Miss Titania had been Ike's babysitter and was now his kindergarten teacher, so he felt super special as he sauntered into the classroom. They were here, the big time. Kindergarten.

He knew almost everyone. There was Boyd and Mia and Elincia and Lucia and Geoffrey and… well lots of people. They were all his friends first but now Soren was their friend too. But Soren was his BEST friend and he was Soren's best friend too. And then there was Ike and Soren duh, and then two kids that Ike didn't know. So it was a good class, mostly.

Ike was holding his hand - or really Soren was holding Ike's hand in both of his. Ike smiled at him to make him feel better, and Soren's smile was so cute.

Soren was wearing glasses now and had a cool bookbag with jungle animals on it and he could talk, not as good as Ike or anything but better than he could, and Mama had bought Soren a set of colored pencils that Ike was deeply jealous of. It made his own crayons seem lame. Buuuuuuuuuut Soren needed cool stuff too.

Ike found his desk with his name on it, and pulled the tag off to go put it by Soren's desk. There was a name he didn't recognize - Lyre - but hey now she was moving so it was okay. "There!"

"Why do you always hold hands?" Elincia asked him, frowning a little.

"'Cause he's my best friend and I gotta keep him safe," Ike explained even though he had explained it to her before. The issue was that Elincia wanted to hold hands with him and was mad. She had unfriended him a million times about it, but apparently that was something girls did.

Well not all girls, because Mia tackle-hugged him and she'd never said they weren't friends anymore. "I'm so happy to see you!" she squealed. Ike caught her before she could glomp Soren too. "Oh right, gentle!" She reached out and gently pet Soren's head.

He sighed. "I'm not a dog," he said in a tiny voice.

"Nope! But you're cute like one! And I like dogs! I want a dog but my dad said no because only boys have dogs? My dad is dumb. But I like Aether, he's the coolest dog!"

Ike nodded because Aether was the coolest dog. Some of the people who came to work with Soren also trained Aether better so he was now a therapy dog, he had a vest and everything, and if Soren was ever not with Ike he was with Aether. It made Ike super happy because Soren had been afraid of his dog at first but now they were friends, as it should be.

Miss Titania called for everyone to sit on the carpet in a circle so they could meet each other. Ike sat between Soren and Mia and he raised his hand to go first and he got called on which was awesome.

"Hi my name is Isaac Bryce Greil but everyone calls me Ike! I live with my mama and daddy and little sister Mist and best friend Soren and dog Aether. I like swords and adventures and I'm gonna be a hero when I grow up like my daddy. My favorite color is blue and red and I like Mario games and Roblox and Pokémon. My favorite Pokémon is… um… aw man I don't have a favorite, I like all of them!"

This was acceptable, so Miss Titania smiled at him then looked at Soren. "Go ahead, sweetie, you're next." She was gentle because she knew Soren was scared easy, but it didn't matter because Soren was too scared to talk.

So Ike squeezed his shaking hands and said, "And this is my best friend Soren and he lives with me because he used to live with Mean Lady who is in jail now! He's super smart and can use magic super good, and he really likes wind magic! He also likes drawing and animals and he has the coolest colored pencil collection EVER, I mean it's got metallics too! His favorite animals is a jaguar and that's really cool so he has them on his jungle bookbag. He also likes manatees because they're silly. And I dunno what he wants to be when he grows up 'cause he doesn't know yet but that's okay because he's only 6 like me. Oh and his favorite colors are blue and green. He doesn't like too many video games but he does like Pokémon and his favorite is HYDREIGON which is super cool."

"I bet my magic is better than his," said Calill who was bossy and braggy. "I use fire."

Soren sighed and shook his head no, because Calill did this a lot. He was too nervous to prove her wrong but he was also adamant she was wrong. Calill huffed, and then pouted when Miss Titania reminded her to not call out.

So yeah then everyone went around and Ike tried really hard to pay attention so he knew all the stuff about his friends. Boyd and Mia were Ike's secondary best friends. Boyd lived with his daddy, older brother, and younger brother. Oscar was really cool because he was in middle school so he was very smart and liked to cook. Rolf was a baby and was boring. Boyd was fun but he would get mad at his dad a lot which made Ike feel bad because he never got mad at his dad. Mia was just a hyperactive ball of happiness but she was way too competitive and it was tiring. Her dad was a jerk who wanted her to be very ladylike which she did not like. But he loved them both! They were just secondary best friends.

Elincia, Geoffrey and Lucia were always together. Apparently Elincia was rich and the twins' parents worked for her parents or something. Anyway Elincia was very nice except for when she got jealous, which happened a lot because she apparently like-liked him and Geoffrey, which Ike didn't get. Also they had the coolest video games and Geoffrey was really good at making stuff on Minecraft and Lucia loved Roblox so they could bond over that. But since none of them were as hyper as Ike they were just friends instead of best friends.

Calill liked to brag a lot because she could use magic, so she hated Soren because Soren was way better at magic than she was - or at least he said, and Ike believed him. Still because Soren didn't brag Calill would brag all the time. She also always had new clothes that she said cost a lot of money but Ike didn't care. But she was nice too really, just kind of annoying. Nephenee was almost as quiet as Soren was but she was very sweet and liked to help people and she had a bunch of animals at home because she lived on a farm so that was cool. Ike knew her the least of his friends because she didn't live in the neighborhood but instead would come visit.

Then the two kids he didn't know were Lethe and Lyre and they were twins too and had kitty ears which was super cool.

After that they were told to go to their desks to look at their new workbooks. Ike's desk was with Soren's now, and Lucia and Geoffrey, and Lethe. He was okay with this being his group although Geoffrey was kinda boring and he didn't know Lethe so it could've been better. But he would get over it 'cause this was his group and he was gonna be the leader and everything was gonna be great.

