Chapter 17 - ch.17

"The village hidden by death?" Asks Naru, her face blanching.

"Don't worry, he's a nice guy, if a bit goofy." Reassured Soul, still grinning. "You'll stay at our place tonight, and we head out in the morning. Hope you don't mind, but we have a cat."

Sakura squeals in delight. "I love cats! They're so soft and cuddly and warm. Soul got a nosebleed for soem reason. "Uh, you're bleeding."

"Yeah, it's alright." He says, putting tissues in his nose. "Even cool guys get nosebleeds from the desert. Anyway, we're to meet Death, Prof. Stein, and Spirit at the DWMA." They all just look at him with blank looks. "Right, sorry. I forgot you guys don't know anything about it. The DWMA, or Death Weapon Meister Acadamy, is like your schools in the leaf, training us and teaching us. The professors teach us in group, like in a typical school. Prof. Stein is our homeroom teacher, and is, well, a little psycho, but one of the strongest meisters at the academy, aside from Lord Death. Spirit is a Deathscythe, and when not by Death's side, is a weapon for Stein."

"You use people as weapons!? That's awful!" Said Hinata, horrified by the idea.

"Not quite. Some people in our village have a Kekkei Genkai, usually a mix of earth and spiritual energy. It allows us to transform into a weapon, and give our meister our chakra, allowing feats they would normally be unable to do. But to wield a weapon, you have to be compatable, your chakra has to be able to match theirs."

"Uhhh..." Naru is utterly confused.

"I'll show ya." He suddenly is enveloped in light as his form changes from a person to a scythe. "Go ahead, try to pick me up." He said from an invisible mouth.

Hinata tries first, gripping his handle and pulling up as hard as she could. But she couldn't budge him an inch. She returned defeated, her head low. Naru tried next, a huge grin on her face. "I got this!" She grips the handle and lifts. She manages to raise it, but it looked like it weighed a ton; she was straining every muscle just to lift it to her waist. She drops him, and he lands with a thud, though not nearly as heavily as she made him look. "Damn!

Sakura tries next, apprehensive from the other's failures. She grabs it, and pulls as hard as she can, falling off balance as she picked it up like it were a feather. She lands on her ass with an "Oof!"

"Impressive! No one's ever picked me up so easily, besides Maka." He shines again and returns to human form again. "Well, we should be arriving soon, in fact..." A sudden flash of dark passes them with a chill.

"W-what was that!?" Asked Hinata, holding herself from the sudden chill.

"A barrier. It makes the village unnoticable, and alerts Lord Death of who's entering. Normally, we would stop, and be verified, but we've been expected." After another minute or so, they stop. "Here we are." He gets out, and walks to the front of the truck, with the others following. "Welcome to Death City!"

And city was right. You couldn't properly call it a village, it was far too big. It had to be at least three times bigger than the leaf village, all leading up to a rather fancy building decorated with skulls and spikes. "That building in the middle is the DWMA. Lord Death's personal quarters are at the top. That's where we're headed." Said Maka, coming out of the truck. "C'mon. Everyone's waiting!" She waits for everyone to catch up before leading the way with Soul at her side.

They get a good look at the city on the way. It seemed both dreery and cheerful at the same time, like someone was putting a good humour on death. "Very...interesting city." Commented Grimm, actually kinda liking it. "Maybe we should get a vacation home here."

"That could be cool. I would like to get to know you three better." He said, subtly hinting.

"Dream on. You're not our type!" responded Naru.

"Harsh, man. Not cool."

"Behave yourself, Soul!" Said Maka, staring at him sternly.

"Yeah, yeah." he responds. They reach the stairs, they hear a voice from above.

"YAAAHOOO!! Look at me! Don't you wish you were as big a star as me!!? Well too bad! There's only enough room on the stage for me: Blackstar!" He's standing on the edge of one of the spikes coming out of the building.

He continued to ramble for some time. "Uuum, is this normal?" Asks Naru.

"It is for him!" Responds Soul, seeing his best friend at it again. "He's always pumping himself up! You wanna know the sad part?" The genin blink in anticipation. "This loudmouth is supposed to be an assassin."

They just look at him blankly. "Really?"

