Author's Note: I'm literally putting this here to make sure the title of the chapter does not get misaligned.

Enjoy!

Chapter 7:

What Has Been Will Be Again

With a resounding clang, Black Star caught the elongated, curved handle of Tsubaki's Shadow Star: First Form: Chain of Blackness, lowering the blade while allowing the dark chains tethered to his shadow to simply hover in the air around him. His eyes scanned the room, his ears listening for any subtle sounds of movement or breathing. There were none.

He had assassinated everyone in the building.

Looking up, he saw nothing but stone, but above him were ten basement floors, each one littered with evil souls he had cut down in mere moments. The room he was standing in was the secret meeting room for an unknown anti-DWMA cell he had been sent to eliminate. Their base was hidden under an abandoned warehouse in Warsaw, Poland, and he had been tasked by the DWMA's Russian Branch to search it for incriminating information.

So far, he was having no luck.

"Did they really burn everything?" he asked his weapon, who shifted into her human form and examined the room.

"They may have," Tsubaki said.

She looked for documents and files on the many desks in the room, anything the DWMA-CIA could use to figure out who this organization was, and what they were after. But Black Star was right. Apparently, they had somehow learned that Shinigami-sama had marked them for death, and had set about burning everything that could incriminate them.

They didn't count on the two of them showing up, but they had evidently managed to succeed in destroying any sensitive information.

"Everything is gone," she said with a disappointed sigh.

Tsubaki looked at the chipped and weathered mahogany desk the cell's leader had evidently been using, which sat at the opposite end of the room from them. A massive crater in the wall indicated where Black Star had pinned the man to the rear wall, his crimson soul still hovering in the space where his chair had once been. Curiously, on the desk was a small, tightly bound leather pocket book with faded gold lettering on the cover, seemingly the only paper item to survive the purge.

The demon shadow weapon cautiously examined it as Black Star sniffed the air, calling on every sense other than his lacking Soul Perception to see if anyone else was in the building.

" The Little Red Riding Hood?" she read aloud.

"The fuck is that?" Black Star said, his breath refusing to crystallize in the air due to his incredible stealth arts and physical conditioning.

Tsubaki shook her head. "I'm not sure." She quickly flipped through the pages, but found nothing of interest. "It appears to be a…children's story. A fairy tale."

"That was the head honcho's desk, huh?" he said, the memory of the kill still fresh in his mind. "He was reaching for that book when I gutted him. But why the fuck would he risk his life to pocket a stupid kid's book?"

"Maybe it had sentimental value." she proposed. "From what I can tell, it's well written, but…that's all."

"A true fuckin' scholar, that guy. Shame he didn't do enough reading to figure out that his path in life would put him on Kid's list."

The warrior god's eyes suddenly narrowed as he sensed a presence in the room, one that hadn't been there.

"Tsubaki," he said, catching her as a dark kunai.

"Shadow Star: Third Form: Severed Shadow," she said, intoning the Uncanny Sword's dark powers.

The two of them watched as a young blonde girl, likely no older than nine years old at first glance, calmly stepped into the chamber from the adjacent stairwell. She was dressed in an old European white dress with a small leather corset and dark leather boots. But the defining part of the ensemble was the crimson hooded cape she was wearing.

Everything in Black Star's being told him that this girl was not supposed to be there. That this whole thing was a trap. That the girl was pure evil, a monster of some kind.

He turned out to be right.

Without saying a word, the girl stretched and morphed, tearing out of her clothing, her entire body suddenly covered in matted black fur. Claws unsheathed themselves, taking the place of her fingernails, and her nose and mouth extended into a snarling snout and maw of razor sharp teeth. Black Star was reminded of Free, the wolf man himself, but this girl was far closer to an actual wolf than the immortal, and far lankier.

She let out a long, wailing howl before regarding him with narrowed golden eyes, any trace of her humanity gone.

He didn't flinch.

"Shadow Star: Zeroth Form: Masamune: Infinity."

Seven dark katanas materialized in the air around him as an eighth settled into his hand, the familiar weight of Tsubaki's Uncanny Sword a welcoming presence. The wolf girl rushed at him, but he leapt forward, surprising her, and crashed into her with all of his might. Using his legs for leverage, he jammed his fist and elbow into her chest, breaking her ribs and sending his massive soul wavelength into her, the divine will of a god.

