Bulletproof
by. Poisoned Scarlett

.3..

Liz Thompson stood with her back leaning against the wall, foot propped up as her sister giggled sinisterly down at the blueprints for their latest scandal. She had her arms crossed over her chest, blonde hair falling down one side of her chest while she waited for Tsubaki to arrive so they could set their plan into motion.

"I'm sorry I'm late, guys!" Tsubaki apologized breathlessly, shutting the door to Professor Stein's classroom behind her. "Black Star was stubborn on coming with me. I think I lost him already."

"Good. We can't have that idiot interrupting our plans." Liz simply said, moving to stand behind her sister. Patty finished the last few phases in their plan and looked up at them both, giving them a cheery thumbs up that was accompanied by a rather wicked grin.

"What's the plan? I'm ready." Tsubaki asked, determined.

"It's pretty basic. I did some snooping around and found out that Maka wasn't the only one who got manhandled like that: there's been other girls. He's never gone the whole mile, but he definitely pressured them into doing some stuff they hadn't wanted to. That's enough in my book, and they're willing to help us out. They'll call me if they catch sight of him in school or town." Liz smiled at Tsubaki, waving her cellphone at the girl. "And our plan is pretty easy to understand. Patty?"

"Sure thing, sis!" And she lifted the paper to show her.

Tsubaki gaped at what she saw. The entire time she'd thought Patty had been plotting out some masterful plan was less than true although both sisters would strongly disagree. In front of her, the sheet as long as her arms and as wide as her chest, was a graphic drawing of them and Soul and every other person who wished to be involved. pounding the living of a bleeding and broken Derek. Even Tsubaki felt a shiver run down her spine at the unnervingly real coloring of red that she supposed was his blood…on the ground and walls and splattering in the air.

"I-is that Soul's scythe?" Tsubaki squeaked in horror, wide-eyed as she drank in the sight of Soul stabbing his scythe into the mans groin. "And – and Black Star?" He was stomping his foot in his face. "Oh…. Oh, my…Patty is...very good at drawing..."

"What? You were so into the idea a while go!" Liz complained at Tsubaki's pale face.

"Yes, but a while ago I was blinded by anger!" Tsubaki argued. "Liz, this is wrong! I think we should just tell Lord Death of what he has been doing to the girls and let him deal with him! If we do this, we'll be no better than him!"

Liz sneered. "What're you talking about? This is how we dealt with trouble back in Brooklyn." She smirked down at the image Patty had taken only too much joy in drawing for them, "'Sides, I bet you anything Soul would love to do what Patty just drew."

"Soul would do no such thing!" Tsubaki shouted back.

"What makes you think that?" Liz rose a sharp brow.

"Because Maka would never allow him to!" She stated firmly, and Liz pressed her lips together. "That reminds me: why have we not involved Maka in these plans? She specifically told us she did not want any of this to go public! If we were to do something on this massive scale… everyone will surely know and we would have broken Maka's trust in us!" She cried, clutching her hand to her chest tightly. This made Liz falter in her decision, along with Patty, who looked down at her drawing sadly.

"But we can still beat him up, right? I mean, Soul practically pummeled the other guys who barely laid a hand on her!" Liz grumbled, pouting a little at how much Soul had actually gotten away with. That guy was sly, good at threatening people and getting his way. It was only because he could easily convert his arm into a dangerous scythe, never mind the ominous color scheme of his blade…

Tsubaki smiled wearily but nodded. "Yes – just not to the point of him needing to go to the nurse! We've bothered Nurse Nygus enough with our own brawls..." She pinked, remembering all those fights Black Star had gotten into at school because of his own pride. That didn't include Soul's own fair share of battles, as well as Kid's when some haughty meister's were dumb enough to challenge him in the beginning of his schooling.

"That's all you needed to say, Tsubaki." Liz grinned, eyes twinkling with mischief.

"We'll make this fucker pay for trying to hurt Maka!" Patty cackled, leaping up with her drawing in her arms. "Right, Liz?"

"Right, sis." Liz nodded, approvingly.

"Do we even know when he will be back?" Tsubaki asked, rather relieved she'd managed to change their minds a little.

