As the lunch hour passed and our group went its separate ways, Stella and Albert had both taken the time to say goodbye to Ichigo and I. Ichigo had seemed to take a liking to her, but it was obvious she was still intimidated by Stella's presence.

The Matsudaira family had a huge reputation and were a household name in this part of the country. Ichigo, despite her upbringing and the status her parents had, came from a humble middle-class background. It made sense for her to feel overwhelmed in the presence of a literal celebrity, and I knew she wasn't the type of person to get all 'fan-girly' about it either.

Still, I couldn't help but smile as she walked off to class, her cheeks red and her steps nervous and awkward.

Stella, on the other hand, had been nothing but the perfect model student, which was an interesting contrast to how she was when we were hanging out. I had never seen someone so effortlessly transition between the different personas she maintained, but I could only assume that came from her upbringing.

The Matsudaira family was a household name, and it wasn't just her father, the American-born magnate Ken Takayama, who was a huge player in the superhero community.

Her adopted mother, Matsudaira Akemi, had been the last known blood descendant of the Tokugawa Clan's main branch. A family that, for several hundred years, had maintained political power in Japan before their abdication from the shogunate in the 19th century. A family that then, produced some of the greatest superheroes and worst supervillains of the 20th century.

Her adopted mother was an international icon, and an absolutely stunning woman. She was a true Paragon, with incredible physical feats. Her beauty, grace, benevolence, and charismatic presence were only magnified by the way her family name carried a sense of royalty and regal prestige, even to this day. Losing her was a tragedy for world, and her death still haunted the community at large. I had no doubt her absence had left a hole in countless hearts and souls that would never fully heal. The fact that they'd had a child, in secret, had been a surprise.

A lie had been spun about how the child was kept in hiding for her own safety, due to the threat of kidnapping or assassination, and the whole thing was spun as some tragic fairy tale. A young orphaned child of a deceased hero and her wealthy and brilliant husband, living in the shadows as the world's finest prepared for the final showdown against Mortifera Nox's Hadean Order. When she was finally revealed, she had already been three years old, and the entire story had been spun as a romantic and touching fairy tale.

Maybe she'd been raised with the best tutors and spent her childhood surrounded by the most advanced and cutting edge training equipment.

The reality of the story, though...

I glanced over at Albert, walking down the hallway beside me, and smiled to myself.

I'd told him as much about the situation as I could without revealing the fact that Stella was Elysia, or the truth behind the lie of Stella's origins.

But I had a sneaking suspicion that he was already piecing the rest together. I'd already caught him studying the cell phone footage he took of my quick skirmish with Eris. He'd probably picked out that I had fought alongside Stella, and probably Ichigo too.

I was just going to wait for him to figure out the rest himself. He'd earned my trust and respect, and I knew he deserved it. Al always loved a good brain teaser. It wouldn't take him long, if he hadn't solved the riddle already. He was smarter than me or anyone I knew, anyway. It wouldn't be hard for him.

And when he did figure it out... well...

We'd cross that bridge when we got there. I had a sneaking suspicion it was going to happen sooner than later, anyway. Especially since Stella was so keen on hanging out with him for whatever reason.

I'd lost track of Stella in the crowd again, but I had no doubt that I would see her again later, though.

We still had a lot to talk about, to say the least. It had only been a little less than a a day, and we hadn't really had time to talk one on one. I knew she'd looked for me to get lunch, but I was with Al and Ichigo, so it was a bad time. She'd have to find me again, and we'd get it done.

There were still a lot of unanswered questions and we needed to talk. She'd revealed her identity to me, and I'd spent the night holding on to her after my near-death experience, and it wasn't something either of us were likely to forget anytime soon.

Holding on to my long-lost sister and crying until I passed out was not an easy memory to shake, especially considering how emotionally charged and raw it was.

But we needed to have that conversation.

We were sisters now, and I had no idea what the fuck that meant or how we would make that work. How do I make something like that 'work,' exactly? How do I approach that?

