A/N - So help me God, I will get back into my daily/near-daily updating schedule if it kills me.
I've been looking forward to writing this particular arc for quite a while. The first reason is that there's going to be a lot of Kid, and Kid is just amazing. I love Kid so much, what a great character, my enjoyment of an episode goes up exponentially whenever he's on screen (not that I don't adore Soul Eater without him or anything, it's a fab anime). The second reason is... *coughs* well... From the United Kingdom, I'm looking for him, I'm going to California~~ *dodges brick*
This chapter did take a bit longer to write than it could have, mostly do to me having to make some narrative changes to how the series of events played out. I'll explain more after the chapter is over, to avoid any potential spoilers. Another reason is that I wrote like a thousand words that I really did not need and ended up dragged the plot down, but I had just gotten so into the subject at hand that my sister had to take me by the shoulders and say, "You need to stop." So that's why I didn't get this chapter out yesterday like I probably could have if not for those two factors.
I'd respond to reviews here, but no one left any between last update and this one. :'(
Notes and translations of the Latin will be at the end of the chapter.
DISCLAIMER: Soul Eater is the intellectual property Atsushi Ōkubo. I have no intention of monetizing my fanwork, and this is merely an enjoyable passer of time.
Chapter Twenty - Curiosity Claimed the Meisters - Seeking Out the Fabled Sword Excalibur, Part 1
Alecto wasn't supposed to have tea in the library. That was what all the librarians had told her. That was what Sid had told her. That was what Lord Death had told her.
She didn't care. Tea and libraries went together like peanut butter and jelly, or clocks and notebooks. And besides, the thermos was designed so that its contents wouldn't slosh all over everything, and even so, she wouldn't dare waste a single drop of tea. She wasn't going to spill anything onto the books, so she didn't understand what the problem was.
The tea of the day was an oolong blend, specially made by the owner of the tea shop that Alecto went too. It was a blend of almond oolong and cream, the two flavors balancing each other out in a strong, nutty mixture. It had been a bit of a tricky tea to get a hold of; if brewed for too long, it would turn bitter; if not allowed to brew long enough, it would be flat and stale. But she'd managed to get it just right this morning, and she savored the taste as she ran an olive finger over the many books on the shelf in front of her.
Tempus was somewhere on the other side of the library, probably buried up to his neck in books at this point. Alecto had long since learned that when libraries and bookstores were involved it was best to just find something to occupy the time with, as Tempus could spend up to hours in a bookstore, if allowed. So she had wandered off to find a book of her own to read while waiting for him.
Her finger stopped on the spine of a single thick textbook, with the words A Complete Reference Guide to Soul Parasites embossed in a thick white font. Didn't Stein say that there was going to be a few questions on soul parasites on the big exam that's coming up? she asked herself. She couldn't remember for certain, but in any case it would likely be a good thing to brush up on her knowledge, just in case. She pulled the book out of the shelf and plopped herself down soundly on the floor, pressing her back against the bookshelf as she opened the book and began to read.
"While all Kishin Eggs have a common point of origin - the corruption of a human soul through the consumption of other human souls - no two Eggs are exactly the same. The human soul is said to be unique to each individual, and this trait has carried over the the souls of the wicked and the damned, making it very difficult to efficiently and concretely categorize Eggs. Soul parasites are somewhat unique in this regard, as they are very clear in their criteria.
"Soul parasites are categorized as such not for what they are, but for what they do. A Kishin Egg that is classified as a soul parasite has the unique and deadly ability to latch a small piece of its soul wavelength onto the soul of its intended victim. This fragment of the soul constricts the soul like an amazonian python would constrict a capybara, and cuts off the soul wavelength, causing the soul to weaken over time and become easy pickings for the parasite. This is especially problematic for a meister or weapon with the Death Weapon Meister Academy (DWMA), both of whom require a free soul wavelength to work with their partner and perform a Soul Resonance. As such, the DWMA requires that any meister-weapon team going up against a soul parasite be at least two stars or higher.
