"Where did you disappear to last night?” Thea asked as she snuggled into the oversized fluffy chair in the corner of Samantha’s bedroom. “And this morning too! You weren't in your room when I went to get you for breakfast, and you weren't in the cafeteria either." Samantha was sprawled on her bed messing with her phone, seemingly ignoring Thea’s questions. “What’s gotten into you?” Thea prodded as she took out a book to start her homework.

"I just went for a run last night," Samantha answered, typing a text to Kaguya.

> Sam: Wanna meet at the gazebo after dinner later?

Once the text was sent, she added, "I'm still not used to the loud mornings so I went early and grabbed food before the place got crowded, and ate outside near the gardens."

Thea wished Emmett were there to let her know if Samantha was lying. It was suspicious, but Thea couldn’t quite tell if Samantha was telling the truth. What reason would she even have to lie? Thea thought to herself, deciding to ignore it for now and just keep talking. "I'd have gone running with you, you know."

"Yeah, I know, but I like running by myself sometimes. Besides, the dorm mother would have gotten on both of our asses. I had one hell of a reaming last night when I got back," Samantha told her with a laugh. "I may switch to morning runs instead." That should give her plenty of an excuse to go meet Kaguya for breakfast again.

Thea huffed. "Emmett won't like you calling him a dorm mother."

"He acts like one, and you know it. I had to tell him to get to bed before he got in trouble too." Samantha grinned up at Thea. "It's your fault for telling him I ran out like the place was on fire last night,” she teased, looking over at Thea who was jotting something down in a notebook.

"I was worried! I figured if there was a problem, you'd tell him even if you didn't trust saying something to me,” Thea replied sullenly, twisting her golden brown hair around her index finger.

Samantha could hear the hurt in Thea’s voice, her light blue eyes confirming as such. She sighed and rolled over onto her side to face her stepsister. "You know how I met someone, um, a girl, this weekend when we were shopping?"

Thea's eyes brightened at the mention, excited to finally hear the details on the mystery girl. "I remember. What about her?" She put her textbook and notebook aside, excited about getting to do a little girl talk with Samantha.

"Well, she goes to school here, and, well… It's complicated." Samantha admitted as she scratched the back of her head.

"How? Even if it's a Kazegami, as long as they aren't a Decum, or worse Kaguya, you should be fine to see them." Samantha didn't respond, falling back onto her back and looking at her phone. No replies. Thea frowned and walked to the side of the bed to look down at her, her hands on her hips. "Samantha, who did you meet?"

"I don't really want to tell you," Samantha admitted with a sigh. There was a long silence as Thea just stared her down. "You'll be super pissed and then we'll fight about it, and I'm not going to back off no matter what you say, got it?"

"Fine. So, I'll probably be mad, but I won't try to make you back off."

"It's Kaguya."

"Nevermind, I'm taking it back," Thea said before she sat on Samantha’s bed to really stare down at her. "You can't go after Kaguya, Samantha, she's like… Queen Bitch! Did you not see her tear into that guy after you beat him? Or, the way she talked to that Monica bitch about us in the hallway earlier?"

"I'm not fighting with you about this, Thea."

"I don't care, you're still gonna hear me out whether you like it or not, so suck it up!" Thea yelled as she jumped up and began pacing the room, mad enough that her body was vibrating with a sudden influx of energy she couldn’t just get out with yelling. "Kaguya is evil incarnate. She's the daughter of Satan, and that's being nice about her and her family. You have too good a heart, and if you go after her she's going to shatter that heart to pieces."

Samantha sighed as she ignored Thea’s monologue, looking up places in town for dinner instead. She had transportation, and as long as the place wasn't too fancy they should be good to take it into town without needing to call for one of the family's cars.

"Are you even listening?"

"Nope. Is Italian too cliche for a date?"

Thea just stared, her eyes wide and mouth agape. "Wait, you're completely serious aren't you?"

"Or is it too soon to go on a dinner date? Maybe something more casual," Samantha mumbled. Thea straddled Samantha's stomach and took her phone, getting a brief flash of Samantha’s feelings and blinking at how strong they were before she was able to push her ability away to focus on the task at hand. Samantha didn’t move to get the phone back, only raising a brow at her.

"She's not a nice person,” Thea said softly, still whirling from the flash she got from the phone. It took her a moment to get her momentum back, bringing to mind several things Kaguya did to other students over the last few years.

"She was extremely nice to me."

"Then she's planning something, she has to be!"

"She didn't realize we went to the same school until she saw me in the arena, so I doubt she was planning something while we were shopping."

