Maka Albarn fought her own battles- wanted to be the independent woman her Mama taught her to be, but for some reason the world had a problem with that.

People had the perception that she wasn't strong enough to protect herself. True, she had a small body and for years she regularly wore child-like pigtails- a style she never truly gave up. Even now, she wore them at home. Not to mention the youth in her face made her look more fourteen than twenty-four.

Which is why no one would have guessed that she could pack a mean punch. If there was one thing she was happy her Papa did for her, it was that he put her in classes that taught her how to defend herself; twelve years of martial arts under the belt had proven to be useful in her life. There had been numerous situations while in school where she had to kick ass in order to get her message across. The dickwad who slapped her behind when he passed her in the hallway, the man in college who tried to take a shot up her skirt with his phone- all of them had felt her wrath.

It wasn't just for herself. She was notorious for sticking her nose where it didn't belong, but she was always willing to go out of her way to protect others who couldn't protect themselves. In middle school, she defended her classmate from a bully by socking him in the gut, scaring away his little 'posse.' In high school, a girl clearly uncomfortable with the guy feeling her up would feel the end of Maka's steel-toed boot right to the dick. At a college party, she saw a man slip something into her best friend's drink and proceeded to break his arm.

If there wasn't someone in charge to handle the situation, she dealt with it herself. She hated waiting around for anyone of authority to show up and dish out a half-ass punishment. Anyone who truly knew Maka Albarn knew that if rules inconvenienced her whenever she felt they were keeping her from delivering "justice," she'd break them.

Her schools, though impressed with her academic achievement, never saw eye to eye with her on these issues. She wouldn't change her mind though, and her record suffered a bit because of it.

She'd never regret it.

It wasn't just physical battles. Maka was armed not only with fists and kicks but also her quick wit and sharp tongue. She wasn't president of the debate team in high school for nothing- arguments more often than not ended in her favor, and she didn't have to lift a finger to finish them.

But she wasn't completely invincible. There was something far more elusive that she had difficulty with.

Rumors.

Rumors were much more tricky. She couldn't fight everyone that spread them, and not everyone was trying to be malicious when they did. People get off on drama that doesn't have anything to do with themselves. Even she was occasionally the target of verbal drama. Only if she was able to find out who the source of a rumor spreader was did she confront them about it- sometimes civilly, sometimes not- but that didn't stop more from spreading.

Being in the office didn't change that either.

In fact, they're worse. Office gossip spread as quickly as a plague, reaching the ears of everyone in a department within a day. Almost everyday at least one new rumor occurred, people often exaggerating the details and speaking in hushed whispers.

Like today, for example.

"Did you see the new guy?" A woman with black pigtails and short bangs asked in a low voice to the person beside her.

"You mean the one with the white hair and red eyes?" the short haired brunette replied in question?"

"Mhm, and pointy teeth, too. He's a strange looking one."

Maka recognized them: Tsugumi Harudori and Meme Tatane. They had only been working at the company for a few months but they were already casual office gossips. Maka was no spreader of rumors herself, but she was human, so she was naturally curious. She couldn't help but lean a bit in the direction of the two women to listen in on what they were saying. Red eyes? Sharp teeth? Sounds strange.

"For a guy with white hair, he looks fairly young, maybe his mid twenties."

The first woman shrugged, "He had to have gotten work done. None of that can be natural."

"Yeah, but who would pay to get that kind of work done on themselves? You'd scare everyone away."

"Oh he's scary alright. Kind of cute, but I'd still keep my distance."

"And you should!" a woman with long blonde hair chimed, joining in on the conversation. "The reason he was transferred to this department was because he got in a fight with a coworker."

The other two women gasped. Anya Hepburn was a blunt and judgemental woman who was not afraid to speak her mind. She worked close to the assistant vice president and made sure to remind people of that. Despite being condescending to those below her, she still had a tight bond with the other two women somehow.

"What did he do?"

"I'm not exactly sure what happened," she answered, "but Nancy says he tackled a man to the ground and started punching the daylights out of him!"

"That's awful. Why hasn't he been fired?"

"Because that man is none other than Soul Evans. You all have heard of the Evans family, right?" At their nods, she continued. "Well he's supposedly a failure, so his parents sent him to work at this company instead of helping with the family business. After all, the Evans's invest a lot into Death Co."

"Well no wonder he hasn't been fired," said Tsugumi. "No one would want to upset their partners by firing their son. Even if he is a failure."

"Not to mention his violent tendencies," added Meme.

