Edit 08/09/11: Inserting disclaimer: I have no idea how I forgot to mention this, but I hold no claims to Soul Eater or whatever else I might have mentioned.

Acquired Taste

Chapter 1: Beware the Pineapple Box

A/N: It sucks, it sucks, it SUCKS.

Maka preferred cats.

They were quiet, independent, and could fend for themselves.

Dogs, on the other hand, were pathetic creatures. They were like new-born babies, always needing constant attention, always making messes, always having to show them affection, always having to tell them to shut the hell up when they barked too much. Maka would prefer just kicking them ruthlessly in the face.

However…

Maka sighed in irritation as her own ridiculous conscience betrayed her. She did a 180 back to the alleyway where the damp cardboard box had been abandoned, and peered un-easily in to its rectangular, stench-filled depths.

A puppy.

Shit.

It was shaking due to the rain and its damp white fur stuck to its quaking tiny body. Maka had barely given it a glance before she passed it. But no… 'the right thing to do' always attacked when you least expect it. She looked around, hoping some other poor soul would be responsible for this creature. Not a human in sight. Maka ticked off her mental list of positives and negatives.

Negatives:

It will smell, therefore stink up the entire apartment.

It is dirty and she will have to clean it.

It is probably not potty-trained, resulting in the above.

Pets aren't allowed in said apartment.

It's a fucking dog...

Now for the positives:

She will probably go to heaven for this.

She could eat it if she ever ran out of food (unlikely).

It would run away once it got better.

It could be someone else's dog; therefore, a reward for its return. (very unlikely)

Heaven did sound quite appealing, along with some extra cash.

"Ugh, I hate dogs." Maka groaned but picked up the cardboard box none the less. A small whimper escaped the creature though it refused to open its eyes.

Somewhere very far back in her twisted mind, Maka hoped it would die on the way back to the apartment. The rest of the trip back home was a torturous one. She fought the growing temptation to just throw the box over a gate or something. She kept telling herself it would die if she left it; not that that wasn't tempting as well.

"You want to go to heaven, you want to go to heaven," Maka muttered darkly to herself on her way up the winding staircase. "God is heaven really worth this? It better as hell be…"

She unlocked the door and paused. It was her last chance to dump this thing. There was a balcony only a couple feet away.. Not only that, there were balconies under and above it so no one would know who dropped the little monster. "The perfect plan..hmm."

Another thought struck her: if she was going to get rid of it now, what was the point of dirtying her coat to bring it all the way here?

"Ah, FUCK IT!" She kicked open the door. It groaned in protest before slamming against the wall. This startled the puppy. It gave a little jolt, but still wouldn't remove its tiny face from its curled position.

The apartment wasn't something to brag about. It had three rooms, a main room, a bed room (if you could call it that), and a bathroom. The bedroom was not usable at the moment and filled to the brim with books. The bathroom had a tiny shower that had hot water about half of the time (a plus Maka had not expected). Kitchen appliances were rammed to a corner and a squashy couch dominated most of the room. A retro lamp stood next to it.

Home.

"Alright, stink puff." Maka sighed, placing the box on the two person dining table. She clanged around in the bathroom till she found a small bin and filled it with semi-hot water. She eased the puppy out of the box. It had no collar meaning it was a stray. Well there blows the cash theory. Its white fur was damp but Maka could tell it was naturally soft. She grimaced at its puppy nose dripping with snot. Otherwise, it was kind of cute. As if feeling her scrutiny, the creature opened its eyes.

Maka gasped. They were blood red.

"Oh no," she suddenly groaned, "It's a demon dog. So much for going to heaven.."

IT sat alert on the arm rest of HER couch.

It looked quite dignified for being found in a pineapple box. Maka actually liked pineapples... until now. Every now and then she'd look up from her book to glare at the dog. Normally she would ignore it, like she did all things she didn't give a shit about. But oh no, this dog just had to push her limits.

It would not stop staring at her. More like glaring. Maka still wasn't quite used to its unnerving red eyes and almost threw her book at the beast in her irritation, when the doorbell rang. An instant growl came from the other end of the couch and Maka glared daggers at the little ball of fur. Said fur was bristling and looked quite comical. Maka would have laughed if she wasn't in such a bad mood.