Do we just become best friends, or something? Or, like... do I introduce her as my half-sister? We'd had immediate chemistry as friends, but I'd chalked that up to her just being an awesome and cool girl. I don't know how to approach that.

What was I supposed to do?

What did that even mean, for her, for me?

Did she even want that?

I had to know, I had to find out. But, for the time being, it was a conversation that would have to wait.

I didn't have any other classes for a bit, so I'd just head to my dorm and take the opportunity to get some work done before meeting up with the gang.

I still had a bunch of assignments I had to get through.

I looked up at my dorm building, sighing. I still hadn't gotten used to the place, but it would have to do. It had all of my things, after all, and that included the school work I had to do eventually. The school wasn't just going to give me a pass, not even after I almost died yesterday.

I technically had less total classes than most students. As a Magical Girl, my official schedule was full of bunk classes that fronted for training. But I had just as much to study. The difference was that my tests weren't all about math and science and history, but rather, I'd have to demonstrate the ability to control and use my power and progress through things like physical fitness and sparring bouts. It wasn't going to be a cake walk. It was a different kind of school.

And then, of course, I still had my general education courses. Those weren't magically excised just because I got to become a cadet. I still had to learn things like Calculus, English and Global History. I also had to keep my GPA at a minimum of a B-average.

It wasn't easy.

My life was already getting more complicated than I expected. And that was after I'd gone through a miniature zombie apocalypse.

I made my upstairs to my dorm room, sighing as I unlocked my door and pushed it open.

I blinked in surprise, looking around at the tidied-up room, my eyebrows raised in surprise. Everything was spotless. The bed had been made and the trash can had been emptied. Even my backpack and books were neatly organized in a pile at my desk. I wasn't a slob, but I wasn't a neat freak either and I hadn't been keeping it as clean as I liked to. And it wasn't like I had a lot of stuff in here, anyway. It was still basically barren.

The room looked... really good, actually, now that I was looking at it.

"Oh." I said out loud to no one in particular. "Huh."

I glanced around the room, taking in the sight. I walked over to my closet and pulled open the doors. My clothes were hanging on the racks, neatly folded, sorted by color, and arranged in some kind of organized pattern. There were also some new clothes on my bed that hadn't been there when I left in the morning.

What the heck...

Stella had said in her note at the infirmary that she'd borrowed me dorm keys for a bit, but this was a bit unexpected.

I closed my eyes, pinching the bridge of my nose. She was really thoughtful, in the most bizarre ways.

I wasn't mad, or upset. It was actually quite nice to see the room looking so nice.

It was just... weird. It didn't feel like I was owed this. It was too much.

She didn't need to be doing things like that, I didn't need her to do things like that, and it wasn't fair for her to do that for me, as thoughtful as it was. I had a hard time wrapping my mind around how someone would be willing to do so much for someone else.

Especially someone they'd known for such a short amount of time.

I frowned, noticing a box at the foot of my bed. It was a cardboard box wrapped in a pink bow.

There was a piece of paper on top of the bow.

"Hey, Sis! Sorry about everything. Hope I didn't freak you out too bad! I'm not gonna lie, it was really emotional and awesome. Sorry if that made you feel weird. I promise, I'll be cool. Anyway, I picked up some new outfits for you. And I'm super sorry about the barbecue sauce incident and your shoes. I hope these make up for it. We have a lot of time to make up for, in general."

She was... something else. That's for sure.

I couldn't help but smile as I put the letter down, shaking my head in amusement. I opened up the box, blinking as I pulled out a pair of sneakers.

These weren't any old sneakers.

I looked over the box in awe, admiring the sleek, black and red design of the shoes.

Those were high end running shoes that I had actually passed by when I was shopping with Al a few weeks earlier. I couldn't afford them at all, and Stella probably didn't even think twice about it, but I knew the shoes cost close to three hundred bucks a pair, easy.

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

I couldn't accept these.

They were too much, way too much.

But...

It would be rude not to. She did kinda ruin my other pair.

