I smiled as I finished my sushi rolls.

"You should really think of being a chef one day, Hika," Kun said, patting his stomach.

I laughed. "I was thinking the same thing."

"I agree," Yen said.

"It's good, but still not at the level of Sir Zhuang," Ling said, putting her napkin down.

Adela sighed.

Elliot grinned. "It's nice to hear you think so highly of my food, Ling. But, I must admit, I probably would be hard press to make something like this."

Ling shrugged. "Well, everyone does have their strengths and weaknesses."

Yen smirked. "Is that your way of protecting your liege's honor?"

Ling turned away and scoffed. "Sir Zhuang might be a boy but he is capable of defending his honor himself."

"Thanks! Uh, I think," Elliot said, scratching his head before chuckling softly.

How was it that somebody so direct could be hard to read the intentions of?

Hikaru lowered his head. "It's okay. I know that my cooking is good, but it's nothing special."

Wani patted him on the back. "It might not be for Ling, but it is for us. It's a nice 'pick me up' food."

I grinned. "Wani's right. Especially for Yen."

Yen blushed as she bit into her last sushi piece. She had been savoring her food longer than she usually did.

Hika blushed as well. "At least it worked."

Kun laughed. "You really are like a mom."

Hikaru grumbled.

I smiled. Kun was right. Hika was always looking out for us like how Mom did.

I jumped out of my seat. "Well, I'm off to train!"

"Eh? Already? You should rest some more," Yen said, frowning.

"I agree," Yuzuki said, shaking her head.

Nyima crossed her arms. "The idiot might as well quit now. Our match will be an easy win for me if he keeps this up."

I scratched my head. Maybe she had a point there. Plus, Mr. Cat could act up and mess up with my prana flow again if I am not careful.

"I wanna train too!" Cart said, grinning as he jumped to his feet. "Let's go, Nat, Huo!"

Huoyin rubbed his ears and grumbled. "I knew it was a mistake to have tried eating with everyone."

Lydia frowned. "Carter, can you use your inside voice?"

He blinked. "But this is how I usually talk indoors."

Huo laughed dryly. "I'm not surprised."

Carter frowned. "Sorry. I keep messing up..."

"Hmph. You got that right."

Lydia narrowed her eyes at him. "Huo, I know that Carter is loud, but try being nice to him. We're all classmates here. It's best we learn to get along now or it's going to be a long three years."

Huo stood up. "Maybe coming here was a mistake."

He threw his napkin on the table and walked away.

Ling scoffed. "And I thought Kanja was a diva."

Kanja glared at her. "Your comments don't help the situation at all." She got up and followed Lydia who had gone running after Huo.

"For once, I agree with Kanja," Nat said as walked over to Carter. He patted the blondie on back and smiled. "Let's go train, Cart."

Cart smiled slightly.

"Right behind you," Renshu said. He smiled as he stood up but then gave his sister a scowl.

Ling closed her eyes and sighed.

Yikes. Our class had its tense moments in the first year between Sarah disliking An at first, Aya and me hating each other's guts, and Nahimana and Zelde being at each other's throats most of the time, but even that seemed to pale in comparison to their class. Hopefully, their relationships improved how Sarah grew to accept An, and Aya and I were slowly putting aside our past. Although, they could easily remain like Nahimana and Zelde's multi-year catfight.

"Think we should intervene?" I asked.

Yen sighed. "It'll be best to let them figure out their issues. You can't help everyone, Lei. Plus, I think that Nat might have it handled."

I smiled slightly. "I hope so." Our task as their seniors was to help give them an environment where they could thrive. But knowing what would create that wasn't as clear as one might think. We couldn't coddle them. But ignoring their arguments wasn't good either. Maybe the best thing to do was to nudge them to fix their problems on their own. Like a parent nudging their kid on a tricycle before finally letting go.

Ling stood up. "I'm going to go do my homework."

"Eh? Homework on the first day? That sucks!" Hal exclaimed.

Kun nodded.

She smiled slightly. "It's nothing too hard. Just a bit of nature stuff." She took a deep breath and continued on her way.

"Think some time outside will help her with what's bothering her," Adela whispered.

I nodded. Whenever something bothered me, I would either go on a walk, train, or read some manga.

"Think I'll go help her," Mira said, standing up.

"M-me too!" Jude said.

Hal smiled. "Think I'll do some foraging of my own too. I still want to find out what's so special about the western beach."

