I changed the chapter name... 👌🏼👌🏼👌🏼
Anime-Grunge had the idea...
And, I mean, P!atd is 👌🏼👌🏼👍🏼👏🏼✨

--Writer-Chan

My body seemed to be humming with happiness as we walked down the hallway quickly to catch up with our friends. Soul kept looking at me from the side, and I noticed that his cheeks were slightly pink. I wondered if this was the first time he had actually asked a girl out? He seemed like the kind of guy that would have already had a ton of girlfriends, but maybe not?

I saw my friends standing at end of the big hallway that led to the big doors at the front of the school. I saw Maka waving to us, her smile big as she spotted the look Soul had on his face. I wondered if he had told her about his wanting to ask me out? Or maybe, she was just happy to see him looking so happy. Or maybe, I was just overthinking everything.

"Hey, so we were thinking of going out for dinner to this place in the middle of Death City," Kid said, his hands in his pockets. He is eyes met mine, and for a moment, their gold color stopped my breathe, and I shook myself.

"Sounds cool to me." Soul said, smiling.

Mari walked over to me, her smile big, but there was something behind her eyes, and for a moment, I thought something was wrong with her. "You've been there before." She said.

I looked questioningly up at her, and the rest of the group paused before they started walking down the staircase. My eyebrows furrowed and I asked her with my eyes.

"Mari..." Liz said. "(Y/n)'s never been out of the DWMA since we brought her here..." she said.

Mari took a step back, her arm falling from me. She looked shaken, as if she had said something wrong, and then a smile came back over her face, masking her unease perfectly. "Silly me." She laughed, taking my arm once more and starting down the long set of stairs. "I was just thinking of someone else." She said.

I decided to brush it off, my smile returning a moment later like Mari's had. We all started walking down the steps, our voices loud with conversation and our spirits high. Mari stumbled once, and I wondered once again if she was okay, but she just said that there was an uneven cobblestone on the sidewalk.

Death City was beautiful at night. All the trees were lit up with small spherical lanterns, and they filled the busy streets with golden light. The people walking around, shopping or going to a restaurant looked happy and content. I hadn't realized that we had stayed at the Academy for so long, but it had to be around five or six, the sun already having gone down in the cold, almost winter, nights.

We reached the restaurant, and I looked up at it. It looked kind of fancy, and I could see people inside wearing clothes that looked as if they should be in movies. I looked over to Mari and the others, but Kid was walking in as if he owned the place. Then again, his father was Lord Death...

He walked to a man at the front, and exchanged a few words with him. The host looked out the big windows at us, seeing how many of us there were, and how underdressed we must've been. He only smiled at Kid and grabbed a stack of menus and began to walk off in the direction of the back of the restaurant. Kid looked back at us with a slight smile on his face, and beckoned to us.

We all walked in, and I held onto Mari's arm, feeling way out of place, but none of the other people in the restaurant seemed to notice us, to engrossed in their conversations to see us. We were led to a back booth, curtained off from the rest of the building by a sheen of red fabric. It was held open for us by a pretty waiter, and then it fell back into place, hiding the rest of the people from my eyes.

"Here. Take your shoes off." Patti said to me, and I noticed that everyone else was. I looked at the smaller room that we were now in, and realized that there was one table in it, and it was close to the ground. I saw the different soft-looking pillows situated about it, and realized that it was meant to be sat around.

I leaned down and untied my boots, concentrating hard so I wouldn't fall over. I had been careful about standing up quickly and such after Stein had told me that I had a low blood pressure. He thought that it was just a reaction to some of the stress that had happened to me. When I had tried to remember what the "stress" had been from, I found that I only had faint, fuzzy memories of evil looking faces, and fear. It was like my mind was filtering off some terrible event that had occurred.

"Sit!" Mari commanded, and I walked to her, taking my spot next to her and James, my new partner fitting in well with everyone. I sat on my legs, my knees in front of me, and I felt warm in the friendly environment.

"Do you want to take your jacket off?" James asked quietly next to me. I blushed slightly, realizing that it might be considered bad manners for me not to take it off, and slid it off of my shoulders. James took it and, with his long arms, reached over and put it next to everyone else's jackets and shoes.

I smiled at everyone, who had commenced in a conversation, about school, grades and such. The waiter came, and Black Star ordered for everyone, claiming that he knew what was all the best on the menu. When the food came, it was great, and, I thought, Black Star really did know what was good.

"I'll be right back." Mari said, standing. "Bathroom." She said. She got her shoes from where she had taken them off, and put them back on. She was still wearing her jacket, which I thought was kind of odd. Why hadn't she taken it off like the rest of us?

I looked up at her as the left the small curtained-off area. "We're going to leave soon." Kid said, and I almost swore that I saw Mari sway a little. I opened my mouth to stop her, but, as usual, no words came out. The fabric fell back into place, perfectly symmetrical, and the conversation continued.

A few minutes later, the waiter came back and asked if we were going to be done soon, because there was another party that needed the space. We all got up, and got our shoes and jackets on, leaving the closed off area. We walked to the front of the restaurant, Kid going to the front desk to pay, and we all stood outside.

