“What about this?” Mai held up the dress Pip had bought with Khione, one she still hadn’t washed since wearing it to dinner with her grandparents. “It seems your style.”

  “Yeah, but it’s too much,” Pip said. She collapsed onto her bed, staring up at the ceiling. Recruiting her mum to help choose an outfit for her date was a last resort, and not going well. She needed more clothes. “I need something that screams cool, but not desperate.”

  “Why do all that?” Amalia sat at Pip’s desk, quietly or not so quietly judging every piece of clothing Mai pulled out of the walk in closet. “Just wear something that’s you?”

  “Your sister has a good point,” Mai said, giving Amalia a smile. “You really could wear anything, I don’t think Khione would have an issue with it. I’ve seen how that girl looks at you.”

  “With exasperation?”

  “No,” Mai said, a smile curling at the edge of her lips.

  “Like you’re a piece of meat,” Amalia added helpfully.

  “You’ve never even met her!” Snagging a pillow from above her, Pip sat up sharply and lobbed it across the room, missing Amalia by a wide margin. Amalia stuck out her tongue in response, not managing to hide it before Mai caught her in her glare.

  “All right,” Mai said. “Enough of that. Don’t you have homework to do?”

  “Doesn’t Pip have homework to do?”

  “It can wait till after my date,” Pip said, though she’d left her backpack at school. The homework could wait. She could cram it during class, or lunch period. She shouldn’t have to do schoolwork after school anyway.

  “I have something perfect,” Mai said, rushing out of the room.

  “Uh oh,” Amalia said. “She’s going to get some of her clothes.”

  Pip slipped back onto the mattress. She would just have to go in one of her athleisure sets. That would have to be good enough. It was a far cry better than the school uniform she still hadn’t taken off, and it wasn’t like Khione had ever complained about how Pip dressed.

  But Khione was bound to show up in a tight corset and incredible makeup and it just wasn’t fair. How could Khione look so damn good while Pip looked like a kindergartner who’d gotten into her mother’s makeup?

  Marching through the open door, Mai held up her retrieval with a triumphant grin. “These are perfect,” she said, beaming.

  Sitting up to give them a proper look, Pip had to admit, they were right up her alley. A pair of quilted pants, each square a different color, tie dyed in a similar fashion. The edges were frayed like a knotted blanket. While oranges and pinks rarely went together, at least in normal fashion, Pip loved them together, and the decorations in her room reflected that.

  “I like those,” Pip said, sliding off the bed.

  “These are the exact pants I was wearing when I met your mother.”

  “Ewww.” Pip stopped before reaching the pants, sharing a disgusted look with her sister. They’d all heard about how Mai and Athena had gotten together, meeting one night in college and being together ever since.

  “Shut up, obviously they’ve been washed since then,” Mai said, clucking her tongue at them.

  “They’re like twenty years old.”

  “Vintage!”

  “Let me find a shirt to go with them,” Pip said, deciding to ignore what she knew about the pants and consider them a good luck charm. Athena and Mai had a goals level relationship. Pip wanted something like that, so wearing the pants was a good idea.

  With pants like those, Pip didn’t need anything fancy for her top, choosing a simple tank top to wear. With her outfit decided, all that was left was hair. And makeup. And accessories.

  “Why is dating so hard?”

  Mai laughed. She brushed a lock of hair back from Pip’s face, smiling into the mirror. “It’s not that hard,” she said, using a coarse brush to comb Pip’s hair back. “It can be tricky, but it shouldn’t be hard.”

  “I suppose,” Pip mumbled. Mai clipped her hair in place, pulling it back so it wouldn’t fall into her eyes during her date. The date wasn’t difficult, it was just preparing for the date that was a pain. This time could be used training, or researching, or trying out something new.

  “It’ll be okay,” Mai said, patting her on the shoulder. “You look good.”

  “Thank you,” Pip said, staring at herself in the mirror. It was better than anything Pip could do herself, but looked so out of place. Every hair was perfectly secure. Makeup done without any smears or mistakes. She was so… grown. “I should head out.”

  “Be safe,” Mai said, squeezing her one more time. “And I want to hear everything when you get back.”

  Pip groaned. “Please, Mum, no.”

  “Yes,” Mai said. “That’s non negotiable.”

  “Fine.” She grabbed her bag and shoes and slipped away before Mai could demand anything else. “See you later!”

  *****

  Darkness set in as Pip waited outside in the school parking lot, rocking from foot to foot as she waited for Khione to arrive. They needed to get going soon if they didn’t want to miss too much of the Summoner’s Ring, but Khione hadn’t so much as texted her.

  Pip pulled out her phone, preparing to text Khione again when the girl jogged into the parking lot. “Sorry,” she called out. “I had a hard time slipping out of the house.”

  Pip broke into a sprint, meeting her half way. “It’s okay,” she said, smiling at the girl. “You look good.”

