Stella struggled to free herself, her legs kicking and flailing wildly as Sammy twisted into a fetal position, keeping Stella's neck pinned down to the floor, her weight bearing down on the girl. Sammy's arms were locked tightly around her neck, choking her.

Her hands scrabbled desperately at the floor, trying to get purchase on something, anything.

I could see her muscles straining as she struggled to free herself.

Her attempts at freeing herself grew weak, and her body shook with exhaustion.

And then, Stella stopped moving.

...

"She's fucking out, get the hell off of her!"

Ichigo dashed over in a blur grabbing Sammy by her arms.

Sammy, to my relief, relented instantly and let go of her, and the two of them separated. Stella laid there on the ground, unmoving.

"Tch. That's it, then," Sammy muttered, shaking her head. "Pathetic."

She pushed herself off Stella and stood up. Her clothes were soaked with sweat, her face flushed.

Madison rushed over to Stella's side and kneeled down next to her. She gently raised her to a seated position.

"Hey... easy there, Matsudaira. Can you hear me?"

Stella's body was limp and unmoving. Her face was red from exertion and her eyes were closed, her breath coming out in shallow gasps.

I finally broke free of Lucina's hold and ran to her.

"S-Stella?!" I gasped, my voice trembling.

Stella let out a groan. Her eyes opened slowly, and she blinked a few times before looking around. Her gaze settled on me, and she gave me a weak frown.

"I hate leg kicks," Stella mumbled.

She let out a groan, and then collapsed backwards.

"Fuck," she said weakly.

My heart ached. Stella looked exhausted. She'd taken a beating and had the wind knocked out of her. But her aura had protected her from anything more than a bit of bruising.

I was so angry. So angry that this happened. So angry at myself for letting it happen.

I knelt down beside her and helped her sit up, holding her shoulders.

"Hey..." she whispered.

"You idiot!" I sobbed.

I hugged her, tears rolling down my cheeks.

I was mad. Mad that Stella let it get this far. Mad at the people around me for letting it happen. Mad at myself for being weak and not clearing things up.

Stella tensed up, standing straight, and gently pulled away.

"It's alright, Sienna. I'm okay."

She smiled softly. Her eyes were soft and warm as she met mine, her smile gentle.

She took a deep breath and stood up, shaking her head. "It's okay, I promise."

She put on her best brave face and looked me in the eyes.

I saw the resolve and determination in those eyes, and the pain she was hiding. But I didn't say anything. She turned with a serious look at Sammy, who was looking at Stella with a cocky smirk on her face.

"I don't know what the hell your problem is with us," Sammy said with a grin, "but I'm pretty damn sure it's not worth beating yourself up about. I'm not worth getting yourself killed over. So why don't you just stop?"

Stella was silent. She stood there, her arms crossed.

"I'm not sure about your friends, but you, on the other hand, were an absolute dick to Sienna."

She wasn't wrong. She'd sneered at me when she first saw me. But...

It didn't really bother me that much anymore. I didn't hold a grudge over it. Not at all. Even if I found Madison annoying and Sammy rude, it was no reason to escalate like this.

But the situation was out of my control, and Stella had been riled up and insulted, too.

I could understand why she'd be pissed, and I couldn't fault her for that.

I looked at Sammy. She was smirking. There was a gleam in her eyes.

"Heh. My bad then. My name's Samantha Mackenzie or Sammy if you'd prefer," she grinned. "I don't usually apologize, but for what it's worth, sorry. And I'm gonna say. I don't like you or your little girlfriend, and I don't want to get along with either of you."

She shrugged and gave me a look that said 'what are ya gonna do?'

"But, you've got guts. More than most of the kids in our class. And you can throw a good punch, and I like that. So... yeah."

Her eyes narrowed. "I hate that you showed up as a washed up has been, so we're gonna have a rematch someday, Matsudaira."

Stella sighed.

"Whatever, Mackenzie. Just don't screw with Sienna anymore," Stella said, shaking her head. "And if I find out you're messing around with her again, I'm coming back and we're gonna finish what we started here. And this time, it won't be as pretty as today."

"You two are idiots. I can't even tell if you actually like or hate each other," I said flatly.

Sammy laughed, and I shook my head.

