Chapter Text
It was all wrong.
She was supposed to surpass her mother. The greatest meister, and she definitely wasn't being biased here, who had ever lived.
She was supposed to find herself a scythe, just like her Papa, to raise and groom into being the most incredible Death Scythe that had ever existed to replace him.
She was supposed to do a lot of things.
Instead, she…
"This isn't fair!"
…was throwing a tantrum.
"Maka, please." Her mother, her idol, was doing her best to calm her down and failing miserably. "It isn't like it's the end of the world. There was always a chance this could happen."
She glared at where her right arm was supposed to be.
Instead, all she saw was her own miserable, teary-eyed reflection in the scythe blade that had taken its place.
"Come on, sweetheart!" Said the last voice she wanted to hear. "You can be just like Papa now!"
She started to cry again.
Maka Albarn was not the kind of girl to just roll over and die just because of some bad news. Sure, she wouldn't ever be the meister she had dreamed of. Sure, her dad hadn't stopped offering special 'Father-Daughter Training' bonding experiences since he'd gotten the news. Sure, her whole life was ruined, and it was wrongwrongwrong-!
Deep breath.
There was nothing she could do about it now.
Just because she couldn't be a meister, didn't mean she had to give up on her goal of being the best and brightest student in all DWMA! Besides, if she found a good enough meister, then she could replace her dad! It was her duty as the daughter of the Death Scythe to bring some prestige back to that title! This was totally, one hundred percent what she wanted to do with her life! COMPLETELY.
It being Orientation Day, finally, meant that she would be able to see about getting herself a meister. Someone good. A competent, hard worker like her. A girl, preferably, as the last thing she wanted was some jerk that talked about her figure all the time or went chasing after every skirt he saw. It also meant she had a chance to scope out her competition.
With her head held high and a 'Weapon' sticker upon her breast, she entered the room ready for anything.
Except.
It was just a bunch of people her age, each wearing their own stickers identifying them as either a Demon Weapon or Meister, mingling and having a nice time. It was not the formal school event she had been hoping for. It was more like… a singles mixer. Like the kind her mama sometimes had to drag her papa out of.
That had been a particularly awkward wedding anniversary for them…
She swore she could taste something sour, like she had bitten into a lemon, and her face reflected that. She had been hoping for something a lot more formal and organized not… fraternizing! Still, she wasn't going to lose to these other weapons. She was going to put her best foot forward!
"Hi! I'm Maka! If you're looking for a weapon, you won't find a harder worker than me."
The girl turned, nervous, and offered up a shy smile in return. "It's nice to meet you! I'm Ginne! I-I'm really not used to this kind of thing…"
Yes! This was going well! "Me either." She smiled. "If you'd like, we could see if we can resonate?" Just a bit more…!
"O-oh… already? I'm… O-okay!" The nervous girl reached out… then paused. "…wait… You're not a boy? I'm sorry, I was k-kind of hoping my partner would-" Her cheeks darkened. "Well, good luck! With a lot of things!"
Before she could even form words to respond, her potential partner speed walked away… "I'm wearing a skirt! …and what do you mean with a lot of things!?"
Cautiously, very cautiously, she approached a boy… She hadn't seen him leering at any of the girls. He hadn't said anything particularly dumb when she had listened - not eavesdropped! - in on a few of his conversations. "H…hello. I'm Maka Albarn… are you still looking for a partner?"
She watched as he turned her way and…
"No thanks." He smiled apologetically, rejecting her in the most delicate way he could.
Somehow, it stung way worse than the others.
She was left standing against a wall, watching other people talk and laugh and think about they were going to be great meisters and weapons while she was left in the trash. Which, really, maybe was where she belonged if she couldn’t manage to hold a conversation with one of her peers for more than a few moments-
"This whole thing sucks." An unfamiliar voice managed to pull her from her increasingly depressing thoughts.
She perked up, glancing over to see an albino leaning against the wall a little further over. Her eyes immediately darted down to his chest and felt whatever smidge of hope she had left die when she saw 'Weapon' written sloppily across the sticker. "…it's not like this is the only chance we have. If we can't find someone now, we will eventually." She refused to let her spirits be crushed!
"Heh."
…well, he wasn't laughing at her. He seemed nice enough. For a boy. When was the last time she had spoken to one? A certain obnoxious idiot not counting… "What sort of weapon are you?" Just make conversation, Maka! Make a friend!
Rather than just answer, he held his arm out to her and she watched the appendage turn to light and transform with a sound like grating metal. If he was trying to impress her, she was going to have to disappoint because she’d lived around Weapons her whole li…
No. Nononono.
"Scythe." She felt a knot forming in the pit of her stomach. "You're a scythe."
"Apparently." He replied, sounding as excited about that as someone might a dentist appointment.
Why? Why did the one boy she'd gotten to speak to her even a little have to be her dream weapon? Was the universe just making fun of her? Had it not done enough? She gripped the front of her skirt, trying to keep from screaming. Or crying.
"I shouldn't have too much trouble finding a partner, or at least that's what they told me. Scythes are supposed to be pretty rare. I think half the people here are swords." The albino flicked his blade-appendage, causing a soft, but not unpleasant ringing.
