I huffed, putting the dumbbells back in their rack and taking a long drink from my water bottle. The sweat on my skin felt cold as a draft blew through, but I ignored it.

  I was tired and sore, but also excited and happy. The training session had gone well, and I was proud of the progress I'd made. The sore muscles were worth it.

  "Nice work today," a voice called from the side.

  I looked up, smiling. Ichigo was there, a towel around her shoulders, another in her hands, and her workout clothes sticking to her body.

  "You look like a wreck," she laughed.

  I grinned back, wiping my forehead off and standing up straight. I took a deep breath and let out a sigh, feeling my lungs fill with air.

  "Well, you look like you just came out of a hurricane."

  "Can't deny that," she laughed, tossing the towel at me, before running her hands through her sweaty hair.

  I caught it and wiped my forehead, before draping the damp fabric around my neck. "It's only my second training session and all, so I can't really complain."

  "You're a quick study. Doing your deadlifts without complaining," she grinned as she walked over, picking up a set of dumbbells for herself. "Your form's a bit shaky, but it'll come."

  "You've really been a big help. Thank you." I smiled at her.

  "Oh, don't worry about it." She said, her eyes sparkling.

  Then, Ichigo smiled back, curling her dumbbells one at a time. "You coming to open mat tonight at the 'special' training center?"

  "Yeah, I think I will. Gonna be my first time doing a group sparring session."

  Ichigo grinned, putting her dumbbells down and walking up to me, giving me a pat on the back.

  "You're gonna love it, trust me."

  "I hope so." I said, rubbing my neck.

  She smiled back at me, before sitting down on a bench and pulling her leg up in a stretch. "You're gonna have a great time. I mean it! I hear the instructor leading it is really nice. He's definitely got a better uhh, rep than the math lady."

  "I hear that," I shuddered, before pulling my legs into the same position.

  I was feeling pretty confident in myself. I wasn't sure why, but I felt good. I wasn't even nervous. I was excited, even though I was exhausted.

  Maybe that was the key. Maybe the secret was just to stay busy, to not give yourself time to worry.

  "You sure you can keep up with the training?" Ichigo squinted, tilting her head. "Don't push yourself too hard, okay? It's only your second day."

  "I'll be fine, Ichi." I shrugged, leaning over and stretching my back.

  Ichigo sighed. "I'm glad you're so gung-ho about things. But you're gonna burn yourself out eventually. We can pace ourselves, you know?"

  I shrugged, switching legs and pulling the new leg into the stretch.

  "Who knows when something weird and horrible's going to happen?" I said, shrugging again. "We need to take advantage of the time we have, or else, what are we even doing? I didn't exactly expect a portal to open up on me, and for monsters to pour out of god knows where during the Cataclysm."

  "That's fair." she shrugged. "I just worry about you."

  I paused, looking up and blinking at her.

  "What?" I asked.

  She chuckled, before looking down at her feet. "Well, we haven't known each other long, but you're my friend now, and you know what kind of stuff we do. I didn't get here overnight, you know? It was years and years of training, apprenticeships, learning from the best. You're trying to catch up, and clearly putting in the work, but I worry about how much pressure you're putting on yourself."

  Ichigo really is a sweetheart, isn't she?

  I walked over and sat down next to her, leaning my shoulder into hers.

  "Ichigo, thank you for worrying about me." I smiled. "It really does mean a lot. And it's nice to know that you're looking out for me. I'm working hard, but I promise I'll be okay."

  "I guess," she sighed. "It's just weird, you know?"

  "Hmm?" I raised an eyebrow.

  She sighed again, before shaking her head.

  "Ah, it's nothing."

  "You sure?" I asked. I was a little curious.

  Ichigo looked up at the clock on the wall, before turning to face me. Her eyes were serious and thoughtful.

  "I... I was thinking. About the future."

  I raised my eyebrow again, and she chuckled.

  "Not like that, silly." she said, smiling. "But I was wondering... if we're gonna stay in this together."

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  "Huh?" I said.

  "Suguru, Yuzu, and I are part of a team, right? A real team, with our own goals and missions and everything. But... well... It's been years since I started training to become a magical girl. It's normal for formally registered teams to team up and everything, but Currant and Yuzu got seriously hurt during the whole spat with Scrapper Scuttler the other day."

  I nodded.

  "We've been through so much, and we're just now starting to see results as a journeyman team, but I'm scared of what might happen next. If I lose my team... if we break apart and I have to go on without them..."

  Ichigo paused, her gaze distant.

  "Hey, I don't know about Stella, but I'll stick around," I said. "I can promise that much. I'm here, and I'm not going anywhere, okay?"

  Ichigo smiled. "Thanks."

  She paused for a moment, and then her eyes went wide and she gasped, before covering her mouth.

  "Ugh, I'm such an idiot!" she hissed. "I didn't mean to sound so depressing!"

  "Hey," I said. "Don't worry about it."

  Ichigo took a deep breath and then sighed.

  "I just wanted you to know that I'm grateful for everything, Sienna, and you're not the only one who's been pushing yourself. I'm worried that we're going too fast."

  "Thank you, but it's fine. It's not too much, and if it is, I'll take it down a notch, okay? And you, Albert, and Stella will probably notice if I'm really pushing myself too hard."

  She sighed. "I know."

  "Come on," I grinned, standing up and holding out my hand to her. "How about we go get cleaned up? It'll help us both relax. You've got open mat tonight, and I've got a session with my mentor soon."

  "Yeah," she smiled, taking my hand and pulling herself to her feet. "Sounds good. Say, how's your boy Albert doing, anyway?"

