So, Sarah, what do you like best?

Sa: Well, I like manga, anime, fan-fiction, and reviewing fan-fiction, Oh! And musi—

You like reviewing fan-fiction?

Sa: Yeah, and Yaoi.

Ma: I like sing—

No one cares what you like Maka!

Ma: (quietly) But, I…

So: I still don't get it, what the heck is Yaoi?

Sa: It's b—

You don't need to know Soul.

So: But—

Ma: If the narrator says you don't need to know, you don't need to know, Soul!

Calm down, Maka, and let's get on with the fan-fiction.

Ma: Fine… ahem (puts on a serious tone) A sound soul, dwells within a sound mind, and a sound body.

. . .

Chapter 2: Let's Go- A New Challenger On stage?

When she was finished dressing, Sarah stepped out of the room hesitant. Much to Soul's surprise, she was dressed very similar to his Meister. She wore a long, white-sleeved shirt, with yellow sweater-vest, and short red plaid skirt. Even her curly hair had been combed to resemble the scythe-Meister's signature pigtails.

"Soul, can I see the school?" She sounded a bit calmer now than before.

What the heck? thought Soul. Why not?

It wasn't anywhere near time for school to start anyway.

He decided to start out small, so he wouldn't overwhelm the girl. But where to go first? Soul leaned continued to lean against the wall to think. It was only after a minute of thinking with his eyes shut that he realized Sarah was gone.

Geez, he thought bitterly. Talk about impatient. He surveyed the now empty space around him. It's like looking after a little kid!

Irritated, Soul walked down the hallway in search for her. Luckily, he found the girl standing in front of a vending machine near the corner of a corridor branching off the main hallway. A finger was on her lips in question.

"There you are," said Soul, laying a hand on her shoulder.

Immediately she flinched. "EEe!" she shrieked, before giving him a wide stare.

He blinked once, taking in her startled face. "I didn't mean to scare you."

"S-sorry for leaving." She looked down to her feet, hanging her head in shame.

"It's okay, really."

Sarah pointed to the machine in front of the two. "What's this?"

"What?" said Soul. "This?" That had to be the funniest thing he'd heard in a while. She had to be joking. Everyone knew what a vending machine was. Soul expected her to burst out in laughter, but astonishingly, he was met with an expectant look from his new, er, "charge".

Sighing, Soul answered. "This is a vending machine."

"What's it do?"

Seriously? This kid was a test of patience for sure. Reaching into his wallet, Soul pulled out one Deathnote and placed it in her hand. "Here."

Helplessly, Sarah stared at it like money was something new to her. Which it was, considering everything that Soul and the others had yet to quickly realize. But in any case the girl looked like she was on the verge of tears.

For the love of…

Literally, Soul had to take her hand holding the dollar and guide it to insert the money into the machine.

"Then, you push the button for the snack you want," he explained.

After a very long moment of deciding, Sarah pressed a button and out popped a strawberry toaster strudel wrapped in cellophane.

A minute after that little misadventure, the two arrived at a small playground. Soul had decided it was the best possible place to go, considering her nearly unbearable naïveté. In their pilgrimage there she had eaten the pastry and thanked Soul repeatedly.

It wasn't for very long that they stayed, only maybe half an hour. Enough time for her to examine most of the playground equipment while Soul sat on a bench and watched with some amusement as she nearly strangled herself with the swing set.

. . .

Remarkably, Soul had decided to bring her to class for the rest of the day. They arrived approximately five minutes before the bell, effectively meeting the others at their seats. The last new student to arrive after Crona of course, had to be Shadow, and neither Meisters were very talkative. Crona would usually whisper a meek answer, while Shadow herself would narrow her eyes and refuse to talk to anyone but Maka or Soul.

Tsubaki gave Sarah a small humble smile.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

Sarah gave that same blank look she had given Soul earlier.

"Would I not be okay for some reason?" Sarah replied.

"Well, you kind of d—" Soul gave Tsubaki a please-don't-mention-it look. The Weapon shrugged, shaking her head. "Oh it's nothing, really."