"But sometimes missions can go awry, and inexperienced students can find themselves going up against a soul parasite. If you are a one-star meister, this book will teach you how to recognize a soul parasite and the proper course of action in case you come across one. If you are a more experienced DWMA student or a fully graduated meister or weapon, this book will teach you extensive combat strategies and ways of defending your soul wavelengths and the wavelengths of your partner against any parasitic attacks."
Curious, Alecto flipped to the table of contents and scanned the page. There were a lot of chapters, covering notable soul parasites, defensive strategies, offensive strategies, et cetera. She didn't think she would have time to read all of this in the library. Even taking into account Tempus's love for libraries, it was pretty late in the afternoon, with the sunlight streaming into the library taking a yellowy-orange hue that signified that sunset was not far away. Closing the book and tucking it into the crook of her elbow, she stood up. She would check the book out and study it later at home.
Before she could go do so, however, she heard a familiar, nerve-grating grating voice speak. "Well. I'm here, what am I supposed to do now?"
Another voice sounded out, louder and deeper and sharper than the first. "Clean. Put the library back in order."
Alecto looked up sharply, her contentedness turning to ire and her gaze hardening from charcoal to black ice as she regarded the two other people in the room. Her sudden bad mood had little to do with Sid, the second person to have spoken, and a lot more to do with Black Star. When she went to the library, she expected a certain degree of peace and quiet, and her classmate's presence radiated anything but.
Though, the idea of Sid possibly catching her with tea in the library and confiscating it (...again) didn't exactly lift her spirits, either. Alecto ducked into a nearby stairwell, crouching at the bottom step and holding her thermos close to her chest.
Black Star did not sound particularly thrilled at the prospect of having to clean such a large portion of the library. "Huh?!" he exclaimed. "No way. Not me."
"Listen, you brat," Sid said, clearly losing his temper. Alecto wasn't surprised. Temper was one of the first things to go out the window when dealing with the blue-haired, would-be assassin. "On your last extracurricular lesson, you didn't collect a single soul!" Again, Alecto was having difficulty mustering up anything resembling shock at this little revelation.
"Yeah, well," Black Star said, "that's what remedial lessons are for, right? I should know, I've done enough of them lately," he added, grumbling a little by the end. "What good will stacking books do me? Cleaning? No way. I'm too big for that." Alecto wondered if she could use her temporal abilities to knock Black Star out with the reference guide before anyone noticed. "Stars like me don't clean. Isn't there anything better for me to do, like when we beat up you and the crazy professor?"
At this point, Alecto's entire train of thought consisted of the word "stulte" repeated over and over. How Tempus could stand eavesdropping on people on a regular basis without stepping in to berate them for their eternal foolishness.
"Listen up for once, Black Star," Sid snapped. "You have more raw power than almost anyone else in your class, and yet you have nothing to show for it! It isn't fair to Tsubaki. She's trying hard and you're holding her back." There was the sound of footsteps, and when Sid spoke again his voice came from the other side of the room, near the door. "Right now, what you need is punishment. Something tedious and boring to get you back on track!"
Any urge Alecto had to berate Black Star immediately evaporated. She couldn't top the tongue-lashing that had just been delivered.
"This is a huge mess!" Black Star exclaimed. "Aren't you at least gonna help me?"
"That would defeat the purpose," Sid replied. "I don't spoil my students. That's not the kind of man I was." The library door creaked closed, leaving only Black Star and the still-hiding Alecto in the library.
"Great," she heard Black Star say exasperatedly. "What am I gonna do now?"
You could actually do the task assigned to you, Alecto thought bitterly. Or you could have avoided this punishment entirely by doing your damn duties as a meister and actually collecting Kishin Eggs souls instead of goofing off. She considered getting up and leaving the area, only to realize that she was actually pretty comfortable sitting where she was. Sure, the stairwell wasn't the most well-lit of areas, and if someone came down from a higher floor of the library there would be a bit of base awkwardness, but it was a nice enough place to curl up and read.
