The Lion meets his Light.

Leo blew it. Big time. In a top ten list of biggest mistakes, this would be by trying to ignore training to wanting to interview the mayor of the city by going through the sewers. And that almost worked. And it was hilarious to see his mom's reaction. And he got some good praise from his dads, even if one of them wasn't his dad at the time. But, this was going to be a bit more painful then both of those things. Mentally, not physically......Yeah, physically it would hurt a bit, but mostly mentally.

Leo: Hey, don't tug on the scarf. Now, sit down or I am so going to put you on a high shelf Susie.

Susie: Okay!~

The young girl sat down a bright red carpet in the corner. Not just any corner though, since this room was circular. And a library....At the DWMA! Yes, the DWMA was hosting a kids reading appreciation event that day. And the head librarian decided that since Leo was always in there reading and loved to read, he would be the perfect candidate to read some stories to the young lads and lasses.

Great for a guy who didn't really like talking with other people. It also didn't help that Leo was not having a good time keeping these kids under control. They were all wild and running around excitedly, mainly because most of them were just really excited to be at the DWMA and were pretending to be meisters or weapons. While a lot of the students were trying to keep them under control, Leo was laughing. He knew better then to stop kids like this. Let them use all of this pent up energy first, then get on with it. He even encouraged it a bit, mainly because some of the students were pretending to be him.

Akari was late for her job. She was supposed to be helping this other guy watch children at the library at the DWMA today. She had volunteered to do it on her own, but had been denied that access. She wasn't sure how she felt about watching kids with some random guy, but she wanted to be with the children, therefore she would do whatever she needed to do so that she could do so.

She was currently running to the DWMA from her apartment as quickly as she could, her sneakered feet patting on the ground. She was wearing a pleated skirt with a white button-up blouse and red tie, along with low socks and white tennis shoes. All in all, she hoped she looked well put-together. She wanted to look more mature for the kids, so they felt like they had an adult to look up to. After all, she was a mother, technically. She didn't like thinking about that, but in reality, she had a baby. It was just with her in spirit.

She hurried inside and ran down to the library, her short hair a wreck as she shook her head like a dog. It somehow fell into place rather well, for how bad it looked when she first came in. The redhead walked over, pretending not to be out of breath, and looked at the kids with a small smile. The kids were running around wildly, and the guy she assumed was the one who was going to help watch them looked completely baffled. She laughed a bit and hummed softly, thinking on what she was going to do. She ended up with her hands on her hips and was standing on a table to address the children below.

"All right, quiet down!" she called in a loud voice, her dark eyes sharp as she regarded the wild kids. "Let's all sit down so that we can hear our story. I promise all of you that I personally will play with you afterwards, but for now, please calm down. We're in a library, so you have to be quiet." At this point, she dropped her voice to a whisper to tell them all how serious it was. They had miraculously listened and were sitting in the floor, though some were still giggling. She then hopped off the table and went to go sit in the middle of the group of kids, looking up at Leo with a smile. "Well, get on with it, then. They want a story."

Leo: Well, after you worked so hard to get them to sit, how can I say?

As soon as Akari walked into the door, Leo had started to take some mental notes about her. The wild hair a small bit of panting of breathe. Yeah, she definitely ran here from her house. Also, she must be pretty athletic to not be passed out on the top of the stairs right now since most people do that. She's a bit young looking, around 16 or so. She dawned a typical school uniform, and even had a red tie to wrap it all up.

Watching her get on the table and yell at the kids was also pretty interesting. She was a natural with kids, a lot better then Leo. Or was he just too lazy to actually try and get the kids to sit.....Eh, probably a bit of both. Though, her patience seemed to be limited, even more so with Leo then the kids. That may be a bit expected though, as Leo didn't actually do anything to help out.