"Hey, this bitch can be pretty funny," she said with a feral grin. "I needed someone who could give me a good workout."

Stella glared at her and rolled her eyes, and Madison walked forward, shaking her head.

"You are going to be the death of me," she said. She glanced at Stella, and then at me, and sighed.

"I... I'm really sorry, Matsudaira, Sienna, I..." She stopped, her brow furrowed.

She looked up and sighed, looking at me. "Look, I'm really sorry, and... we're all just really stressed. Sammy, I... we need to talk later. I'll make sure she doesn't bother you two again. I'll take full responsibility for her behavior. This was my fault. I shouldn't have let her get carried away, and I should've stepped in sooner with you and Lucy."

Then, Madison did something I never expected.

She bowed to Stella.

"I am sorry, Stella Matsudaira, and to you, Sienna, and the rest of your group."

Stella and I were both stunned. Madison had come off as a spoiled princess type, but it looked like there was more to her than that.

I looked over to Lucina and Sammy. They both had their arms folded, and they both looked like they didn't know how to handle Madison being like this.

"Wait... what?" Stella stammered, staring at her. "I..."

Madison shook her head. "I should have said something earlier. I didn't know if it would be rude or if you two would just think it's more of the same, but I didn't mean to sound mean and leave the first impression I did. I've always been a little sheltered and I'm not really sure how to talk to people outside of a certain... status. I'm really sorry if I came off as condescending."

Sammy rolled her eyes, and then shrugged. "Yeah, no. If anything, you were the ones being assholes to Lucy."

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She paused and looked at me, and she shrugged.

I felt my temper flare up, but I forced it down. This wasn't the time. Sammy just laughed obnoxiously, and Lucina glared at me, and I glared back. Madison looked at them with a disappointed frown.

Lucina sighed.

"You're both making yourselves sound bad," Lucina groaned, giving me a side-eye. "I'll say it. We grew up together and we have a very... limited view of how most people in this world act. I didn't expect your reaction to be so emotional when you took it the wrong way. That was on us. So, we're sorry, but Lucina Reina does not bow for anyone."

Lucina looked away with a huff, and I shook my head.

I looked pointedly at Stella. "This was all a misunderstanding. It was all a big, stupid, dumb misunderstanding."

She blinked, looking at me in confusion. "I'm sorry, what? You... you don't?"

"Madison and I actually talked it out before er, the thing the other day. She wanted to be friends but just doesn't know how to approach me about it. But, Madison didn't know what to say without coming off like a weirdo," I said. "She's actually a good person, I think. Even if Sammy here has been a jackass in the few interactions we've had, this was all a big misunderstanding. I'm sorry."

Sammy snorted, and Lucina just sighed. Stella blinked and then groaned. "I'm such an idiot sometimes."

Sammy and Ichigo said at the same time, "Yep, sure are," and I gave the redhead a dirty look.

"Still, that was no reason for you to throw hands right away, Samantha," Ichigo said, frowning. "What the fuck is wrong with you?"

"Look, I don't have an excuse," she replied with a smug grin and her hands on her hips, "I saw someone that I've wanted to fight for a while, and I got into a brawl with them. That's all there is to it. I thought I had to rile her up a lot more to make this happen."

I glared at her, but I was cut off before I could speak.

"You're a fucking bitch." Ichigo spat. "And don't you forget it. I don't care how many tournaments you've won, you need to act your age for once."

It was clear Ichigo had some history with the redheaded girl. And it was obvious she was pissed at her, but I had no clue why. She and Sammy glared at each other, their faces inches apart, the air crackling with tension. "Don't you fucking talk to me like that. I don't give a damn who your dad and brother are, I'll kick your ass, you bitch," Sammy snapped back.

Stella groaned, rubbing her face with her hands.

I whispered to Madison. "Hey uh, Lucina said you guys grew up together. No offense, but is Sammy a stray you picked up along the way?"

"No, not really. Sammy is my... friend. She comes from an old family, and has some expectations on her. But... yeah, she is the way she is. She doesn't get along with others very easily. She just gets carried away sometimes. It's a long story," Madison replied, giving me an awkward look.

"Too far is an understatement," Ichigo growled. "She should be punished. We should report her. She could have seriously hurt someone, or worse."

"Like hell," Sammy growled, stomping over to her to look down at her, "I'll beat your ass, buttercup."

