I sighed, staring at myself in the mirror. My skin had always been a bit more prone to tanning than my mother's, which had made me stand out growing up. And not in a good way.

I'd never been too secure about my body or my looks, but I'd never really thought about them actively. I usually wore my imperfections like a badge, understanding that everyone was different. I didn't get the worst roll in the world, nor the best, but how I turned out never bothered me too much.

But now that I was a Magical Knight, it was like I couldn't stop obsessing over it.

Five feet, two inches tall. Definitely underweight.

Dark brown hair and hazel eyes. Short, neck-length hair that refused to stay unfrizzled.

I pursed my lips, turning to the side and frowning.

I knew I should be eating more, given what I'd heard about the physical challenges of being a Magical Knight and the demands of training on the body, but it was hard for me to get food down after a lifetime of scrimping and saving for anything that kept me from being hungry.

Sure, there was a buffet in the dining hall, and Kaleidoscope City was one of the least likely major cities to suffer a food shortage, but my brain just couldn't wrap itself around the concept of eating freely.

I leaned in closer to the mirror, feeling around the edge of my jaw.

Too scrawny.

Too weak.

Not like a real warrior, not like a real defender. Not even close to matching the physiques of any of even the weakest of the other magical knights I've seen.

Even while enhanced beyond regular human limits, Eris had more or less had her way with me once she'd closed the distance. She was much more agile and lithe, she could easily weave between my clumsy attempts to increase the range between us.

She had power.

She had presence and charisma.

And, at the end of the day, she had reach too.

If she'd just pressed her advantage seriously and wanted to hurt me instead off blabbering on and monologuing like a damn cartoon villain, she could have put me away then and there. It had all been a matter of my strength, power, and build, but I couldn't help but realize that I might not be enough to defeat a enemy like that who was taking things seriously. It was also something that wasn't easy to change overnight, unfortunately.

I'd lost a little bit of my confidence in that fight. Not just in my physical abilities, but my personality and general mindset.

I'd wanted to approach that fight like a hero straight out of the movies, slinging out my own confident banter and giving as good as I got, but...

Ugh.

I shook my head, feeling a pit of self-doubt pooling in my stomach. It was tough, but I needed to work through it.

I grumbled, grabbing a hoodie from my closet and throwing it on. It wasn't exactly flattering, but it hid the worst of my figure's deficiencies. It would have to do for now.

"Hey, Sienna! You almost ready for your meeting?" a familiar called from outside my door.

We'd planned on getting breakfast together before we split off for our respective program's final orientations, and I knew I would be transformed anyway.

But still...

"Y-yeah," I answered, looking in the mirror one last time. "Give me a sec."

Sure, we were going to show up transformed to the best of our abilities and in costumes, but there was no guarantee that people wouldn't end up noticing. No doubt all the veterans would be giving the newbies the side-eye, evaluating them and wondering if they were worth their time.

Maybe that's a bit much, but it felt true to me. After all, that's how it was in real life. People were always sizing each other up, looking for faults and weaknesses to exploit. Not everyone did it, but there was always a bad egg or two wherever I went that gave either me or Al hell. Just our lived experiences.

"I'm just having a crisis, no big deal."

I quickly freshened up, doing my best to run a brush through my hair and splash some water on my face.

Finally, I pushed out of my dorm, grinning nervously at the big lug waiting outside. "Okay, good to go now."

Albert raised an eyebrow. "Everything alright? You're looking a little pale."

I waved him off. "I'm fine, Al. Just nerves, you know?"

"Yeah, I feel you. And heck, my track isn't half as active or insane as yours. I gotta imagine you're a bundle of nerves."

"Pshh, yeah."

We headed out of the dorms, taking the elevator down to the ground floor. The campus was as bustling as ever, with crowds of people milling around and talking animatedly with friends.

"So..." I trailed off. "Excited?"

He shrugged. "Sure. I guess?"

We walked together in silence for a bit, me looking around and trying my best to stay calm and not let my anxiety build.

"Hut! Two! Three! Four!"

Al and I stopped as we passed by a large group of people doing plyometrics on a flat patch of grass. All of them were dressed in assorted gym clothes and drenched in sweat, and it looked like there were three girls and about twenty boys. They ranged wildly in age, from a leader who looked he was about college-aged to people a bit older than me and Al.

"Woah," I whispered, watching them jumping on boxes they'd laid out in rows. "Isn't it a bit early in the term for that?"

Al shrugged. "Well, fitness isn't something you take for granted, right? It's something you have to work on every day, regardless of your training or your genetics. Just being able to break a sweat helps on the daily and stuff."

I nodded, taking in the group for a second. They were definitely fit.

Muscle, tendon, and ligament.