She went out of her way to do something nice for me. And after everything that had happened yesterday and this morning, it was hard not to appreciate her sentiment.

I pulled out my Nexus and tapped in a quick text to her. To Elysia.

> Hey... can you come over? I got your present and I don't really know what to say.

She replied in less than thirty seconds.

> Sure! Um. I'm actually not too far away. I'll be there in a minute. I have class in less than an hour though, so I can't stay for too long. Just hang tight!

I blinked at my phone, staring at it in surprise for a moment. I wasn't sure what I was expecting, but I had been hoping to have some time to calm down before she came back. I wasn't even sure what I was feeling, honestly. There were a lot of emotions and a lot of confusion and a lot of uncertainty and a lot of other things.

I sighed.

Well, that's fine, I guess. She'd been the one to find me at the dining hall, and I had a strong feeling she was also itching to talk about everything that had happened yesterday.

Maybe this was a good opportunity for me.

Maybe this would be the chance we needed to get everything off our chests and talk about what we were doing, where we were going.

And if I was going to have to face the reality of having a half-sister, then it would be a lot easier to move forward without pretenses.

She might have been my sister by blood, but I still knew almost nothing about her. She knew even less about me. And that wasn't a problem that was going to go away overnight, or even with one awkward heart-to-heart. But, if we were going to do this, we were going to need to talk, and talk a lot, and get to know one another. We'd be stuck with each other, god willing, and we might as well make the best of it.

With my mother missing and her adopted mother long buried, and our father out of the picture as well... it was just the two of us. And that was kind of cool, if I was being completely honest. It would take getting used to, but if we were going to do this then I'd be happy to give it a shot.

A gentle knock on my window caused me to jump, and I spun around to see a pair of bright, vibrant brown eyes staring back at me from outside. 'Elysia' looked away as soon as I made eye contact with her, blushing furiously and tapping at the window again, her lips moving as she mouthed something that I couldn't hear through the thick glass.

"Jesus, Stella," I hissed as I opened it up and let her inside, the almost silver-haired girl shuffling into my dorm and brushing off her skirt before looking at me and giving me an awkward smile. "Don't sneak up on me like that, I wasn't expecting you for a while."

"Sorry!" she apologized, looking sheepish. "I, uh, wasn't trying to be creepy or anything. And I know I've been failing pretty badly at that."

She sighed and summoned a heart-shaped device in a flurry of pink motes.

Then, a soft glow surrounded her for a second, her features shifting as she changed back into Stella, her long black hair spilling over her shoulders in waves and her eyes shifting back to the soft hazel brown she'd been born with. Her magical girl costume faded away as the heart-shaped device molded into a smart phone decorated with animal stickers.

She was wearing the same clothes from earlier, a pair of leggings and a dark blue blouse complete with a matching skirt. Her face was a bit flushed and her eyes were downcast.

"Hey," she murmured, giving me a small, awkward smile. "Er... you, uh... got my note, right?"

"Yeah." I nodded. "Thank you."

Stella shrugged.

"It was the least I could do." She grinned, fiddling with a strand of her long black hair. "You know. I did kind of owe you a new pair."

She walked past me, sitting at the edge of the bed. "How're you feeling, by the way?"

"I'm good," I said. "My injuries weren't terrible, thanks to Aurora."

"Oh." Stella shrugged. "I meant, emotionally and stuff. I, uh, I know it's not easy to have something like that dropped on your lap. And, well, we kind of had an emotional roller coaster of a night, too."

She sighed. "Sorry. Again. It wasn't easy for me to accept the whole situation either and I didn't handle it as gracefully as I'd like, and... well. You're handling it better than I did."

An awkward silence lingered in the air. She fidgeted, and I sat down on my computer chair, my fingers drumming on my knees. She was right. It had been an intense, emotional experience, and it had taken a toll on me, but I wasn't going to hold it against her.

I was just happy that I found her. That she found me.

