The Sun was just barely cresting the tiled roof of the Monastery. All around me, my new "teammates" are yawning, whining about the "ungodly" hour. Two boys that I guessed were the youngest out of all of us were swaying on their feet and in imminent danger of toppling over. A couple of the older boys were even asleep against the back wall.

Me? I was bright eyed and bushy tailed. It was only 5 in the morning, after all. I'd gotten up to train at earlier times than this - sometimes in much more hellish weather. As a result, while the others were wishing for their beds, I was standing upright with my feet spread and my hands behind my back in the customary stance of respect. My eyes were open and focused on the sliding doors at the front of the courtyard. The others might not have been ready for the day ahead, but I was.

"Good work, Yugo," Came a voice to my right. "The harder you stare, the sooner the door will open."

I suppressed a groan. I didn't even have to look to know it's Ukyo. "Mock me if you want. I'm simply showing that I'm ready." I kept my gaze pointedly ahead of me as I said it; no way was I giving him the benefit of addressing him.

"Well, isn't someone being the teacher's pet?" He decided to go on; I could hear the smirk in his voice. "And on the very first day, too! Are you that desperate to make a good first impression?"

"Teacher's pet, good first impression," I replied curtly, not once looking at him. "I call it just being a respectful student. You have a problem with that?"

"None at all," The annoying ninja assured me, though his mocking tone never changed. "I'm simply enjoying the sight of the 'respectful samurai'." His voice was now coming from my left side. I still didn't glance in his direction.

"Get a good look, then," I told him. "Because as soon as that door opens, you better start looking exactly like me or the teacher might get mad."

A bare elbow rested on my shoulder; I gritted my teeth but didn't give him the satisfaction of me swatting it away. "You mean PIXAL?" He asked. "Yeah, I don't think she'd mind if I'm out of place. She and I have a... special arrangement."

My shock caused me to finally look fully at him. My mouth may have been slightly open, but I didn't really care. "Wha-? It's only the first day - how could you possibly already be on special terms with the teacher?"

Ukyo took his elbow off my shoulder and stretched his arms languidly behind his head, letting out a small sigh. "Let's just say the two of us have an understanding," He informed me briskly, smiling and opened one of his eyes teasingly.

I clicked my tongue and resumed my stance. "Yeah, whatever," I growled. "So what if you and the teacher are on so-called 'special terms'? It won't help you in the long run, if at all."

For the first time since we'd started talking, Ukyo paused. I was starting to think I'd won before he spoke again, quieter yet nonetheless nagging, "You're taking this way too seriously, Yugo. It's honestly adorable."

Well, the silence was nice while it lasted.

Then the doors finally slid open, and our teacher strode gracefully into the courtyard. Everyone around me shook off the last of their sleepiness and scrambled to take their positions on the cobblestones. Ukyo didn't make a final snide comment, so I glanced over and found him copying my stance: feet spread, hands behind back, eyes faced fully towards the instructor. I couldn't help smirking at the irony and whispered under my breath, "Special arrangement, huh?"

"Shush!" Ukyo hissed, just as Valt Aoi asked our teacher, "No armor today, Pix?"

PIXAL, our Nindroid teacher (still don't know how I feel about that) smirked and glanced down at her outfit. We'd seen her in an intricate purple kimono at the Orientation, but today she was wearing a simple white tank top and black sweat pants. Her shiny white feet bore black tabi shoes. "I thought we would...ease the group into their training," She explained, smiling wide enough for her metallic face to allow.

"So you don't think they can handle it?" Valt asked teasingly; I couldn't see his face from where I was standing, but he sounded like he was grinning. The others looked confused and even worried, but the implication of a difficult training regime intrigued me. I could use a challenge...

"In time, they might," PIXAL told Valt. "But when you try new things, it's important to take baby steps. I seem to remember you weren't exactly a natural when you started out, either." She glanced up and told us with a giggle, "He couldn't get past the first set of warmups before he passed out."