"You… were supposed to be mine…"
"Huh?" The scythe-boy turned. "You say something?"
"You were supposed to be mine!"
A hush came over the room, her face turning increasingly red from shame… and then ran as fast as her legs would allow, cursing her temper, cursing her luck, and, more than anything, cursing the unfair, miserable world she lived in.
"Maka, it's been a week."
That was an accurate measurement of the time she'd spent in her room.
"I don't think anyone will remember one little outburst…"
Really? Her mother didn't think that she wouldn't be the laughing stock of the entire school? 'You were supposed to be mine'? She might as well be in prison for how gruesomely she'd murdered her reputation.
"Besides, if you don't snap out of this, you'll never find a meister!"
Her response was to hold her pillow over her face and scream for a solid minute. She hated it when her Mama had a point. Which she always did.
After a badly needed shower, her hair brushed and put into her trademark pigtails, and a balanced breakfast, Maka Albarn was ready to take on the world!
Or, at least, that is what she told herself. Lately, it had felt like she was in a boxing game with the fattest belt winner. Admittedly, she wasn't all that clear on the sport except that it involved being punched in the face a lot. That was her life right now. Being punched directly in her face. Repeatedly.
Sigh.
The first day of school was supposed to be magical. All that potential for learning new things. When she’d first gotten her NOT uniform, she could admit that she had squealed. Her Mama had even given her some skull-styled hairclips that she’d worn when she had first started too. Rather than butterflies in her stomach, it felt more like he had wasps.
Even her usual trek up the steps of DWMA and the view from the top wasn't enough to make her feel better. Well, at least not completely.
Still, she felt proud of herself after seeing how many of the other new students were struggling to make it to the top and even the ones that did appeared winded. Ha. Weapon or not, she had been preparing for this a lot longer than they had-!
"You're lookin' awfully smug this morning, Maka. Getting a little big for your britches, aren't you?"
And just like that, whatever joy she'd been feeling curled up inside her and died. On the list of people she didn't want to hear from, this one was second only to her Papa. "Black*Star." She greeted, trying her best to be polite to her childhood frenemy.
Short, loud, and insufferable were all accurate ways to describe the ninja who refused to quit pursuing his ridiculous ambition of surpassing God.
"Oh?" Hands on his hips, raising his head up as high as he could, the brat in front of her seemed to be trying to look down at her… which wasn't going to happen, even standing on the tips of his toes. "You've got a look on your face like you want to say something."
"Did you need something?" She wasn't going to back down. "Or, are you bugging me just because you're looking for a partner?" She would not settle for him. She could only imagine the kind of expectations he'd have of his partner.
"Partner?" Black*Star's head cocked to the side and, with the breeze, she swore she could hear the wind whistling as it passed through his ears and through his empty skull for how clueless he looked. It wasn't until he spotted the now somewhat wrinkled 'Weapon' sticker that his eyes lit up. "Maka…" He trailed off. "I know that you've always had a thing for me, but just becoming a weapon doesn't mean we're going to be partners."
Not a single part of that sentence didn't piss her off!
"Besides, I already have one." Black*Star was practically glowing as he said so.
The shock actually managed to make her forget about her angry. "You-...what?" Black Star? Had a partner? And she didn't?!
"Tsubaki!" Calling her name was unnecessary, as the girl was standing quite literally right behind him.
"H-hello. Tsubaki Nakatsukasa." The dark-haired Asian girl waved nervously as she introduced herself.
She was gorgeous. It wasn't like she cared about that kind of thing, because she totally didn't, but it was obvious this girl was gifted in a way she wasn't. That she was wearing the same uniform just made it even more apparent given the difference in how it… fit.
"It's… It's nice to meet you. Maka Albarn." She managed to get out, even as she wondered the how of this situation. "…he's not threatening you, is he?" Her hand went to her book. She was prepared to save this girl if need be!
Black*Star, to his credit, just burst out laughing like it was a great joke.
"N-no! Not at all. I just think he's…" Tsubaki glanced over at the boisterous ninja. "…got a lot of potential, that's all." She smiled as she spoke.
The ninja's laughing stopped, and he started rubbing the underside of his nose with the back of his index finger. The faint dusting of pink on his cheeks gave his embarrassment away though.
She almost fell flat on her face. What was with this wholesome relationship?! This supportive partner?! It was all… backwards! "H…how nice."
Somehow, she had less appeal to people than Black*Star?
"Well, we'll see you later, Maka." The ninja who clearly hadn't ever read the job description turned away from her. "Try not to screw things up being socially inept, okay?"
"Black*Star, that isn't very nice…" Tsubaki looked between her two juniors with disapproval for her partner showing. "I'll talk to you later, okay, Maka?"
The two were gone moments later, leaving her standing there alone. Because unlike the loud, crude, obnoxious, selfish, narcissistic Black*Star… she didn't have a partner.
What did that make her then?
She willed her eyes to stay dry as she stared at the ground. It was still just the first day of the school year. It wouldn't be long before she had a partner, someone truly great, and was bragging about them to her mother. All she had to do was grit her teeth and bear it for now.
Just a little bit longer, she told herself even as others laughed.
Just a little bit longer.