Liz shrugged. "Word on the street is Derek's gonna' be back sometime tomorrow evening...My plan was we catch 'em out by the front and deal with him there. By that time, most of the teachers would be out, and most of his friends would have gone home. We can deal with the leftovers, but our main focus is gonna' be that bastard."

"Should… should we contact Soul and the boys as well?" Tsubaki asked, hesitantly. "Kid is also very angry with what happened to Maka, although he isn't one to partake in violence. Maybe I should call him to supervise the fight… we wouldn't want anything too bad to happen to Derek!"

"Tsubaki, we're jumping him." Liz deadpanned. "That's as bad as it gets."

"Yeah, yeah!" Patty giggled. "So what if we break a couple of bones? They'll heal up in no time! Hyahaha!"

"Oh, no…" Tsubaki groaned, as both girls conspired with each other and Black Star smirked from outside the door, jamming his hands into his pockets and strolling away as if nothing had even happened.

"Ouch! Soul, move it!"

"You move it!"

"You're in my space!"

"Last I remember, this was my space." Soul pushed her off his side of the couch without batting an eye, snickering when she squeaked and held onto his ankle for dear life lest she fall backwards and off the couch. He brought his leg up, helping her back onto the couch as well, and took the pounding that followed with his head held high although he was cowering from another blow soon after. You'd think he'd be used to such abuse so long into their partnership but her blows with those hardcover books only seemed to grow more and more painful as the years rolled by.

"Can't we just watch the movie?" Maka asked, annoyed. "I just want to watch a movie without you doing something stupid to distract me from it!"

"Only if you stop hitting me."

"Fine."

The movie rolled uninterrupted for a few long minutes. Maka had actually begun to enjoy the film, smiling slightly as the catchy music played and the women sang on the screen. Her bowl of popcorn had been forgotten on the table, more engrossed in the movie than the snack, and the only reason she lost focus was because Soul shifted and sat closer to her to lean over to grab the bowl from the table. Then his loud chewing had struck a nerve, making her shoot him a warning look he replied with an oblivious shrug of the shoulders.

"Soul, close your mouth when you chew."

"Why? It's not bothering anyone..."

"It's bothering me!"

"I'm just eating."

"Loudly!" Maka growled. Soul scoffed but complied, rather sour as the film continued to play. After a few seconds, being now unable to focus on the movie, Maka said: "Tsubaki said she wants to go somewhere with me tomorrow."

"Hnn? Where to?" Soul drawled, tossing some popcorn into his mouth lazily.

"She didn't say... she just told me it would be good if I got out of the house for a bit." Maka mumbled, glancing down at her lap moodily. She read what was being said in between the lines quite clearly: they were clearly thinking she was unable to cope with this situation, which was not the truth at all. Maka had been able to forget all about that jerk Derek for a few hours, even now as she watched the movie although she had been reminded when she remembered Tsubaki's offer. Maka was glad to have such supportive friends, but did they really need to treat her like some damsel in distress?

"Maybe it's a good idea..." Soul shifted his eyes away from hers when she looked at him, sharply. "Y'know, to get out of the house."

"I can handle it, Soul." Maka grit out. "Nothing is wrong with me! I don't need to be babied like this! It bugs me!" Maka growled, glaring at the television screen. "I'm put in constant danger whenever we're on missions, but I don't see you guys crowding around me whenever I get kicked into a tree..."

Maka scowled when she heard Soul chuckle, groaning when she felt his arm wrap around her shoulder and his other hand ruffle her hair wildly. She tried to shake him off, complaining he'd get butter and salt all over her, but he merely grinned, using both hands until she pushed back and managed to level them once more.

"Ugh! I have no idea what all of those girls see in you! You're such a slob!" Maka grunted, shaking her head and trying in vain to fix her terribly ruffled hair.

"What can I say? I'm just that cool." Soul grinned back, his arm loosely hanging off her shoulders while he sunk back into the seats.

"Which reminds me, why are you here today?" Maka asked, causing him to quirk a brow. "You're usually out with some girl by now." She refrained from sounding sour, the only indication being the rather disgusted sneer she pulled on when she said girl.