She decided then that she'd go track down Tempus later. Right now, she opened the book and flipped to the chapter that went into detail about the traits that differentiated soul parasites from regular Kishin Eggs. If anything on soul parasites was going to be on any test, it was most likely going to be related to the recognition of them.
She wasn't able to rest for long, though. Soon, Black Star's raucous laughter filled that corner of the library, and Alecto was filled with the strong urge to break something over his head. She settled for taking off her jacket and throwing it over her head in an attempt to muffle the sound a little.
"Ahaha ha ha! Charisma Justice is awesome! He's almost as big a star as I am!" Black Star declared. Alecto realized that he was reading one of the library's selection of comic books instead of doing his work, and found her surprise levels quite lacking. Black Star was horribly predictably that way. "I never knew they had comic books in the library! This is the kind of remedial lesson that I can live with."
If this was how he went about remedial lessons, no wonder he was going through so many of them lately.
Another voice spoke, and Alecto couldn't help but jump a little. "Hey, keep it down, would you?" Death the Kid said. "You're in a library." Alecto hadn't heard any footsteps that would have signified his approach, thus leaving her a little startled from her spot in the stairwell. Then again, it was probably to expected, with Black Star having been loud enough to drown out her own thoughts, much less footsteps.
"Yeah, sorry," Black Star replied, his voice still tinted by comic-induced mirth. "What are you doing here, Kid? Are you being punished, too?"
"No," Kid said. "I'm here to check out a book. I'm conducting some research into the symmetry of famous weapons. I'd actually like to take that book that's under your butt, if you don't mind moving for a second."
"Oh, this one right here?" There was the sound shuffling. "What does the cover say? E-ex...cally-burr?"
"Almost," Kid said. "Excalibur."
Up until now, Alecto's interest in the conversation had been incidental at best. She hadn't even been actively trying to eavesdrop, it's just that the conversation was taking place right there and it was hard not to hear it. But that one word caught Alecto's attention. Excalibur. She'd heard quite a few things about that particular weapon, most of which came from Tempus. Having been the fabled sword of the kings and heroes of legend, Excalibur was kind of a Big Deal, with a capital B and a capital D. She leaned forward slightly, now eager to hear more.
"Right. What's that?" Black Star said.
"From what I've heard, it's a legendary weapon, also known as the holy sword," Kid explained. "They say he who draws the holy sword from the ground shall be deemed a hero and shall receive everlasting glory and fame. I've heard that someone who obtained Excalibur in the past went on to become a mighty king." His voice took on a reverent edge. "I'll bet a sword as powerful as this one has absolutely flawless symmetry." He let out a sigh of admiration. "Ah, symmetry…"
"Hero?" Black Star said. "King?! That sounds perfect to me!"
He who draws the holy sword shall be deemed a hero… Alecto turned to words over in her head. The idea of actually wielding the sword wasn't what had her attention in a vice grip; she loved working with Tempus and wouldn't choose another partner for anything in the world, and her fighting style was specifically tailored to his unique weapon form. She wouldn't know what to do with a sword if it was shoved into her hands in the middle of combat. But the idea that maybe, just maybe, if she could pull the sword out of its place in the ground… to be deemed glorious by such a legendary weapon as Excalibur… it would give her hope for sure that she could make something of herself. That all the work she had done, and all the work she would do, would lead to something substantial, instead of the failure that she was constantly worried about.
With metaphorical stars in her black eyes, Alecto barely heard Dr. Stein speak. "Oh. You mean Excalibur, huh."
"Hey, professor!" Black Star said. "Are you here for punishment, too?"
Alecto pinched the bridge of her nose. By the storms of Iuppiter. Someone needed to remind this boy that there was more to libraries than remedial work.