Except for now, of course. He pulled off the first book in a small pile and began reading to the children. He started with a couple of Dr. Seuss books, mainly The Cat in the Hat and The Lorax. After those two, he pulled out a small brown book from his pocket. The cover was rather hard looking, even if some of it was falling off and it looked pretty old. The kids didn't seem to mind though, as Leo started to read a couple of stories from the book, which was actually pretty big pagewise. But none of that mattered to those wee litter whippersnappers sitting down, they only cared about the fairy tales being read to them. He really got into these stories, making dumb stupid voices for everyone, usually making the hero sound like Buzz Lightyear. The villains voices all changed, since they were all different, though they all had a stereotypical villanish voice.

Akari smiled slightly as she listened to him read. It seemed like this guy was also a natural with kids. She started to study him as he read, since she wasn't incredibly interested with any of the stories. He looked to be pretty strong, and tall, and she tried to place where she had seen him before. The realization hit her quickly. This was that one Meister, Leo something or other, right? She gave a shudder at his name. Leo = lion. Lion = cat. Cat = evil. She rolled her eyes slightly with a small sigh and looked at the kids again.

As she was getting pretty bored, she busied herself with playing with one little girl's hair. It was much longer than hers and just as soft, but a shade of perfect gold. She smiled warmly and continued to stroke her pale hair, humming quietly. She wasn't surprised when a younger child moved over to get into her lap to be petted so he could sleep. She held him close, humming gently as she closed her own eyes. Yes, she was still awake and yes, she was still listening to the stories. But one could only be so interested, as this was getting pretty dull and she was ready for it to be over.

She jumped a bit when a child tapped her on the shoulder. It was a boy, around six years old, who looked a bit frantic and red faced. He was holding himself between his legs, and Akari chuckled slightly as she got to her feet and cleared her throat. "Excuse me," she said in a gentle tone to Leo, not wanting to wake the sleeping child she was holding. "I think I should take a few of these little munchkins to the potty or we'll have a mess to clean up. Do you want to go with me to help? You can take the boys and I'll take the girls."

Leo tucked the book safely into his pocket, the got up. Some of the kids so show no signs of having to go, but there were others that obviously did. Plus, it was good to get them to run around a bit and release a bit of pent up energy. He nodded at the girl, then gave a small gesture as a group of kids stood up and marched along right behind Leo as he headed to the bathroom.

It kind of stunk that she interrupted him like that. Although, unlike most cases of him being interrupted like that, this one did not bug him as much since it was for the cause of not cleaning up pee. So Leo stopped at the bathrooms and they all ran into their respective potty rooms.

He leaned up against a wall as he waited for them to finish, pulling out a red book with a pencil in it. It was about the same size as the brown book though this was in better shape. He held it up high enough so no one would have an easy time reading it as he started to write in it about the day so far and the kids reading event. He wrote helper girl in it as well, followed by some notes about her physical appearance and what he has gathered about her so far.

Akari carried the little kid with her and woke her up so that she could go to the bathroom as well. She stretched with a small yawn, glancing over at Leo with a small smile as she walked over. She noticed that he had a notebook with him, and was naturally curious, but she didn't want to pry too much in case he was the type of person that that bothered. So, she figured she could just go ask.

She walked over to stand beside him, tilting her head and turning her dark eyes up toward him. "Hi, there. Can I ask what you're doing?" she asked, smiling slightly. "I'm sorry I interrupted you earlier, but I figured that it was better than the little ones having an accident. Sorry," she repeated with a cheeky little grin that suggested she wasn't as sorry as she seemed.

"I liked the way you were reading to them. I don't think I could've done any of those voices. They all seemed to be enjoying it." She extended a hand toward him, not sure if she should expect him to put down his pen to shake it. "I'm Akari Nanase. I go to school here as a Weapon. What's your name?" she asked, tilting her head and letting some of her hair fall over her eye.

Well, this girl seemed to be a bit of a talker. Better make that note.....Now that he added that note, he took her hand in his own and gave her a firm handshake.

Leo: Leo Thooft, Meister. Thanks for enjoying my voices, I just do them, not really sure how. I don't mind that you did interrupt, it was for a good reason. Next time you say sorry and don't mean it, a cheeky little grin will say otherwise, so be careful. And I am making a couple of notes in my little book.

