Blaze took a silent breath as he watched the scene below. It was the upper echelons of the Capone gang, each and every one of them was feasting on human Souls. The specific target was Don Capone. The man had an air of authority as he discussed plans with his men. In truth, he was a bit nervous.

Easy, boy, he thought. Remember the Assassin's Laws. You may be a new Meister, but not new to collecting Souls. Blaze took another breath. Keep your head level. Don't let emotions take over. The Paris Incident won't repeat.

Tsubaki crouched down next to her partner, Blaze. They were a strange pairing the two of the them, what with them both being Weapons. But that's just how things worked out. Tsubaki liked her partner well enough, and their soul wavelengths resonated just fine. She had heard the rumors about him, but she didn't really care. Everybody had things in their past that they liked to keep secret. But now was not the time to be worrying about any of that, not when they had a target to take down. Don Al Capone and his top men were below them, feasting on human souls. "I count about a hundred." That was enough for one of them to be one Witches' soul away from becoming a Death Weapon.

Or they could split the souls between the two of them. Personally Tsubaki liked that idea better, but they'd have to think about that later. "What do you think? Should we try and take him out from here, or go down there?" Tsubaki said, making sure she asked her partner's opinion and didn't just try and take charge. They were a team after all, they were supposed to work together. Tsubaki was nervous. This was a lot of Keishans to take out at once. Their target was just Don Al Capone, but Tsubaki doubted they'd be able to take him out without anyone else noticing. Even if they just sniped him from their hiding spot.

Blaze thought for a moment. "We can divvy them up," he murmured. "But there's always the possibility of being killed by those goons. I do have an idea. It would be risky, but we could get Capone, get his Soul, and beat a hasty retreat." He wasn't used to being in the Meister position.

"If that's what we do," Blaze said, "you get the Soul. And I get the next ooo--!!" The ventilation shaft suddenly lurched, unceremoniously dumping the two on the table. "Ugh. Damn building inspector shoulda--"

"Who the hell're you?!" the Don roared. Blaze had an expression befitting someone caught in bed with their ex's mother. Without waiting, Capone ordered, "Ice 'em!"

Tsubaki nodded when Blaze suggested they do it assassin style, take out Don Capone and get out of there. "I have a smoke bomb mode that will be useful for that." She explained, knowing her partner must not have been familiar with all her modes yet. Tsubaki was about to protest and suggest that Blaze take the first Soul, because that's just how she was, when suddenly the ventilation shaft shifted, sending them forward. Tsubaki had ninja training and excellent reflexes, she was about to jump back and avoid falling, when she noticed her partner was not. Fearing for his life if he was left alone, Tsubaki let herself fall.

Tsubaki winced when she hit the middle of the table, landing uncomfortably with dishes digging into her back. She gasped when Don ordered them killed, and the goons pulled out guns. Once again, because of her ninja training, she would have been able to escape, but she had Blaze to worry about too. Reacting quickly as bullets started to fly, she shoved Blaze off to the side and out of the path of the bullets, wincing as one grazed her upper right arm. It was only a minor injury, but it still hurt.

"Remember that thing I was talking about earlier?" She asked, referring to her smoke bomb mode. There was a flash of yellow light as Tsubaki transformed, when the light cleared there was a smoke bomb in her place. Tsubaki didn't like smoke bomb mode that much, it always made her feel weird afterwards. Apparently that was normal for that type of weapon, but that didn't mean she had to like it. Hopefully Blaze could move fast enough for the smoke bomb to give them enough time to escape. Right now, Tsubaki was putting her life in her partner's hands.

Blaze felt a bullet whizz through his hair. "Crap!" he exclaimed. It was a good thing that these goons were crappy at shooting. He grabbed Tsubaki and threw her down, and the two were envelopes by smoke. He grabbed his partner and escaped in the ensuing chaos.

"Dammit," he growled. The two had made it to the docks of the city. "You'd think a filthy rich bastard like him would hire an inspector who does his job." He examined Tsubaki's wound, taking a handkerchief from his pocket and tying it around her arm to stop the bleeding. "Lord Death ain't gonna be happy..."

As soon as she was thrown down and the smoke burst out, Tsubaki transformed back to her human self. Considering how she felt afterwards, she was glad when Blaze grabbed her arm and started to run, it forced her to keep up with him. It only took her less than a minute for her to recover from her daze and soon she was running beside him with no problem, ignoring the injury on her arm. Finally they stopped running when they were well away from the manor, ending up at the docks. She was slightly winded by the run, but it didn't take her long to get her breath back.

