her to realize his pain? He hadn't meant to lash out of her… even his abilities as an awakening Shinigami were foreign to him. Despite her trying to hide it, he could see the bleeding marks on her palms, the burns on her fingertips.
"I don't know…" His voice was so fragile that the wind could barely carry it to Maka's ears. Maka fumed, her face burning bright red. "You don't know!?"
"I saw your soul!" Kid suddenly screamed, gaze burrowing into her. Maka shivered under his gaze, but remained furious. She could feel his eyes searching within her and it was a scary feeling… a feeling she didn't welcome but was unable to stop. This, she realized, was how others felt when she read their souls. Kid fell onto his knees beside her, carefully lifting her to his eye level. "You have the soul of an angel, Maka… I don't know why, but I found myself attracted to you that night we met. It scared me and I blamed your damned grigori soul."
Maka froze. Kid's hands were shaking, their grip on her arms growing more violent. "I've never had feelings for anyone!" he hissed, his eyes brimming with tears. Nothing fell from his eyes, but they shined with so much agony. Maka actually felt it… she felt the pain he had. Kid quivered. "And I fell for a human! A worthless human who will die in just a few years! Maybe I do want you to lose… once I reap your soul; I won't have to see you ever again."
Maka was speechless. A feeling grew inside of her. This feeling was… what? It twisted within her chest, sharp like a knife. Kid released her with a light shove which knocked her onto her butt. He clutched his chest, giggling out of control. "You, you! You saw, haha! The madness, you see it, don't you!? Look at me!"
She looked away despite his order, not wishing to see the mess in front of her. She knew why she felt so uneasy around him now. It could have been so simple. Her soul perception told her everything she needed to know, yet she'd ignored all the signs. Death the Kid was infected with madness. Did his father know?
"Why won't you look at me!?" Kid screamed, twitching madly. His eyes flashed with frustration. For a moment, Maka felt she could reach out and help him, but ignored the idea when his eyes flashed back to madness. "Are you scared, Maka Albarn? I can take all those fears away! So symmetrical… you don't belong in such a world! Do you know where there's true peace, beautiful!?… In nothingness!"
Maka leapt up and scrambled away, knocking into trees as she ran. She didn't look back. She didn't need to. The farter she ran, the more distant Kid's laughter sounded. Soon, she knew she was far enough away. She shook off her fear and walked back into the clearing. Stein and Black Star had already begun sparring. They stopped when she approached.
"Well, look who showed up?" Black Star chirped, sniffing the air. "Miss Maka Albarn."
Stein observed Maka silently, her gaze locking on her hands. The form of a skull shaped burn was imbedded on her palms. He frowned. "Maka, after training, we are going to visit Lord Death at Gallow's Mansion." He stated calmly. Stein slid into an offensive stance, ready for combat. "Well…" he grinned. "Shall we begin?"
(A/N: And that is the next chapter! Thanks for reading and all your wonderful comments 333 I really appreciate them! It's great to have feedback *Q* Anyway, next chapter we have the reason behind the ceremony :3 Stay tuned! Ha… I sound like an old TV announcer ;P Oh yeah… I never edit xD So I'm sorry if you see mistakes! If it starts getting too bad, please tell me e-e)
(Edit: Just before I went to post this, what did I see? Over a thousand views! Thanks, guys 3333 Ah… I'm a hypocrite… I said I never edit xD)
