A few months after we first met and became partners, we were assigned our first mission. It was fairly basic compared to what we do now as a higher ranked 2-star pair, but it tested how well we could work together and put what we learned to the test. Shinigami Sama had told us that after we defeat our target that Soul would devour the Kishin egg that appeared after our target was dead. He further explained, again, that once Soul had eaten 99 Kishin eggs and 1 witch soul, that he would become his new personal Death Scythe.

"Oi, Maka," Soul wined as we sat in the shadows waiting for our target, "can we get food? I'm starving and don't do so hot when I'm hungry."

I dug into my bag and grabbed a granola bar and chucked it at him, "HERE! Now shut up and quit wining, you'll give us away," I harshly whispered.

"Thanks," he grumbled, " sheesh all I did was ask for food. You didn't need to throw it at me."

"Shh, I think I hear him approaching," I said a I put my hand over Soul's mouth.

"Can't...breath..."

"Sorry."

As our target came into my field of vision, I motioned for Soul to transform into a scythe. We worked on his transformation skills for a good 2 months before we finally got it down every time we practiced it. Soul said that the practice was pointless, but I prove him wrong every time. Our target was a man by the name of Jacob Smith, his soul was made of pure evil and his hunger for innocent human souls was off the charts.

"If that isn't a soon to be Kishin, then I don't know what is," I muttered under my breath, only loud enough for Soul to hear me.

His face appeared on the blade and looked at me confused. And then I remembered that Soul couldn't see a persons soul shape or size. I explained in detail to him what I saw, allowing him to hopefully paint a mental picture of what I was seeing. When I finished, the smirk that I had seen over a million times crossed his face and the usual teasing gleam in his eyes was replaced with a desire to kill all things evil. It was kinda sexy, if you ask me.

"Ready?" I asked just a over a whisper.

"Haha, why wouldn't I be?" He laughed.

"STOP RIGHT THERE JACOB SMITH! YOUR SOUL IS MINE!" I yelled as I leapt from the shadows.

He spun around, looked at me, and then started laughing, "HAHA! A runt like you! Defeat me?! HAHA!"

"HEY! NO ONE TALKS TO MY MEISTER LIKE THAT!" Soul yelled, causing me to jump and Jacob Smith to freeze.

"What did you say?"

"You heard me!" Soul said, "no one talks to my meister like that!"

I tightened my grip around my weapon, but instead of gripping a metal rod, I felt my hand tighten around Souls. It wasn't shaky, it wasn't over heated, it wasn't in a tight fist. He had his fingers laced around mine, ready to pull me out of the way if the Kishin swung at me.

I looked up at him. He had a snarl on his lips and his eyes looked menacing. His whole body was tense.

"S-Soul..." I whimpered.

"Oh look, she's hiding behind her boyfriend. How cute," teased the Kishin.

"He's not my boyfriend! He is my partner!" I yelled.

"She may appear weak, but when she's pissed off she has muscle like you wouldn't believe!" Soul spat, defending me as if I was his little sister.

The Kishin gave a mocking laugh and charged at us. Almost instantly, Soul transformed into a scythe and let out a low, menacing growl as we both watched the Kishin rapidly approach. I had never dreamed of being put in the EAT (Especially Advanced Talent) class of the DWMA because my skills were limited to what my mom taught me when I was really little.

"MAKA!" Barked Soul, "MAKA! PULL YOUR HEAD OUT OF YOUR ASS AND FOCUS ON WHAT IS HAPPENING!"

I snapped out of my trance and as my mind registered that the Kishin was rushing towards me, I brought my weapon up to just above my chest and swung. I hit my mark, but didn't deliver a lethal blow.

"Is that the best you got?" Asked the Kishin, clearly amused by my weak attack.

"No, it's not. I ju-" I began.

"SHUT UP YOU BASTARD! I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU NO ONE TALKS TO MY MEISTER LIKE THAT!" Shouted Soul as he went back to human form, "I'M WELL AWARE THAT SHE'S NOT AS STRONG AS OTHER MEISTERS, BUT SHE IS MY MEISTER, MY MAKA AND NO ONE TREATS HER LIKE TRASH AND NO ONE TALKS TO HER RUDELY!"

I stared wide eyed at Soul. I had only expected him to say that no one talks talks to me rudely, not for him to call me his Maka.

"S-Soul..." I quietly said.

"Maka, I'm your weapon. It's my duty to protect you. If you were to get hurt, I wouldn't be able to forgive myself no matter how hard I would try. If you were to die, I wouldn't want to continue living without an amazing meister,"Soul explained, looking me right in the eye as a small smile crept onto his face,"the truth is Maka, when I saw you the first day of school, I couldn't stop looking at you. I-"

"Soul, save the talking for after the mission. Right now we need to focus on killing him."

"Fine."

I heard sniffling from behind me after Soul and I finished talking. When I turned around, I saw the Kishin wiping away tears. For a guy who supposedly had a heart of stone, sure had a soft spot for guys confessing their feelings to a girl they liked.

"Soul, let's kill him now while we have the chance," I whispered.

"Yeah, let's do it," he half laughed.

Soul transformed back into a scythe and I took one final swing at the Kishin, hitting my mark and killing him. I let a small squeal of excitement escape my lips before I quickly composed myself and watched Soul devour his first of 99 Kishin souls. He seemed to enjoy it because a different kind of smile had formed on his lips. One that even I couldn't explain in words.