We walk inside the YKC and make our way to one of the main offices. I knock on the door and Claire opens on the other side.

“Hey guys! Come on in we were just finishing up our latest project”

We walk in to see Brandy welding something and Alice looking over him with a clipboard.

“You guys came just in time! We were just putting the finishing touches” said Claire

The triplets are rarely in the same place at once; they all have the talents that they use outside the Y.K.C., Brandy is the only one who cares deeply about this place, he cares so damn much that he has subconsciously made it his life's mission to run this place.

There was a time when they were all inseparable, they created amazing things but they also wanted to have their own lives which is respectable.

“What are you guys working on?” I say

“Just something special for our little cousin,” Brandy said as he took off his gear.

“For me?” I say

“Yeah Astro was in on it,” Alice says

“The triplets asked me to bring you over so I bent your sword as an excuse”

“It was you I knew something was off I always pay attention in combat!” I punch Astro's shoulder in a teasing way.

He tumbles over dramatically.

“Ow.”

“Mari, are you ready to see your gift?” Alice says as she gets behind me to cover my eyes.

“Yeah, I love gifts!”

She gently puts her hand over my eyes and I can feel how Brandy puts a small circular object in my hand.

“Now open your eyes!” Alice removes her hands from my eyes.

I looked down to see what I thought was a red pocket watch with the Y.K.C. symbol engraved on it.

“A pocket watch! Thank you guys it’s so pretty” I say

“Not a pocket watch! Click on the symbol.” Brandy smiles as he steps back.

I start to get a bit worried that this was one of their pranks but I press on the symbol. In the blink of an eye, the small object had turned into the most beautiful sword I had ever seen. It had a red handle and a beautiful engraved blade. I look up and see my cousins towering over me.

“Congrats on ranking up!” They all say in unison

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“I can’t believe this!” I gently touched the blade “It’s so beautiful!”

“We thought you needed an upgrade and Astro mentioned that you kept complaining about the flimsy swords,” Brandy says

I smile shily.

When you wanna close or open it just press the symbol” Brandy says as he helps me close it. “And then you can wear it as an amulet around your neck!”

I have to admit I am shocked by the amount of detail that they put into this. They are really sweet when they want to be, especially when they all come together to create something.

“But that it’s the only thing Mari looks in the back, behind the symbol,” Claire says

I look and my name is engraved with a heart next to it.

“It’s your mother's writing,” Alice says

I looked surprised.

“But how?”

“Well when you were about to be born your mom and dad were trying to come up with names so they started writing down all of the potential names for you and when they got to Marina your mom loved it so much she put a heart next to it,” Claire said

Run my fingers through my name and I can’t help but feel weird inside. We usually don’t mention Mom at home, it’s always been a hard topic for everyone. My cousins try to tell me stories they remember occasionally but for the most part that’s it.

My mom died when I was around five and nobody knew why, she was young and healthy but out of nowhere she felt extremely sick and died. Her sudden death was hard for my brother and sister but especially for my Dad although they would never like to admit it. Sometimes I wonder how life would have been if she was still around. Maybe Dad would be home more often or perhaps I would know more about what it’s like to be human. Maybe I'd have a chance to visit Earth. Life could’ve been different. Is it possible to miss someone I never got the opportunity to know fully? As I snap back to reality and notice the tears falling on the amulet. I feel Astro hugging my arm and the triplets joining in. We all hug in silence for what feels like an eternity.

“Thank you guys this was so thoughtful.”

“You know we love you, Mari,” Claire says

“I love you guys too.”

I know deep down that perhaps they don’t know what love is. “Love” is categorized as a human emotion, a powerful sensation that can only be felt when you care deeply for someone or something. Since they are Thesians I have no idea if they truly mean it when they say the word love. I’m not entirely sure if I know what love is. But moments like this solidify the fact that if I don’t feel love then this would be the closest thing to it.

As we leave the office I try to catch reality but my mind keeps slipping off. Everything was just a lot and though I'm grateful I can't help but feel… well to be truthful I'm not sure how I feel.

“Mari!” Astro waves his hand in front of my face “C'mon you're slipping on me”

“Sorry Astro, I didn't mean to, what were you saying?”

“I didn't say anything but now that I've got your attention let's start heading our way to the cafe c'mon I'm starving! Y'know fighting demons gives me the munchies”

I let out a small laugh “Okay let's go you dumb goofball”

As we make our way closer to the cafe Astro suddenly stops me. He has this alarmed look on his face and I grow worried.

“Do you hear that?” he says. I close my eyes to see if I can hear the same thing he does and just before I was about to open my eyes to tell Astro he was imagining things I hear faint muffles coming from the back of a building nearby. Astro and I look at each other in understanding before we run towards the noise. As we were running we realized we were having trouble finding the source. We were running in circles with no direction. Astro lets out a frustrated grunt and lets his wolf form out just a bit. He sniffs for a second and says “Follow me” he runs but I have trouble catching up to him.

Finally, we find the source of the noise: a demon was holding a young girl by her mouth to the wall. We wasted no time and jumped straight into action. Astro clings to his neck and pulls him away from her. The girl falls to the ground. I quickly put myself in between her and the demon. I remember my new sword and wasted no time in using it. I started waving my sword at the demon while Astro was ready to attack from the back. The demon wasted time and jumped at me claws out.