"Punishment?" Dr. Stein asked, and Alecto figured that his brow was furrowing in bewilderment as he spoke. "What are you talking about, Black Star?"
Kid spoke before Black Star did. "Do you know anything about the legend of Excalibur?"
"The holy sword Excalibur...It was too much even for me," Stein said in response, curt and vague as always.
"Really?" Black Star exclaimed. "You tried to pull the sword?"
"Even you couldn't draw the sword, professor?" Kid said.
A sword even Dr. Stein couldn't move… It was only then that Alecto realized that she had pulled her ribbon out of her hair and was fiddling with it eagerly, having placed the book and tea on the floor next to her. Biting back a sigh of exasperation at her own twitchy fingers, she pulled the jacket off her head and put it back on. Her hair was unruly enough whenever she wasn't keeping it in place with her ribbon, she didn't need her jacket messing it up further.
"Well, now I'm really interested!" Black Star said. "Hey, professor, if you tried pulling the sword out, you know where it is, right?"
"Yes," Dr. Stein said. "I learned it from that book you're holding. I wouldn't recommend trying to track it down, though. Excalibur can only be wielded by those with a particularly strong will."
"Are you saying that I'm not tough enough to pull the sword out of the ground?!" Black Star shouted.
Dr. Stein didn't reply. Instead, there was the sound of footsteps that Alecto realized with a start were drawing closer to the stairwell she was crouched in. She hugged her knees to her chest and tried to make herself as small and unnoticeable as possible. Maybe if Stein really was coming this way, he wouldn't notice her.
The footsteps stopped just outside the entrance to the stairwell, and Alecto could feel a sharp gaze focusing down on her. She glanced up to meet Stein's cold, greyish-green gaze, and could only offer a sheepish I-can-explain smile and a short wave of her hand.
Stein didn't say anything, however. He simply headed up the stairs to a higher level of the library without a word. Alecto allowed herself a quiet sigh of relief. Having to explain that she was curled up in the stairwell because she hadn't wanted to involve herself in anything regarding a conversation with Black Star… well, it would've been embarrassing. Plus, there was the fact that she'd smuggled tea into the library… again. That would not have helped.
Though, she had to admit, she was beginning to want to involve herself in this conversation the more she listened to it.
Mere moments after Stein vanished up the stairway, Black Star spoke again, his loud and aggressive voice filling the library wing. "Well, that cinches it. Now I really have to go check this sword out." There was the sound of a book clattering to the floor; Black Star had probably kicked one of the texts he was supposed to be putting up. "A star like me could totally pull that sword out of the ground, no problem!"
"I'm interested in seeing the sword as well," Kid said. "A sword as legendary as Excalibur obviously must have perfect balance and symmetry. To see it with my own eyes would be truly be a glorious opportunity!"
"Well, what are we waiting for, then?" Black Star said. "Let's go find Excalibur!"
Alecto wasn't sure what it was that drove her to interject herself into the conversation at that particular moment. All she knew was that one second she was sitting down and tying her ribbon back into her hair, and the next she felt a part of her mind compelling her to get to her feet, grabbing her tea and the reference guide. Tick. She left the stairwell and made her way towards the two boys, taking a stolen second to compose herself and get her thoughts together. Tock. "You're forgetting something, aren't you?" she said.
Black Star and Kid both jumped at her sudden (from their perspective) appearance. "When did you get there?" Black Star said.
"Right here? Modo. Er, just now. Time meister," Alecto reminded him. In the corner of her peripheral vision, she saw Kid's eyes widen slightly, but she didn't really pay attention "But I've overheard quite a bit. Including that you're thinking of seeking out Excalibur when you're supposed to be cleaning up this mess." She gestured to the mountains of books next to the three students. "I don't think Sid would be too happy if he came back to find you gone and the library still a mess."
Black Star raised an eyebrow. "So?"
