Tetsuya and the others entered the same room where he and the other knights had had their small 'tournament'. In some of the front seats, Nori and Yuko were busy scribbling on paper.

"Hey!" Tetsuya called out as he jogged toward them. He looked up at them and smiled. "How are the lessons coming along?"

"Rather well," Anis said, grinning. "Yuko and Nori here are quick learners. It also helps that they're good listeners, unlike a certain kid who gave me a lot of trouble a few years ago."

Tetsu rubbed the back of his neck as he laughed nervously. "I'm so sorry, Ma."

Anis chuckled. "No matter, you became a great student later on, at least."

Tetsuya grinned. "Yeah!"

His mother turned to the two kids. "Hey, Nori, Yuko, how about you show my son what you've written?"

Nori looked down at his paper shyly before handing it over to his commander.

Tetsuya glanced down. 'Nori wants to see Ximena again. She was so nice to Nori. Nori misses her. Nori wonders when he'll be able to see her again.'

Had no idea he became so close to Ximena. Then again, I did become distracted by my training to pay much attention to anything else at the time.

"And now your turn, Yuko," Anis said, nudging the little girl.

Yuko held the paper to her chest and looked away.

"Must Yuko?" she asked with a blushing face.

"What do you mean by that?" Tetsu asked, trying not to laugh.

"Y-yuko doesn't want to share," she said, pouting. "Yuko's handwriting isn't as good as Nori's."

"Ehh?" Nori said, jumping out of his seat. "What is Yuko talking about? Yuko's writing is better than Nori's!"

Yuko pouted.

"Is Yuko hiding something?" Nori said, tilting his head at her. He leaned in curiously, causing Yuko to turn away from him.

"Wah?" she said, hugging the paper tighter.

Nori's head slumped. "Nori didn't think Yuko would hide something from him."

"Nori," she said, looking back at him. She took a deep breath before turning to look at Tetsu. She held out her paper toward the brunette knight while holding her eyes shut tight.

"Okay," Tetsuya said, blinking. He took the paper and saw some words scribbled across it. It was still sloppy writing, but surprisingly good for a kid who until now hadn't written. And it was better than Nori's barely legible chicken scratch.

'Yuko wonders why Master spends so much time with the princess. Yuko wishes Master would spend as much time playing with Yuko...'

Tetsu glanced up at the little girl who was hiding her face behind her tiny hands. Yuko turned away as soon as she noticed he was staring. He could see traces of luminescent blush on her face.

"Let me see?" Teresa said, snatching the two papers. "Hmm..."

"What? Is something wrong?" he asked, glancing over his sister's shoulder.

Teresa giggled and handed the papers back to the kids. "Nothing more than a silly thought, ignore it."

The knight narrowed his eyes at his sister and sighed. He didn't like it when she was like that. He definitely knew something was on her mind, but what could it be?

He glanced up at Yuko and smiled. "Hey, kiddo. Wanna help me make some cookies after this?"

Yuko's face brightened. "Yeah!" she said, perhaps a little too loudly for her own liking as she quickly slumped in her chair and hid her face.

Anis stood up from her seat. "Anyway, how about we take a break from our lessons, kiddos?" she asked with a kind smile.

"Okay," the two kids said, hiding their pieces of paper behind them.

The dark-haired woman jumped over the rail, landing beside her children. "Where's your brother? Is he not awake yet?"

"I'm here!" a voice boomed. Takuya waved at them as he ran toward them. Along with him were Eita and several others. "Sorry, we're late!"

"So, why are we meeting up here?" asked a brown-haired girl who resembled Hideo and Dan. She was leading six others, three boys and three girls.

"There you are!" Hideo said, turning his head away slightly. "About time you made it, sleepyhead."

"You're one to talk," the girl said, pouting. "I'm surprised that you woke up so early. You and Dan are usually the last ones to wake up."

Hideo chuckled. "Uh, I'm pretty sure you are tied with us."

The girl's face reddened. "Whatever!"

"Your sister is here?" Tetsuya said, in awe. He had met Hideo's sister, Kiara, during his short stay at the Makkuroyama's mansion. She had reminded him somewhat of Teresa when she was younger.

"Yup! I'm one of his seven soldiers," the girl said, showing off her pearly whites. Her smile faded gradually. "I felt like I needed to do something, considering I did nothing to help rescue Dan. I'm seventeen now too, so there was no issue with me joining."

"I see," Tetsuya said, trying to smile. He didn't blame Hideo nor her for feeling the way they did about how things went down with the rebels. If he had been in that position, he would be filled with resentment and self-loathing too.

"Now that everyone is here, we should begin with the games!" a voice rang throughout the room. Appearing beside Anis was Kuroshi.

"Can you cut your habit of appearing out of nowhere?" Tetsuya mumbled under his breath.

Kuroshi chuckled as he put a finger in front of his mask. "Maybe... but it's so much fun to scare people! You should also try it out one day, kiddo."