"Warrior God Taijutsu: Black Star Black Hole Strike!"

The impact was so devastating that the girl was sent through the wall and several feet into the stone and earth surrounding the chamber, a lot of it coming down on top of her, crushing her. Knowing the battle wasn't over, Black Star silently positioned his swords near the hole he had just created, the blades pointed at him. He smiled when she jumped through the wall.

"Gotcha," he said with a grin.

The seven shadowy blades surged from their positions and slammed into her back, like black splinters piercing her body in multiple places.

He narrowed his eyes in focus.

"Infinite One-Sword Style: Jet Black Prison."

Suddenly, hundreds of swords appeared, their blades creating a cage of black steel around the wolf girl's bleeding body. She struggled, but each movement made the cage shrink, though she was surprised to feel no pain apart from where the original seven blades had stabbed her. Her feral mind didn't register that it was the backs of the blades that were locking her in, not the cutting edges.

As she thrashed about, Black Star moved. In an instant, he was behind her, Tsubaki at the ready. With a smirk, he simply tossed her like a pencil at the mass of black blades, the butt of her hilt touching a certain point on the sword cage shaped like a star.

"Bullseye," he said with finality.

All at once, a chain reaction occurred, the blades surrounding the wolf girl striking each other with a rapid succession of sharp clanging sounds. In an instant, the seven original shadow swords Black Star had skewered his target with were hit with enough force to drive them right through her body and into the floor. The swords skidded to a stop, kicking up gray clouds of concrete dust as the blades that had created the trap dissipated.

"Fourteen swords total," Black Star muttered as he caught Tsubaki, channeling his greatest rival. "Sleep now."

The wolf let out a weak, subdued cry as her body was torn into black ribbons, leaving behind another soul to join the dozen or so that Black Star had slain not a few minutes before.

"Black Star…is there anyone else here?" Tsubaki asked hesitantly.

The warrior god took a breath in through his nose. "No. No one left."

Tsubaki immediately shifted to her human form and secured the book on the desk. "The Little Red Riding Hood…" she muttered. "It can't be a coincidence."

"There's something else, too," Black Star said, making his weapon turn to face him.

Between the two of them, unique among the other evil souls floating around the room, was the wolf girl's soul. Its shape was odd, somewhat jagged, but no larger than a normal soul. The odd thing, and the thing that stood out to the two of them, was its color.

It was a haunting, sickly green.

Pain, then warmth, then the harsh light of day, split into rays of gold that caressed the damp earth like the fingers of a goddess. Feeling, the space between fingers, the comfort of two eyes opening to find serenity and peace. Coldness, a deep breath and a gasp, a heartbeat.

Deep in a forest in an unfamiliar land rose a man short in stature and long in the nose, his silver hair matted, his eyes bloodshot and desperate. Instinctively, he shrank from the midmorning light, clinging to the shadows cast by the trees around him. He stared at his hands like a man who had lost them, only to suddenly get them back.

He had, he realized.

He had lost it all, only to suddenly have it back.

He had died, but now he was alive.

"Where the hell am I?" he wondered aloud, his already gravelly voice broken and hoarse.

He took a moment to listen, and suddenly he understood. Someone had roused him from a neverending slumber. After wandering the world in a half-dead state for more than twenty years, a fragment of his old soul sealed into one of his bat familiars and cast into the wind, he had finally regained his humanoid form.

His heart beat out of his chest, fear deep set into his features.

"I can't let him find me," the old monster said, his eyes wild as they scanned the forest for threats. "His call is poison. If I am to survive, I must turn to another."

His breathing became close to a whisper as he centered himself, dusting off his ratty black suit and straightening what was left of his tie. Summoning what little magic he had in his soul, he repaired his ensemble, trimming the brim of his hat with his spidery fingers. Suddenly presentable, he strode forth, knowing now that his familiar had managed to relocate to Germany after the fall of Baba Yaga Castle.

Knowing his fate were he to heed the call that was buzzing in his brain, the magic in the air that had roused him from his slumber after being slain by the sorcerer called Noah, he began his long trek toward the den of his enemies.

"From ally to enemy, enemy to ally…I wander yet again into the hands of those who would see me dead only to pray for mercy." He let out a chuckle. "If only you could see my pitiful state now…Shinigami-sama…"

The first alarm didn't work. The second alarm almost got her. The third one did get her, and made her want to throw her phone out the window.

