Remedial Lessons for the Ace Tactician? "The Worst Partner Yet!"

The refreshing breeze of the ocean, gently blowing kisses at the hull of the massive steam boat with splashes of salt and sea foam. Water glistening on the pitch black metal. Gulls crying in the wind. A peaceful day, perfect for a luxury cruise shared by a loving couple on their honeymoon. Unfortunately that couple's cruise was ruined well before it even started, as they had to put up with a fairly unsavory pair of passengers.

"God! Why of all people should I have to end up with some no-star Meister like this?" Ace's wolfish voice pierced the relaxing scenery. "I don't care if I've been there my WHOLE LIFE without getting a soul, I shouldn't have to put up with this remedial bullshit! It's not my fault all of my Meisters were garbage..." Losing his fire and sinking into a kind of depression, the weapon turned his back to the railing and leaned against it, head down and full of gloom. "Millefolium, we're almost there. It should be an easy mission and all we have to do is take out a single Kishin Egg, you think you can handle that, kiddo?" There were no pauses in his sentence. Almost as though even talking to her was too much effort to put forth.

It was pretty obvious that he didn't think much of her, even if she was his, supposedly, permanent partner.

Achilles let out a frustrated sight. For her weapon, this guy wasn't too cooperative. At least he wasn't flat out refusing her though. Besides, it could be worse. He could have been evil. He wasn't right...? Nah. Still though... She had waited too long, and the school had given her a weapon she wasn't really looking for. Just her luck.

"For the last time, just call me Yarrow. My middle name is too long, it's annoying. And yeah, I can handle it. Just gimme something to work with and I'll show you. I can fight just as well as any normal meister, if not better." Millie replied, crossing her arms. This guy really didn't think she had what it took to be a hero, huh? She'd show him. Ace Toromaki would eat those thoughts...

Ace didn't comment for a while. He was still skulking over his rotten luck. Eventually he looked up at her with a cold glare. "Have you even been on a real mission? You aren't exactly what I think of when I picture someone wielding me in my head. I'm a Kusari-Gama, a Chain Sickle. I'm not just some blade that you can swing around and expect to be successful in a fight. It take precision, coordination, and grace. None of which I have seen in you yet."

He stood up, pointing to the island with his thumb. "Once we get in there, we aren't in the training yard anymore. You hesitate, and you're gonna get yourself killed." Ace continued his lecture, until the male member of the previously mentioned couple interrupted him.

"U-uh, excuse me, but you two have been doing nothing but shouting at each other since you got on this boat. It's obnoxious, and you're really killing the mood around here!" It didn't take more than one of Ace's cold, menacing glares to stop the guy in his tracks.

"You shouldn't interrupt a man when he's in an argument. Sometimes people do things that they didn't mean to do when their emotions are clouding their judgement. Especially when some asshole tries to get between him and his personal business." The threat seemed to take the man aback, but he still appeared as though he wasn't finished. He began to take another step forward, mouth open in preparation for speech. After a brief blur, the Weapon had partially become just that. Ace's bladed arm centimeters away from the poor passenger's throat. "That wasn't a joke."

A moment of shock ran by and the man eventually raised his arms in forfeit before retreating away. "We work for Lord Death, not the Holy Roman Empire. We aren't heroes, we're killers."

Not heroes? That was it. Millie was through. She barely knew this guy and she could already tell she didn't like him. She flipped a knife from her pocket, the blade sliding open, then lightly tossed it into the air to catch it by the blade, waving the handle at Ace. "You listen here, mister. If it wasn't for us the Kishin Eggs would run wild and kill everybody. We aren't killers, we ARE heroes. A necessary force to keep things in balance. I don't want to hear any more of that crap." She said, actually raising her voice for once.

Afterwords, Millie took a quick breath, but allowed no time for a response. "Now, you're right, I'm not graceful. That isn't my style. I'm a brawler. But there's more than one way to use a weapon, and I'm going to show you. I'll be the most capable meister you've ever had, you'll see." That was... if she could get herself to kill it. She was a little nervous about that... She had a hard time killing bugs. If it looked like a person, what was she to do...?

Ace sighed. He didn't care how his partner felt about him, but he also didn't like the idea of having a heads and a tails on the same side of a coin. "I never said we weren't necessary, or that what we're doing isn't for a good cause. I'm saying that you have this aggrandized fantasy about Shibusen. We don't rescue cats from trees, or get fame and attention. We slaughter people who have become monsters in a mercenary style. We don't run around protecting cities and thwarting villains like characters out of a book. People ask Death to send us somewhere to kill something so that we can afford to live and so that we can keep doing our jobs."