I was among those that laughed. Passing out during warmups? Talk about amateur!

Valt flinched and tried in vain to protect his pride: "I was recovering from being banged in the head with the Earth! What did you expect - Lloyd Garmadon, reincarnated?"

PIXAL laughed loudly, but the rest of us, including me, were curious. Lloyd Garmadon? The name is familiar, but I'm sure I don't know anyone with that name. Who is he?

" 'Being banged in the head with the Earth'?" Shu Kurenai spoke up. He stood the closest to Valt and swiveled his head to stare at him. "Valt, what does that mean?"

As the so-called Wonder Boy continued to flounder under the pressure, I couldn't help being intrigued by him and Shu. Last time I saw both of them together, they seemed to be pretty good friends, but something was different. The way they stood so close together, the way Shu kept looking at him like he was afraid he would break any minute... something definitely changed between them.

Did they somehow become... closer?

I was so zoned out puzzling over the change, I didn't snap out of it until I heard someone yell, "Give me a break - this is a load of crap!"

I startled and whipped around, trying to find who had spoken out of place. To my surprise, the culprit was Ren Wu Sun, Xander's teammate from SB Rios. From what I'd heard, he was normally a level headed martial artist, but right now there was no sign of that guy. His fists were clenched in front of him, his teeth were bared, and his navy blue eyes were slitted. The picture of rage.

I didn't know the whole story, but I'd heard from Xander that he and Ren Wu had had an inadvertent run in with PIXAL's teachings before, and had gotten quite beat up as a result. Now that he was suddenly expected to participate in such teachings, I guess he couldn't take it. The final straw that broke the camel's back, I suppose, I thought as I started to sweat. But did it have to be here... NOW, of all places?

For her part, PIXAL was doing a stellar job at remaining calm despite having just been disrespected. "Do you question my teachings, Ren Wu Sun?"

"I have a LOT of questions," Ren Wu stated. He started to slowly make his way towards her. Several of the others tried to grab onto him, tried to hold him back, but shied away when they were just short of his arm. I attempted to do the same, because you don't talk back to the teacher on the first dad. But when I reached for his arm, I could practically feel the annoyance rolling off of him. He was angry and he was going to let it show, whether we tried to stop him or not.

The closer Ren Wu got to PIXAL, the longer he went on his tirade. "First off, if we're all members of this mystical group of yours, how come only Valt has displayed such powers? Secondly, why do we all have to dress like we're different versions of the same candy?"

He wasn't wrong about that. During Orientation, Valt Aoi was wearing a training gi, and we were also given different colors of the same gi. Short, tall, big, little - different versions of the same candy, indeed.

"Thirdly, I've seen the effects of an Element, so I'm not sure I want to be in this group of people who supposedly have abilities just like it." He was close to Valt Aoi now, who noticeably flinched away from him. Seriously - I know about the freak storm a few months ago, and that Valt was somehow connected, but what exactly happened between these two?

"Lastly, this whole concept of an art unlike any other art is just a load of horseshit!" He was now standing directly in front of PIXAL. "I am trained in all major disciplines, and a good chunk of them teach inward balance. You may say you're here to teach us about our ancestors, but how can we be sure that this all isn't a big fat hoax?" I couldn't see him from my angle, but I could see the waves rolling off of him as he seethed.

PIXAL raised an eyebrow, but that was it. No threatening frown, no scathing glare, no HOW DARE YOU DISRESPECT ME bellows. The calming aura she radiated as she gazed down a furious Ren Wu was honestly impressive.

"How is she not furious after all that?" Quon asked on my right.

"I know, right?" I asked out of the side of my mouth; I wasn't willing to take even one of my eyes off of the bizarre stare-down in front of us. "I've received beatings just for not eating my vegetables." The memories of such beatings made themselves known in the sudden aching of my limbs, and I failed to suppress a wince. "Still stings."