She reached out and slammed her hand onto her nightstand, fishing for the thing that had ruined her morning. Then she realized that it wasn't on her nightstand. It was gone.

"...fucking…fuck…" Nina said, half-tired and fully pissed.

She rolled out of bed and started fumbling around the room, too tired to notice that she was still in her clothes from yesterday, and that her phone was actually in the back pocket of her dust-smattered jeans. It took her far too long to wake up and figure it out. The realization just made her tired again.

"Goddammit," she muttered.

Now awake despite trying to convince herself otherwise, she grabbed some fresh clothes, more stylish clothes, and scurried into the bathroom, knowing her brother was bound to come after her for being late if she took too long. Her phone was only half charged, so she plugged it in while the shower ran. She checked her texts, looking to see if the Perfs wanted anything to do with her.

They did.

She shrugged. Her mission in Death Vegas had been a fun detour, but the time had come to shed her armor and become a socialite. Of sorts. Bella was hellbent on having her meet Del's new boyfriend, and Evelyn undoubtedly had some new dirt to throw around. It was worth disguising herself just to hear the drama and see all the cute boys.

The parties were fun, too.

The parties were the main reason she hung out with those girls.

The parties had fun stuff, like booze.

She showered quickly, cleaning up just enough to kill the grime leftover from the previous day's fight and wet her hair. When she got out, she did her best to make her makeup look good, toweled her hair up, and put her contacts in. They were annoying to get in, but they hid her heterochromia, which, to her, was worth the struggle.

After a few minutes of fiddling, her one crimson eye and one obsidian eye were gone, replaced by a pair of identical, normal blue eyes.

Not wanting the girls to frown at her clothes, she put on a cutoff T-shirt with a cute asymmetric graphic on it and a faded blue jean jacket, along with some torn up jeans. New ones. Not the old ones. Black leather, silver studs, skulls, piercings, rings, everything else would come later. But it would complete the look.

It was a look that said "I'm a bruiser, but a stylish one," and it was something the Perfs had come to expect from her since she had become a part of their inner circle.

Or, more accurately, it was the look she had crafted to make sure they didn't force her to wear pink. She hated pink. The only thing she hated more were those stupid boytoy animes the Perfs were fond of and often forced her to watch during sleepovers and more reserved affairs.

Brain bleach was the only cure for such things.

She quickly ducked out of the bathroom and back into her room to get her accessories, then shot back into the main living area where Specter was making his breakfast. Her breakfast was on the table, a hearty platter of eggs and bacon. With a grimace, she just took a bite of egg and grabbed a bottle of something healthy from the fridge.

Specter, with practiced ease, scooped what she didn't eat into a plastic container for later and shoved it into the fridge. He had no doubt seen her outfit, the contacts, the way she carried herself. It was a Perf day, and he knew it.

He didn't wait for her, which she knew he did for her sake. The Perfs thought Specter was fake cool and kind of a punk, which Nina couldn't really blame them for. It was at least fair to say that her brother cramped her style, so, at her behest, he distanced himself from her.

The two of them made the long walk to the Academy separately, two completely different people to each other than they had been the day before.

"Still recovering from the whoopin' yesterday?" Honey Lang whispered to him.

Specter looked up from the manga he was reading to find her sitting across from him, trying to keep her voice down for the sake of the others using the Library during break period.

"Nah, it's a Perf day," he said flatly.

"Brutal," she said sympathetically. She had tied her long braids into a ponytail, the glass beads woven throughout clattering against the back of her chair as she sighed and shook her head. "I don't understand why she hangs out with those girls."

"Me neither."

"I hear nothing but good things about them, but Wind and Water always steer clear of them, like the Plague. Not a good sign, if you ask me."

"I mean, I don't doubt that they're scummy. I just don't care enough to call them out on it."

"That's fair."

Something suddenly occurred to the white-haired scythe meister. "Where are Wind and Water, anyway?"

"They're around. Probably looking at the manga section, like you were."

Specter closed his eyes and opened them again, viewing the circular, multi-leveled interior of the Library through the lens of his Soul Perception. He found the two Earth Shamans right where Honey Lang had guessed they would be, perusing the manga section. They were in the Ss, and it made Specter smile to think that the manga that had been made about his parents' adventures was probably in there somewhere.