"Just shut up and play dead or something," she muttered and went to the door. It wasn't usual that she got visitors so she was curious. Opening the door revealed a tall girl around Maka's age. She wore a nondescript tan dress and her raven black hair was tied in a ponytail.

Damn it. Boobs.

"Can I help you?" Maka put on her polite face. Her polite face being blank and to the point. She didn't like warming up to people.

"Hello I'm Tsubaki." the girl smiled gently. Maka blinked, she was...nice. Her dark blue eyes were warm and her smile lit up the entire hallway though it was still raining. "I'll be moving in down the hall and thought I'd introduce myself."

"Uh... right." Maka was at a loss. People did that? When she had moved in she had made it a point to avoid any living creature in this complex. "Nice to meet you." she shook Tsubaki's offered hand.

"My um… friend Black Star is here as well but he's sleeping," she laughed nervously, "I apologize if you hear any yelling coming from our room. He's.. eccentric.."

God bless noise-cancelling earphones.

"No problem," Maka said, glancing behind her when she heard another growl, "If you need anything just let me know." she added the last part hesitantly. Hopefully that time would never come. Though she did seem okay.

"Thank you very much, have a nice day."

"Yeah. Bye." Slam.

"So there are that kind of people out there," Maka muttered to herself, she turned back to IT, "You."

Maka's eyes narrowed when it snarled in reply, "Keep that up and I really will eat you."

A deeper growl this time. It glared at her from the arm rest. Maka huffed, putting her hands on her hips, "What am I doing? I'm talking to a dog.."

She shook off that skitzo feeling and went to go make dinner. The mini-fridge hummed to life and Maka shivered as the cold wafted out of the compartment. Inside was the usual. There were leftovers from the deli down the street, two jugs of almost expired milk (she would probably be having cereal for a couple of days), apples, and a carton of eggs.

Huh..why not.

The pan sizzled to life over the fire while Maka put the oil away. She ignored the dog that watched cautiously from it's "throne" a.k.a. sofa arm rest.

Maka quickly mixed two eggs in a small bowl with a metal fork before pouring the batter in. She used to eat eggs sunny side up; that is, until she read an article on how it was bad for your stomach. She couldn't afford to get sick. Literally.

She threw another wary glance at the dog out of habit. Maybe it was hungry?

Bah. She's not feeding that thing. It would probably just bite her hand and give her rabies. Still.. She roughly placed a paper plate on the floor. It contained the cold meats from an old sandwich.

"Enjoy," she said monotonously before sitting down to dig in to her own meal. As she ate, she pondered the soiled pineapple box still sitting on the table in front of her.

Pineapples burn your tongue 50% of the time. Sprinkling some salt on them helps but then you lose the sweet flavor. Such a dilemma...

She should probably get rid of the box that had housed her bundle of misery. Said box seemed to answer by radiating the stench of wet dog and rotten fruit-

and the dog was still staring at her!

She swallowed her food before informing the monster, "I want you to know, I'm an atheist half the time."

Silence, as if it was waiting for a response.

"The other half," her eyes flashed dangerously with a hint of sarcasm, "I'm an exorcist."

She could have sworn it rolled its eyes at her, she blamed the skitzo feeling again and sighed. At least it stopped staring at her and proceeded to hop off the arm rest to explore its new environment.

One dinner and a bathroom break later Maka found herself hauling the box out of her apartment. She had just set her arm back to viciously chuck the cardboard off the balcony in the hallway when a small trinket caught her eye.

"Huh?"

She plucked the collar from its small corner of the box, wedged between two flaps bent inwards. "Soul...Eater?"

Maka pondered this for a couple seconds as the rain began to lighten up, "What kind of shitty demon name is that?"

+Maka's a little rough around the edges, so I guess she's out of character?

+Can't say I didn't warn you about fruit carriers.

+I strongly doubt I will have enough attention span to finish a multi-chapter story, so guidance to as where this story leads would be humbly appreciated.

+Despite stereotypical judgment, I like dogs. Still, cats are better. Which do you prefer?