  "He's fine, I think. I don't really know, honestly." I said, as we walked together out the gym.

  Ichigo nodded. "We had a pretty scary night. I mean, he's just a normal dude. A dude who's good at thinking on his feet, but he's still a civilian. He's got some really nice energy, and I like it."

  I giggled.

  "You like him?"

  Ichigo shrugged, smiling mischievously. "I dunno. He's cute and seems like he'd be a great boyfriend. But I'm not moving in for the kill. I've got more important stuff to deal with right now."

  "Uh huh. Remember, though. He's basically family, and we've known each other since we were out of diapers. So if you ever do, you've got to go through the gauntlet." I teased, palming a fist.

  She grinned, leaning in to bump my shoulder.

  "Thanks. But I'm good. I'm just curious about your best friend. What's he really like beneath that goofiness?"

  I shrugged. "He's always been the guy who's just there for me. I think I'm going to have to be the one looking out for him, though. I'm the one with superpowers, and he's just Albert. But there's always been this weird kinda air around him, you know? Like something that makes you feel safe. Like a cliff overlooking the ocean."

  I looked at Ichigo. "It's hard to describe. I dunno, maybe it's just because he's my best friend."

  Ichigo hummed. "No, I get it. Yeah. He seems like that kind of guy." she smiled, her expression soft and wistful.

  I laughed. "I mean, he's single, if that's your thing. And he's not a bad looking guy, either. Just a bit overweight."

  "Ha." Ichigo smirked, before she shook her head. "Like I said, I don't think I'll be looking for romance for a while."

  "I get it." I said. "But, don't you dare play with his heart."

  "Sienna, come on. Have some faith in me, will you?" she said, grinning.

  I rolled my eyes. "Alright, alright. But if you do, I'm not gonna go easy on you. I'll be your worst nightmare. Just a friendly warning."

  Ichigo chuckled, and I couldn't help but laugh along with her. A cool breeze blew through a draft, and the leaves rustled on the trees outside.

  We reached the lockers, and she pulled out her phone to check the time.

  "It's getting close to lunch," Ichigo grinned. "Hey, you wanna get cleaned up and hit the dining hall?"

  "Yeah, that sounds good."

  I stopped in front of the mirror as we entered the changing room, looking at my reflection. Stella had taken out the pigtails and put my hair into a short, cute side braid.

  "Stella really outdid herself, didn't she?" Ichigo said from behind me.

  It was certainly fancier than anything I was used to, and I had to admit, I looked a lot more attractive than I'd expected. It was just... I'd gotten so used to my hair just hanging free that it was a bit of a change to have my hair styled in this way.

  My hair was still frizzy despite all the oils and product Stella used to treat it, but the frizziness had an art to it now that it'd been tamed a bit.

  "I don't know," I shrugged. "I feel like a little girl playing dress-up with this stuff. She's kinda turned me into a walking doll."

  Ichigo snickered, putting an arm over my shoulder. "Oh come on, Sienna. It's cute."

  "I guess?" I said.

  "You know what I think? You just don't want to admit that you look good, that's all. You just need to loosen up a little and enjoy it. It's okay to take care of your looks once in a while."

  I smiled at her and giggled. "Stella's just a bit much sometimes, you know?"

  Ichigo shrugged, before she walked to the shower area. "I mean, I get the sense you prefer things a bit more low-key and this is a fish-outta-water thing for you. But you look great, Sienna, trust me."

  She struggled out of her clothes and then took a deep breath before turning on the tap, letting out a hiss as she stepped into a stall.

  "Yeah, maybe I'm just not used to it," I admitted, taking my own top off. "I'm so used to wearing really basic stuff in my day to day, and this is just so different for me. But it's a nice different."

  I pulled off my yoga pants and underwear, before I turned on the shower. The warm water was relaxing against my skin.

  "Yeah." Ichigo sighed. "You'll get used to it, though."

  I grabbed a bar of soap, and started to wash myself.

  Ichigo let out an audible sigh. She let the hot water pour down on her for a few seconds, and I could almost hear the smile on her lips.

  "Mm, it feels so nice," she groaned. "Nothing like a good hot shower to get the day going, yeah?"

  I laughed.

  "The cold showers at home aren't really the best for relaxing, but they do wake you up."

  Ichigo giggled from the stall over, and I smiled as the water splashed against my chest.

  "Cold showers, huh? I take it you weren't all that well-off growing up?"

  "Eh. I was raised by a single mom who worked long hours and we could barely keep a roof over our heads. She didn't really do the whole parent thing very well, but I turned out okay." I shrugged.

  "Ah."

  Ichigo went quiet as the sound of the water falling on her stall changed. It was a lot noisier, and I guessed that she'd moved into the stream directly. I let myself zone out as I cleaned up.

  It was a minute or two later that she spoke up again, her voice soft but strangely clear.

  "Sienna?" she called out.

  "Yeah?" I replied.

  "I'm glad that you're here. You've really grown on me. Like a weed."

  "Thank you?" I said. I didn't really know what to say to that, but it made me happy.

  "I mean, my social anxiety isn't exactly a secret," she continued, "And I'm really grateful to have you as a friend, you know? It's gone when I'm the other me, if you know what I mean, but I'm just a ball of awkwardness otherwise. But you've been a great friend."

  "Yeah, you have too. You're a good person, Ichigo, and it's easy to get along with you." I said.

  I turned the knob on the wall, shutting the water off. I reached outside the curtain for a towel.

  "Anyway, we should get moving." Ichigo called. "Lunch?"

  "Lunch," I agreed, as I dried off.

  How's the current pacing?