Tsubaki discreetly passed it on to Black*Star that yesterday's account was to not be retold. He willingly obliged. Besides, that day he wasn't the star anyway.

Class started then, with a slow clanging signaling its beginning. However, about thirty seconds anterior to the bell, everyone's favorite bookworm slammed open the door, causing the entire classroom to stare at her.

She was panting, and beads of sweat were gathered on her forehead.

"Sorry I'm late, Professor Stein," said Maka, out of breath by far.

He looked up from the puppy's corpse towards her; both hands armed with glinting scalpels. All the dog-lovers in the student body were weeping profusely. Dissection at usual for the daily lesson, then there was going to be a quiz on Advanced Soul Techniques.

"Maka?" Stein seemed genuinely confused. His eyes traveled to where Soul was seated next to Sarah and the rest of the crew. "I thought you were already in class."

Sarah raised her hand. "No, that's just me!" She sat with her hands in her lap, looking at Stein intently.

"Oh, Sarah-chan, you've recovered already? That was fast." He raised an eyebrow. "Okay, but why are you dressed like Maka?"

"I-It's a long story," replied Sarah, without a trace of pathos. "I'm not a fan of long stories, not really my style, y'know?"

Stein shrugged. "I was just wondering what you were doing here; you were critical just the other day. Oh well," he sighed, and turned back to his other subject on the examination table, a cowering white mouse. Maka moved her seat from in between Soul and Sarah, to Sarah's left.

"So Maka-sama," Sarah started, "Good morning, how are you?"

With a scowl, Maka replied. "I'm a bit angry with Soul, but otherwise fine."

"Angry at me?" He turned to Maka, but his Meister looked away when he did. "Why?"

"Tell him that someone should have left a note, or at least woken me up earlier." Maka let out an angry huff. "I had no transportation."

Soul frowned, confused as to why there was a miscommunication.

"Didn't you get my text?"

Maka curtly flipped open her magenta phone.

"Wnt 2 Shbsn 2 C Srh, To-k bke C U L8r K? - Soul," was what it read.

"Tell mister Soul Eater that he knows very damn well that I don't understand his cryptic text messages. Thanks to him, I had to run the entire way." She turned her attention to the windows today, rather than wanting to see Stein disembowel another innocent animal. Sarah, however, looked down on the scene of gore with a strange fascination.

Thankfully, by the end of the period Maka forgave Soul completely, much thanks to his own pitiful begging.

. . .

By the time lunch lazily rolled around, everyone was starving so they made their way to the lunch line eagerly. Picking up a beige tray from the island, Sarah stepped towards the salad bar.

Hm, nothing really good, she thought. But she picked up a couple of slices of red onion and tomato. Soul silently slipped beside her.

"Is that all you're gonna eat?" he asked; his tray was already full. Sarah made her way to another food station, and he followed. She shook her head, and the pigtails swayed.

"Definitely not. I'm starving" She went over to another station and picked up a box of fries, a cheeseburger, and chocolate pudding. Sarah paused at the fruit. Maka moved next to the pair.

"Hey, guys." Curious, she surveyed the spread. "Looks good." A purplish fruit caught her eye, and she grabbed it. "I love passion fruit."

"Funny," said Soul, slightly amused. His grin was stretched out wide. "You're not a very passionate person when it comes to—"

"Don't you dare finish that sentence," warned Maka. "I know what's going on in your little teenage boy head, Soul."

"You probably do…" he replied. Maka hadn't heard him.

"I know full-well that it's sometimes used as an aphrodisiac." Pause. "Emphasis on sometimes." She blushed. Soul rolled his eyes for the millionth time.

"I don't know what you guys are talking about," replied Sarah nonchalantly. She spooned several strawberries onto her plate. "These are my favorites, I think."

"You think? You still have amnesia?" Maka asked.

"I'm just not sure I remember." She picked up a banana. "This too. Why do you think you like passion fruit, Maka?"

Maka was taken aback. "Huh? Oh well because it's sweet, but also tart at the same time."

