Kami couldn't believe it; she had only been in the academy for a month now and she was already injured! She had been training and fell off a cliff onto a sharp rock…how stupid. She felt like her first injury should have been something cool like from a battle with a kishin or something; not this! So now here she was, in the academy's infirmary lying in bed with a huge gash in her side…this was the epitome of what sucks…

God she felt like such a royal dumbass! She should be better than this! She was top of her class for crying out loud! Ugh…she wondered if people were making fun of her outside right about now…probably, and she could hardly blame them if they were. Ouch…this really hurt…

"Hey Kami!" a cheerful voice called; it was all too familiar.

"Hey Marie." Kami said, attempting a smile despite her discomfort.

"I was really worried when I heard you got hurt. How are you feeling? Is there anything I can do for you?" Marie said all at once.

Kami couldn't help but feel better already. Marie was such a caring person; so naturally nurturing. She was a gentle and kind girl who wanted to make friends with everyone; she had been her first friend. Not only was Marie kindhearted though; she was kickass! Something that Kami admired very much. It sure hadn't taken long to discover what sort of weapon Marie was, due to her fiery temper.

"I'm fine Marie." Kami assured her. "I can't think of anything in particular I want you to do…unless you want to get me a glass of water; that would be nice."

"I'll get it right away!" Marie said with a bright smile. Wow…was that girl ever down?

After a few moments of scrambling around, Marie brought Kami the requested glass of water. "Here you are. Oh I almost forgot! Do you need any ice?"

Kami laughed. "Really Marie; it's ok!"

Marie sat by Kami's side quietly for a few moments but after a bit of time, giggled.

"What is it?" Kami asked, curious as to why her friend was so suddenly amused.

Marie looked at her with a sweet smile. "Watching you drink made me think of Stein. Did you know he drinks out of beakers?" Marie giggled.

Kami sweatdropped. "Seriously? That guy sure is strange…"

"Yes, but he's not so bad once you start chatting with him." Marie countered, waving a finger.

"What do you mean by chatting? Every time you approach him he doesn't say much of anything." Kami said with confusion.

"He'll come around eventually; I'm sure of it…" Marie said closing her eyes.

Kami smiled a bit. She could tell that her friend had taken a liking to Stein even though they hadn't known each other that long. Kami couldn't understand it…that guy seemed like a project. What made EVEN LESS sense was that he was Spirit's meister. I mean, how the hell could they be compatible with one another in ANY way? Spirit was chatty and Stein was silent. Spirit was flirtatious and Stein didn't show interest in ANYONE. Spirit social and had a zest for life…and was also always finding a way to stir up trouble, whether he meant to or not…and of course Stein was the opposite of all that. Who knows; maybe opposites balance each other out. Still though…Kami figured that there was a point where people could be TOO opposite…right? Who knows…she would have to learn more before she could judge.

"You seem to like him quite a bit." Kami said somewhat mischievously. Kami was smart and not a trouble maker but she enjoyed teasing her friends sometimes.

Marie's cheeks flushed a bit. "W-well…he's interesting!" Marie explained quickly.

Kami laughed. Suuuure that's why she hung out with him….gag…Marie had a crush already. Kami couldn't understand that either. How could Marie become so easily infatuated? And with someone like Stein no less. Kami made yet another assumption…she supposed that some people were just more romantically minded than others, and from what she knew about Marie so far, that seemed to be the case. The hammer weapon was always paging through romance novels when she had the time, watching romance movies, or swooning over other couples….especially married ones.

"Yeah I guess interesting is one way to put it." Kami said.

Interesting; more like disturbed…who the heck dissects living things for fun?

KNOCK KNOCK…

"Come in!" Kami called. Her face twisted into one of complete and utter confusion when she saw who stepped in.

"Oh, Stein hello!" Marie greeted warmly.

Stein said nothing and simply walked up to Kami's side and held out a plastic bag with some pill inside.

….?

"Here. It's medicine." Stein stated.

Kami looked at him with apprehension and raised a brow. "What kind of medicine?" She didn't trust this Franken Stein. He was a scientist and she was sure he would be delighted to use her as his newest guinea pig.

"For pain. I'm sure it will work better than any medicine they will give you. I made it myself." Stein explained.

"Am I an experiment?" she asked with some anger in his voice.

"Kami…don't get so angry at him." Marie said softly.

Stein smirked, making Kami glare suspiciously. "You are an experiment in a sense I suppose. I'd like to see how much this medication aids you." Stein said.