"So," Alecto said, "I can help. If you two take me with you to Excalibur, I'll get Tempus to organize the library books in your stead." She glanced over in the general direction of where she'd left Tempus. "There's no way he'd say no. He loves organizing books. Hell, he's probably organizing books right now," she added. "We get to go track down one of the most legendary weapons around, Tempus gets to spend more time doing what he loves, and Sid gets a library so clean and so organized that he can't even complain that you weren't the one who did it. Everyone wins."
It didn't even take a whole second for Black Star to grin widely. "Yeah, sure!" he exclaimed. "I didn't really want to clean all of this up, anyway!"
"I would never have guessed," Alecto said flatly. "All right, give me a couple minutes to find Tempus. I'm sure he's around here somewhere." As she turned away to seek out her partner and pushed time out of sync with a nudge of her soul wavelength, she could feel a pair of amber eyes boring into her with a sharp intensity.
Tick.
Tock.
"There you are. I've been looking for you."
To say Tempus had immersed himself in his environment was a heavy understatement. The blond had wedged himself into a small corner of the library between two old bookshelves, with neat stacks of books surrounding him and a thick, leather-bound tome in his hand. He didn't look up at Alecto as she approached, nor did he acknowledge her presence as she spoke. "Tempus, are you even listening?" she said. "I said I've been looking for you. I need you to do Black Star a favor."
It was the last sentence that caught Tempus's attention, and he looked up, molten gold eyes narrowing sharply. "You need me to do Black Star a favor," he repeated slowly, lingering on each word as if he were speaking a foreign language for the first time.
"Ita, that's what I just said."
"You. Need me. To do Black Star a favor."
"You heard me the first time, Tempus," Alecto said.
Stretching, Tempus got to his feet and took a step away from the corner, closing the book in his hands. "Alright, I'll bite. Who are you and what have you done with Ally?"
"Hilarious," Alecto deadpanned. "Look, I know this sounds weird, but it makes sense when I explain it." She took a deep breath. "See, Black Star and Kid are going to go seek out the holy sword Excalibur and I want to go with them."
"The holy swo-" Tempus's eyes widened, then his face fell as he realized the implications.
"Not to wield!" Alecto added hastily. "You know that you're the only person I'd ever want to partner up with. No, I just want to see if I can pull the sword out of the ground. I'll probably be putting it back right afterwards. But the thing is, Black Star's got a remedial lesson of sorts, because he still hasn't collected any souls. He needs to clean and organize the library before he can do anything. So… I was wondering if you could perhaps take that task over for him while we go track down a holy sword?"
Tempus didn't say anything for a few seconds, standing there with a blank expression on his face, and for a moment Alecto thought that he was going to refuse. Then suddenly she was in his arms a few inches of the ground and being twirled around in a circle while he exclaimed "Yes yes yes yes yes yes!"
"Okay, okay!" Alecto said, laughing a little. "Please put me down."
Tempus dropped her, allowing her to land back on the floor. "For a second there, I thought it was still pretty weird that you were asking me to help out Black Star," he said grinning almost maniacally, "but then I realized that you're actually doing the library a favor. I mean, come on. Do you think Black Star would know how to properly organize a library? I mean properly properly. Heck, was he even trying?"
"He wasn't doing any work whatsoever. He was just reading a comic book, before Kid came around," Alecto said.
"There, see? I swear, libraries are so lost on some people."
"You know that if there was a direct Latin translation for the word 'nerd' I'd be calling you that right now, right?"
"Oh, like you don't get excited about new tea blends, you complete hypocrite."
"I… touche." Alecto stared down at the thermos of tea in her hand. "We should probably head back. After all, there are piles of piles of books that need to be sorted and organized… probably a lot of books on the shelves that are out of place…"
Tick tock. Tempus was gone, off running towards the main room of a library at a pace that would have gotten him a stern scolding if a librarian were about. He's so predictable, Alecto thought. Tempus treated organizing books the same way Alecto treated drinking tea. Not bothering to use her desynchronization to catch up, she followed, moving at a quick pace back towards the main room of the library, which had taken an even more orangey tone as the sun outside slipped further towards the horizon. As she approached, she could hear Tempus speaking, his voice carrying over the bookshelves.