Blackstar finally ends his tyrade. "Hey, are those... Yes, new recruits! C'mon Tsubaki! Yaahoo!" He jumps off the spike, and lands heavily in front of them. "Hey, welcome. And don't worry. If you run into trouble, ol' Blackstar is here to help!"

"Blackstar, they arn't new recruits. They are the assistance from the leaf. They're here to help find the Butcher." Corrected Maka.

"Ha! That Butcher doesn't stand a chance! Just find him, and I'll crack his skull!"

"You tried that and he got away! Twice!" Commented Soul.

"He got lucky! He doesn't stand a chance next time.!"

"It's our turn, Blackstar. Go find your own mission!" Maka says, getting annoyed.

"Fine, but don't come running to me when you get your but kicked!" Tsubaki finally appeared from inside. "Blackstar! You know I can't jump from a building like that!" She said between gasps.

He chuckled, embarrassed. "Sorry, Tsubaki! But you gotta be fast when the big man take the stage!"

"Allow me to introduce Tsubaki, Deathstar's weapon." Introduced Maka.

"Oh, hello! You must be the help from the leaf! Thank you so much for your assistance!" Said Tsubaki.

"Let's go Tsubaki! These guys are small fry. Not even worth my time." He starts walking back inside.

"I'm so sorry for Blackstar. It's just how he is!" She apologized before running after him. "Blackstar! Wait up!"

"Can't say they're boring, that's for sure!" commented Sakura, a sweat dropping.

"You can say that again. Anyway, we should head for Lord Death's chambers. We're late." Said Soul, starting to walk inside, followed by Maka and the Leaf. The walk to Death's chamber was uneventful. As they walked, the hall gradually fell away to reveal a massive graveyard on both sides, the walls becoming poles holding up guilatines.

"Creepy..." Noted Naru, the others agreeing. They soon reached a platform, with naugt but a mirror and three people waiting.

"Hello, hello, hello! What up!?" Said a cloaked figure with a high, squeaky voice, and a cartoonish skull for a face. To his left, was a man in a labcoat with stitching all over it. His face had stitches too, topped off with silvery-grey hair and round glasses. To his right was a red-haired man wearing a suit and matching pants with a green tie.

"Greeting Lord Death, Prof. Stein!" She bows cheerily to them, before turning to Spirit. "Papa." She said disdainfully, bowing just enough to stay in the realm of politeness.

Spirit drops his head in depression. "Maka, you're so cold!" He says to himself.

"Lord Death, these are the allies form the leaf. This is Naru, Hinata, Sakura, and their teacher, Sensei Grimm." She introduced, pointing to each in turn.

They bow in respect. "Yo, thanks for coming!" He says as they rise. "Normally, we would let our students handle htis themselves, but even I am having diffuculty tracking this one! He's been running around killing people and eating their souls, only to dissapear without a trace!"

"Souls? How is that possible?" Asks Hinata, somewhat horrified.

"It is an inborn ability of weapons. In order to gain strength, they must eat the souls of the wicked. In essence, when they kill, the victim's chakra is condensed into an orb, who's color depends on the person. Innocents are blue, with the exception of powerful people, like ninja. Wicked are red, scabbed over, and looks overall unpleasent. WE call these Kishen Eggs. This skill can be learned, however, eating an innocent's soul corrupts your own. This is how Kishen Eggs are made."

"Eggs!? Do you mean...!!?" exclaimed Sakura.

"Yes. People who's eggs become Kishen Eggs can become Kishens. Kishens are extraordinarily powerful, and their very presence can drive one mad!"

"But, why would someone do something so horrible!? demanded Naru.

"Power. Whether to surpass an opponent, or belief that such power will banish their fear, they seek power. However, while this can indeed increase one's power, it's cost is high. You lose yourself to the power, slowly going mad. Those deep in the madness have souls that become Kishen Eggs. Left unchecked, they will eventually become Kishens."

"And we are here to help locate such a person?" Asks Grimm.

"Indeed. I don't require you to fight, only search. That's why I was able to commission the job for so little!"

"So, know what this guy looks like?"

"Of course! Here's a photo." He hands the picture to Spirit, who takes it to Grimm. He looks like a very young boy, covered in a black, thin dress. He is unable to see his face under his pink hair.

