Author's Note: I fear for the OOCness that may ensue here. ^^; So sorry for that.

Maka watched as everyone left, and she couldn't help but notice Kidd's slightly unsteady gait. She hoped he would be okay for a little while longer. Going from the research she had done, both laxatives and vomit inducers would without fail take a severe toll on anyone's body, and eventually end up resulting in death. He was a grim reaper, yes—but he had proven several times that even he had strict limits.

She stood up and went to the front of the lecture hall. Even with everyone gone, Maka kept her voice down out of a fear someone might overhear if she didn't.

"Professor Stein? Do you have a few minutes?"

The scientist spun his chair around to face the girl and rolled a little closer to her. "You haven't been acting quite yourself in class today. Is there something troubling you?"

"Yes, that's actually why I need to talk to you... Is it too much to ask to have you keep a secret from Lord Death, no matter what?"

"That depends, but I doubt it."

What was Maka supposed to do? She really did want help, though not only did she want to respect Kidd's request, but the book stated very clearly that it could make things worse if she didn't. "Kidd might die if you don't!"

Why.

Did.

She.

Say.

That?

Was there honestly no better reaction? Was it honestly impossible to stay calm and level-headed, and say something that would be less likely to be reported to Lord Death? Was it? Cursing herself for being so stupid, she dearly hoped that she didn't completely screw up her plan.

Fortunately, Stein seemed to heavily consider what Maka had half-yelled, and relented with a small nod. "I suppose I could let something slide. Now what is it you wanted to talk about?"

"I think—Well, Liz and myself have reason to believe Kidd is bulimic." There it was. She laid it out simply, and almost wished she had coated it in at least a thin layer of sugar, because saying it out loud almost caused her to flinch. "According to what I've read on it, I'm supposed to go to a trusted adult, and I knew I couldn't trust my dad with this, so I came to you..."

"Bulimia, hmm? That's a strong claim to make."

"I know, but he's been taking a lot of laxatives and he's making himself sick...!" She was so close to tears by that point. All of this was just too much for her, but she knew she had to do something. "I don't know what to do and I'm really scared!"

"I'd recommend not directly confronting him about it—that could easily deter him. You won't achieve anything if you start pushing him away." As the professor began his next sentence Maka could pick up the faintest trace of severity in his tone of voice. "And if you say anything negative, you'll only make the problem worse and most of his suffering may be your doing."

"Is that all?"

"Not quite. Basic psychology makes it clear crying can be a release of any strong emotion, and that humans have an instinct to search out comfort, be it from another person or from something like a blanket. The stress of this situation is going to need you to do both whenever you feel you need to. Bottling everything up may hurt Kidd more than yourself."

Upon hearing those instructions, it was impossible for her not to melt into a sobbing mess. All the stress and all the worrying was already starting to wear down on her so soon—it hadn't even been forty-eight hours by that point. What was she to do? Having the well-being of one of her friends in her hands somewhere outside of the battlefield was forcing her out of her comfort zone, and she feared it may become too much for her to handle.

She didn't even move her head to look up when she heard the door open. It hardly even bothered her when she heard her father's voice.

"Hey, Stein, I thought—M-Maka?!"

And in an instant, Spirit was beside his daughter. With both his arms around Maka, he nearly spat his question: "What happened to my Maka?!"

The girl angrily elbowed him as hard as she could and managed a death glare. "I went to Stein instead of you for a reason!" Her irritation and choked throat made her response a shrill scream, and she turned on her heel and left as quickly as she could. Fine, if she couldn't get away from her father at school, she would just go home instead.

The broken promises, the forgotten commitments, the horrible fights... That wasn't the kind of person she ever wanted to have to turn to for comfort.

And thinking about that, while she had absolutely no way of controlling the downward spiral of her thoughts, was not something she wanted. Still, she spent about half an hour sobbing into a pillow because. She was thankful once she began feeling herself drift off into the clutches of sleep. Her head hurt, her stomach hurt, and the emotional strain wasn't exactly the easiest thing to put up with.

When Maka woke up, it was because of the discomfort of her bra. She groaned and got up, rubbing at her eyes. It looked like night had fallen, so it would be fine to change into pajamas or something that would otherwise be indecent to wear if she had someone over or if she went out somewhere.

Just as she tossed her shirt to the side, her door opened.

"Knock first!" she snapped, completely out of reflex. "I'm changing!"

Instead of leaving and closing the door behind him, Soul approached his meister and gently ran three of his fingers over her back. Normally, he would apologize and slam the door shut immediately, but he had never done anything like this before. A very light blush covered Maka's cheeks, and she spun around and smacked him.

"Wh-what do you think you're doing?!" she demanded.

Soul rubbed his head where he received the blow, but was otherwise unfazed. "Turn back around for a sec. There's something on your back."

"There is?" Maka hesitantly turned back around.

The white-haired boy's fingers traced a roughly rectangular shape on her back a few times. "Where did this bruise come from?"

Where did it come from?

...Oh, yeah. She was shoved into a sink. She didn't think the impact was enough to bruise her, but apparently she was wrong.

"I don't know," she lied. "Maybe it happened while we were fighting."

Narrowing his eyes, Soul stopped tracing the bruise. To Maka's surprise, his voice also began picking up a note of intensity. "That's a lie and I know it. You haven't taken any hits that would wound you like that."

"Maybe it—" She cut herself short. No, she couldn't lie to Soul. He was her partner and best friend. So she retold everything that happened that night for the second time, and explained the conclusion and what she had used to make it.

Silence filled the room when the story was over. They were both sitting on Maka's bed, her head resting on Soul's shoulder while her partner quietly sat with an unreadable expression.

"I don't want you trying to take matters into your own hands," he said finally. "I don't want you getting hurt any worse."

The meister said nothing for another few minutes. "Being friends means always helping each other. I didn't say anything about it because I knew you would try to get in my way."

"I'm going to get in the way because it matters to me if you get yourself seriously hurt."

As partners, they always had to look out for each other. Maka felt as if she should be angry or at least frustrated, but she just couldn't—always having someone who would never stop caring was such a nice feeling that she silently clung to. "Trust is part of partnership. I need you to trust me when I say I'll be just fine."

There was hesitation, but the scythe nodded once. "If you say so...I'll trust you."

"Thank you, Soul." She smiled softly and grasped Soul's hand. She wouldn't usually be quite like this, but if she was supposed to do anything that helped her feel even a little more secure about things...

Author's Note: I CALL BULLCRAP ON THIS BULLCRAP.

*ahem* Uh, what I mean is...I don't know what's happening. The train got on the wrong set of tracks and now it's speeding farther and farther away from the intended destination. I'm not sure how I feel about this, but it wasn't even supposed to end up anywhere near here.

But~ Please review, and at least stick around for me to formally address the main conflict. I'll make sure that happens next chapter, I promise~