A/N: I'm not particularly happy with this chapter, but I did want to post something before I go on a three-month hiatus. So it will probably change sometimes in the future, but I did want to start introducing new characters. I have so many ideas for the direction of this, and I hope that later I can come back and fix it up.

Maka could hardly believe her eyes when she walked into the studio that morning. She was early, as usual; wanting to arrive before the other girls so she could warm up. Soul had already met her on the way to school, stopped at her locker, and continued with her to class. She didn't know where he waited before his class began, since they had nearly forty-five minutes before class started. Soul, however, met her everyday unfailingly. She'd opened the door, already thinking about which warm-ups she'd start with. She'd expected a quiet room, with the early morning sun streaming through the huge glass windows.

She hadn't counted on somebody already being there.

"No, Patti. Your hips are twisted. And your leg isn't the same height as your sister's," an exasperated voice said. "And your arm! Lower your back arm! You have to look symmetrical!"

"Sorry, Kiddo-kun," a girlish voice said. Maka watched the girl take all of these corrections on board and fixed herself quickly. Maka watched the two girls hold these positions, while a boy considered it. One of the girls was tall and lithe, with beautifully extended legs and emitted grace. Her turnout, too, was extraordinary – it looked so natural, and not forced. She had a perfectly centred blonde bun. However, the girl next to her, Patti, was slightly shorter and more curvaceous. Her legs weren't as long or graceful, but Maka could tell that she strong legs, and was probably a brilliant jumper. Her hair was too short to be swept up into a bun, and was instead pinned back into a half-up half-down style, tied with a bright red ribbon.

"Okay, relax," the boy said, turning away from the girls to his notes. The taller girl lowered her leg with ease and turned to face Patti. Patti too, turned; and caught sight of Maka in the doorway.

"Hello!" she squealed. "Are you a student here?"

"Uh," was all Maka could get out. The tall girl whipped her head around, eyeing Maka with caution. The boy, too lifted his head from his notebook, and squinted at her. Patti began to sprint over to her, but the boy held up a hand.

"Nobody move," he said. "I don't want it destroyed."

Maka just stared at him.

The boy came charging at her and grabbed her two pigtails. "So beautifully symmetrical!"

The tall girl facepalmed. Patti giggled.

She wasn't quite sure what to make of this boy as he obsessed over her twin tails. She could see that his eyes were a striking shade of gold; a colour Maka had never seen before. The colour highlighted the intensity of his gaze and matched his eye for detail. His hair was dark and swept across his forehead, except for three white horizontal stripes.

"Sorry," the tall girl said, approaching Maka. "You'll have to excuse Kid. He has a thing for symmetry."

Kid.

Death the Kid.

The principal's son.

Maka's eyes went wide. The rumours about this boy in the dance world were plentiful. He was brilliant, but a little bit strange. He was a fantastic dancer, and an even more fantastic choreographer. His eye for symmetry made all of his works unparalleled in perfection. Maka had seen one of his works not long ago, and indeed, it had been spectacular – especially for a seventeen-year-old.

Kid had stopped stroking her hair, but was still staring at her with glazed-over eyes. Liz put a hand on his shoulder.

"Come on, Kid. Quit scaring the poor girl." she said.

Kid's eyes came back into focus, but he still looked at Maka with a certain amount of longing.

"It's lovely to meet you," he said, producing a hand. "Miss…?"

"Albarn," she said quickly. "Maka Albarn."

"Albarn?" Patti squeaked. "You're Spirit's daughter."

Maka nodded.

"We're joining your class!" said Patti excitedly. "I hope we become great friends, Maka-chan!"

Maka was surprised at this. Liz and Patti were definitely much older than her, and while Shibusen didn't really have an age restriction on the classes, most of the students here were young, due to the nature of performing arts. In the other factions, it was more common to have older students, but not in the dance faction.

"I discovered Liz and Patti while I was in New York," Kid explained. "They were in a small theatre, performing."

Liz snorted. "We were burlesque dancers."

"Yes, yes, whatever," Kid wove his hands like that was unimportant. "Anyway, I had to bring them back. There's so much potential."

"We were the only ones who could deal with his retardation."

"They were just what I had in mind for the end of the year," Kid continued dreamily, ignoring Liz. "But they still have a fair way to go before their technique is up to scratch. But their style…it's perfect."

He turned his attention back to Maka. "Miss Albarn, I'm sure you'd be a fine influence on Liz and Patti. You know what it is like to be a ballet student, and Shibusen, better than myself. My father never felt that it was appropriate for me to be here."

"I wonder why." Said Liz drily.

"Anyway, Liz, Patti," Kid continued. "And Maka, of course. Work hard."

And with those words, Kid exited the room.

"Um," Maka repeated.

"Oh, don't mind Kiddo-kun," said Patti, slinging an arm around her neck. "He's a little strange, but he means well. And, he's a genius."

