Maka twirled the end of her pigtails on her finger as she sat in the hall. The wall was cold against her back, and she watched as other misters and their weapons walked around, a few of them piling out of the exam room like mad. She sighed- why was her weapon so bad when it came to taking tests? The guillotine styled ceiling glinted brightly as sunlight cast rays through the open windows. Thin shadows crept across the floor, creating stripes on the plush red carpet.

"Woo-hoo!" Black Star's shout of defiance made Maka jump as he dragged his weapon, Tsubaki, out of the testing room. Placing his hands on his hips, he puffed out his chest, a proud grin on his face. Maka raised an eyebrow at Tsubaki, who only hung her head in defeat.

"I did awesome, right Tsubaki?!" Black Star yelled. Tsubaki nodded reluctantly.

"Of course, Black Star," she agreed politely, sending Maka a look that screamed for help. Clearing her throat, she asked, "So you thought the test was easy then?" Black Star blinked at her, pushing his spiky blue hair back before blowing a raspberry.

"Why wouldn't it be easy?" he snorted, pointing to himself, "I after all will one day surpass the gods!" Maka groaned as Black Star then submitted to maniacal laughter, which happened all too often. She watched as Tsubaki tried calming him down. With the way the two of them acted, it was hard to believe that Tsubaki was really the only weapon to match Black Star's…. personality for lack of a better term. The starry assassin was completely reckless and idiotic. Maka recalled their first day at the DWMA- Death Weapon Meister Academy if you wanted to use the full term. The kid had already been climbing the structures to scream at the top of his lungs as if he were a protester standing on a soap box in Times Square. A few students swerved around the trio, their friend Ox giving Black Star a head shake of disapproval. Finally, after watching a group of girls squealing over how gross dissecting frogs was, he finally came out of the testing room, idly running a hand through his white hair to fix his headband.

"So how was the test?" Tsubaki asked him. He smirked, showing off a set of fanged teeth.

"No biggie, since Maka let me copy her notes earlier," he laughed. Maka let out a soft chuckle- her weapon, Soul Eater Evans- never paid much attention in class. With his menacing red eyes, he often tried picking fights with other students instead of focusing on his studies. Giggles dying down, he took his spot against the wall next to Maka.

"Well, that's good," Maka agreed, "wanna wait for Kid and the twins before heading out?" Soul shrugged, Tsubaki and Black Star joining them up against the wall themselves.

"We've got all day, so why not?" Tsubaki replied, fixing her long black ponytail.

It took a few minutes, but Death the Kid and his weapons, Liz and Patty, finally led the exam, Death The Kid looking worse for the wear. Knowing him, he was probably trying to make sure every single letter in his name was written symmetrically on the paper for the majority of the test- not like that hadn't happened before.

"Summer! Summer!" Patty cheered, Kid and Liz clapping their hands to their ears. Patty continued chanting, her cheeks a rosy read as her short blond hair swayed around her face. The small cowboy hat she wore bunched on her head along with her- and her breasts, which were squeezed into a cashmere red turtleneck shirt.

"I almost forgot about the vacation," Tsubaki said as the group started to make their way down the hall. Liz groaned flicking her long blond hair over her shoulder. She wore an outfit identical to her younger twin's, although her chest was a bit smaller. Maka remembered that it bothered Kid a lot, that the twins' bust sizes were not symmetrical. In fact, Liz was at least a foot taller than Patty, and both of them were wearing heeled boots.

"Don't remind me," Liz said, rubbing her temples, "Patty won't shut up about it." As if to confirm this, Patty stuck out her fingers, beginning to count on them.

"Oh, oh! First, we're gonna go the museums!" she said excitedly, "and then I heard that there was a festival in town-"

"No festivals, Patty," Kid cut her off, voice tinged with annoyance.