  “Thank you,” Khione said, beaming as she did a little spin for Pip. She wore a pair of black, torn jeans, paired with a red leather corset that Pip would never get away with wearing. Complete with a set of high heeled combat boots, she looked like a model. A curvy, sarcastic model with a resting bitch face and a nose ring. Her coiled blond hair had been pulled back, sitting in a poof at the top of her head. It was the first time Pip had seen it pulled up.

  In the dimming light, her brown skin shone.

  “You look great,” Pip repeated, unable to tear her eyes away from her date. As much as she’d griped about not being able to get any training done after school, this made it worth it. At least this once.

  “Are we going to this Summoner’s Ring or not?” Khione snapped, evidently done standing around and being admired, smile be damned.

  “Right,” Pip said. Jumping into action, she hooked her arm in Khione’s and started walking, leading them down the sidewalk and around the corner in search of the Summoner’s Ring.

  The location was much smaller this time, as compared to the warehouse Athena had crashed. It made the cars out front all the more conspicuous, sound practically seeping from the walls. Khione gave her a look as they approached, skeptical as they reached the front door.

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  “You sure this is safe?”

  Pip shrugged. “Safe enough, as long as I’m here.”

  “Sure.”

  Khione pulled the door open, freeing herself from Pip’s grasp to step inside. Not willing to let them be separated, Pip stayed on her heel, elbowing people aside as they moved through the cramped space.

  They reached the middle of the room, looking in on the Summoner’s Ring. Khione’s eyes lit up as they landed on the fight happening mid-ring, the two controlled creatures fighting each other tooth and nail and…toothbrush?

  One of the summons, a frog-like creature, stood on two legs, holding what looked to be a sharpened toothbrush in one hand. The other summon shimmered with energy, light building up in the palm of a hand before firing across the ring at the frog.

  A cry went up from the audience as it struck the frog in the shoulder. It crashed to the ground, toothbrush going flying.

  “So… shivs are allowed?” Khione asked, not turning away as the frog crawled back to its feet. Before it straightened all the way, the other summon kicked out. It caught the frog across the chest and he went flying, catching air and slamming down to the tile hard.

  “Anything goes,” Pip answered. The crowd behind her surged, squishing her into Khione’s arm. Unintentional wingman. She slipped an arm around Khione, taking up less space and flitting between watching the fight and watching her date.

  She was right. Khione was enjoying it.

  The shining summon walked over to the frog as its summoner cried out, straining to get the frog on its feet again. A light fired, leaving a burning hole where the frog had been, a faint outline of ash on the ground.

  “And the energy blaster takes all!” shouted the announcer from somewhere above. A second story looked down on the ring, people gathered at the rails to watch the fight from above. Money changed hands, and Pip caught the flash of blue that had to be Izzy. “Can anyone defeat this summoner? Who’s the next challenger?”

  “How does it work?” Khione asked, twisting halfway to face Pip, keeping one eye on the fighting ring. With their faces so close together, Pip could feel the heat of Khione’s breath against her lips, and wished this was the place to kiss her. Unfortunately, it was not.

  “Anyone can challenge,” Pip said, pulling her eyes off Khione’s lips. She could have sworn Khione wore that lipstick just because Pip liked it. “See that chair? All you have to do is get to that chair, and you can participate.”

  “That’s surprisingly simple,” Khione said, nodding along. “You’ve participated, right?”

  “Yeah,” Pip said, nodding. “I’m not the best at summons, but I did win.”

  Khione flicked her across the arm. “Don’t brag.”

  “I’m not bragging! I’m just explaining!”

  “Are all these people summoners?” Khione asked, motioning around the room.

  “Not all of them, probably,” Pip said with a shrug. Most of the people in the room were likely just here to watch or make bets on the fights. Betting on super battles, no matter the type, was illegal, but that only mattered if you got caught. “And you don’t have to be specifically a summoner type super to participate. Just need to be able to make and control something long enough to fight. See the guy with the energy summon?”

  Khione nodded. The light had faded, only a faint glow as they waited for another challenger to take the seat across from them. It wandered around the ring, pacing in front of their summoner, moving without the telltale signs of control. “Yes.”

  “That’s a proper summon,” Pip said. “The super doesn’t have to manually control it, not the way I have to control my summons. I have to control every single move they make. He can just give the summon an order, and it will fulfill it.”

  “Ah,” Khione said. “So you just have to be able to make something that can fight, not be a summoner.”

  “Right.”

  A challenger finally took the seat. Sweat beaded along their brow as they swiped the hair back from their face, wearing a grim expression. Someone stepped up behind them, squeezing their shoulders. They didn’t look all that confident.

  “He’s going to lose,” Khione said, turning her full attention back to the ring as the summoner formed their summon. It popped straight out of their chest, pulling bones and sinew with it, the summoner’s friend holding them upright as they slumped in their seat.

  “They could pull it off,” Pip said, more out of form than anything else. Pip wasn’t confident, and the summoner definitely wasn’t, bone monster and light soldier taking their places opposite each other. Light flared once more as they waited for the announcer to speak.

