I stared at my hands as I finished washing my face. Last night, Lei had gone over the basics of prana control. It was hard before taking the prana pill that Mr. Bruno gave us, more so now that the strength of my prana was greater. If I wanted to level up my Magicum Organum again using cultivation pills, I would first have to get what I could produce under control. Else, I would surely die.

I curled my hand. Regardless, I had to get stronger. I couldn't let the others leave me behind in the dust. But most importantly, I had to be strong for the kids back home. If I were to become a cop, I would surely run into some strong guys and gals. Or into a group of mid-levels who alone would be no match against me, but together could overpower me easily. Mr. Bruno taught me that one couldn't depend on politicians to clean up society. It was up to the common folk to do so. And that began by bettering oneself.

"Woah, what's with the dramatic pose?" Alban asked as he walked into the bathroom. We still had no idea which one would be staying. Ms. Koukyuu might've had another test planned for them for all we knew. For the time being, Sowk and he were allowed to accompany us to class when they resumed after the weekend.

I smiled at my fist. "Sorry. I was deep in thought about something."

Aban leaned by the door. "Oh? Mind if I hear it?"

The water spun within the porcelain sink in front of me. "I was thinking about how far I still have to go."

"Well, duh! You're only sixteen. You and Ari really should be a little more laid back." He shrugged. "I lost to that Lei guy too and my future was on the line, yet you don't see me being all deep in thought."

I shook my head. "That isn't what I am worried about, although it is what made me realize how weak I truly am."

He blinked. "Then what has your panties in a twist?"

"I only have this year and the next to go. I want to make that time to grow as a mage. After graduation, I'm planning to join the force."

His eyes widened. "Eh? You're really planning to become a pig after all?"

I furrowed my brow. "Not all cops are corrupt."

He sighed. "Don't tell me you plan to clean up the force?"

I nodded. "I will. But if I find there's no way to salvage it, I'll have to resort to vigilantism."

Alban grinned. "Now that sounds more up your alley."

I rubbed the back of my head. "I rather do things within legal means."

He laughed. "Ever the goodie two shoes, eh?"

"Shut it!" I said, smiling and elbowing him in the stomach on my way out.

He laughed.

"Are you two boys roughhousing again?" Arima asked as we walked out of the bathroom.

Aban ruffled my hair and pushed me down. "I was teasing him for being such a dang goodie-goodie."

"Hey!" I said, grabbing his arm. I flipped him over, sending him falling on his back.

"Ouch. Maybe he isn't such a nice guy after all."

Arima shook her head. "You boys might be teasing and playing around, but one day, one of you will get badly hurt."

"You worry too much, Ari," Aban said, pushing himself off the blue carpeted floor.

"You worry too much, Ari," Aban said, pushing himself off the blue carpeted floor. "We know to be careful."

I laughed. "I do, but I'm not sure about you."

Arima sighed. "You don't know anything yet." She put a finger to her chin as she looked at us both. "It looks like I'll have to teach you boys proper manners."

Aban smirked at her. "Really? You're going to take care of us?"

Her face flushed and she stepped back. "W-what's with that tone?"

I rolled my eyes at Aban. He could be such a flirt sometimes. But then, Arima wasn't wrong. I did get carried away a couple of times back when we were kids. Nowadays, I tried to keep a rein on my tongue. No more stupid remarks, no more unnecessary jests or insults, no matter how tempting they might've been. Not unless I was prepared to face any repercussions. But even if it got me teased, I didn't want to cause trouble for someone else. That's why I tried my hardest to avoid fights. It was only when I couldn't avoid them that I threw down the gauntlet. Or rather, whenever somebody really pissed me off. Like how Aban had done in the park a bit over a year ago.

"What? This is my normal tone!" Aban said, a smile playing on his lips.

Arima glared at him and shook her head slowly. "Your normal 'flirty' tone, perhaps."

I laughed. "You should've anticipated that, though."

Aban nodded.

She sighed. "You boys really can be a handful sometimes." She smiled. "But, it would be weird if you weren't."

A grin spread across my face.

"So, what are you guys going to do today?"