"Just like your personality…" said Soul snarkily from the corner of his mouth.

"Sh-sh-shut up, Soul!" said Maka, swinging a textbook at him.

Sarah tried to stifle a giggle with little success. "Well, I guess I like strawberries 'cause they remind me of someone, bananas too."

"Oh, who?" Soul asked. She glanced at his eyes then looked away.

"Yeah, who is it?" asked Maka.

"I-i-it's a secret, but I'll tell you." Sarah leaned in close to whisper in her ear. A question mark floated by Soul's head. "Well, strawberries are red, just like the color of Soul's eyes. And bananas for Kid's eyes likewise."

"O~h," Maka had seen the way Sarah stared at both of them during class. How, when Maka caught her, she'd pretend that she was gazing out the window.

Maka looked towards Soul. "Gyahaha!"

"What's so funny?" asked Soul and Sarah.

"Nothing," she sighed in between her giggles. "So Sarah, just out of mere curiosity, which fruit do you prefer?"

She smiled brightly and stuck out her tongue playfully. "Isn't it obvious? Strawberries, of course."

Not much later they spied a table and sat down, with the rest of their friends joining them.

"Hey, guys," said Kid. "It's good to see you're up and about Sarah-san." He gave a flirtatious smile.

Sarah reddened considerably. "Um, thank you." Then she quickly stood and bowed her head. "The honorable son of Lord Death shouldn't be polite to one such as I!" Her voice shook considerably from nervousness and attraction. Or was it the nervousness of attraction?

He held up his hands. "Please sit down; it's not that big of a deal, really."

"He's only being polite 'cause he thinks you're really hot." Liz interrupted.

"Yeah 'cause you're perfectly symmetrical, down to your boobs." Patty added.

Kid blushed a bright red, his yellow eyes wild.

"H-ho-how'd you—!" he stuttered.

"We saw you write it in your diary during class," Liz answered with a grin. "Seriously, Kid, if you want to keep something private, don't write it on steno pad, even if it is more symmetrical." She held up the pitch black diary for display. Underneath the metal spirals holding it together were three white lines going across all the way. Small white skulls were on the two bottom corners.

"Hey, give it back!" whined Kid on the brink of tears. "Don't tell them anymore!"

Liz cruelly flipped to a random page while Patty held him down.

"It's a journal not a—,"

"Dear Diary," read Liz. "I feel really depressed today; my life is spiraling into a black abyss, grabbing hold of me, suffocating me. I couldn't get any people to invite T.M Revolution and Abingdon Boys School to Death City. It sucks because they play all of my favorite songs, like Resonance, and—"

Boring, Liz thought, rolling her eyes as she flipped to another page. "OOOooo," she said, boldly skimming the contents:

"Dear Diary," Liz began again, this time imitating Kid's voice too. "Today, for some reason I feel completely and utterly confused. This morning I was strolling out of my bedroom when I saw Crona. He was walking out of the bathroom, he had just come from the shower, and he only wore a towel around his small frame, covering even his chest. (He's really self-conscious isn't he?) Anyways, Crona blushed when he caught me staring. I looked away the second he did. I don't even know why I was staring in the first place! Me! Death the Kid! I'm NOT gay, am I? But that can't be right, I mean, I like Maka don't I? She's real cute… Oh well, I feel like reading Catcher in the Rye, I'm so depressed and confused."

Crona was light pink, as was Kid. Most everyone was shocked, except for Patty. With a huge squeal she hugged Kid so suddenly he was too stunned to do anything but blush and smile foolishly.

"So~ kawaii! Shonen-Ai!" she exclaimed.

"Yaoi fans forever!" yelled Liz, putting down the journal. Kid snatched it away quickly, muttering.

Patty nodded happily, arms still around a smiling Kid. They exchanged "squees" and "kawaiis" until they were satisfied and sank back into their own seats.

"I don't get it," Soul whispered to Maka. "What's 'Yaoi' and 'Shonen-Ai'?"