Soul takes the picture after him, the girls looking ast ot over his shoulder. "This is the butcher? He looks as threatening as Maka." He instantly regretted that as Maka clocked him over the head with a thick book, sending him to the ground. "S-sorry..." He says weakly from the ground."

"Do you know his last location?" Asks Maka, acting like nothing happened.

"Yes." Stein finally piped up. "He was last seen in a village north of here called Sendly. There's nothing in particular to note about it, but there have been deaths there that fit his MO. You'll start there."

"Be careful. He may not be strong yet, but he's fast, and reports say he's difficult to hurt. He may yet make a difficult opponent." Added Spirit.

"Thank you Lord Death, Prof. Stein. We'll head out in the morning." Said Maka before bowing and turning to leave.

"Maka, just one second." Said Death. Maka turns around, curious. "While your grades are superb, your recent efforts have been lacking. Fail this assignment, and you AND Soul will be expelled. Am I clear?"

"Yes, Lord Death! We'll do our best!"

"Good! Now off you go! Time to rest up for tomorrow!"

And she did, quickly, before anyone else could call her out. "You got that, Soul? We can't lose!"

"Yeah. Expulsion? Not cool! I don't do uncool."

"Don't worry! We're here to help! We don't let our friends down!" Exclaimed Naru, hanging on their necks with her elbows around each. "We'll get this guy! No worries!"

Maka smiles, reassured. "Thanks! C'mon, our house is only a few blocks away." She leads them out of the school, and to their house. "Here it is, home sweet home!" She showed them their home. It was simple, quaint, and spacious. "Our friends stay here a lot, so we have plenty of guest rooms. Help yourselves! And Soul!" She catches him trying to sneak away. "It's your turn to cook!"

'Damn' He thinks. "Yeah, alright!" He heads to the kitchen to prepare supper. Just as everyone gets settled in, and are hanging out in the living room, the doorbell goes off.

"Wonder who that is?" Maka says to herself as she opens the door. "Oh, Kid! come on in!"

"Hello Maka. I heard you had an important mission, and thought I might be able to help." Said a boy, about their age, wearing a black suit and tie. His hair was also pitch black, except for 3 white lines going along the left side. Behind him were two girls. One was tall and breathtaking: mile long legs and perfect hourglass figure ending with a beautiful face and long dirty blond hair. Next to her is a shorter, more curvatious girl, with short dirty blond hair and a grin plastered on her cute face. They both wore matching cowgirl outfits, complete with make-shift hats, though the shorter girl's clothes hugged her curves closer, while the other's fell loose. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know you had company."

"No, it's OK. Everyone, this is Death the Kid, or just kid. He's Lord Death's son, and part of my team. Behind him is Liz.." She gestures to the taller girl. "..and Pattie." The shorter one. "Kid, this is the help from the leaf."

"Nice to make your accuaintence. I suppose it would be best for you to hear what I've scrounged up as well, then."

"We should wait until Soul is done with dinner. Soul!"

"5 minutes!" He calls out.

"Very well. Mind if we relax?" Asks Kid.

"Of course! Come on in!"

-------------------------------------5 minutes later---------------------------------------

"Oh, so that's how shadow clones work!" exclaimed Hinata after Naru's explanation.

"Dinner's ready!" Soul calls out as he procedes to bring out a huge pan of rice and 3 pots full of curry. "Got extra spicy, spicy, and sweet. Help yourself!" He piles rice on his plate, and adds extra spicy. "So, I overheard you, Kid. What you got?"

"Yes." He went for the regular. "I managed to interrogate some witnesses left after the suspect escaped. His power was subpar, however, on one was able to deal any significant damage to him. It appears that his blood hardened itself as he was hit. Cutting him will probable be ineffective. You may need some help."

"So, how do I hurt him!?" she exclaimes.

"Um, I think I can help..." Hinata says softly. "My jutsu interupts the chakra in my opponent's body. I should be able to hurt him.

"Great! I'll distract her, while you go in for the kill!"

"K-kill!? But, I've never..."

"Grow some balls!" said Grimm, surprisingly eating the sweet curry. Hinata looked down in shame.

"Don't worry, Hinata! Maka and Soul are supposed to hit the final blow, right?" She said reassuringly, looking expectantly at her.

"True. I need his soul, so I have to kill him."

"There's more. His weapon...well is his blood!" Kid says dramatically.