"Well..." Aban started, then glanced at me. "I was thinking of just chilling for the day."

Arima chuckled. "Typical. And you, Al?"

I scratched my cheek. "I was thinking of continuing working on my prana control."

She raised an eyebrow at me. "Was that what you were doing yesterday?"

I nodded. "Yeah. I asked Lei to help me. He's a pretty good teacher."

Aban laughed. "Maybe that can be his fallback plan if this Magus Maximus thing doesn't work out for him."

"Don't say that," Arima said. "You're going to jinx him."

Aban shrugged. "Come on, don't be so superstitious! If he's worthy of being Magus Maximus, my joking about him needing a Plan B won't affect him at all."

"Well, I'm going to get going! I have a long day ahead of me!" I said, waving at them.

"Wait, you aren't going to eat breakfast with us?"

"Nah! I'll have some protein bars on me! I'll just eat one when I get the munchies!"

"Okay, but be sure to hydrate too!"

"Got it!" I said, opening the door.

Aban snickered as I walked out.

I laughed as well. Arima really could be such a 'mom' sometimes.

"Morning!" Carter said as he jogged over to me.

I blinked. "Huh? You're awake?"

He jumped up and down. "Yeah! Why wouldn't I be?"

I'd imagined him to be the opposite of an early bird. Especially since he would train at night. But now that I thought of it, he had woken up early every day since we'd met til now.

"You aren't tired?" I asked.

He tilted his head. "A little. But I can't skim on training! Else I'll never catch up to Nat, Tammy, Lei, and the others!"

I smiled. "I see. Care to join me then?"

He nodded. "I could use a sparring partner! Last night, I didn't have one. Seems Renshu wants me to focus on control first."

"Control, huh? While not drastic as yours, I have a similar issue with mine."

"Really?" He held a fist at me. "Yay, that makes us prana control learning buddies!"

I laughed faintly. This kid sure was something. He made even oddballs like Kun, Lei, An, and Hal seem normal. Not that being abnormal was bad. School and the world would be dull without people like them. Even I could be rather eccentric from time to time. Although, I kept it hidden better than the others.

"I guess it does!" I said.

His stomach grumbled. "Uh, can we wait for me to eat?"

I nodded. "Sure. I'll wait for you in the forest clearing near where Ari found your friend, Mira the other day." I stretched. "Will give me time to do a little warm-up."

He smiled. "Okay! Will be right back!" he yelled, running over to the girls' dorm.

I laughed. It was nice to see him so full of energy. Although, breakfast was probably not ready yet. It was barely the break of dawn. I probably should've offered him one of the bars in my pocket.

Despite daybreak, the sun still hadn't reached beneath the treetops of the forest, giving the place an unsettling aura.

I jumped and formed a knife out of electricity as I heard branches snap. Was it a beast? Most likely, it was a low rank if it was an animal. This forest was said to have dangerous beasts as strong as the Seven Star Serpent at its center, but that was still a ways off. The barrier around the dorms, sadly wouldn't protect me if one of the higher-ranked creatures got this far. Although, why had few ventured off to these 'fresh pastures'? Was there something about the peak of Mt. Ryuu no Yama that drew them there? The ruins where Setsu and Kitsune had taken Uli, Hikaru, and Wanikiya, when they kidnapped them weren't too far from the center of the mountain either. Maybe they were what attracted the strong. I gulped at the thought of one of them having eaten my friends had they not been saved when they were.

Taking a deep breath, I continue making my way to the meadow. It was probably a regular bird or rodent. There were plenty of them around in these parts.

I jumped and glared at the forest as another branch snapped, this one closer.

"Is there somebody there?" I asked.

A yawn echoed from the forest. "Sorry about that. Didn't mean to scare ya."

A silver haired boy with sleepy lavender eyes walked out of the woods.

"Hey, aren't you that guy who was with Burai's right hand man?"

His eyes opened more as he smiled. "And you're that guy who was descending the stairs as we were talking with Lei."

I nodded and held out my hand. "Oh, right, name's Alto Opus."

He gasped. "Opus?"