"Isn't that the restricted area? We could only go there because Ms. Key gave us permission to find clues about the Masked Nine," Vermeil said.

Hal shrugged. "I'll be fine."

"We narrowly escaped trouble today. Don't give Mr. Obi any excuses to expel you," Yen said.

Hal shrugged. "Fine. I'll stick to the forest. Plus, not like that beach has anything but birds and crabs." He laughed. "Although, maybe I could try making a potion out of crab shell one day! I heard it's great for defense pills."

"Think Hika could use one of those," Yen said, grinning.

Hikaru sighed. "My defenses aren't as bad as they used to be."

Kun laughed. "Yeah. You fended my attacks off pretty well."

Yen smiled. "Yeah, he sure has grown stronger."

I grinned. "Maybe one day we can spar again, Hika."

"When you feel better," Hikaru said, giving me a mother's look.

I sighed. "Okay. Think I'll go for a little jog!"

Nyima smiled. "Think that's fine." Her smiled faded. "But be sure to take your inhaler and slow down if you feel bad."

I sighed. Hika wasn't the only 'mom' here...

"Will do, Ny."

"We better get going too, Hika. We need to get more of the berries," Yen said.

"I'll take you to town," Kun said.

"I'll join you too. But first, let me text Ms. Key to let her know."

In order to leave the island, we needed to let the adults know. They were usually pretty lenient. The only one who wasn't was Mr. Obi.

I waved. "Well, I'm off!"

I rushed out of the dorm. The air was increasingly crisp, but the day was still young.

Renshu was showing Carter and Nat how to make a thin ring of fire in the plaza between the two dorms.

I blinked as I saw Huoyin crouched, staring at them from behind the stairs of the girls.

Lydia smiled and waved as she noticed me staring. She raised her index finger to her mouth.

I smiled. So, he wanted to grow stronger too.

Whistling, I ran past them. Huo though didn't seem to notice. His attention was completely on Renshu.

I ran down the stairs. My aim was to get to the bottom and get back up. They took a long time to climb, so they made the perfect training. Either because of the abysmal, or my improved physique, climbing them no longer gave me an asthma attack. Although, my breathing would sometimes turn into wheezing. When I couldn't do it, I would use my wind magic to get where I was going.

"So, you're the one Burai and his crew have their eyes on," a voice called out as soon as I reached the base of Ryuu no Yama. A boy with weasel-like eyes strode toward me, flanked by several boys and a few girls. His golden eyes gave off an intense aura.

"I take it you're another of the honor students?" I asked, smiling slightly.

"Wow. Nice guess!" He smirked. "Surprised you're not paralyzed. Guess that kid was right about you to some extent. You are indeed worthy of being one of us." He held his hand out. "So, how about joining my faction?"

"Your faction?" I asked, tilting my head.

"Yes. The Dahlia Imperialis. We're one of the three 'noble' dorms in this academy. In spite of their name, not all come from the nobility. Among those, we Dahlia have the lowest snob count."

I smiled. "Seems nice. Although, I'm not looking to join any of you. I'm fine where I am right now."

He crossed his arms. "That so? You might find yourself the target of those wishing to make it to the top via unsavory means."

"Unsavory means?"

"Yes. There's a rule that says that whoever beats an honor student can take their spot. That's why houses were formed. To provide protection to our members. We don't want just anybody getting called 'honors'."

"Indeed. What purpose does a dumb brute have in our numbers?" a voice called out. It was a gray-haired boy with sleepy eyes. He accompanied Koichi.

"Oh. Look what the cat dragged out!" the Dahlia dorm boy said, laughing.

"Want to pick a fight, eh? Dahlia prince?" Koichi said, staring him down.

He grinned. "I wouldn't mind, but we have some important matters to attend to. Maybe next time." He stopped beside Koichi. "Tell the Dandelion Prince that his time at the top of the academy's coming to an end soon."

Koichi scoffed. "Tell him yourself, I'm not a messenger boy."

He chuckled. "True, but you are his closest confidant. Well, see ya later, right-hand Dandelion Sir!"

The snake boy glared at the Dahlia crew as they walked away. "That guy..."

So, even the honor students had their beef with one another. This school was filled with more cliques than I imagined.

The gray-haired boy sighed. "Do not let him provoke you, Koichi. it's clear he wishes to lure you into a fight you can't win."

