This was supposed to be just a silly story.

It... evolved.

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you... PLOT. It's kind of strange, but it's plottier than what we've had so far.

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"This place sucks." Soul leaned back against the wall, glaring at the atmosphere around them.

"Really? I would have figured you'd like going to a place like this..." Maka held her breath as one particularly odiferous man walked by, eyeing her as he passed.

Soul's ears flattened. "Please tell me that's the guy we're supposed to kill," he growled, glaring daggers at the man's back.

"No, I don't feel any powerful souls in here..." Maka edged closer to her weapon partner, feeling very uneasy so close to a dance floor. The music was too loud, the lights were too dim, there were people doing very inappropriate things, and the whole place smelled of drugs.

The scythe could sense her discomfort. "Remind me again why we had to do this mission?" he grumped.

"Because Black Star isn't old enough to get in here, and Kid would probably explode if he so much as set foot in this building."

"Heh... Guess you're right about that," Soul smirked, noting how nothing about the place seemed neat and orderly. "Sure wish that Kishin would show up already so we can kill him and get out of here..." His tail thumped against the wall in his irritation.

"I don't know if it's going to be that easy." The scythemaestre shifted uncomfortably. "Lord Death said this guy is very methodical and careful about how he kills his victims... I have a feeling this isn't going to be like the usual tactless brute force we're used to dealing with."

"Ah, whatever. We can take him anyway, right?" Soul flashed his cocky grin, and a wave of confidence surged through Maka, who nodded her agreement.

"Hey, wha's a perty li'l lady like you doin' over here bein' a wallflower?" An obviously inebriated man seemed to come out of nowhere, leering at Maka.

If looks could kill, Soul would have murdered him in an instant. "Do you have a death wish?" he hissed, curling a protective arm around her shoulders.

"Whoa, easy, dude, it was just a question..."

The scythe bared his sharp teeth and emitted a noise somewhere between a hiss and a growl, and the man disappeared into the crowd.

"See why I hate this place?" he muttered to Maka. "Creeper central..." His eyes scanned the room as he licked his teeth angrily.

"Y-yeah..." Maka cleared her throat. "Don't go anywhere. I have to, um..." She glanced in the direction of the restrooms, and Soul rolled his eyes, waving a hand to dismiss her. He watched after her as she slid along the wall, trying not to make contact with anyone.

A shudder rippled up his spine, and he instinctively turned to face the front of the establishment. A man had just entered - he appeared fairly young and attractive, perhaps in his late twenties; his dark blue hair barely touched his shoulders. Even from across the room, the scythe could clearly see the hungry glint in his eyes that only Kishin souls possessed.

"That's gotta be him." Soul kept an eye on his every move, trying to develop a plan for going after him. He couldn't do anything on his own; he had to wait for Maka to come back... He figured she'd probably sensed his arrival, too. How in the world were they going to take him down in such a crowded place?.. Unfortunately, during his thought process, he'd lost sight of the man. He silently cursed himself for allowing his attention to wander.

"Hello, kitten." A velvety voice nearly made him jump; he turned to find the Kishin standing right beside him, giving him a smouldering look and a sexy smirk. "Any reason why you've been staring at me ever since I came in?"

Soul's throat felt very dry all of a sudden. His target was RIGHT THERE, and he couldn't do anything about it. He felt paralyzed by the demon's gaze - Soul had never been one to feel attracted to other men, but this guy practically oozed sex from every orifice. The scythe could now understand why this Kishin had become so dangerous in such a short time. If he had the ability to make him go weak in the knees, he could probably charm anyone into being his next meal...

"Well?" The Kishin extended a hand and trailed his finger down Soul's jaw. "What do you say, pussycat?"

"Get your dirty Kishin hands off my partner." Maka's voice cut into Soul's consciousness like his own scythe blade, snapping him out of his trance. He ducked around the man to join her, taking her hand and transforming into his weapon form. The girl's hazel eyes glared dangerously at the Kishin, and she held the scythe in a battle-ready stance. "We're from the DWMA, and we're here to take your soul."

"Oh, how cute." The demon sneered condescendingly at her. "I should have known Death would send some of his little bitches after me..." He chuckled. "You kids don't look too dangerous. Shame, though..." He glanced around at the crowd that had parted to give them some space. "I'd gotten used to this appearance... I'll have to change it again once I kill you."

"You're obviously underestimating us," Maka said through clenched teeth. "Come on, Soul. Let's show this demon scum what we're really capable of."

"Lead the way, Maka." The scythe's spirit grinned excitedly, and Maka launched herself at the demon, who simply stood there.

"Such foolish children." The Kishin reached out and placed his hand on Maka's shoulder as she was about to slice into him. "You really don't know what you're messing with, do you?"

Maka's eyes widened as her entire body went limp. The scythe dropped from her hands and clattered to the floor, and the Kishin struck her forcefully in the torso, sending her flying backwards.

