1604 words. I remember reading somewhere (can't remember where) that the melody Soul played for Maka when they first met was a representation of his soul. I liked the idea of a song being a soul's wavelength. Karma's song is "Moody Goddess" from the Star Ocean 3 OST while Sayuri's song is "Powers of Five" by Lili Haydn, so check them out and see exactly how different their souls are! I don't own Soul Eater, Sayuri, or Tatsuya.

Karma peered over the top of the gore-filled pages of her manga at the classroom below her. The three of them sat like ducks in a row at the front of the classroom, Sayuri, Michael, and Tatsuya. After what had happened that morning, the scythe couldn't bring herself to sit with them, especially since the girl from that morning insisted on sitting next to Tatsuya. Sighing, she returned to her manga. Midway through Uncle Black Star's lesson, she had wondered why she was more irritable than usual. "Coffee..." she whimpered quietly to herself. "Need... coffee..."

A shurikan whizzed past her face and stuck into the wall behind her. "Got an answer for me, Karma?" Black Star asked angrily. She glared at him and shook her head. "Bet you didn't even hear the question. Question was 'Why can't all weapons and meisters resonate together?'"

Karma thought back to a discussion she and her mother had had when she was young. "Karma, did you know that everyone has a certain song in their heart? It's the sound that their wavelength makes. When weapons and meisters resonate, they can hear the others' soul as a song," Maka had explained. "Some songs mesh well together, so the partners can resonate to an even higher rate. But some songs don't mesh at all, and the resonance can't even begin. Your papa and Black Star could never resonate because of their different songs."

"Their songs," Karma answered. "Not everyone's songs mesh well."

"Not really the answer we were looking for, sorry," Black Star replied. As he rambled on with his lesson, Karma sunk even deeper into her seat. Her answer wasn't wrong. Her mama wasn't wrong.

But she had always wondered why she and Sayuri could resonate so well. Her own soul was jazzy, busy, kind of all over the place. Sayuri's was beautiful, relaxing, almost haunting. It just didn't make sense to her. "Oh well, best not worry about it. So long as we can resonate, I guess that's the important part," Karma whispered, picking up her manga again. But she found it hard to focus on the words and images before her. She closed her eyes as her thoughts wandered to the dreams she'd been having.

Night after night, an enormous white creature attacked her in her dreams. She'd wake with her scar burning as if someone had placed a hot poker on her face. She'd have to see Stein about it once lessons were done for the day. They were due for a session soon anyway. She and Stein had been friends since the night her father left her, and he now served as her counselor. He was the one that had stitched up her face, leaving her with her signature scar.

For a brief moment, the sounds of Black Star's lecture faded away and the scent of burning candles filled Karma's nose. She knew for a fact there were no candles in the classroom. She also felt an almost sinking sensation, as if something below her melting away, attempting to pull her down and swallow her up. Opening her eyes, she discovered that everything was as normal as when she had closed them. Well, with the exception of Black Star in her face.

"Congrats! You've got detention!" the teacher said.

"Seriously? On the first day? Gimme a break, Black Star..."

"'Black Star-sensei' while at school, Karma."

"Bite me..."

"How about a week's worth of detention?" Black Star threatened, now furious.

Karma sighed and raised her manga over head head. "Karma... CHOP!" she shouted, bringing the book down on her teacher's head.

"Daddy!" Sayuri screamed as she ran to her father's side.

Karma sprinted down the steps and out the classroom door, throwing an apology to Sayuri and Black Star over her shoulder. She ran until she found an empty, dark hallway to catch her breath in. "Mama's gonna kill me..." she whispered, running a hand through her hair. "I can't just lose my temper at school and think I can get away with it... At home, Chopping Black Star would be somewhat acceptable behavior, but in front of the whole class...?"

"You did what in front of the whole class?" a familiar voice asked in disbelief. Karma looked up to see Marie Mjolnir staring at her. "Did I hear that right? You Karma Chopped Black Star in the middle of class?"

"He was threatening me with detention when I did do jack shit!" the scythe hissed.

