Maka started smiling almost the instant she set foot in Death City library. It couldn't be helped. To her, this place was like a second home, and sometimes even more of one than the place she lived in. The cool air, the comfy chairs, the smell of books – both of old and new… all of those things spelt home to her.

Not to mention the familiar faces she would see; her coworkers, who she had practically grown up with. People of all ages who shared the same passion she had for reading, parents who never failed to bring their children to the library on weekends… It reminded Maka of the times her own parents would bring her to the library, in the early years of her childhood where there was no such thing as cheating fathers or absent mothers.

It was bittersweet, to say the least.

But the joy Maka felt from being surrounded by the people she'd grown to love and the shelves of books calling out her name overrode any of the negativity in her memories.

She greeted Azusa who was manning the front desk by waving cheerfully. The stern, bespectacled woman tapped the watch on her wrist, but waved back nonetheless. Fortunately, the lack of staff wasn't too awful, considering not many people came to library at this time – especially since exam period was still a considerable distance away. Azusa pointed upwards, and Maka nodded, knowing that she meant Marie was in the office waiting for her.

Quickly, Maka climbed up the circular flight of stairs to the last level of the three-storey high building, where the main office was. Knocking the door softly, Maka went in.

"Maka!" Marie greeted cheerfully, blonde hair bouncing as she stood. The eye that wasn't covered by an eye patch shone brightly.

"Hey Miss Marie."

The older woman made a displeased sound. "Miss Marie sounds really sad. It seems like it's just emphasizing how single I am."

Maka sighed, used to this. Her boss complained about it every week. "I call you that because it shows how young you are, Miss."

This time it was Marie who sighed. "I guess so. But still…"

"A-ah, Miss." Maka quickly exclaimed, knowing if Marie were to start on her daily 'I-want-to-get-married' monologues, she would never be able to start doing her job. "What was it that you needed me to do?"

"Oh right! I need you to sort the books on the shelves. It's a slow day, and there aren't too many books unsorted from yesterday, so you don't have to rush."

Maka nodded. "Right, I'll get started right away."

Before she could exit though, Marie called her name. "Ah, Maka, you should clock in. That way you can get the pay you deserve for working overtime."

Maka just shook her head. "Don't worry, Miss Marie. I wanted to help out today, you don't have to pay me for it."

Marie seemed touched by Maka's words, but still clucked her tongue. "Silly girl, I won't let you work without paying you. What kind of boss do you take me for?"

The younger student laughed. "Alright then, Miss Marie. I really appreciate it!" She told her, before closing the door gently behind her.

Marie let the smile linger on her face for a moment, before it dropped abruptly. She pulled out a piece of paper from where she had quickly slid it under when she heard Maka entering.

After staring at it for a moment, she placed a determined expression on her face, and proceeded to punch in numbers on the office phone.

Roughly two hours later, Maka was sorting the last few books into their shelves. It was true that there wasn't much to do, so Maka went about her work in a much slower pace than usual, occasionally taking books she had read before off the shelves to reread her favourite parts. The two other workers who were there just rolled their eyes at her, used to her tendencies by now.

She had completed the homework that was due the next day weeks ago, and so she was in no rush to go back home. Her father likely wasn't home either, and Maka didn't like the quiet of an empty house.

Humming quietly to herself, she pulled out yet another one of favourites; a romance novel written by one of her favourite authors. Books written by this person always featured women that were independent, and who always ended up with a really good-looking guy. Maka admired and envied them both aspects.

So engrossed in the action-filled chapter she was reading, it was no wonder she jumped and nearly dropped the book when someone called out to her.

As Maka attempted to regain her dignity, the woman who had called out to her smiled kindly, though her oddly coloured eyes didn't seem to reflect the same warmth. The two people who stood behind her weren't even smiling; a young, petite woman who was wearing a hat too big for her head, and a large, bulky man, who seemed to have only one eye.

Maka gulped. "S-sorry, could you please repeat yourself?"

The intimidating woman didn't seem amused by that, but she complied. "I'm looking for Marie Mjolnir? She owns this… library," She looked around pleasantly, though her words did rub Maka the wrong way, "Right?"

Maka nodded. "She's upstairs. In her office." The woman nodded, and turned to leave, but not before giving Maka one last glance, as though sizing her up.

Once she had left, Maka let out a breath of air that she hadn't known she was holding. Quickly placing the book she had been reading back to its original position, she marched over to where Azusa was alone at the front desk, pigtails flying with each heavy footstep she took.

"Who was that?" Maka asked, whispering, as soon as she was sure she was within earshot. Azusa spared her a glance, pushing her glasses up as they began to slip off her nose.

