Introduction to Illustration doesn't sound like a difficult class. Ever since Maka began art school, she's been looking forward to this part. It seems pretty simple: designing and drawing is her forte. Things haven't been as exciting as she'd imagined, though. They have mainly studied the history and concepts for successful audience capturing.

Maka finds herself yawning, the teacher's words fading out slowly. One word sticks out like a sore thumb: "partnership." She wakes back up and her attention quickly jumps back to Professor Stein, who's just underlined the word "comic" on his dry-erase board. Tuning her ears and eyes to the front, the assignment already sounds intriguing—and daunting.

"You will all be given assigned partners. I'm familiar with many of you already as previous students, as well as your art styles, so you will be paired with those who I feel can benefit you the most. You will then complete a twenty-page comic strip together telling a creative story featuring both of you."

A few smiles curve up at the idea of an actual comic project. After all, for many in this room, drawing has always been fun. Dr. Stein continues, though, outlining the rules: the style must look uniform and can only show minimal differences between the two artists' work.

Furthermore, no one is allowed to swap partners. Because this assignment is about agreement and teamwork. The hint is pretty obvious. It all sounds easy, but team-based projects have never worked out well for her. Maka always ends up doing all the work.

She listens to the names called out, two at a time, not particularly paying full attention to others until hers pops up. "Maka Albarn and Soul Evans."

Soul? Soul-fucking-Evans? He's the laziest one in the program, and he's going to treat it like high school all over again… All she's seen him do is sleep all day then cram last minute when finals are due. How he's even passed his classes this far along is a wonder. There are more motivated people in here than him! It's nothing but bad news. She'll be damned if she lets her partner's lack of drive screw her grade over.

Professor Stein finishes assigning the partnerships and instructs them to begin planning their projects before the end of class. Every team needs have a general idea of where they want to go with it. To ensure they've done this, the first step of the assignment has already been given: draw each other's character. It sounds simple…. if Soul intends to do his part.

Everyone's started their discussions except for Maka and her "partner". Soul doesn't appear alert at all. He stares straight forward without an ounce of attentiveness in his expression. He's been in every one of her classes and every time, he wears the same unenthused face.

Simply put: his lack of interest drives her crazy. Or maybe it's the strange ruby shade of his eyes in combination with the pale shade of his messy mop top. She can't deny wondering if it's all artificially done. Either way, college is for those who actually want to pursue something and less for those who are determined to sleep through it.

Seeing as Mr. Evans hasn't come over to meet her, she gets up and trudges to his seat just a few rows down and sits down beside him. "Uh, hi… I'm Maka."

Her greeting earns a lazy gaze from her now-partner. "I know."

Her lips twist into a dissatisfied cringe. Apparently, Soul is rude as well. She tries to prod for a better answer since it's nearing the end of class and Maka doesn't have the patience to argue about sincerity - or lack thereof. She may as well figure out what they- or she- needs to do while he's here in front of her. "So, about the project-"

Soul silently waves her off a little as he sits up in his seat, a hint of disappointment and impatience in his reluctant sigh. "Yeah, so I don't know what kind of comic you were wanting to do, but I vote for something sci-fi."

Maka grits her teeth, taken aback by his quick comment. Great, something else to add to her list of Soul's annoying habits. She turns to face him a bit more with arms crossed and a confident, straight posture. "Excuse me, but you can't just dictate what you want! This is a team project and I get some say-so in it, too."

His gaze is still dull, as though her words have gone straight through one ear and out the other. "Well, I'm pretty sure your ideas would be boring, so I volunteered as tribute."

"You don't even know me! I have a very broad imagination, thank you very much, and straight A's to prove it."

"Alright, miss know-it-all…" Now he's leaning back against his chair, arms fallen to his side, and looks halfway to barely meet her eyes.

Finally, a hint of attentiveness! It's a rather presumptuous response; she's not as egotistical as he's making it sound. Instead of arguing in the middle of class, she simply dismisses it as a poor attitude from a lack of sleep. She's not here to make a scene.

"Name some ideas, and I'll say yay or nay," he continues.

Maka scoffs, thoughts dwelling on how she wound up with such a shitty partner. His science fiction suggestion is so overdone and cliché. If she wants to see aliens, she can go to the movie theatre. Something they can relate to sounds like a better option; they wouldn't have to extensively research. "Coffee shop?" Because what college student doesn't rely on a cup of caffeine now and then?

"Too generic," says the albino who suggested the most popular theme of today's entertainment.

Maka raises an eyebrow. That was an absolutely thoughtless answer. But thinking back to it again, it does seem like twenty pages of people talking at a table could get boring. She gazes briefly at the ceiling, tapping on her chin as the next, and probably most relatable, idea pops into her head. "School life!"

"Boring."

She crosses her arms, determined to find something a little bit normal he'll accept. Unless, ah ha! That's it! Perking up in the chair, she can't help but to smile at the idea she feels he will enjoy too. She points in the air, as if the words are a teleprompt before her, exclaiming, "with comedy! That's something everyone loves."

