"I'm never going to get used to that."

  Albert sighed as we crossed over the drawbridge that ected the academy to the rest of the city.

  "Yeah, me her."

  Kaleidoscope Tower - the tallest man-made structure in the world, the tral hub and administrative heart of the rgest city on the p - rose above the skyline ahead of us. The city stretched as far as the eye could see, an endless sprawl of skyscrapers, parks, roads and highways, residential neighborhoods, and everything else imaginable. Kaleidoscope City's skyline was famous, and had been used tless times as inspiration for artists and architects.

  It'd been founded by the Dutearly 400 years ago as the ial town of New Rotterdam, a trading and port city on the Manahata River. After a couple decades of prosperity and expansion it had e to the attention of a young English immigrant and budding Pioneer, a young noblewoman by the name of Elizabeth Anne Von Rached.

  She and her husband took trol of the town through means of diplomad trade, and the Dutch eventually ceded the territory's trol to Engnd. With the couple's bialents, the city's growth quickly exploded, and became known as a tral hub for innovation and teology. With whispers of freedom, riches, and knowledge beyond all prehension

  A hundred years after the town was founded, it had miraculously surpassed London in size, and had been the most prosperous city iire New World.

  Naturally, King Gee had been livid when his beloved ial port city had broken free from Engnd, and the Revolutionary War was a long, brutal war that saw tless Pioneers and Heroes, soldiers, and is alike sin in the fighting. The nation's independence had only been guaranteed with a decisive victory by a man who had risen through the ranks to bee the ander in chief of the Revolutionary Army: Be Arnold. The same Be Arnold that had beeed the first president of the Uates.

  By the turn of the eenth tury, New Rotterdam had been the most important city in the western hemisphere for over a hundred years. The iion of the kaleidoscope by a Scottish immigrant had givey a new name, Kaleidoscope City, which stuck.

  The Kaleidoscope Tower had been structed at the end the tweh tury, to celebrate the new millennium and to be used as a mo of pead a moo those who had died during the Freat War. And sihen it had stood, and it had never once been damaged in all its time standing.

  Undamaged until the day of my arrival at the Academy, anyway. All the flying mohat'd poured out of the portals iy and swarmed around the city's tallest structure, rending it on multiple levels, had certainly left a mark. They had torn into the tower's top floors aroyed the entire observation deck at the summit, falling down onto the streets below. That was only a month ago.

  Now, the tower stood tall once more, scaffolding and es and drones all clustered around the tower's upper levels. The eop se of the tower had to be rebuilt. But despite that, it still stood proudly above all else. It was an awe-inspiring sight.

  We rouhe er to an above-ground subway station and hopped onto the ptform.

  The trains here ran all over the city, and were cheap and effit. And they had priority access through the city streets, so we wouldn't have to worry about traffic jams. Service had only resumed around orientation, and several lines were still down sihe Cataclysm.

  "Where to, guys?" I asked, turning towards Stel, Albert, and Ichigo.

  "Howard and 13th street, right?" Albert said.

  "Yes ihere are a couple of big department stores there," Stel nodded.

  "Eh, works for me," Ichigo agreed, nodding along. "Most of those shop owners probably still haven't opened back up sihe Cataclysm. But, eh. Worth a shot."

  The world had bounced back shogly quick for the raw devastation the sudden invasion had brought down on the world. Even now, the sheer destru caused was bei all around the globe. Hundreds of millions dead, cities wiped off the map. Most cities weren't fully operational even a month ter. It had taken that long for the restru and clearing out the rubble.

  However, Kaleidoscope City, the city at the ter of the nation, had bounced back almost ht thanks to the gover's resources, the military's assistance, and the help of tless Pioneers and superheroes. The city was mostly up and running, and the try had arguably been the least affected.

  It was still bad.

  There were too many funerals. Too many families broken apart. It'd be decades until we were anywhere close to fully rec as a try, much less a world. But, we had mao pull ourselves up a ba our feet. We were still standing.