"Please don't call me that. It's demeaning," Ichigo stated without a flinch.

Stella looked over to them and groaned again. "You two. Shut up and knock it off. It's done. No one is getting reported over this."

Ichigo turned and stared at Stella. She looked shocked, like she couldn't believe Stella was saying this. "What?!"

"You heard me. It's fine. We both got some steam out, and I needed a reality check anyway."

Stella looked over to Sammy, and they stared at each other for a moment. Sammy gave her an odd look.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Ichigo asked.

"Sammy and I fought. It's done," Stella said. "I tried to intimidate Lucina. She beat me. We're even. Let's get out and get a workout in now. No more fighting each other."

Sammy shrugged, giving a dismissive wave of her hand. "Whatever, sure."

Ichigo glared at Sammy.

"Fine. But if she does something like this again, I'll kick her ass," Ichigo spat, practically bristling. She turned to Stella. "You okay, though? Need a check up?"

"Yeah, no. It's alright. She won, it's fine. Just got a headache from getting put out, but I'm sure it'll be gone in a bit." She looked over to Sammy, who shrugged again. "I got my bell rung a few times, that's it. Nothing erm, some of our friends can't fix."

"Wait, really?" Madison asked, surprised. She gave a nervous glance between me and Stella. "You two aren't mad?"

"Not really, it was a stupid fight, but I did want it and I wasn't fair to Lucina. But yeah. I'd say Sammy has a bit of a personality issue, but, we all have our stuff to work on." Stella gave a pointed glance at me. "And I have my own baggage to sort out."

"Stella, you didn't need a reality check," I sighed.

Sammy looked between me and Stella, then she laughed. "Hah! The princess here is completely out of shape. Just a couple of kicks she was too slow to stuff a takedown, but, she's got the heart of a champion. She'll get back in shape eventually, so don't sweat it, girl. But, you two are cute. Don't break her too hard in bed, Sienna."

I nearly gagged on my spit, my cheeks turning red, and I gave the redheaded girl a dirty look.

"W-w-wait, what? No! Stella is like, my s- friend," I stammered, feeling my cheeks burning with embarrassment.

Stella's cheeks turned scarlet, and she glanced over at me with a mortified look.

"Oh, no shit? I totally pegged you two for being together," she said. "I thought it was obvious, the way you were holding hands and how you cried over her and shit."

I felt a mortified chill go down my spine.

They saw us holding hands?

She gave me an apologetic shrug. I just glared back at her. She didn't care. I could tell. She was enjoying this.

I gave Madison and Lucina a look, but they were just staring at me with curiosity.

Great, now I'm going to be known as the girl who was caught making goo-goo eyes at the girl who's secretly my half sister. Just what I needed.

"I'm so sorry about Sammy," Madison repeated. "She's... a lot. She doesn't know how to handle herself sometimes."

Lucina just shrugged and said, "She doesn't."

I glared at them. "What the hell is wrong with her? What was she trying to do? Kill Stella?"

"No. We know her. She just wanted to see what the fuss was about, and see how the Princess of Matsudaira fights. Sammy was disappointed that she dropped out on her first tournament. They were the same weight class, if just a year apart," Madison said, sighing.

"I thought she'd be tougher," Sammy said with a shrug. "I wanted to fight her, so I did. But she's good, even out of shape. I'd like to fight again sometime. She might have beat me if I was sloppy."

Stella narrowed her eyes. "Maybe. If I was in competition form, I think we'd still be evenly matched. You hit a lot harder than me."

"Eh, whatever, you can't beat me now." Sammy shrugged. "So, we done? We gonna work out or not?"

"I... uh, sure," Madison said with a nervous chuckle, looking over at the rest of us. "If we're... if that's fine with you guys."

Stella and Ichigo shook their heads, crossing their arms simultaneously. "Not really, but, what the hell. We can at least try and work on being cordial. If you two promise not to try to pull something again."

"Fine. We won't." Lucina and Madison both replied.

"We can't promise anything, though," Sammy said with a grin. "What kind of friends would we be if we didn't give her hell from time to time?"

"Who said anything about friends?" Ichigo and Stella grumbled in harmony.

"Look, it's fine," I said. "It'll be fine. Let's just move on. I'm sure Madison can handle them from here on."

