The walk through the city was quiet. I just followed the winding roads up toward the center of town. I didn't mind the quiet. It gave me time to look at all the weird, crooked buildings and the Halloween-looking people walking around.
Eventually, the street opened up into a massive paved plaza.
I stopped dead in my tracks, completely speechless.
I tilted my head back. And back some more.
Stretching out in front of me was a staircase. Just a massive, ridiculous mountain of concrete steps going all the way up into the sky, leading to the front doors of the giant academy.
"That is a lot of stairs," I stated bluntly, staring up at the very top.
I didn't really want to walk up them. It looked exhausting. But I had already walked all the way here, and turning back now just because of some stairs felt like a waste of a trip.
I let out a long sigh, shoved my hands deep into my pockets, and started walking.
Step one. Step two. Step three.
By step fifty, I was already bored. Thanks to my new body, my legs weren't burning and I wasn't out of breath, but my brain was definitely suffering. It was just the exact same repetitive motion over and over again.
I tried counting them to keep my mind busy.
One hundred and four. One hundred and five.
But a weird-looking bird flew past me around step four hundred, and I looked at it for a second and completely lost my count. I didn't feel like starting over, so I just stared at the back of my white shoes, listening to the rhythmic thud, thud, thud of my boots hitting the concrete.
This is so boring, I thought, letting out another tired sigh.
After what felt like forever, the stairs finally started to level out.
I stepped onto the wide, open stone courtyard at the very top of the academy. I took a deep breath, stretching my arms over my head to pop my shoulders, and looked around to see where the front doors were.
"YAHOO! I AM THE BIGGEST STAR! I AM THE MAN WHO WILL SURPASS GOD!"
I jumped a little, dropping my arms. The voice was incredibly loud and energetic, echoing right across the courtyard.
I turned my head.
Right in the middle of the paved area, a kid with spiky blue hair and a sleeveless white jacket was charging forward, yelling at the top of his lungs and swinging his fists.
Standing perfectly still across from him was a boy my height, wearing a neat black suit with three white stripes on one side of his hair. Death the Kid.
"Take this!" the blue-haired kid screamed, leaping high into the air to bring a punch down.
Kid didn't even flinch. He just took a single, smooth step to the side. As the blue-haired kid fell past him, Kid raised his leg and delivered a swift, solid kick right to the back of his head.
Smack.
The blue-haired kid slammed face-first into the cobblestones. He skidded for a foot or two before coming to a complete, limp stop.
I just stood there at the top of the stairs, blinking in surprise as the boy in the black suit casually dusted off his pants, standing over the unconscious blue-haired kid.
The blue-haired kid twitched on the cobblestones, groaning something muffled about being a big star, before going completely still.
The boy in the black suit just let out a quiet, annoyed sigh. He stood up straight and started adjusting his sleeves, completely unbothered by the fight he had just won.
I started walking across the courtyard toward them, putting my hands back into my pockets. As I did, my fingers brushed against something small, hard, and round at the very bottom of my right pocket.
I pulled it out to see what it was. It was a black button.
I looked at it for a second, figuring Scathach must have slipped a spare one into the pocket lining just in case my suit lost one. It was actually a really nice and helpful thing for her to do.
I looked back at the boy in the black suit as I got closer. His outfit was incredibly neat, but as my eyes wandered over his jacket, I noticed something was off. The middle button on the right side of his suit was missing. It must have popped off when he swung his leg up to kick the blue-haired kid.
I walked right up to him. He heard my footsteps and turned around, his golden eyes narrowing slightly as he took in my white suit and mask.
"Who are you?" he asked, his tone polite but a little guarded.
"I'm Katsuya," I said simply. I held out my hand, offering him the small black button I had just found. "One of your buttons broke off while you were fighting. I have a spare right here if you need it."
He blinked, looking down at my outstretched hand in confusion. Then, he looked down at his own chest.
His golden eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. His hands flew up, grabbing the edges of his jacket as he stared in absolute horror at the empty spot where his middle button used to be. The flawless, perfect balance of his outfit was completely ruined.
"No..." he gasped, his face turning completely pale. He frantically patted his clothes, his breathing hitching as pure, absolute panic set in. "It's gone... the symmetry is destroyed!"
The boy seeing the button i hold outward toward him like his last hope but seeing the color made it all dissapear to anguish.
"Black?!" he yelled, grabbing his hair with both hands. "That button is black! My jacket buttons are white! If I put a black button on one side, the color coordination will be completely asymmetrical! I'll be an unbalanced abomination! I'm garbage! I don't deserve to live!"