"Wait, the samurai had trouble eating his veggies?" Came a voice from my other side. I made the mistake of checking to see who it was and found Ukyo looking at me with a smile that would make the Cheshire Cat jealous. "Isn't that kind of... counter productive, in your field?"

"Oh, shut up," I grumbled, rolling my eyes. "I was six - isn't everyone a little rebellious at that age?"

Ukyo snickered - even his laugh was annoying. "Mommy and Daddy Samurai must have been very proud of you."

Okay, that was it. He had officially gotten on my last nerve. "Mommy and Daddy were actually very proud of me, thank you!" I growled at him, leaning towards him and baring my teeth. "Anyway, I don't see how my childhood is any of your concern!"

"Will you two shut up?" Quon suddenly hissed. I involuntarily jumped and looked over my shoulder at him. On his face was a look of irritation that I had only ever seen come out in the tensest moments of his battles. "You guys are starting to get on my nerves - and that's coming from me!"

I gaped at him. "Me?" I asked, offended that I was also receiving his heat. "But... Ukyo... he was-" I sputtered, flailing my hands in the direction of the actual guilty party.

"Shut. Up," Quon ordered. The look in his eyes made me want to comply, so I decided to just shut my mouth. I swallowed my pride and tuned back in to the present just in time to hear PIXAL say, "All I can ask is for you to trust me with teaching you."

"Then make me," Ren Wu said challengingly. "Spar with me; I'll use my teachings, and you can use this so called Art of the Dragon. If you can best me, maybe I'll believe this whole thing."

We all gasped. It was only the first day and Ren Wu was already picking fights - both verbal and physical - with our teacher. Our teacher, who was a literal hard metal machine. You had to admire his guts.

"What the hell?" Quon whispered to me. "Is he trying to get himself killed?"

"He definitely has some kind of death wish," I replied just as softly. "I'm equal parts concerned and intrigued."

Both Valt and Xander tried their hands at talking Ren Wu down from what was sure to be a literal death match, but he was as stubborn as they come. "I am thinking this through. You're the one who's not thinking it through! None of you are thinking this whole goddamn situation through!" He declared, facing all of us as if we were the crazy ones. "You know nothing about her, yet you're choosing to blindly follow her and this ridiculous art!"

"He said after he put on the gi," Ukyo commented.

Despite our earlier bickering, I laughed. When both his and Quon's heads turned to stare at me, surprised, I only shrugged. "What? That was funny."

The entire time, PIXAL watched us without saying a word. When Ren Wu's ranting stopped, she finally spoke, "If sparring with you will make you believe in my teachings... I will gladly fight you."

We all gasped for a second time. "She said yes?" I breathed in surprise. "Oh, Ren Wu's gonna die."

"Come now - ever heard of being optimistic?" Ukyo asked me as PIXAL instructed us to form a circle in the courtyard. It seemed like the shock of me laughing at his joke wore off, and he was back to his annoying self.

"Ever heard of being realistic?" I fired back. There was no use denying the inevitable.

"Shut. It," Quon grumbled. "Let's just get this over with - you two can kill each other later."

We helped direct the others into the circle size PIXAL requested, then awaited further instructions. Ren Wu stood one side of the circle, his posture rigid even as he stretched. PIXAL stood on the other side, having a quiet conversation with Valt. Based on his worried expression and stressed hand gestures, I guessed he was trying to convince PIXAL to take it easy on Ren Wu. The opponent in question saw this and scowled, calling out, "If you two are done confessing your secrets to one another, let's do this."

PIXAL and Valt looked at each other, shared a nod, then broke apart. Valt moved to join the group around the circle while PIXAL remained on her side.

I guess we would see for ourselves if his convincing worked.

"This is gonna be bad," A turquoise head on my left said. A guy from the National Tournament - Naoki Minamo, I think.

"Yes," An olive head to my right added. The guy from Mexico - Boa Alcazaba? "PIXAL has hundreds of years of experience. Compared with Ren Wu's one digit years of experience, it's not a good matchup."