He closed the book and pulled his scarf up a bit and his shirt down. He put his book in his pocket, then pulled at his gloves and watched the door open as some kids started to gather out. After a bit, they small peeps were done doing their business, and Leo motioned for Akari to start walking back.

It didn't take too much longer for them to completely finish and the parents to come back to get their kids. A bit of wistful sadness appeared on Akari's face as she handed over the child in her arms to her mother. She waved them all off with a small smile and sighed, sitting down in a nearby chair.

"What was harder than I thought it would be," she remarked, leaning back and stretching with a wide yawn. "I'm hungry now," she said to herself, getting back up to her feet and straightening her shoes on her feet, looking around for Leo. She wanted to talk to him, as she had heard that he didn't have a Weapon yet. She wasn't too keen on this specific Meister, but she figured she may as well try. It couldn't hurt, and besides. They probably wouldn't even resonate anyway, would they? What were the odds, after this whole year, that this would be the very Meister she was supposed to have? She just thought it was a bit too farfetched.

After Leo finished reading for the wee little tots, it was about time for him to clean up.....Most of it was from him just grabbing random books to see if they were good, but that's not the point. The point was he needed something to read for the next day or two. So, he was going around putting his books away and getting new ones and throwing them on the table. It was a pretty disorganized process, but hey, it wasn't that bad. Besides, it was fun to ride along on the wheeled ladders.

He waved goodbye to some of the kids as he looked, knowing some of them as neighbors. He also looked at Akari looking back and forth, a bit frantically. What she wanted was beyond him, but this is a library and his second home, he was pretty good at helping others. So, he called to her on the ladder.

Leo: Hey Akari, you looking for something?

Akari looked up in surprise when she heard his voice, turning around to see him on top of a ladder. It took her a moment or two to speak, and she crossed her arms in slight annoyance. How had she not thought to look up? For a moment she got angry with Leo, but quickly extinguished that flame. She reminded herself that that was silly and he hadn't done a thing wrong, but then she was back to being mad at herself again.

"Yes. I was looking for you." Her tone was clipped, like she was upset about something, but that didn't last for long. "I was just wondering. Do you have a Weapon partner yet?" she asked in a much more pleasant tone, tilting her head and blinking up at him with a small smile and round amber eyes.

Leo: Do I have a partner?

Oh, someone was asking him to be his weapon. What with the pleasant tone that seemed a bit too enthusiastic. So, there was someone desperate enough to ask him. Or someone to put up with his laziness. One of the two. Well, that didn't matter for now. Though, a quick note, she seemed to be quick to anger. He walked over to her and started examining her.

Leo: Hmm.... We can give it a test run.

He walked over and grabbed his books that he wanted to keep, then went to check them out.

Akari smiled brightly when he said they could try each other out. She wasn't honestly too excited about it, since none of the people she'd tried resonating with before had been able to handle her. With a small skip in her step, she followed him, folding her hands behind her back and humming.

"Boy, you sure do like books," she remarked with a grin, looking genuinely happy. To be truthful, she was wanting the kids to be there still. She wasn't finding this as entertaining or as fun as when they were there, but of course she was going to put up with him. At least for as long as this resonating thing took.

(( Short, sorry. ))

Leo: Yes, my step-dad got me into reading a long time ago. Around 8 or so. After I got into it, I was pretty much reading all the time. Not much has changed from then.

He continued to walk, holding his books close to him. She didn't sound too excited to be with Leo. She was probably wanting someone more interesting. Whatever, doesn't matter. For now, there was a book that needed to be read. So, he opened up the first book and started to read it. As he walked, he easily walked around the people next to him, using his soul perception to dodge the people.

Akari was bumping into people, and she was using her eyes for seeing. She was just a bit careless, and she got several bad looks from it. Not that she cared. After all, she had never been one to care too much about what others thought of her, and that hadn't changed.