"That was Medusa. Medusa Gorgon." She looked at Maka expectantly but Maka merely inclined her head, indicating she explain further. "From the Gorgon Company?" Again, Maka merely shook her head, the name not ringing any bells. Azusa sighed. "She's the landlord. She owns half the buildings in the area."

Maka frowned slightly, green eyes flashing in recognition. "But what is she doing here?"

Azusa shrugged, but Maka knew she was withholding information. Moving closer, Maka leaned against the counter. "Just tell me."

Azusa sighed, knowing that she was only fighting a losing battle if she didn't, considering how stubborn she knew the younger girl could be. "I'm not entirely certain." She started, looking at Maka sharply before she could say anything, "I'm telling you the truth. But… I have a hunch."

"Tell me." Maka repeat, quickly plastering on a smile as she cheerfully waved at one of the leaving patrons.

Azusa sighed. "Fine. But you have to promise you won't go marching up there, especially while she's still here."

The younger girl made a non-committable noise, but nodded all the same.

Azusa leaned in marginally closer, and said, "I think she's trying to shut down the library."

"What?!" Maka shouted. Several people looked up; some annoyed, most amused; being regular patrons, they were used to the teenager's explosive temper.

Azusa frowned at her, "Maka."

Forcing down a curse word she knew would definitely land her in trouble, Maka took a deep breath. After releasing it, she mumbled a quick apology. A tense moment of silence passed before Maka spoke up.

"She can't do that." She whispered furiously.

"She can." Azusa stated calmly, but from the way she was clutching the stack of files she was organizing on her desk told Maka that she was no where near being calm.

All of a sudden, Azusa quickly straightened up, and subtly, started gesturing for Maka to turn around. The younger girl did so, and immediately tensed up; but not from fear, from recoiled fury.

There, a few metres ahead of them was the trio from before. As though feeling Maka's stare on her, Medusa tilted her head slightly to the left. Noting the terribly contained anger written clearly on the girl's face, she smirked slightly, and made her way to them. Out of the corner of her eye, Maka saw Azusa's shoulders tense up.

"This place is quite… empty, isn't it?" The older woman stated innocently, looking around at the few patrons seated sparsely in the reading area, oblivious to the tension in the room.

"Why, yes Ma'am." Azusa stuttered, standing up quickly before Maka could say a word. "Not many people frequent the place during this timing, especially considering the exam period is still quite a few weeks away."

"I see…" Placing her finger on her chin in the universal gesture for thinking, she looked at Maka, "My my, doesn't it seem like reading for leisure is turning considerably rarer these days? It makes you question where exactly the library stands in the hearts of the citizens, am I right?"

Maka just glared.

Smiling coldly, Medusa turned to leave. Her companions, or rather, subordinates, quickly went to flank her either side.

Maka was still seething when Azusa placed a firm hand on her shoulder. "That was a foolish move, Maka." She reprimanded, but before Maka could mumble out a half-hearted apology, she smiled crookedly. "But very brave. Huh, looks like I was right." Lifting her hand off Maka's shoulder, she proceeded to sit back down and continue where she had left off with her work.

Anyone unfamiliar with the older woman would have assumed that she was unaffected by what had transpired, but knowing Azusa since she was a child, Maka knew that wasn't true at all. The slight frown marring her stern features was already a huge clue that she was feeling upset over what had happened.

"Azusa-san…" Using the title her mother had taught her to address her childhood friend with, Maka was going to offer her some support, but trailed off when Azusa firmly shook her head.

"I think Marie needs your shoulder more than I do right now."

Nodding, Maka turned to leave, but not before managing to hear Azusa whisper quietly to herself, "For once, I wish I had been wrong." Feeling even more desperate to offer solace, Maka bounded up the stairs two at a time, words to say and actions to comfort running through her mind.

Soul 'Eater' Evans stood at his locker, taking out the books he would need for the next few hours in school. The day hadn't even begun and he already felt bored out of his mind. It wasn't that he didn't enjoy school, really, he had nice teachers and great friends, and he did, contrary to popular belief, enjoy learning from time to time.

However, there were just some days where he'd look at the timetable, and instinctively know that the day was going to suck. It was probably because he had History today, which he hated, and Fridays were naturally always overshadowed by the weekends that were to come.

Also, he didn't have any classes with Maka.

That thought bummed him out a lot more than he would like to admit, but he wouldn't deny it if someone were to accuse him of it.