"She had to be planning something anyway! She's a ruthless murderer!" Samantha couldn't respond to that, seeing tears coming to Thea's eyes. "Freshman year, she killed my boyfriend in an arena challenge. He was down, pretty much unconscious and likely maimed for life, and she killed him. She could have spared his life, or what life he could have had, but she cut his throat and walked away like nothing happened!"

"Jeez, Thea… I'm so sorry, I didn't realize…" Samantha mumbled, sitting up and hugging her stepsister as she tried not to let the tears fall. She knew it was a little heartless, but she wanted to make sure Thea understood how serious she was about Kaguya. After a moment, she said softly, "Look, I'll be careful, and I won't let my guard down. And while it won't make up for what happened, I'm sure she had a reason. The Kaguya I know wouldn't have done that."

Thea shook her head, not wanting to back down but knowing she was going to lose this argument eventually. "But she did do it. She has never let anyone who fights her live. Andrew’s life hasn’t been the only one she’s taken." After a brief pause, Thea got up with a sigh and gathered her things. Samantha offered her help, but Thea refused, tossing Samantha’s phone onto the bed. “Whatever you do, Samantha, don’t let your guard down, okay?” And then she left, and Samantha found herself alone in her room.

"Well, this sucks," Samantha mumbled, picking her phone back up and opening her messages again. Still nothing from Kaguya, Samantha tossed the phone onto her pillow and decided to take a shower before dinner.

Samantha spent the evening contemplating how the amazing girl that she was super insanely attracted to could possibly be some cold hearted murderer. She just couldn’t wrap her head around it, and when it came to dinner time, she sat with only Emmett in the cafeteria since Thea refused to be around her.

"Is something wrong?" Emmett asked, his green eyes mirroring hers.

"It's nothing." There was a long pause before Samantha looked up from her plate to see Emmett frowning at her. "Okay, fine. I admitted something to Thea and she got really mad about it."

"Why did she get mad? Thea thinks really highly of you. I can't imagine her being angry with you." Samantha sighed and told him everything, watching as he absorbed the information and turned it over in his head. "You see the good in people even when there is none, Samantha. I'd have to talk to Kaguya to know which one of you sees the real version of her, but I'd be prepared for the worst if I were you."

Samantha groaned, resting her forehead on the table. "I figured you'd say that."

"But…" Emmett hesitated a moment before adding, "If you want my opinion, I think there may actually be some good where you're looking at this time."

Samantha smiled softly at him. "Thanks, bro."

They went back and forth for a while about their day as they ate, and then Samantha’s phone beeped. She planned to ignore it, but Emmett stared her down until she checked it.

"So? Is it your lady?" he asked, causing Samantha’s cheeks to redden.

"She's just a friend," she muttered, reading Gazebo in twenty.

"Sure, for now. But you should see the grin on your face. And the lies I'm reading. She may be a friend, but that's not all there is. Not to you anyway," Emmett waved her off. "I'm good, so get going. I'll run interference with Thea if she tries to go after you."

Samantha shook her head. "No, you can let her come after me if she wants. But thanks for offering." She stood and took her tray to the kitchen before strolling out of the cafeteria and all but running down the hall to get outside.

Samantha grinned as she neared their secret rendezvous location and noticed Kaguya already there. She continued her jog and took a second to catch her breath as she entered the shelter. She looked up to see a frown on Kaguya’s face, causing Samantha’s heart to sink.

"What's up?" Samantha inquired as she hesitated to move closer. It only made Kaguya look more upset, and almost closed off. Samantha took a deep breath as she closed the distance between them, she took a seat on the bench beside Kaguya. "You look like something is bothering you."

Kaguya didn't answer at first, her face tilted upward and her eyes closed. She took a deep breath and lowered her gaze to stare at Samantha, though she seemed more focused on something around her.

"You're cautious of me," she said slowly, her voice quiet. "I guess you've heard by now, huh?"

Samantha sighed and rubbed the back of her neck. "I mean, I'm not really surprised to hear you've killed people. I talked to Thea, and she told me. But… I wanna know your side."

Kaguya snorted. "Why? I'm a murderer. You know, my friends," she spat out the word friends like it was poison, "think I'm toying with you until you challenge me, so I can kill you."

Man, you've got great friends," Samantha commented sarcastically. "I don't think you're playing with me. But I do think you're trying to keep your distance and hide yourself from me." She sighed as she turned around to face the alluring young woman. "So I have decided, though I admit it’s on the fly right now, that unless you come to me, text me or call me I won’t bother you anymore. I'm leaving the ball in your court."

