-"Meeting like minded people is a wonderful feeling. One feels like one belongs. But when no one shares the same views, one can feel like a single flower in a hostile desert."

*Ayawamat*

"Nice job," Iah complimented.

Ryuusei dropped the boulder-sized clumps of earth back down. "Thanks," he said, grinning. He dusted himself off. "I think I finally got a handle on it."

"You'll need much more if you seek to become stronger than that Akito kid," I interjected. Iah and Ryuusei turned around and saw me sitting at the edge of the water fountain. "You don't even compare to the green-haired girl."

Ryuusei lowered his head. "I know. That's why I want to become stronger! My father will finally acknowledge me when I do."

I scoffed. "Your father?"

The kid simply nodded.

That Korgermu, he really was a lot like my own father...

***

[Years Ago]

"Hit harder!" Father yelled at the top of his lungs. He shook his head as he caught my punches with a single hand. Despite not being a mage, he was fast and strong.

I took a step back to catch my breath.

Father sighed and furrowed his brow at me. "It's bad enough that you look like a girl, but punching like one? You might as well have been born a girl." He shook his head at me.

"Father," called out my older brother.

Father glared at my older brother, Hotah. Hotah was tall for his age, seventeen at the time, and had a muscular physique. His brown hair was long but not as long as my dark blue hair was.

"If you got an issue with my teaching, feel free to take over. Unlike you, this child has no talent," Father responded, walking away.

I turned away and sobbed quietly, afraid that my father would've noticed.

A rough but soft hand ran through my hair. "Cheer up, little bro. Father can be rather strict but he's doing it for your own good." I glanced up at him, he was smiling but his eyes were serious.

"You're returning to school soon, aren't you?" I asked.

He nodded.

I glanced at the small house I called home for the past nine years. Father and Mother could no longer afford to pay the mortgage on it. If it weren't for my brother's scholarship then he too would have had to change schools on such short notice.

"You'll be fine," Hotah assured me. "I'm sure that you'll make some friends."

I gave my older brother a tight hug. "I'll miss you the most."

Brother hugged me back. "As will I, Aya."

"I knew it!" yelled someone.

I half expected it to be a girl. Instead, it turned out to be a black-haired boy with bright blue eyes like mine. His hair was shorter than Brother's but long enough to tie into a ponytail.

Houta let go of me. His face turned bright red. "Sirius, what are you doing here?"

Sirius? If I recalled correctly, that was the name of the guy my brother used to bully during middle school.

"You do have a nice side to you," Sirius continued, chuckling. In his hand was a bag of bread. He held it out to him. "I brought this for you, to say goodbye."

Brother looked away. "We'll still be seeing each other around at school. Plus I don't expect to move to Caelum once I finish high school. I'll be returning to Stella."

"Sirius," called out a girl from across the street. "Dinner is ready!" A red-haired girl waved at him from the doorstep. It was Ori's big sis. For some reason, her belly was round. It reminded me of my mama's own belly.

Sirius turned around. "See ya!"

"Is that girl pregnant?" I blurted out.

Sirius nodded and smiled. "I'm going to be a Papa."

Houta's eyes widened. "What? I thought she was becoming fat because of all the treats you brought her."

"Hey!" the girl barked. "I can hear you!"

Houta stuck out his tongue at her. "I know!"

Sirius sighed. "Houta, please don't pick a fight with Stella. You'll never win, trust me." He chuckled at that last part before running off to his girlfriend.

***

['Present']

Hmm, now that I thought about it, Orion's older sister looked a lot like Nyima's mother.

"Hey," Iah called out, waving a hand in front of me. "Don't zone out."

I shook my head. "What was I saying? Oh, right. Kid, don't worry about your father. You should seek out strength for yourself, not to impress others." I called upon a nearby wasp. "Kid, show me everything that you've got."

Ryuusei nodded as he unsheathed a weird black sword. His eyes were serious much like Lei's were whenever I fought him.

This child, he really was a lot like him.

I ran directly at him. The kid didn't hesitate to act, stepping to the side. He grinned as shadows grabbed my feet as I ran past him.

"Shadow Trap!" the child yelled, causing the shadows to rise up, forming a cage.

I directed my wasp to sting the boy but the boy's dragon emerged from his back and slapped the insect out of sight.

Grinning, I call forth more insects. "Insectum Corvus!"

The insects merged together to form a crow-shaped beast with the colorful wings of butterflies and the stinger of a bee.

Ryuusei and Iah stepped back.

"What is that monstrosity?" Iah asked, jumping out of the way.

"It truly is awful," a voice called out from the sky. Coming at me was Lei. "Ayawamat, face me again!"

I gave him a smug grin. "You don't know how to give up, do you?"

"Enough!" Koukyuu yelled. Accompanying her was Ryuusei's mother, the girls, plus Akito and Seron.

Lei lowered himself next to Iah. "Tsk."

"We've been here for some time now. It's time for us to start the second part of your exam."

I released the insect horde which caused Koukyuu to let out an agonizing shriek.

"Sorry," I said, chuckling.

