Shinigami-sama summons the strongest weapons from around the world to contain the rogue kishin & the spread of his madness. As these powerful weapons strategize for what will be the most difficult battle of their lives the students of DWMA try to get back to their normal lives as best they can. For Maka adjusting to the dangerous times is nothing compared to Cronas struggle to adjust to life as a DWMA student! ...

Maka & Soul are given a remedial assignment to take the soul of Dr. Franken Stein-who happens to be the most powerful meister to ever graduate from Death Weapon Meister Academy. Needless to say this assignment turns out to be more than they were expecting. In the middle of the fight Maka learns how to see someones soul-and sees for herself just how powerful Dr. Steins soul is. It scares her so much that she freezes up. Luckily for her the whole thing is just a set-up as part of the assignment & Dr. Stein decides to pass them. Things seem to be back to normal when a more dangerous enemy emerges-and this time its not a test. Named Crona he carries the demon sword Ragnarok whose attacks are accompanied by grotesque ear-piercing screams. But Crona is merely a puppet of the witch Medusa who is trying to manipulate him into becoming something called a Kishin." Shinigami-sama sends Dr. Stein & Death Scythe to make sure that that doesnt happen." ...

When B.J. is murdered while investigating the suspected mole at DWMA all the evidence seems to point to Stein. But however much his grip on reality is slipping due to the effects of his madness Stein can hardly believe that he would commit such a heinous crime
- & his fellow DWMA instructors agree. Stein is allowed to escape with Maire in the hope that they will be able to capture B.J.s true killer before he or she strikes again...
...

Black Star & Death the Kid go on a mission to find the legendary sword Excalibur. They find it but it's so rude they decide to go without the glory rather than be shackled with it. Then Tsubaki & Black Star go off on a mission too
- to find & kill the spirit sword Masamune before he becomes a Kishin. For Tsubaki this is personal because Masamune is her brother so she feels it is her responsibility to fight him herself. Tsubaki & Masamune are part of a clan where the oldest inherits the abilities of their ancestors. Those abilities should have gone to Masamune but they went to Tsubaki instead. Masamune decides his only choice is to become a Kishin but after a long & difficult battle Tsubaki puts an end to his plans. Meanwhile still recovering from his injuries in the fight with Chrona & Ragnarok Soul keeps having the same strange dream in which a little ogre tries to convince him that he should seek enough power that he can just forget any fears he might have. Medusa takes the dreams as a sign that Ragnarok's black blood is having an effect on Soul. She decides she wants to test him.
...

This volume starts off with an immortal Wolf-Man with a demon eye being broken out of the witch jail by Medusa. It is the start of an experiment to test Maka & Soul. Meanwhile Maka asks Dr. Stein for special training so she can become strong. He agrees but tells her it is very dangerous
- She & Soul could end up never being able to get their soul wavelengths to match up ever again. Maka decides to do it anyway. She & Soul argue over it. Maka wins out & they go to London (along with Black Star & Tsubaki) for the assignment. There she fights the Wolf-Man & the worst happens
- She & Soul lose their compatibility. Maka can't even hold Soul any more. But through sheer determination she & Soul manage to resonate again. Medusa watches the whole thing observing the effect of the 'black blood' in Soul & Maka.

...

As Maka & a team of DWMA students slip into Baba Yaga Castle in the guise of Arachnophobian guards Black Star opts for his usual style of entrance: loud & without a trace of subtlety. But although Black Star doesn't seem to have changed much on the outside inwardly he has at last found the way to harness the true power of the Uncanny Sword. & that means he's ready to test his blade in a round three rematch against swordsman Mifune. Will Black Star's transformation be enough? Or will he once again find himself at the mercy of the great samurai? ...

When BREW activates in the middle of his battle with Mosquito Death the Kids soul wavelength is amplified immeasurably. But once Mosquito has recovered from the shock of realizing the DWMA has had the real demon tool all along he redoubles his efforts to destroy the young shinigami once & for all! Will the power BREW has awakened within Kid be enought for him to defeat Mosquitos deadliest form?! ...

Alice Forster regularly talks with her dead sister Meggie in the virtual world of Soul Beach
- an online paradise where dead teenagers
...

Soul Food" is a feast of thoughtful poems to stir the mind & feed the spirit. Drawn from many traditions ranging from Rumi Kabir & Blake to Rilke Emily Dickinson & Paul Celan this wide-ranging selection

Includes:: enormously varied work by celebrated contemporary poets such as Jane Hirshfield Denise Levertov Thomas Merton & Mary Oliver as well as by many lesser-known writers from all periods & places. The anthology opens with a series of poems on human life & spiritual sustenance starting with Rumi: ' This being human is a guest house./ Each morning a new arrival...'. The poems which follow explore many ways of keeping body & soul together offering food for thought on knowing yourself living with nature who or what is God... All are universal illuminations of the meaning of life speaking to readers of all faiths as well as to searchers & non-believers. " Soul Food" shows how poetry can help feed our hunger for meaning in times of spiritual starvation."

...

Other children get given xylophones. Susan just had to ask her grandfather to take his vest off. Yes. Theres a Death in the family. Its hard to grow up normally when Grandfather rides a white horse & wields a scythe
- especially when you have to take over the family business & everyone mistakes you for the Tooth Fairy. & especially when you have to face the new & addictive music that has entered Discworld. Its lawless. It changes people. Its called Music With Rocks In. Its got a beat & you can dance to it but... Its alive. & it wont fade away.
...