Being partnered up with Soul had always been no less than difficult. An eye-roll here, an annoying smirk there. He was cocky to a fault but sharp when needed. You had gotten used to it by now, your steadier being against his rough edges, your balance against his instinct.

It worked. More than worked, actually. It's like your wavelengths clicked from the start. Sometimes too well, which meant you were the only person in the entirety of the universe that could drag his ass out of bed when the mission alarm hit at dawn. Which is exactly how this mission started.

Lord Death had called the briefing himself and that alone wasn't a good sign. An island, he had said. Apparently the entirety of this said island was where weapons without partners gathered, their leader being a former student who had grown bitter, claiming betrayal by the academy.

An entire island of weapons that were fueled with resentment with their leader being a well-trained ex-student. Worse. Still, the assignment had your name and Soul's on it. He joked about "hoping the beach is nice there" and you smacked him.

Fast forward, you two are at this... whatever place. The ship ride had been rocky. Soul barfed into the water and you pretended not to laugh, failing completely. By the time you reached the island's jagged coast, the sun was setting blood-red, waves crashing like the island itself was pissed off. And it kind of was.

Your scouting had gone sideways fast. Weapons of all shapes and sizes gleamed in the moonlight, flintlocks cocked and ready. Without meisters, they were restless. Fought wild and carelessly which you deemed even worse than controlled weapons with mesiters.

Soul stuck close to your side, scythe form flashing in your grip whenever an ambush hit. Messy, breathless, too close. And still, the idiot still found ways to crack jokes. He nearly cackled at his own one between swings. What an ass.

You'd just rolled your eyes and kept going. The deeper you two pushed toward the leader's stronghold, the more weapons you passed. Now you wait in the shadows of the tower, heart racing, breath shallow.

But next to you, Soul shifts just enough to bump his shoulder lightly against yours. "Bet you're regretting draggin' me outta bed now, huh?" He nudges you. "But really, no matter what happens, I'm not letting some wannabe blades take you down, alright?"