Maka almost choked on the apple juice she'd been drinking. What? Why was he asking her? She wiped her mouth with her sleeve.

"You don't want to know, Soul," she commented calmly.

"But wh—," Maka gave him a severe sideways glare.

"You don't," she asserted coldly. Tsubaki and Maka exchanged a knowing glance in secret. They preferred to keep their statuses as Yaoi fan-girls safely hidden from their partners. Maka secretly smiled at the collaborative dounjishi she and Tsubaki had drawn of Soul and Black*Star. If Soul found it, he'd go ballistic, but surely he wouldn't unless he found himself rummaging around in Maka's underwear drawer.

When the bell their trays were vacant and it was time to leave.

"Want me to pick those up for you?" asked Soul to the girls.

"Thanks," Maka said.

"Thank you," Sarah said quietly.

"It's nothing," he shrugged while picking up the trays and placing them in the return. It was only until Soul joined them, when they all were walking away from lunch, that Black*Star asked his first intelligent question toward Sarah.

"So, Sarah, you have any place to stay?"

"She could most likely stay with us, right?" Kid asked hopefully.

"I mean, it's OK with us," Liz confirmed. "We have plenty of room."

"Yeah," said Patty. "Crona's Noooo problem, so you'd probably not be either!"

"Hey!" protested Maka. "Wait just a sec! I mean, that's not fair at all! Crona-kun already lives with you guys, so I think it's only fair that Sarah-chan should stay with us, right Soul?"

He grunted. "Why're you asking me? Go ahead, you never asked me if Blair could stay, and there she was!"

Maka ignored his complaints and began pulling Sarah along.

"C'mon Sarah-chan! We've got an extra bedroom since Blair moved in with her new boyfriend, Ikuto."

Thank, Shinigami. "Don't worry about clothes. Today after school we can buy some cute ones."

"You mean like yours and Soul's?"

"Sure, why not?"

. . .

At the exact same moment, Death Scythe happened to be walking past the group in the hallway. Immediately he stopped in his tracks and turned around. From the corner of his sea blue eye, Spirit noticed a familiar bright yellow sweater-vest, and vivid red skirt. He subconsciously wagged his happy, invisible puppy tail.

"My Maka!" he joyously exclaimed, blindly hugging Sarah. "You know Papa loves you!" Sarah glared at him, her eyes daggers. Spirit paused his snuggling. "Hmm?" he said confused. Spirit had suddenly noticed Sarah's glare.

"Get. Off." Her voice was so icy he froze.

"M-M-Maka, when did you dye your hair?" He looked her over again in confusion. "When did you get a tan?"

Sarah continued to stare, evil burning in her eyes.

Now he began to shake. "And get brown contacts?"

"I'm over here," Maka signaled, to Sarah's left. Spirit nearly fainted.

"Your soul looks really familiar," commented Sarah. In truth, she was more annoyed that some random guy was hugging her.

"You can see souls too?" everyone said in unison.

"Well, uh..." Sarah scratched her head, replaying what she just said. Sometimes, a memory would leak through unannounced and float into her conscious mind. She thought for a moment then turned on Spirit, now actively peering into his soul. "I think I know you…." Sarah chewed her lower lip in thought.

Spirit rubbed his chin with his thumb. "Yeah, likewise."

Then it hit him. No seriously, it hit him. Stein came rolling out of a classroom on his office chair and smacked him in the back of the head with a rolled up newspaper before disappearing down the hall and around the corner. Yes, it's amazing how well he can steer a chair.

Spirit seriously had forgotten all about the chart that Stein had showed him earlier this morning.

"You're Chad's little daughter, Sarah," he replied weakly. It was only when Sprit said her father's name that something changed in her eyes. Was it, realization?

"Uncle Spirit?" she murmured. Then, anger. "Uncle Spirit." She affirmed disapprovingly, frowning. "Maka, could you use your book for a sec?"

"Sure," replied Maka, smiling malevolently, holding her a Japanese-English dictionary.

"Maka Chop!" yelled Maka, nailing Death Scythe in the middle of his cardinal red hair.