Her golden eyes peered into me. "Don't ever do that in my presence again!"

"I won't. So, what's the second test?"

She summoned five sheets of paper and handed one to each of us.

"These items, are these to create a Dragon pill?" Adela stated, looking up at her.

"Mr. Suzuran was the one who devised this second part. You and your partner are to find these ingredients in the vault in under half an hour. Also, you won't be able to read the recipe. You're going to have to make it using your own knowledge."

Lei nodded. "I think I know which kind of Dragon Pill to make."

I looked down at the list.

-2 cups of Crush Marion Flower

-A dragon scale

-5 Natural Leaves

-7 Shining Rocks

-4 Radiant Blooms

"Wait, these are all items from this world. How do you know what to make?" I asked.

Lei wagged his finger and grinned triumphantly as if he had just defeated me in a battle. "I might've lost to you again, but that doesn't mean that I haven't grown. I had Adela tutor me in pill and potion making."

Adela gave me the same smile. "I taught him how to make some with other-realm ingredients."

I ruffled my hair as I looked at the list again. "How are those of us who have no experience working with ingredients from this realm pass?"

Koukyuu grinned.

Was I being bullied? My older brother did say that karma came to bite one back...

"These ingredients will start to seem similar to you after some time," she responded.

"I hope so," said Nyima, her eyes downcast.

I walked over to her and smiled. "Ah, so we're on the same boat."

She looked away. "No, we're not. I have experience with other-realm ingredients, just not from this one."

"I do," Iah interjected.

Nyima wasn't impressed at all. Actually, his comment made her scowl. "Good for you."

The prince's smile faded, making me smile in turn.

"Can we help each other?" Lei asked. "I mean we are doing this as a team."

Nyima's eyes grew hopeful.

Koukyuu glanced at us. "Only Nyima and Ayawamat can work together to figure it out. The rest of you can drop some hints but that's it."

"I'm not so good at hints but I'll try," Lei said.

"However, you first have to find your ingredients," Koukyuu reminded us. The dragon kids walked over to us. "These five were briefed on the ingredients, well except for Ryuusei."

Iah chuckled. "That's fine. This kid probably has read about them in books. Plus I know several of them."

Ryuusei snatched the list. "Yup, I know all of these!" He glanced at Ryomi and Nyima. "Iah and I will make a better pill than both of you!"

Ryomi returned his smile and said, "Nyima and I will... plus I know how to make this pill so I can drop hints."

Nyima hugged her partner. "Ahhh, I'm so lucky to have gotten such a talented cute little girl as my partner!"

Ryomi giggled. "You sure are!"

Ryuusei rolled his eyes, reminding me of myself. I kind of wished we had gotten paired up instead. He was easier to bond with than my actual partner.

*Mayu*

I held my head down as we waited in a suite on top of Kin Tower for my friends to arrive. The living room that I was in was elegantly decorated with chandeliers, chiffon sofas, and tables made out of quartz glass. The walls were white with the edges painted gold, reminiscent of the cloaks of my kidnappers.

Keeping guard over me was a tall girl dressed like the three who had captured me.

She noticed that I was watching her as she moved aside. "Mayu, was it?" she finally broke the silence. "Your misguided attempt to 'save' your country is now doing great harm to it and to the world. Our very existence is now under threat thanks to you."

I grimaced as I recalled what happened the other day. "I think I understand you. Those shadows destroyed the camp with ease."

The girl took in a deep breath and leaned against the wall. "Aria told me about it. She said that there was barely ash left behind from those who perished."

I shook my head, it would've been too incredible to believe if I had not seen it in person.

The door clicked open. Ren and the Akiyama twins walked in. Following them closely behind were the three who had captured me.

"Guys," I said, standing up. To my surprise, the white cloaks didn't see the need to handcuff me. Though that was likely due to my lack of prana at the moment.

"We're here," Yuuto yelled. "Now what are you going to do with us?"

The blue haired boy grinned. "We need you to help us fix this." He held his hand out. He turned to look at Yuuto. "I'm coming with you to speak to the regnant. Shin'en seems to know you."

"Only issue is that Shin'en isn't here," said the girl guarding me. "He's currently at Nine Petal, watching over the sophomore exams."

"The high school?" the blond-haired boy asked. He smiled. "In that case, we'll have our other two members contact him."

"The freshmen are also taking their advancement exams," Yuuto said. "We had planned to relay a message to him through the gate foxes. However, that won't be necessary, the true ruler is currently at the castle."

I tilted my head. "The true ruler?" My green eyes widened. "Wait, you mean to say that..."

He smiled. "Yeah, you'll be seeing your ex soon enough."

**Solar Note: I hope that you enjoyed this chapter :). Are you looking forward to seeing Mayu reunite with her ex? I know I'm certainly excited to write it xD. Speaking of exciting to write, I enjoyed writing the flashback scene a lot. I plan to one day tell more of Sirius and Stella's story (as part of Lost to the Ages or another book) :).

Btw, for those who are curious, this is more or less how I imagine the suite's living room to look like (it's only missing that golden paint on the edges of the walls)-

**