A new day dawned, the young scythe meister Maka Albarn lifted herself up from bed, "It's 7:30am again, we have an hour until class starts". Maka whizzed up onto her feet, making sure to check she had everything prepared for their new school term.
Maka gathered her books, pencils, pens, money, she had everything laid out on her bed, "Right, time to get dressed" she excitedly said, running to her clothes, she couldn't wait to get back to studying.
The other resident however wasn't so active at this time. However his alarm clock was ringing again, the weapon partner kicked it out of his room, launching into the living room and dunking into a trash can.
"I'll never get used to that thing" Soul said in a gravely tone, slowly and gradually pulling himself upwards. Soul peered outside, the sun wasn't as hot as yesterday, but it still proved to be present, "Sweet, great weather again". Soul kicked his bed sheets off of him and stood up, he had no books or other utensils planned to take with him, he just put on his usual attire.
Soul had his red jeans on again, he went for his black and yellow jacket this time as the winds were a little brisk despite the clear blue sky. Soul opened his door, "Wait, something's off", he glanced up, "The headband" he turned back around and saw it on the window sill. Soul grabbed it and brushed it to make it look good, "Can't forget this" he grinned.
Soul placed the headband on his head, he adjusted it and looked in the mirror, "Cool, now I just gotta wait for Maka to get all her stuff ready...". Soul walked into the living room, he saw the clock he kicked a few moments ago and threw the clock out the window, "Good riddance".
Soul sat on the same two-seated sofa he sat on when joking around with Black*Star yesterday, "Good time as any for some chill time, she'll be taking ages getting her stuff for school ready..." he noted.
Soul started to find himself reveling in the past, much like Maka did yesterday...
*Flashback*
It had been a few days after Maka and Soul bought the items of clothing for each other, the winter was still as harsh as ever, Soul was leaving class with Black*Star and Tsubaki. "You guys even seen Maka? She wasn't in class, she's always in class!" Soul asked, his concern increasing with each word he spoke, not to mention the fact he was looking all around the hallways of the DWMA.
"I'm sure she's fine Soul", Tsubaki reassured him, "Maka may have just forgotten this time". Tsubaki knew her guess was as thin of a chance as Black*star getting 100 on an exam, but she just wanted to help calm a friend down.
"But that's not like Maka... Even Black*Star knows that, Tsubaki", Soul grumbled.
Tsubaki couldn't come with an answer at this point, Black*Star patted Soul on the back, "It'll be fine Soul, besides she'll use her soul-sense thing and find us!", completely not grasping the insult Soul directed at him.
Soul tried to smile, but he was too worried, "Maka" he whispered, dashing down the corridors, Black*Star and Tsubaki exchanged glances, Black*Star shrugged it off.
"Come on Tsubaki, we got more training to do!" Black*Star swiftly changed topics.
"But we just had Sid for-" Tsubaki tried to explain, but it was to no avail, Black*Star was set on becoming stronger, and he wouldn't give in.
"More training! I gotta surpass God remember?" Black*Star glared at his weapon with serious intent on training.
Tsubaki sighed with a happy expression, "Yes, how could I forget?", the two partners left the building, embracing the winter air, causing them to shiver slightly as they carefully descended the stairs of the DWMA.
Soul continued to run down the corridors thinking where she could be. "If I were Maka, where would I be? Well, duh, class, but where else? The library?" he asked himself.
Soul checked the library, but all that was in there were the thousands of books reaching up as high as you could see, towering over all the students inside like caged rats. Soul cussed and darted in the other direction, back into the squeaky halls.
He then rushed to the balcony on the fifth floor, looking out onto the city, Maka wasn't there either. He checked the other classrooms to see if Maka was just assisting with teaching or something, he couldn't figure out why she'd avoid class, ever. Each reason he tried to come up with was shot down by the fact she'd just not ever skip out on a class with Soul, even if he was absent.
Soul turned and a green shape caught his eye, he saw Maka, walking upstairs really quick, not stopping for anything, her head lay low. Soul frowned and jogged upstairs to catch up with her, Maka was quick on her feet, Soul just kept heading up in hopes to catch up.
Soul opened the door to the fifth floor, Maka was sitting on the same balcony Soul checked earlier, the view spanning the entire city, even so far that you could see the desert where it cut in and out, plastered in snow now. Soul walked up to Maka, sitting beside her, "Alright, wanna explain why you weren't in class?", he asked, partially irritated and also relieved he found her.
"It's nothing, really" Maka whispered, avoiding eye contact with Soul.
"Oh? But we had Sid, dude was teaching us this thing called 'soul resonance', could be useful, dude scolded me because you weren't there..." Soul added, now leaning on the balcony with his arms crossed.
Maka sighed, "I'm sorry, I didn't want to get you in trouble" Maka's voice getting more and more shaky.