Tsubaki pressed a hand against her graze in order to stop the bleeding, but moved it when Blaze took out a handkerchief. As her partner wrapped it around her arm, he also got angry at the circumstances of their now failed mission. "Hey, it's okay." She said with a smile, ever the peacekeeper. "Everybody fails sometimes. We just had a little bit of bad luck is all. For now let's just go back and report to Lord Death and see what he has to say about it." Tsubaki didn't think that Lord Death would be too mad, they were still new to being partners after all, they were bound to fail a few times while they adjusted to the partnership.

In reality, they should have taken an easier mission. It was both of their faults for that. Blaze for picking it out, and Tsubaki for not stopping him. She hadn't expected there to be that many goons there, but there had been so there wasn't much either of them could do about it now. All they could do was move forward. After reporting to Lord Death, they could either try again and catch Don Al Capone without his goons, or leave the mission to some more experienced team.

"Yeah," said Blaze. "I'm just not used to acting as a Meister." He checked his reflection in a window. He was miffed about the now-shortened patch of hair, but he would live. However, what he was most upset about was the bullet hole in his jacket. He fogged up the window.

"Forty-two, forty-two, nine sixty-four..." Blaze tapped the glass. Soon the Grim Reaper had appeared. "Hello, Lord Death. Weapon-Meister Blaze reporting."

"Oh, it's good to see ya!" Lord Death said. "So, have you collected the Souls?" Blaze hung his head.

"No, sir..."

Tsubaki just offered Blaze another smile. Though she was curious as to what he meant by not used to acting as Meister. Maybe it had to do with the rumors? Because she wasn't used to acting as Weapon either, mostly cause Blaze was her first, and hopefully only, partner. Tsubaki stood nearby as Blaze called Lord Death. Ready to explain the situation to him. She was sure he'd notice the handkerchief around her arm, but it really wasn't anything to worry about.

Tsubaki gave Lord Death a wave when he popped up on the window and greeted them. When Blaze looked all defeated, Tsubaki took over explaining. "We went to the manor where Don Al Capone lives and snuck in through the ventilation shaft. Only when we found him, he had about a hundred of his men with him. It was a little too much for us to handle, so we retreated." She purposefully left out the part where they fell onto the table and got shot at. She didn't mind telling Lord Death, but she wanted to save Blaze some dignity. He seemed like the prideful type who would be embarrassed because of that.

"It may be too much for us to handle. We haven't decided yet whether we're going to move on to another mission and leave this one for a more experienced team, or if we're going to try again." Tsubaki would never say it out loud, but she was pretty sure Lord Death wouldn't scold them too badly. Not after Maka and Soul's recent failure finding a Witch's Soul. Though he may be annoyed by the recent failures, they were still just teenagers, you couldn't blame them too badly.

"I see," said Death. He thought for a moment. "There could be a way to make one of you into a Death Scythe right away." Blaze cocked an eyebrow. "I see I have your attention."

"Yes sir."

"Good. As you may have covered in your classes, Blaze, some Souls are more powerful than others, and are equivalent to multiple normal Souls."

"I do remember those lessons, Lord Death," said Blaze. He was listening intently.

"The owner of one of these Strong Souls has become the guardian of a witch named Angela. This particular individual is Mifune, a renowned swordsman. His particular Soul is equivalent to 99 Kishin Eggs."

"So, assuming we succeed," said Blaze, "we could make one of us a Death Scythe in one go!" His eyes shown with excitement.

Tsubaki didn't like the idea of being able to make one of them a Death Weapon in one go. Because then they'd argue about it and fight over who got to be the Death Weapon. She really didn't want to fight with her partner over things. They were supposed to work together, and that's what she was trying to do. But now both Lord Death and Blaze were sort of leaving her out of the conversation. It was a little annoying actually. Sure she was quiet and peaceful, but she didn't like to be pushed aside. No one did. But instead of pushing her way in, she just stayed quiet. Fiddling with her long, dark, locks, as she did.