"...have you know that you have completely squandered a beautiful opportunity, not that I'm complaining of course because now it's my opportunity and I intend to take as much enjoyment out of this as I can, and are you sitting on those books?! You don't sit on books, Black Star!" There was a loud crash. Tempus had probably knocked Black Star off of his spot on top of one of the piles of books. "There. Now, go off on your holy quest and leave the important work to the professionals."
Alecto walked into the main hall to see Tempus already busying himself with the books, taking each individual book and examining its spine carefully before placing it into one of the neat, organized stacks he'd already begun to set up. "Well, there's that out of the way," she said as she walked over to Kid. "I pity anyone who gets in his way right now, really."
She could feel that amber gaze trained on her again, and turned to see Kid staring at her with an increasingly agitated expression on his pale features. "Is something wrong?" she asked pointedly, raising a thin black eyebrow questioningly.
Without saying a word, Kid reached forward and tugged her ribbon out of her hair. "Quid te...?" Alecto squeaked, only to fall silent as he brushed her rose-pink hair back with the tips of his fingers and gently tied the ribbon back into her hair. He spent more time tying her ribbon than was strictly necessary, and Alecto could feel her face grow gradually redder. After a minute, he gave the bow a quick tug and stepped back, seemingly satisfied.
"Q-quid erat quod?" Alecto exclaimed, her face as scarlet as a tomato at this point.
"Your ribbon was askew," Kid explained matter-of-factly. "It was unsightly."
"O-oh." Alecto glanced away. "T-thanks, I guess?" She hadn't really been paying attention when she'd tied her hair back up not long before. He'd done a good job fixing it, true; she doubted any carnation curls of hers would be falling out of place until she removed her ribbon. But still, Kid just up and doing something like that without warning was… unexpected, to say the least.
She shook her head slightly and shoved that train of thought off its tracks. There were far more important things to think about. She forced herself to think about the holy sword, and what it would mean if she could possibly pull that sword out of its spot in the ground. About the admittedly slim possibility that a legendary weapon could deem her a worthy meister.
She forced herself to think about these things, and not the fact that she had kind of liked it when Kid had brushed his fingertips through her hair.
A/N - Ohohoho, what's this? Could this be the start of some... romantic tension? :O
Up above I mentioned I'd explain what changes I decided to make to this this chapter. Well, originally, I was just going to have Alecto overhearing the conversation between Black Star and Kid, and then meeting them outside like "yeah I'm coming with you guys whether you want me to or not." But then I figured that this way would work better, as it had a bit more of a flow to it and it allows me to write in a scene that I didn't think about before but really like the idea of writing.
Latin learning time!
et cetera: You know, I didn't actually realize that this was a Latin-based saying meaning "and so on" until I started writing Tempus Fugit. But ever since I needed to look up Latin on a regular basis, I've started to recognize Latin phrases used today, as well as Latin roots in words. Awesome! This bit wasn't really a translation, I just wanted to share that I am learning things and that knowledge is cool.
Iuppiter: Not really a word in the translatable sense, but when Alecto says "Iuppiter" here, she's referring to Jupiter, who was the Roman god of the sky and thunder. He was basically the Romans' Zeus. Also holds a double meaning, as the planet Jupiter is a gas giant that is absolutely covered in storms.
Modo: A word that basically means "just now" or "recently." I'm probably not using it in the most grammatically appropriate of context, but hey, it works well enough.
Quid te...?: Could be translates as "What the...?" or "What are you...?
Quid erat quod?: "What was that?"
Chapter twenty-one will be up soon. (Fun fact, if my calculations are correct than we'll reach the 100k word mark in just 5 more chapters!) In the meantime, feel free to favorite and leave a review! I love feedback!
- Diana "Nocte"