Soul's face showed a sign of melancholy, "Look, I'm sorry to bring that up, it's no trouble, we all know Sid's funny around me anyway, dude favours Black*Star". Soul nudged Maka, she turned her head a little to lock eyes with him, Soul carried on, "Now you and me, we're partners, weapon and meister, and you have any troubles, any at all, you let me know, alright?".
Maka nodded, "It's, just these guys who've been kinda picking on me recently", she said nervously, her voice still shaking.
"What?" Soul turned around and stood up, "Who are they?".
Maka turned also, "N-no Soul it's ok honestly!", she was holding her hands up to her chest like she was being attacked, but in actuality, she just didn't want to start trouble.
"No it's not Maka! I'm not letting some punks mock my meister, you mean a lot to me, you're one of the best partners I've had!", Soul shouted, a bit louder than he intended. "You're one of the few people who understands me...", he added, his eyes not departing from hers.
Soul suppressed his memories for a moment, Maka lowered her hands too and tried to stay calm, she wasn't sure where Soul was headed...
Soul let out a huge sigh, "Look, just let me talk to them, if you want me to be chilled, I will, you know me, lazy and relaxed" he chuckled.
Maka looked away, "Alright, but they might have left by now... So we don't have to worry", she said with a smile, trying to influence him still, to not start anything.
"Then let's head back, I'll make dinner tonight" Soul said pulling Maka off the balcony support.
She brushed away a few tears, "Y-yeah, ok".
The two left the DWMA, Soul managed to cheer Maka up within a few minutes, it was like what just happened, never happened. Soul and Maka walked past a group of four, the two partners sharing laughs and insulting each other playfully.
A voice came from the group, "Look, the teacher's pet of class Crescent Moon, maybe by outshining everyone else with questions she feels like she's got some worth!". A cacophony of laughter came from the group.
"I guess brains is all she's got, there's nothing there on her chest!" one of the other bullies claimed, nudging one of his friends. Even more laughter followed, the laughter ringing in Soul's ears and shaking in his skull.
Soul stopped dead in his tracks, Maka wanted to move on, tugging Soul's orange hoodie, he didn't move though. "Come on Soul, let's just go", Maka said, holding back more frustrated tears.
"No, let's have a talk" he said spinning around and stopping when he faced them, "Hey, I couldn't help but overhear you, and you guys are?", Soul asked calmly, but his tone of voice couldn't even hide the undertone of anger.
"None of your business Soul, you'd probably be too lazy to remember our names anyhow, you two are just perfect, one of you tries so hard and one of you couldn't care less!" another teenager said.
Soul clenched his fists in his pockets, no one noticed, he cleared his throat, "Let me get one thing straight, that girl there is my partner, my meister, and I'll die protecting her, so back off... It's not about her brains, or her body, it's the soul, and the personality that makes her good to work with".
The group stood speechless, Soul spoke further, "If you guys attended more class and stopped screwing around and getting F's in your tests maybe you'd know that! Funny how you say I couldn't care less, at least I was able to get where I am, I didn't need parent's money like you sad freaks".
The rant struck a nerve with one of the bullies, he grabbed Soul, "What are you getting at? We'll do whatever we want! As if you can make us change our minds! And you call us freaks, coming from a weapon like you, you make me sick...".
Soul narrowed his eyes, "So I take it you're all meisters, then, hey here's a tip, if you spoke more and spit less then maybe I could understand you!".
Maka backed off a couple of steps, Soul was dropped by one of the boys, but he kept teasing, "What's this headband here? Pass it ove-".
"Don't, touch it" Soul ordered, swatting the boy's hand away and now holding a defensive stance.
"Woah getting protective now are we?" the boy said, cracking his knuckles, "Alright, you want to throw down?".
Within seconds Soul and Maka were on there way, the group were left beaten to a pulp, "I don't think they'll bother you anymore Maka", Soul assured her, giving a thumbs up approval with it.
Maka felt protected right now, she thanked Soul for his efforts and the two headed back home, "So how about I make dinner tonight as a thank you?".
Soul cheered, "Happily!".
*Flashback End*
Soul snapped out of his trance, "Funny, we never saw those guys again, not at school anyway, no one touches my meister...".
Maka came through with everything she needed, "Alright, ready Soul?". Maka was wearing her usual school attire with the hoodie she adored over the top.
"Yeah, ready as I'll ever be" Soul groaned. Maka unlocked the door, letting Soul step out first before she closed the door behind them and securing it.
"You could show a little enthusiasm Soul, we stopped a Kishin, we actually did it, we have a title to uphold now, and now we're back at school, we have to get back into our studies!", Maka scolded her partner.
Soul rolled his eyes and stuck his tongue out, "I know, I know, something about hitting the books just doesn't click with me...".
