So holy crap, I thought I was pushing details BEFORE. Sorry for how the story is crawling, but I had so many ideas for the gifts, and I didn't want to do a half assed job with them. It's crazy how this was intended to be a one chapter story, and now I have to start writing chapter 4.

Anyway, thank you everyone for your support, and I hope you like the new chapter!

Maka had made out like a bandit with the gifts her friends had gotten for her.

She started by opening the gift from Black*Star, as he would settle for nothing less than having his gift lead the charge. The wrapping paper fell away to reveal a new pair of combat boots and gloves, different in design than the ones Maka was accustomed to. "I designed them myself! The boots have steel reinforced heels and toes, as well as lots of padding around the shins." Black*Star boasted. "The gloves have studs hidden in the knuckles that are padded on the inside. Now you can kick some serious ass even without Soul, or one of your super lame books!" Black*Star laughed at the last comment, which may have been why he did not notice the Maka chop that cracked him soundly on the head.

"Hmm" Maka said matter-of-factly, "I guess I don't have to retire the books just yet, huh, Black*Star?" Everyone else in the room fell into fits of laughter, and after a moment Black*Star joined in good naturedly. "Seriously though, thank you for the gift. I'm sure they will work out great!" said Maka. Black*Star smiled that self-satisfied grin he used whenever someone paid him a compliment. "No problem, Maka! After all, a god has to watch out for his people!" More laughter followed that comment.

Crona's gift came next. He actually broke into a rare smile when he handed Maka the two meter long rectangle, wrapped in paper with little birthday cakes on it. "Dude, why did you get Maka a surfboard? She barely knows how to boogie board." Soul said, smirking those shark teeth of his. Crona frowned for a moment, apprehension filling his face, but surprisingly overcame it. "It isn't a surfboard. It's something much more…Maka." Said Crona, confidence shining through a half disguised mask of doubt.

Not able to contain her curiosity any longer, Maka shredded the paper covering the gift. It was a long wooden board, smooth to the touch and rounded at the corners. For a moment, Maka thought Crona really did get her a surfboard, but then she turned it over. Carved into the other side of the board was a phrase that Maka could repeat in her sleep, words that she had memorized on her first day at the DWMA because of the importance they carried:

"A sound Soul dwells within a sound Mind and a sound Body"

Maka was very impressed by the gift, and was about to tell Crona so when she reexamined the actual carvings on the board. "Crona?" Maka asked, "How did you make the carvings so even and precise?" Once again, Crona smiled. "Oh, I had a little help." He said. At that moment, Ragnarok popped out of Crona's back and punched him in the back of the head. "How many times have I gotta tell you to stop calling me little!" shouted the Demon Sword, trying to land more blows on Crona's head. However, Crona had learned how to deal with his violent partner long ago. He reached back and punched Ragnarok on the head. Hard. "Owowowowow! Fine, that's the last time I help you with anything, Crona!" Exclaimed Ragnarok, as he retreated back into his meister.

"Thank you for the gift, Crona. I really like it! It will go great on my wall." Said Maka, crossing the room and embracing Crona warmly. "And thank you, Ragnarok." She whispered. Maka wasn't sure, but she could have sworn she heard a whispered "You're welcome" come from under Crona's shirt in return.

Liz and Patty's gift was next. Together they handed Maka a small, official looking envelope with a wax seal on it. Intrigued, Maka tore open the envelope to reveal an elegant card with the words "Official Invitation" emblazoned in gold lettering on the front. "An invitation?" Maka asked. "An invitation to what?" Patty was trying with everything she had to keep her composure, while Liz beckoned Maka to open it and keep reading.

Obligingly, Maka opened up the card. Inside was the explanation she had been looking for.

"Maka Albarn, you have been selected to join us for a day of relaxation and rest! Using our state of the art spa and highly trained masseuses, we will make all of your troubles disappear. Please come to our establishment on the date provided, and we will open up to you a whole new world of comfort. We await serving you with anticipation. Signed, Death City Sensations."

Maka nearly dropped the card. Death City Sensations?! That was the most exclusive spa in the entire city, and certainly the most skilled. People had to wait months on the reservation list to even have a chance of going, and even then they still may not be chosen by the invite-only establishment to attend. Maka had heard Ms. Marie talk once about the time she had been invited to attend the spa, soon after achieving her Death Scythe status. With glazed over eyes she had spoken of rippling mud baths, expensive oils, and exotic masseuses with fingers of magic. It was an enchanting tale, and now Maka had been selected to attend this bastion of comfort and relaxation, thanks to her friends.

Maka sat, dumbstruck for a moment, before attempting to ask the questions on her tongue. "I…but…how…" she mumbled, but Liz decided to save her the trouble. "Patty and I put your name on their list about four months ago. We wanted to be sure your invitation came before your birthday." Said the Demon Pistol, a smirk gracing her lips. "But HOW did you know they would even select me? I'm nobody special!" Maka spoke, bewilderment evident on her face.

"Oh, that was the easiest part!" Liz's smirk had transformed into a full-on smug smile now. "I ran into the owner of the spa when I was putting in your reservation request. We spoke for a moment, and I may have let it slip that I was making a reservation for the very serious girlfriend of the son of Lord Death. He seemed pretty interested in that, and told me he would look into your request personally. Three days later, that was in my mailbox." Liz said, pointing at the card still clutched in Maka's hands.