"Hmph. Whose side are you on, Shiromaru?"

He shook his head. "On no one's side, really. I rather spend my time making stuff for the crew than fighting."

"So, your name is Shiromaru." I held out my hand. "Nice to meet you. I'm Lei!"

He smiled back and shook my hand. "Likewise. I heard you held out well against Koichi over here."

Koichi smirked. "Yeah. A lot better than I expected."

I pouted. Just how weak did he think I was?

Shiromaru patted my shoulder. "Don't feel bad. Koichi is among the current top ten strongest students."

I smiled. "Top ten, huh? Who are the others?"

"Well, this might be wrong as I don't know much about the first years. But based on what I know about the third years and our class, they're Burai, Koharu, Tomoe, that's the Dahlia prince you just met. Dahlia also has Ranma and Abenanka."

Koichi sighed.

Hmm, what was up with that reaction? Did the Dahlia dorm bother him that much?

"Who else is there?" I asked.

"There's Delphinium's leader, Himiko. Having only one, hers is generally regarded as the weakest. Ours has the most with five."

"Besides Burai, Koichi, and Koharu, who else do you have?"

"We have Kisana and yours truly."

"Ehh? You're one of the top ten?"

He put a hand on his hips and nodded. "Yes, but you can consider me the weakest one. The others are a lot stronger."

"Wait. Think you missed one."

"Sochi, but like you, she isn't part of any dorm. She finds our way of doing things cowardly."

If it weren't for what Mayu and her crew tried to do to us, I would've been inclined to agree. But, there was strength in numbers. There were people in this academy willing to do awful things to get to the top.

"After me, in no particular order, would come Prince Eien, Ren, Yuta, Yuto, Youko, Miwa, Adela, Arima, Nahimana, Aria, Zelde, Xue, Nyima, Aya, your triplets, and you."

"So based on the tournament results, I'm among the top twenty for sure."

"Yeah."

I grinned. "But that's still too low! I'll need to beat the two of you and the dorm leaders. Only then will I be content!"

Koichi wrapped an arm around me. "Oh, you think you can beat us, eh?" He rubbed my head with his fist.

"Not right now, but eventually I will!"

He laughed. "Well, ain't ya got spunk?"

Shiromaru smiled. "A strong fighting spirit. It's no wonder that Burai wants to recruit you."

I smiled. "Thanks for the flattery, but I rather stay out of your factions. I already have a place to call home here."

Koichi turned around. "It's good to see you sticking by your friends, but don't let them hold you back either."

Were they holding me back? They were the ones who brought me this far. But, what if they don't catch up to me, then how might they continue to push me forward? I shook my head. Ugh, why was I thinking like this? I wanted to meet strong people to serve as stepping stones for my path, but Ny and the others were a lot more than that.

"Lei? Taking a small breather? Thought you would already be climbing back by now," Alto called out as he jogged down the stairs.

"I ran into a few honor students," I said, staring at Koichi and Shiromaru as they got farther away.

He furrowed his brow. "Did they want a fight?"

"No. Well, at least not right now."

He jumped down the final steps. "I see. Well, this works out. I was hoping to ask you for a favor?"

I blinked. "Me?"

He put a hand on his neck and smiled sheepishly. "I was hoping you could help me with my prana control. It would be like light training for you too for tomorrow."

Prana control, huh? Given my match with Kun, I could still improve on that.

"Sure!" I said, grinning

He laughed. "Thanks, Lei! I promise that I'll catch up to you soon."

I blinked. "Wait, you were playing dumb earlier, weren't you? You overheard the conversation just now, didn't you?"

He turned away and nodded. "The last part. But I was still going to ask you to help me. Ms. Key has said that my spells are strong, but my control is lacking. A few days before setting out to Wahkan for the exam last year, I nearly killed Aban. I would've if Ms. Key hadn't stepped in."

"Yeah. I noticed that. Your magic is powerful, but it lacks refinement." I smiled. "But if you can learn to control it, I'm sure you'll grow by leaps and bounds."

Alto patted my shoulder and grinned. "Thanks, Lei!"

I ran up the stairs. "But first, the last one back to the dorm is a rotten egg!"

"Hey!" Alto yelled, running after me.

I wasn't going to leave my friends behind. Instead, I would help them grow like they helped me!

**Solar Note: I hope that you enjoyed the chapter ^^. Thoughts? Theories? Predictions?"