He put his hand on top of the knife handle. "Now quit flinging that thing around. You're gonna poke somebody's eye out. And given how much of a firecracker you are, it'll probably be me." It was a while before Ace decided they were close enough to gather their things, and he began heading back to their room.

"Come on. We'll get our stuff and get off as soon as we can. Oh, and uh..." Ace extended a hand towards Millie. He didn't seem to have a change of heart, nor did he seem apologetic. More like he was expecting her to shake it because it was what she was supposed to do.

Millie was almost about to get steamed again, until he put his hand out. At this, she seemed to become instantly docile. She let out another, slightly less frustrated sigh, and took his hand. Closing the knife away into her pocket, she sped up her pace and passed him, intending to drag him along, it seemed.

"You're right. We shouldn't be fighting, we should get ready to go. After all, don't want to fail my first mission. Not that there was a chance of that anyways..." She stated as she continued her attempt(?) to pull him along. She was NOT going to let him go and walk away. Not a chance.

Ace was blatantly surprised at his partner's attempt at domineering him. Yeah, he was shocked she had the courage to do so, given how imposing he tends to be, but even more so by the fact that she was actually moving him. Then again, being forced by women to do things he didn't want to do happened... a lot more often than he would have liked. Of course, this was no excuse for the fact that he'd tried to offer a gesture on behalf of his better conscience, and she had rudely ignored it.

It wasn't that he really cared too much about shaking hands with her, it was just that he felt as though it was improper that he hadn't done so when they met. He thought back to their moments in the Death Room together.

~"Lord Death, sir, I'm here as you requested. I gotta gear up for tomorrow though, so I'd like to keep this brief."

"Oh, Ace! Just in time! I hope you're fairing well. I still really think you should stay here in the dorms or move to an actual apartment. Rotten floor beams are a hazard y'know."

"Brief... sir.... please."

"Right, right!" The Shinigami waved one of his massive hands in the air dismissively, cheerfully overshadowing Ace's stoic air. "The reason I called you here is because of your performance as a weapon. As you know, all weapons are expected to gather a total of 99 corrupted souls and a single witch soul. Despite being a weapon at the academy for several years, you have failed to collect a single soul. Additionally, you have been through an exceptionally large amount of Meisters. A new record, probably. Now, I don't know whether it's because you don't get along with them, or you're just too dangerous of a weapon, given your.... eh... complications.... But I, regretfully need to enforce some remedial lessons on you! Eh... again..." The air was still, and Ace's head sank in grief.

"Please don't make me clean the library again..."

"No, no. Sid's still trying to fix things after you rearranged every book by order of publishing date. I won't make that mistake twice... Instead, I'm presenting you with a new partner! Since every single time you pick one out yourself, they either try to kill you, beg me for a new weapon, or quit their roles as Meisters altogether, I picked one out for you."

"You know I won't get along with a guy."

"Yes, Sylas has told me as such. You really are one of our most problematic students.... Almost as hazardous as Black Star. No, I think I've picked out the perfect match for you! Say hello to your new partner!" Lord Death gestured to the short, brown haired girl standing near him. Ace met her gaze and already had mixed feelings. The expression on her face didn't help.~

This short girl was Achilles 'Yarrow' Millefolium Schmidt, a young meister who'd put off finding a weapon partner. Meaning that she too was here against her will. Despite this she wore a big goofy grin across her face, and raised a hand as if to say hello. The flood of new information Lord Death had just presented her with durring his talk with Ace gave her a bit of worry, but she was going to try her best. If she had to use him, they had to get along, right?

"Nice to meet you, Ace." Millie said after being introduced. She intended to make a decent first impression. However, it seemed like she was trying a bit too hard. "My name's Achiles Millefolium Schmidt, but you can just call me Millie or Yarrow. I really look forward to working with you."

~Ace's expression was blank at first, then he scowled, scratching at the back of his head with an exhausted expression. "You've got to be kidding me. The perfect match? She looks like a goofball, probably hasn't even fought a Kishin before, and she's a shrimp! Not to mention, she's short too." He whined, poking at just about every edge he could. Normally his partners were either a lot more professional or a lot more forceful, but this girl was trying to be his friend. Not something he needed out of his partner.

"Now, that's just about enough out of you, Mister Toromaki. I'll have you know that Millie here is a very qualified candidate to be your Meister, wavelength and all. However, you might have some problems with him, Millie. He's too big of a dog for the leash that you seem to hold, so if you can't be firm and come to terms with him, he just might bite you. Whether or not he means to." Death seemed a tad more serious than usual. His metaphor was fitting in more ways than one, but there was something more to it. "Anyways, I'd like for you to take her with you on your mission tomorrow. You already planned on doing it alone, so even a partner you aren't familiar with should still be manageable for the two of you."