"What's wrong with festivals?" Maka asked, but only got a shiver in reply. She shrugged, thinking I guess that story will have to wait then. They were outside the school now, making their way across the entryway landing to the large stone steps. The cobblestones bit into the soles of the misters and weapons shoes. After making it down the first flight to the second landing, Black Star hopped over to the railing, kicking off his shoes.

"Not cool, not cool!" he complained, sliding down the railing until he was sitting on the steps, rubbing his foot. Maka pinched her nose as the smell of his feet bombarded her nose.

"Did something die in your shoe?" Soul joked, waving a hand in his face.

"No!" Black Star whined, "there was a pebble in my shoe! A pebble!" Shoving a hand into his black and white steel-toed boot, he pulled out a small pebble, the surface smoothed over to perfection, save a few bit crumbling away between his fingers.

"Really?" Kid said flatly, "you stopped us for a pebble? We could have been at the bottom of the stairs by now!"

"It isn't my fault your dad made these stupid stairs so big, okay?!" Black Star shot back. Kid crossed his arms, the sleeves of his black button down shirt tugging at the shoulders.

"It isn't my fault you're so slow then," he said, "besides, he only did what he did because he knows I like things to match." His eyes bugged out of their sockets when Liz and Patty snorted.

"Yeah right!" Liz cackled, "more like obsessed!" Patty clapped a hand on her sister's shoulder, holding her stomach as she doubled over. Tears of joy dotted the corners of her eyes.

"Besides," Patty giggled, "you aren't even symmetrical yourself!"

Maka gulped as Kid's face paled, his hands flying to cover the three white stripes in his black hair. They were a major sore spot for him, and whenever they were mentioned he'd blubber like a baby in three…

Two…..

He had already started kneeling, curling his hands into fists. The tiniest pinpricks of tears were in his eyes. Soul leaned into her, whispering in her ear, "Wait for it…."

One.

"I'm garbage!" Kid wailed, pounding his fists on the floor, "trash!" Tsubaki crouched next to him, rubbing his back.

"No you're not," she said soothingly, Liz and Patty merely watching the meltdown. Sniffing he looked up at her, a hopeful glint in his golden eyes.

"I- I'm not….?"

Tsubaki shook her head, "Of course not- why, you're…." she struggled for the words, looking to Maka and Soul for help.

"The best Meister I know!" Maka interjected helpfully, raising a finger and putting on a smile. Kid wiped away his tears, snot dripping from his nose as Tsubaki helped him stand up. Tugging at his lapels, he brushed dust off his clothes, throwing his shoulders back defiantly.

"Well then," he said, a grin playing on his lips, "I guess we should go enjoy the summer, no?" With a chorus of agreement, the students carefully picked their way down the stairs, legs and joints aching by the time they made it to the bottom.

"Next time Lord Death decides to make a school, ask him to make less stairs, alright?" Soul snickered as they began trekking into town, the bright lights and crowded streets a welcoming sight after being cooped up in classes for so long. Maka figured they were in school for at least one hundred and eighty four days. Out of the full three hundred and sixty five, that would count as a full year of school, right? She asked them.

"We literally just got out of school and you're already talking about it?" Soul complained, shoving his hands in the pockets of his red jeans. Maka blushed.

"Right right," she nodded, staring at her black and white boots, "it's summer. We should do something fun." Cars honked as they drove down the street, traffic jamming at a stop light momentarily. Engines purred as the light turned green. A pigeon landed on a telephone wire, bobbing its head back and forth. Maka let her green eyes trail over the stores and buildings that lined the block, her face falling when it landed on the local club. Apparently Soul was following her gaze, for he decided to put in his two cents.

"Your dad still goes to that place?" he asked, laughing as they watched the man in question stumble into the doors, two buxom and model-tall women greeting him cheerfully. Maka nodded.

"Unfortunately," she said snidely, "but whatever. I just wanna focus on summer, okay?" Nodding, Soul pulled at his headband. The red lips pinned to the cloth slid sideways as Soul pulled at it.

