In the Nurse's Office…

Nidoria found herself laying on a white bed with a white pillow under her head. Her right leg was bandaged up by the white rolled cloth. Below her right leg was a smooth wooden plank. It was attached to her right leg with four more pieces of white cloth.

Nidoria took a look at her surroundings. The walls and ceiling of the Nurse's Office were beige with the floor being brown. The curtains on her right were brown. Behind the curtains was a slight vertical rectangular window.

In front of Nidoria were a couple of green medicine cabinets. They were attached to the upper wall. Below them was a sink and a few more cabinets. This time, the cabinets were brown.

On Nidoria’s left was the Nurse's brown wooden desk with papers on the upper left and the container filled with pens on the other side. The space at the center was provided for the nurse to write. In front of the desk was a simple wooden chair. On the wooden chair sat the nurse herself.

The nurse had fair skin, brown hair tied to a downward ponytail and brown eyes. She also wore white shirt with gray pants and black shoes. She was seen writing a medical report about what had happened to Nidoria.

A few minutes later, Nidoria and the nurse heard a knock on the door.

“Come in,” the nurse said.

The door opened to reveal Kugo, Izugail, Liyah, Bokio, Shang-Yo, Ryoske, Gianso, Khelsi and Zeno. Their faces were full of worry.

Izugail turned to the nurse. “Do you mind if we visit Nidoria for a while?”

The nurse smiled at Izugail. “Of course, I don't mind. Just don't be too rough on her, okay?”

Izugail and her friends nodded. “Of course,” Izugail said.

With that, Kugo, Izugail and the others entered the Nurse's Office. After Kugo and Izugail entered first, Bokio, Khelsi and Liyah entered next. Then, Zeno, Gianso and Shang-Yo entered next. Then, Ryoske entered last.

Ryoske closed the door gently after he entered the Nurse's Office.

Once Izugail, Kugo and the others gathered around Nidoria, Khelsi was the first to speak up. “We were worried about you, Nidoria. Are you okay?”

Nidoria responded with a friendly smile. “I'm okay. Thanks.”

“What got you injured while trying to rescue the victim?” Liyah asked.

“Well, you see…” Nidoria trailed off. That's when she, Kugo, and Bokio explained everything that happened during their time to find the victim and get him out to safety.

After Nidoria, Kugo and Bokio explained the whole story, it was Izugail who spoke up. “It seems that every time a department takes a turn, a disaster always occurs. For example, when we—” Izugail gestured to herself, Ryoske, Shang-Yo and Liyah. “—tried to rescue the victim, a fire occurred in the building.”

“Yeah. And we had to put the fire out while trying to get the victim to safety,” Liyah said.

“During mine and my training mates’ turn, we also experienced an earthquake, but this time, it separates some of us from each other,” Gianso said.

“During—” Zeno gestured to himself and Khelsi. “—mine and Khelsi’s turn, we experienced flash flood and we were able to get the victim out of the building using a boat and a couple of paddles.”

Khelsi nodded in agreement. “We had to be careful with our earthbending. We could cause ourselves to be trapped in the building.”

“That’s true,” Zeno said.

“Still, I wonder who caused those disasters,” Bokio said.

“From what you’re telling me, it could be the Pro Protectors, who were asked by Mr. Kon-Li to cause a disaster to make things interesting. I think that’s what Mr. Kon-Li meant by ‘him already having plans for the second part of the Rescue Training,’” Nidoria said.

Shang-Yo turned to Nidoria in surprise. “Hey, I was gonna say that!”

Nidoria chuckled at Shang-Yo’s reaction.

“Well, we gotta go,” Izugail said as she and the others walked towards the door. “Good luck on your recovery,” she said with a wave.

Nidoria turned to Izugail with a smile. “Thanks, Izugail.” She turned to the others. “Good luck on your training, too!”

Before Nidoria could hear a reply, Izugail closed the door behind her and the others.

Nidoria stared at the door with a friendly smile. After a few seconds of silence, the nurse spoke up, “You do have nice friends, Nidoria.”

Nidoria’s eyes turned to the nurse. “Yeah, they do.”

“It’s a shame that some of your friends are from different departments. I wish there was a day where you guys finally have classes together regardless of what bending you have,” the nurse said.

Nidoria turned straight to the ceiling. Sadness occurred in her as slight tears filled her eyes, but she managed to hold them in. “I wish for it, too,” she whispered.

