[Soul Eater] 4 - The Confirmed Theory

The Confirmed Theory

***

After finishing their mission in the forest, Fate, Soul, and Maka returned to Death City that night.

	Fate confirmed her theory about the Obumbratio invasion, so she decided to talk to Shinigami-sama about it the next morning, and Maka wanted to ask the headmaster about the technique her and Fate performed on the mission, so the three of them were now walking to Shibusen.

	"Maybe we should take you on a normal mission, since you took us on an Obumbratio one," Soul said.

	"You're just saying that because you want to do "Obumbratio Hunt" again, right, Soul?" Fate asked with a cheeky grin.

	Soul sweatdropped. "Is it that obvious?"

	"Actually, I'd like to do it again, too," Fate admitted. "That was something you don't want to do just once."

	"I hope Shinigami-sama or Professor Stein know something about the resonance we did," Maka said.

	As they reached the courtyard of the academy, they started to hear some noise and saw some people flying back and forth.

	"... the hell?" Fate asked, dumbfounded.

	"It must be Black*Star," Soul sighed, sounding calm.

	"Yeah, that moron is always picking fights with everyone," Maka told Fate.

	As they finished climbing up the stairs, they saw Black*Star posing victoriously and laughing with Tsubaki at his side.

	"You guys need to train for a hundred years to be able to hurt me!" Black*Star shouted as he laughed.

	"Relax, man, it's only nine in the morning and you're already fighting other students," Soul said, and Black*Star and Tsubaki looked in their direction.

	"Hey, you guys came back!" The blue-haired ninja said, high-fiving both Soul and Fate.

	"Welcome back," Tsubaki greeted with a smile. "How did the mission go?"

	"We were going to the Death Room to tell Shinigami-sama about it," Maka answered.

	"We'll go with you! Let's go!" Black*Star cheered, starting to run.

	"Black*Star, wait!" His partner called out, following after him.

	"That guy has too much energy," Soul commented.

	After greeting Black*Star and Tsubaki, they headed into the academy, but as they entered, two girls casme to greet Maka. One of them had short pink hair and the other long black hair, but they both wore the same outfit - a short green skirt, a lighter-green sweater, and a green sailor-style collar tied like a necktie.

	"Maka, hello!" The pink-haired girl greeted.

	"Kim, Jacqueline! When did you arrive?" Maka asked as her and Kim high-fived with with hands.

	"Yesterday in the afternoon, the mission was really easy with Kilik's help," Jacqueline answered. Then, the two girls noticed someone they didn't know next to Maka.

	"Hey Maka," Kim began. "Aren't you going to introduce us to your friend?"

	"Oh right! Fate, this is Kim and her partner Jacqueline," Maka introduced.

	"Nice to meet you," Fate said as she waved her hand to them.

	At hearing her name, both girls were surprised.

	"So this is the famous Fate," Jacqueline commented.

	"Famous?" Fate asked, confused.

	"We heard in the girl's residence that there was a new girl in Shibusen named Fate who wiped the floor with Black*Star on her first day."

	"Yeah, a bunch of them are crazy about you, and now I see why," Kim giggled, giving Fate a wink, and Fate couldn't help but blush a bit.

	Suddenly, someone was walking towards the group - Harvar and Ox, and the latter had a very happy face.

	"Kim, my fair lady, I'm so glad you are here!" Ox called out, and Kim rolled her eyes.

	"What are you doing here, Ox?" She asked. "You should be working and earning money."

	"Yeah, but I really wanted to see you. You aren't hurt, right?" Ox asked, and then he noticed the others. "Oh, you guys are back. How did it go?"

	"Pretty good, I've got to say," Soul replied with a smirk. "The Obumbratio didn't stand a chance against us!"

	"We were going to the Death Room to report back to Shinigami-sama," Maka told him.

	"I think I saw Black*Star and Kilik going there," Ox said. "Did you discover something new about the Obumbratio, Fate?"

	"I've got a theory," the silver-haired girl admitted. "But it would be better to tell everyone about it at the same time. If you want to know, come with us to the Death Room."

	"We'll accept the offer," Ox said politely. "Are you coming, too, dear Kim?"

	"Yeah, don't sweat it, Ox," the lamp meister replied.