Kami blinked a few times in shock and Marie smiled. "Take it." He said pressing it into her arms. "Tell me later how it worked for you." He said before walking out the door.

Silence….

I can't believe it…wow…maybe Marie was right; maybe this Stein guy has a good side to him. Agh…I can't believe what a jerk I was. I completely judged Stein to be a loon and treated him like he was a freak right away…

"So Kami." Marie began with a thoughtful smile, jerking Kami from her thoughts. "I think now you see what I mean…"

Kami smiled at Marie and nodded. "Ah! Kami, I'm going to be late for class! I'm sorry but I have to go for now. Will you be alright here alone?"

"Oh come on. I'll be fine, Marie." Kami said rolling her eyes.

Marie giggled "You're tough; I know!" and with that Marie took off.

Kami laughed lightly to herself. She's probably going to get lost on the way to class because I'm not there to help her…

KNOCK KNOCK

Someone else? But classes were in session; maybe a nurse?

Ugh…damn…she growled at the sight of who walked in. She rolled her eyes.

"Hey Kami. How are you feeling? I've been worried." Spirit said gently with a smile.

"Yeah sure…I'll bet you say that to every other girl who ends up in the infirmary." Kami grumbled. She was shocked when his face looked slightly hurt…but soon his smile returned.

"I guess I can't make you believe anything, but I really do care about you Kami. Now, to the point." He said striding up to her side.

She scooted away from him, slightly uncomfortable with him entering her personal bubble.

"Hey, don't get so high strung." He said casually. "You can relax around me."

"Yeah right; you might try to molest me for all I know." Kami retorted. She was not going to be that easily convinced, knowing his nature when around women.

He frowned again…this frown…she didn't like it. She might not have been his biggest fan but for some reason his saddened expression was making her stomach twist into knots…and making her heart strings pull tight? What the heck?

"I promise I won't" he said kindly. "I just brought something for you is all."

She raised a brow and but also relaxed a bit. Removing his hand from behind his back, he offered her a small, thin, rectangular, spring green paper wrapped package. It had a lovely blue ribbon going across it.

"What is this?" she asked curiously.

"Well you're just going to have to open it aren't you?" Spirit said, winking.

Kami glanced down at the small gift and unwrapped it gently…she couldn't believe it…

"A really nice chocolate bar…you remembered that was my favorite candy." She said in slight disbelief.

Spirit smiled. "Of course I did. Why would I ask if I didn't plan to remember it?"

She looked at him with her emerald eyes and for the first time since she had met him, she smiled… "Thank you." She said simply.

"Hey it's no problem. I thought it might make you feel a little better. So, did it help?" Spirit asked.

He's always so lighthearted…and he's kind…maybe I misjudged you too Spirit…

Kami felt a knot in her stomach when she remembered Stein…she had judged him too. She had diagnosed Stein to be a weirdo who was cruel, with no interest in others, and now she had judged Spirit to be flighty, insincere, and selfish.

"Yeah, I feel a little better." Kami said casually, now feeling a slight more comfortable around him.

"That's great." Spirit beamed.

Wait a minute! "Hey, aren't you missing class?" Kami asked. She was the type to care VERY MUCH about her education, and so she had a difficult time swallowing the idea that someone would knowingly skip out.

"Yep!" he said simply, giving her a thumbs up.

"Are you serious? Why are you here then?" Kami asked, completely baffled. Sure he was a little ignorant but she didn't think he'd just chuck his education out the window. Ugh, maybe he was just here to piss away class time so he didn't have to work.

"Because you're more important to me than class." Spirit said seriously.

Serious? She had no idea he could be this way…

"Come on Kami, I can miss one class can't I? And I would still come here even if it meant missing a whole month of school! Because….I like you…" he said softening near the end of his sentence.

Kami's eyes widened…was he serious? She looked into his teal-aqua eyes…those eyes were actually quite lovely…he meant it; she could tell.

"Thank you…I think I might have misjudged you." She said.

Spirit chuckled. "Well sort of. I am a flirt but that's only because I'm so incredibly good looking!" Kami growled. "But…you were wrong about me in some sense…I'm not just around to make trouble. I have feelings you know…"

Kami relaxed once again. "Well…I guess I'm just going to have to get to know you better then huh?" she said smiling a bit.

Spirit returned her smile. Kami hated to admit it but…he looked really cute…but that was it! He was cute but that was it!

That aside though…she found a part of her, a small as it might be, looking forward to getting to know this Spirit Albarn better. And little did she know that Spirit was thrilled. One thing was certain; things were going to be VERY interesting.