*Aurelius*

"I'm going to split the class in half. One part will be doing the written exam, while the other will be doing the circuit that I've prepared," Mr. Obi said as he walked around back and forth his his hand behind his back. "Hope you folks studied for this."

It wasn't just me that was nervous, all of the students were. Except for Carter who had on a big smile. Although, he was probably hiding it or maybe his earlier attempt to 'pump himself' worked.

Mr. Obi held his hand forward, causing a small piece of paper to appear in everyone's hands. Mine said circuit.

Carter frowned as he stared at his. He then looked up at Mr. Obi who was smiling.

"What did you get?" Kanja asked.

"The written exam," Carter answered with a slight grin.

"I got the circuit," Kanja said.

"Same here," I said, raising my small piece of paper.

"I got the circuit too," Lidia said, smiling.

Huoyin frowned as he stared at his.

"Let me guess. You got stuck with Carter?" Kanja asked.

He turned away. "You're making it sound like its a group assignment when it's not."

"Good thing it isn't," I said, scratching my head.

"Enough chatter. Go to your positions!"

"Where is that for the written part?"

"Stay seated. You'll see."

Carter and Huo did as told while the girls and I joined half of the class on the gym floor. Each area had a list of activities that Mr. Obi wanted us to do. Spherical golems with wings would fly around, taking our scores.

Lidia sighed as she stared at the ceramic pots. She had failed to break any. Even Kanja had only managed to break two of the three, with the first one being an unexpected failure. They clearly weren't normal pottery.

I patted her shoulder. "Cheer up, you'll ace the next one," I said, smiling. "Plus, I only got one too."

She nodded. "You're right. I can't give up!"

Kanja smiled at her score. At least one of us had done well. I only managed to break the third one.

"Wonder how the boys are doing," Lidia muttered as she glanced at Huo.

Huoyin stared intensely at his sheet as if pondering every possible answer. Carter on the other hand smiled as he jotted down the answers. Had his last minute studying helped that much? Or was he just guessing? Hopefully, the former.

Once we finished the circuit, we sat down on the opposite edge of the gym from the written students. Once time was up for them, our half of the class switched spots with Cart's half.

I stared at the exam. Some questions were multiple choice while others were to be written. The first few were relatively easy, but they started becoming harder the further I went. The fancy wording didn't help either. Good thing Mira spent some time teaching me new words at the library. Else, I might've not even known what was being asked.

"Woah!" several of the students said, drawing my attention toward the gym floor. Carter had shattered and melted one of the clay pots with his fire.

I smiled and returned to my test. So, his Renshu and Elliot's tutoring and his subsequent training with Alto was finally starting to bear some fruit.

My eyes darted back down toward Huo. He had his back to the happy Carter. Had he not done so well? No, it was his turn next.

Huoyin took a deep breath and spun his flames, forming a ring of fire around him. That pose, where had I seen it before? Wait, wasn't that the stance Adela and Renshu had? Was he trying to copy the Xian? The flames certainly were at the ready like Renshu's. Huo shifted his arms in front of him, drawing the flames out of the ring of fire and into his palms. The resulting sphere shot out, striking one of the pots. While not shattering it, the blast did melt it partially. How many points would that be?

Carter put an arm around him, shaking him. Huo slapped it away and snapped at him, although, I couldn't hear what he was saying. But, given their past conversations, I could guess.

Cart stepped back and laughed nervously. Huoyin shook his head and walked away.

Would those two ever get along one day?

Once I finished my test, I handed it over to Mr. Obi and went on my way.

"Ready to go?" Carter asked, smiling. He had been leaning against the wall. Huo was as well, but even further down the hall.

"Where to?"

"To face Shuai of course!"

I tilted my head. "You still want to fight him? Did the test not drain you?"

He shook his head. "Not at all!"

Was he being honest?

"Shouldn't we wait for the girls first?" Huoyin asked.

"No need. We're here," Kanja said as she and Lidi stepped out of the gymnasium.

"Yahoo! Let's go!" Carter said, raising a fist into the air.

Lidia sighed and took out her phone. "Let me ask him where we'll be sparring first."

"You exchanged numbers?" Huo asked, furrowing his brow.

"Yeah. How else would I know where the match will be? Plus, we do share two classes."

He crossed his arms and turned away, pouting.

"Did I hear you say 'spar' earlier?" a voice called out behind us.

Carter gulped as he looked at Mr. Obi who stood behind me and the girls.

"Since when were you standing there?" Lidia said, stepping away.

Even I couldn't sense him. He was stealthier than Jude.

Our teacher sighed. "You kids have been having illegal rank battles, haven't you?"

"No. Well, not us," Kanja said.