Never heard of it.

The guy leading the exercise was lean with a classic swimmer's build. He wasn't packing a ton of muscle, but he was visibly strong and fit and did his jumps with a colossal grin on his face. He had dirty blond hair and blue eyes that shone with the intensity of his movements and a thin, sharp jaw and an equally sharp nose that looked like it came from a classical era statue.

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Two dozen students were training in unison, moving with visible exertion and focus. But for some reason, there was one figure in the group whose rhythm just looked visibly off from the corner of my eye. My eyes followed the movement, landing on a boy who looked considerably younger and more underdeveloped than the rest. He even looked younger than me, which was saying something.

All of them had short, neatly barbered hair, but the boy I had my eye on had messy black bangs with dyed brown highlights covering his eyes and a ragged t-shirt on that looked like it had seen better days. He was breathing heavily, and his legs were shaking as he tried to keep up with the rest of the group.

The boy even looked... frail.

"Come on, everyone! Get that blood flowing and sweat dripping!" The guy at the lead barked at the others, breaking out into alternating deep lunge jumps so quick he almost looked like a blur. The group followed his movement, picking up the pace as they followed his lead.

I gaped, but the weak-looking boy kept going, throwing his legs forward and back with growing intensity—

And then he stumbled, slipping and bouncing on one angle before falling onto the grass in a classic breakfall. Half group immediately swarmed in, helping him to a seated position and gently extending his leg.

"Dude, Kazuki, you okay bruh?" a short, latino-looking muscular boy asked. "That looked like it hurt."

The leader leaned in, clutching at his heart and panting for breath. "Take it easy little bro. You've gotta slow down and go at your own pace."

Kazuki nodded, rubbing his ankle and grimacing. "Sorry, guys. I just... was trying to keep up."

They patted him on the back and the shoulders, chatting and laughing as another boy offered him a bottle of water.

A muscular boy with chocolate brown skin flexed a bicep with a grin, giving him a high-five. "Damn, man! Look at that hustle! Keep it going and before you know it, you'll be beating us all over the edge of the field."

One of the four girls in the group noticed us staring and grinned. "Yo! Boss!!"

I blinked, feeling my cheeks flush as I realized I'd been caught staring. Albert and I shared a look, and I rubbed the back of my neck awkwardly.

The leader of the group immediately stalked forward, his arms swinging confidently at his sides. "Why, hello there! What can I do for you folks? Looking for a friendly workout and some fun with the Power Fitness club?"

The club members stared at us, flexing their muscles and smiling wide. It was almost comical, but they seemed so sincere that I couldn't help but smile back.

"Erm, we've kinda got orientation stuff," Albert said. "I've actually been going out of my way to exercise more though. You guys kinda caught our eyes and maybe I'll circle back down the road."

He slapped his belly with a smile, eliciting a laugh from the group leader, who nodded. "Nice. Well, good for you, dude! I'm Blake, the founder and current president of the club. If either of you you want to whip yourself in shape, you know where to find us."

Albert chuckled nervously. "Well, you guys seem pretty advanced for where I'm at. But maybe if I get better, I could give it a try."

The guy shrugged, shaking his head. "As far as I'm concerned, everyone's welcome to train with us no matter what their experience level is at. We just love having new faces, and we're more than happy to help a fresh fish get their feet wet. Besides, our guiding philosophy is sustainability and consistency!"

He shot Kazuki a worried look, nodding to himself. "Last thing we want to is have someone push themselves until they vomit and cause an injury. So if you're not interested in trying to sprint halfway across the world on your first day, there won't be a problem here."

I smiled, rubbing my left arm awkwardly. "Well, I'm not exactly athletically inclined."

He tilted his head. "Well, that's okay, too! A person's fitness should always be self-assessed and tailored to their abilities and preferences. Trust me. Over half the folks here started off in the same boat."

Albert rubbed his belly. "Don't mind me then. I'm... definitely on my way to trying and getting back in shape. You know, new leaf and all that."

I glanced at him curiously, but I was hardly surprised. His mom overfed him regularly, so he was always a bit on the chubby side. She'd always tried to do the same to me, but my mother and I were never comfortable with taking advantage of her generous nature.

The boy named Kazuki finished his water, wiping his lips. Then, he stood up and limped over to us, clearly struggling.

But the boy seemed determined, and he made his way over to us with a small, embarrassed smile. He waved at us shyly. "Sorry about that spectacle. Probably wasn't the best first impression for our little club here."

Blake laughed, slinging a well-muscled arm around the boy's shoulder and clapping him on the back. "See, bud? Just go with your gut. Don't push yourself past the point of an injury. Knowing your limits is far more important than trying to look strong."