Once they got outside, she reached out her hand toward his. "I'm a gauntlet. I go on whichever hand you're more comfortable with," she explained, waiting on him to take her hand. Now that she was out there, she had to admit, she was pretty excited. She couldn't help it. This was the first time in a long time she'd ever tried to resonate with someone, and while she found Leo quite a bit dull, she was enticed by him, and was beginning to think they might have a chance.

He turned his head a bit to see her holding her hand out to him. Human interaction. This was human interaction! Abandon ship Leo! Abandon this ship right now! Interacting with humans will equal to many bad things Leo, remember that! You run the risk of your past being found out or make you clean your house. Actually that is not that bad.

But, this girl didn't seem too interested in Leo, which is usually the reaction he got from others. Eh, maybe this weapon will stick around for more then a couple of days. Although, a gauntlet weapon. Don't see too many of those around here, would be pretty interesting to use. For now, though, more info is needed on this whole gauntlet thing. So, he took her closed his book and took her hand, a small smile appearing from under his scarf.

Leo: A gauntlet, huh. Mind explaining what you can do in your weapon form then?

Akari took his hand and suddenly, in a flash of nearly blinding white light, appeared as a gauntlet of reddish brown metal. It fit like a glove, as she was equipped to fit perfectly to any size hand. "I can turn into a shield as well, but I mostly just enhance my Meister's natural abilities," she stated, feeling unnervingly... comfortable on him. She wasn't sure why, but her soul was at ease. This hadn't happened to her before, so she was worried at first, but then relaxed. Maybe this was the person her soul was supposed to resonate with. Hesitantly, she pressed further, trying to get a good feel for his soul.

This could work, this could really work.

Leo: So, I can have you on my off hand and use my sword with my main hand. If needed, we could have another weapon as well if the situation called for it. Wait, let me get this.

Leo concentrated a bit, and his soul matched perfectly with hers.

Leo: My dad was a meister, taught me a lot about using my soul. I'm good at syncing up my soul with others.

Akari jumped when she felt their souls resonate. She was very difficult to do so with, so it was impressive that he did it so quickly. It felt... right. It was perfect. So much different than anyone else she had tried up to this point. She looked up at him with round eyes, her reflection in the gauntlet on his hand.

"To be honest, I didn't think that was going to work," she said with a small, sheepish smile. "But I'm glad it did. And yes, you could use a sword with me and it would be a great combination." She hesitated before continuing, "Are you okay with this? I'll admit I was hoping for someone a little more... interesting than you, but honestly, I'm fine with it now."

Leo: I figured you didn't find me interesting. There would have been more questions if you did. Also, I'm surprised you want to try and make this work out. Most people don't even talk to me, or I don't talk to them. Anyway, I should probably tell you this now, though. I'm actually very weak to madness and the madness wavelength, meaning I could easily go insane and become a Kishin egg. If that happens, you need to kill me, got it?

Akari looked up at him with a small frown. "I wouldn't let you become a Kishin Egg," she said confidently. "I'm very resistant to madness. I could definitely help you calm down," she told him with a small smile, taking back her human form. "So, does this mean we're partners now?" she asked, tilting her head to the side with a small smile, her amber eyes bright and happy. She was clearly excited, since she hadn't found anyone to resonate with before.

Leo lowered his scarf down, showing her the radiant smile on his mouth. His eyes were pretty bright and oozed out excitement as the shined bright red. Yes, a weapon willing to stay. And a pretty dang cool weapon at that.

Leo: Yes, we can be partners, Akari. We going to stay in the same house then or live in separate houses?

Oh yeah, training. That was something that needed to be done....Probably.....Maybe.....Naw, they'll be fine. She didn't have a very complicated weapon form anyway, so that didn't really matter nor need training at all, did it.

Akari smiled a bit when she saw that he was smiling as well, and she relaxed slightly. Maybe this would be even easier than she thought. She was excited to finally have a Meister, since she wasn't an autonomous Weapon, and she could finally, finally get started on her way to becoming a Death Scythe.