"If it wasn't you who hacked into the system, who could it have been?"

"Someone hacked into the school?" Lidia asked.

"Only one of the mechanisms for rank battles was. It happened two days ago on the dorm plaza. Since Mr. Zettai didn't let me do my usual rounds, I couldn't see who it was. Although, I suspect it's someone well versed in technology."

Lidia laughed. "I can assure you, it wasn't me."

"Hmm, then that leaves a few other possibilities. There's Shiromaru, but that guy isn't much of a battler. But, he is part of my grandson's crew, so he might done it for them. On the other hand, the dorm isn't in that area. However, they could've challenged one of the regular students or one of you transfer students."

"Like Lei?" Carter asked.

He smirked. "Lei, huh? Well, I better look more into it. If you kids wish to spar, there is one place you can do it."

"Where?" I asked.

"The stadium?" Carter asked.

He nodded before running off. He sure got excited as soon as Carter asked if it involved Lei.

"Seems Shuai had the same thought as Mr. Obi," Lidia said, staring at her phone. She turned it toward us.

'Meet me at the stadium. Looking forward to facing you ;),' the text read.

Huo narrowed his eyes. "Even in writing, that guy irks me."

Carter nodded.

"But you got to admit, he can be pretty funny," Kanja said, giggling.

"Let me tell Mira and the others," Lidia said as she moved her thumbs super fast. How did those little thin boxes work? "Alright, done!"

"Let's a go!" Carter said, rushing off.

"Hey! Do you even know which stadium it is?!" Kanja yelled, running after him.

"Uh, which one is it?" I asked, glancing at Lidia.

She rubbed the back of her gave and gave me a nervous smile. "Not sure which one."

I sighed. "Well, guess this is a good chance for an adventure, huh?" I said, smiling.

She blinked. "An adventure?"

"Yeah, if we get lost, who knows what we might be able to find!"

"I rather not get lost."

"Nor would I," Huo said, shaking his head. "I already get lost when out of it or when frightened. Which only makes me feel more out of it or scared than I had already been."

Right. Not everyone was up for finding the way back home like I was.

"I'll ask Shuai. While we wait for his response, let's catch up with Cart and Kan," Lidia said, running ahead.

Huo sighed and followed after her.

I grinned and chased the two.

"Wait up!" Lidia said as we finally caught up to Carter and Kanja. 

"Eh, where's Huo?" I said, glancing around.

"I-I'm here," Huo said, walking over to us. Sounded like he need a drink of water.

"Lidia, I think you should give him some of your water," I said.

"Is magic water drinkable?" Carter asked, blinking.

Lidia scratched her right ear and laughed. "I'm not sure, to be honest."

"I know the natural kind is," Kanja said, glancing at her.

"I'm okay," Huo wheezed as he bent over.

"Alright, then let's keep going!" Carter said, turning around.

Kanja grumbled as she grabbed him by the arm. "No you don't! We're fighting Shuai as a group. We can't just leave Huoyin behind."

"It's alright. Carter and me working together is a pipe dream to begin with. We're better off fighting the flirt in different rounds," Huo said, glancing up at her.

"Rounds? Isn't it all of us versus him?" Carter asked.

"I don't think he means that kind of rounds. More like a series of volleys," Lidia said, swinging her arms as if she were wielding a staff or a stick of some kind.

Carter crossed his arms and hummed. "Not sure if I understand."

Huo stood up straight. "Let's just go. If we try to explain it to you any further, we'll be stuck here all century."

Carter stuck out his tongue at him and ran off.

"Yeah, you two are hopeless if you fight together," Kanja said before going after Carter.

"I'm not sure if that's true," I said.

"What do you mean?" Lidia asked as we followed after Kanja and Carter.

Huo furrowed his brow, just as confused as her.

"You're both flame mages, right? Well, that allows you to do stuff like unity spells."

"Uh, I'm a beginner, remember? I don't know any. And I doubt that guy does. He is barely learning how to make something bigger than an ember."

He had a point there. But my gut still told me that they could work together if they tried.

"Jude!" Carter yelled as we neared one of the stadiums. The blond boy rode on his older brother's shoulders like a human koala.

"Mira told me about the match," Jude said, jumping off of his brother's back.

"Well, I told him what Mira told me," Hal said, laughing as he took out his phone from his backpack.

Jude frowned at it.

"Well, glad to have you on the team, little buddy!" Carter said, ruffling his head. He yelped as his hand became covered in ice. Jude gave him a cold stare.

Huo smiled. "Seems I'm not the only one who gets annoyed by how touchy-feely you are."

"Jude, are you sure you want to go through with this?" Hal asked, kneeling until he was the same height as his brother.  He looked back at us. "He's pretty exhausted."