"Not all the time, I hang out with the guys more." Soul grumbled. He yawned. "I haven't gone out with someone in... weeks."

"Liar, you went out with a girl just two weeks ago!"

"No, I didn't. She's in my group for this project thing in Sid's class and we had to go photocopy some stuff to distribute to the meister class later, since the printer in the main office is down." Soul explained, nonchalantly. "Not my fault she thought it was a date. Pretty stupid if she did, actually. Who takes a girl out to copy papers for their first date? So not cool..."

Ignoring that last bit, Maka curiously asked: "What stuff are you going to be handing out?"

"Something about voter registration forms for those eighteen and up or something." Soul shrugged, obviously not that involved in the project. "Counts for my service credit, so whatever."

Maka sighed. "At least you're getting something done..."

Soul hummed back in reply and, after a few seconds of thought, said: "I wouldn't leave you alone right now, though. Not after what happened. You're still kinda' jumpy..."

"I'm not jumpy!" Maka fiercely argued. Soul suddenly brought her closer to his chest, proving his point when she stiffened and flinched away from him.

"You were saying?"

Cheeks flaring with color, Maka defiantly grabbed his arm and wrapped it around her again, ignoring the twinge in her gut that told her to get away. She took a deep breath and let it out, slowly but surely relaxing into his sidelong embrace. Her heart calmed, all urge to jump away from him disappearing. She even pulled on a triumphant smile at being able to prove herself right once more. Soul only allowed a small smile to grace his face at her determination.

"It's been a while since that night... and you don't have to be there for me all the time. We're almost going to be adults, Soul." Maka said, after some thought. "I can do things on my own without you being there. And something's never made sense to me..." She wiggled around in his arms, trying to get him to loosen his grip on her shoulders in order to properly face him but he would have none of it. He kept his grip tight. "Even before this, you'd always blow off those girls for me."

"Did not."

"Did too! They always complained to me afterwards!" Maka stated, and Soul darted his eyes to her in surprise. He'd obviously not been expecting that. Despite a sense of victory at having priority in his eyes, Maka said: "That's not very nice, Soul."

"Yeah, but they're not very nice girls to begin with." Soul dismissed, keeping his eyes trained on the television screen while his meister looked up at him imploringly. He sighed, finally meeting her eyes. "Look, they come to me, alright? Sometimes I'm bored so I agree, other times they get all wimpy and start crying. It's not cool to make a girl cry, so I humor them for a bit."

"…You sound exactly like my papa right now…" Maka slowly said, and Soul's eye twitched at the unsightly comparison.

"What the hell? I'm nothing like that perverted old fart!" He exclaimed, offended.

"I'm being serious. That's what he always told me when I was younger." Maka said, softly. Soul's anger ebbed at the sight of her conflicted eyes. "He always told me those girls would be really sad if he said no, and he didn't like making people sad. It didn't make sense to me because he would always make my mama sad when he did it… but I hadn't been able to really think about it until I was a little older and realized what a liar he was."

"Well… I don't do it 'cause like it or anything." Soul awkwardly began, struggling to put his perspective in view for her. But it was a little hard without completely admitting his feelings. "Just… the person I like, uh.." He felt Maka stiffen in his arms and his heart raced. This was starting to becoming much more awkward than he'd ever intended it to become. "… Let's just say she's not an easy person to love." He finally said, satisfied with his answer.

But Maka had become no more relaxed than when he started that sentence. If he had been able to see her face, he'd see it frozen with disbelief. There had always been a small hope in her that refused to die; a small chance that perhaps all of those failed attempts had really been for nothing because she'd just been dense and blind. But now, after this, it all seemed to crumble from the inside out. He'd admitted it: he admitted that he treasured someone else more than he did his very own meister and she supposed that was what killed her the most. She'd calmed herself before by saying that as long he was her friend, no matter how many girls he seemingly went through, she would be alright, but she knew that to be a longshot. How would she be alright if she always saw him with that person he treasured more? Always going the extra mile for that person, always being happy with that person, always doing everything with that person?

Neglect came to mind, but it wasn't the word she was looking for. The word she was looking for was lost somewhere in her own plethora of thoughts; to be lost until she managed to shake off the devastating sense of loss that swelled inside of her.