"You've heard of my family?" Was it because of my brother's legacy? Sonata mentioned a boy who had left an impression on the school. The way she spoke about him indicated fondness. At the time, I considered it a former crush, but chances were she meant the boy who would become her husband.

He nodded. "A bit. Now that I look at you closely, I can see the resemblance."

So, he did mean him. My older brother really was amazing.

"How do you know my big brother?"

"I don't know him directly, but I did read about him in the records kept in the library and honor dorms. He was the strongest student in the academy, even stronger than the other top two students, Princess Koukyuu and Sonata Key."

I could help but smile. He was the top student? Why didn't he ever tell me? Not that I needed him to tell me how amazing he was. Even as a kid, I could recognize how great of a mage he was. He was my idol, the one who had inspired me to attend this academy in the first place. I'd wanted to walk in his footsteps. Although, not in his shadow.

The boy smiled and held out his hand. "Anyway, I'm Shiromaru!"

"Nice to meet you, Shiromaru. Uh, mind if I ask, what are you doing here?"

"I was looking for some silk worms. Need some to make Burai some new pajamas."

"Pajamas? You sew?"

He smiled and nodded. "Yeah. I'm mean with a needle." He said, pretending to poke the air with one.

I laughed. "I know a couple of others who are good with needles, but in different ways."

He nodded. "Most people find them scary, but they're also rather remarkable. It can save a life or take one, all depending on how it's used."

Indeed. Hal knew how to do both.

"Say, you're one of the honor students, right?"

He nodded. "Yeah. I'm a member of the Dandelion faction. Why do you ask?"

I took a deep breath. "I'm hoping you could fight me."

He turned away. "Sorry, but I'm not much of a fighter. Plus, I'm a tad busy as it is."

"I know someone who can help you with the silk."

He blinked. "Who? Tahoma's cousin?"

"Yeah."

He bit his nail. "I should've thought of that. Tahoma owes me one too for making those masks of his."

Masks? Did he mean like the kind that Kun wore? "You made those?"

He smirked. "Of course. Anti-prana detecting mask? Easy peasy!" He frowned. "I'm also the one who made the masks for Mayu's crew. If I'd know what they would've used them for, I wouldn't have done so."

"Wait, but they had those before we were even in this school."

"Yeah. I made those back in middle school. Mayu's sister, Hisui, was my classmate."

Right, Hisui. To think Mayu would've dragged her sister's classmates into her antics. She and the others really didn't have any qualms until we stopped them, did they? It made me wonder just how much we could trust the members of her crew still enrolled in this school.

"Well, I guess that's not the fight, huh?"

He sized me up and smiled. "Maybe another time! In the meantime, be sure to get stronger! I might not be much of a fighter, but you won't be taking me down as you are now."

So, I wasn't strong enough to even give the 'non-fighter' a decent match. But that was to be expected.

I smiled. "Thanks for sparing me the embarrassment," I said.

He stopped. "You would've lost, sure, but who's to say you wouldn't have learned a thing from it?" He turned to look at me. "A true fighter learns not just from victory, but from defeat too."

My eyes widened. A true fighter? But he just... Was he pretending to be docile? This guy had to be as much of a beast as Burai and his right-hand man. I couldn't help but smile.

"I'll keep those words in mind!" I said, holding my fist out.

He smiled and turned around, holding his fist out as well. "They're your brother's words."

Zydeco said that? Come to think of it, he or Dad told me something similar before but I had brushed it off. I sighed. Hearing them again made me wish I had asked him to train over my vacation. Sadly, I'd allowed my stupid pride to blind me. 

"Thanks for reminding me of them!" I yelled, grinning.

He waved. "You're welcome! Kind of owe you one anyway for reminding me to have Tahoma repay me that favor he owes me!"

I scratched my face. He really was into his task, wasn't he?

"I'm here!" Carter yelled, running past Shiromaru. "I'm at full energy and raring to train!"

I laughed. As I thought, oddballs really did make things more interesting!

**Solar Note: Hope that you enjoyed the chapter ^^. Decided to give Alto a bit of attention as it feels like I've disregarded him as of late.**