Maka knew that what they were saying couldn't have been the whole story. There had to have been more to what they were talking about, none of it seemed to be fair judgement.,but she was already five minutes late to lunch and didn't want to stick around any longer to listen to the awful things they were saying. Their gossip corner was pretty much over anyways, so she stood up and grabbed her bag.

Just as she had taken her first step out of her cubicle, she noticed a man she had never seen before leaning in the wall of the hallway next to the women who were talking.

One with white hair.

And red eyes.

Oh. So he heard all of that.

He really has red eyes.

Said eyes peered down at his shoes as he crossed his arms.

Your mask doesn't fool me. Your eyes are still visible.

She couldn't stand looking at them. Maka hadn't been a part of any rumors since she started working, a circumstance that made her extremely grateful for her situation. But she couldn't stand by knowing someone else was getting the short end of the stick. She had to do something.

Maka made her way over to the three women with confidence in her step. "Maybe you're all wrong."

The women stopped their conversation, looking at her like she had grown a second head.

"Excuse me?" said Anya.

"Maybe he's not a failure. Maybe his parents are just stuck up. Maybe he only attacked that coworker for saying or doing something out of line to get a rise out of him. And maybe… maybe they didn't fire him because he's still a valuable employee, not because of his parents. You don't know the full story."

"And you do?"

"No. I don't. But-" she paused to collect her thoughts, taking a deep breath in and releasing it through pursed lips. "I'm not going to assume anything that I don't know. It's just... not right."

She stepped away as if she were finished before backtracking. "And one more thing- let's not insult our coworkers' looks. We're adults, and we're supposed to be professionals. HR doesn't tolerate that very well."

With that, she felt a weight being lifted off her chest. Maka turned away from the women only to nearly avoid bumping into the very man she had been talking about. He stared at her with his mouth slightly gaping before he closed it and grinned at her, showing off his teeth in a friendly manner.

His teeth aren't so scary.

He only offered a simple "thanks" before he walked past her and the three women staring in awe, his husky voice reverberating in Makas head for the rest of the afternoon.

He was used to rumors.

From the moment he could tap the ivory keys of a piano, people always talked about Soul Evans. They always had something to say. It was inevitable that criticism would come when you were an Evans, though he gave up trying to please his parents. They would never be satisfied with him. Oh well.

There were things that bothered him though and that was people. Pompous people and crowds were the bane of his existence. They would stare, gawk, whisper amongst themselves "he must be such a disappointment to his family"- it was too much. His heart rate would increase, he would sweat tremendously, and his breathing would get faster and faster until he felt dizzy and nearly sick to his stomach, but he had to learn to mask it. Nowadays, paranoia keeps him from being able to see any large crowd strangers as anything but judgement circles of hell. He wasn't complete wuss though; if anyone said anything to his face though, he'd tell them to fuck right off instantly. But confrontation? Hell no. He's an introvert at heart. He'd just do his best to ignore it.

Until a few days ago, when a small woman with olive eyes and ash blonde hair tied in a neat bun marched over to a group of gossipers and gave them a piece of her mind. She was a feisty one, and he would be lying if he said he didn't find it amusing. And sort of cute.

Soul would have easily gotten over what those women had said within less than half a day, but the fact that someone spoke up for him at all was stuck on his mind days later. He was hoping to run into her to properly thank her, but every time he tried, something came up.

He was definitely making excuses. If he tried just a smidgen harder, he could have thanked her the day after the whole occurrence. But he didn't want to seem too eager. He was cool. Cool guys don't come off as desperate.

Today would be the day though. It had taken three days, but Soul was ready. He'd casually thank her, maybe offer to buy her lunch or something. Yeah, that's cool.

It was almost time for lunch, so Soul got up from his chair and made his way over to the pretty green eyed lady's cubicle. But she wasn't there.

I don't want to wait for her to get back like a creep, and I don't want to go back to my desk now that I've walked away from it. Damn. I'll just go to lunch now. I can thank her when I get back.

As he sat down to eat, a group consisting of a woman and two men talking amongst each other entered the break room and sat down a few tables away. Normally he didn't pay attention to who was in the same room as him, but he couldn't help but tune in once he heard "Albarn."

He froze. Albarn? As in Maka Albarn?

"No no, Spirit Albarn," the woman clarified, as if she had been responding to his question. It almost startled him until he realized that she was still talking to her group. A hell of a coincidence. "I'll get to Maka in a second."

So they WERE talking about Maka. Who the hell is Spirit?