It had been such an insane series of events. From the fight with my mother before I left to school, to an outright zombie apocalypse, to turning into a Knight and getting attacked by a supervillain... and then learning Dark Princess Eris was my long lost sister. The past month had been insane.

I wasn't sure I could even wrap my mind around it.

"Stella." I finally spoke out, gently as I could.

She looked up at me, tilting her head to the side in a curious gesture. "Yeah?"

"What do you like?" I asked.

"What?" She blinked, looking confused. "What do you mean, what do I like? Like, like-like?"

I sighed, shaking my head.

"We don't really know each other," I admitted. "And... all that links us is blood."

Her downcast expression said it all.

"But I'd like to know you," I continued, smiling. "I'd like to know my sister. As a person. So, if we're going to try to build something out of this, what better way than to get to know one another? "I What are you interested in? Who are you? What is Stella's favorite color, and what is her favorite food? Do you like cats or dogs more, or birds or bugs, or... do you have any hobbies right now?"

Stella stared at me for a second, then she laughed, a soft, gentle laugh that I was growing to enjoy. "Heh. Well, uh, I'm a simple girl, I guess. You know I like painting figurines and stuff, that's something I've been getting more and more into. But as for the rest, huh... well, I love cats. They're just the cutest little creatures. My favorites, though, are birds. I'd die for a pet bird. A parrot or an owl or... oh my gosh, I just want one, so much."

She giggled. "But... my absolute favorite, favorite animal? Foxes. They're the best. I love foxes."

"Foxes?"

She nodded excitedly.

"They're so fluffy," she cooed, grinning. "I just want to snuggle up and pet one all day. I heard they smell pretty bad, but I think I'd be able to get past the stink."

I laughed, shaking my head.

"You know what? Same here. With the cats and foxes, that is," I said. "They're both super cute."

Stella beamed, nodding in agreement. She paused for a moment, glancing around the room.

"Um. What about you? Hobbies?"

"Hmm. I don't have too much time for them," I admitted. "But... I guess I like reading? And getting into shenanigans with Al."

"What do you like reading? Fantasy?"

"Yeah," I confirmed, nodding my head. "I always felt bad about it but he always loaned me his books and stuff. It's something I really enjoy doing. I just like stories, you know? And well, he kinda got me into superhero comics."

"Yeah." She nodded, grinning. "You know, we have that in common too. I've got a ton of fantasy novels back at home, but I didn't think to bring them here."

"You too, huh? Al's been getting me into video games too, and I'm pretty fond of JRPGs. Those are fun to watch play, they have so many interesting stories. They have a lot of romance in them too."

"Ah." Stella's cheeks burned, her lips twitching nervously as she avoided eye contact. "Um... I... I, uh. Yeah, they have some romance."

I smirked, raising an eyebrow. "What's up, Stella? Got a thing for romance? Hey, with all that geeky stuff you've got going on, maybe you're a yaoi fangirl? Or, wait. Yuri. You've got a thing for yuri? I mean, with the way you treated Ursa and Ichigo earlier..."

Stella looked mortified. "What?! No! No no no no. No, no way!"

I burst out laughing, and she glowered at me, pouting and huffing. She was so cute behind closed doors. "I'm sorry. But you do like romance?"

She was silent for a few moments.

"Otomes." She blurted.

"What?"

"I..." She trailed off. "I play a lot of otome games."

"What?" I asked, trying to hold back my laughter. She looked like she was going to die from embarrassment. "You... Otomes as in..."

"Otome games," she repeated, hiding her face in her hands. "Like... you know... dating sims. And stuff."

"Oh, really?!" I asked, leaning in with an amused smirk.

"Shut up," she whined.

I chuckled, shrugging. "Nothing wrong with it. You're a romantic at heart."

"And... and yuri and yaoi are an acquired taste too..." she mumbled under her breath. "So... so what?!"

"Hey." I laughed, raising my hands defensively. "You said it, not me. But if it makes you feel any better, I'm not judging you for it."