"He certainly is," Liz agreed. She walked from her sister's side and approached the barre, placing one hand on it. She rotated her legs into first position, and Maka was amazed at how flat her turnout was. She raised her arm in second, and began to plie. Patti skipped over to her sister, and mimicked her actions.

Maka just kept staring.

"Well," Liz said. "What are you waiting for? A written invitation? Correct us."

"S-sure," said Maka, stunned. She dropped her bag in the corner, pulled her tights over her feet and pulled on her canvas ballet flats.

"Liz," she began tentatively. "Lower your arm. It creates a nicer line. But don't let your elbow droop."

She'd never taught anyone before, and for Maka, it was an experience to be on the other side. She warmed up to the role as they progressed through batmane jetes and ron de jambes. They continued like this for half an hour, and by then the rest of the girls had begun to show up for their 9 o'clock class.

Soul was bored. He was often bored in his music classes. He didn't really understand the point of being in these classes, because he didn't learn anything. But he'd been attending them more regularly as of late. Mainly because he knew Maka would probably hit him if she caught him skipping.

Naturally, as soon as his class ended, he couldn't leave fast enough. He walked quickly over to Maka's ballet class, the same studio that specific class was always in. He put his headphones in and sat down outside of the studio, waiting for it to finish.

At quarter past eleven, the door slammed open, and a gaggle of giggling girls spilled out. Soul lifted his head, scanning each face for the one he knew best. This time, it was accompanied by two new faces.

"Soul," Maka said softly. "This is Liz and Patti. Kid brought them here."

"Kid?" he asked. "As in Death the Kid?"

"Yeah," she said.

Soul looked surprised. "Alright, then."

"Liz, Patti," she continued. "This is my friend Soul."

"You aren't a dancer," Patti observed, taking Soul's scruffy appearance in.

"No," he said. "I'm a pianist. Soul Evans."

These girls weren't like anybody he'd met at Shibusen before. Their background was certainly colourful, and he found the sisters intriguing. Maka seemed to be fairly at ease around them, too and for that he was glad. Liz, beneath her tsundere exterior, was clearly very happy to be at Shibusen. And Patti, who seemed naïve, was highly intelligent.

The four of them had lunch together in the cafeteria, a place that Maka and Soul tended to avoid because of the number of people. But Liz and Patti didn't seem to mind, even though everyone stared and whispered at them as they walked in.

"So," said Soul. "New York, huh?"

"Yup," said Patti, taking a large bite out of her apple. "We lived there our whole lives."

"Must be pretty different here, then."

"It'll take a bit of getting used to," said Liz, focusing on pulling pieces of tomato out of her sandwich. She pinched them between her thumb and forefinger, and flicked them onto the plastic wrapping. Maka was still amazed at how daintily she did this, her long fingers thin and graceful.

"It's just so nice here," Patti said excitedly. "We're staying with Kid, and jeez, his place his bigger than our whole apartment block back in New York."

"I've never been to New York," Maka said. "It seems like a really cool place."

"It is," said Liz. "If you know where to go."

Soul could see that she had really warmed up to Liz and Patti, and for that, he was glad. The three girls chatted as if they'd known each other their whole lives. Soul leaned back and stretched his arms over his head, when he caught sight of a strange boy. Determined gold eyes and a sharp black suit made him stand out among the young, scruffy students who were happily chatting away over their lunch. He knew he'd seen him somewhere before, but he didn't know where.

"…and wham! Liz knocked him out cold," Patti finished, waving her arms in the air. Liz looked a little smug as Patti told her story.

"Liz, Patti," Kid's cool, even voice floated from behind them.

"Kid," said Liz. "Time to go already?"

"Enjoying yourselves?" he asked, turning to Patti, who nodded exuberantly.

"We were just telling Maka-chan all about New York," she said.

"And you are?" asked Kid, staring at Soul, taking in his scruffiness. He pulled a sour face.

"Soul Evans," he said quickly, running a hand through his white hair.

"Soul Evans," he said thoughtfully. "You're Wes' younger brother."

Soul just raised his eyebrows and ignored his last comment. "And you are?"

"Death the Kid." Said Kid smoothly. He leaned in closer to Soul, and raised his hand, ready to fix his offensive hair.

"Kid," said Liz quickly, taking his hand. "Don't you think it's time we left? I'm bored of school."

"Yeah," he said dreamily. "Good idea.I think I left the picture in the dining room slightly off-centre…" He trailed off and began to walk to the exit. Liz and Patti hurriedly picked up their bags and stood to follow him.

"See you tomorrow, Maka-chan, Soul-kun!" Patti smiled, waving them goodbye.

"See ya," Liz said shortly, and followed her sister.

"Well," said Soul, watching Patti skip off and her sister follow her elegantly. "That was weird."

"Sure was," Maka agreed, a slight smile on her lips.