The one that took its name from his father.

Water was on Wind's shoulders, looking for something specific. Out of idle curiosity, Specter focused on the two of them. He wanted to see if he could do what his mother could do and see the characteristics of their souls.

He looked closely, expecting to see a blue orb and a white orb with faces on them.

Instead, he saw something else, something that surprised him and made him jump out of his chair. He saw Water fall into the book case and cause a whole shelf to come down, saw the two Pots end up in a pile of manga. The whole thing happened in slow motion, and he almost called out to stop them.

Then he blinked and, suddenly, everything was normal. Time was moving normally. Water was still on Wind's shoulders, reaching desperately for the book he was seeking.

"What's wrong, Spec?" Honey Lang said, seemingly unaware of what had gotten him so riled up.

Just as he turned back to her to try to explain, what he saw happened again. Water reached for something he couldn't quite get to, accidentally pulling on a manga volume hard enough to dislodge the shelf it had been sitting on and causing everything to fall to the library floor with a loud crash. Wind ended up completely buried in the resulting pile of manga while Water found himself waist deep in it, dazed but still holding the article he had managed to grab high above his head.

"Wind, Water!" Honey Lang cried, forgoing the Library's social compunctions regarding quietness as she rushed over. "What the heck were you thinking? If you want something from a high shelf, just ask me! Goddammit, just look at this mess…"

Specter fell in step behind her, but his mind was elsewhere. With wide eyes and a worried frown, he tried to process what he had just seen. Something about it seemed off.

What the hell was that? he thought. Was it really déjà vu? Or…was it something else?

He was brought out of his head by Honey Lang bonking him on the head with a book.

"Hello, earth to Specter," she said with a raised eyebrow. "You mind helping me with this?"

He blinked. "Yeah, my bad. Zoned out for a second."

Not sure what to make of the whole affair, Specter joined Honey Lang in her effort to unearth the two Earth Shamans and undo the damage they had unintentionally done to the Academy's shelves.

The bells rang for lunch, the distinct chime echoing through the Academy. Shinigami-sama waved goodbye to Liz and Patty as they ran off to get lunch together, as usual, leaving him alone in the Death Room. With a wave of his hand, a bento box shaped like a coffin appeared on his skull coffee table.

He sat down in his comfiest armchair and grabbed his chopsticks. Then he felt something like a gentle breeze wash over him. It was refreshing, but also a sign that he had a visitor, as there was no natural wind in the Death Room.

Sure enough, there leaning on the back of his sofa was Black Star, Tsubaki's Uncanny Sword tucked into one of the belt loops on his pants, cutting edge up despite not being in a proper sheath.

"Ah, Black Star, Tsubaki. Good to see you," he said with a smile. "You're lucky Liz and Patty are off getting lunch. Otherwise, things might have gotten…well…difficult."

When Black Star didn't say anything in response, he just assumed that he had insulted him and dropped the subject.

"So, uh…how was Poland?"

The warrior god wordlessly tossed a small leather volume onto his coffee table as his weapon shifted into her human form beside him.

"We…may have a problem," Tsubaki said worriedly.

The Grim Reaper's eyes widened for a moment. It had been a long time since either Black Star or Tsubaki had encountered anything they would consider remotely problematic. Years, in fact.

"Come, sit. We'll discuss it."

He looked down at the book on his table as Black Star and Tsubaki got comfortable on the sofa across from him. " The Little Red Riding Hood ," he read aloud.

When he shot a questioning look at Tsubaki, she nodded and began to explain. "We found this in the lowest level of the anti-DWMA cell we were sent to investigate. The cell's leader tried to conceal it before he died. We think it might be important to the organization. Perhaps a calling card, or a symbol."

Shinigami-sama picked up the book and speedread it, his golden eyes scanning the pages at a superhuman speed. "It appears to be a children's story. A grim one, at that."

"You read the part about the wolf?" Black Star asked.

"The big bad one, yes. Attacks and consumes a little girl in a red hood," he said with a nod. "But what does this fairy tale have to do with your report?"

"We fought something. A little girl in a red hood who transformed into a beast. A wolf girl."

Shinigami-sama very quickly realized the potential connection. His eyes very briefly widened in shock. Suddenly worried, he looked to Black Star for an answer.