"But…but how did you pay for it? This place is supposed to be ridiculously expensive!" Maka asked. Patty cocked her head thoughtfully. "You know, that's the funny thing. We were going to pay for it in installments, but then we got another letter with that one. It was from the owner of the spa, and it had our down payment inside of it. He wanted your whole trip to be on the house, it said." Patty started to smile. "I guess he thinks you're as cool as we do!"

Maka looked down at the card again, then looked back up at the Thompson girls. "Thank you two so much. After all of the missions we have been going on, it's going to be so nice to be able to just relax for a day. You're the best!" Maka exclaimed before jumping up and embracing the sisters. "No problem, you deserve it!" Liz and Patty said in unison. When they finished hugging, Liz grabbed Maka on the shoulders and started to turn her around. "Now, I think someone else is ready to give you their gift." Liz whispered, the smirk returning to her face.

Kid had stood up from the couch and was starting to walk over to Maka. "You may have noticed that my gift is not in the pile. That is because I could not think of any material possession that I could have gotten you that would sum up how much you mean to me. You are my greatest treasure, the missing piece of my soul that I didn't even know was lost. Thus, I have gotten you a gift that, I must admit, is something that also pleases me." Kid had stopped walking, having reached a point standing directly in front of Maka. He reached into his suit jacket and removed a large, and rather full, envelope, which he handed to Maka.

Maka opened the envelope and, realizing that there were many items inside, emptied the contents onto the coffee table. Papers scattered across the table, followed by a smaller sealed envelope that Kid moved with him off to the side. Maka picked up one of the sheets of paper. On it was an aerial photograph of Tokyo, with the name "Japan" in red letters across the top. She picked up another one, this one a shot of white sand and crystal water. "Hawaii" was written on that one. She went through the papers one by one. England, France, Germany, Australia, and a dozen other countries were all represented within the sheets of paper.

Maka was confused for a moment, but then recognition began to dawn on her face. She looked over at Kid, who was wearing his ever regal smile. "Is this…is it what I think it is?" Maka asked, excitement barely contained. "Yes, dear heart, it is. Starting Monday, you and I are going to travel around the world. Each of those photos represents a place we will be traveling to. We will be staying in the finest accommodations, and partaking in very exciting events and entertainments. But more than anything, I wish to just be in your presence, and I hope you will indulge the slight selfishness that went into this gift." Kid said, eyes turned downward.

Maka placed the papers on the table, calmly stood up so she was face to face with Kid, and proceeded to jump onto him to give him a hug. "This is so amazing, Kid, thank you! There isn't any selfishness to ignore, because I really wanna spend time with you, too! I can't wait to do this with you!" Maka shouted, the force of her hug almost knocking Kid over. They stood, embracing for a few moments, before Kid gently lifted her and placed her back on her feet. "I am so glad you agree, love, but you should probably finish opening your presents. We will have plenty of time together on the trip." Kid said, a mischievous light in his eyes. Maka nodded, turning back to her remaining gifts.

"Ok, I'll open Tsubaki's gift next!" exclaimed Maka, reaching over to pick up a large, square package. "I…I was going to buy you something, but I felt that you would appreciate this more." Squirmed Tsubaki, apprehension evident on her face. "Don't worry Tsubaki, I'm sure I…" Maka's speech halted as the glimpsed what was inside the delicate wrapping paper. It was a large, velvet bound photo album. Maka opened it up to reveal the first photograph inside, captioned by the word "Friends" underneath. It was a shot of Maka and all of her friends standing at the top of the stairs leading to the DWMA.

She remembered the photo being taken, mere days before the fateful fight against the mighty Kishin, Asura. Not one person in that photo knew at the time whether they were going to live to see the sun rise the next day, but their friendship had seen them through that trial, and every peril since that day almost a year ago. "I made this with photos taken from all the way back to when we first became friends, and worked forward, using the pictures as kind of a timeline of all of us meeting and…well, kept going all the way till now." Tsubaki said sheepishly. Maka turned through the pages and, indeed, it showed chronologically through photos the relationship the group had created with one another. There were shots from their first year all together, preparing to go on missions together, many photos of them doing nothing more than hanging out around the city.

As Maka moved through the pages she saw many faces come into the photos leading up to the time that they were engaged in battles with Asura and Arachnophobia. There was even a full photo of the entire team, all of the strongest students from their class at the DWMA, taken right before they went on a mission to find the Magic Tool, Brew. Since then, many members of the team had gone their separate ways, but they all tried to keep in touch when they could. But Maka's closest friends were all still here, and her eyes teared up with her gratefulness at that fact. She closed the album and took a deep breath, eyes closed for fear of crying.

"I understand if you don't really like it" Tsubaki said, misreading Maka's reaction with her head hung. "I know it was a dumb id-oof!" Tsubaki shouted as Maka tackled her to the floor of the apartment. Maka had grabbed Tsubaki in the tightest hug she could manage without killing her. "I love it, Tsubaki." Maka said through tear filled eyes. "I love it so much. Thank you." Tsubaki was still for a moment, and then returned Maka's hug warmly. "You're welcome, Maka. I'm so glad you like it." They hugged for a moment longer before Soul cleared his throat forcefully. "Right, right. Sorry! More gifts to open." Maka said, lifting herself from Tsubaki and seating herself in front of the pile again. She looked around at all of her friends, surrounding her in the living room, and couldn't control the smile that split her face.