"So wait, hold on," Albert said. "Back up. Are you saying that this Elysia person was Eris? Dark Princess Eris, the supervilin?"

  He paused for a moment, furrowing his brow.

  "And she was hiding out as a cssmate of yours?"

  "Yes," I replied. "That's what I'm saying."

  "And Tesseract trapped you all in some kind of pocket dimension thing where you were forced to fight hordes of monsters? And she mixed in the same type of mohat you and Twilight Aster's eeam struggled with?"

  "Yeah, that's what happened." I said. "She did."

  "She's a real hell of a bitch, then," he said ftly, crossing his arms. "I guess power doesn't e with tact or sense."

  I chuckled. "Yeah, no shit."

  He huffed. "Well, she is a teacher, so it's not like you do anything about it. It's a weird situation, to be sure, and it sounds like it was really, really bad. I'm gd you made it out alive."

  "Thanks. That's why I didn't text you or anything," I said, looking away. "I was unscious for the rest of the day, and woke up with Elysia shoving smelling salts up my nostrils."

  "Oof." He winced, shaking his head. "And then Elysia... Eris, was just... in there? Waiting for you to wake up?"

  "Yeah... she basically went all-in when I was critically injured. I don't kly what happened because the wendigo thing was... er, the monster was givihe world's bloodiest hickey. Definitely don't want to experieting my throat torn out again, I tell you that much. But yeah, she revealed her identity when she came bae, bawling her eyes out about how unfair it was. "

  Albert sighed. "Yeah. That... that's rough, Sienna. I don't even know what to say about that. That's a tough oo swallow."

  "Yeah." I shrugged, looking down. "It really is. Right out of a soap opera, huh? A long-lost sister, who ervilin, was also secretly my cssmate the whole opening month? Breaking down and dropping the facade because she thought I was going to die? It feels... well, I don't even know how to feel about that. I'm still reeling from everything, to be ho. There was just too much, and it was just so sudden, I guess."

  I paused, and I swallowed, my throat dry. I touched my neck again, feeling the smooth skin and the ck of any wound.

  "Eh, well. At least it's healed now. That's all I say. Apparently Tesseract had tingencies with how she set up her pocket dimension thingie, so I wouldn't have died anyway. But a new friend I made down there named Love Angel Aurora healed me right up."

  He nodded slowly, his expression mortified.

  "That's good," he said quietly. "I'm gd you didn't die. That would have sucked."

  "Yeah... yeah, that would have really sucked," I echoed softly.

  I giggled nervously. His deadpan delivery was both funny and a bit disturbing. But I couldn't deny that I felt a lot better, just getting that off my chest aing it out there.

  "So... your half sister, huh?" Albert murmured. "That's a roundabout way to try ao know you, I've gotta say. Get recruited by Kaleidoscope Academy. End up in your css as a new recruit with a pletely new identity. It's a bit voluted and strange. I mean, it makes me wonder about her. Is she even sane? Does she have the powers of multiple people in one body, or are there some powers she only has in a specifi? Did she aything like Eris as Elysia? I'm a little bit curious to hear more about her. It seems like you were being friends with her before the whole... well, reveal thing."

  I nodded. "Yeah, yeah, we were. She sauntered up to me during e and we were talking for a bit. She was a little quiet at first and definitely seemed tentative. But she warmed up pretty quickly, and then, yeah, we became fast friends."

  "Really, now?" Albert asked, leaning ba his seat. "Iing. That's... a little ued, holy."

  "Why do you say that?"

  "I dunno. It just seems a little weird to me," he replied. "I mean, if I was her and wao get to know someone, I'd probably take things a lot more slowly, you know? But this was a really roundabout approach to do so. And it was a risky pn, too."

  I nodded again.

  "Yeah, yeah, I see that." I rubbed the bay neck, feeling a bit awkward. "She gives off a bit of gremlin energy — especially as Eris — and is just a bit... chaotic. I'm a bit worried, holy."

  Albert frowned.