"No…it can't be…" he trailed off. "Another of the Immortal Clan?"

Black Star let out a chuckle. "I thought the same thing at first. After all, there aren't many wolf people running around. But I killed her, so she wasn't an immortal."

The Grim Reaper let out a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness. I couldn't imagine multiple immortals running around." He then found himself smiling. "That said, we may witness that very thing, given Free will soon be a father."

"I know!" Tsubaki said excitedly. "I'm so excited for Eruka-san."

Shinigami-sama's expression became more serious, his brow furrowed in thought. "I get the feeling that this isn't the extent of what you witnessed in Warsaw. What aren't you telling me?" he asked, steepling his fingers.

Black Star casually tossed a file onto the skull-shaped coffee table, covering one of its eye sockets. "That's the debrief file from the Russian Branch. It has everything we've already told you about in there. But it's missing one thing, something I saved specifically for you."

"It's for my eyes only?" Shinigami-sama said darkly.

"Yeah. You're fuckin' lucky I was willing to do all the paperwork for this, 'cause it was a pain in the ass, let me tell ya."

His jaw dropped wide open, his serious demeanor traded for one of surprise. "But you never do paperwork…"

He shot his old friend a grin. "You're fuckin' welcome."

"Well…what is it?" Shinigami-sama said with a raised eyebrow, his curiosity obviously piqued.

After taking a deep breath in, Black Star reached into his shadow and retrieved a soul from its dark confines. The soul's shape was jagged and oblong, constantly shifting, and its color was a haunting, sickly green. As he held it out, Shinigami-sama instinctively recoiled, a wave of unease hitting him.

"An…old monster soul?" he asked, uncertain.

"We aren't sure," Tsubaki said as Black Star handed it off.

The Grim Reaper cradled the thing in his hands. "There's… magic radiating from this. It's not as concentrated as a witch's soul, but the magic within is enough to influence the soul's shape and color even after death. I take it this is the soul of our big bad wolf?"

"Yeah," Black Star affirmed with a nod.

"We didn't know what it was just by looking at it," Tsubaki elaborated. "So we classified it as For Shinigami's Eyes Only, and brought it with us."

"Thank you," Shinigami-sama said. "You did the right thing, bringing this directly to me."

"Of course," Tsubaki said with a bow.

Black Star stretched out his back before settling back into the sofa.

"So," he said, "We have a green soul and a kid's book. I'm not the sharpest knife in the crayon box, but what the fuck is the connection here?" he asked bluntly.

Shinigami-sama's eyes narrowed, focusing on the soul in his hand. "I'm not sure…but the properties of this soul are curious to say the least."

"You said it was an old monster soul," Tsubaki remembered. "What does that mean, exactly?"

He paused to think for a moment before speaking. "Even I'm fuzzy on the terminology, but from what I can remember, an old monster soul is really just an evil soul that's lasted long enough to become ancient. It tends to have more raw power, but they supposedly are indistinguishable from your average evil soul in terms of appearance."

"I smell a contradiction," Black Star said.

"You're right. The soul you collected is juvenile at best, a far cry from being ancient."

"It's also fuckin' green," Black Star added.

Shinigami-sama's lip quirked up into a sneer. "Thanks for the update, Captain Obvious," he deadpanned.

"How can you tell the age of the soul just by looking at it?" Tsubaki asked.

"Shinigami have the innate ability to sense how close someone is to death. This allows us to estimate how old a soul might be, regardless of the appearance of its host."

Tsubaki nodded. "I see. So the soul we collected is too young to be an old monster soul."

"And its coloration would lead me to believe that it's not an evil soul. At least, not in the traditional sense," the Grim Reaper said as he folded his arms.

"Is the soul's inherent magic to blame for its odd properties?"

"It very well could be. After all, magic does do strange things to a soul." His eyes suddenly widened in realization. "Magic…"

"You sound like you just connected a dot somewhere," Black Star said. "Come on, spit it out. What are we missing?"

"If magic is to blame…it might explain the soul's green coloration. Think, Black Star. Who do we know whose soul has been described as green in the past?"

"Search me."

Tsubaki gasped as it hit her. "Free…"

"Precisely. After your first encounter with the wolf man on London Bridge, Maka described the event to my father. I was there, and I distinctly remember her saying that when she saw his soul, it was green in color."