Ace held a hand over his eyes with a pained expression. "Please just tell me it's not that stupid cruise ship again. It's a mission, not a romantic getaway...." After their first interaction, the Weapon seemed to all but ignore his new partner.~

Millie gave a displeased scowl. "I'm right here, you know. You don't have to be mean.." It was hard to be happy about a new weapon when they blatantly insulted you. She had no control over her height. Besides... She had too fought a Kishin Egg before... Once. When she was ten. Did that even count as a fight? It was more like she challanged it and it just kinda kicked her away... Whatever. She'd gotten stronger since then. There was no way she'd lose now.

Lord Death was right though. Millie couldn't be easy-going with someone like Ace. He'd walk all over her. She had to stand her ground. Just because he was bigger and older didn't mean she needed to be afraid of him, right? She just needed to be bold. If she could do that, there was no way Ace wouldn't want her as a meister. Still... She didn't want to offend him... It'd be hard to resonate if they didn't get along. That wouldn't be good...

~"You don't like that ship? I think it's important for a team to relax and do some bonding before a mission. Good for the soul!" Death pumped a fist to make his point, but Ace simply ignored it and began walking away. He was not planning on putting up with this little episode any longer than he had to.

"Just be ready tomorrow morning. If the boat comes and you aren't there, I'm going without you." Lord Death only sighed and looked at the boy as he walked off, not quite sure how to deal with him. Instead of calling him back, the Shinigami merely focused his attention on Millie.

"Eh... Miss Schmidt, a moment if you will? There are a few more thing you should know about your partner before you two have to fight together. A few things I'd rather not discuss in front of him..." To emphasize the secrecy of their conversation, Death held up a hand in a whispering motion towards Millie.~

Millie would have tried to catch up to Ace, had Lord Death not stopped her. "Oh, of course, sir. What is it...?" She answered, leaning towards him casually. Ace had some kind of secret that she wasn't supposed to know? That was interesting. It must be a little important if Lord Death was bothering to tell her. Not that it mattered. It wasn't her choice to work with him, so she had to.

~The Shinigami narrowed his eyes and spoke in a less upbeat tone than his usual cheery demeanor. "I speak for his ally and enemy alike when I say this; Ace is a dangerous card. For several reasons. The first being that he's simply a skilled fighter, as a weapon or not, but that isn't really the point. I'm sure I've explained the comparison of a Meister and Weapon to a guitar and an amp to you, right? Well, imagine if your wavelength were a guitar, you would plug the guitar into an amp designed for a guitar, correct? Instead, let's suppose your amp wasn't designed to suit a guitar, but rather a violin. The volume, or the strength of your wavelength, would be just as great, but there would be discord and it would sound scratchy. This seems to be Ace's problem with all his Meisters. He's always been capable of providing the strength that his partners need, but he's never really been in sync with them. Obviously his personality is a strong contribution to this, however even with partners he gets along with, or partners that can hold his reigns--a rare thing, but it does happen--there's a strong discord in their resonance." Death scratched at his head for a moment as if he were trying to decide whether or not to actually tell Millie the information dancing on his tongue.

"The reason for this is... well... Ace, your new partner, may be transforming into a Kishin Egg."~

A Kishin Egg...? Him...? He didn't look like a monster... "Are you sure...? You're Lord Death... Wouldn't you know just by looking at him...?" She questioned quietly, rather curious as to what Lord Death meant by he may be becoming a Kishin Egg. Weren't they going on this mission to get Ace Kishin Egg souls? It was pointless if he was one himself...

~"Well, Millie. Ace has had his own personal issues long before he came to my academy. But, he's always stayed on the straight path. He's never taken an innocent life on purpose, and he's also never seemed consumed with any of the emotions that typically make a Kishin Egg. Even grief or revenge, which I suspect most normal people would have been overcome with at this point. That boy has an impressive willpower, though at his very core he seems to be broken. Sometimes he goes into fits of Madness that we have trouble breaking him from. Usually knocking him out does the job, but there was a rather concerning occurrence several months ago." The masked figure turned to look into a distant vision only he could see.

"He and several other students were kidnapped by a crazed professor. The motives for the kidnapping were unclear, but when the students had broken free from their captivity with the assistance of a rescue team, Ace transformed into what we had indeed believed to be a Kishin Egg at the time. Horns even sprouted from his head!" Lord Death held up two fingers next to his mask to prove his point.

