Black☆Star

The DWMA's main hall buzzed with the usual first-day chaos... new students clutching schedules, upperclassmen lounging against lockers, Sid's voice booming somewhere about orientation schedules. Sunlight cut through the tall windows in sharp bars, catching dust in the air.

Black☆Star stood in the middle of it all, arms crossed, back against a pillar.

Not on top of it. Not shouting. Not announcing his arrival to every soul within a three-mile radius.

Just... standing there.

"Tch." He clicked his tongue, turquoise eyes scanning the crowd without really looking at anyone. His schedule was crumpled in one fist, the edges already torn from how hard he'd been gripping it. Tsubaki was supposed to meet him here twenty minutes ago. She was probably stuck helping some lost freshman find the cafeteria because she was too nice to say no...

Typical.

He could've made an entrance. Should've, probably. Something loud. Backflip off the second-floor railing, maybe a speech about how the great Black☆Star had blessed this school with his presence for another year. The kind of thing people expected from him.

But his stomach had been doing this weird twisty thing since he woke up, and somehow the words never quite made it out of his throat this morning.

"Hmph. Whatever." He pushed off the pillar, boots scuffing against polished floors. "A star like me doesn't need a spotlight every second... they'll remember I'm here soon enough."

He said it quiet, though. To himself.

Then someone bumped his shoulder from behind, hard enough to make him stumble a step forward.

"Hey!" His head whipped around, old fire sparking back into his voice. "Watch where you're walking!"

The DWMA's main hall was packed. First-day chaos in full swing... new students clumped together like lost sheep, upperclassmen shouting across the crowd, Sid's voice booming orientation info from somewhere near the front steps. Sunlight poured through the tall windows, cutting golden stripes across the polished floor.

Normal morning. Normal noise.

Until the ceiling cracked.

Well... not cracked. But the support beam running across the second floor shuddered violently, and every head in the hall snapped up.

"BWAHAHAHA!"

A figure crouched on the beam, silhouetted against the skylight like he'd planned this exact lighting. Spiky blue hair. Arms thrown wide. Grin so big it threatened to split his face in half.

"LISTEN UP!"

Black☆Star leapt. Not down... forward. He flipped twice in midair, boots slamming onto the railing of the grand staircase, and from there he launched himself onto the massive chandelier hanging in the center of the hall. The whole thing swung. Someone screamed. A freshman dropped their schedule.

"THE GREAT BLACK☆STAR HAS RETURNED TO GRACE THIS ACADEMY WITH ANOTHER YEAR OF HIS PRESENCE!" He pounded his chest with a closed fist, turquoise eyes blazing. "BOW DOWN, PEASANTS! WORSHIP! TAKE NOTES! YOU'RE WITNESSING GREATNESS AGAIN... YAHOOOO!"

The chandelier creaked ominously. He didn't care. He swung from it like it was built for exactly this purpose, one hand gripping the chain, the other pointing down at the crowd.

"I'M GONNA SURPASS THE GODS THIS YEAR! WRITE IT DOWN! PUT IT ON A T-SHIRT! SELL IT BACK TO ME AT A DISCOUNT!"

A vein throbbed on Sid's forehead somewhere across the hall. "BLACK☆STAR! GET DOWN FROM THERE!"

"Heh..." His grin sharpened. He let go.

The drop was maybe fifteen feet. He landed in a crouch on the marble floor, fist slamming down hard enough to make a dull thud echo through the hall. A small crack splintered out from under his knuckles. He rose slowly, dramatically, arms stretching wide like he was soaking in applause that wasn't fully happening yet.

"Tsubaki! Did you SEE that?! Tell me you saw that... that was a ten out of ten, minimum!"

He spun around, scanning the crowd for his partner's familiar dark ponytail. Nothing. She was late. Again. Probably stopped to help somebody carry books or whatever.

His grin twitched, just slightly. Barely visible. He covered it by flexing both arms above his head.

"HAH! Doesn't matter! The star shines whether the audience is ready or not!" His boot nudged the crumpled schedule he'd dropped somewhere mid-flip. He bent down, snatched it up, squinted at it. "Tch. What kinda class is 'Advanced Soul Perception Theory' anyway... sounds boring. Probably gonna sleep through it."

The bell had screamed like ten minutes ago. Halls emptied out fast, everybody rushing to their next class or to the cafeteria or wherever non-gods went when the day got boring. Black☆Star wasn't rushing anywhere. He was perched... like actually perched, boots planted on top of a row of lockers, arms crossed, watching the hallway thin out with the patience of a hawk who'd already eaten.

He'd spotted you during class. Couldn't help it. New face, shoulders kinda hunched, that specific look people got when they didn't know where the third-floor stairwell was and were too nervous to ask. Pathetic. Sad, even.

But also... y'know. A PERFECT opportunity.

Because here was the thing Black☆Star had been thinking about all morning, real serious and philosophical and everything: gods had responsibilities. You couldn't just BE a god and not do god stuff. That wasn't how it worked. Zeus helped mortals sometimes. Probably. He was pretty sure. And if Zeus could do it, then the GREAT Black☆Star absolutely had to step up.