It was the best time of the day - lunch! Considering Ike was so hungry he might die, it was just in time! Daddy packed lunches for him and Soren, but Ike also had money to buy a lunch too. His parents knew him well!

The group went into the big room called a "cafeteria." It was LOUD because EVERYONE ate there - it was filled with people of all ages! So many people he could be friends with!

His class went to their table and Ike put his lunchbox in his spot by Soren before he ran to get in line for buying. Then a teacher made him go back and walk, oops. But he got his food and came back to his seat. His class was all talking to each other, but Soren was sitting with his ears covered. Huh.

Ike sat and tapped Soren's hand. "It's not that loud," he soothed, "and you gotta eat." It was very important Soren eat! He still didn't a lot, but then Ike would find food hidden in their room. Mama said they had to be patient. But Soren's hands were shaking, and Ike scowled. He started to eat while keeping an eye on his best friend because something was wrong but Ike wasn't sure what. Sometimes Soren did this shaking thing and he breathed really fast and then he might cry but usually it was because Mama chastised someone (not Soren, she never chastised Soren). No one here was in trouble. So it was weird. Plus no one else seemed to notice anything wrong.

Until Soren stood up and ran from the table, out into the hallway. Then it became obvious something was wrong! Ike chased him out, mid-sandwich.

Ike looked for him doggedly. He didn't want his poor friend to be all by himself! But he'd hidden away somewhere.

"Hey, no leaving the cafeteria!" said a teacher who was following him.

"I gotta find Soren, he's sick and hiding," Ike argued. He got lucky – a nearby classroom was open, and he saw Soren in the corner. "There you are!" He ran in and sat next to him, pulling him into a hug. He had made himself as small as possible, and his whole body was shaking and he was breathing fast. "What's wrong?"

Soren didn't answer, clinging to him. Ike frowned and petted his hair. The teacher came in and frowned too. "I'll get the nurse," she said, leaving.

Minutes later a nice man with orange hair walked in and knelt by them. "This is Soren?" he asked in a whisper, and Ike nodded. "All right. It seems like he's having a panic attack. Just keep hugging him. What happened?"

"I think it was too loud," Ike whispered. "He was coverin' his ears."

"I see. Soren, right now you are very safe," the nurse said a little louder but still quietly. "You are at school. You are in an empty classroom. No one is going to hurt you. It is quiet and calm here."

"An' I'm huggin' you," Ike added since they were stating the obvious.

Finally Soren looked up. He was still shaking but he was getting his breath under control. "It was too loud," he whispered. "Sorry."

"Don't be sorry, it is very loud," the nurse agreed. "Do you think you can come with me to my office? It's nice and quiet. You can eat lunch there."

Soren nodded and stood. He was shaky so Ike stood too. "I'll go grab our lunches!" He exclaimed, then ran to go get them and come back. It was hard carrying three lunches but he did it. When he came back, Soren and the nurse were walking together.

"Thank you, Ike," said Soren softly. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay!" Ike was kinda sad he wouldn't get to eat with anyone else, but it was worth it and he was okay.

Daddy picked up Ike and Soren after school so they wouldn't have to ride the bus. Mist was asleep in her car seat.

Ike's daddy was just the coolest - Ike had no idea where he worked but he could fix anything and make anything with wood or metal or… yeah it was so cool, he could do anything! Plus he could use a sword and it was SO COOL and Ike wanted to be a hero like him when he grew up! "How was the first day, boys?" he asked, looking at the two in the rearview mirror.

"It was GREAT!" Ike exclaimed. Soren nodded his agreement. They'd both decided to not talk about lunch. "We only don't know two new friends and they have kitty ears and Lethe is mean but Lyre isn't as mean."

"They weren't mean to me," Soren offered. "They just ignored me. Lethe hissed at Ike. It was silly."

"If they have kitty ears, that means they're 'laguz'," Daddy explained as he started to drive. "I bet they are both very nervous because beorc like us and laguz can get very mean to each other and it sounds like they're the only two in your class."

"Oh." Ike frowned. "That's… that's bad. They're just kids with kitty ears."

"Very true," said Daddy proudly, and Ike was so happy. "Just be patient, is all, and don't treat them differently." After a few long minutes, he pulled into the garage. "To the table for snacks."

Ike raced in, carrying his and Soren's bookbags right to the table and started to eat the cookies on it. Soren giggled and followed, taking one. Ike gave him another too. Daddy came in with Mist and then looked at their bookbags and smiled at the papers that said they'd been good. "Also we got presents for both of you for a good first day."

Ike was almost exploding in joy. "Presents?!"

Daddy put Mist into her playpen before coming back with two wrapped bundles. Ike ripped his open and Soren picked his open. Ike got

he got

HE GOT

A WOODEN SWORD!

"THIS IS THE COOLEST PRESENT EVER!" he yelled, jumping up and down. Then he stopped because Soren had gotten his open, and it was a pack of sparkly glittery markers and, "SO IS YOURS, YOURS IS THE COOLEST PRESENT EVER TOO please share with me sometime!"

Soren giggled and nodded. "Thank you, Mr. Greil."

"Of course, Soren. Thank you for being so sweet." Soren blushed so hard his whole face turned red. He still wasn't sure what to do when people said nice things about him. "And Ike, you know if you're unsafe your mama will take that sword."

"Yep, I'll be super good with it, I promise!" Ike tried to look serious so Daddy knew he meant it, because he meant it big time. Daddy ruffled his hair, and Ike was pretty sure today was the best day ever.