"Maka!" Soul transformed back to human form, even though he knew he wouldn't get there fast enough to catch her. However, he found that he didn't have to worry about that, as a familiar face darted forward to prevent her from slamming into the concrete floor. "Liz? What are you doing here?"

"I'm always here on Saturdays," the blonde said, shrugging one shoulder. "Patty's around. Somewhere. Probably staring into the strobe lights." She hoisted the unconscious Maka up and draped her limp arm across her shoulders. "Can you handle this guy?"

"Totally." Soul's arm transformed into the scythe's blade, and he crouched, ready to spring, watching the Kishin with his pupils dilated in concentration.

"Oh, you're so adorable," the Kishin simpered. "Trying to fight me without your maestre... Poor kitten. I know every pressure point on your body. I can render you immobile with just one touch..."

"We'll see about that." Soul lunged at him, concentrating on trying to land a hit, but his intentions changed when he noticed the demon's hand reaching for his neck. He quickly transformed his entire body, preventing the man's technique from working, as pressure applied to the handle of a scythe does not result in paralysis. The Kishin glared at him as he landed, having switched to human form in midair.

"You're smarter than I thought..." The Kishin's lip twitched up in a snarl. "I guess I'm not dealing with ordinary kids from Death's school, am I?"

"Heh... Not exactly." Soul tried to appear confident, though on the inside, he was struggling to think of an idea. He couldn't get close to the guy without being vulnerable to his touch, and if he couldn't get close, then he couldn't strike... What was he going to do?

"Hey. Suck on this, chucklenuts." A loud BANG echoed throughout the club, and the Kishin pitched forward suddenly, a burst of pink light shooting into his back. He growled and turned around to face Liz, who supported Maka with one hand, and held a smoking pistol in the other. Said pistol quickly transformed into Patty, who stuck out her tongue and pulled her eyelid at the Kishin.

"Why, you little...!" Unfortunately for the demon, Soul's catlike reflexes allowed him to leap forward and slice him in half before he could even consider the dangers of turning his back on an opponent. The scythe chuckled victoriously as the Kishin's body turned to ribbons, leaving behind only the glowing red orb of his soul.

A very large man was suddenly behind him. "We have a policy against Weapons being in any form other than human," he said in a voice reminiscent of James Earl Jones. "I'm going to have to ask you all to leave. Immediately."

"Fine by me." Soul grabbed the flickering ball of light and made his way towards the front of the establishment, with Liz and Patty following behind him with Maka.

"That was so cool!" Patty gushed. "I was like, pow! And then you were like, shazam! And then he was like, uuugh," she went slack-jawed, her eyes rolling back in her head, giving her a more or less "dead" appearance, from which she quickly recovered. "And then that guy was all, 'GTFO NOOBS,' and you were like, 'kthx,' and now we're out here! BEST CLUB EVER!"

"I coulda taken him down myself," Soul muttered.

"Yeah, yeah." Liz rolled her eyes and smirked. "Here, take your girlfriend."

Soul bristled and shot her a glare. "She's not my girlfriend!" he hissed, though a faint blush colored his cheeks for a split second.

"She should be," Liz grunted under her breath, heaving the still unconscious girl onto Soul's back. "Oh, that soul's yours, by the way," she added at normal volume. "Kid would freak if Patty and I hadn't collected an equal number, and besides which, you deserve it, Romeo." She winked, sticking her tongue out.

The scythe wrinkled his nose at her. "Oh, fuck off," he growled, turning to walk back to the school's dorms.

"Seriously, Soul!" Liz called after him. "Get it through your thick skull, dumbass!"

"Can't hear you!"

"Ugh..." The elder sister crossed her arms, pouting grumpily. "When is that stupid kid gonna get it?"

"Give him time." Patty nodded sagely. "Come on sis, let's go home and tell Kid what happened!" She bounced up and down excitedly.

"Yeah, alright..." Liz glanced back at Soul carrying his maestre home. "Seriously, though, that guy's gotta be the most oblivious boy ever."

"I dunno sis, Kid's pretty stupid at times. Remember that one girl that kept flirting with him, and he was like totally not getting it?"

"That's 'cause he's gay."

The younger sister stopped walking for a moment. "Oohhh," she said thoughtfully, holding her chin. "Yeah, that makes sense now! You're so smart, big sis!"

"Just keep walking, Patty." Liz gave her a gentle push, laughing softly as she shook her head. She was surrounded by idiots. It was that simple.

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Random interjection of Death the Kid's sexual orientation woohoo.

ERRBODEH IN DA CLUB GETTIN NERVE-PINCHED! Yes, that guy did do the Vulcan Nerve Pinch on Maka. Also, yes, I did reference Yu-Gi-Oh Abridged AND Finding Nemo. I'M KOO' LIKE DAT.

I lovelovelove all of Soul's catlike behavior in this chapter. It makes me squee.

I COMMAND YOU TO LEAVE A REVIEW NAO PLZ KTHXBAI