  We fshed our student cards up to the ser to cross the turnstiles, and hopped onto a waiting train. It wasn't crowded, thankfully, and the ride would be smooth. No deys. The four of us took a seat at the baear the exit. The trains had famously always run on time, and they still did, but there was ara emphasis on efficy, punctuality, and reliability.

  "Alright." Ichigo sighed. "So... Albert needs a phone, right?"

  "Yeah."

  "Okay. So that mearonics store first. Any other errands? Groceries? Clothes? Books? Anything like that?" she asked.

  I shrugged.

  "I'm all good, I guess," I answered. "I don't really need much. I don't think I have any errands to do. God knows I have enough food now."

  I turowards Stel and Al, raising an eyebrow at them.

  Stel nodded elegantly. "Oh, I'm perfectly tent. Thank you so much for your sideration, Ichigo."

  "Oh." Ichigo's eyes widened a little. "Um. Yeah, of course."

  She seemed a bit taken aback. Stel was very well-spoken, polite and eloquent, and she k, and she still seemed to tread around on eggshells.

  If she only knew how much of a degee gamer dork Stel could be, or just what kind of lovable etric weirdo she was at times. But Stel already tipped that hand a bit...

  I g Al.

  He seemed to be in his own world, lost in thought. He looked at me and smiled.

  I chuckled. "Yeah, I guess you need more than a cell phone, don't you?"

  "Um." He paused for a sed before shrugging. "Yeah. I could always use more clothes. Or maybe a book or two to pass the time. But, no. I don't really have any pressing errands, I think. I was just a dumbass with my toilet bowl and my phone."

  Ichigo and I both snickered as he frowned. "It's reaaally not that funny."

  "I'm sorry," I said. "You've got to admit, it's at least a bit funny."

  "I guess," he grumbled. He looked up at me, his brow furrowed and his eyes narrowed in monoyance.

  I ughed at the sight of him, his cheeks puffed out like a little kid's. "Okay, fine, fine. Not that funny."

  "Damn right," he agreed.

  Stel and Ichigo both ughed along with me. Ichigo, especially, seemed to appreciate it, her shoulders rexing a little. I was gd she felt more at ease, and I knew Al would be too. Al loved putting people at ease, and he knew what to do and what to say to make someone feel fortable. I just wish he didn't tend to self-deprecate as much as he did, or deflect as often as he did. It made him a bit frustrating sometimes. He alut others before himself, even when he was struggling.

  I sighed inwardly, shaking my head slightly.

  Sometimes, he was too much of a bleedi for his own good. But that was one of his best traits.

  The train ride was only twenty minutes, but we spent most of it talking, and the rest ent watg the city roll by. The buildings and streets outside the windows were still torn up from the battle, but there wasn't much else to look at, so we just watched. Even the wealthy Academic District hadn't escaped unscathed. There was debris, craters, scorch marks, and even a few crashed helicopters littering the area.

  There were also the piles of rubble where buildings had fallen over. I khere were more buildings that had beeroyed than even during Professor Lunatrix's atta the city a decade earlier. And that was just in our neighborhood. We'd gotten off retively easy. Other pces, like uptown and the suburbs across the river, hadn't been so fortunate.

  We were lucky. Many hadn't been. I was reminded of the widespread destru caused when I looked out the window. And that had just been iy, in one part of the try.

  It had happened all over the world, simultaneously, and it was a miracle that humanity had mao fight back as well as it did. The Guardians supposedly tracted Magical Knights before the attack based on a bination of positive emotions, idealist attitudes, and the bined potential someone's soul would dispy, so unfortunately, wealthier parts of the world had more knights on hand. The old structure of their World System had also rewarded magical knights with accelerated power increases fing justid living their values.

  As such, poorer areas had been disproportioargeted. The knights were weaker as a whole, while the monsters were not.