"Where's Mari?" Maka asked, her blonde pigtails waving a little in the wind. She looked back into the restaurant as Kid walked out, thanking the host.

"Is she still in the bathroom?" Tsubaki asked, and I saw her furrowed eyebrows.

I walked to the door of the restaurant and pulled it open, smiling back at my friends reassuringly, Maka walking to come with me. I had an odd feeling in my stomach as we walked to the back where there was a bathroom sign. We went to the ladies room, my hand hovering the knob for a moment, before I pulled it open. When I looked inside, I saw Mari lying on the floor, her dark, black blood around her.

I started in horror for a moment, and then I heard Maka call and run forward to the girl, getting down on her knees and shaking Mari a little. She turned her over, and I saw that Mari's jacket was unzipped. I ran over and fell to my knees, my heart pounding in my ears. Had she been attacked? But by what? What had happened?

And that's when I saw the long cut in her gut that looked as if it had been made by a long, sharp blade. I remembered back to only a few hours ago, in the training hall, when I thought that for a second I had hit her, but I didn't. Well, apparently...

Maka stood and ran out of the bathroom to get our friends. I heard the panic in the restaurant begin, the voices beginning to call. I couldn't tare my eyes away from Mari. I thought that it had gone into her side, and she had pretended it hadn't... That's why she had had her jacket zipped and that's why she had seemed a little out of sorts. But I hadn't cut into her side; I had cut into her gut.

"(Y/n)..." Mari said, and I held onto her arm, seeing her smile faintly. "I think that you may have cut me... a little." She said. "I thought it was gonna heal faster, but..." she said, but then her eyes fluttered and she fell unconscious.

I sat there for a moment, holding onto her, feeling helpless. Then the bathroom door slammed open, and I looked up to see all of my friends rushing into the bathroom. Kid was on his phone, and was talking rapidly as he saw Mari, seeming to be talking to someone from the academy. Maka, Liz, Patti, and Tsubaki were on the floor next to me, checking Mari. Soul, Black Star, and James were at the bathroom door, keeping everyone out.

I looked up at Maka, feeling my eyes starting to fill with tears. The blonde smiled at me. "She'll be okay. She's always okay." She said, looking down at the blue haired girl. Mari was breathing, but I saw the small trickle of her dark blood coming from her lips. With every breath in, it seemed that more blood came from the large slice in her stomach.

What felt like hours later, I heard the screeching of cars outside the restaurant, and I heard the deep voices of teachers from the Academy. I recognized Stein instantly, and then after a second I remembered Sid's voice, the blue-skinned man that had been in charge of the meisters and weapons finding partners.

Stein walked into the bathroom, looking calm and collected with the other teacher behind him. He looked around and took in his surroundings, and when he saw Mari passed out on the floor, he came over and we moved so he could look at her stomach.

I realized that it was a wound much like the one that she had had when I had first met her in the infirmary, about a week ago. Though, that one had looked not as severe. I could feel my eyes tearing up at Stein silently moved his arms under Mari and lifted her from the ground.

"We'll take her to the Academy." He said, looking at all of us. He had this look behind his eyes as if he was thinking about what he would need and what he'd have to do as soon as he reached the school. He and Sid moved quickly from the bathroom, and the other people in the restaurant made a path for the two men as they left through the waiting open doors.

I looked up at the rest of our friends, everyone else standing and looking dazed. It had all happened so fast, too fast, and I knew that it was my fault. James came over to me, and bent next to me, offering me a hand. "It was from us." He said, soft enough so none of our friends would hear. "That last blow when we thought we hit her?" he and I nodded. He lowered his eyes. "This was my fault. I should've known that we hit her. I was the weapon in question after all." He said.

I shook my head, my hands in my lap. It was my fault. I took his hand, and he helped me up. "Will we go the school?" Maka asked Kid.

The black haired boy shook his head, his eyes looking worried. "Stein said not to come. He said that it would only add unneeded stress." He said. We were all silent, the people in the restaurant not daring to ask us to leave.

James helped me up, and we left the restaurant, our voices silent. We started splitting off to go to our different houses, and after a moment of thought, I realized that I still didn't have a place to stay. I tugged on James' sleeve, and he looked down at me. Our other friends waited looking a little confused, and then James seemed to get it.

"(Y/n) doesn't have a place to stay yet." He said. There was a moment of silence, but before everyone could start blurting out solutions, Maka spoke.

"There are rooms at the school for people who haven't found an apartment yet." She said, and my shoulders relaxed.

James nodded, and turned in the direction of the academy. "I'll take her." He said. "Goodnight, guys." He said. Everyone said their goodbyes, and walked off. The night had become quite cold, but luckily, my jacket kept me warm.

"I bet you never had a Friday night like this." He said. I smiled a little, not really paying much attention to James' words. It sounded as if he was quoting some kind of song, and it seemed familiar, but I couldn't place it. I watched the cobblestones beneath my feet, and when they turned to stone steps, I looked up to see the school.

