The two of us stepped into the dining hall, and the smell of freshly made food filled the air. We were greeted by a rge open space with row after row of circur wooden tables The academy had three separate dining halls for students, but the rgest dining hall with the best food was on the western side of the campus.

  The dining hall was lined with rge windows that looked out over a small courtyard garden, where we could see students sitting aing uhe midday sun. It was a nice day with only a bit of chill, so I figured a lot of people would take their food outside to enjoy the sunshine and autumn breeze.

  We'd arrived at the dining hall a couple minutes early, and the crowd had already begun to gather, so it was no surprise that there were plenty of people in the hall already.

  "You sure she's okay with me being here?" Albert asked me, his eyes darting around.

  "Yeah, I'm sure." I nodded, smiling reassuringly at him. "She said she's always open to new friends if they aren't jackasses."

  He smiled back at me, nodding, and he poi a table off to the er. It was empty and a little out of the way, so it'd be a nice, peaceful spot to eat without too many prying eyes or ears around.

  "I'll save that table, you wanna grab the food?" I asked.

  "Sounds good, what do you want?"

  I blinked, running my fihrough my hair with a frown.

  "I know you're on the whole weight loss thing right now, but I have the opposite problem. I don't know anything about gaini productively, so uh... you mind pig for me?"

  "Really? Sure, no problem, then." Al nodded. "I'll get us a stack for the table then."

  He walked off, and I went to sit at the table, taking a seat in one of the wooden chairs and leaning back.

  I took a deep breath, feeling my muscles rex a little bit. The day had been exhausting, but it had been rewarding, too. I had a lot to think about now. A lot had ged.

  I looked around the room and watched the other students as they ate and talked and ughed, all while enjoying the food.

  It was a nice feeling.

  I'd always ehe simple parts of life. The little things that made it all worth it. It was something I'd always loved about my life with my mom, and the things that made the memories I had of her all the more special. Just simple moments, and simple things, that meant a whole lot. Whether it was sitting down to sew up our clothes together, or cooking some simple meals.

  I leaned my head bad closed my eyes for a moment. I could feel a small breeze blow through the room from the courtyard outside. The st of the food was delicious.

  I felt my heart rate begin to slow. My breathing deepened as I took a few long breaths a myself rex. The sounds of the crowd in the dining hall became a gentle murmur that lulled me into a peaceful mental state.

  The st few weeks holy felt like one big surreal dream. Surviving a veritable apocalypse, watg my mother ft out vanish in a heroic sacrifi iional televisioing recruited into the world's most prestigious academy for superpowered people. It was all... it was a lot.

  I'd made new friends. I'd met my sister. I'd had my orn out and had nearly died again all in one night.

  I'd always imagihe father I'd never met ing bato the picture and sweeping us up into a fairytale ending. A dashing superhero who'd always had a reason he had to leave. Ohat loved me, even though we'd never met. My mother rarely spoke of him, but from the times she did... it felt like she always did love him, and that he loved her.

  So... it had always been one of the things I'd thought about growing up. What kind of person he'd be. How cool he'd be, and how much he'd love me and my mother. And maybe, if things lined up perfectly, he could e bad we could be a proper family. Together.

  But, that fantasy died when my mother started to fall apart, when the pills and alcohol and her self-destructive spiral started. I didn't even know if my father was alive, or if he was, why he wasn't there for my mom.

  And it had taken a long time to accept that. That I might never meet my dad, that I might never know him, or have that idyllic family life. Accept it I did, though. But it didn't make it hurt any less. It didn't take the longing away.

  I'd also always wondered what it would be like to have a sibling. A brother or sister, someoo grow up with, someoo py with. Someoo be with when mom wasn't there and we needed each other.

  I was an only child, and had always been, and I had spent many hours daydreaming about having someone else there with me. On the lonely nights, the days when mom was away, the nights wheears came, and I felt alone. I always wao be an older sibling. To have someoo look after, and protect.

  At times, I even dreamed of one day being a mom and giving a child all the love in the world that my own parents couldn't.

  Al's family was the closest thing I had, and they'd been wonderful. They'd done everything for me. But I'd always felt like I was imposing on their spad their time. Always a guest in their house. I loved them, and I khey cared for me iurn.

  But...

  I would always iably go home.

  Home to that run-doartment where I was always waiting for my mom to return from her te night shifts as a custodian. Where the loneliness would settle in and my heart would ache. I didn't begrudge them that, but I'd be lying to say it never hurt.

  And now, out of the blue, I had a half sister. Elysia, or Eris, or Stel, or whoever she was.

  I opened my eyes, feeling my phone buzz. I looked down, pulling it out, and saw a text from Ichigo.

  >I'm at the front of the lun, where are you?