Too wrapped up in his own thoughts, he almost missed it when the person in those thoughts walked by him. The swish of two ashy blonde pigtails in his peripheral vision didn't go unnoticed though, and after grabbing the books he thought were most likely needed, he quickly slammed his locker shut and jogged lightly to catch up with her.

"Oi, Maka." Soul called out when he was in earshot, and she turned around at her name.

"Oh, hi Soul."

He frowned a bit, falling into step beside her. "Hey, you okay? Usually you wouldn't just ignore me." Soul joked, noticing how Maka looked a little too tired and a lot too sad. She only mumbled a soft apology, and his cautious worry quickly developed into real worrying.

In silence, they continued walking, but even when they reached his classroom, he didn't make a move to go into it. Despite not saying a word to him, Maka noticed immediately.

"You have History first period today, right? Wasn't that your classroom?"

"I see someone's memorized my timetable. A little eager aren't we?" Soul teased, not wanting to miss the opportunity that very rarely revealed itself. At his words, Maka blushed fast and easy, but still managed a small frown at him.

"I know you've memorised mine too." She told him, taking a little satisfaction in the way his cheeks visibly burned. "But you didn't answer my question!"

"Yes and yes." He answered then. There was a beat where they stared blankly at each other, stopping in the middle of the busy hallway, where dozens of students were milling about, trying to get to their classes with all the necessary materials.

"Well?" Maka asked, hand poised on her hip, eyebrow arched. Soul recognized that as the 'don't-play-with-me' look she had mastered ever since she was out of the womb.

"Well what?"

"Why?"

"Why what?"

Of course, being him, he still hadn't learnt his lesson.

The book crashed down on his head faster than he could have blinked.

"Ow… Geez I was just messing with ya!" He whined, rubbing his throbbing head. Maka scoffed, nose in the air as she stuffed her hardcover book into her duffel bag.

"I'm not in the mood for your 'messin'," She raised her fingers in the universal gesture for the use of apostrophes, "Soul."

At that, Soul straightened. "Yeah, that's why."

"Huh?"

"That's why I'm not in my class right now. You looked really upset." He saw how her back immediately straightened, saw her defenses go up.

"Well, I'm not." Maka told him adamantly. "Now you can go to your class."

"I don't believe you." He told her simply, crossing his arms over his chest.

She huffed. "I'm not lying to you." She said smoothly, though Soul saw how she couldn't meet his gaze as she said those words.

"Yeah you are." His voice softened, and he looked at her slightly imploringly. "You don't have to, you know?"

At that, he saw stiffen for a moment, and then visibly deflate. Her lips trembled slightly, and if Soul didn't know her any better, he would have assumed she was going to start bawling right in the middle of the hallway, barely seconds before the bell would ring.

"Yeah…" She closed her eyes, sighing softly. "I know."

When she opened her eyes, Soul saw his reflection in the slightly wet green eyes.

"I'll tell you about it later, alright?"

"Alright." He agreed, just as the bell started ringing. Maka made a small squeak before she rushed off to her class, Soul doing the same.

Once classes had ended for the day, Soul immediately stalked out of class, barely seconds after the teacher had dismissed them. His strides were purposeful, only one aim in mind – find Maka.

That was why he groaned so loud when he heard the familiar, obnoxious voice of his best friend calling his name.

"Yo, Black Star." He greeted tonelessly, but despite his less-than-friendly greeting, the blue-haired boy still grinned at him widely.

"Yo, Soul!" He shouted back, even though he was the one who had called out to Soul first and they were barely a foot away from each other. "Wanna hang out at my house? Play some games, drink some beer – y'know, men stuff. We can invite Kid over too. Sid and Nygus aren't in town, they went to visit her parents over the weekend." He quickly added, as Soul raised an eyebrow at him.

Sid and Nygus were Black Star's adoptive parents, after Sid, a rookie cop at that time, had rescued an infant Black Star from his burning home – set on fire by his biological family's enemies. He and Spirit Albarn, Maka's father, had been on an overseas assignment in Japan, and had found themselves in the midst of a centuries-long feud between clans.

Sid had grown attached to Black Star for the few days' they remained in Japan, and though it went against regulation, their seniors managed to somehow pull enough strings to guarantee that Black Star would be Sid's from then on.

Soul made a disgruntled sound at the back of his throat. "Can't. Gotta go find Maka now."

"Maka?" Black Star placed a finger on his chin, stroking it as though in deep thought. "Well, I guess Maka could come too…"

"No, I mean, I can't. I have to find Maka, like now."

"Alright, I'll help ya! With my amazing skills we'll find her in no time!"