"But…that happened after his wolf transformation, right?" Tsubaki asked, hesitant.

Shinigami-sama shook his head. "No, I don't think so. But it's been years since Maka told me what happened, so I don't know for sure."

"Alright, let me get this straight. We've got a magicky green soul belonging to a wolf girl, and a magicky green soul belonging to a wolf man. Sounds like a slam dunk to me," Black Star shrugged.

"But the relative ages of the souls don't add up, never mind the fact that Free was imprisoned for hundreds of years," Shinigami-sama said, a frustrated frown on his face. "If an old monster soul does need to be an old monster soul, the existence of this wolf girl disproves that."

"And because Free's soul and this soul are the same color…" Tsubaki said.

"It may be because they both are infused with magic," Shinigami-sama finished.

"So what?" Black Star asked flatly. "It's not like it's more powerful than a witch's soul. We can handle shit like this."

" We might be able to handle them, but most of our students can't. If the only way to identify them is via advanced Soul Perception…"

"We may be sending our students to their deaths…" Tsubaki said worriedly.

"And the fact that a new anti-DWMA syndicate has access to beings with a comparable level of magical power to Free isn't good, either."

"You guys are way too worked up about something that isn't an issue yet. As soon as that cell fucks up, I'll be on 'em like a fly on shit. Boom, no issue."

"Perhaps…but we need to learn more about these green souls and their owners. In particular, we need to put out APBs on known owners of green souls. Other than Free, of course."

"I mean, is there anyone else? I feel like this kinda thing is super rare."

"It is rare. There's only one other person I can think of who might have had a soul like this, though he was confirmed KIA during the Battle of Baba Yaga Castle," Shinigami-sama said as he folded his arms.

Black Star thought about it for a moment. "The old man."

"Mosquito, yes. He did seem to be corrupted by magic, and was even able to use some of his own. But Noah eliminated him just before I was imprisoned in the Book of Eibon. No need to put a bulletin out on him."

"Heh, that was a fun adventure, getting you outta that stupid book," Black Star said with a grin, remembering their duel in the depths of the tome's final chapter.

"Quite," the Grim Reaper said flatly. "Regardless, Mosquito is dead, which leaves Free as the only living owner of a soul like this."

"To our knowledge," Tsubaki pointed out.

"Yes. To our knowledge." He looked down at the green orb in his grasp. "It seems we have some work to do. Not only do we need to learn more about these green souls, but we also need to put a name to our new enemy before they get the drop on us."

Black Star shook his head, that confident smirk still plastered on his face. "They'll make a move. And when they do, I'll crush them."

"I hope it turns out to be that easy."

"What will you do until then?" Tsubaki asked.

"I'll confiscate the soul and the book for now," Shinigami-sama said, his eyes glowing as a strange glyph appeared on his palm and absorbed both items. "I plan to have the Department of Witch Affairs and the Research and Development Division look into these items."

"So, Kim and Ox," Black Star said flatly.

"Well, yes. I also want Stein's opinion on this whole affair. He's an expert on souls, the occult, and all forms of written language. If these items hold any secrets of any kind, he'll be able to find them."

The warrior god nodded, seemingly satisfied with his answer.

"What about Free?" Tsubaki asked.

"I don't think he understands the nature of his own soul any more than we do. I'd have better luck asking Maba-sama, so I think I'll leave Free out of the conversation until we know more. Besides, he's a staunch defender of the DWMA and a much-beloved gym teacher. I don't want him to get the wrong idea, given our history."

Black Star and Tsubaki nodded in understanding.

"Well…does that conclude the debriefing?" Shinigami-sama asked as he picked up the file on the table and put it on his desk, which was not too far away.

"Yeah, we're done here," Black Star said.

"Good." He sighed as the tension of their conversation faded. "Now that that's over…it is lunch time. Now would be a great opportunity to go visit family while you're here in Death City."

"I was thinking the same thing," Tsubaki said happily.

"Here, I'll give you a hand." Shinigami-sama turned to his mirror. "Tezca."

The demon mirror's projection appeared, taking the place of the Grim Reaper's reflection. "You rang?"

"Could you find one Sage Kurosawa for me? His mother is looking for him."

"Aye, aye, cap. One demon shadow weapon kid, coming up," he said with a salute.