"Yeah, okay," Soul replies. Funny how sarcastic that came off, voice higher pitched than normal as his head cocks to the side with a fake smile. "Let's jump on the popularity train and copy every manga known to mankind." That forced smile drops just as quickly as hers and shifts back into another deadpan stare as he slouches back down.

So he's getting smart with her now? Soul probably thinks he's won, too! Fine, two can play that game. "Alright, then…" She tries to stifle an amused laugh. "A tale about a really smart girl who loves the library and a stubborn, lazy fool who's failing class, so he has meet her there for tutoring."

"Ex-excuse me?" Soul slowly rises up in his chair and turns to stare at her in disbelief. He's definitely more focused now, his posture standing higher than she's ever seen. He leans back with a bewildered expression.

"You heard me, frat boy." Not that she actually knows if he partiesshe just needs his undivided attention and it worked. "If we don't decide on something, then I'm sticking to that!"

Maka has to admit, she's tired of their fruitless argument. By now, other students are looking their way, silently chastising them for disrupting their own projects. Seems she's made a scene anyway. His response leaves no regrets, though. She can't let their icy stares beat her down, so she looks back towards her partner. Now Soul is glancing at the clock hanging on the wall. Time is running short and in the next few minutes, they'll both be packing and running to their next class.

"Alright, alright. Then…" He grumbles under his breath, scratching his head as his eyes search for answers in thin air. "How about a book nerd... who works as an info-tech at a mid-way space station and a pilot who's preparing for a dangerous mission, seeking advice from her."

Thinking on his suggestion, she realizes it's actually a decent idea. She would get her library; he would get his adventure. The concept is a good compromise, so they nod in agreement.

"Alright, you got it! We'll design each other's characters tonight," Maka concludes. At last she stands back up, grabbing her notepad. She'd hoped to get in some good planning, but he's a mule that waited till the last minute to communicate like an adult. Maka begins to walk back where her backpack still lyes unattended, but halfway, she stops and spins back around abruptly, pointing a finger firmly his way. "And don't you be late with it! I want to actually pass this!"

-.-.-.-.-.-.

A day later, Maka waits for her partner, her lazy partner, in a library study room. A quick glance at her phone tells her thirty minutes have already passed. It's just like his type to be late. No need to fret, though. If he doesn't show, he just doesn't show. Instead, she reads a book to pass the time. Twirling one of her ash-blonde pigtails with her free hand, she dives even further into the scene. It's all a game of Clue.

The deeper she gets into it, the more the answer is knocking. She can feel the presence of a murderer disguised right under her nose, a character she's probably already well familiar with- and attached to. That's how they all go. Strange how real the knock sounds, though. It gets louder and louder, until the sound pops her back into reality once more.

Jumping in her seat, she turns quickly to face the window, heart nearly stopping. On the other side of the tinted glass, Soul holds up a sketch pad by his head, pointing at it with raised brows.

"O-oh!" Waving her hand, she motions him inside, closing the book and setting it back down on the plastic table. Could the university get any cheaper with their furnishings?

"Sorry, you looked like you were enjoying it," Soul says as he walks in and plops into the equally cheap chair across from her, cushionless wood that isn't particularly comfortable. "So, about that character design..." he says.

A blue, tattered sketchbook with shreds peeping out, tell-tale signs of torn out sheets, is dropped onto the table with a thud. Not only does he sleep in class, but he abuses his materials, too. The list of Soul-pet-peeves just keeps getting longer. If he wants a good grade, surely he'll take better care of the sketches they create later.

When she remains silent for a moment, he continues, "You do have yours, right? 'Cuz if not, I won't show you mine."

That stingy bastard. He's more sly than she took him for, playing her game against her! Somewhere, at some time, he's going to slack off, though. She feels it in her bones. Shooting Soul a quick glare, Maka bends down, unzips her backpack, and pulls out a much neater sketchbook. Unlike Soul, she doesn't tear out every picture she draws. "Yes. Of course I do."

Each partner sits idly across from each other, flipping through pages of incomplete sketches. Some have sample color dabs, others have crossed out figures that will never be finished.

Maka can't say that she's ever truly seen his art, only that he's always in her class and seems to still pass, so this ought to be a surprise. She's confident he'll like her drawing of him. Pride fills her heart for the picture she'd put so much thought into and paints a smile on her face as the excitement builds.

Finally, they both find the right page and turn each art pad around in exchange, each other's portraits singled out to share. Soul hasn't actually looked at hers yet, but sits anxiously, eyes turned her way, watching for her reaction, a silent beg for approval. Maka gets it, though. A good justification always lifts her spirit too. It's exciting to see how much he cares. This partnership might not be so bad after all!

Her jade eyes widen in shock and her jaw drops, though. Skill-wise, he's better than she thought him to be, shading and lines done in solidity and confidence, but this isn't a picture of her at all! A hefty chest in size "GG", a Barbie waistline, and hips that look like she's birthed four children already! Not to mention, gaudy, overdone makeup! What the hell is this?!

Oh, and the outfit… Her shirt doesn't look like it should be able to hold her chest in! A deep V-slit shirt drops so low, it almost reaches the navel with no undershirt for modesty- all bare skin and cleavage!