"Who…" She began, softly. She swallowed the thickness in her voice. "Who is she?"

Soul hesitated, running though random names in his head. None came to mind: only one, and said girl was currently curled in his arms more out of her pride than willingness. He certainly did not want to make their partnership anymore awkward that it had already become with their hormones and arguments about the stupidest things. He'd been about to deflect the question when he heard a soft sniffle.

"…Maka?" He began, slowly. "Are you crying?"

"NO!"

"You're crying!" He shouted, incredulously. Now this made absolutely no sense to him! Why would she suddenly burst into tears? Had she been reminded of something with his words, something Derek had once told her? He felt rage swell up in his chest at the thought, cold and vengeful. "Why are you crying, idiot?"

"I'm not crying!" Maka cried out, defiantly. She furiously rubbed out her traitorous eyes. "I'm not! It's just – the movie!"

"Maka, they're singing about why they killed their victims."

"BEFORE THAT!"

Soul snorted. "They were still singing about that – they're murderers. Now what really made you cry?" Soul demanded, and forced her to face him when she stubbornly looked away. "Maka, you know I hate it when you cry. You get all—!"

"I know! I know I'm ugly when I cry, Soul, you told me enough times!" Maka sneered, rubbing out her watering eyes again. Soul sighed at that but refrained from commenting. "I don't know why I'm crying, I just am. I'm being stupid…"

"What were you thinking about in that big brain of yours?" Soul asked, gently. He placed a hand on her head with more care than the first time, ruffling up her loose hair a bit while she sniffed and swallowed down a hiccup. "Huh? It's not cool to keep things from your partner..." He coaxed, leaning down a bit to catch sight of her face. She hid it, though, and he resisted another sigh of frustration before leaning back and giving her the privacy she wanted.

"I just…" Maka began, voice very small. He wouldn't have heard it if he had not been paying attention. "…I'm afraid you'll leave me all alone."

"Eh?" He blinked. "How'd you come up with that?"

"Because you like that girl! You can't be hanging around your meister like that if you like someone on that level, Soul – you'd eventually leave me. That's how it works." Maka scathingly told him, quieting towards the end. She sniffled and wiped away more of her tears after that, slightly embarrassed to have admitted something so large to him.

But he finally understood and he felt his mouth threaten to break into a grin. He swallowed his laughter, knowing it'd hurt her feelings because she'd take it the wrong way as she always did, and instead tightened his hold around her shoulders. His cheek pressed against her head, her hands hesitantly grabbing onto the sides of his shirt, and he felt a small smile lift his lips.

She was afraid he'd leave her all alone again. He'd never heard of a more ridiculous fear than that. Of all the things to fear – from ghosts like Liz to creepy crawlies for Tsubaki – she had to fear the most absurd fear of them all. But it brightened his day up, knowing she'd take it hard if he were to actually look for someone else in the world. He supposed it was time to cut to the chase, Soul thought with a heaved sigh, they couldn't keep walking on egg-shells for their entire lives. One of them had to fess up; one of them had to decide whether or not they liked the other. Now that's a valid fear, Soul thought to himself, the fear of rejection.

The fear of being close to another person.

He understood that fear because he'd felt it himself. In fact, he was feeling them at the moment, as his meister buried her nose in his neck and her grip on his shirt became deathly. Maka had helped him in his fear for proximity over the years, enough that he was fine with approaching people if the situation called for it. But this was a fear that Maka couldn't necessarily help him with, given that she may or may not make the fear completely disappear or worsen it.

"I'm never gonna' leave you, Maka." Soul whispered against her hair. "There isn't anything here that can make me leave."

"But…"

"That girl isn't going to separate me from you." Soul chuckled, rubbing away the rigidness in her back with the heel of his hand. "Besides, I already spend ninety percent of my time with her. Never took her for a crybaby, though." He teased weakly, holding his breath when she suddenly stilled beneath him.

"What?" She asked, bewildered. She pushed away from him and looked up at him, finding his eyes had turned away from her nervously. She sat back on her knees, watching him clench his jaw like he did when he was troubled. She looked at him for a moment more, needing to make sure she had heard him right: "What do you mean by that?"