  I looked up and sed the area. The hall was full of students and tables and people chatting away.

  I spotted her almost instantly.

  Her shoulder-length bck hair was tied into a bun, a pair of red-rimmed gsses rested on her head, and a white t-shirt and bck track jacket hugged her slim, athletic frame. Her legs were covered in tight bck denim shorts that g to her thighs. She was only a couple of ialler than me, and she had an anxious, fidgety look about her.

  She was sing the room, searg, her hands nervously gripping the bottom of her jacket. She was looking for someone. Me, probably.

  I waved at her, trying to catch her attention.

  She didn't see me. Her eyes kept darting around the room.

  I smiled to myself as I picked up my phone and dialed her number.

  The call ected and she jumped a bit, before quickly pulling her own phone up and putting it to her ear. She didn't answer, instead giving me an embarrassed, sheepish look as she finally saw where I was sitting and started making her way towards me. I put the phone down and waved her over, watg as she navigated her way through the crowded tables.

  "Hi, sorry about the call, just figured this would be the fastest way to get your attention!" I said with a grin.

  "Uh, y-yeah," she stuttered out, awkwardly sitting across from me at the table.

  "Sorry if this was awkward for you," I said, "Albert's my best friend. I just thought it'd be a good idea to introduce the two of you. He's really chill and cool and a great guy. And well, he was kind of in on the er, training act I had yesterday. So... yeah, I hope you don't mind."

  "Oh." She paused. "Yeah, that's fine."

  Ichigo looked down, fidgeting with her jacket.

  It was hard to recile the rambunctious and boisterous feline magical girl with the shy, quiet, and awkward Ichigo sitting in front of me. She seemed so much smaller and withdrawn when not iransformed state.

  She had her eyes locked on me, and she seemed to be avoiding eye tact.

  I could feel the tension, so I took the initiative and shuffled over, sittio her and patting her shoulder.

  "You okay, Ichigo? You seem kinda on edge."

  "I'm alright, I just..."

  "Hey. I'm still me, and you're still you, yeah? We're friends. No reason to be shy or anxious."

  "I know." She sighed, looking up at me. "I just... well, I've got a bit of social ay okay? It's silly, but it gets worse with new people, even people who are friends with my friends."

  I winced, nodding. "Yeah, that's fair, and I'm sorry if I'm springing something you aren't ready for."

  "N-no, no, I just... uh... I just wasn't expeg you t a friend, is all," she mumbled. "But I'm up for meeting new people."

  "Alright, well, how are you?" I asked, keeping my voice low. "It's only been a day but... did you have any trouble with yesterday?"

  "No, I'm good," she said. "I ate a few licks here and there, broke my hand at some point, and I've been sore as heck, but nothing a good soak in a sauna 't fix. How about you, are you doing okay? I know that was really, really intense for you."

  "Er, I guess it was, huh? Well, I'm okay now, at least physically," I replied, giving her a small smile. "The emotional side is something else, though. I don't think I'd like to experieting snacked on by a monster again."

  She chuckled. "Well, that makes two of us."

  I raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

  "Ah, I just meant the whole 'I don't wanna be chowed on' thing," she expined quickly. "I was just agreeing with ya. I had a close call with a wendigo but it didn't get me."

  "Yeah, no shit," I ughed as she loosened up a little. "I don't think it was entirely bad though."

  "What? Getting ped on?" She frowned. "That's a bit morbid, don't you think?"

  "I mean the overall experience," I said. "Don't get me wrong, I'm not looking forward to having to gh something like that again, but I'm grateful for the experien a trolled enviro, even if I didn't know about the whole training mission thing until I woke up. It was terrifying and horrible and it felt way too real. But I learned something about myself yesterday, and I think I'm a lot stronger because of it. And I think we all got to know each other a bit more too."

  Ichigo gave me a lopsided smile. "Well, that's a good way to look at it, I suppose."

  The sound of multiple trays rattling caught my attention as Albert came back. He was walking over with four ptes stacked on a tray, and his free hand holding onto a pte of fruit. Ichigo folllowed my gaze and stiffened, before turning away.

  Albert put dowray of food and the fruit pte oable, giving Ichigo a curious look.

  "Er, hi?" he asked.

  She gave a meek wave. "Hi..."

  I ughed and nudged her.

  "This is my best friend Albert, he's been helpiay out of trouble since we were right out of diapers," I said, gesturing at him. "Albert, this is Ichigo. We've kinda been spending a lot of time together sihe opening ceremony."

  He nodded, smiling at her. "I've heard about you from Sienna, you two seem to be getting along well, huh?"

  Ichigo nodded. "Y-yeah, we do."

  "So what's your deal? Are you in the support program, too?"

