THE FIRST DAY

one month after Asura

"Now, I called you here so I could talk to you about one of the students. You may know her - Justin, can you hear me?" Lord Death waved one of his large hands in front of the Death Scythe, recieving a curious look before he removed one of his headphones.

"Justin, are you listening?"

"Oh, what a marvelous sound! God's voice has graced my ears with news of-"

"Whoa there, slow down. I haven't even gotten to the good part." He would never admit it, but Justin Law was not his favorite Death Scythe. It was always difficult to communicate with him because he never took out those headphones. Even if Lord Death had need of a Death Scythe and Law was the only one around, he doubted their compatibility. Whether it had to do with the fact that Justin worked alone and did most things solo, or if there was some other nagging reason, Lord Death did not know. They were both alone in the Death Room today due to the urgency and privacy of the matters being discussed.

"Now, as I was saying. Maka Albarn, one of the young meisters responsible for defeating Asura, has brought to light some serious news... She claims to have transformed into a weapon during the fight, but has only a vague memory of it. Now, since I know you're a very capable meister as well, I was hoping you could perhaps show Maka how to control her transformation?"

Justin immediately launched into a prayer that lasted twenty minutes, constantly mentioning how honored he was to recieve such a noble task. After he was done, there was a gleam in his eyes that made the reaper sweat-drop.

"My great and noble Lord, I will find your follower and answer their prayer, and I will train them to the best of my ability!"

"Ah, she's still in the hospital. You will probably have to wait a few more days before she's released. I trust that you will know when the time is right to begin her training."

Justin gave Lord Death a thumbs up before excusing himself; he wanted to go and meet Maka in the hospital, before they began their training. On his way out of the Death Room, he continued to wonder how he could allow this young meister slip through his watchful eye.

"Hello, Maka, how is your recovery going?" While the music was turned down she could still see his headphones in place. Justin Law was one of her idols, to be so driven and focused to turn himself into a Death Scythe. She smiled nervously at him as he approached her, almost forgetting the question.

"Well, my side doesn't hurt as badly as when I first woke up. Professor Stein told me that my ribs are freshly healed and still a little tender - everything else is just surface healing." He watched as she waved a hand over the dressings on her arms. Justin found himself thinking about how violent her transformation must have been, to actually break her skin. He knew he was staring but he was analyzing how the fight must have gone, the turmoil in her meister soul to allow the weapon blood to activate. Maybe her black blood had helped it along? He was primarily a weapon and learned to wield himself, after all.

"I've never seen a weapon be hurt from their blades. In fact, I'm surprised yours were actually sharp from the get-go. How many of these wounds do you have?"

"Eh... I have one on my back, and these ones on my arm, I don't understand?" Her heart was pounding out of her chest; Soul didn't believe her, and yet he told Lord Death? She began to entertain thoughts of being reassigned and a panicked glint entered her eye. Justin sighed internally, realizing he had jumped into an evaluation without explaining.

"Oh, yes, sorry. Lord Death has been informed of your weapon transformation and asked me to see you through training, once you leave this hospital."

"W-what? What about Soul?" The look on her face said fear, but the look in her eyes was clearly intent on her partner. It had been a thought, a dream in her coma-state. When Soul became a Death Scythe -if they were ever going to get there- would he be taken from her, or would they remain a team? She was so accustomed to being with him, she knew how to use him to his full potential and he knew how to pull her best out of her. She knew there would be other weapons to train, but Maka could admit she didn't want another weapon. She wanted Soul.

"Oh, he'll still be your partner, and you'll still go on missions when you're able. Consider your weapon training just as side training. You're still a meister, our fair Lord however wanted to make sure you stayed safe!" There was a gleam in the guillotine's eyes and he pressed a hand to his chest. Maka exhaled sharply as she relaxed her tensed back. This was just safety training.

"Now, Maka... What exactly can you remember?"

Her side was stiff and her arms were bandaged beneath her meister's coat, but Maka Albarn was finally out of the hospital and currently preparing for school. She had gotten up an hour early to make breakfast for her and Soul, because she knew for a fact that he probably hadn't eaten breakfast since before the final battle. That was a little over a month ago.

She scrambled her eggs and made his sunny-side up with a pinch of black pepper on each yolk. Soul's plate had a hash blend of red peppers, green peppers, sweet onions, and hot sauce on top. She stuck with rye toast and a few homefries, still unable to find her appetite from the hospital stay.

He came out, looking surprised.