"Alright then!" Black Star cried, "what are we gonna do first?!"

"Let's go somewhere with air-conditioning!" Liz said, "it's a sauna out here!" Her skin had a nice sheen of sweat, and she was fanning herself with her hat, identical to the one Patty was wearing. Maka shrugged off her long black coat to agree. ever since they had left the school it felt like they were walking through a desert. Wearing a black coat doesn't really help though, Maka thought, folding it over her arm as she followed her friends down the block.

"If it helps matters," Kid said, "we've got a pool at my house." Maka cocked her head, Soul and Black Star's eyes filled with awe.

"Bet you I can make a bigger cannonball!" Black Star challenged, pumping his fist in the air. Soul jabbed his elbow into the blue haired boy's ribs.

"Not if I have anything to say about it!" he shot back. Liz shrugged.

"I guess that settles it then," Kid rubbed his hands together, skull rings twisting around his fingers. The metal was shiny and obviously well cared for. Maka sighed, reluctantly following. She hated how she looked in a bathing suit. Mostly because of her flat chest- compared to the other girls, she looked like a little kid instead of a teenager.

"Okay," she said, "I guess we should go to the apartment and grab our suits then?" Soul nodded, wiping perspiration off his brow.

"Yeah, definitely" he said, "you guys wanna come with us?"

"You do realize that not everything is a group effort, right?" Maka scolded him, although she really didn't mind if the others came along. She enjoyed their company. And besides, she thought as they turned the corner, it beats out Papa's company any day.

The building was a few houses down, right in the middle of the block, to be exact. Sometimes she'd sing that song from the commercial to wake Soul up in the morning, just so they'd get to school on time. The wooden door was rough against her hand as Maka pushed it open, a cool burst of air blasting them in the face, a bell signaling their presence. Bliss was plastered on all the teens faces, Liz roughly wiping away drool from the corner of her mouth. The stairs creaked as they climbed up them slowly, savoring every bit of the cold as they could. Finally, they came to a stop in front of Maka and Soul's apartment. "2B" was etched in an iron plaque that hung on the door. Soul slipped inside, peeking his head out of the door.

"I'll grab the suits, Maka," he said, "I'll meet you guy in the lobby, 'kay?"

"But we were just in the lobby," Maka said, "and besides, it's rude to keep people waiting in the hall." Soul shrugged, closing the door in her face with a grunt. Grumbling, Maka ushered the group back down the stairs and into the lobby.

At a first glance, the lobby to the building looked empty, but in reality, it was usually filled with a straggle of people. Sometimes though, these people stayed in a room for one night, so it was almost like a hotel. She had everyone sit on the couch that was pushed up against the far wall, across the room from the front desk. A brown table sat in front of the couch with a stack of magazines- measly entertainment everyone knew would last for only a few minutes. The light hanging overhead flickered, a fly buzzing around the bulb.

"So how big is your pool?" Black Star asked Kid after awkwardly sitting on the uncomfortable leather for a few minutes. Kid shrugged, flicking the ends of his bangs out of his face.

"Knowing my father, it's very luxurious," Kid grinned with satisfaction, "and it's symmetrical all the way around, so that ultimately makes it awesome. No doubt about it." Maka pulled up the sleeve to her sweater, checking her watch. According to the clock, a good five minutes had passed.

"How long does it take to grab two bathing suits?" she wondered aloud, letting her hand fall to her side. Tsubaki shrugged.

"Maybe he's in the bathroom?" she guessed.

"Oh well," Maka released a breath, "at least there's AC, right?" Before anyone could reply, the ringing of the bell caught her attention, and she craned her neck to see a girl walk in, blue eyes scanning the lobby.

"Do you know her?" Tsubaki asked Maka as they watched the girl walk up to the front desk, tapping the bell with a finger.