  Ichigo shook her head. "No, er. I'm in the general program. Sienna and I just kinda hit it off whe. It was o have someoo talk to. You know how crazy things have been since we all started at the Academy."

  "Yeah, that makes sense," Albert said. He sat down and took a pte covered in grilled chi breast, broccoli and a kale sad, as well as a cup of Greek yogurt and some blueberries. It looked perfectly proportioned and measured for someone on a diiet.

  "Here, I packed some ptes for the table. I know you he calories, so don't skimp," Albert said.

  I chuckled and grabbed a pte loaded with chi alfredo pasta and pced a pte full of beef stir fry in the middle of the table.

  "Ohhh lemongrass pork chops!" Ichigo suddenly giggled. "That looks sooo good!"

  "You a fan? I got enough food for the table, but I wasn't sure what you and Sienna would be in the mood for," Albert ented.

  Ichigo beamed. "Er, thanks! That's super thoughtful!"

  "It's not a big deal. Plus, Sienna's trying to pa some weight. Gotta get the gains, you know?"

  "Yeah," I chuckled, breaking up a pair of chopsticks in the pile of utensils and grabbing some vegetables from the stir fry oer another in rapid motion.

  I turned, blinking as I caught Ichigo staring at me.

  "What?" I asked.

  She shook her head. "Er, nothing! It's just... nothing."

  "What, never seen an Italian girl handle chopsticks before?" I teased.

  "No, no, I've just... I dunno. You've got some fast hands?" she chuckled awkwardly.

  I grinned and wi her while pointing my thumb at Al. "Well, when this guy's family insists on feeding me every weekend, you tend to pie things up. His family runs the best joint on that side of the coast. It's like... if heaven was food."

  "O-oh," Ichigo stammered out, reag for a pte of seasoned basmati rice. "T-that sounds really nice..."

  "It's a little much. Way too much," Albert chuckled, "but I'm happy to see you've got some appreciation for my parent's cooking."

  "Are you kidding? They're amazing cooks. They're some of the people I've ever met, too." I said.

  Albert ughed. "Yeah, I guess that's true. Anyway, enough about me. How have things been going for you, Ichigo? I don't think we have any csses together yet, but it's only the first week of school, so that always ge. You said you were in the General program?"

  She nodded, her cheeks flushing a little as she took a ko a pork chop. She chewed slowly, then took a drink from a gss of water.

  "Er, yeah. Getting the standard math, history, sd Spanish courses. My brother and I were gonna do some electives but, uh... stuff came up and I couldn't do as much as I had wanted," she expined. "Other obligations, you know?"

  Albert nodded, his expression curious.

  "I see! Well, that's too bad. Hopefully, semester you do more with the school. And that's really cool you have your brother here. Is he also a first year like us?"

  "Yeah, but he's nearly a full year older than me." Ichigo nodded. "We've got a lot of csses together."

  Albert raised his eyebrows. "That's really cool, though," he said with a grin. "I'm an only child. So's Sienna. We're always jealous when we hear people talk about their siblings. It sounds like a lot of fun."

  Ichiged.

  "Yeah. I love him, even though he's a total dolt sometimes. We're both really petitive though and that gets a little out of hand," she expined, a smile tugging at her lips."

  Ichigo blushed and nodded, smiling.

  "Er, but anyway. Yeah. He drives me crazy but I don't know where I'd be without him."

  She paused, taking another bite of pork, chewing slowly and swallowing it.

  "Is he as absolutely jacked as you are?"

  Ichigo coughed, almost choking on her food, and I ughed.

  "E-excuse me?"

  "I just mean you look like an athlete and it'd make sense if your brother was as well, right?"

  Ichigo was beet red at this point and looked at the floor. "I... well..."

  She trailed off, and Albert frowned. He looked between me and her, his eyes narrowed, his lips pursed, and his expression fused.

  "I'm... sorry. Did I say something wrong?"

  Ichigo shook her head, looking back up. She met his gaze for a sed, before turning away, her eyes downcast and her cheeks flushed. "N-no, it's just... I don't get a lot of ents about that sort of stuff. You threw me for a loop there, but it's okay. And, uh, yeah... my brother's way, way more jacked than me."

  I rolled my eyes, shooting Al a smirk.

  "You're something else, you know that?" I said with a grin. "Girls be sensitive to that sort of stuff. You 't just drop that out of the blue on her, you know?"

  "Really? Why? It's just an observation. It's a pliment." Albert shrugged. "It's like if someone says, 'Hey, I like your haircut.' What's the difference?"

  "Hey, I stay in shape but... jacked?" Ichigo pouted, crossing her arms. "I'm fun and form. I'm a fighter, a brawler, not a bodybuilder!"