"We had Stein look into it, but he vanished the day he recovered from the incident. Even now, we aren't sure where he went. I haven't found the need to question him on his private affairs. Now that he's returned, though, there's no useful evidence of what had happened, so Stein can't make any conclusions about what happened. All we can say for sure is that he's incredibly unstable. Which is exactly why I want you to look after him. If he does begin to misbehave, I'll leave it up to you to set him straight. The straighter the line he walks, the less risk we have of him becoming an unnecessary adversary, rather than a useful ally. Of course, given the situation, you do have every right to refuse this partnership. I'm sure Ace would be indifferent no matter what I told him, so you don't have to worry about hurting his feelings, but I truly do believe you are the right person for the job."~

Millie took a moment to process all the information given to her. There was no way she was letting Ace become a Dark Weapon. Being a hero meant that if she could stop someone from becoming evil, she had to. "I'll do it. I'll keep him on our side, don't worry." She finally stated, tapping her foot on the ground in anticipation. This was just what she needed. A high stakes challenge where defeat held more than a few bruises. Ace was her weapon now, like it or not, and he was going nowhere. He couldn't be evil.

"Ugh, if you're just gonna drag me along the deck, you could at least carry me in my weapon form...." Ace pouted. He wasn't going to bother resisting. He'd shake free, then what? Continue walking in the direction she was dragging him in anyways? That was a surefire way to make a statement. "At least you're determined to do the mission. I just hope you don't chicken out in the face of danger. If you think you're gonna prove yourself to me or something, guess again. I've had enough meisters to where I've pretty much met just about every kind of person you can think of. If you wanna act tough, fine, but until I see that you're not just some incompetent kid, I'm going to regard you as one."

Millie shrugged. "If you don't wanna walk, transform. It'd let me get a feel for you anyways." Whether she drug gum by the arm, or carried him as a kusariwhatever, he'd get back to the room, so she might as well, right? "I'm not going to chicken out, don't you worry about me." She almost sounded offemded when she responded. Almost. Who was he to think she'd be afraid? After all, it wasn't like she was some little kid anymore... Not like the first time. She was stronger now, and she'd show it.

Ace grumbled to himself and transformed into his weapon from in a flash of light, his grip resting stiffly in her hand. It wasn't like a normal Weapon, that gently molded themselves to fit the hands of their Meister. The handle was foreign, and the chain cold with an almost-brooding hum. At the very least, Ace's wavelength didn't instinctively attack Millie's like it did to some.

"Alright, we already know the target is somewhere on this island. We have no reason to gather information from the locals, so just head straight through the tree line and try to find it. You know how to locate Souls with your Wavelength?" Ace peered up at his forced partner from within his blade, arms crossed.

Millie held the weapon in her hands, weighing it casually before looking to Ace in the blade. "With my wavelength? If you mean Soul Perception, it doesn't run in my family, no." She replied, turning to head for the boat's side. If the boat was docked or pulling into the dock at the moment, Millie would jump the side for the dock and make a casual walk towards the trees when she landed.

"You're walking?" Ace complained some more. "Just as I said to Death, we're on a mission, not a date, so now's not the time for a leisurely stroll through the island forest. Also, can you use any abilities? Soul Perception, I guess, isn't something I should expect from a second-rate Meister, but you should at least be capable of something."

Millie let out an agitated sigh. "Soul Perception isn't something you can learn. You have it or you don't. I fight, and I don't stay down. If I learn an ability along the way, fine, but for now I don't need them. As for walking, unless you're going to call for a cab to drive us through the woods I suggest you stop complaining and let me do what we came here to do. I'm glad you're so invested in my capabilities as a meister, but if you're just going to question everything about me, I'll go kill it myself." She replied, sounding rather agitated. Something was on her mind, and she was definitely not happy with whatever it was.

"Okay," Ace sighed. "you know what, fine. I won't give you a hard time just because I don't think you're suited to wield me. I'll give you a chance to prove yourself to me, but I'm not forgiving any mistakes. Like I said on the boat, this is a real mission."

Millie shrugged. "Sounds fair enough. I'll just have to make no mistakes." Easier said than done. She often relied on tactical recklessness in training matches, but something told her this wouldn't fly with Ace. She didn't have a ton of grace, but she was already considering ways to use this kusari-whatever. The chain added a lot of uses for the shortened scythe-thing. It'd be interesting to figure out, but she was fairly confident she could use it. She tossed it up and down a few times in her hand, trying to get a feel for it's weight.

A single eye narrowed from the ball-weight at the end of the chain. "I'm a weapon not a tennis racket. I'd appreciate being handled firmly, and not tossed around like some toy." The comment was less volatile than most of Ace's complaints were, though it still was far from a friendly jest. "Anyways, I hope we find this thing soon. I don't plan on staying over night on this island. Gives me a bad feeling being here..."