“Oh no! You have a tack! But what kind of name is that for an ultimate attack?! It’s like a ic book sound effect! KABACKKKKK!” Leo yelled dramatically, waving his a figures in the air. He ughed, flushed with excitement, only to stiffen when Quinn poked her head through his doorway, one eyebrow raised in amused judgment.

  “What are you up to, kiddo?” asked Quinn, newly fourteen and exuding a fidehat annoyed Leo almost as much as her sudden growth spurt. The way she was blooming made him feel small and awkward—especially those new boobs she had. He flushed bright red whenever his eyes drifted there, though he wasn’t sure why they fasated him so much.

  “Um—” Leo stammered, jerking his gaze away. “A-actually, my favorite hero’s fighting right now! Somewhere north, I think!” His voice wavered for a moment but soon steadied as his enthusiasm overtook his embarrassment.

  “Oh, that Mistral chick?” Quinn asked as she stepped fully into the room and plopped down beside him, slinging an arm over his shoulder like she owhe pce. “What’s she up to now?” She smirked, about to add something sarcastic, but Leo cut her off with a raised hand and a broad grin.

  “Just listen! It’s getting good!”

  “The fight has begun!” the announcer bellowed through the speakers. “Garou is standing by as these two long-time rivals face off. Oh! This is the worst thing she’s ever dohis S-plus threat, the Dark Angel—no, Bgel herself from space—is crushing the city with one of her trademark singurities! The waves of energy ing off the thing are tearing surrounding homes to pieces. Everything in its path is being obliterated! When will our adian heroine and Garou put ao this threat!?”

  Leo’s eyes went wide. “A singurity?! That’s—” He scrambled to lift his a figures, holding Bgel higher than Mistral. “SINGULARITY! SINGULARITY!”

  “Oh, that attack is so powerful!” Leo switched to Mistral’s voice as he made his toys csh in midair. “You’re destroying everything! But I’ll stop you, you evil, horrible vilin! I’ll freeze you so hard!” He froze mid-battle, tilting his head in thought, scratg it as questions began piling up in his head. How would she even do that?

  The announcer’s voice rose again, breathless. “After a fierce skirmish, Mistral and Garou have ered Bgel! Watch the footage! The Bgel is fleeing from the certed efforts of this hard-hitting member of the Society of Sentinels and her outsider partner. Wait—where is she going now? Does she io set arap?”

  Leo paused, looking up at Quinn with wide, curious eyes. “By the way, uh, what’s a singurity?”

  Quinn blinked, clearly caught off guard, but then she ughed. “Oh—um…” She waved a hand as if the answer was obvious. “She’s singing a really loud song, and the city is shaking to pieces! Isn’t that ?”

  Leo gasped, boung in p his bed. “That’s so cool! I didn’t know she could sing! But if it destroys everything, isn’t that, like, really scary?” He sched his face, deep in thought.

  “Yeah, it’d be really scary,” Quinn agreed, puffing her cheeks in mock seriousness. “It’s, like, a majorly wicked song, and it goes, like, really deep and then suddenly shoots up like, wheeeeeeeee!” She shrieked an exaggerated high hat made Leo cp his hands over his ears, gring at her with a long-suffering expression.

  But thearted screaming too, mimig her ridiculous to an even higher pitch.

  Downstairs, Laguna narrowed her eyes at the sudden racket. The muffled shrieks and ughter above made her grimace, but after a moment, she sighed a go.

  When he grew older, Leo would look ba what Quinn had told him and giggle. He’d realized she probably had no idea what a singurity was either and had just made it up on the spot. A, a part of him, the wide-eyed i child within wondered: Had Bgel released… a single? Of viliny?

  As she’d pnned for a long time, Laguna po finally introduce Leo to her very own small café in San Isidro, Au Naturel. She had used the funds from selliake in her father’s busio establish the cozy space, but she had takera time away from running it to focus on Le his early days with her. Now that he was showing encing signs of recovery, she felt it was time to dedicate more energy to her hustle.

  Laguna’s days were endlessly packed—twenty-five hours a day, eight days a week, by her joking measure—but no matter how demanding her schedule, she always found time to prepare a healthy, lovingly cooked meal for her children. Funa, this was noiable.

  She had vowed long ago that as long as it was within her power, her family would never go hungry, that no one near her would ever go hungry.

  Her Leo would never ck for nourishing food, even if Goonie had a strict rule against servi at her table most days. In those early years, when Leo often lost his appetite, it had been a battle. She k wasn’t her cooking that put him off; it was the aftermath of his trauma, something that only time and love could heal. Goonie had both in abundand was more than willing to give them freely.