"No," Maka shook her head, "I've never seen her before. You?" Amidst garbled chatter they came to the conclusion that this girl, whoever she was, was definitely new to town. In fact, she looked to be their age, with short hair that looked to be blue or black, spending on the angle. single re streak was in her bangs, whisked to the side of her face. She wore a black and red sailor uniform with white high-top sneakers adorning her feet.

Normally, this would be an indifferent ensemble at a high school in, say, Japan. But this was Death City. And her sailor uniform looked a bit…. unorthodox, if that was the right word to use. Sure, it had the flap on the back and the ribbon tied in the front, along with the short pleated skirt. However, under the right lapel of the collar was a yellow triangle with an orange circle in the center, outlined in red to match the ribbing tied in a knot in the front. The other side had a four-points gray star stitched on it. Maka raised an eyebrow as she continued to stare- a pair of suspenders were attached to the waistband of the skirt, disappearing up the shirt, which was short enough to show off a flat stomach. Weird, she thought, eyes falling on the case the girl held. It looked like a guitar case, although the silver exterior was battered and dented.

"You know," Kid pointed out, " she rang the bell at least ten minutes ago, and the landlord hasn't shown up yet." Maka raised an eyebrow at him- had that much time really passed? And if so, where was Soul with their bathing suits?

"The landlord doesn't really do anything anymore, so this is kinda like a free boarding house now," Maka explained with a heavy sigh, "I should tell her he isn't gonna show up, huh?" With a nod from Kid, Maka called over to her,"Hey!"

"Oh?" the girl replied with a stutter, turning with surprise. Her hands tightened on the straps to the guitar case as she slung it up on her back.

"The landlord doesn't really work here anymore," Maka explained, "so you can just go on up and claim any room that's empty." To seal the deal, Maka smiled- something she learned always won people over. Shrugging her shoulders, the girl made her way across the room, the sound of her high-tops hitting the wood as she clambered up the stairs. Kid snorted, watching as she disappeared on the first floor.

"Could have said thanks, you know," he grumbled. Maka shrugged.

"Oh well," she said, "maybe next time." She cast her gaze back to the stairs, relieved to see Soul coming down with two bathing suit slung over his arm. "Finally! What took you so long?"

"Sorry," he said sheepishly, holding the suit up, "I had them and then I ran into some girl." Maka cocked her head as Soul went to sit down on the couch, plopping himself next to Kid and Black Star.

"So you saw her too?" Tsubaki asked, resting her hands on her knees. Soul raised an eyebrow at her, replying, "Who are you talking about?"

"We just saw a girl come in," Liz explained, "she had a guitar case on her back."

"Oh!" Soul snapped his fingers, "are you talking about a girl wearing a red and black sailor outfit?" Maka nodded as Soul went on, "yeah- she wanted me to tell you guys thanks or whatever." He opened his mouth to say more, instead digging between his teeth with a nail when he couldn't find the words.

"Is something the matter?" Patty asked innocently. Soul nodded.

"Well, she was mumbling to someone," he said, "at first I thought she was on a phone, but as she got closer I realized that she didn't have one." Maka pursed her lips- that was definitely weird. But who would she have been talking to?

"Then who was she talking to?" Tsubaki voiced her thoughts, receiving a snicker from Soul.

"It looked like she was talking to herself," he chuckled.

"You do realize that a lot of people do that, right?" Maka pointed out, crossing her arms.

"Yeah, but she kept using a name," he said, "Senketsu or something like that…." He waved his hand lazily, "Whatever. I got the suits, let's just go to Kid's place, yeah?"

As they filed out of the building, Maka could hear footsteps from behind. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw the girl bounding recklessly down the stairs, guitar case bouncing against her back as she narrowly avoided hitting the wall.

"Thanks!" she called out as she squeezed past the crew through the door, leaping over a crack in the sidewalk before smiling at them from over her shoulder. Kid leaned into Maka, saying out of the side of his mouth, "I guess that was next time." Maka nodded.

"Guess so," she agreed, letting the door to the apartments swing sit behind her.