Soul sighed, passing a hand through his hair, "I don't think Maka'd appreciate that, Star. She's kind upset with something right now."

"Maka's upset?" Soul glanced at the shorter boy, noticing how his tone had changed. "Who made her upset? I'll punch the living daylights out of them!"

It was then that Soul remembered that the day Black Star had been brought to America was the day Maka had been born; Spirit had barely made it back on time. As a result of that, the two had grown up practically side by side; being each others' first crushes, attending self defence lessons together at their fathers' station, being brought to those stations on Bring Your Child Day.

Thus, Black Star had developed a pseudo brotherly fondness for Maka, and was fiercely protective of her, despite, or because of, the girl's independence.

He had, Soul remembered with a shudder, displayed that trait after their accident. The hospital had needed to add two days to his stay, probably more if Black Star had actually laid a hand on him.

His punching a hole in the wall right next to Soul's head was effective enough.

"I don't know." Soul finally answered. "She was supposed to tell me now, which is why I'm looking for her… If you want to, I guess you could co-"

"I'm coming with you." He said before Soul could even finish his sentence. The latter quickly cleared his throat.

"Right, sure."

Knowing that Maka's last lesson had ended an hour before his, Soul started walking to the library. It was there she always waited for him before they had lunch, sometimes just the of them, sometimes with the rest.

They walked in silence for a while, before Soul stopped. It was a little too quiet, he hadn't even heard Black Star's heavy footsteps behind him for several steps. Looking back, he saw the other boy just standing there, looking confused.

"Where ya going?"

"The library. Maka usually hangs there after school." He was about to turn back and continue on his way, but Black Star still wasn't moving. Instead, he had just cocked his head to one side.

"There's a library here?"

Maka sat in her favourite corner of the small school library, bent over an essay she had just been assigned for Classic Literature. Though it lacked the homeliness she had come to expect from the public library, it's familiar smell of worn books and the undisturbed quiet calm still made it one of top places she liked to just sit in and get her thoughts together.

However, right now, even the therapeutic atmosphere of the library wasn't enough to keep her thoughts from driving her crazy.

It was just so… frustrating. How someone could just waltz in as if they owned the damn place, even if they technically did, and order it to be closed within a few weeks so that it can be demolished for a shopping mall.

It pissed her off beyond reason.

Maka didn't care who this Medusa person was, or what kind of power she held. All she cared about was how that witch had hurt someone she loved, and was trying to take away something she loved – something that held memories of a simpler time with the one she loved most.

She didn't realise she was writing so furiously until she accidentally punctured her paper by dotting her i a little too hard.

With a groan of frustration, Maka quickly tried to smoothen the tiny tear to make it less obvious, and soon let out another groan, this time of annoyance, as the familiar voice of Black Star dominated the library. There was a plethora of shushes from all over the library, and Maka was glad no one could see her face at that moment, red from secondhand embarrassment. The blush had barely begun to fade before Black Star bounded into her little corner.

"Yo, Maka!" He greeted, rushing over to join her where she sat, hopping on to the table.

"Black Star…" Maka sighed in exasperation, rubbing her hands over her face. "Please don't sit on the table. There are chairs for a reason." She lifted her hands off for a moment to glare at him, "What are you even doing here? I thought you didn't know this place even existed."

"Didn't." He answered simply, completely missing the insult Maka had aimed at him.

"Yeah, sorry about that." Another voice joined them, this one as familiar and more comforting to Maka. "I kinda told him you were upset and he was worried." Soul pulled out an unoccupied chair across from Maka, smiling apologetically.

She sighed, unable to feel as betrayed as she wanted to considering how touched she was that Black Star was so worried just because she was upset.

Black Star avoided her gaze, but she still smiled at him. He cleared his throat, "Yeah of course! A God has to worry about his followers, ya know?"

At that, both Maka and Soul let out a sigh, facepalming themselves simultaneously.

"Anyhoo," Black Star said, voice rising to his usual octave. Several people shushed them, this time sounding more agitated than compared to moments ago, and Maka gave Black Star a warning glare. For once, he seemed to understand her and miraculously actually lowered his voice as he continued, "Why are ya upset?"

At his words Maka felt her spirit, which had been lifted up for a moment, immediately come crashing down. She instinctively hunched into herself, hugging her arms to her chest as she replayed the conversation she had with Marie the day before.

She had stopped directly in front of Marie's office, taking a deep breath before she had knocked gently. After a moment passed where she got no answer, Maka turned the doorknob slowly, relieved that it was unlocked.