A human with a Strong Soul and a Witch in one place? It would be dangerous, but if they pulled it off, one of them could be a Death Weapon. Personally, Tsubaki wanted to leave the mission for Maka and Soul. They had just failed their Witch hunt and lost all 99 of their souls. They could use a chance like this. A soft sigh escaped her lips. Her partner looked really excited about the whole thing. It was pretty obvious who he wanted to become a Death Weapon. Maybe she should just go along with it and let him? Her wavelengths were really adaptable. She could partner with just about anyone.

Involuntary tears sprang into her eyes as she thought about Blaze becoming a Death Weapon and just leaving her. She quickly scrubbed them away and put a fake smile on her face. "It sounds like a good idea." She said, sounding convincingly excited. She had been faking happy since she was little, only those who knew her really well could tell when she was faking it. Blaze was not one of those people yet. And if they accepted this and beat it, probably never would be.

"Then it's settled!" said Lord Death, clapping his hands together in delight. "I'll have that mission taken down from the board, ya?" And then the Shinigami was gone. Blaze stretched.

"It's been a long day, huh, Tsubaki," he said. Despite their failure, he was in a good mood. Normally he'd have taken it harder, but the Strong Soul and Witch had brightened his night. "I just wish that it was a shorter trip back to Death City. Ah well. We can find the Witch once we're rested up."

Despite having to reach up-- Tsubaki was a full head taller than him-- he patted his partner's head affectionately. "Those Souls're ours. I'm gonna make you into a Death Scythe, if it's the last thing I do." He flashed a tired grin. "I just need some no-bean caffeine for the ride home."



It took several hours to get back to Death City. By then, Blaze was tired, but the energy drink he'd guzzled wouldn't allow him to rest just yet. He parked his jeep outside his apartment complex. He affectionately dubbed the vehicle the Puma. He sighed. "Home sweet home."

Blaze's apartment was paid for by Sid, his legal guardian, at least until Blaze could get a real job. It was a two-bedroom. The other room used to be Izumi's, but now Blaze had filed paperwork to let Tsubaki move in from the dorms.

While Blaze was excited and didn't seem to be affected by their earlier failure anymore, Tsubaki was feeling worse after hearing the news. It didn't matter who the souls if they beat this mission, either way it felt like Blaze wanted to get rid of her as quickly as possible. Tsubaki let out a quiet sigh, hoping that her partner didn't notice. She managed a weak smile when Blaze reached up to pat her head, but it was one that was much easier to see through that the last one had been. Thankfully though, Blaze didn't seem to notice a thing. When her partner mentioned getting an energy drink, she didn't agree with it, but went along anyway. If he drank one now, he'd never sleep tonight.

Tsubaki stayed turned away from Blaze the entire ride back to Death City, pretending like she was staring out the window. But in reality, she was trying not to let him see that she was unhappy. If he was happy about the whole thing, she would just let him be happy. Just like she had done with her brother all those years ago. She'd say she wanted to play ball, while she really wanted to play house. While she was a bit tired, and the graze on her arm stung a little bit, she didn't sleep in the car. It didn't seem fair to fall asleep when Blaze couldn't and he was just as tired, if not more so.

Finally they arrived at the apartments, where Tsubaki would now be staying. She had packed up her dorm this morning before they had gone out for their mission. One of the teachers, Sid, who was apparently Blaze's legal guardian, was kind enough to move her stuff over while they did their work. So when they got up there, they should find her stuff in the apartment somewhere. If not she'd just have to go get it. She wouldn't be mad at Sid if that happened though. He wasn't obligated to do it, and teachers were busy after all. "Right..." Was all she said to Blaze's comment of home sweet home.

Tsubaki got out of the jeep and stretched her sore muscles. As part of her ninja training, she had pretty much walked everywhere her entire life. Even if it was several hours away by car like this had been. She wasn't used to sitting in a vehicle for long periods of time like that. She most certainly couldn't drive a car either. Maybe it would be a good thing to learn? But to honest she wasn't that interested in learning it.

Blaze finally seemed to sense that something was off. Tsubaki was quiet and reserved, but her silence now felt different. The young man first went into his bedroom and changed. He usually just slept in his boxers, but with a young lady in the house again, he couldn't just strut around in his underwear. Next he went to the bathroom and grabbed the first-aid kit.

"Tsubaki? Could we talk before we hit the hay?" Blaze sat on the couch, opening the kit and retrieving wraps and antibiotic ointment. In the lamp light, a semicircle of puncture wounds-- scars-- were quite visible. "Just a quick talk, changing your bandage, and going to bed."