  Nowadays, she had the opposite problem.

  On a while, a wheedling Quinn would team up with Leo’s angelic face, and Goonie’s resolve would falter. She’d cave and cook something that was good for the heart—but only in a spiritual sense. She loosened her restris far more for Leo than she ever had for Quinn, and their bined persistence even forced her, relutly, to master the art chi.

  Though fried chi was as far as she went in terms of meat (aside from the occasional fish dish), she never partook herself.

  When Goonie opened her café, Quinn stepped up to help with Leo after school. She’d prepare him snacks and spend quality time with him. But, like most teenagers, Quinn still wanted personal space, so she kept just enough distao prevent Leo from ging too much. Despite this, the siblings remaiightly knit.

  One day, Leo asked a question that stopped Goonie iracks.

  “Auntie Goonie, why are you so busy all the time?”

  Laguna looked at him closely. He wasn’t just curious—he was lonely. The realization hit her harder than she expected. Had she let her work take her away from what mattered most?

  And then came the other questions—about clothes, about what it meant to be a birl. Leo’s curiosity always leaned in one dire, and while it ed Goonie in terms of potential challenges for his health, she wasn’t surprised. She’d seen the signs before, in friends and acquaintances who’d fided their simir experiences.

  But first, Laguna decided to tackle the easier question.

  “Leo,” Laguna said softly, guiding him to sit beside her, “you o uand something important. What I do—it’s uts food on our table. It’s how I make sure we have everything we need. Running this business earns a great deal of money, and holy, I’ve been ign it tely so I could spend more time with you.” She paused, brushing a haly through his hair. “But even with my wonderful staff c for me, I ’t keep shirking my responsibilities forever.”

  She leaned forward slightly, looking him in the eye. “I know you’ve noticed me being gone more tely, and it’s made you feel lonely—like I’ve left you behind. But I promise, sweetheart, that’s not the case. I’ve never left you behind, even if it feels that way sometimes.”

  Her voice grew warmer, tinged with pride as she tinued, “This pce I take care of? It takes care of us too, in its own way. And I think it’s time for you to see it for yourself—to see the business I’ve worked so hard to create for our family.”

  Leo bliilting his head. “Biz-nuss?”

  “Oh—O’Natural!” Quinn struck a dramatic pose as Leo turoward her with wide, questioning eyes.

  “What?”

  “YES!” Quinn grinned, clearly enjoying the spotlight. “It’s an amazing café called O’Naturel! Mama runs it! She’s the boss! She makes the menus, hahe money, hires people, and looks after everyohere. I even waited tables o was so fun!”

  Leo’s expression lit up. “A café? With lots of yummy Goonie food? Yay!”

  “It’s ‘Au Naturel,’” Goonie corrected gently, emphasizing the French pronunciation.

  “Yeah, yeah, I know!” Quinn waved her off. “It’s French or something. Like au jus! Bonjour! Merci! Right, Mama?”

  “You’re the one who should have mere, Quinn,” Goonie ughed, ruffling her daughter’s hair.

  “ I be a waitress again?” Quinn asked eagerly as they started gathering to leave.

  Leo thought it over, then began hopping up and down. “I wanna be a cool hero more, but I wanna be a waitress too!”

  “Dress and all, huh?” Quinn teased, her grin mischievous. “Oh, Mama, if I have to wear a uniform, I wear shorts underh?”

  Goonie chuckled. “I suppose so. But don’t grow up too fast, sweetheart. Enjoy being a kid while you . Maybe in another year or so, if you’re still set on it, I’ll buy you a uniform.”

  Quinn pouted. “But I need more than just my allowahere’s so much I want to try!”

  “Me too! Me, me, me!” Leo interrupted, twirling on the spot. “I want a dress too! I’m tired of shorts! They’re b and ugly.”

  Quinn gave him a knowing look, and Goonie smiled warmly.

  “Of course, sweetheart,” Goonie said, squeezing his haly. “Yes, you have a dress.”

  Quinn’s jaw dropped before she burst out ughing, pointing at Leo with a wide grin. “I K! You’re a girl, Leo!”

  Leo’s face broke into a radiant smile, bright and filled with all the colors of the rainbow.

  All the dots ected, and the family glowed with quiet happiness as they left to visit Au Naturel.

  “Wele to Au Naturel!” Goonie excimed with theatrical fir, throwing her arms wide as they stepped through the doors of her café. The pce had the charm of a cssic ‘50s diner but with a whimsical twist: instead of vintage cars aro advertisements, the decor leaned into tie-dyed curtains, crystalline mps, and glowironidles. The lighting was warm but soft, giving the plush seating and colorful carpeting an inviting, cozy vibe.