"I can relate," Huo said.

"So that's why Jude looks grumpy," Carter said. He smiled and ran off. "I'm gonna go get him something!"

"That guy is both cute and annoying," Kanja said, taking a deep breath.

"More annoying than cute if you ask me," Huo mumbled.

The clanging of metal drew our attention toward the direction of the school.

"I finally made it! Seems only Ling is left," Mira said as she surveyed our group. She gasped. "Wait, Carter too? I thought he was with you! Or did he give you the slip?"

"He ran off to get something for Jude. Bro's feeling a bit out of it," Hal said.

"Reminds me of Enkai," Mira mumbled.

We gasped as a rush of wind came at us. We turned and saw Tammy standing in front of Jude with a bar in hand.

"Where did you come from?" Kanja exclaimed, backing away.

She pointed at a spot several feet away.

"Did you hear us just now?" I asked.

Tammy touched her ears and smiled.

"Shouldn't you wear earphones?" Huo asked, adjusting his.

She touched something in her ear.

"Woah. Are those earbuds?" Lidia asked.

Tammy puffed her chest out and nodded, making several signs.

"She's saying they're the latest tech," Hal said.

"You know sign language?" Kanja asked.

He scoffed. "Of course! I am a polyglot!"

"A poly-what now?" Carter asked as he returned with a pair of milk cartons.

Jude's eyes lit up as Cart offered him one. He lowered his head and mouthed, 'sorry.'

"It's no biggie! My hand is defrosted, see?!" Carter said, wiggling his right hand.

Jude smiled at his bar and drink. "T-thanks!"

Carter and Mira smiled at one another. It was as if their minds were in sync.

"Eat up. You'll need all of the energy you can get before facing my cousin," Ling said as she walked out of the stadium with Nat, Shuai, and Enkai.

Shuai smiled. "Yahoo! You made it!"

"Why is Nat here?" I asked.

"I wanted to see the match for myself. It might give Tammy and me an insight on how to defeat Shuai."

Shuai turned his back to us and chuckled. "Smart guy. Knowledge is power. The more of me you know, the better." He glanced behind his shoulder and smirked. "Although, I know plenty about you lot myself."

Ling narrowed her eyes at him.

He snickered. "Come on, Li. Don't give me that scary look."

"This is my normal face," she said, walking alongside him.

"Is it just me, or do those two not seem to get along?" Lidia asked.

"I don't think it's just you," I said.

"Me neither," Mira said, tilting her helmet.

"Come on, let's go!" Carter said, running on ahead.

"I have a bad feeling about this," Lidia mumbled.

Mira nodded. "I share your sentiments."

"Shuai just now was radiating a strong aura," Nat said, turning to look at us.

Tammy strode forward.

Nat chuckled. "Indeed. He's going to be a tough one to beat, even for us."

Kanja glared at him. "Are you two saying that you could beat the whole class?"

"Having fought Tamara, I honestly don't doubt it," Mira said.

"Both of them made easy work of their opponents. The only one who stood a chance was Aurelius," Huo said, glancing at me. "You and Ling have to be the third and fourth strongest in the class."

"My data confirms that," Hal said, smirking as he summoned several cards.

"An information broker, huh?" Kanja said, smiling. "What do you have on Shuai?"

Hal glanced at Jude who took out a card. He tapped on it several times, causing several words and picture of Shuai to emerge from it.

Huo and the girls gasped. 

"So, he has a lot of elements too," Nat said, chuckling as he approached us. "This gonna be fun!"

I laughed. "You got that right!"

Tammy nodded a lot.

"Fun? Maybe for you blood knights?! Are you sure we'll get be able to scratch this guy?" Huo said, gritting his teeth.

"I think so," Nat said, slipping his hands into the pockets of blazer. "Carter did manage to hurt me a little. And Au pushed Tammy to go all out!"

Huo looked down and curled his hands into fists. "But I don't want to depend on either Carter, Aurelius, or Ling."

Lidia patted him on the shoulder and winked. "I'll help ya give the guy a good whack!"

He blushed and turned away. "T-thanks." He grumbled. "But I wanted to do it myself."

"Being a lone wolf will cost you, and us," Kanja said as she took the card from Jude. Her eyes quickly scanned the data. "I think I have a plan." She returned the card to Hal. "Let's go back up Cart and Ling!"

"Yeah!" I said, rushing toward the stadium. While I couldn't understand most of the info, I did get a good idea of what that guy could do. We had to catch up to Cart and Li as soon as possible.

**Solar Note: Hope that you enjoyed the episode ^^. Thoughts? Ideas? Theories?**