  It wasn't fair, and there wasn't anything to do about it. But we were still here, and that's what mattered in the end. Not that it would be any fort to the tless dead and dispced. I knew many of the heroes and vilins alike had joined hands and died in the fight, as did many magical knights.

  It was hard not to let that weight sink into the pit of your stomad settle in. This wasn't the movies or some fantasy novel. It wasn't a video game or a cartoon or some ic book. It wasn't fake.

  The scars, the pain, the loss, the devastation... It was real.

  I sighed, looking down. I saw Albert look away too. He was just as bothered by it all as I was.

  Sure, the stores and busihat remaianding had opeheir doors. The traffitinued, even if it was light, and people tinued on with their daily routines. However, it there was an unshakable air of sadness, of ay, that filled the air.

  But life had to go on, didn't it?

  Ichigo stared at us curiously, tilting her head. I forced a smile and shook my head. She nodded slowly, looking back at the sery passing by the window while biting her lips.

  It didn't take long until we arrived at the stop at the garment district, the 13th street station. Freshly repced LED ss embedded in buildings fshed by, advertising various products and services, and colorful posters adorhe walls all over the city streets. However, the iic video billboards were gone, and the advertisements had been repced with public servinous, calls for aid and charity, and information on missing persons and emergency shelters. There was even an annouhat a vigil for those who'd lost their lives during the invasion was being pnned weekend, and that the memorial would be attended by the president.

  The four of us stepped off the subway car, heading doweps and onto the sidewalk.

  Immediately, I felt something was off.

  The streets were busy around this time, but it still felt a bit emptier than usual. It was a sort of uny valley of activity, even for someone like me who'd only e to the city for school. I k would get better as time went on, though, as people returo normal. The infrastructure had stayed surprisingly intact, despite the visible damage.

  "Okay," Ichigo said. "Where to, then? Any particur pce?"

  We gnced around, looking for a pce that had some det and affordable phones for sale. I frowned, feeling the hairs at the end of my neck stick up.

  I couldn't put my finger on it, but there was something b me about this area.

  "Ah, well," Albert said, "maybe we should head over there?"

  A pact multi-story shopping mall stood directly ahead — it was a market-style store, with rows upon rows of different shops, ranging from clothing boutiques to jewelry stores, tech shops to phone booths. Clearance signs were posted in the windows and on the doors of the mairance. A rge sign was hung across the frorahat read 'Grand Re-Opening Sale!' in bold letters.

  Ichigo perked up, staring at one of the signs. "Huh! Protein powder and energy bars for half off? I could go for that."

  Albert raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

  "Yeah." She shrugged, blushing. "I... uh, do train a lot. It helps keep the edge off."

  "Ah. Makes sense."

  Stel giggled and looked around, sing the storefronts for something that caught her fancy as she stepped away rom the group. "Hm... Oh. Hey."

  "What's up?" I asked, following her and leaning in close. "See something iing?"

  "Not quite. I already made a run the night before the exercise to get you some erm, you know..." she murmured. "A small wardrobe expansion. But I think if you're trying to take training seriously, I'd like to get you some vitamins, non-essential amino acids, arolytes if Ichigo wants to stop for a bit."

  She looked up at me. "What do you think?"

  "Uh...?" I replied, my eyes wandering away as I thought about the idea of getting vitamins and whatever. My eyes drifted, looking at the signs.

  Suddenly, I felt a strauggiion in my gut, drawing my gaze to the side.

  I snapped my head over, seeing a fsh of movement in my periphery. I frowned, blinking as I tried to spot whatever had caught my attention.

  There was a dark shadow darting across the street. I stared at it, watg as the shadow quickly disappeared between two parked cars and slipped out of sight. The feeling in my gut faded, but not before a chill ran up my spine. I blinked, shaking my head.

  What was that?

  I didn't see anything. It robably just a rat or something.

  Deep breaths, Sienna.

  Stel looked at me expetly. I frowned, before whispering back to her. "Holy it's been a bit much. I feel bad about the gifts. I wouldn't ever be able to afford that stuff for myself."