  Patrons were an eclectic mix—some dressed in outfits that perfectly matched the café's bohemiahetic, while others looked like they had just wandered in off the street. Leo’s eyes lit up the moment she saw the pce, and with a squeal, she dashed forward, spinning in circles as she tried to take it all in at once.

  “Leo!” Goonie called after her with a ugh, pressing a hand to her cheek. “She’s ing along nicely,” she remarked to Quinn, who smirked knowingly. Both of them had growo Leo’s bursts of energy, especially when she was excited.

  Quinn grinned and rolled her eyes. “You ’t tain her once she gets started.”

  “Take her to a table, please,” Goonie said, gesturing to the seating area. “You’re in charge for now. No waiting on tables yet; you’re too young. And—”

  “Where’s my dress?!” Leo interrupted, bounding back to Gooh wide, expet eyes.

  “Um—” Gooifled a ugh, bending down to pat her head. “Why don’t you sit down first and enjoy some food? Soak up the ambience, and I’ll expin more about what I do here. This café is my dream, and I want you to uand it before anything else.” She straightened and smiled warmly. “If you really want to help, maybe we’ll talk about it when you’re fifteen. But for now, just be a kid, okay? No one’s going to accuse me of child traffig.”

  Leo tilted her head, fused. “Traffig? What’s that? Cars and stuff?”

  Goonie blihen ughed heartily. “Oh, no, sweetheart, not traffig as in streetlights or vehicles. Don’t worry about it.” She waved a hand toward Quinn. “Go on, take her to a table. And don’t bother the ers!”

  “, squirt,” Quinn said, grabbing Leo’s hand and pulling her along. Behind them, Goouro greet a er—a cheerful man in his fifties wearing a bandana who opened his arms wide as he approached her. “Goonie!” he called out with a grin, and she embraced him tightly.

  “Still a bit of a hippie, huh?” Quinn muttered to Leo with a giggle as they reached their table. “Mama loves giving hugs.”

  “HUGS! THEY’RE THE BEST!” Leo decred loudly, beaming as she plopped into a seat. The two settled in, sitting side by side in a er where they could watch Gooeract with her patrons. She was in her element—chatting, ughing, and moving effortlessly between tables like a queen holding court in her domain.

  After a while, Quinn leaned in, l her voice. “Leo... earlier we talked about it a little. But maybe we should talk more.” She hesitated, studying her sister’s expression. “You really wanna be a girl, huh?”

  Leo looked at her, and her smile was blinding. Her cheeks turned pink, but she didn’t look away. “It felt really right when you both called me a girl,” she said softly, the words carrying a mix of shyness and absolute certainty.

  Quinn smiled back, her heart swelling. “Well, if it makes you happy, then I’m happy too.” She ruffled her hair. “I always thought I’d have a little brother, but having a little sister is just as awesome.”

  Leo’s eyes sparkled as she leaned against Quinn, grinnio ear. For the first time, it felt like everything was starting to fall into pce.

  Some days ter, Gooarted bringing the kids to Au Naturel more often, partly to save on babysitting costs. Quinn usually took on the lion’s share of responsibility for keeping Leo eained, but on a while, a kied er would step in to help. Leo, in particur, was fasated by some of these patrons—many of whom had long hair, which she began to wonder was a trendy fashion she’d missed. Quinn, however, didn’t seem impressed by the observation.

  Leo’s curiosity often got the better of her. Despite the booth they’d cimed a good view of the café, she took frequent, stealthy trips to the bathroom, using the detour to peek into neighb booths and at tral tables. She rarely disturbed anyone—just stared at people’s faces with wide-eyed wohis often earned her warm smiles, though occasionally, her inquisitive nature would result in an impromptu hug from a stranger.

  When that happened, Leo’s face would flush bright red, and she’d bee adorably flustered until a staff member came to her rescue.

  Eventually, Gooiced her little explorer’s antics. Crossing her arms, she gave Leo a stern look, wagging a finger.

  “I told you not to bother our ers,” she scolded.

  Leo sagged uhe reprimand, her guilt written all over her face.

  Quinn, lounging in her chair, waved a hand dismissively. “I told Leo to stop cheg out the—” She paused, narrowing her eyes thoughtfully as she examined a medallion hanging around the neck of an elderly maed nearby.

  The man, Mr. Davis, was a regur at the café. His face was unremarkable yet distinctive thanks to his sparkling eyes and tanned, weathered skin. He carried himself with the air of someone who had seen a lot of life but still retained a pyful curiosity. Today, as Leo had finally approached him, he’d distracted her by sharing tidbits about outdoor survival skills and identifying useful pnts with medial properties.