"Ugh." Stella groaned. "I can't believe I admitted to that."

She was adorable.

"It's fine. It's not that bad."

She looked up, her face still flushed with shame and embarrassment. Then, she giggled, relaxing her shoulders a little bit.

"You know." She grinned, winking at me. "I was worried we wouldn't find common ground. But we like a lot of the same stuff. Maybe there is something to being sisters after all. Maybe I'm actually not a complete lost cause."

"I wouldn't say that." I laughed, rolling my eyes. "You are the designated heir of Matsudaira after all."

She frowned.

"A role that I never earned," she replied with a sigh. "Nor truly wanted."

She looked at the ceiling, biting her lip.

I made my way over next to her and put my arm around her, patting her back gently. "Hey... it'll work out."

She smiled weakly. "I hope so."

I smiled back, nodding at her reassuringly.

"You're right," I said, nodding again. "You didn't ask for it, but I have no doubts that you can handle it if you want to."

"I suppose." She nodded. "But... what about you, though?"

I shrugged. "Me? What about me?"

"Do you know what you want?"

"I guess? I don't know yet, though. I guess... as sappy as it sounds, I have what I always wanted right here." I motioned at her and gave her a playful wink.

Stella giggled, rolling her eyes at me.

"You're such a dork." She grinned. "And you know what I meant, right? I mean in terms of dreams. I don't really have any dreams. No ambitions, other than... well, being worth the sacrifices of the people that came before us."

"I guess that's a dream of its own." I smiled. "But I guess... I haven't thought too deeply about it."

She poked my forehead.

"Then start thinking," she said. "I have faith in you."

"Ugh." I sighed, rubbing my temple and giving her a glare.

I paused for a few seconds, letting my mind wander. I didn't have an answer for her. My life hadn't exactly allowed for much self-reflection, or even self-actualization. All of my time was spent doing what I needed to, trying to be a good person and get through the days without a problem. I was a hard worker, I liked helping others and I was good at school. But that was a lot easier than it sounded.

"I... don't really have any ambitions, honestly," I finally admitted. "But I will say this."

I smiled.

"When Albert seemed like he was about to die. When Bastet approached me with a contract. The Guardians warned me the road would be full of dangers and pitfalls. And I didn't even let them finish. All I knew was that if I didn't, my best friend would have died, and that's all that mattered to me. What has always mattered to me first and foremost is family, and to live my values."

Stella tilted her head to the side, curious. "So that's what's important to you?"

"I think so, yeah." I nodded. "It always has been. And I think that will continue to guide me as I continue to figure out who I want to be."

"That makes sense," Stella said. She paused for a second before speaking up again. "You're a good person, Sienna. And a brave one. I... admire that."

"Thank you, I guess," I responded.

She smiled, her expression warm and gentle.

I leaned forward, giving her a quick hug. "Give yourself a bit more credit... sis. You're pretty great yourself."

"Maybe," she mumbled, looking down and away from me.

I rolled my eyes.

We talked about random things for another half an hour before she needed to get going.

I would have class pretty soon too, but it was a general education class rather than a training session so I wasn't in any rush. As she got up to leave, she stopped me at the door, turning around to look at me. I raised an eyebrow, giving her a questioning glance.

"What's up?"

"Er..." she murmured, averting her eyes. "Um. Can you keep the fact that I play dating sims to yourself? I... I'd rather no one knew about that. Please."

I stared at her for a moment, before snorting in amusement. "Seriously?"

"Yes!"

"Okay, okay, sure. My lips are sealed."

She sighed in relief, nodding at me. "Good."

"But." I grinned, leaning in close. "You'd better share them with me sometime."

She squeaked in embarrassment and bolted out the door, running down the hall to get away from me.

I chuckled and shut the door, walking to the window to watch her go. I watched her until she was out of sight. Then, I sat down at my desk, pulling out my books and flipping open my notebooks.

My sister, huh? Not in a million years would I have thought this was where I'd find myself when I left home.

But... sometimes you just roll with the punches.