"Maka, you didn't have to do this. How are you feeling?"

"I figured you probably hadn't eaten a good breakfast in a while. I'm feeling fine, Soul, now sit down and eat before it gets cold!"

He pulled out her chair for her before taking his own seat. Maka ate slower than he remembered, but then again she was asleep for a month. It takes time to get your appetite back. He shoveled in the hash and quickly speared his eggs, allowing the yolks to mesh with the potatoes.

"Why did you tell Lord Death about me... turning into a weapon?" He still hadn't apologized to her for brushing her off, he hadn't worked up the nerve, nor could he find the right time. Soul knew she was probably still angry with him, but there was nothing negative about her tone; it was only a question.

"I didn't. I talked to Kid, who did it for me. What, are you mad?"

"No, I don't think I am. He wants me to train," His eyes were boring holes into her now, and he felt a pit start to form in his stomach. Did Lord Death think Maka could become a weapon? He started to worry if he had done the right thing now - or had he split them up? She could see all of this as his thoughts descended slowly into worse scenarios.

"Soul, he just wants me to be able to control it. We're still partners."

Everything haulted and she watched his entire figure sag in relief as he forked another bit of eggy-hash into his mouth, getting some yolk on his chin. She leaned across the table and wiped it away, smiling. She was glad it wasn't just her that was worried about losing him. She grabbed her plate and put it in the sink, rinsing it off. She pulled out a ready-made lunch for Blair and set it on the counter before scooping up Soul's plate. He always had a habit of leaving a little bit of food on the plate, so she scraped it into the trash before setting it in the sink with her own plate.

Their way to school was quiet except for the sound of their footsteps against the pavement. This is what Maka had missed. The silence in the hospital was cold and lonely. But going to school, walking with Soul, she couldn't help but smile. She had dreamed of petty things like this while she was asleep.

Soul lagged behind her when it came to the stairs, telling her to go ahead of him. He hated the stairs more than anyone, and on a particularly stubborn morning he refused to even attend school because of them. She saw people milling around, and a few of them approached her with wishes of wellness. Her eyes were scanning the crowd for a particular person - and with surprisingly quick success, she found them.

"Crona!" The demon swordsman turned to her, and she saw the tense nervousness leave them when their eyes met hers. She bounded over to them and grabbed one of their hands in both of hers. They blushed, and she felt her heart sag in relief that Crona had remained the same. She walked with them to their classroom, chatting about how they had been doing without her there to help them along. They admitted that it was difficult to deal with so many people -Ragnarok had joined in their conversation at this point, tugging Crona's hair and calling them a baby- but she was glad to hear that their friends had included them in all their regular meetings. They even mentioned the new students in NOT! class and teaching them basketball. Ragnarok was oddly quiet when it came to that subject. She opened the door for her friend before scanning the seats.

She wasn't even surprised that Black*Star wasn't there, but Tsubaki was ever vigilant in her seat. Upon seeing Crona and Maka's entrance she stood and made a beeline for the two. Tsubaki took Maka's hands in her own and gave a big, genuine smile. She knew that it had been hard for Crona without her, but Tsubaki had also missed the scythe meister. Being the only other normal person in their typically rambunctious group, Tsubaki had found it hard to handle their antics alone. She glanced behind the pair, almost wondering where Soul was before recalling his aversion to the stairs.

"Maka, I'm so glad you're feeling better! Me and Black*Star came to visit you, I'm surprised he didn't wake you up..." Maka laughed and smiled back at her friend. She had missed this, too.

"Thanks, Tsubaki, I'm just glad to be back in class. Have I missed much?" Tsubaki began to go over the last month of class, and when the Professor rolled in, she promised to loan Maka her notes. They took their seats, though Stein seemed to be waiting for something. Indeed, two girls walked into the class; the girl with red hair seemed to be beyond irritated, and the blue haired girl had her head down quietly, with a sweat-drop on the back. Maka immediately recognized them, smiling warmly.

It was lost on the duo, as they were more focused on Stein than the other students. Rudy's head was ducked; partially out of embarassment, and partially out of fear for this teacher. Something felt dangerously off about him. Agnes was tapping her foot impatiently, waiting for him to finish introducing them so they could sit down and get this over with.

"Good morning, class. As you can see, we have two new students joining us today, and we also welcome back Maka Albarn. Girls, care to share a few words?"

"My name is Rudy, I'm a weapon."

"My name is Agnes, and my sister is an idiot."