  “The boy’s no trouble,” Mr. Davis said kindly, gesturing toward Leo. “her of them are.”

  Leo’s face fell slightly at the misgendering, but she quickly rallied, smiling brightly. After all, it wasn’t official yet, and she didn’t want to spoil her ce to learn something iing.

  “Well—” Goonie barked a ugh. “If they’re not b you, I suppose that’s fine.” She bustled away, calling over her shoulder, “You two behave.”

  Leo nodded enthusiastically, eager to hear more from Mr. Davis. As he tinued his stories, her eyes repeatedly drifted to the medallion hanging from his neck. Its intricate design—a manda-like pattern with a star at its ter, surrounded by symbols she couldn’t decipher—was mesmerizing.

  Notig Leo’s fasation, Quinn smirked and decided to press the issue. “Cool, seal of approval acquired—you cut the ar. Davis.”

  The man blinked, caught off guard. “Pardon me?”

  Leo gasped, c her mouth as she shot Quinn a sideways look.

  “Ah, I see. A skeptical mind,” Davis said with monity, stroking his beard. “A great tragedy of the me.” He leaned back, his tone growing more dramatic. “Kindness and edug the young are the sacred duties of the old, my dear—a creed for those who love peace.”

  “Edug kids to mix a thousand and one herbs to cure everything from joint pain to bad vibes?” Quinn quipped, unimpressed. “Nah, still not buying it.”

  Mr. Davis chuckled. “Why not? As the Bard himself said, ‘There are more things in heaven ah, young ohan are dreamt of in your philosophy.’”

  Quinn grinned. “Ooo, Shakespeare! And yeah, I know. I’ve read the guy. But I don’t trust anything that sounds too out-there or too good to be true.” She tilted her head, feigning innoce. “Hey, that medallion around your neck—is that part of a ritual? You know, sacrifig mbs uhe full moon with a stone knife?”

  “H-Hey now!” Davis excimed, wing. “No! I wouldn’t harm anyone—or anything! But, I have been known to, uh, moonbathe occasionally—” He cut himself off with a cough, already regretting his dor.

  Leo bli him, her expression bnk as she tried to figure out what he meant, but his awkwardness made her giggle.

  Quinn, however, smirked. “Oh, so you’re a perv.”

  Mr. Davis practically leapt from his seat, looking around nervously. He muttered under his breath, already wishing he hadn’t vouched foonie’s kids. With a deep sigh, he sat back down, eyeing Quinn cautiously. “So, I gather this is all about my relic?” He lifted the medallion from his chest, debating whether to tuck it into his shirt. Instead, he shrugged a dangle.

  “Yes!!!” Leo excimed, leaning forward like a spring-loaded trap. Her curiosity was almost palpable. She didn’t want to be rude by asking about his edal-thing, but she g Quinn with starry eyes, seeking her sister’s unspoken agreement. Quinn, notig her younger sister’s look of reverence, smirked and preened.

  “We both noticed that thing right away. It’s not like you’re trying to hide it. What’s it for?” Quinn asked, arg an eyebrow.

  With a roll of his eyes, Davis sighed. “If you must know, ahem—it’s a focus for internal energies. A tool for meditation. It’s not anything that kids should py with.”

  “Ooh? ‘Internal energies’? We talkin’ bout Tai Chi Masters or Wizards, Harry?” Quinn pressed, her toeeped in half-sarcasm, half-geerest.

  Leo perked up at the question, holding her breath as she waited for the old and now mage-hippie’s answer. She fidgeted slightly, kig her feet uhe table.

  “————Energy for spell-casting—” Davis paused, clearly deliberating how much to say. He let out an annoyed sigh and added, “But sadly, I ck the power to… I—ot.”

  Leo, caught in the spell of his words, suddenly fell off her chair with a ctter. Quinn burst into ughter, spping her kween giggles. “You’re—hehe—hirious! You’re really just pying pretend!”

  On the floor, Leo pouted, her face crumpling into a mask of disappoi as she stared up at Davis like he’d crushed her dreams underfoot. Davis winced, now longingly eyeing the café’s exit. He cleared his throat and stood, brushing ent dust from his pants. “Ahem. It’s been fun, kids. REAL FUN.” He adjusted his colr, reag for his bag.

  Even though Davis wasn’t what he seemed, Leo couldn’t let him leave looking so distressed. She scrambled to her feet, blog his path with wide, impl eyes. “Wait! Don’t go!” she excimed. Her voice quivered, ear and apologetic. “I—I’m sorry that my sister’s been bullying you.” She gnced over her shoulder, deploying her patented puppy eyes on Quinn.