He dropped to his hands and knees, literally crying onto the cobblestones.
I blinked, watching him freak out. Right, I completely forgot he did this stuff in the anime. He had a massive obsession with everything matching perfectly.
"My bad, hold on," I said, digging both hands deeper into my jacket pockets to see what else Scathach had packed. She really went all out making this suit.
I felt a few small fabric pouches at the very bottom. I pulled them out and checked inside. The first pouch had a set of blue buttons. The second one had a gold set. I opened the third one and smiled a little.
"Hey," I called out, reaching a hand down. "I found a white set."
Kid instantly stopped crying. He lifted his head from the dirt, his golden eyes locking onto the small white button I was holding out to him.
He quickly scrambled to his feet, carefully taking the white button from my gloved hand. He held it up to his jacket, comparing it to the others. It was the exact same size and shade.
All the panic instantly left his body. He let out a long, heavy sigh of absolute relief, his shoulders dropping as the crisis passed. He quickly tucked the button into his pocket so he could sew it on later, then stood up perfectly straight, dusting off his suit.
He gave me a very polite, serious bow.
"You have saved my symmetry, and my life," he said earnestly. "Thank you very much, sir."
"It's no problem," I said, putting my hands back into my pockets. "I'm Katsuya Akiya, by the way."
The boy stood up a little straighter, placing his arm across his chest in a formal, respectful posture. "I am Death the Kid. It is a pleasure to meet you, Katsuya."
"Hey, quick question. Do you know where I could find books talking about Excalibur in the library? I need to do some research on him."
Kid's expression shifted into genuine, respectful intrigue. At this point in time, the Holy Sword was still just an incredible legend to him. "Excalibur? That is a very fascinating subject. The historical archives are located on the third floor of the library. You should be able to find texts and location records regarding the Holy Sword in Aisles 8 and 42."
"Awesome, thanks," I smiled, genuinely grateful. "That saves me a lot of walking around."
I gave him a casual wave, turned my back, and started walking toward the massive front doors of the academy to go meet up with Maka and Soul.
"Wait a minute!" Kid suddenly shouted, his voice pitching upward in alarm.
I stopped and looked over my shoulder.
Kid was staring directly at my face. His hands were trembling, and he was pointing a shaking finger right at my head. The calm, perfectly polite boy from three seconds ago was completely gone, replaced by a look of sheer, unadulterated horror.
"Your... your clothes!" Kid gasped, his breathing getting heavy as he looked like he was about to physically be sick on the cobblestones. "Your mask! It only has an eyepatch on one side! And your hair is messy and parted unevenly! You are completely, utterly asymmetrical!"
"Look, calm down," I said, raising a gloved hand and unclipping the leather mask from my face.
I pulled it off, revealing my mismatched eyes. "I dress like this because a good friend of mine tailored this suit specifically for me as a gift. It's polite to wear it."
Kid stared at my face, still trembling slightly as his brain tried to process the information, his hands gripping his hair.
"Besides," I added, pointing a finger casually back at his head. "You really shouldn't be lecturing people about things not being even. Your hair has three white stripes on the left side, but the right side is completely black."
Kid froze.
He didn't scream. He didn't drop to his knees and cry this time. He just stood there, staring blankly into space as the absolute, crushing reality of his own hair hit him like a physical blow. The light completely left his expression. His shoulders slumped forward in utter, miserable defeat.
Without saying a single word, he slowly turned around and began walking away. His footsteps dragged heavily against the concrete, his arms hanging limp at his sides like a zombie marching toward his own grave.
I watched him go for a second, feeling a tiny bit bad for pointing it out, but I really didn't have time to act as his therapist today.
"Well, thanks for the directions," I called out to his retreating back, slipping my mask back on and adjusting the strap.
I turned around and headed straight for the massive double doors of the academy, stepping inside the gothic building to go find Aisles 8 and 42 in the library.
———
[Black Star POV]
"YAHOO!"
I snapped my eyes open and sprang up from the cobblestones, throwing my fists into the air. My head throbbed a little bit, but a big star like me doesn't stay down from one lucky kick!
"I'M NOT DONE YET, KID!" I roared, dropping into my ultimate, highly advanced assassin stance, ready to show him my true power. "PREPARE TO BE BLOWN AWAY BY MY—!"
I stopped.
I blinked, looking to my left. Then I looked to my right.
The giant courtyard was completely empty. There was no Kid in a fancy black suit. There was no one cheering for my epic, star-studded comeback. It was just me, the silence, and the wind blowing across the concrete.
"Hey!" I yelled, cupping my hands around my mouth. "WHERE DID EVERYBODY GO?!"