His strange skeletal form faded into a top-down view of the Training Forest, where Sage and Gray Star were enjoying their lunches alongside Specter, Max, Valor, and Honey Lang and the Pots.

"There he is," Tezca said, his voice coming through the mirror despite his visage not being visible.

"Perfect, thank you," Shinigami-sama said. He turned to Tsubaki and Black Star. "Looks like your respective children are both out there in the Training Forest, though it appears Allie is somewhere else at the moment."

Tsubaki clasped her hands together excitedly. "Thank you, Shinigami-sama." She rushed off only to stop when she noticed that Black Star wasn't following. "Black Star, are you coming?"

He shook his head. "You go ahead, I'll catch up. There's something Kid and I need to chat about."

Confused, but not dismayed, Tsubaki waved goodbye and trotted off down the path framed by guillotine archways, quickly and quietly exiting the Death Room.

"Alright, Black Star," Shinigami-sama said with a frown. "You've got my attention. What is it you wanted to discuss?"

The warrior god's eyes narrowed dangerously. "We've got company," he said darkly.

"What!? What do you mean? What's going on, Black Star?"

He turned his head. "You can come out now," he said, turning his head to address nothing but thin air.

At first, all was quiet. Then, a shimmer appeared on top of the closest guillotine archway, the space around the spot bubbling like boiling water. Shinigami-sama's eyes widened as he realized what he was looking at.

Or rather, whom.

"Angela!?" he cried, shocked.

The chameleon witch said nothing at first, simply jumping down from the arch to land on the raised dais that separated the Death Room from the desert that surrounded it. Her familiars, a violet chameleon and a blue chameleon, sat on opposite shoulders. She was all business, the goofy chameleon hat she wore for ceremonial purposes gone, her gloved hands balled into fists of rage.

"I finally found you," she said, her tone dripping with killing intent. "Black Star…you bastard!"

"…yeah, it was weird," Specter continued, only stopping to take a short swig of soda. "I saw it all happen before it happened. Like…instant déjà vu."

Everyone in the group stared at him with different questioning expressions on their faces, all except Honey Lang, who had been there. She was busy eating a sandwich whilst keeping an eye on the Pots as they played nearby. Specter swallowed hard, not the biggest fan of all the eyes on him.

Sage raised an eyebrow. "Are you certain your mind was not simply playing tricks on you?"

Specter shook his head. "I thought the same thing at first, but it was…too clear of an image to just be my imagination or whatever."

"And you said you had your Soul Perception active at the time?" Max asked.

"Yeah. I kept it up just to see if I could read soul characteristics like my mom can, then the crazy psychic shit happened."

"Perhaps you've discovered a new technique," Gray Star pointed out. "You should ask your mother about it."

Val nodded approvingly. "I agree with Gray. It's not often you just stumble onto a superpower."

"Superpower?" a familiar, adult voice said. "I feel like I missed out on a very interesting conversation!"

Everyone turned to find Sage's mother, Tsubaki, approaching them. She was a familiar sight to all of Sage's friends, as she had babysat each of them at some point in their youth. With a smile, he stood up to greet her as everyone else looked on from where they sat on the ground.

"Konnichiwa, okaasan," he said with a pristine bow.

She smiled and ruffled his dark green hair. "Konnichiwa, Sage!" The demon shadow weapon turned to regard her son's meister, a warm smile on her face. "Gray Star-chan."

"Tsubaki-sama," she responded, bowing politely despite still sitting down.

"It's so good to see all of you," Tsubaki said happily. "It's a shame that I couldn't snag some souvenirs from my most recent mission location. Otherwise, I would have brought some snacks for you all."

"Did you go overseas, mother?" Sage asked as he sat back down.

She took her place beside her son, carefully sitting down in Seiza. "Unfortunately, I can't say anything about where I went this time. Academy policy and all that."

"Of course," he said primly. "Giving away top-secret information would no doubt put you and the DWMA in great danger."

"As well as my one and only son, whom I treasure," she said as she kissed him on the forehead.

Everyone shared a laugh at that.

"Speaking of family, it seems like we have some family missing from the group here," she noted. "Where has your sister run off to, Gray Star?"

"I think she took the day off today. Apparently, her eye is giving her more trouble than she thought it would."

"Flint's here, though," Honey Lang added.