And that miniskirt… if she can call that a miniskirt! He may as well have drawn her naked! There's absolutely nothing left to the imagination of her fictional 2D body. Soul's still included her classic pigtails, but the hairstyle does nothing to tone it down.

"Yeah, I thought the design was kind of cool, too," Soul interjects with a proud smile. Now he's just insulting her, his tone as pleased as can be as if there's nothing wrong with this picture.

Maka's teeth grit till you can almost hear the grinding. She hasn't been this angry since she moved out of her father's house! She slams her novel against his thick head, the white strands separating from the momentum like a splitting sea.

Soul instantly falls off his chair, rubbing his head. "Wh-what'd you do that for?!" Slowly standing up and grunting in pain, Soul taps lightly on his head and brings his hand back down to investigate the damage. Turns out it's a clean hit that might later turn into a potentially nasty bruise.

"I was supposed to be a librarian! A librarian! Not some eye candy! Just draw some platform boots on me while you're at it!" Somehow this suggestion seems to merely entice Soul as he gasps and smiles in awe of the suggestion, an invisible light bulb shining brightly above his head. Maka should shatter it, and she will! "Why would you even envision me like this?!"

Now he's propping back up on the edge of his seat and excitement bubbles in his voice again. "It's a space station! A comic about space! It's cool! Who wouldn't want to see a character like this?!" His smile and animating arms is not making her feel any better.

"Well, for starters, not me! Secondly, do you want us to flunk, you dumbass!? This is so sexist! There's no coverage at all! Did you even think about how painful breasts that large are on the back at all? This shirt has ZERO support!"

"It's a library! How much coverage do you actually need if you're not going to be fighting?"

Soul is an absolute pain to reason with! She heaves an aggravated sigh, closing her eyes as if the notion will make him disappear. This is NOT acceptable! Now she'll have to drive a point with her picture. "Oh yeah? And here I did a nice photo of you..."

Yanking Maka's art book off the table, he glances at the picture she so delicately put together. How dare he be so rough with her sketchbook! "Hm, okay let's see how reasona…."

His words fade into silence, which proves her point as expected. "I told you, Soul. Right proportions are everything."

His gaze is slow to meet hers. "Professor Stein told you to draw me."

Maka won't let Soul's opinion override hers! "And clearly I did-"

He cuts her off, though. "No", Soul begins. "This is a woman." Red eyes stare deadpan back at her as the art pad is lowered back onto the table between them cautiously.

"I worked really hard on it! Take it, or leave it. I'm not catering your character to your every whim and wish. I'm being realistic." Because he's not in control of her art and she refuses to let him be.

Soul pinches the bridge of his nose as he lets out a deep breath he's been holding. "Why in the hell do I have makeup on? And look at this figure!" He points insistently at the body frame that's supposed to represent him. "It's clearly feminine. FEMININE! There's no masculine muscle tissue at all!"

Her voice raises in defense, "Yes, there is." She's seriously going to have to spell out every line drawn for him to understand the picture. Taking her sketchpad back, it's her turn to point at the details. "Right there! Chest muscles and a slim fit in the waist to show great fitness!" How can Soul not be grateful for this amazing design?

"Those are size 'B' breasts. Any larger, and I'll be rocking a C cup."

Maka chunks her borrowed novel violently his way, barely missing his head as he dodges and covers his face with tan arms. The book chips a piece off the off-white plastered wall, making a loud thud that should have the librarian coming around the corner to kick them out any minute now. After a brief moment of silence, though, Soul turns his attention back to his offender.

"Well, B cups look a lot healthier than those GG's you drew!"

"Not on a man! That's called having man-boobs!"

Maka sighs in exhaustion. She's done for, her grade is toast, and it's going to be all Soul's fault. To judge her art so harshly… Either way, there's a deadline to meet and Professor Stein specifically indicated he wouldn't swap anyone under any circumstance.

"Look, Soul, we have to find a way to make this work. Obviously, my character art is more realistic, and your backgrounds are well…" She could return his shitty attitude back at him and leave him to think his art is terrible, but that's far from the truth, aside from his 40-20-40 female figures.

A quick glance at one of his sketches displays the patience he must have for meticulous backwork. With a hesitant sigh, she continues, if only to inflate his ego as little as possible. "Your backgrounds are slightly better, so let's strike a deal."

A white eyebrow rises suspiciously. They have little time left till their next class, so he listens with undivided attention.

The blonde student continues, determined to win a passing grade on this unexpected clash of an assignment. Why? Why did they have to do this with partners? If only Stein knew the bind he was putting them in! "I'll draw the characters first, then hand them to you to finish the backgrounds. That way it's easy and fast, and we both know what to do without crossing each other's work. Deal?"

Soul grumbles, a faint complaint barely audible to her ears. "Fine, but at least try to draw me with some masculinity this time? No breasts or hourglass figure, please?"

"And you better not turn me into a fan-service character! If you do, I swear…" The girl grits her teeth on the last word, eyes shooting daggers. "I swear, I'll burn it and make you start all the way over again!"