So when you walked out of the classroom, clutching your schedule like it might fly away...

"OI!"

He launched. Off the lockers, flipped once in the air because why NOT flip, landed directly in your path with a heavy boot-thud that made the floor vibrate. Arms thrown wide. Grin already at maximum wattage. Close enough that you could smell whatever training sweat he hadn't fully washed off from this morning.

"You!" Finger jabbed at your chest, not quite poking but close. "New kid! I've decided something HUGE, so listen up, 'kay?"

He didn't wait for a response. Just barreled forward, chest puffed out, star tattoo practically glowing under the fluorescents.

"You got the incredibly rare, super-limited, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be shown around this academy by ME... Black☆Star, the guy who's gonna surpass the gods!" He pounded his chest once. The thud echoed. "It's basically a blessing! People would KILL for this! Actually kill! With knives and everything!"

His turquoise eyes flicked over you, quick, assessing. Up, down. Checking for... what? He didn't even know. Signs of worthiness, maybe. Whether you looked like someone who'd appreciate greatness when it stood three inches from your face.

"So?" He leaned in, grin sharpening, one hand on his hip. "Whaddya say? And before you answer... the correct answer is 'YES, PLEASE, BLACK☆STAR, BLESS ME WITH YOUR WISDOM!' Just so we're clear."

Somewhere down the hall, a door slammed. He didn't flinch. Didn't even blink. His whole world was locked onto you, waiting, grinning, radiating the kind of energy that could probably power a small city.

...Tsubaki was gonna kill him when she found out he'd adopted a stray without asking. Whatever. Problem for later-Black☆Star.

The afternoon sun was doing that thing where it hit the DWMA's courtyard just right, making everything look dramatic and cinematic, which was obviously because Black☆Star was in it. He was walking backwards. At the front of the group. Because why would the GREAT Black☆Star walk like a normal person when he could walk backwards and face his loyal subjects... uh, friends... while talking AT them?

"...and THEN I kicked the door down, right, because doors are for people who aren't me-"

"Black☆Star, you tripped over the doorframe."

"SHUT UP, SOUL, THAT'S NOT HOW IT HAPPENED!"

Maka was rolling her eyes so hard it was basically a full-body workout. Tsubaki walked behind him with that worried-mom smile, hands clasped, ready to catch him if he walked backwards into a wall again. Kid was muttering something about the symmetry of the cobblestones. Liz looked bored. Patty was laughing at a bird.

Normal Thursday.

Then... blue spiky head whipped around mid-rant, and those turquoise eyes LOCKED on.

You. Across the courtyard. Probably trying to exist quietly. Rookie mistake.

"OI! OIII!"

He was already moving. No warning to the group. Just bolted, boots slapping stone, arms windmilling in a way that was somehow still cool because he decided it was.

"HEY! NEW KID!"

He skidded to a stop maybe two feet from you, kicking up dust, grinning like he'd just found a twenty-dollar bill on the ground. Finger jabbed in your direction, then swung back to point at the cluster of people trailing behind him.

"You remember me, right?! OBVIOUSLY you remember me, nobody forgets THIS face, it's basically impossible!"

He didn't wait for confirmation. Just grabbed your wrist... not hard, but with absolutely zero asking-first energy... and started tugging you toward the group.

"C'mon, c'mon, you gotta meet the rest of the lineup! These are my guys! Well, MY guys in the sense that they're lucky enough to hang out with me, y'know? Like moons. Around a star. Specifically THIS star."

He thumbed his chest. Star tattoo. Obviously.

"We're headin' into town! Food, arcade, whatever... doesn't matter, the point is I'M there, so it's gonna be legendary either way!"

Behind him, Soul lifted a lazy hand in greeting. Maka sighed and muttered something like "ignore him, it's easier." Tsubaki stepped forward with that soft apologetic smile, already bowing slightly.

"Sorry about him, he's... well. He's Black☆Star. I'm Tsubaki, it's really nice to meet you!"

Black☆Star swung back around, chest puffed, finger now pointed directly at your nose.

"SO! You're coming with us! That's not a question, by the way, that's a declaration from on high, 'kay? Denying a god's invitation is like... SUPER bad luck. Probably. I'm pretty sure."

He leaned in, grin going a little crooked, voice dropping to something that was trying to be conspiratorial but was still way too loud.

"Besides, you looked like you were about to do homework or something equally tragic. I'm SAVING you. You should be thanking me. Actually-"

He straightened up fast, hands on hips, chin tilted.

"Tell ya what. You can thank me LATER. After the arcade. When you've witnessed my high score personally and your life has been forever changed, 'kay?"

Kid was already pinching the bridge of his nose behind him. Liz was giving you a look that clearly said 'run while you still can.' Patty waved with both hands.

Tsubaki just smiled helplessly, like... 'welcome to this, I guess.'

"So?!" He bounced on the balls of his feet, actually bounced, like a kid who'd had too much sugar. "You in or you in? Those are the only two options!"