"Thanks, Sienna," Madison said. She gave me a smile.

"Yeah. Sure." I sighed.

I turned and started to walk towards the sparring room's door. I needed to get our crew away from them. Ichigo's brother and Albert were waiting for us at the other side of the gym, and we had already taken nearly fifteen minutes longer than we should have. "We're leaving. See you later."

I heard a faint murmur of 'see ya later's from behind me as I led our group away. It had been an exhausting experience.

And then, I heard Stella mutter to herself. "...Leg kicks."

"I... what?"

I just looked at her and gave her a quizzical look. She gave me a small shrug and shook her head.

"Nothing. Girl's got legs like steel beams. My kidneys and liver feel awful," she sighed. "She's got good timing. I can't even complain. But I still fucking hate leg kicks."

"I... I'm sorry. I shouldn't have let it escalate to a fight," I replied.

"You couldn't have done anything to stop it," she said, looking at me sadly.

"No. I should have stopped it. It was my responsibility," I muttered, my voice strained. I was embarrassed and ashamed. I shouldn't have let that happen.

"Hey. It's okay. It happens," Stella said. "We were both stupid."

"Yeah..." I mumbled.

I couldn't stop thinking about how bad I felt for not stopping the fight. I couldn't help but feel responsible. If only I'd been a bit more forceful. If only I hadn't let my emotions get in the way.

"Hey, hey. Don't beat yourself up. I'm okay. I promise," she said with a weak smile. "Just, I feel like I'm letting everyone down."

"Stella..." I whispered.

"I'm not okay. But, I'm dealing. I'll be okay, eventually. It's just... hard. But, it was a nice reminder."

I couldn't help but think that was messed up. Stella didn't deserve this. She deserved to be happy. And if she couldn't be happy, then at least she deserved to not feel like shit.

Ichigo frowned, shaking her head.

"Look, I don't know what you two have been through," Ichigo said softly, "But we need to chill out, all of us. It's only a few days into training, the and I can practically smell the stress rolling off you. And I want us all to stay friends."

I looked at Stella, and she looked back at me.

"Yeah," I said, "You're right. I'm sorry."

Ichigo continued. "And I'll be honest. I was trying to file it away as me overthinking, but between the matching outfits and uncanny resemblance and handholding, not to mention those freaky special moves, you two have something you aren't saying. Those bitches back there might force your hands if you're hiding something."

Stella's cheeks flushed. I looked away from her.

"I..." I started, then trailed off.

I wanted to say it. To just blurt it out. That I had a secret sister that I wanted to spend more time with, to be her friend, and that I needed to figure out what to do next, and how to deal with the fact that my entire life had been a lie.

I wanted to tell Ichigo that Stella was my half sister. But, I couldn't.

Not yet.

Not when it wasn't my decision to tell her, but Stella's and mine together. It wasn't fair to her.

"Yeah," I finally said, "But, not yet, Ichi."

"Ichi? Heh. It's alright. I just wanted to bring it up. It's none of my business. And if you're hiding it for a reason, that's cool too," Ichigo replied with a warm smile.

I smiled back. She really was a sweetheart.

"I'm just saying, we have to stay together as pals. And we're a part of a bigger team, too, the team that is our entire school. And if we're gonna make it through all of this shit, we gotta have each other's backs," Ichigo continued, her tone serious. "And we need to work together, and trust each other."

She paused. "Look, I know I'm not the strongest or the most talented, but I want to be here for you guys as your friend. I don't care what it takes, or what you're hiding. We need to support each other. That's how we're gonna make it. We can't be fighting with ourselves and our allies."

I looked at her and nodded, feeling a little more relaxed. "You're right. Thanks."

"And no, Stella, it isn't just a reality check. You got into it with her, so it was a good workout, right? And that's what this was. A good workout and warmup. So, let's go find our boys and get a proper workout in."

Stella sighed, shaking her head. "Yeah, we can do that."

She looked over to Ichigo and nodded.

"You're a good person. Thanks for being a friend," Stella said, her cheeks red.

I smiled, and Ichigo grinned.

"We'll get stronger. All of us. Now, let's go work off all this aggression and frustration," she said. "How 'bout that, girls?"

We both laughed.

"Let's do it."