———————————————————

Four weeks passed since then. Nidoria, Kugo, Bokio, Liyah, Izugail, Ryosuke, Shang-Yo, Khelsi, Zeno, Gianso and other trainees continued to train to become Protectors. As they did, their bending abilities and combat skills became stronger.

Now, during morning classes, an important announcement came to the teenage and child trainees.

———————————————————

Fire Department High School Classroom, Protector-Training Island Academy

After the history lesson was taught, the male teacher — with black straight hair, black mustache, black short triangular beard, fair skin, gray eyes, dark red shirt, red vest, brown pants and brown shoes — told Nidoria and Bokio, “Alright. That’s everything for today’s class. Don’t forget. You’ll have your 3rd Quarterly exams in one week. The first part will be the written exams, then the second part will be the practical exams from previous Protector-training sessions.

“After the exams, those who pass will get their 1-week Internships. Those who fail won’t be able to participate in the Internships. They will stay for extra lessons and extra Protector-training sessions until you pass the next Quarterly Exams. That’s all I can announce.” The male teacher bowed respectfully to his students. “Thank you for your time.”

With that being said, the male teacher exited the classroom.

Once the door closed behind him, Nidoria and Bokio turned to each other with friendly smiles.

“Let’s have our group study with our friends after today’s Protector-training session,” Bokio suggested.

Nidoria nodded. “Yes. Of course. I just need to ask Izugail if we can study with you. She holds study sessions for me, Liyah and Khelsi all the time.”

Bokio nodded. “Yes, and I’ll ask my friends to join in, too.”

———————————————————

Fire Department Elementary Classroom, Protector-Training Island Academy

Once his teacher left the classroom, Kugo’s mind felt blank. Then, a few moments later, he came to his senses.

Kugo’s hands laid on his temples. His eyes closed tightly and his eyebrows furrowed. “AAAGGH!!! I forgot to study for the exams!!!”

———————————————————

Water Department High School Classroom, Protector-training Island Academy

Once the teacher left after the students learned about the 3rd Quarterly Exams, Izugail and Liyah turned to each other with friendly smiles.

“Ooh, we have exams. It’s just like our school days back in the Plains Village. We should hold a girls’ study session in my dorm,” Izugail said.

“Sure. I’ll inform Nidoria and Khelsi about this,” Liyah said. Then, her smile switched to concern. “What about Kugo, Zeno, Bokio, Shang-Yo, Gianso and Ryoske?”

“My dorm can’t hold ten people. Only five. They can study in the living room on the dorm building’s ground floor,” Izugail said.

Just then, Ryoske and Shang-Yo’s voice caught Izugail and Liyah’s attentions. They turned to their right to see the panicking Ryoske and Shang-Yo.

“Oh no! The exams! I forgot to study!” Shang-Yo exclaimed. Then, he buried his head in his hands. “With all the Protector-training sessions we all worked for, the thought about studying lessons just slipped my mind!”

A deadpan expression appeared on Ryoske’s face. His eyes were filled with stress, anxiety and panic. “You’re not the only one, Shang-Yo. I forgot it, too.”

Shang-Yo rose from his seat and turned to Izugail. “Izugail, you’re the smart one, right?!”

Before Izugail could have a chance to respond, she was met with Shang-Yo’s face. His hands were on Izugail’s desk as he leaned closer to Izugail’s face. Sweat rolled down Izugail’s forehead as discomfort built up in her heart.

“Please, tutor us! Last time we had school, I got average grades!” Shang-Yo exclaimed. “The 3rd Quarterly Exams are really important and if we don’t pass, we won’t be able to have our Internships! Please, Izugail! Teach us!”

Nervousness and conflict started building up in Izugail. She felt like she was in the middle of her journey when she encountered a fork in the road. After a few moments of silence, Izugail responded reluctantly. “I wish I could help, but I’m holding the girls’ study session in my dorm and it cannot fit six people.”

Shang-Yo’s head lowered in disappointment. “Oh, bummer,” he muttered. Then, he leaned back to his proper posture. “That’s okay. Bokio can still hold a study session with us. It’s a boys’ study session. Kugo and Zeno can join us if they like.”

Izugail nodded with a friendly smile. “Okay. Good luck on your studying, Shang-Yo and Ryoske.”

Shang-Yo smiled at her back. “Thanks. You, too.”

