A/N: Second installment of this AU! And written in a timely manner as well? Blasphemy.

Disclaimer: I don't own Kyoukai no Kanata or Soul Eater. I think a half a box of poptarts is all I have to my name right now, in fact.

"Senpai, please tell me you're joking."

"Why would I kid about something like this?"

Mirai let herself fall back against the ground with a thump. They were sitting outside of the school in the clearing near the woods where weapons and meisters would go to practice their technique. Akihito was the one who suggested it, considering he knew the school grounds better than her. He offered that they eat lunch out there on Saturday, then afterwards they would try resonating with each other for the first time. It all seemed fairly logical to Mirai, who was actually enjoying her time with Akihito until he happened to spring this news on her.

"Why do you look so defeated? It's not that big of a deal," he said looking down at her. She only closed her eyes and groaned.

"Of course it's a big deal! You've never wielded a weapon! How did you think this temporary partnership was going to work, Senpai? You would stand behind me during every mission and call out attacks from the sidelines?"

Akihito turned his nose up. "Of course not! I plan on fighting with you the same way any other meister would! I just need to practice a bit, is all."

Mirai opened an eye and peered up at him. "Have you ever held a sword before, Senpai?"

"No," he said confidently.

She closed her eyes once more and sighed. "We're hopeless."

"I don't think so," he said absently, crossing his arms behind his head and staring up at the sky. "We made a pretty good team last week fighting that kishin egg, didn't we?"

Mirai lifted herself off the ground and into a seated position. "Maybe so, but that doesn't excuse the fact that you have no formal weapon training. Why did you think you would be a good meister if you're not even registered as one right now?"

Akihito merely shrugged. "I never said I would be a good meister."

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

"I never had much of a desire to be a meister before. I was in the NOT class for my first year here. I learned the basics about weapon-meister pairs, but never practiced myself."

Mirai balled her hands into fists. "Then why are you so adamant to partner with me!"

"Because someone who looks as good as you do in glasses simply can't be meister-less," he said seriously.

A groan erupted from Mirai's throat at the thought. Of course the only person to pay her any mind would be a pervert! It turns out her blood wasn't the only thing about her that was cursed.

"…But seriously, can't you feel the compatibility of our souls?"

Mirai looked at him strangely. "No. I wasn't born with Soul Perception. I thought that was a rare talent that only some meisters were lucky enough to inherit. Can you see souls?"

He shook his head slowly. "I don't possess the ability either. I just have this feeling that our souls are good for each other."

She scowled at him and couldn't help muttering, "But how much good will that do if you have no idea how to fight with me?"

Suddenly Akihito stood up. Mirai wondered if her comment might have made him angry, but when he turned to face her he was wearing that smile that he always seemed to have when he was in her presence. She looked up at him curiously when he reached his hand out for hers.

"I think the best thing to do right now is practice. What do you say, Kuriyama-san?"

She looked at his hand once more and frowned. It was possible that this wouldn't work. Her soul had been connected with Yui's for so long that it was very probable that she wouldn't be able to resonate with Akihito at all. She had heard of meisters who had gotten hurt trying to wield weapons that they couldn't resonate with. She could burn his hands, suddenly become as heavy as lead and fall to the ground and crush his foot, or even cause him to lose consciousness completely. There were lots of ways that this could go wrong, and Mirai was beginning to doubt that partnering with Akihito was a good idea.

"It will be fine, Kuriyama-san," he told her gently, as if reading her thoughts.

After a moment she nodded her head, apprehensively taking his hand and allowing herself to fully transform for the first time in almost a year. She felt her body heat up momentarily as a bright light engulfed her body, and when she opened her eyes again she was looking out at the world from her blade instead of her eyes. The first thing she noticed, however, was that she was on the ground.

Panic set in as she looked around, shifting her blade slightly left and right to try and see Akihito. Did she hurt him? Was he alright? She called out to him tentatively, fearing the worst. "Senpai?"