	The all headed to the Death Room and after a few minutes, they reached the door that lead to it. Black*Star and Tsubaki were there along with three people, a boy and two little kids - the boy had black hair in dreadlocks and wore glasses, and the kids were very similar to each other; both had blue eyes, rosy cheeks, and mid-length blonde hair framing their faces, but you could tell the difference between them because of their hats.

	"It was that big!?" Black*Star asked in amazement.

	"Yeah," the other person replied. "That monster was huge, but we defeated it like it was nothing."

	"Man, I wish I could have been there," the ninja sighed, and then he spotted the group headed to Shinigami's room. "Hey! Took you long enough!"

	"Relax before you have an attack, Black*Star," Soul said.

	"Oh, everyone is here," Tsubaki noticed as she looked over the whole group.

	"Hey, you're the new girl, right?" The boy who was talking to Black*Star asked, looking at Fate.

	"Yeah! I'm Fate," the silver-haired girl introduced.

	"I'm Kilik Lounge, and these are Fire and Thunder," the boy said, pointing to partners.

	"Nice to meet you!" Fate said, smiling at the kids who didn't talk, but they returned the smile.

	"Let me congratulate you for beating up Black*Star," Kilik insisted, and he and Fate did a fist-bump.

	"Hey!" The ninja complained, which made the others laugh.

	"If you are going to talk to the boss, then I'll tag along," Kilik decided. "I also want to hear about the Obumbratio that are disturbing the city."

	After the conversation, they crossed the door and walked under the "guillotines", and when they reached the circular platform, they saw that Kid and the Thompson sisters as well as Stein were there.

	"Fate," Kid began. "I'm glad you're back, we... wait, what are you guys doing here?"

	"Maka and I are here to ask Shinigami-sama something," Soul answered. "The others are just gossips."

	"Hey, if you're going to talk about those shadow monsters, we'd like to hear it, too," Kim insisted.

	"I agree with Kim," Ox said, adjusting his glasses. "The more we know, the better we can defend ourselves."

	Shinigami-sama then spoke. "I understand your concern, kids; you can stay if you want."

	Spirit suddenly jumped with joy towards Maka.

	"Maka! Daddy is so happy to see-" He was interrupted by a chop on his head with Maka's book, which caused the other people in the room to sweatdrop. It reminded Fate of a certain enby and their father...

	"Daddy?" Fate asked.

	"He's Maka's father," Tsubaki responded. "Shinigami-sama's Death Scythe."

	"He's a dirty old man," Soul commented.

	"Now, now, everyone," Shinigami began. "I'd like to have a few words with Fate."

	"Actually, I wanted to talk to you, too, Shinigami-sama," Fate said with a very serious expression, something that the others rarely saw.

	"Go ahead, then," the headmaster offered.

	"First, I'd like to ask something, all of you," Fate spoke up, turning to look at the whole group of students. "All the Obumbratio you've fought... did they disappear in whisps of smoke?"

	Everyone looked confused but thought about it anyways, and they all shook their heads in response.

	"Just as I thought..." Fate mumbled with a hand on her chin.

	"Is it important?" Kid asked.

	Fate nodded. "Look, at the present time, there are two known types of Obumbratio: Ecce and Insigne. Ecce Obumbratio are natural, born from the shadows, and upon their destruction, they simply disappear in puffs of smoke without leaving anything behind."

	"Wait a moment," Ox interrupted as he was writing all that Fate was saying in a notebook. "If those are the natural ones, then what are the others?"

	"Insigne Obumbratio are originally create from machines that reproduce shadows," Fate explained. "You can differentiate from the others because they have an emblem on their bodies."

	Everyone gasped and looked astonished at Fate.

	"That's disgusting," Kilik said.

	"That machine must be destroyed!" Harvar insisted.

	"It's already destroyed, a friend of mine took care of it," Fate reassured them. "Their number has decreased, though it's still normal to encounter them, but as you told me, the only Obumbratio that you've fought have been Ecce."

	Stein spoke. "So they started to appear when you arrived, right?"

	"Yes. Also, I found it strange that they only appeared at night when I arrived," Fate said, crossing her arms over her chest and tilting her head. "Obumbratio act on instinct, so it was normal that they attacked at night since it was when people here are more helpless, but when I arrived... they kept attacking just at night! I'm the Sapphire Warrior; I should be under constant attack since the Obumbratio fear my magic."

	"That's a lot to take..." Soul mumbled.