"I remember now," said Sarah, flames of anime-drama surrounding her. "You're the reason papa was always late coming home. You and your damned cabaret clubs!"

"Yeah, sorry about that," he said, rubbing his aching head.

"Is that all you can say?"

"Geez, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" he repeated frantically, not like it helped to calm her down any. Sarah stood with her fists clenched, a shadow over her features.

"Papa," said Maka darkly, "You know Sarah-chan? How?"

He shrugged innocently. "C'mon Maka, how could you forget your cousin? You know, Sarah Albarn?"

Maka stared vacantly at her father. What did he just say? Sarah Albarn? She couldn't remember her, but Uncle Chad maybe.

That's right, papa does have a brother, she realized with a giggle.

"What?" asked Soul.

"What a normal name, 'Chad', when Papa's is so different."

"Yeah 'little brother' was always going on about my name," said Spirit. What was most ironic was that he called his older brother 'little brother'. He looked askance. "Well, he was. I never even got to go to his—never mind. He was a Weapon, like me."

"Hey, Sarah, you could be a weapon too!" Patty announced.

"Good point," muttered Liz.

"What?" Sarah snorted. "And just lay there?" She stared at them indignantly. "NO WAY, I like to fight. Besides, when I walk down these halls I want to be the one they say—," she spread her arms wide, "'that's the Meister who made a Death Scythe.' I'm going to surpass god."

She had heard Black*Star say this earlier, and thought it sounded pretty darn cool.

"Hey!" Black*Star complained. "Ora no furēzu o kyatchi! That's my catchphrase!" His light blue eyes were staring at her as if she'd just stabbed his mother. Meanwhile, Death Scythe used this moment while they were distracted to silently slip away.

"Get over it," threatened Sarah.

"Y-you wanna fight?" Black*Star pounded a fist into his palm. He wasn't going to let this go quickly, especially not from this shrimp of a girl that had been forced into their group.

"Oh, bring it on, shorty!" She held up her fists.

Black*Star suddenly paled; Sarah had struck a sensitive nerve.

"I'm taller than you!" he said indignantly.

"Your hair doesn't count!" she retorted.

"Just settle down," Soul suggested.

Sarah took a deep breath, and just like that, she was calm. "'Kay." she replied serenely.

Black*Star looked disappointed, running a hand through his vivid, spiky blue hair. He was looking forward to beating the tar out of the new girl. "What? I was gonna fight you."

Sarah looked at him, calm overshadowing her features.

"Are you an idiot?" She glanced at him sideways. "It's stupid to get worked up over a catch phrase. Very un-cool." It also seemed she was picking up some of Soul's dialog as well. then turned to Soul and Maka. "So, um—what class is next?"

"Gym," he said, "what else?" They made it to the locker rooms quickly, but when they did, they realized something.

"Um, I have to have a gym uniform don't I?" said Sarah.

"Oh yeah," Maka affirmed. "We don't have any extra girl uniforms do we?"

"I have an extra uniform," said the normally unprepared Soul Eater.

"Well that's it," said Maka, pushing Sarah into the locker-room

"W-wait—Ane! I can't wear—,"

. . .

Five minutes later they finally emerged, with Sarah wearing Soul's uniform. Soul's uniform. The thought of Soul wearing the same clothes made her feel warm and prickly all over—but in a good way nonetheless. She sniffed the shirt, it smelt like strawberries and cinnamon. Sarah smiled, a look between shy and bashful on her light brown face.

"This is really embarrassing," she admitted.

"It's okay," Maka assured her, "you look cute."

Apparently all the hormone-crazy boys in the class seemed to agree with Maka. There were quite a few appreciative whoops from the guys.

Maka scowled at them, and they became silent. "Idiots," she muttered.

Sarah and Maka helped each other stretch, an activity Soul and Maka previously shared. He stood on the sidelines, stretching by himself, looking lonely.

When Nygus-sensei blew the whistle, everyone gathered into two lines, the one on the left for girls and the other for boys. Maka stood in front of Sarah, while Kid stood to Maka's right, with Soul behind him.