When he asked if she wanted to live in the same house, she frowned a bit and her brows furrowed in thought. "Well, I mean, it's better for Weapon and Meister pairs to live in the same house, because then they learn more about each other and can resonate better. But whatever you're comfortable with is fine by me. Also, we need to think up a training regimen," she said thoughtfully. "We don't want to be caught off-guard by anything, and I want you to know how to use my weapon form perfectly."

Leo: Yeah, we can do that at my house. We are almost there.

Dang it. So close. Bound to happen in the end, anyway. Probably a good thing to train, given what her weapon form does. Wait, that does raise a good question though.

Leo: I don't mind if you stay at my house, I have a couple of extra rooms, though I need to get some better sheets. Also, do you also raise my physical abilities then in your weapon form?

Akari looked at him with a small smile. "I don't care about the sheets. I can go get my own stuff tomorrow," she told him, stretching and popping her shoulders. Then at his next question, she nodded. "Yes. I raise speed and strength," she told him. "Also, I have small, sharp spikes where your knuckles would be, so that would help as well. I think I'm a pretty cool Weapon," she bragged with a small smirk, walking down the steps. "Where do you live?"

Leo: Nice, very nice. Okay, that's good to know then. And it's not that far. My dad wanted a house that is very close by to the school. Makes it better since it's not that long of a walk, and with the stairs, that's probably a good thing. And yes, your weapon for is not only unique, it is also very awesome.

Good to see that this girl was proud of herself. Kind of like Leo, though his cockiness and laziness was stupid. And he knew this, but, reading was just so much better at times. He looked over, noting his house was near. It was a nice sized house, and it was red to match Leo's shirt, along with a yellow door.

Akari grinned brightly at the awesome comment and walked into the house like she owned the place. Immediately, she recoiled at the mess. Her eyes bugged out of her head and she just froze, her lips parted as she took in all the dirtiness of the place.

"This will not work," she said firmly, crossing her arms. "Your house is absolutely filthy and I will not stand for it." She moved over to first go to the kitchen and clean up there. "Every dish in your house is dirty! You live in a pigsty!" she fussed, narrowing her eyes. "I have a lot of cleaning to do, so you just go over there and... I dunno, read a book or something."

Worth it. Being Lazy was worth it. That may have been the best reaction to his house Leo has ever seen. It was probably for the best that they cleaned up in there anyway, time to get out of this lazy funk. He walked over to the living room, then started cleaning up. He picked up a bunch of pizza boxes and Chinese food cartons, throwing them in giant trash bags.

After a while, the house was pretty clean, though it still needed a vacuum. Probably a dusting as well, the place was a bit dusty. Should probably go upstairs and get that.....

Akari finished and crossed her arms, looking at him. "Keeping a filthy house is gross, and while I'm here, your house will not be dirty," she said firmly, narrowing her eyes at him. "Now, I'm afraid to see what upstairs looks like," she stated as she started up the steps, making a face as the entered one of the bedrooms. "How can you live here?!" she demanded, putting her hands on her hips and turning to face him, narrowing her eyes sharply.

Leo gave a small shrug, not phased by the girl's disgust in his living style. Whoops. Do we tell the truth or is a different method needed....Probably go for the truth. That would be the best method.

Leo: I honestly don't. Most of the time I am out of the house, day and night. I am usually wandering down the street, sitting in the library, stuff like that. I really only live here for a small while. Maybe a meal or two a week, about a couple of hours of sleep, the usual for me since I have insomnia. And I feel a mixture of being cramped and alone here, and I am lazy.

Akari frowned at his explanation and shook her head. "Well, still. I can definitely help you. Yep, now that I'm here, you have nothing to fear!" she said brightly as she quickly cleaned one of the bedrooms spotless for her to sleep in. She patted her hands together to rid them of dust and then looked for Leo's bedroom, wanting that to be just as clean as the rest of the house. Still, she was slightly worried about how bad it'd be. She hated messiness so badly.

"And did you say you only ate one or two meals a week?" she asked, looking very concerned.