  "Ah, you're a fighter, too?" Albert asked, his i piqued.

  She nodded. "Yeah, I do some boxing here and there. I've been training since I was six. My mom was ranked in the ASPIRE boxing circuit in her youth, and my dad runs an MMA gym."

  "Woah," Albert said, impressed. "That's awesome."

  "It's not a big deal," Iurmured, her face flushing again. "My brother's the real talent when it es to that stuff, anyway."

  "Really? He must be good."

  "Oh, yeah," she replied, smiling brightly and taking a bite from a pork chop. "He's really good. Like, really, really good. He wao petition to get taken on as an apprentice by The Sn when he was a kid, but... he couldn't for obvious reason. It's a shame, because he's got what it takes. He could make it to the top of the world stage if he got the training he needed."

  Albert smiled. "He sounds like a cool dude. You should introduce me sometime."

  "Pfft. Sure," Ichigo replied, fshing a smile and pursing her lips in a way that reminded me of a cat.

  She looked at him with an eyebrow raised.

  "And what about you?" she asked, scooping a heap of rito her pte.

  "Oh, uh... well..." He looked away and scratched the back of his neck.

  "Al here is the coolest guy I know too," I said, a wide grin spreading ay face. "He's looked after me since I was little. He's every bit the killer chef his parents are. He's a huge softy — the most kind, gentle soul you could imagine. He's a genius, but you'd never know it if he had anything to say about it. And he's my absolute best friend in the world. We've been through a lot together, and he's never let me down. Not onot for anything."

  Albert's cheeks reddened, and he gave me a warm, sheepish look.

  "Ah, sheesh. You don't o butter me up that much."

  "I'm not buttering you up," I insisted, "I'm telling her how great you are!"

  Ichigo ughed and patted me on the shoulder. She looked at me, her eyes twinkling with amusement, then gnced back over at him.

  "You're really gassing him up, aren't you?" she said. "Sounds like you're a pretty awesome dude, Albert."

  "I am an awesome dude," Albert replied, grinning. "I'm just saying, Sienna's way more awesome."

  I rolled my eyes.

  "No, you are. And don't say anything else because it doesn't matter how awesome I am. You're the coolest person I know."

  Albert grinned.

  "Okay, okay," he ceded. "We both be pretty cool."

  Ichigo giggled. "I like you two," she said, "you're fun."

  "Hey... would you mind if I sit here?"

  We tur the sound of the void were greeted by the sight of a girl wearing a school uniform.

  Her hair was a light bd styled in a braid, and her eyes were a shade of dark hazel. She was wearing a red bow in her hair and a bck blouse with a dark blue skirt and knee-high white socks. Her figure was tall, athletid fit, with curves that atuated her waistline.

  She had the kind of face that would normally have made me feel ie, the type that would get you cast as a princess in a fairytale. She was a natural beauty. But... something was off.

  Her body nguage was posed and dignified, and she held her head high and proud. Yet there was something strange in her eyes, a glimmer of uainty.

  Of course, I reized her in an instant. How could I not?

  "E.... Eh?!"

  Ichigo looked up, blinking rapidly as her jaw dropped, her eyes going wide as saucers.

  She looked from the girl to me, to the girl again, and back again. And then, she looked at me again, her mouth still gaping, her eyes still wide, before turning back to the newer. Her eyes were filled with disbelief and fusion, like she couldn't quite believe what she was seeing.

  "Did I... did I interrupt something, Sienna? Albert?" Stel asked, tilting her head with a pout.

  Ichigo looked at her again, then at me again.

  "H-h-h-h-hey! H-h-hi!" She stammered out, pulling out a chair. "Y-you, uhm, you s-s-sit h-here if you ant!"

  I raised an eyebrow as the girl smiled gently, tilting her head forward in a bow.

  "That is very kind of you, thank you." Stel nodded and took a seat o Ichigo, pg her tray oable.

  I g Ichigo, who was staring at me in utter shod awe, her eyes wide and her mouth hanging open.

  I smirked, rolling my eyes.

  "What, cat got your tongue? You look like you've seen a ghost, Ichigo."

  The girl sitting beside her ughed, a musical and cheerful sound. It was the type of ughter you heard in movies.

  Ichigo sighed, and her face fell, and she stared down at her pte.

  "Sheesh, Sienna," she muttered. "How many more friends are you going t on me, huh?"

  I chuckled.

  "I'm sorry. It was kind of spontaneous. But hey, this is the first and st one, I swear," I said, raising my right hand to make an oath. "No more today."

  Ichigo rolled her eyes, giving me a ft look as she narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

  "You know what?" she sighed. "I don't even wanna know how or why you know her."