Marie sighed. "I see that your sessions with Stein haven't been much help..."

"Or maybe I'm just screwed up beyond repair..." Karma said sadly. She slid to the floor and hugged her knees to her chest.

Marie knelt down beside her. "Don't say such things. You know that's not true. I think you should come by to visit after school today. I'll make up some fresh coffee for you, would that help make you feel better?"

Karma's eyes glimmered with happiness as she looked up at Marie. "You'd do that... for me...?"

"Of course!" Marie laughed. The bell rang signaling the start of the lunch hour. "Now, go get some food, spend time with your friends, and I would apologize to Black Star if I were you."

The scythe stood up reluctantly, dusting off her white jeans. "Yeah, sure, I'll try. I might have to get Sayuri to bring some puppy-dog eyes into the equation, but I'll try to do it myself."

"That a girl!" Marie said, ruffling Karma's hair. "Now off you go! See you later!"

Karma watched as the teacher walked away. She played with a strand of her unruly, white hair, remembering how at one time her father used to ruffle her hair. She shook her head to rid any thoughts of him and made her way to the cafeteria.

…

"Next time Mom and Daddy go visit Grandma and Grandpa in Japan, you are taking care of Kuro-rii for me," Sayuri said matter-of-factly before taking a dramatic bite of her mashed potatoes.

"That mutt is not staying at my house," Karma replied, swirling her fork in her own mashed potatoes.

"He's not a mutt! He's a pure bred!" Sayuri insisted. "Besides, why wouldn't you like him at your house? You like him a lot."

"Ah, I remember that," Tatsuya said with a grin. "Karma, could you show everyone that cute giggle of yours?"

Karma's face flushed a deep red. Her laugh did not suit her in the least bit. She was short-tempered and violent, definitely not a girly giggler. Picking up her tray and muttering "Not hungry", the scythe put her tray away and headed off to her next class without waiting for her friends. She proceeded to avoid them for the rest of the day and drove off on her motorcycle after school without Sayuri, completely forgetting about the detention she'd earned earlier.

…

Karma was welcomed home by the scent of freshly baked cupcakes. Any normal teenager would have been ecstatic about there being fresh cupcakes to devour after the first day of school. However, Karma's eyebrows furrow in anger. Maka only had one reason to start baking dozens of cupcakes. Him.

"She'll never learn, will she...?" Karma thought out loud.

"Karma? Is that you, sweetie?" Maka called from the kitchen. The woman appeared with a frosting bag in her hands. "I'm baking! Would you like to help? How was your first day, anyway?"

"Uh... I think I'll pass. And wouldn't you know it, Black Star gave me detention," Karma replied.

"What? Detention on your first day?" Maka said, shocked. "Karma, what did you do?"

"Nothing worth mentioning. Hey, I gotta go over to Stein's. There's a cup of black coffee with my name on it over there so I better get it before someone steals it."

"You are not going anywhere, young lady!" her mother said. "Karma, why don't you talk to me anymore? Why run to Stein all the time? You can talk to me! I am your mother after all!"

"Sorry, but Marie really wanted me to come over and Stein and I are due for a session anyway," Karma insisted, heading for the door. "I'll probably be home late, but don't worry."

"Karma Marie Evans, get back here this instant!" Maka called after her. Karma left with a slam of the door. Maka's eyes lowered to the floor. "What am I going to do with her...?" she thought out loud. She returned to the half-frosted cupcake she'd been working on in the kitchen. "Happy B" was written on the small treat. "Please let this be the year..." Tears threatened to spill over as she heard the front door open again.

"Mom, I'm home! You won't believe what Karma did in class today!" Michael shouted as he removed his shoes at the door. "Hey, is it really today?"

Maka wiped the tears from her eyes and walked out to greet her son. "Yup! Want to help me decorate some cupcakes?"

"Sure!" Michael exclaimed, heading for the kitchen. He threw a glance over his shoulder at his mother. He never quite understood why, but his mother always seemed to be falling into and out of some sort of trance on this day every year. Almost as if her thoughts were far away with someone else.