"So, Kid, you goin' for eight seconds again?" Soul asked the young Grimm Reaper.

Kid nodded.

"Why do you like eight so much?" wondered Sarah aloud. The entire day she had been thinking about why the precocious little Shinigami was obsessed with that particular number.

"Because it's perfectly symmetrical both horizontally and vertically," replied Kid. "Last time I was off by .12 seconds."

"Just try not to faint if you don't get it this time," Soul reminded him, remembering the incident last time. Sometimes Kid's OCPD was just too much.

"I guess you're right," Sarah agreed.

"Besides," said Maka, smiling at Kid. "I like eight also. It means fortune, prosperity, or wealth in Chinese, and when it's turned on its side, it's an infinity symbol."

Sarah grinned as well. "I never noticed." She gave a little sigh. "When two people are in love, don't you think they should stay that way forever?"

Kid's blush spread to his ears as well. Oh, yes I do, he thought to himself, looking at the girls.

Meanwhile, the line in front of them was quickly shrinking, and it was almost time for him and Maka to run.

Maka went first for her time, since the girl's line always went first.

Sarah stared in amazement as Maka went flying down the track, her long legs taking beautiful strides toward Nygus-sensei, who clicked the stopwatch and nodded approvingly when she was finished.

"Eight-point-nine-two seconds," she said, scribbling it down. "Very good Maka-chan." The girls behind Sarah fumed. Maka was always the most athletic female Meister, they grumbled among themselves, how unfair. Maka went and sat on the sidelines next to the water cooler.

Next it was Kid's turn. He walked up to the line and took a deep breath, calculating how many steps he would need to—

"Good luck Kid," Sarah said brightly. "Do your best!"

He blanched. Do my best? This sentiment stuck in his mind.

Alright, my best. Death the Kid grinned dreamily. Eight? Who needs eight? He thought this for what was most likely the first time in his life. Kid was going to do his best. And his best was…pretty good. When he crouched down in the starting position his mind was set. He launched himself from the starting point so quickly that everyone was astonished. This was not the usual Kid they knew who always aimed for eight seconds. His feet went so fast they blurred, as well as the rest of him.

Nygus-sensei clicked the stopwatch and whistled. "Three seconds, on the dot." Maka nearly fainted from the shock. Kid—the number three? But didn't he love eight?

"Yay!" yelled Sarah from the sidelines. "Goooo, Kid!" She waved her arms with mounting excitement.

"Alright, settle down," yelled Nygus-sensei above the girl. The teacher looked at her clipboard. "Sarah Albarn, you're next."

Sarah stopped cheering and gulped. Sweat dripped from her brow. Everyone was staring at her. She could hear the whispers of "Albarn?" and "Is she related to Maka?" They all waited patiently for her to take her position at the starting lane. Crouching into the starting position, Sarah clenched her fists and closed her eyes. No one else is here, you are speed. You can do this Sarah. Her feet moved in an even rhythm, she kept her head down, eyes closed. Focus. Faster. But not too fast, you don't want to show off. You are the fastest girl here.

When Sarah heard the click of the stopwatch, she froze. Finished already? She wasn't even panting, not even a little.

Nygus raised a surprised eyebrow. "Eight seconds on the dot. That beats the highest record for the girls." She scribbled this down on her clipboard. "Impressive Sarah-san, you've beaten your cousin's old score."

For a couple seconds the whole track was silent. The other girls, (except for Maka) glared at her menacingly.

Maka jogged up to her cousin.

"Sarah-chan, Sarah-chan, that was so, cool. I can't believe someone actually beat my time."

It was then Soul ran up to them when he was finished. "That," he said while breathing hard, "was."-pant- "Sarah, you're pretty fast."

She twiddle her thumbs, unsure of how to respond other than a small thank you.

. . .

After school, Maka, Soul and Sarah made their way to way to the Death City mall on Soul's motorcycle. Since Maka sat behind Soul, Sarah sat behind Maka. Around every corner, Sarah would squeal with joy and hug her cousin's waist tighter.