"No, thanks. Also, stop calling me 'kiddo', I'm not your kid," the knight said, crossing his arms over his chest. "So, why did you call everyone else here?"

"Didn't King Osamu tell you? Your two teams are to train. He left your mom and I the job of training you," he responded with a grin. "Now, this is what we're going to do; We are going to divide the twenty-one of you into groups of four with one person being solo. That one person will be Kohri, seeing how he is the strongest here. At least he should be."

"The captains of the other groups are Eita, Rosalba, Hideo, Borasco, and you," Anis said as she looked down at a yellow notepad. "In the meantime, everyone else will draw lots. Kuroshi, if you would please."

"Sure, my Lady, " Kuroshi said as he produced a black box in his hands. He left Anis and went to where the others were.

Borasco? Tetsuya thought. Walking toward Tetsuya's mother was a tanned blond man around his age. He turned over to look at Tetsuya and the other leaders. A smug smile covered his lips.

"Hey, cuz!" Eita said, running over to him. He tapped the young man's shoulder lightly.

"You two are cousins too?" Kohri asked, taken aback.

"Seems we all have a cousin here," Rosalba said, chuckling.

Borasco tilted his head at the two of them. "Right, I forget that you two are cousins yourselves. Your lineage is truly blessed with powerhouses. Having two Seven-Hills as well as two of the Five Knights. Not to mention that you two inherited those weapons from your mother and father." His grin grew wider. "I wish to see how strong you two are." His eyes focused on Kohri. "Especially you. I hear that you're on par with your brother. Is that true?"

Kohri smiled. "So I'm told."

The dark-skinned blond snickered. "How modest."

"If that's true, then you got a hard time ahead of you," Eita said, chuckling. He puts his hands behind his head. "My brother couldn't defeat his brother, so what makes you think that you'll win against him? After all, you've never managed to defeat my bro."

The dark-skinned blond waved his index finger at him. "Ohh, but I am considered a prime candidate to inherit uncle Eiji's Seven-Hill spot. Plus, it's been years since I've gone up against Eiichi. Though I'll admit, the guy is stronger than back then."

Eita pouted. "I don't like talking about my parents' potential death. I hope that they'll live for a thousand years or more. Though, I will have you know that I, too, am a top candidate to replace my father should the worst happen."

Tetsuya lowered his head. Pa... Was I at least on your prime candidates' list?

"Why are you looking so glum?" Kuroshi asked, causing the knight to jump.

"What did I tell you?"" he snapped.

Kuroshi giggled. "Sorry, but you're just too fun to scare. Try to make less funny looking faces and perhaps I'll get bored and stop."

Tetsuya grumbled as he continued to glare at the masked man.

"Stop looking at me like that, or your face will become stuck that way."

"How do you know?" Tetsu said as his scowl was replaced by a smug grin. "Is that what happened to your face? Is that why you wear that mask?"

"Cheeky," Kuroshi said, grabbing him by the cheeks.

"Let go of ma face," Tetsuya grumbled.

"Kuroshi, let go of Tetsu," Anis said, pointing her pen at him.

Kuroshi quickly let go of her son and backed away. "Alright, just put down the pen."

Anis grinned. "Much better."

"Seems someone needs his mommy to protect him," Borasco said in a fake whispering voice.

Tetsuya felt like telling him off, but he would be wasting even more time. Besides, he always could show him up in battle later, though he doubted he could defeat someone close to Eiichi's level after only a few hours of training.

"Anyway, everyone, gather with your captain," Anis said, clapping her hands.

Tetsuya turned as he saw a hand touch his. Looking up at him with joyful eyes was Yuko. "M- Mister," she said, looking away. "S-seems, we're paired together."

"Yeah, sure does!"

"Yuko!" Nori said, running over to them. "Nori got Sir Tetsu too!"

"That's great!" Yuko said, letting go of Tetsuya's hand.

"I know, right?"

This girl, she's a lot more joyful now than she was when we first met. These past few days must've changed her somehow. Nori himself is also a bit more talkative.

"Hmm, Nori wonders who the last member will be," Nori said, turning around.

"That would be me!" Teresa said, grinning as she held a piece of red paper between her index and middle fingers.

Teresa and the kids... Considering we're doing this for training, I am assuming this will be some kind of game. These aren't the best players to have drawn.

"I don't want you on my team!" Hideo said, drawing Tetsuya and the others' attention. His hands clenched the collar of Reno's black shirt.

"Oh, you think that we want to be paired up with an obnoxious elitist like you?" Reno yelled right back at him.

"You two dolts, knock it off!" Hideo's sister said, stomping her foot against the feet of the two boys.

"Why did you do that?" the two boys yelled at her. They still held each other's shirt collar in their hands.

"She has a point," Suzuki said, crossing her arms. "It is stupid to fight, especially when we are supposed to work as a group. Or do you two wish to embarrass us?"