  "What's wrong? Is something going on?" he asked.

  Maybe I'm being paranoid." I looked down, sighing. "She was very apologetic about it, and I feel like she's being sincere, but..."

  "But...?"

  "It feels like the other shoe's about to drop," I said, looking back up at him. "It feels like something bad is gonna happen. Maybe it won't, maybe nothing will. But it just feels like either you or her or someone's gonna do something. I just... I'm worried."

  I bit my lip, fidgeting a bit in my seat. My fingers drummed anxiously on the arm of the sofa.

  "Well, what makes you think that?"

  I hesitated for a sed.

  "I'm not sure," I finally said. "I mean... it's just a gut feeling, but... I dunno. I feel like maybe things will turn out alright. But it feels like there's still a bunch of things that aren't quite settled, and that's why I'm a little nervous."

  "Like what?" he asked.

  I paused, biting my lip.

  "Well... for one. How did she know where to find me?"

  He furrowed his brow. "What do you mean?"

  "How and why did Dark Princess Eris show up out of the blue to prank the campus?" I crified. "She had no reason to show up and cause mayhem here. And then, just by ce, her half-sister was here. Sure, she robably already enrolled here, and by far the most talented magical girl in our year. So it's likely she found out through some secret backels, I guess? I don't know, I'm not a supervilin. But I don't uand her motivations, and I feel like that's what worries me."

  Albert nodded.

  "That's uandable. You're n there. There are definitely a few pieces we're missing in this whole situation," he agreed. "And holy, I'm a bit worried about you too, now."

  "Really?" I said, raising an eyebrow.

  "Sienna. You went through another near-death experience yesterday and you're just brushing it off as if it was nothing," Albert replied ftly. "You pyed it off just now but you should know by now that I don't miss much. You had your freaking throat ripped out by some sort of wendigo, and the only thing keeping you alive was some weird pocket dimension's rules? You had your orn out. I'm not even going to try and imagine what that felt like. And then your long lost half sister shows up out of the blue. Who, mind you, is also the daughter of the woman you idolized as a little kid. And she just... stalked you for the st few weeks? You've been going through it."

  I winced. He wasn't wrong. But it didn't seem... that bad to me. Not yet, at least. Not until I'd really processed it all.

  "I just don't know how to react," I said softly, shaking my head.

  "Well, for one, where is she in all this?" he asked. "Wasn't she staying with you in the infirmary? And then, what about after? Did she say she would e back to visit you or anything like that?"

  I paused.

  "I... kinda held her for the whole night. Fell asleep that way."

  "e again? Like a stuffed bear?"

  I rolled my eyes, chug at the memory.

  "Yeah, like a stuffed plushie, even," I sighed. "It was really awkward in hindsight, actually. But I mean, what was I supposed to do? Tell her to leave? I don't think so. Not when I know how she felt. Not after how I saw her react whehought I was going to die. And it felt like ing home in a way, you know? It just felt... right to cuddle her and I wound up having the best sleep in weeks. I haven't felt this safe in forever, and I don't want to lose that. And then... when I woke up, she was gone. She left a elling me she early and needed some air or something."

  He blinked.

  "Wow. Alright," he said. "That's... that's really iing. Holy, it sounds like she's also a bit fused and flicted. Which isn't surprising, sidering. You two have had a messed up couple days. But the fact she didn't stay around to see how you'd react when you woke up says a lot about where her head's at, and how she thinks yoing to take this."

  I frowned, chewing my bottom lip. "Well... what does it tell you?"

  He shrugged, and he gave me a half-smile, scratg at his stubble.

  "Maybe she's afraid you'll push her away?" he suggested. "Or maybe she feels guilty about everything she's done and she doesn't want to be a burden on you, so she ran off? It's hard to say, since I'm ly walking in your shoes here."

  I grunted, nodding. He had a point there.

  "She mentioned ie that she'd borrowed my dorm keys but she left them back at the infirmary with the note."

  "Well, that's something," he mused. "So the logical follow-up question to that is... how does she know where your dorm is?"

