"Do you think we'll be in trouble for showing up this late?"

The young girl poked her head around the corner searching as she waited for her companion to catch up to her. She was the only girl she knew that had to look down on all the other kids her age. Barely sixteen and she towered over her partner, Kaine.

"Who knows? Probably. You know how he hates it when you're late. What was it he said? If you can't show up on time why bother showing up in the first place?" he sighed in response, slouching his shoulders.

"Oh he's just joking about that!"

"Was he? Because he didn't exactly sound like he was. Actually he never sounds like he's joking. He's your boss now, isn't he?"

"Well if you want to get technical, yeah I guess he is my boss. But does it really matter when it all comes down to it? We're here to help that's all there is to it."

"Sorting papers and running errands. You're a glorified secretary!"

"Assistant Professor! Was the actual term Lord Death used."

"Right and you can't even make it to the class..."

"It's not my fault all these corridors look the same!"

"Milla, can't you just use your soul perception to find out where he is?"

As if a light bulb suddenly went off over her head she smacked her fist into her hand, smiling brightly.

"Kaine, you're absolutely right! Why didn't I think if it before!"

Before he could react however, she gripped him by the wrist pulling him halfway down the stairs before she hopped the banister down to the next flight.

"Milla! What the hell!" he shrieked barely able to land on his feet like her before she was dragging him down the hall.

"Don't be such a baby! It's this way!"

Of course they were late, so late in fact that the only person left in the class was the Professor, seated at his desk shuffling through papers. She skidded to a halt in the open doorway, Kaine slamming into her back roughly almost causing her to stagger forward. The noise they made caused the Professor to look up from his work, his glasses gleaming.

"I think I distinctly remember telling you if you couldn't show up on time there was no point in showing up at all. Class was dismissed over twenty minutes ago," he sighed, his voice as calm as a pond. Somehow it made things worse when he spoke so calmly.

"I'm sorry, Professor, but we got lost! All of the hallways looked the same," she pleaded dropping her head in shame.

She could hear him scoot back from his desk, the wheels on his chair squeaking lightly. For a moment she thought he was going to tell he to leave but when she chanced a glance he waved his hand for her to come into the room. Each step she took closer to his desk she could feel Kaine trying to tug her back in the opposite direction even though he was walking with her. She stopped at the edge of his desk, her eyes glued on the papers scattered everywhere.

"Try again tomorrow, hm? First thing in the morning, if you're late again we'll have to reconsider this arrangement," he stated, still calm.

"Thank you, Professor! I won't be late again, I swear!" she demanded. She saw him nod out of the corner or he eye before he shoved off from the desk, propelling himself in the chair out of the classroom. Kaine finally released her shirt peeking out from behind her at the doorway the professor had just vanished through.

"Man he gives me the creeps!" he shivered, rubbing his hands over his arms roughly.

"Don't say that about him. Professor Stein is a brilliant man, this is the opportunity of a lifetime. We would be stupid to pass it up."

"Says you. You have immunity, it's me he wants to cut open!"

"It's not like he'd kill you... Quit being such a baby Kaine."

Everyone was talking about her before the class was even full. She could hear the whispers halfway down the hall, figuratively speaking, but it wasn't as if it really mattered. Maybe it was the outfit, she wasn't really sure, but there were a lot of boys crowded around her.

"Are you a new student?"

"What's your name?"

"You shouldn't sit on the Professors desk like that…"

The last voice that shouted out over the crowd was a female. She craned her neck to see the girl, her ashen blond pigtails and green eyes glaring down from her seat in the class at her. It was obvious why she looked so displeased. She was child like in the extreme, her chest was practically concave! Milla sat forward, smiling up at the bossy student pleasantly. She knew that she was probably intimidating the girl with her womanly figure, but she had no intention of hiding what she had been graced with. She was tall, just like her father, easily nearing five nine. Her long silver hair pulled up into a neat ponytail on the back of her head tied with a black ribbon. Bright green eyes. Every article of clothing she owned was altered, usually torn to show off more skin in one way or another. Today she had wore her black skirt, ripped halfway up her thighs on both sides and pinned back together with straight pins. She wore a plain pale gray tank top, shredding the abdomen area with a pair of scissors she had found in the desk drawer when she first arrived in the class. Thankfully she had a well developed chest that made any top she wore look sexier than it would have on flat-chest girl. Long black laced leather boots that made her taller than she was originally, as if she really needed the extra height and black fingerless gloves that extended up to her elbows tied with a little black ribbon to keep them up.

"I somehow don't think that the Professor will mind very much that I'm sitting on the desk…" she smirked, waving her hand at the stern looking girl.

"Just because you're new and you dress like that doesn't mean you have the right to sit on the professors desk!"

"Calm down Maka, it's not like he'll tolerate her sitting there anyway. Class hasn't even started, leave it be," the white haired boy next to her sighed, obviously he wasn't pleased with her shouting so early in the morning.

"Maka… I've heard that name before somewhere haven't I?" she mumbled, tapping her long fingernails on the desk in a steady rhythm.

If at all possible more boys started to crowd around as they filed into the room for class. More of them wanted to know her name, whether she was a Meister or a Weapon, mostly her name. But she was stuck on the blond girl who was still glaring down at her as if she had just stolen her teachers pet medal or something. Maka…Maka what? The abrupt sound of rolling wheels screeching over the slick tile in the hallway sent the boys before her into a frenzy to make it into their seats before the Professor arrived, leaving her alone on the edge of the desk staring at the door blankly. All of a sudden the door slammed open, the man who flew into the room riding a computer chair as if it were some kind of vehicle snagging the wheels on the sill of the door, spinning across the floor on his back until he finally skidded to a stop in the middle of the floor glancing up at the class upside down.

