A/N: It took a while but I finally got it done. Behold, the Freshman Incident, mentioned in 'The Freshman Incident', first chapter of my 50+ followers collection. You don't have to have read it to read this, but it might provide more context for the second half of this drabble.

Enjoy Maka's BAMFness!

Her father had insisted that bullying was not a problem at DC High, that high school was nothing like it was on TV or in the movies.

Her father had been talking bullshit, like always.

It hadn't even taken her the first week of freshman year to realize that there indeed bullying at DC High and that high school was scarily close to what was on TV or in the movies.

Maka Albarn was not someone to be pushed around easily and somehow she was not made a target until well into her second month of freshman year. During this time, she had decided to take a stand against bullying and in an attempt to clean up her record (middle school was way too full of fights for her comfort) she kept to anonymously reporting incidents.

It had been hard, very hard, not to get involved. She had come close to homicide when she heard that Tsugami, a sweet girl she had trigonometry with, had been robbed of her lunch money three times in one week by three different groups of juniors and seniors. But, she held true to her internal agreement and reported the incident (making sure to slip a couple of dollar bills into Tsugami's locker to make up for the money lost).

It was on a surprisingly warm October day when a couple of the more active bullies decided to corner her during lunch break behind the cafeteria.

She pressed her back against the concrete wall behind her, clutching her biology textbook in one hand and the strap of her satchel in the other. There were four of them, all junior boys, two sporting lettermans and two without, crowding around her.

One leaned forward, bracing himself with a hand on the wall beside her head. He was one of the ones wearing a letterman, the one for the football team. She knew him: Travis, one of the nastier ones.

"So, Albarn, right?" Travis cooed, leaning his head down towards her.

Maka nodded and tightened her grip on her textbook. "Maka Albarn, yes."

Travis smirked. "I've heard about you, Maka. Heard you're somethin' of a teacher's pet. That true?"

"If by teacher's pet, you mean someone who actually does their homework and tries to learn in the lesson, then yes, I supposed I am," Maka said, making sure her back was ramrod straight.

"Do you talk to the teachers, Maka?" Travis asked. "Do you, oh I don't know, tell them about what goes on in the hall ways? At lunch?"

Someone must have told them she'd been snooping, or a teacher might have let slip that she was the one reporting them. Fuck.

"Well, is that true?" Travis prompted, smirk dropping into a sneer.

"Yes."

His eyebrows rose for a moment before he broke into a broad grin. "Well, I guess you know what's gonna happen now, eh, Albarn?"

Maka Albarn was not someone to be pushed around easily. She had taken martial arts and gymnastics classes since she was young, she knew how to throw more than a fair few good punches. Being the pseudo niece of two registered martial arts specialists had its perks.

She dropped her bag but kept a hold of her textbook. In the hands of a true warrior it was most certainly a weapon, especially when used in a technique passed down from her mother.

One of the boys behind Travis, one without a letterman, lunged for her and she swung her book up, clocking him in the chin, forcing his head back. Using her momentum, she pulled her arm back, then brought the book down heavily on his head. He crumpled to the ground and lay still.

The others were shocked for a moment, then they went into action. The other non-letterman clad boy reached for her hair but she ducked, dropping the textbook, pulling her fist back and hitting him square in the diaphragm. He backed off to try and catch his breath and Maka turned her attention to the other two.

The other boy in a letterman pulled a fist back and let it fly, which Maka blocked easily. She grabbed his wrist and pulled him forward, catching the back of his knee with the heel of her foot, forcing him onto his knees. Then, she grabbed his head and rammed his face into her knee cap. The crunch was as satisfying as his cry of pain was (which was quite a lot) and he curled up on the ground, clutching his gushing nose.

She rounded on Travis and he looked torn between attacking and making a retreat but the second non-letterman boy had caught his breath back and came back to the join the fight, giving Travis the confidence to attack.

He was clumsy and slow and Maka dodged both of them easily. She settled the non-letterman boy with a kick to the face which downed him and she kneed Travis in the groin, then drove her elbow into his back when he doubled over. Once he was curled on the ground, she kicked him in the ribs for good measure.

She surveyed the groaning boys for a moment, then crouched down next to Travis.

"You shouldn't fuck with people," she said calmly. "Because others will fuck with you worse." Then she stood and gathered her stuff. She stepped over the first boy's prone form and walked away, throwing a suitable threat over her shoulder before she went to find a teacher to clear up the mess.

"Fuck with me, or anyone else again, and you'll be in a world of hurt far worse than the one you're in now."

Soul choked on air and whipped his head round to face Maka, gaping, once Black*Star had finished his story. They were the only ones walking down the empty school hall, footsteps loud in the quiet.

"You beat up four juniors? By yourself?" he blurted.

Maka scoffed and scowled. "Don't look so surprised."

Black*Star laughed, crossing his arms behind his head as he walked. "Yeah, she could take anyone. Well, except me of course but then nobody can take me-urgh!"

Maka retracted her leg from where she had stuck it out to trip Black*Star, who was lying face down on the floor.

"Sure, whatever you say Star," she said, crossing her arms and unable to stop the grin growing on her face. Then she turned to Soul and her smile seemed to brighten. "If anyone bothers you, don't hesitate to come find me." After Star's indignant shout as he peeled himself off the ground she grumpily added, "Or Star if that's what you're into."

"Whatever losers!" Star jeered and started jogging away. He turned his head over his shoulder and called, "See ya tomorrow or whatever, this god's gotta get back to wrestling!"

Maka and Soul waved him away and she turned back to Soul once the blue-haired boy had turned the corner.

"So, since we didn't get properly introduced-" she stuck her hand out to him and grinned "-I'm Maka Albarn."

"Soul Evans." Her hand was firm around his. It felt kinda nice in a weird way.

"You know, I feel like we're gonna be good friends."