I pondered that. It had already been established - obvious, even - that PIXAL was older than all of us combined. Older than that, even. She had seen countless sparring sessions, skirmishes, riots, battles, all out wars - you name it, she probably witnessed it more than once.

Not to mention, she was made out of literal metal.

That being said, ever since Xander had transferred to SB Rios, he would send us countless letters about Ren Wu's successes on both the kung fu stage and the Beyblade stage. How he became part of the Big 5 so soon after participating in the International Tournament. How he could predict the movement of his opponent's bey just by reading their body language.

I honestly couldn't tell if he was overly gloating, or legitimately worshiping his new teammate.

New teammate. That doesn't sting. No. It doesn't.

Shaking myself slightly, I decided that it wouldn't hurt if I added my two cents. "I don't know... Xander said that Ren Wu is the strongest and most experienced martial artist in SB Rios; he rivals even Banner Clay. Even Xander has a difficult time taking him down. It's a total toss up, if you ask me."

"You don't know PIXAL like I do. Trust me, Ren Wu is going down hard."

That surprisingly low voice came from none other than Valt Aoi himself. He was staring at the center of the circle with an intensity that I had only ever seen in kung fu teachers as they observe their students in their matches. Only this time, it was the other way around.

Is this still the blader I faced off with last year?

Xander himself took the role of referee and took the desired position off the center of the sparring circle. He stuck his hand out flat, either side facing the two opponents. When he deemed them ready, he threw up his hand and yelled, "And GO!"

I blinked.

And it was over.

One moment, PIXAL and Ren Wu were sizing each other up on opposite sides of the circle. The next, Ren Wu was lying on stomach, moaning in pain while PIXAL was ripping open his gi and rubbing antiseptics into his injuries.

The entire "spar" was a blur. I barely even saw her hit him.

Then I realized... she barely did.

She hadn't needed to. It was as if she knew exactly what he planned to do, and had adjusted herself accordingly, only striking when she felt it necessary. Xander had said Ren Wu knew how to read an opponent's body language in order to know how to strike. PIXAL was different. She moved as if she didn't need to read his body language - she could read his mind just as easily.

For a while, none of us spoke. Even Ukyo was quiet as PIXAL cleaned up Ren Wu - not a quip to be heard. PIXAL took her time with it, making sure all of Ren Wu's injuries were properly cleaned before saying, "Alright, out with it."

Ren Wu looked confused as he asked, "Why? You have more experience in warfare than the rest of us combined. You could have easily beaten me near to death for questioning your teachings - why do this?"

All good questions, all good questions.

PIXAL only smiled. "That's the Art of the Dragon. Only attack when necessary, and use your opponent's strength and stamina against them," She explained.

Not as good of an answer.

"Still," Ren Wu pressed.

"For one, beating up a student before other students is bad for morale." She looked up at Valt at that, who rolled his eyes. "Another thing is, the relationship between a teacher and a student is all about trust. Right now, I need to gain yours if I am to teach you. So take to heart this statement." Her voice reverberated throughout the quiet courtyard. "Whenever I may beat you down, it's because I care for you and for your future. And no matter how much I or my teachings may beat you down, know that I will always be there to boost you back up." She lifted her head and surveyed the rest of us. "And when I can't be there, I want the rest of you to be there for each other," She told us all firmly.

We all nodded our compliance. After that display of strength, no way any of us were disagreeing with her.

The others may have been nodding out of fear, but I was nodding mostly out of awe. From the blurred instances I'd seen, the Art of the Dragon was like no other martial art style I'd ever seen before. Strong, yet relenting. Quick, yet calculating. Cold, yet gentle.

I sensed a new challenge.

And I couldn't wait to get started.

—————

3271 words.

Ukyo always knows exactly what to say to push Yugo's buttons.

I wonder how that will work out for the two of them.