It looked as if it was on fire at night, and then I realized that it kind of was because of the giant candles. We started up the stairs, the first time I had gone up them, and by the time that we reached the top, I was heaving for breath, and I thought that I was going to die.

James was laughing slightly as I sat down on the top step for a second. "I have to walk up these every morning. It doesn't matter what kind of weather it is, either. If it's snowing or raining, still have to walk." He said.

I stopped to think. If he had walked up the stairs "so many times", how long had ne been going to the DWMA? He didn't have a partner until me, he had said, but did that mean that he was just a solo weapon?

He smiled at me knowingly, but did say another word as he started walking again towards the school. I stood and followed him. He held the door open, and I walked inside the warm school halls, escaping the cold outside air.

He started walking down a hallway that split off of the main one, and I followed, wondering where we were going for a moment, and then I remembered the student rooms. I guess that they were near the back of the school, because that was where we were heading.

We went to a desk where a woman was sitting, gathering some things from her desk that was behind a window. She was younger, and pretty, her blonde hair shoulder length with long side bangs swooping above her eyes. The rest of her hair was shorter, and had choppy layers cut into it.

She looked up as we approached, and when I met her eyes, I felt warmth in their grey, blue-green color. The hues seemed to be shifting her eyes as we got closer, and she straightened from gathering her things, a fatigued smile coming over her face. She looked tired. "Are you here for a room? I thought you already had one?" she asked, looking at James with a playful smile this time.

"Yes." James said, pointing to me. "It's for her, but if you're going home..." he said, but the woman waved one of her hands in the air as she bent and brought a form out from a hidden drawer.

"No, no. I still have a few minutes before I leave." She said. "And then it's the hall watch's turn." She said. She slid the form to the front of her desk with a black pen, the little Death emblem on it. "Just fill this out, and sign it." She said.

I took up the pen, and looked at the form. It was simple enough to fill out; name, when I joined the school, the basic kind of thing. Although when I got to the part that asked about my date of birth, I paused. I had no idea what it was...

The woman must've seen me hesitating, and she reached out and took the form. "That's okay, (Y/n)." She said, looking at the paper for my name. She held a finger to her lips and shared a hidden smile with me. "You'd be surprised. I've had a few people not know their name. Professor Stein's had to come help." She said. She looked me up and down. "You look about (age)..." she said. She looked down at the form, and circled a few numbers on the page in the birthdate section.

She held up the paper and nodded. "Your new birthday it (Bro. Just put your birthday I'm lazy). How does that sound?" she asked, and I smiled and nodded. I liked the woman. She hadn't asked once why I didn't speak, or why I didn't know my own birthday. She seemed nice, and I liked her.

She slid the form into her file cabinet and pulled a key out of nowhere. "Go to room 569. It's a few doors down on the left." She said. I nodded and took the key, looking at it. It was brass, and it looked like a skeleton key, but with a ton of teeth on it.

She smiled and waved as she left her desk and started walking to the front of the school to leave. I looked back at her, realizing I didn't know her name. I tugged on James' shirt and pointed to the woman, looking at him.

He nodded and called out to her. "(Y/n) wanted to know your name." he called out to her.

She looked back and smiled, the maybe twenty-year-old woman smiling big. "It's Azure." She said, winking, and turned a corner and disappeared from sight. We turned and started walking down the hallway, finding my room a little ways down the hallway next to a ton of other doors with numbers on them.

"565... 567..." James said, and then stopped in front of a door that read 569. It was next to all of the other odd numbered doors, and I knew I would loose my way a ton until I got used to finding it. James opened the door with the key, handing it to me a moment later, and pushed the door open. "569!" he said grandly, and I gaped a little at the room inside.

It was furnished nicely with what looked like at least three rooms, and furniture already supplied. The walls were a simple white, and the couches and tables were either that color or black. Somehow, there was a window in the area that I figured was the living room. I wondered how there was one, because I had thought that we had gone down a staircase... or had it been up? Then again, how did they fit all of these rooms in the school? I decided not to wonder.

"My room is 606." James said, and I looked back at him. "If you need anything, just come find me. I nodded and he left, leaving my key on a hook by the door.

I walked around the area, that felt like an apartment. There were two bedrooms, both with full size beds, a dresser, and a desk with lamps and such. The kitchen was fully set, an apple on the counter with a little generic note from Lord Death that must've been copied and put in every room for new arrivals.

I sat on the couch, and leaned back into the soft pillows on it. I closed my eyes for a moment, and sighed. I hoped that Mari was okay. This was all my fault.

I stood, walking to the door and taking my key with me, slipping it into mu jackets pocket. I started running up the hallways and stair, my door shutting quietly. I didn't know how I knew where it was, but I found the infirmary, and I stood outside the door for a moment.

I turned and sat next to the door, holding my knees. 'Be okay, Mari.' I thought, resting my head on my knees.

Hey, I hoped that you liked the part. Please comment, because silly comments keep me going.

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