	"So the Insigne Obumbratio only attack you when you're alone, or at least when you're with few people," Kid said. "Do you know the reason?"

	Fate stood silent with saying anything, her eyes closed and her mind deep in thought.

	"Fate-chan?" Tsubaki called out, trying to get her attention.

	"... I know someone who can create the Insigne Obumbratio, too," she said. "And she's interested in me."

	"Luciana," Shinigami-sama said suddenly, and Fate nodded.

	"Yeah," she confirmed. "After the incident in the forest, I confirmed it. She knows that I'm here and is sending Obumbratio just at me for some reason... it's like she wants to tell me something."

	"Father," Kid addressed. "Who is Luciana?"

	"She was a friend of mine some time ago before she turned to the darkness and tried to destroy the universe. I thought I'd never heard about her again," he answered.

	"She's a magic user like me," Fate said. "She's... a master, too."

	The students began to get nervous upon hearing this.

	"But you're one of the three chosen ones, right?" Liz asked, a little scared. "You can beat her with ease."

	"I... I don't even knew what being the Sapphire Warrior means," Fate admitted, adjusting the goggles atop her head nervously. "The only thing I know is that the legend says the Three Chosen Ones can save the universe or wrought chaos and destruction upon them."

	The students looked at her in concern; they had never seen her like this and it didn't feel good. Although they had only known her for a few days or even minutes, they liked her and didn't want to see her crestfallen."

	"But Fate, we know you wouldn't destroy the universe, right guys?" Jacqueline asked, trying to cheer her up.

	"Yeah, don't let a stupid legend bother you, buddy!" Black*Star said. "You have to keep your head up, like me!"

	"If you beat this overpowered idiot, then I'm sure you'll prevail," Kilik joked.

	"Hey! You want to fight, Kilik!? I'll kill you right here!"

	Everyone started to laugh.

	Kid looked at Fate. "You have our trust, Fate, don't forget it."

	Fate looked around at everyone in the room and they smiled at her; it was reassuring to have friends that trusted in her and cheered her up in these kinds of moments, especially when her best friends were busy - y'know, training to save the universe and all.

	"But what about the Obumbratio? I don't think they're going to leave voluntarily," Spirit said.

	"Fate-chan will have to stay here until they learn their lesson," Shinigami-sama said, and then he looked at Soul and Maka. "I think you wanted to ask me something?"

	"Yes, it's about the mission," Maka began. "As Fate said, we were ambushed by a great amount of Obumbratio in the forest, so we tried a Chain Resonance with her to finish them up as fast as we could."

	"A Chain Resonance..." Stein mumbled.

	"Yeah, Maka told her how to do it," Soul said.

	Fate continued. "But I did it wrong and, instead of resonating my soul with hers, I did it with my heart."

	"Resonating a heart's wavelength with a soul's wavelength..." Stein said pensively. "I think I've heard about that somewhere."

	"Oh yeah, it is a very special Chain Resonance," Shinigami-sama said. "Although it's very rare to see one, since the amount of magic users who don't happen to be Witches had decreased significantly over the years. When I was young, there were a lot of them."

	"It was really shocking. Soul's scythe grew and started to glow in a bright light and Fate's sword transformed into a light-made scythe," Maka explained.

	"We destroyed hundreds of Obumbratio with just one blow!" Fate added, her face lighting up.

	"Impressive," Kid said.

	Black*Star grabbed Maka's arms and started to shake her. "Dammit Maka, you cheated! I was supposed to be the one going on the mission with Fate and do that awesome resonance!"

	He stopped shaking her when Shinigami-sama gave him a chop on the head, leaving him lying on the floor.

	"As I was saying," Shinigami-sama continued. "That resonance is very powerful and I'm surprised that you could do it on your first try. Congratulations!"

	"Yeah, the Obumbratio will think twice before messing with us," Soul said confidently.

	Kim grabbed Fate's arm. "But the next time she's going on a mission, Jackie and I are going with her!"

	Black*Star got up really fast.

	"No way, Kim, it's my turn!" He shouted.

	"Hey, don't burden her, she had the right to choose," Kid said.

	As the students argued about who would go with Fate on her next mission, the grown-ups were looking down at all of them.

	"She's a good kid," Stein said. "Do you think she'll make it?"

	"The universe is in good hands, but Luciana isn't someone you can defeat easily," Shinigami-sama answered. "We'll have to wait and see what happens."