"I heard he flirted with the secretary on the first floor while waiting to pick up his daughter."

Ah, her father. Well at least he's not her husband.

"He's notorious for that," one of the men piped up. "Did you know he tried to pull the moves on Tony's wife?"

"That's terrible." cried the woman. "It's no wonder her parents divorced."

"He was married at one point?"

"Mhm. His wife left him and her daughter. That's probably why Maka Albarn is such a bitter woman."

Soul clenched his fists. She was one of the women talking shit about me the other day- Anya. Is she that mad that Maka told her off?

"Ohoho, I think someone's mad that she got told off the other day," the other man said.

What the fu- y'know what, whatever.

"I am not! That Albarn girl doesn't know what she's talking about. She just wants attention, and she does it by creating any argument she can." Anya stood up hastily and with a "hmph" she stormed out of the room.

Within two days the entire department had gotten word of Maka Albarn defending the new guy. It's been three days since and now she was receiving the same treatment he got. All because she didn't tolerate their bullshit.

It made him feel a bit guilty if he was perfectly honest with himself. She didn't have to go out of her way to stand up for him, especially when he never even met the girl before. But she did, and she did it with such spunk, he was not only impressed and a little bit scared, but he also found it hot.

The second man laughed. "She's totally still mad."

"Y'know," said the first man. "She's not wrong about her being bitter. That Albarn chick has such a stick up her ass. I tried asking for her number yesterday, and she told me to piss off. She's pretty, but she's a real bitch."

Actually, she politely declined you the first time, but you kept pushing until she had no choice but to be assertive, asshole. I was there, I saw the whole thing.

"She's probably one of those 'hard-to-get' kinda girls," the second man teased, playfully nudging his buddy. " After all, she is Spirit's daughter. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree."

What?

"Hah! Ain't that an interesting thought," the first man responded. "I wonder how many men have been up that little skirt of hers? It would definitely be shocking for such an uptight woman, but with those Albarn genes, I wouldn't put it past her. Besides, have you seen those legs? I bet she's an animal in bed."

Soul was practically seething while they laughed, his knuckles white from clenching them so hard. Who the hell did they think they were, talking about her like she was garbage?

He got up abruptly, his chair scraping loudly, gathering the attention of everybody in the room. Soul turned around, making direct eye contact with the two gossiping men and glaring harshly. He stomped over until there was little room between the three of them. "You know what?" Soul questioned. "It's real fucking disgusting how you talk about women, and honestly, it makes me sick. "

"Oh, I see," the first man dared. "Ever since little miss perfect stood up for you, you've been like a dog on her leash. What kinda favors does she do for you, Evans?"

"Hey, maybe we should just drop it, Raid."

"You should listen to your friend. It would be for the best."

"Or what?" the man named Raid said, standing up from his chair to get up close to Soul's face. "You'll get your master? Need a tiny woman to defend you? I can take her- in more ways than one. You don't scare me."

Soul's crimson stare hardened and he bore his sharp teeth. It didn't faze the other man much.

"I'm gonna let you in on a little secret, Raid." Soul's voice got considerably quieter, making everyone in the else afraid of what was to come. "Do you know why I fought that guy in the other department and got transferred here?"

"Why, Evans?" he spat.

"Because that fucker was saying gross stuff about the women in the office, just like you." And with that, Soul yanked the man's collar and pulled back his other arm, fist balled and ready to launch at his face before he'd know what would hit him.

Just as he had released the punch, a familiar cry erupted in alarm. "Soul, stop!"

At the sound of Maka's voice, he barely stopped his fist from flying into the man's face. It happened so fast. Raid's eyes were widened in shock as he stared at the knuckles that were centimeters away from his face. Had that hit, he wouldn't have been able to block it.

Soul recognized her voice and immediately turned his head in surprise. There she was, eyes as wide as his, with worry written all over her expression. Soul slowly dropped his hand to his side as Maka quickly strode over to the table. Raid, who was still in shock, didn't break out of his trance to acknowledge the new presence until she was standing right in front of them.

"Mr. Evans," she said, her voice significantly lower. "You can't hit him. They let you off easy before, but they may not be so forgiving a second time."

"But he-" He let go of the man's collar. Soul was having trouble making eye contact with her. Was he in trouble with her? Was she upset with him? "He was- he- said-"

"I know," she cut in, a soft smile forming on her face. "I heard everything."

"You did…?"

"Yep. I, uh, was watching from the entrance."

She pointed back to it but he didn't look. He still wasn't completely sure if she was comfortable being around him. He was glad she didn't seem angry or scared, but maybe she was hiding it.