"That was amazing, Kuriyama-san!" He called from off to her left. She shuffled around slightly so her blade was pointing towards the sound of his voice. His hands were held in front of him in fists and his eyes were practically sparkling as they looked at her. "You were surrounded by this bright red light! You looked like an angel!"

She sighed. "Angels wouldn't be surrounded by red light, Senpai. Red is typically associated with demons." Which made sense to her, given her cursed blood. "Why did you drop me? Did I hurt you?"

"No," he said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. "I was just surprised by your transformation. I've never held onto a weapon while they were transforming; it caught me off guard."

She sighed again, this time in relief. Akihito was okay. But now came the hard part: could he hold her?

Mirai did her best to keep her voice even. "Well, what are you waiting for? Pick me up."

"Right!" he said, his voice filled with confidence and enthusiasm that didn't have to be feigned. He knelt down and gripped her crimson handle in his right hand and plucked her off the ground without preamble, lifting her up and down lightly to test the weight of her weapon form.

"Huh. Not as heavy as I expected," he said nonchalantly as he transferred her from hand to hand. Mirai could only gape from her Soul Space as she watched him take a couple swipes in the air as if it was the most natural thing in the world. Her eyes went down to his hands, which were smooth and pale and without a single singe mark, and up to his face, which held no trace of discomfort at all. His eyes were filled with wonder and curiosity as he studied her blade, his finger running across the edge gently to test the sharpness.

He held her without a problem, and Mirai was amazed. How could this boy that she hardly knew be so compatible with her already? How did he know that their souls would mesh so well? She wanted to ask him, but just then Akihito dramatically spun in tight circle to slash at an imaginary foe and tripped over his own feet. He fell backward and landed unceremoniously on his butt with a curse.

Mirai laughed aloud as Akihito rubbed his sore behind and scowled. "We need to work on your footwork before our first mission, Senpai."

"A little practice probably couldn't hurt," he said, face turning red as he put a hand to the back of his neck. But then he smiled at her the way he always did, so warm and excited and without any hidden trace of fear or resentment like she had gotten so accustomed to back home. Akihito lifted her with both hands and looked into her blade. "But I swear I'll become the best meister I can be. And I'll help you become a Death Scythe."

Mirai thought about reminding him that this partnership was only temporary, but decided not to mention it this time. Instead she told him to widen his stance, because they had swordsmanship to work on and there's no way he could defend himself from a kishin egg with his center of gravity so high. They spent the rest of the afternoon in that clearing practicing stances and basic sword techniques until Akihito was able to wield her without hurting himself. He still had a long way to go, but despite how tired the boy seemed at the end of their practice, the eagerness never waned from his eyes.

"I really think I'm starting to get the hang of it," Akihito said happily on their walk back to their respective apartments.

Mirai shook her head. "I wouldn't get overconfident if I were you, Senpai. One practice session doesn't make you an expert in wielding a weapon."

He scowled at her. "I know that! I'm just glad that I was able to wield you at all." She looked up at him. "I was worried I was going to be really bad at handling a sword since I'm not a trained meister. It's a relief that I was able to pick the technique up so quickly."

Mirai nodded. Of course Akihito was worried about his technique. Why would he have been concerned with their soul compatibility when he had been confident all along that they were meant to be partners?

"So do you think I'll be ready to go on a mission with you this month?"

Mirai paused for a moment to think. "I supposed if you trained hard enough, you could be ready for a one-star mission in less than two weeks' time."

She supposed she shouldn't have been surprised at this point, but she still flinched when Akihito jumped with a cry of triumph. It seemed the boy's excitement couldn't be contained, and while Mirai still had trouble understanding his intentions, she couldn't help but feel happy too. The prospect of going on a mission again didn't seem as scary as it once was to her. She didn't think her anxiety during battle would ever fully disappear, but with Akihito wielding her, the prospect of overcoming her fears didn't feel as daunting.

She would never admit it, but she was the slightest bit excited, too.