"I was telling the truth when I said she was hard to love." Soul began, slowly. He decided if he was going to fess up, he'd do it coolly. At least he'd still have that if it all went down the gutter. He looked at her, dead on. "You're not an easy person to love, Maka, you're always hitting me on the head. And you read too much. And you always use up all the mouthwash. And you're always scared about the stupidest things," he chuckled fondly, his smile then taking on an irked edge. "And you always let the dumbest things get to you. The only reason you started going out with all those dumbasses was because you took me seriously when I called you a hermit!"

"That wasn't it! I-I did it because I wanted to leave you first!" She blurted, flustered.

He stared. "What?"

"I… didn't think you liked me like that." Maka fumbled with the hem of her shirt. "So I decided that if I left you first, it'd hurt a lot less."

That plunging feeling in his gut was only remedied with the thought that if his confession broke through, he'd never have to face nearly losing her ever again. Here he thought she was just being cute with trying to prove him wrong: her reason had drove much deeper than that. But what had he expected, really? He should have anticipated something like this from her! "What gave you that idea? I'm practically around you all the time! I haven't even hung out with Black Star in …months!"

"A year, actually. At least not without Kid there to watch your back." Maka corrected, thinking hard. "You stopped a month before my birthday when he dunked your head in that pail of dirty water for calling him a name. I don't remember what you called him, only that you wouldn't shut up about it for days. Something about wounding your cool…"

"He did not wound my cool, he was being uncool!" Soul hotly said, but Maka only giggled. His expression softened, and he scoffed laughter soon after. His chuckles came to a quiet when he realized that she'd avoided answering to his impractical confession. But he found he hadn't needed a verbal reply: Maka crawled back and wrapped her arms tightly around him, nuzzling her cheek into his chest without falter. His arms came down around her shoulders again, his hand pushing away her moist locks of hair.

"So you won't leave me?" Maka repeated, closing her eyes when she felt his chest rumble with his exasperated chuckles.

"No, Maka. I won't. You make the best curry," he added, snorting when she laughed.

"Okay." She happily curled into his chest, the movie long since forgotten.

"You wanna' go at 'em?" Black Star shouted over his shoulder, standing coolly while Derek caught his breath. The sun was weighing low on the horizon, a strip of flaming orange against a violet sky. "I'm getting kinda' bored."

"No, thank you. He is not worth my effort." Kid replied, crisply. That only seemed to fuel Derek's rage at them both for this unexpected battle.

Death the Kid was considered a model student amongst many in the school. Excluding his tendency to lose all sanity whenever presented with something asymmetrical, he was widely renowned for his excellent manners, intelligence, and formal dress. But as Death the Kid stood casually against one of the towering pillars that held his precious academy standing, watching a fight without much concern, one would question his seemingly spotless reputation.

"Soul will be angry when he finds out." Kid began, nonchalantly. By the stairwell, Kid could see John, that boys friend, flinch at the name and shift uncomfortably.

"He's not answerin' his cell!" Black Star said, circling Derek with a predatory glint in his eye. The other boy panted as he struggled to ignore the pain in his side, caused by the Star clan member's chain scythe. The tips of said scythes seemed to glint with a sharper razor than usual, as if Tsubaki had sharpened the arc of her blade in her spare time.

"C'mon, Black Star! Cut him up already, dammit!" Liz hollered, Patty cheering right beside her. Kid merely sighed through his nose, watching both students lunge at each other once more. Their weapons clashed, Derek being pushed back by the strength Black Star possessed, but did not call for a break when the boy was launched backwards into the wall with a wheeze. Instead, Kid watched with blank eyes as Black Star came to a stop before Derek, peeling him off the floor and aiming a harsh blow to his gut with his fist. Kid's golden eyes followed the way his body flew into the other pillar, cracking it slightly as he slid down weakly.

Well, that wouldn't do. He was ruining the symmetry of his father's academy.

"That's enough, Black Star." Kid quietly said, knowing he'd heard him. But the boy was thirsting for blood, always having vowed to never let any harm to come to his friends. Before he made it ten steps towards the fallen weapon, however, Kid stepped forward and raised his hand calmly. "Black Star, I said that's enough. He can barely stand, much less fight. There is nothing more to prove now."