"Good morning class. What was on today's agenda? Ah yes, we have another-"

"Professor Stein, excuse me," Maka called out raising her hand out of turn. Boy was she trying hard.

"Yes Maka, what is it?" the Professor muttered collecting himself from the floor before he retrieved his overturned stitched up chair and flopped back down onto it.

"We apparently have a new addition to the class?" she asked, nodding at the girl on the desk with narrow eyes.

For what seemed like the first time, the Professor turned to regard the girl on the desk, his glasses reflecting the overhead lights so that all she could see was a blue sheen. He tilted his head once, the glare vanishing from one lens to reveal his confused jade eyes.

"Oh, you're here already. I suppose I should have expected as much. Students, this is my new assistant, Milla…" he muttered before turning the large bolt that stuck out from the left side of his silver hair. There were several ticks before a loud click seemed to echo through the silent room.

"Assistant? She's our Professor too?" Maka balked, shock covering her features.

"Assistant Professor! It's a pleasure to meet you all!" the girl cheered tossing her fists in the air.

"Unbelievable…" Maka groaned dropping back down into her seat, unable to accept the news.

"And by assistant, she means she's here to file paperwork. Which you're sitting on by the way, is that really necessary?" he huffed.

"Well it's not as if you have a plethora of seating in here for anyone other than the students, and I'll be damned if I sit there like a student."

He shook his head lightly, sliding back behind his desk as he pulled out his notes, handing off a stack of useless notes for her to apparently sort.

"Anyway, as I stated before, we have another dissection scheduled for today. But someone seems to have misplaced my specimen…" he muttered, glancing over at Milla who looked away innocently. "Milla, where did it go?"

"Where did what go? I'm sorting papers…"

Sighing heavily he dropped his roster onto the desk ushering her toward the door, before he turned back to the class.

"Everyone please study your notes, I need to have a word with my Assistant in the hall…"

Stein caught Milla by her elbow, half dragging her out into the hallway with a calm look on his face. What was it always worse when he was calm?

"You can't just go around setting animals free, Milla. When it wakes up from the anesthesia, it's going to be very angry, it could maul someone…"

"Well it didn't seem right! The poor thing laying in a metal cage, it looked half dead!"

The classroom door behind them snapped open, several students from the class spilling out into the hallway in a pile as if they were trying to eavesdrop through the door. Maka and her white haired companion. Two girls who looked related, one tall with stern features, the other short and childlike. And another boy with black hair, three odd white stripes on the left side only.

"Damn it Patty! You're not suppose to turn the handle!" the white streaked boy hissed clawing his way out from the bottom of the pile.

"Oops, sorry!" the childlike girl laughed as he fought to free himself.

"I should have known better. Milla, I'll leave you out here to get acquainted. I have to go find my badger…" Stein sighed starting off down the hallway.

"What ever you do, don't look in the men's faculty bathroom!" she called after him watching as the pile of students began to untangle themselves.

One after the other they all lined up in the hall staring at her as if she were some kind of giant, then she remembered with her height and her boots, she must have actually looked like a giant to them.

"So, what are all of your names?" she mumbled pointing at each of them.

"Soul," the white haired boy mumbled.

"I'm Liz, this is my sister Patty. And our Meister," the tallest sister said with a smile indicating to the boy with the streaks.

"Death the Kid," he said, pointing at her. "And where do you get off wearing something so hideous!"

"Hideous? What do you mean?" she gasped looking down at herself as if she didn't understand what he could have possibly seen that he didn't like.

"You see, he's a little crazy. Anything that's not symmetrical is disgusting to him," Liz sighed covering her face with her hand.

"Precisely! Which is why you need to correct that hideous outfit!" Kid shouted, jabbing his finger at her again.

"Anything that's not even? Then, what's the deal with you head?" she asked pointing back at him, indicating the three stripes that didn't repeat on the opposite side.

It was almost as if someone had stuck him over the head, he fell to the floor instantly, pounding his fist on the tile repeatedly, wailing.

"I'm filth! Trash! Why can't I just die?" he shouted, she expected to see an actual puddle of tears to form under his head.

"Wow, way to just throw that right out there. Patty, do your thing," Liz sighed.

"Sure thing big sis!"

It was disturbing to say the least, watching the younger sister try and cheer the obviously neurotic boy up, which wasn't really as difficult as it seemed. A few short compliments and he was back on his feet again. She opened her mouth, preparing to ask what exactly she had just witnessed only to be cut off by a shriek, followed by a red headed man skidding to a halt next to the group.

"Good morning, Maka," he wheezed waving at her.

"Ew, go away you creep!" Maka shouted and it finally clicked.

"That's it! Spirit Albarn! You're Maka Albarn!" Milla shouted.

An angry growling sound ripped through the hallway and Spirit suddenly jerked forward as if he were running away from something.

"Maka, your papa loves you!" he yelled taking off down the hallway, followed shortly after by a very angry sounding badger.

The entire group watched as Spirit bolted down the hall, sliding every now and again on the slick floor, allowing the badger to keep up. He was shouting and screaming Stein's names, pleading for someone to save him.

"Hey Maka, was that a badger chasing your creepy dad?" Soul asked tilting his head.

"Who cares. Maybe it will eat him…" she snapped.

"You shouldn't say that about your papa. If he was gone, you'd miss him. Everyone just go back into the classroom and I'll go deal with the badger," Milla sighed pulling the door open.

"You can't tell us what to do! You're not our Professor!" Maka protested crossing her arms.

"Technically, she's the Assistant Professor, you do what she says in my absence," Stein muttered trotting past them leisurely as if there was nothing wrong with the wild animal chasing Spirit. "I'll deal with the badger."