Kaguya watched as Samantha turned around and strode away from her, which would be all she'd see if she said nothing, causing the pit in her stomach to tighten. She wanted to protect Samantha, and letting her walk away without talking to her again would be the best option. But she saw the unease, sorrow, and the dimming of that gorgeous green color, and Kaguya realized she didn't want to let Samantha just walk away.

"Wait." Samantha stopped in her tracks and looked at Kaguya over her shoulder. Kaguya scowled as she got up and approached Samantha. "On Saturday… Are you busy?" she asked, now standing almost eye-level in front of her.

Samantha winced. "Yeah… I promised Emmett we'd see a movie."

"Emmett?" Kaguya frowned, jealousy eating at her until she remembered she'd heard his name before. "That's… your brother, right?"

Samantha nodded. "Yup. I forgot to tell him about my fight yesterday and he got really mad. And then I snuck out of the dorm last night and he got mad again. So, I promised to take him out this weekend if he'd let both instances slide."

Kaguya nodded, her brows furrowed as she contemplated the news. Samantha waited, and wasn't disappointed when Kaguya nodded, "Then, the following Saturday. Will you go into town with me?"

"I think I can manage that." Samantha grinned.

"And ignore me in school as much as you can."

Samantha shook her head. "I will do my best to ignore you, as hard as it will be, but only if you promise to text me occasionally."

"I can agree to that," Kaguya told her with a nod and a relieved sigh. "I can't keep my friends from harassing you, Samantha. If anyone from Kazegami approaches you, even if I'm with them, try to get out of it as fast as you can. I want to avoid as many run-ins like today as possible. You don’t know how much I hated saying the things I said."

Samantha nodded. "I'll be okay, Kaguya. I can handle myself." Kaguya was about to say more, but Samantha stopped her. "I have to go. I can see Thea looking for me. I would rather her not see me with you right now. She's still spitting mad, and I don't know what she'll do if she sees you right now."

Kaguya nodded, and watched Samantha as she ran off towards Thea. She focused her sight to look at their auras, and saw Thea's relief and their affection. She watched as Thea pulled Samantha into a hug before they walked off.

After they were out of sight, Kaguya sent a message with her phone to someone.

> Kaguya: Do you know anything about Samantha Thomas?

Souma stared at the phone for a moment after reading the text Kaguya sent him, not surprised that his little sister wanted something from him but surprised about the name he saw. "Samantha? That name sounds kinda familiar, but not as a Thomas, that one was a K or something." He pulled up the school's student list for this year using his phone to access the school's web page and had it bring up Thomas names in particular. There were three listed, and he hummed his surprise. "I'll be darned. That old man got him a new woman, huh?" He put his phone down and reached up for the bar under his knees so he could drop his legs from it and put his feet on the floor. After a few abdominal and leg stretches, he grabbed his phone and sent a text to Gianna, the First Decum of the Valentini Familia within the school.

> Souma: Yo, my sis is interested n Samantha Thomas. u got ne info?

After the text was sent, he went to shower off the sweat from his interrupted workout. Minutes later he came out, water still dripping from his jet black hair as his lower half was wrapped in a towel. His phone went off and he answered it quickly as Gianna's name appeared on the screen.

"She seemed surprised to see her after the fight Monday," an accented voice reflected upon the call’s connection.

"Who, Kags?"

"Yeah. Kaguya grabbed the Kazegami boy by the throat, and when she turned toward the Thomas girl, she hesitated and her face went white like she'd seen a ghost before she booked it out of there."

"Anyone else notice?"

"Doubt it. Nobody watches Kaguya's brutality closely after that time she beat the snot out of the Kazegami who lost last year."

Souma made a noise and rubbed his chin. "That's interesting."

"I could probably talk to the girl if you want. I've been wanting to reach out after seeing her fight anyway. And if Kaguya is interested, all the more reason to."

"I'd be careful. I don't know why Kaguya is interested in her yet. If it’s because of our dad, you could get in deeper than you want to be."

Gianna snorted. "You worry too much, boy. Go be your sister's errand runner. I'll let you know if I learn anything. If you're asking me this, she's got you doing something with the girl."

"She just wants some details, so I figured I’d check in on the siblings too. Thea is hot."

"Good luck. That one hates you Kazegami."

The call ended abruptly, and Souma tossed his phone onto the bed before he finished drying off. He took a moment to shake his head in the mirror to get his shaggy hair to lay the right way, before getting dressed in his black gi. It was almost dark out, which meant it was the best time for his ability to help him out.

"Guess I'm going to be up doing reconnaissance most of the night," he mumbled as he slipped silently into the shadows.