  I blinked. "Huh? I didn't think of that."

  Albert shrugged. "Like I said, there's still a few pieces of the puzzle missing. And holy, this is just kind of... a mess."

  I groaned, burying my fa my hands.

  "This is such a goddamn mess," I agreed.

  Albert ughed, and he reached over, patting my head.

  "Well, hey. Look at the bright side," he said. "At least it's not b!"

  I groaned, looking up at him. He grinned back, looking down at me with a bemused expression.

  "I don't need excitement in my life," I grumbled. "I'd rather be b and not be in mortal danger all the time. But hey, I knew what I signed up for."

  "Hey, o be grumpy about it," he teased. "It's not all that bad! You'll be fine."

  I snorted, shaking my head.

  "You're ridiculous, you know that, right?"

  "Maybe," Albert shrugged, grinning. "But it keeps you from freaking out too hard. I'm here for you, alright?"

  I sighed, smiling back.

  "I know. Thanks, Al," I said softly. "It's o have someone I talk to like this. You knoreciate you a lht?"

  "Hey, anytime. Anytime. That's what friends are for."

  He smiled, and plopped himself dowo me, stretg out his legs and putting his arms behind his head.

  "Anyway, enough of this mushy stuff. Wanna watch a movie?" he asked. "We could pop some pop and just veg for an hour or two, and take it easy."

  "Maybe another day? I've gotta meet a new friend for lun a bit over an hour. She's really cool. You should meet her too.! She's a bit quirky, really sweet and cute, and has a hell of a bite to her when you mess with her friends. And I think you two would really hit it off too."

  "Huh," he replied, raising an eyebrow. "Iing."

  He leaned forward and looked me over carefully. His eyes narrowed as he stared at me. For a long moment, her of us spoke. We just stared at each other. I wasn't sure what he was doing, or why, and I didn't know how to react to his scrutiny.

  I broke the silence.

  "What's wrong, Al?"

  He shook his head. "Nothing's wrong. It just... it's not like you, that's all. I've never heard you give a girl e a glowing review like that. Like, you're usually a lot more muted. I dunno, it just caught me off guard, is all. What's her name?"

  "Ichigo! Her name's Ichigo. I met her and her brother before orientation."

  "Well, I'll look forward to meetihen."

  "Sweet." I checked the time. "Er, I don't know if she'd mind, but I think I could bring you along as well. You want to go grab some food?"

  Albert chuckled. "I guess I could eat something. I don't ose, though."

  "Oh, please." I waved him away, shaking my head. "You wouldn't be imposing, not o. She'd love you."

  "If you say so," Albert ughed.

  "I know so. e on," I urged, standing up and grabbing his hand. "At least I get away from this family drama crap for a while, right? Some downtime would do us good. I'll text her and ask if I bring a plus one."

  "Yeah, alright." Albert nodded, standing up as well.

  He stretched out, crag his back with a satisfying pop. He was a tall, broad guy with a stocky frame, but his build hid a lot of strength, especially since he'd been slowly learning about diet and exercise over the summer. The muscle definition in his chest, shoulders, and arms was starting to beore visible in spite of his belly and his pudgy cheeks.

  "Alright, let's go grab some grub then."

  "Right behind you," I agreed. "I'm starving, and this is the first time I'm actually gonna have time to eat something substantial in a day."

  "God, you really went through it. I 't believe that happened," he sighed. "I'm so sorry, Sienna."

  I shook my head.

  "Hey, no. Don't be sorry," I reassured him with a smile. "It's not your fault, Al. There was nothing you could have doher. Besides, I survived. That's all that matters. It sucks that I got my throat torn out and almost died, but hey, I'll get better."

  He gave me a wry smile. "I suppose."

  "I'll be okay, buddy."

  "Yeah. Yeah, you will be," he said, his voice low and firm. "I'm just gd my family situation and history isn't nearly as dramatic or plicated, is all. You're really tough, and I don't know how the heck I'm gonna keep up with you, but I'll always have your back, you know?"