Maka paused for a moment as they walked, "Well, at least you're a good weapon partner".
Black*Star and Tsubaki were on their way to the DWMA, "Alright Tsubaki! A new term! Let's make this the one where I outrank everyone!".
Tsubaki walked slightly behind Black*Star, "Definitely Black*Star, I'm sure you'll be great", she agreed, just to keep his spirits up. It's not like she didn't think he could achieve it, she just had to make sure he didn't get too ahead of himself.
Black*Star scoffed, "Great? I'll be the best! Besides I outrank everyone all the time! I just wanna keep the streak up, that's all!".
Tsubaki looked at the buildings further down the city, the two were walking up the ever-long, towering path that was the staircase to the academy. "Wonder what the others have planned for this term..." Tsubaki thought out loud.
Black*Star saw the academy come into view, "Who cares?! With me on the team we've got it in the bag, they can just watch my brilliance!". Black*Star began to jog up the stairs, the jog became a run, then a full on sprint.
Tsubaki followed, "W-wait! Black*Star we still have thirty minutes until class! I told you that you get ready too quick!".
Black*Star burst through the door, no one even looked at Black*Star performing his usual antics. "Looks like he's at it again..." one student claimed giggling to her friends.
"I have no idea where he keeps all that energy, probably all in the head if you ask me..." one of them added, causing further chuckles among the group.
Afterwards, Black*Star had sprinted to the classroom. Tsubaki was out of breath at this point, "B-Black*Star? Slow down! T-take things slow!".
Black*Star ran into class Crescent Moon, "Alright! Let's get this show on the road!", much to Black*Star's surprise, the room was empty. Black*Star snapped his eyes around the room, "What is this? Where is everyone?!" he was sure everyone was waiting to see the spectacle that is, Black*Star.
Tsubaki leaned on the door, panting, "Probably on there way here, some of them probably still home...".
Black*Star cracked his knuckles, "Whatever, let's take our seats, we might as well wait for Stein to turn up".
Kid was being dragged to school by Liz and Patty, not because he didn't want to go, it's just that, in his words 'The candles are not melted the same on the left as they are on the right!'
"I must attend to it immediately!" Kid squealed, trying to pry himself from Patty's iron grip, which was almost like cuffs right now, Kid couldn't, with all his might, get out of her grasp.
Liz and Patty came to the staircase, "For the last time Kid, you've got school! Just worry about that when you get home!"
"I can't, I have to see to it now!" Kid retorted, he was set of fixing the candles.
Kid suddenly broke free of Patty's vice hands, only because Patty was gawping at the sight of the school again.
As he began to run off, Liz grabbed him, "I said, no! We have school! Move!". Kid hesitated to go up the stairs, he moped and walked up them like a child who had been scolded for misbehaving in a supermarket. Liz had not let go of him until she got to the top of the stairs with him, it was the first day and he was already being a pain.
Patty was energetic as always, "This building is still huuuuuge!".
Kid took notice too, "Isn't it astounding? Father replicated the old building, and it's perfectly balanced, perfectly symmetrical!".
Liz slapped herself on the forehead, "You just HAD to set him off didn't you Patty?".
"Where's Kid off to sis?" Patty asked in response, causing Liz to groan.
The three reached the top of the staircase, "Alright, we have twenty five minutes until class Kid, let's just sit here" Liz demanded, taking a spot by a wall.
Kid obliged, "I don't see why not, actually, on second thought, I'm going to see my father, I'll see you two in class".
"Your loss" Liz said leaning back tilting her hat forward.
Patty waved Kid off, "Have fun Kid!.
The two sisters lounged in the sunlight, Maka and Soul were trekking up the staircase right now, "Never thought I'd say it, but it is nice to see this place again" Soul mumbled.
Maka was a lot more enthusiastic, "I'm so glad it's fixed, I missed this place after that war, we were out for a while".
Soul looked at the building and the many spikes it had, he recalled when Black*Star stood on top of one of the left spikes, and cracked it, resulting in Kid getting really pissed off.
"Yeah, we have a lot of memories here after all" Soul said bluntly, "And I'm still to become a Death Scythe, and you've still gotta get stronger".
Maka nodded, the two reached the top and saw varying groups of students conversing to each other. Ox, Harver, Kim and Jacqueline were talking, though it was mainly Ox being told off by Kim, as Ox was exaggerating everything that happened in the war to younger students around them.
Soul waved over at them, they acknowledged them back, Soul decided to catch up with them and went off to talk with the group. Maka took notice of Liz and Patty and went to sit with them.
"Hey you two, sun's not letting up huh?" Maka said as she used a book to see around them clearer, Maka then took her hoodie off due to the heat and sat with the two.
Liz breathed peacefully, "Yep, best weather in a long time, class will be soon as well, joy, why can't we have a class outside?".