  Quinn reeled back, clutg her chest like she’d been mortally wounded. After a beat, she looked away, her cheeks tinged red. “S-sorry,” she muttered grudgingly, scuffing her shoe against the floor.

  Around them, café patrons took notice of the drama, some pretending not to look, others ht staring. A few cast disapproving g Quinn, making her shift unfortably.

  After a moment of hesitation, Davis sighed, setting his bag back dowugged the medallion over his head and held it out to Leo. “I’m not giving this to you, kid—but to thank you for your kindness... Would you like to hold this for a moment?” His other hand ruffled Leo’s hair, ign the now-quiet Quinn.

  Leo tilted her head, her expression serious and curious. Slowly, she reached out and pced her hand on the medallion.

  The moment her fiouched the etal, her eyes widened—and then gzed over entirely, her body freezing like a mannequin.

  Davis’ eyes went round as saucers, staring at the girl’s bnk expression. “What the—?” He yahe medallion away, and Leo blinked, returning to normal so seamlessly it was as though nothing had happened.

  She grinned up at him, bright and expet. Davis frowned, poking the medallion with one finger like it might bite him. His lips pursed, and he cast a wary look at Quinn.

  “Uhh, what did you just do?” Quinn asked pointedly, breaking the silence. She jabbed a fi Leo. “My sister went all bnk-like—like she was on some kinda awful trip!” She turned, sing Leo’s face. “Leo, are you okay?”

  Leo hummed thoughtfully, her gaze shifting to the upper right as she sidered the question. “Hmm, I’m fi I don’t even remember what it felt like. I try again?” she asked eagerly.

  Davis, dumbfounded, bli her. Against his better judgment, he nodded and pressed the medallion into her hand again. Instantly, her eyes gzed over once more, the transformation eerie in its suddenness.

  He yahe medallion away a sed time, his lips pressing into a thin line. “It wasn’t just a fluke,” he muttered under his breath.

  Leo grinned as though nothing unusual had occurred, still holding her hand out expetly.

  “Hmmm—” Davis turo Quinn, his expression a mix of curiosity and skepticism. “How about you touch it too?”

  Quinn shot him a look that could only be described as seriously? She folded her arms. “I don’t know, old man. You’re starting to sound like some wacky cult leader.” But when she g Leo’s eager face, her resolve wavered. With a shrug, she extended her hand. “Doesn’t look like it hurts people. Just don’t let me turn into an ultra air-head too, okay?”

  She chuckled nervously as her hahe medallion. For a tense moment, she stared at it. Nothing happened.

  Davis frowned, squinting at her like he expected a deyed rea. Quinn tilted her head, smirking. “Nope. Nada. Guess I’m immuo yic tri, Gandalf.”

  Davis scowled, his suspi deepening. Perhaps the kids were toying with him after all.

  Without a word, he gathered his belongings ahe café, muttering to himself about Goonie’s kids and their peculiar sense of humor.

  The kids must have orchestrated a plex scheme to embarrass him. Goowo mischievous children were just too much for him to handle. Davis had thought he could hahe occasional quirk, the teasing jokes of youth—but this? This felt like something more. What sealed the deal was Quinn’s plete ck of a rea after Leo’s exaggerated act. It was clear now: Leo had beeraight man in their little prank, and Quinn the “funny man,” leading him down the garden path for their amusement.

  He sighed, running a hand over his face. He’d tried his best to teach the geion a few things he’d learned over the years, but in his heart, he couldn’t help but feel like the joke was on him. Leo had pyed a very naughty tri him—no question about it.

  Still, as his miuro Leo’s rea—or ck of it—he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off. That kind of bnk stare was impossible for someohout some kind of training. He'd seen gurus, schors, mystics touch such medallions with nothing happening. What had Leo done? And why had it worked on her, but not Quinn?

  Was he losing his edge? He thought of his younger days when he could still ect with kids, when their antics seemed less like cruel jokes and more like harmless fun. But now... now he felt the weight of age creeping in. The realization stung: He was growing old far too soon. He couldn't even keep up with these kids’ antiymore. What happeo the days when he uood their nguage?

  Ahere was one sequence he didn’t expect.

  Later that evening, Goonie made sure her two little troublemakers kly what their as had cost her. Her voice, sharp and full of fury, rang out as she rounded on them.

  “Demanding that my ers prove their wizardry!? What kind of nonsense is that, Quinzel Rosemary Ramses!?” she barked. Her hands went to her hips, her face a portrait of exasperation. “Leo, I swear! I’ve had it! What happeo on sense, huh?!”