"That bastard deserves more than just a couple of punches!" Black Star sneered. "I wasn't even using half my strength!"

"Black Star, Kid is right." Tsubaki said, concern in her voice. "That's enough."

"Don't get up, it'll only hurt more." John, the only friend who'd stayed behind when his entire group realized what was going on, stated as he neared Derek. But his friend batted his hand away, sending him back to his spot by the massive stairs with a single look.

"Humph. He looks fine to me," Black Star scoffed.

Derek grunted as he weakly tried to stand, glaring furiously at him. Kid was not against slamming the boy back down if he tried to attack, having needed to meditate his own fury away at the response he received when they approached him earlier that day. Derek had the indecency to feign ignorance, waving off Maka's claims as if she'd lied about the entire thing for her own gain. He hadn't seemed too concerned, with only Black Star and Kid and their own weapons around. Kid would never understand how more than half the student body feared Soul when he happened to be the less violent of the entire group. They'd obviously never seen an enraged Black Star, or Kid living up to his status as God of Death, if they believed Soul to be much more fearsome than them combined.

Kid blamed Soul's abnormal features.

Black Star claimed their minds were simply too small to comprehend their awesomeness.

Regardless of which was true or not, Derek had vastly underestimated them. From the corner of his eye, he could see Liz grinning darkly while her sister snickered to herself. He pretended not to notice the way Patty had transformed into a gun as Derek opened his mouth to curse at them. What he received was a shot in his shoulder that made him cry out, and Kid's purposely delayed reaction to stop his own weapons from getting too riled up.

"Liz!" Kid snapped.

"C'mon, Kid, I barely put any power into that!" Liz insisted.

"Liz, the battle is over. Anymore and he will not be able to stand on his own and I really do not want to send for someone to carry him to the dispensary." Kid shortly said. He heard Black Star snort from behind him before Tsubaki transformed back and turned to Derek. He vaguely heard her hiss, "you disgust me!" before she turned away and hurried to Liz and Patty's side; Black Star not too far behind.

"Soul's gonna' be maaaad!" Patty giggled madly. "Should we call 'em, sis? Should we?"

"Hmm," Liz glanced at Derek, being helped up by one stony-faced but accepting John. "Yeah, right after those guys leave. He'll be pissed, 'cause he wanted some in on the action, but he's fucked up enough guys before. He doesn't need another one on his list," she finished smugly, arms crossed over her chest while the two boys slowly made their way to the dispensary.

"I hope this doesn't spread around school..." Tsubaki mumbled, nervously.

"You kidding me, Tsubaki?" Black Star guffawed. "THIS IS GOING TO BE THE TALK OF THE WEEK! HOW I, THE GREAT BLACK STAR, BEAT THE SHIT OUT OF THAT ASSHOLE! This will be marked down as the most pathetic attempt at subduing the great me in all of history!" He cackled, catching how Derek's shoulders had gone rigid from way up ahead. Thankfully, his friend convinced him to keep walking.

"Now, Black Star." Kid sighed, knowing it was futile but needing to at least try. "Don't do anything rash. We do want to keep this as quiet as possible lest we be confronted by a teacher. I am not an official faculty member despite my rank as Death God and Father strongly disapproves such fights on campus..." At the thought of his father, Kid swallowed.

"Relax, Kid, what's the worse Lord Death can do?" Black Star dismissed, not at all concerned. "Don't tell me you're scared of detention! Ooh, the preppy little daddy's boy is afraid of big bad detention - !"

"I am not, but the dismissal for students attending detention is - seven." Kid shuddered. "I would be more than happy to go if it were eight!"

"Not this again..." Liz groaned.

"Um, sis?"

"Yeah, Pat?"

"Soul sounds maaad!" Patty grinned, sheepishly. She held her cellphone between her hands, as all of them turned their attention to her. They hadn't even noticed she'd made the call! "He's with Maka right now so he can't come but he said tomorrow we're all gonna' get it!"

"Soul ain't gonna' do shit." Black Star snorted. "He should be on his knees thanking the great me for dealing with that punk!"

"Black Star..." Tsubaki sighed.