  She nodded. "Yeah. That's the point. I want to make up for lost time."

  "Ah?" I responded.

  "Please, Sienna," she insisted, gently grabbing onto my arm. "You're way too thin. It's like a stiff wind would knock you over. Your mother should never have had to go into hiding, and she shouldn't have had to raise you that way either. We afford to get you some proper supplements. And a nice, healthy, diet."

  I stared at her, blinking.

  How did she know my mother went into hiding? Then again, when I thought about it, that robably why she'd set up shop at Pewterstoy for the st couple of years as Dark Princess Eris. Stel must have somehow figured out my mother had wound up there. htingale did, at least.

  I shrugged, and Stel let out a small, relieved sigh.

  "Okay. That sounds... fine by me. Thank you."

  She smiled softly at me. "It's the least I do for you. Alright? I want to spoil my baby sister a bit. You deserve to be healthy. I'm not gonna force you to, though."

  I chuckled. ", I'm like a year youhan you. Maybe, if even."

  Stel just giggled again in response.

  I looked back towards the other two, and they both gnced over to us curiously as we stood to the side whispering. Stel and I made our way back to the group and I smiled at them both. "Alright," I said. "I guess we've got a pn. Guess Stel and I are gonna check out the health store with you."

  Ichigo nodded, her lips quirking up slightly. "Sounds good. Let's head ohen."

  With that settled, we walked forward as a group, and made our way inside.

  Unbeknownst to the group at the time, a curious pair of golden eyes had followed them all the way from campus.

  A small shadow, barely a foot and a half tall, poked its head around the er of the building, staring at the plex's entrance.

  Then, it quickly darted out of sight again, emerging on the roof of the building across from the marketply a few seds ter.

  Unbeknownst to its beneficiaries, a mysterious, hooded figure had been shadowing them siheir arrival.

  He was a youth, with skin kissed by the sun, a pair of strikingly beautiful dark eyes that gleamed in the dim light, and a small scar on the bridge of his nose. His clothes were loose and inspicuous. A pin navy hoodie over a white shirt and a pair of jeans.

  The boy was wearing a hood, a cowl over his head, frowning.

  For he was not the only one shadowing the group.

  The shadow stretched with a yawling into a zy, resting posture, its bck tail swishing bad forth as it surveyed the street below.

  The youth, blending with the crowd, weaved through the people and buildings. He gnced around nervously.

  There were too many people oreets today. Way too many. Even with the ongoing repairs, people had returo their routines and the city had resumed its normal activity.

  He had reized the girls the sed he saw them.

  One, who was famed as the heiress of Matsudaira Corp.

  The other was his panion for a brief but pivotal time.

  And then, there were two more. One girl who he did nnize, of course, and another he'd helped rescue that fateful day. But that didn't matter to him.

  The youth gnced up, spotting the man with the white streak of hair that had been trailing behind the group sihe subway station. And beside him, there was anirl around his age.

  The irl was wearing a hoodie simir to the youth, and the boy could just make out a long blonde ponytail stig out from her hood.

  They both had their hoods pulled up, obsg most of their features, but those calling cards were unmistakable to him.

  The shadow's ears perked up as the boy tensed. His heart beat a little faster, and he looked at them in surprise.

  What were they doing?

  Why were they tailing the Matsudaira girl?

  And how should he approach this? Was this his responsibility?

  A most amusing dilemma. How much the youth's heart had ged in such a short period of time from his brother's influence.

  The shadow looked on, its golden gaze lingering on the boy for a few seds before shifting back towards the group. It licked its lips, enjoying the show, its eyes glinting mischievously as it watched.

  The boy slipped his hand in his hoodie pocket and pulled out a phone, dialing a number and holding it up to his ear.

  "Hello? Yeah. Listen, I'm gone, but..."

  The shadow smiled, lig its lips again as it settled in to watch.

  This was sure to be eaining.