Tsubaki's expression immediately fell into one of concern. "What happened? Did she use Deadeye again?"

"You know about that move?" Specter asked, surprised.

"Of course I do. I was there when she first learned how to use it. It's a dangerous technique for a human to even attempt, but…she has proven to be as stubborn and resilient as both of her parents combined," she said with a nervous laugh.

Val nodded. "Valid, valid."

"Its side effects are so detrimental. Please tell me she didn't use it while out on assignment."

"Nah, not quite," Honey Lang said as she and Val exchanged knowing grins.

"It was a student duel," Specter said, knowing what was coming.

"Yeah, against Spec and Nina," Max said, elbowing his friend in the arm. "And Allie came out on top."

Val nodded. "You should have seen it, Aunt Tsubaki. She lit up 'ol Spec like a Christmas tree."

The demon shadow weapon let out a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness." When she saw the deadpan expression on Specter's face, she added, "Oh, sorry, I didn't mean it like that, Specter-kun. I'm just glad both of you are okay."

He shrugged. "Don't worry about it. She fought hard for that win."

Tsubaki scanned the group a second time. "Come to think of it, Nina's not here, either. Where is she?"

"She's busy," Specter said, perhaps a little too quickly.

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that." Sensing the sudden tension in the space, she decided to change the subject. "So, what's this I hear about a superpower?"

Specter looked to his friends to help him out, but found himself once again forced to tell the story. He told her about what happened in the Library, about how his Soul Perception had seemingly predicted the future. The whole time, Tsubaki listened intently, not missing a single detail.

A knowing smile came to her face as he finished his recounting of the incident. "You are definitely Maka-chan's son. I think you're on the path to pushing Soul Perception beyond what even she could do, and hers is the best in the world."

"Geez, that's a lot of pressure," he said, looking away and rubbing the back of his neck.

Tsubaki let out a little chuckle. "You might be a meister like your mother, but you're the spitting image of your father. You're even starting to sound like him!"

"Yeah, I get that a lot."

"Speaking of fathers," Gray Star began, "Do you happen to know where mine is?"

"Oh, goodness! I got so caught up in seeing you all, I forgot. Comenosai, Gray Star-chan . Black Star stayed behind in the Death Room to talk to Shinigami-sama. You might be able to catch him if you hurry."

The shinobi quickly got to her feet. " Arigatou gozaimasu!" she said with a respectful bow. "Sayounara!"

With that, she took off towards the Academy, leaving a small dust cloud in her wake. They watched as she leapt into the trees, disappearing for a moment before jumping out of the greenery and onto a high balcony. Specter let out an unconscious gasp, his eyes wide in amazement.

"Damn," he said. "I keep forgetting how badass she is."

"Her father trained her well," Tsubaki said, a smile settling into her features as a wave of nostalgia washed over her. "Mobility is a prized skill among shinobi, after all."

"I mean, you right, but uh…I think Spec is impressed for a different reason, huh, champ?" Val teased, flicking a grain of rice from his lunch at him.

Specter made to retort, but decided against it, though he did feel a bit of heat start to creep up his neck.

Not willing to simply let Val win, he stretched his leg out, put his foot on the weapon's chest, and pushed him over. Everyone laughed as Valor ended up covered in what remained of his lunch. A food fight might have broken out in response had Tsubaki not been there.

She smiled as she watched them talk and laugh and poke fun at each other. It reminded her of the good old days, back when she and her friends were all kids eating their lunches together. The more things changed, she reasoned, the more they stayed the same.

It was the nature of life at the Academy, and she loved it.

As Gray Star approached the door to the Death Room, she found herself smiling. It was rare for her to get a chance to see her father. Her mother was usually around, since she was one of Shinigami-sama's weapons and couldn't stray far from the Academy, but Black Star was almost always out on assignment in other parts of the world.

She made to knock on the door and make her way inside, but she heard something that made her hesitate. Sounds of a scuffle, shouts of frustration, blows connecting. Someone was in a fight, and from what she could hear, it sounded like a woman fighting…her father?

The realization rocked her, and made her want to intervene. But then she remembered what had happened the last time she had interrupted her father during an argument, and stood down. Knowing what she had to do, she sprinted back down the hall.

She just had to hope she wasn't too late.

Edit: Changed a name so as not to get one character confused with another. I'll specify later.