"Miss Marie?" The older woman's back was to her as she entered the room. Quietly, Maka had shut the door behind her. In the silence, Marie's soft sniffles were amplified, despite her desperately trying to soften them. Walking over to her, Maka wrapped her arms around the woman's waist; wanting to comfort as Marie had comforted her in her youth, when she had run to the library crying as her Mama and Papa fought yet again.

Maka felt Marie still in her arms for a moment, and she gently hugged her just a little bit tighter, and after a moment felt the blonde shake a little. Marie placed a hand over her mouth to muffle her cries, but Maka just continued to hug her.

After a while, Marie quiet crying stopped. Sighing, she rubbed her eyes, and Maka let her go.

"I'm sorry Maka." Her voice lilted up at the end, obviously attempting to sound cheerful. "Ah… It's so silly, crying in front of you." Marie rubbed her eyes again, and then gave Maka a tearful smile.

Maka felt a little angry at her words, but more than that, she felt hurt. Really hurt.

"Mi-… Marie-san." Like she had done with Azusa, Maka reverted back to the title she had called Marie with when she was younger, and the result was instantaneous. Marie's fake smile immediately crumbled off her face, and her lips began trembling again. "Marie-san… What did she say?"

"They want to tear down the library and build a mall instead." Maka forced out, eyes squeezed shut. After a tense moment of silence, Maka cracked open one eye to see how the boys had reacted to her news.

Soul was staring at her, mouth slightly agape, looking horrified.

Black Star's mouth was open too, but after a few more seconds, his face quickly changed. He seemed to be trying hard not to smile, but of course, Black Star wasn't known for his self-restraint. He burst into loud laughter, ignoring the furious shushing that was aimed at him from all directions, clutching his stomach as he doubled over from laughing too hard.

When he finally seemed a bit composed, he looked at Maka, who, after looking properly offended, was just full-on glaring at him. Wiping a tear from his eye, he said, "Seriously, that's why ya're so upset?"

Honestly, he should have known better than to make Maka angry in a library.

After all, he remembered as he lay on the floor, head throbbing painfully, they were surrounded by books.

The head librarian had come to check out the commotion, but when she saw Black Star groaning on the floor, clutching his head in pain, she decided to just pretend she never saw anything.

Opting that the safer option was to leave his friend on the floor, Soul turned back to look at Maka, who was looking even sadder now.

"Don't listen to him Maka, dude's an idiot."

She sighed. "I know that. But… if he reacted that way, I'm just wondering how the public will react when they hear the news." Maka placed her arms on the table, leaning towards Soul, "At first I thought that they'd be against the whole idea, and we'd have a huge city-wide protest against what Medusa wants. But…" She glanced down at Black Star, who was finally regaining his bearings. "What if they react like he did?"

She chuckled softly, green eyes downcast. Seeing her like that made Soul feel sad too. Unconsciously, he reached across the table and placed his hand on hers. At his touch she jumped a little, but then smiled down at their hands sadly.

"It's just that, the library is pretty much the only place where I have good memories with my mother left. We used to visit the library every weekend when I was a kid, and we'd read all the fairy tale books." Maka laughed, but it sounded sad, "Sometimes Papa would tag along too. And he'd never look at another woman, because he loved listening to Mama read the stories out loud too."

She was silent for a while, letting Soul's touch comfort her, before she asked him quietly. "Do you think it's a stupid thing, to want to keep this library?"

"Of course I don't!" He answered with so much reverence that Maka was a little taken aback. "That library means a lot to you, and I'm sure it means a lot to other people too." He stroked her hand with his thumb as he spoke to her, and Maka had a feeling that he didn't realise what he was doing. Not that she minded though.

Soul looked at her, a determination blazing in his red eyes that ignited a spark of it in her own. "I don't care who this Medusa person thinks she is, we won't let her take the library."

The sudden clapping made both of them jump in their seats. "Well said, my follower. Seems like I've taught ya well."

Soul retracted his hand from Maka's as he turned to face their friend, and she tried not to dwell on the fact that she felt a little empty without his comforting touch.

"What's with the sudden change of heart?"

Black Star stood, dusting himself off and then placing his hands on his waist. "I just didn't realise it meant so much to ya." He said, looking at Maka, tentatively smiling a small smile at her, hoping she could see the apology he had concealed under those words. At the small inclination of her head, Black Star knew it meant he had been forgiven, and his smile grew wider.

He slammed a hand down on the table, looking at both Soul and Maka.

"We'll save the library." He promised, and Soul nodded his agreement and own silent promise. Maka beamed.

"Just one question…" Black Star said sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. The two of them looked up at him expectantly.

"Where's the library?"