  “Can the bone goblin take out the undefeated sun soldier?” the announcer began. “Take down the sun soldier and become the champion of the Summoner’s Ring? Ladies, gents, others… Let’s find out!”

  A horn sounded, and the bone summon attacked.

  Swinging a rib bone like a bat, it struck out, missing the sun soldier by a mile.

  “Strike one!”

  Light began to glow and build as the bone summon prepared to strike again. A smirk flitted across the reigning summoner’s face.

  For a fleeting moment, Pip wished she could warn the bone summoner. Poor dude, they were totally smoked. They just didn’t know it yet.

  The sun soldier lifted an arm, the light at the end of its hand burning like a star. Air crackled as the charge exploded, shooting into the bone goblin’s chest. Bones flew everywhere with a crackle and pop, pieces of flesh flying through the air. One landed in Khione’s hair, stringy and yellow.

  “Gross,” Pip said, pulling the piece out of Khione’s hairdo.

  “That was incredible,” Khione breathed, eyes locked on the burning pile of bones. They vanished as the summoner called them back to themself, able to sit up on their own once more. “Come on.”

  She grabbed Pip’s hand, pulling her around the room.

  “Where are we going?” Pip demanded.

  “To fight.”

  “What? Wait! I can’t!” Pip stopped in her tracks, nearly bowled over as Khione kept moving.

  Khione gave an exasperated sigh, hitting Pip with a look that was both upset and so full of fire Pip knew there was no getting around it. Maybe this wasn’t a great idea. Pip knew that look, she’d seen it in herself enough times, but she didn’t expect taking Khione to the Summoner’s Ring would spark this fire in her.

  “You’re not fighting,” Khione said, rolling her eyes so hard it must have hurt. “I am.”

  She pushed back Pip, moving through the crowd with ease. Pip took off after her, struggling to push people aside to keep up.

  “Please,” Pip said, pushing against someone’s chest as she moved through. “I have to catch my girlfriend.”

  “Good luck, kid.” Laughter echoed after her, rippling through the room like a cold.

  Pip caught up to Khione as she reached the chair on the other side.

  “Do you mind if I take this one?” she asked, laying a hand on the back of the chair. They were different from the chairs from last time, solid metal and unfoldable.

  “You sure?” The bone summoner asked. They pushed themself off the seat, wobbling on their feet. Their friend wrapped an arm around their back, holding them upright. “He’s brutal.”

  “I’m sure,” Khione said, voice unwavering.

  The bone summoner moved out of the way, and Khione took the seat. She smoothed out her shirt, facing the opposing summoner without a hint of fear on her face. Cool confidence settled across her body, a slight chill emanating from her body.

  Pip leaned over her shoulder, shivering at the cold touch of Khione’s skin. “You don’t have to do this.”

  She turned, meeting Pip’s eyes. “I know. I want to. I’ve never done anything like this before.”

  “Okay,” Pip breathed out. So long as she wasn’t participating, she shouldn’t get grounded, right? Khione was an entirely different matter. “Okay. Have you made a summon before?”

  “I’ve been working on it,” Khione said. “Might as well try it out.”

  “Okay.” Occupying the space behind the chair, Pip made eye contact with the summoner across the room, flashing a smile. The sun summoner didn’t move, barely blinked, staring impassively at them. “Take them out, babe.”

  A familiar stranger leaned forward. “What’s your power?” he whispered. “For the announcer.”

  “Ice,” Khione answered, the chill entering her voice. She placed her hands on her lap, flexing her fingers. Pip gave her shoulders a squeeze, trying to reassure Khione. The odds that Khione would win this weren’t high, but it was exciting to see what she could come up with. Pip’s first summon had been terrible, and it had taken months of trying to make something mildly usable. If Khione couldn’t fight, hopefully she wouldn’t be too disappointed.

  A woman stepped into the ring, clad in a tight pair of latex shorts and a see through top over a tiny bra. She walked around in a circle, going over the rules. Khione nodded to each. Keep all attacks inside the ring. Don’t target the summoner. Attacks must come from the summoned agent, not from outside the ring. Basic stuff.

  “Build your summon now,” the woman said, locking eyes with Khione.

  Khione nodded and sucked in a long, controlled breath. As she exhaled, ice cracked, growing in front of her like a 3D printer. Beginning with the feet, wide and blocky, then a pair of legs, a sturdy torso, a pair of long, knotted arms, and a tiny, square head. It flexed, ice cracking and shards falling to the ground as joints loosened, freeing from the initial build. In a series of movements, it went from a statue to a living creation.

  “Woah.” How the hell had she built something so functional so fast? “You really haven’t made one before?”

  “No,” Khione said. “But I spent a lot of time thinking about it in anatomy class. What do you think?”

  Pip shook her head in disbelief. How had Khione crafted something so good without trial and error? Without failing a million times? It just wasn’t fair. “It’s good. It’s really good, Khione.”