Maka Albarn picked up the small bag that she had cast
aside so many months ago.

Curiosity had gotten the better of her and she was now
hesitantly pulling the two strips of cloth from the bag and
held them up in front of her so she could view them in the
mirror.

She stood there a moment, still a little wet from her
evening shower, conflicted by her two sides. Part of her
was growing more and more agitated at the thought of
her father picking such garments with her in mind, another
part was a strange desire to wear them.

After looking around to make sure she was alone, Maka
opened her robe and tried the pieces on. She looked at
herself in the mirror, turning slowly to examine her scantily
clad form.

'I suppose I don't look too bad . . . I wish I were a little
rounder here . . . and fuller here.'

Two light knocks came at her door. "Maka, you in there?"
came Soul Eater's muffled voice.

"Yes!" Maka called back, frightened by the sudden
interruption, "Just a moment!"

She put on and closed her robe and tied the sash tightly.

"You can come in."

Soul opened the door slowly, still expecting to find his
meister indecent in some way and wary of her violent
attacks.

"Hey, are you alright?"

She looked at him with the sad eyes she always wore for
him when she wanted to stay strong.

"I'm fine."

There was an awkward silence between the two before
Soul spoke up again.

"You know you can talk to me if you want. I don't know if I
can fix it, but I can still listen."

Maka nodded her head and gave him a thin smile.

Soul said goodnight and silently closed the door.

It was true. Nothing was particularly wrong but the
problem still existed. The problem that had lead to her
trying on the outfit.

"What can I do to help me become stronger?" she asked Lord
Death with her head bowed the day before as she stood in
the Death Room.

"You're already doing everything you can for now. Let that be
enough."

"What do you mean 'Everything I can for now?' Is there some
reaper trick that Kid's doing to help him bond with Liz and
Patti? Please, tell me. I'll do anything! I don't want Soul to get
hurt again!" her voice cracked as she remained bowed.

Death let out a sigh and looked down a little before replying.

"I suppose you are old enough to understand. I want to put
this delicately. Oh, how should I say it? . . . There's a reason
some of the best weapon and meister pairings have been
married."

Maka still looked confused.

"Or, if not married, at least in a relationship."

Still no reaction.

"A physical relationship."

A blank stare.

"Dancing is a good way to match Soul wavelengths. And they
say dancing is a vertical expression . . ."

The young meister gradually realized what the Reaper had
been hinting at all along. Maka slowly rose to her full height
while making some uneasy gestures with her hands.

"Y-y-you mean . . ."

"Yes . . . some of the finest meisters could match
wavelengths with their partners because they were in a
relationship. Their bonds strengthened by it."

"Are Kid, Liz, and Patti in that kind of . . ."

"Well . . . their relationship is a bit different, my dear."