"Yeah," Kiara said, glaring at her brother and cousin.

Hideo and Reno let go of each other at the same time and slowly stepped away from one another. Each one kept their gaze on the other as if anticipating the other to attack as soon as he has looked away.

Tetsuya glanced over at Rosalba. In her team were Etsuo, Roa, and Takuya. Not a bad hand at all. Etsuo's pretty strong, as is Taku. Though, I wonder how powerful that Roa is. I haven't gotten the chance to see him in battle.

He did get the impression that Roa was stronger than Etsuo.

The shield-knight turned toward his own group. Rubbing his chin, he said, "Let's see, all of us specialize in speed to some extent. Yuko, you strike fast but are weak defensively, so I suggest you stick by me. Nori, you'll be our healer."

"Got it!" Nori said, smiling. "Nori likes healing better than combat anyway."

Tetsuya smiled. "Then, I made a great choice." He glanced at his sister. "As for you, Tere, you will be with me on the front lines."

"Wait, we're facing off against the other groups?" Teresa asked, glancing over at their older brother.

"Yeah," Tetsuya said, sighing as he rubbed the back of his neck.

Teresa gulped. "How strong do you think Taku has gotten since we last saw him fight?"

"I'm not sure, but we might soon find out."

"Alright, let's begin!" Kuroshi said as the air around them started to vibrate rapidly. Tetsu and his teammates as they realized the space around them was being distorted. Where they stood became a grassy plain.

"What's going on?" Teresa asked, almost tripping over from shock. She glanced around and saw that the others weren't anywhere to be seen. "Where did everyone go?"

"Don't be alarmed," her mother's voice boomed. "We used the spatial distortion device of the angelic dome to warp you all to a location fitting for this exercise. This setting is perfect for people who will soon be going into actual combat. You are to track down the other teams and take down their leader who will hold the title of 'King' or 'Queen' in Rosalba's case."

"Spatial distortion device?" Tetsuya asked.

"I heard about it before," Teresa said, pushing herself up. "It's said that they contain great quantities of mana. In the hands of a talented person, they can create a small pocket dimension or change a limited existing space. They also allow for one to be able to access a place from multiple locations. I think that it's the latter in this case as this place still feels like Zionia."

"Wow, now I'm actually glad that you're on my group," Tetsuya said, grinning.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Teresa asked, playfully hitting him on the side.

"Where does Mister wish to go?" Yuko asked, tilting her head at him. "Stay here and wait for the opponent?"

Tetsuya sat down on a flat rock and stared at the grassy plain they now found themselves in. "This place, it resembles the Eastern Province." He raised his head and caught a glimpse of ripples. There was a barrier surrounding the area.

"Eastern Province? Then Sir Hideo's group will have the advantage as they are all from here," Yuko said, copying Tetsuya.

"Yeah, we should be thankful that they're a screwed up group, or else they'll be very dangerous here," Teresa said, grinning.

"What's the point of defeating a group in that state? It won't make us stronger, though, in a real conflict, an enemy like them would be great to run into."

"But Suzuki is strong," Nori said.

Tetsuya lowered his head. "True. But I got the three of you to help me out from the start. As long as Reno and Hideo don't get their act together, they should be easy to take down should we run into them."

Teresa looked around. "I sense enemies approaching. They are all coming from different distances."

"Tsk. Figures, they see me as the weakest link," Tetsuya said, standing up. His bracelet transformed into a shield. He chuckled. "No matter. We'll show them what we can do. Right, Agnes?"

The green orb of the shield glowed as if in response.

"Woah, did ya get in contact with ya angel already?" Teresa asked, mouth agape.

"Huh?" Tetsuya said, giving her a confused look. "What do you mean?"

"Ya didn't notice? Ya shield glowed for a bit after ya called its name."

Tetsuya glanced down at his shield and smiled. "Not really, but I did feel something just now." As if a part of me were waking up. "Anyway, let's get going. It's best to head toward one of our opponents rather than wait for all of them to surround us."

"Alright! If we're lucky, maybe the others after us will fight each other, saving us the effort of taking them all down!" Teresa said, punching the air. "Let's go show them what we got!"

"Yeah!" Nori said, copying Teresa's gesture.

Yuko smiled and punched the air too, causing all four to chuckle.

Tetsuya punched the air in front of them. "Well, let's not keep our 'friends' waiting."

*Character Section*

Eita Kuroichi Raiyama- Sex: Male Age: 19 Likes: Older Women, Music Dislikes: Being looked down on

Borasco Raiyama- Sex: Male Age: 22 Likes: Being looked up to, winning, shooting games Dislikes: Being looked down upon (especially by his cousins), losing

**Solar Question: How do you think Tetsuya's group will do in this training game? Will they rise to the top or will they be routed early on? Also, anyone surprised to see Kiara again? Bet you expected (if at all) to see Hideaki and/or Dan again before her xD.**