  I gri him.

  "I know. Aoughness is overrated," I teased. "Just wait till I make enough following down the family footsteps and buy a skull-shaped isnd with my own private army though. I'll make you the mean mugger iux."

  "Oof, I don't wanna know." He chuckled. "Let's just hope you don't wind up with your own fortress of doom, yeah? If you do, make sure the dental is good at least."

  I ughed.

  "Yeah. That's the dream, isn't it?" I agreed. "Well, e o's get some food, then? Maybe something greasy and terrible and uhy."

  "Yeah, that sounds like the ticket." He nodded. "It's just gonna be chi, broccoli, baked potatoes, and some protein shake for me though. I've got my diet pnned out."

  "You're really going ham with the diet thing, huh?" I said.

  "Hey, if I 't do the whole 'World Skills' thing to accelerate my growth, at least I'm going to take advantage of all the knowledge and tools I have avaible."

  "That makes sense." I nodded, smiling. "Well, good for you. I see it just starting to pan out already."

  He beamed, flexing both his biceps with a cheeky grin.

  I was feelier already. This was what I needed right now, just a nice, chill, quiet day without any life-threatening danger.

  He always knew what to say to help ter me after something crazy like that.

  I smiled, and followed after him, grabbing my hoodie and leaving his dorm.

  "Don't fet though, we did say we'd start hitting the gym together once csses settled in a little," he reminded me as we left. "Remember?"

  "I know, I know." I waved him off, chug. "Don't worry, I'll be there. Assuming no random surprises crop up again."

  Al was lucky his family didn't have any serious drama. I ehat. But I was grateful he had my back, and he wasn't going to leave me hanging when I needed him.

  "Family, huh?" Albert mused, his eyes narrowing.

  "Something wrong?" I asked, as we walked out of the entrance.

  "Just curious, I guess." He shrugged, looking at the sky.

  "About what?"

  "Family..." he repeated. "I suppose I never gave much thought about mine. I've got the standard package. Dad's a white crunt, mom struggled for years before making it with her restaurant, and they're still married."

  I blinked. "Oh? What's up?"

  He snorted, ughing.

  "Nothing. I'm just ting my blessings my family situation isn't nearly as crazy, I suppose." He looked at me. "My parents have always been good to me, you know?"

  "Yeah, that's true. That's defirue. To me, as well, really."

  "They basically took you uheir wing. I still don't get how you vinced mom and dad to let you crash with us for the entire summer when we were ten," he chuckled.

  "You don't know?" I ughed. "You've known your folks lohan I have, dude! If anything, I was the one who was shocked. It's like... well, I'm not gonna question it too hard, I suppose, but... yeah, your parents have gohe extra mile for me."

  "True. It is kind of strao think about it, though." He smiled, his expression thoughtful. "The idea of having a legendary magical girl directly reted to you, and a half-sister with the same dad to that legendary magical girl's rival and equal... well, it's crazy, really."

  "Yeah," I agreed, smiling. "I suppose that's true."

  "Just ting my blessings," Albert reiterated. "My family is pretty normal. Well, besides Mom's restaurant. I 't imagine having to deal with that kind of thing in my family."

  I nodded, pulling up my hoodie.

  I truly envied Albert's family situation, and I was thankful he didn't have to deal with this kind of stuff.

  He may be my best friend, but he would probably never uand the sheer insanity that was the 'Russo' and 'Matsudaira' family trees. And being directly reted to 'Star Nightingale' and 'Star Bunbun' or the scars left by their legendary rivalry.

  And that was for the better, really.

  Nobody deserved that kind of headache. Nobody.

  I felt like the luckiest person alive to have met him, and to have been adopted by his pin ol' everyday family. I couldn't have asked for more.

  They gave me a taste of normalcy that was so precious. And that's why I loved them all.

  "Thanks for being you," I murmured. "Ditto for your family."

  He chuckled and rubbed the back of his head.

  "I feel that."