Maka began to go on and on about how great school was, Patty was really interested in what Maka was saying, Liz began to drift off into slight slumber.
"Alright, stay safe you guys, and watch yourself Ox!" Soul said walking back to Maka, "Hey, Maka!".
Maka looked up, "Yeah?", she had been so into her ramble on the wonders of soul studies and weapon handling that she had lost track of time.
"Class will be soon, we should show up early, if you want", Soul said, rubbing the back of his head.
Maka shot up and grabbed Soul by the hand, "Sure! We can cram a couple minutes of pre-study!".
"Wait wha-", Soul was cut off as Maka grabbed his arm.
"Let's go!", Maka ran pulling Soul with her, the two bickering back and forth as their bodies and voices disappeared.
Patty laughed to herself, "Oh yeaaaahh, I wonder how Kid's doing?".
Liz lifted up her hat, "Eh, he's just seeing his Dad, I'm sure he'll be fine", Liz went back to sleep.
Patty thought to herself, making a loud "Hmmm" sound as she did so.
Kid was walking down the red-framed guillotine hallway, the path to Death's room, it had been rebuilt with a lot of accuracy, even half of the gravestones that were ruined were back where they were out of respect.
Kid wandered down the path for what seemed like minutes, until he came to the circular pad in the center of the room. Kid walked up the three steps and stood before Death's mirror, and, his father, Lord Death. He towered over Kid, his black, shadow-like body jagged and lean, he turned to his son.
"Hey son! great to see you! I was hoping that you'd show up!", Death said, staring at Kid.
"Hi Dad", Kid mumbled, "You asked to see me?".
Death looked a bit to the left, "Indeed I did".
He glanced back to Kid, "Look son, this may be hard for you to believe, and this isn't great news considering the victory we have achieved recently. But, I am getting pretty old, and there comes a time where a reaper passes down his position to his or her child...".
Kid's eyes widened, "What're you saying?", this seemed out of nowhere, how could it happen so suddenly?
Death locked his eyes with Kid's, "Well, I've seen the potential you have Kid, and I'm confident that you'll be the best reaper I can see to take the mantle, you remind me of my younger days". Death walked a little to the right, "It's only a matter of time Kid, my time is coming to an end, Asura's strike that cracked my mask has shortened my final days, it's caused an eroding effect on me...".
Kid gasped, "An eroding effect? You mean even as we speak your soul is withering away?".
Death nodded, "It's as you say, son, I'm sorry... But I'm sure you can take over the position of the academy, do not fear, Sid, Marie and the others have sworn to assist you as soon as possible".
Kid sighed, "As you wish father, I will do my best, for you", he was suppressing how he really felt right now to not cause a scene.
"That's my boy" Death said, "Remember son, I've always been proud of you, I wouldn't put this upon you so quickly if I doubted your capabilities!".
Kid nodded, "I will do my best in your name father, for the sake of my friends, and Death City itself!".
Death looked away from Kid, "Part of this is the cause of Medusa, had she not freed Asura, my soul wouldn't have been uprooted, now it's fractured... And as we've established, withering", his voice grew agitated, it was clear that Death was also annoyed this had happened.
Kid folded his arms, "But, your soul was free before right?".
Death nodded once more, "Indeed, but as I said, I planted it within the city, now it had been yanked from it's place, back to me, plus Asura's power hitting me directly in the soul, has made it so, as a result, my time have been vastly shortened here... But this is how things go, my father was the same, I believe in you Kid, I believe in you".
Kid and Death said some final words, Death would be passing away within a few weeks, he urged Kid to attend class, they could discuss some matter in the evening.
Maka, Soul, Black*Star, Tsubaki, Liz and Patty were in class Crescent Moon, waiting for Stein to turn up. Naturally Maka was reading, Soul lay on the desk, staring at the ceiling, Black*Star had his feet up, Tsubaki looked around the room, Liz checked on her nails and Patty hummed to herself.
Crona came in and sat next to Maka, "Hey Maka" he said, shaky still, nervous for any curveballs the new term could hold for them all.
Maka turned away from her book, "Hey Crona, ready for the new term?" Maka asked, noticing Crona was fidgeting.
Ragnarok burst out of Crona, "Yeah right! I can't stuff myself full of food out here! Learning is for saddos!".
Ragnarok saw Maka glare at him, he laughed nervously and he quickly went back inside Crona.
Soon the door opened, "Welcome class, it's great to be back" a sinister yet calm voice exclaimed, the man walked up to the desk in the front of the classroom. His lab coat floating about when he walked, his screw through his head being adjusted by himself until it clicked in place. He had a cigarette hanging in his mouth that was emanating a small trail of smoke upwards that went up into nothingness.
"Now, shall we get on with class?" Professor Stein asked.