Kazuki nodded, clenching his fists. "I know. It's just... I'm trying to change myself for the better, and I don't want to hold anyone back."

The group leader shook his head. "Now, you listen to me Kaz. This is all about the journey. Baby steps, brother. You owe nobody but yourself. And as long as you're still walking on your road, that's all that matters. One step at a time, little buddy."

Now that he was a bit closer to us, I noticed Kazuki was... different.

The boy had delicate, effeminate features that I could even call pretty, but I could see a raw intensity behind his brown eyes as he made eye contact with Blake.

But then the look disappeared and he sniffed, rubbing his eyes. "Thank you, boss. That means a lot."

"Little bro! You know it," Blake answered, ruffling the boy's hair. "And c'mon, we've got new friends here."

Kazuki finally made his way to us, extending a hand. "Hi there, sorry for the clumsiness. I'm a little self-conscious about it. Er, name's Kazuki but everyone calls me Kaz."

I quickly grabbed his hand, returning the shake with an awkward grin. "Sienna. Lovely to meet you, er, Kaz."

"Yeah. I'm fine. Sorry. Kazuki is good. Yeah. Kaz, Kaz is fine. Definitely," he corrected, slicking his hair back and exhaling. "Wow. Um. What a disaster."

Kaz was probably around five feet six inches, with a small nose and sharp cheekbones. He was almost slender to the point of looking fragile, but his jaw was strong and his eyes occasionally shone with a fierce, infectious determination.

His voice was high-pitched and soft, and I found myself giggling softly at his nervous antics.

"Don't sweat it," Blake called. "We've all been there. I mean it."

Kaz clutched his water bottle, his eyes widening. "Right. Yeah. Um. m, yeah. Hope we catch you around sometime! We... we're not actually terrible. Our group here is just dedicated to staying active and keeping our fitness goals on track, and..."

His cheeks flushed, and he took a deep breath. "Good, wow, you two seem really cool and I don't know if-"

Blake patted him on the shoulder. "Whoa there, buddy. I think you need a breather, haha."

He breathed, closing his eyes briefly before opening his eyes with focus. A sharpness came back to his gaze. "Yes, I did. Sorry about all that. My nerves are a bit haywire right now. So, yeah. Nice to meet you two. Glad we didn't chase you off."

I giggled. "No worries, Kazuki. You seem like a nice guy. Not exactly easy getting into fitness, huh? I can definitely relate. I was actually literally staring at a mirror earlier thinking about trying to gain a bit of weight. My grocery budget was always a bit limited, so I missed out on some pretty essential windows growing up, I think."

Kaz nodded sympathetically. "I hear that. Yeah. Well, anyway... Most of us go to the gym here on our own schedules but Blake and Sebastian host group classes and stuff when they have the time. You guys ever want to tag along, it's a fun group and we have our own group chat."

Blake grinned, putting his arm around Kaz again and pulling him in for a one-armed hug. "Little bro, did I ever tell you you're a star?"

"B-blake, please stop that! You're suffocating me, you goon."

I smiled, hearing the love and compassion in their voices.

Blake laughed, shaking his head. "Anyway, you two have a great day and good luck with your stuff! Remember, if you want to train with the Power Fitness club, hit us up and let us know. Ping me on the handles or number I put on that card and I'll add you to our group chat."

He reached into his shorts and pulled out two cards, throwing it at both me and Albert. "There, see you around, freshmen. Consider yourselves invited."

With that, the group headed back to the grass field, Blake in the lead and Kaz waddling behind him.

Al and I turned around, walking in the direction of the dining hall.

I looked down at the card in my hand, smiling to myself.

"Think you'll take him up on that?" I asked.

"Maybe. We'll see. I've kind of been fumbling on my own reading and watching guides. It's just hard on my own."

I chuckled, looking at my friend with pity. "Of course. I get it. But like you said. No char siu buns or new dessert recipes from your mom to derail you anymore. May as well try to whip ourselves into shape while we can, right?"

He sighed. "Right. That's the plan. Can't make any excuses just because the world almost ended. Especially because the world almost ended."

I nodded.

"Gym buddies? Start next week maybe? When we're not full of pasta and rice and stuff?"

He stared at the ground, nodding slowly. "Sounds like a plan. Let's do it."

I smiled to myself.

At least Albert was trying. And so was Kaz, and Blake, and all those other people out there.

That was a heartening realization to keep in mind.

Maybe not everyone needed to be out there fighting monsters and protecting the world from supervillains. Maybe some people just had to be out there, taking care of themselves and trying to live their lives to the fullest.

I needed to try and remember that.

Nothing was perfect, but I could always do a little better, a little bit of an improvement here and there.

So, I would do it.

One thing at a time, Sienna.

One tiny step at a time.