"Tomorrow will be a long day," Kid sighed to himself.

"For you guys!" Liz grinned, widely. "Soul doesn't hit girls! It's uncool! So just take the punch for me, yeah, Kid? Thanks, Kid! Love youuu!" Liz blew him a kiss, hurrying away with her sister in tow. Kid gaped after her, his mind processing her request too late.

"Wait, what?" Kid squawked. "Liz! Patty! Get back here! We have not properly negotiated this - !"

"HAHA! KID'S GONNA' GET BEAT UP!"

"So are you, you idiot!"

"Nu uh. Soul wouldn't hit his best friend, it goes against the bro code." Black Star stated, matter-of-factly. Kid simply stared at him, knowing there was no such code and he'd just made it up on the spot, but chose not to comment. Tsubaki silently thanked him for that, bowing a goodbye while Black Star waved backwards and they headed back to their home for the night.

Kid stood there for a moment, frowning "And I still have to measure all of the frames in the house to ensure they're perfectly symmetrical..." He perked up at that, however, walking away from the scene with a small hop in his steps. "Such beauty will relieve all of my worries...!"

Story Extra:

She'd been finishing her classwork that day, hunched over the worksheet while Soul yawned widely beside her. He seemed more relaxed than usual, slumped over his desk with a drowsy look in his eye. His assignment was half-way completed, unlike hers, which was nearly finished by now. But she gave him credit for not getting distracted by Black Star's mocking kissy faces, which only served to irritate the pair because they had no idea how he'd ever found out of their new-found intimacy in the first place.

Stein had been sitting in his usual rolling chair, the creaky thing wheeling towards the white board as he wiped off what he'd written to prepare for the next class.

It was a very peaceful class period, all things considered.

"WHICH ONE OF YOU DID IT!" Spirit Albarn burst into the class, causing Stein to drop the board eraser and nearly half the class to scream and startle out of their seats. His chest puffed out protectively, nostriles flared, Spirit bellowed: "WHICH ONE OF YOU LITTLE FUCKERS TRIED TO TOUCH MY BABY! HUH?"

"Shut up, old man, you're causing a scene!" Soul barked.

"Was it you? I KNEW IT! You were always a violent little bastard!" Spirit growled, pointing an accusing finger at him.

"What? Come say that to my face, you pervy old man!" Soul growled right back, glaring at him from his spot on the third row of the classroom.

"I'll do something better," Spirit hissed, cracking his knuckles. "I'll wipe that smirk right off your face with my fist - !" Spirit never saw it coming. He only saw a vague black shape in the distance, before said shape became a rectangle and said rectangle collided with his face with painful accuracy. He was knocked back, falling unconcious while the book plopped on the ground with a quiet thump. All eyes darted to Maka, who scowled at her father before sitting back down with a huff of the word idiot.

"Someone's a little too late," Liz lazily said, her sister giggling beside her. "Alright, which one of us forgot to tell him?"

"I believe that was my duty." Tsubaki winced. Black Star had taken the liberty of laughing for them all, cracking up while Deathscythe mumbled incoherently to himself after such a blow to the head. "I'm sorry, Maka, I completely forgot!"

"It's okay." Maka muttered, glaring at her father. "I was happier knowing he didn't know, actually."

"Moron," Soul grumbled, sitting back with his arms crossed over his chest.

Kid just heaved a sigh.

"Thank you, Maka." Stein said, wheeling over to now knocked-out Spirit. "We wouldn't have been able to shut him up otherwise. Everyone continue working. I'll deal with this idiot." He eyed his friend for a second before lifting his foot and rolling him out of his classroom as if afraid that by using his hands he'd get them dirty; ignoring the exasperated looks from his students as he rolled Spirit out of his class without much concern for the noticeable bruise on his forehead.

"Wonder what'll happen when he realizes who it was." Patty wondered aloud.

Maka cringed.

Soul, however, smirked.

"I'll be sure to leave him the memo in his office."

"Soul..." Maka growled.

"I was kidding!" He said, defensively. Muttering, "Kind of..."

Tsubaki just sighed when Soul was chopped on the head as well, going back to work along with the others and hoping they could get through this day without anymore incident.