When they arrived, Sarah was twirling around happily, yelling in between her joyous giggles, "Let's go again, let's go again!" as if it were some amusement park ride instead of a regular old bike. Her youthful energy made Maka laugh and pinch Sarah's cheek. Considering her lack of a memory, Sarah didn't mind being treated like a little kid, but she still rubbed the spot on her face and pouted. The trio walked through the sliding glass doors that had a skull painted on the front of them. Maka watched with a bemused smile as Sarah stared—awestruck by the high ceilings, quaint benches, and opal-colored tile. Maka took her cousin's hand.

"What do you want to buy?" Maka held up a silvery credit card with a skull on the corner. "Truthfully, I never really buy anything much except for books and a few necessities."

"Because you're boring..." sighed Soul. A slim red book connected with his face, and Soul clutched his nose in pain.

"Goddammit Maka!" he whined, muffled by his hands.

"So how about this store?" Maka pointed to an all pink boutique, which sported all types of pastel colored clothes, but mostly pink. In magenta letters the name of the place shimmered. Pretty n' Pastel, was what it was called. Sarah shuddered inwardly and tried to smile. Though she couldn't remember much, she knew from only one glance that pink was never her favourite.

"Um, well," her eyes roamed the mall for a different place. Any place at all. "How about there?" They turned and saw where she was pointing. Soul's eyes widened in surprise. Sarah was pointing to Dark Angel. It was as if some mad genius decided to combine Hot Topic, JC Penny, FYE, and Books a Million.

"Hey," said Soul, excitement actually overflowing in his voice, "that's my favorite store! Cool choice let's go." He grabbed Sarah's hand and they disappeared. Maka was ticked off that her cousin was stolen, so she ran after the two. When she had caught up, they had cozily gathered by the leather jackets.

"Look Maka!" Sarah held up a jacket in Maka's size. "You can get one too!"

Maka held it next to her thin frame. "Y'think it's really me?"

"Nope," said Soul, "But at least you'll look cool."

"We'll be matching too." Sarah added, picking up a jacket for herself. In the corner of her eye she saw something. "Ooo, look!"

Before them was a most impressive collection of Goth Lolita dresses and Cosplay outfits. She wheeled the small black cart she'd found near the entrance toward the racks and began sifting through the selection. All the frills and ruffles didn't seem to bother her when they came in darker colors.

Along the way Soul and Maka added a few desired items. They stopped at the fake fangs, each getting a pair, well except Soul, who already had sharp-looking teeth. Sarah stopped by the accessories and grabbed a few hair ties, not to mention a couple matching outfits on the racks beside them. On each accessory and outfit they claimed to be official recreations of the clothes from a show called 'Shugo Chara!', whatever that was. Maka and Sarah both agreed to check it out later on, though.

By the time they were ready to check out, various books, outfits, and movies that had given the store its signature look were already in their cart. At the cash register Maka swiped the card, which had Death Scythe's name on it, and smiled to the apathetic-looking cashier.

The cashier stared back, chewing her gum with an open mouth.

"Credit or Debit?" she said in a bored monotone.

"Debit," said Maka, typing in the pin number effortlessly, keeping eye contact with the cashier at all times.

As they walked away with their bags, Sarah whispered to her friends.

"Maka, was that Uncle Spirit's card?"

"Yup, he treats me all the time." Maka looked completely remorseless that she's just spent over 2, 568 dollars of her father's hard-earned cash. He used most of it for cabaret clubs, women, and drinking, so it technically wasn't that much of a big deal.

"You mean you lifted it off your old man," corrected Soul. "But one thing bothers me: how'd you find out the pin? And how'd you get away with it?"

"It was easy, he talks in his sleep." Maka winked. "Besides if you act all nervous at the cash register they'll figure something's up. You never let 'um see you sweat."

"Cool," said Soul.

"Cool," repeated Sarah, though she had no knowledge of pin numbers and bank accounts.

"I know, right?" Maka agreed. Later on, she would have to explain it to the girl.