"Mr. Evans," she continued, "thank you for defending me, but it's pointless to fight him. He's a huge, dumb jerk." She glared at the man belonging to her description. "But punching him would only get you in more trouble. It's not worth that. Why don't we both have lunch somewhere else?"

He nodded and walked in the direction she had come from, planning to leave with her. She didn't follow immediately, and just as he turned around to see why, she spoke up again. "However..." She turned to Raid.

No one, not even Soul, expected her to grab the man by the collar and slug him in the face herself. The audible crack that resounded from the hit made the white-haired man wince. Everyone in the room gasped as Raid screamed out in pain, falling to the floor and clutching his now broken nose. "You- you bi-"

"I on the other hand don't have any offences on my record here. I think I'll be okay with just one though." She cracked her knuckles and walked over to Soul, who was staring at her with fear and admiration. And maybe a bit of arousal.

"Soooo," Soul said, cutting in the silence that had formed as they stepped into the elevator. "Where did you learn to throw a punch like that?"

"I have a lot of experience. Why, you got a problem with girls that can fight?"

"Nah, if anything I think it's hot." Why did I say-

She looked at him in surprise. "What?"

I gotta fix this.

"Uh, yeah."

Real fucking smooth, Evans.

"...Right," she said awkwardly and she pressed the button for the first floor.

The elevator doors closed and both of them could feel the strange motion of the contraption lowering them.

"I've been trying to avoid doing stuff like that," she suddenly piped up again, grabbing his attention. I've always done well in school and I tried to follow the rules, but whenever someone was being a real jerk, sometimes I'd get into fights to teach them a lesson."

"Did you win?" Soul asked curiously.

She looked at him and smirked. "Of course, who do you take me for?"

Though he would have argued that he hardly knew her, he had to admit, she could have quite an intimidating presence for someone so small and baby-faced. He dropped it and listened to her as she continued.

"I wasn't mean or anything and I had really good grades. But I couldn't rely on others to give those meanies what they deserved."

Soul couldn't help but snort. "'Meanies?'"

"Shut up. Anyways, I knew that once I got a full time job after college, I'd have to stop doing all of that. I'm trying to have a successful career."

The doors to the elevator opened and they stepped out into the lobby, their shoes clacking against the marble flooring. "I want to thank you again though for standing up for me. Lunch is on me."

"Now hang on a second," he interjected. "Ain't no way. Not only did you help me out the other day, but you fucking decked some asshole in the face earlier. And I got to watch. So I'll be paying for lunch."

She pouted and Soul couldn't help but find it adorable. "Not fair." Her face then turned to an expression of genuine concern. "Do you think...I'll be moved to a different department? For punching that guy in the face?"

This time, he was the one to smirk. "Thought you didn't care about that?"

"Well yeah, but if you haven't noticed, I don't tend to think things through before I do them. I'm worried he'll report me and I'll be demoted. Or worse, fired."

It was then that Soul burst out laughing, the sudden loud noise making her jump while also giving Maka a perfect view of his teeth. They really were as sharp as they said but… they're not scary. He's not scary. I think I like his eyes too.

"Aren't you supposed to be smart? he laughed, interrupting her thoughts. "Why are you saying stupid stuff?" She stopped staring at his teeth in fascination and instead glared at him. He pretended to wipe a fake tear, before he made eye contact with her. Upon noticing her not-so-happy expression, he cleared his throat and attempted to control his breathing. "I understand why you're worried. Haven't you been working here for a long time? I dunno about Raid, but I'm willing to bet you're a more likeable and hard working employee compared to him. Besides, those comments he made about you weren't appropriate. If he reports you, report him back. Or at the very least say you punched him in self defense."

"Maybe…" she mumbled, unsure.

"Look, you have me as a witness. I saw everything. But you definitely won't be fired. Worst case scenario, it'll take you longer to get that promotion you've been after."

Her eyes softened and she suddenly felt butterflies in her stomach. "You're a cool guy, Mr. Evans."

"Hell yeah I'm a cool guy."

She rolled her eyes at him. "Seriously though, you're risking a lot to help me and I don't know how I can make it up to you."

"You don't gotta do anything except call me 'Soul' like you did earlier." He cut off his chuckle with a pause, appearing to be pondering something. "Tell you what though: you pay for lunch today, and I'll pay next time."

"There's going to be a next time, Soul?" she teased with a smirk.

He held open the door for her, letting her through first. "Only if you're up for it."