———————————————————

Earth Department High School Classroom, Protector-Training Island Academy

Once the teacher left and students in the Earth Department High School learned about the 3rd Quarterly Exams, they turned to each other and whispered about it. All except Khelsi.

Nervousness, anxiety and stress occurred in Khelsi upon learning that the 3rd Quarterly Exams will happen in one week. Her skin slightly shivered. Many thoughts ran through Khelsi’s mind but she tried to maintain her composure.

It’s okay, Khelsi. Calm down. Izugail will host a study session for me and my friends, she thought.

———————————————————

Earth Department Elementary Classroom, Protector-Training Island Academy

Upon learning that there’ll be 3rd Quarterly Exams, a surprised expression appeared on Zeno’s face. “Oh, wow. The exams. It’s just like our school days back in the Plains Village in the Earth Kingdom.”

“Yeah, no kidding. It’s normal for schools to hold exams,” Zeno heard his seatmate from his left say.

Zeno nodded in agreement. Then, his surprised expression turned into concern. I wonder how Kugo is feeling about this. He’d most probably say that he forgot to study. Maybe I’ll hold a study session with him. But the problem is… we’re in different departments.

———————————————————

Non-bending Department High School Classroom, Protector-Training Island

Once the teacher left and the students learned about the 3rd Quarterly Exams, most let out a groan. Few of them screamed panicking words like “Oh no! I forgot to study!”, “The exams! I have to hold a study session with my friends!” and so forth.

As for Gianso, he facepalmed as he flashed a disappointed expression. “I forgot to study,” he said.

———————————————————

Later on, during lunchtime…
Canteen, Protector-Training Island Academy

Nidoria, Bokio and Kugo ate lunch together. In between eating their food, they conversed with each other on how they felt about the 3rd Quarterly Exams.

“Gah!” Kugo exclaimed as his eyes closed tightly. “After all the combat training and rescue training we had done, the thought about studying lessons just slipped my mind!”

“Don't worry, Kugo. I'm sure you'll do great,” Nidoria said with a smile. “Plus, you have Zeno to to study with. You're always together during study sessions back in the Plains Village.”

“But Zeno's in the Earth Department and I'm in the Fire Department with you guys. The lessons from both departments are different. How can I study with him if the lessons we learned are different?” Kugo asked with slight worry.

This slightly spooked Nidoria, but it was mostly overcome with surprise. In response to that, Kugo was also slightly spooked out.

“Well, Nidoria and I did talk about having study sessions together at the dorm building, so maybe later on after today's Protector-training session, we'll go back to the dorm and have study sessions together with our friends,” Bokio said.

“Plus, there are practical exams. How are we gonna prepare for that?” Nidoria asked.

“Easy. Just train whenever you have free time. We can spar with each other, take turns rescuing each other or play pretend where the Protectors help the Avatar save the world from villains,” Kugo said with an enthusiastic smile.

Bokio's right thumb and index finger gently pinched his chin. He went into deep thought about what Kugo had just said. As thoughts ran in his head, he spoke, “That does sound like a pretty good plan. However, we have to schedule our study sessions and our time to prepare for the practical exams.”

“Let's discuss this with Izugail, Liyah, Khelsi, Zeno, Shang-Yo, Ryoske and Gianso. In the meantime, we can have our study session today. After that, we'll talk about scheduling our study sessions and our time to prepare for the practical exams,” Nidoria suggested.

“Now, that's a great idea!” Bokio said with a friendly smile.

Nidoria nodded. “Alright. It's settled.”

With that, Nidoria, Kugo and Bokio continued eating lunch in silence.

Meanwhile, Zeno and Khelsi were sitting with each other around another table. Just like Nidoria, Bokio and Kugo, they conversed about how they felt about the 3rd Quarterly Exams in between eating their foods.

“So, Khelsi. How do you feel about the 3rd Quarterly Exams?” Zeno asked.

“It's… okay,” Khelsi answered. “I just need to have study sessions with Izugail, Liyah and Nidoria.”

“But they're from different departments and they might learn different lessons from the Earth Department classrooms. Izugail and Liyah are from the Water Department and Nidoria is from the Fire Department,” Zeno said.

Khelsi nodded. “Yes. It's true. I just couldn't bear the thought of studying without them. I enjoy their company.”

“Oh, I see,” Zeno said. “I feel the same way when it comes to the 3rd Quarterly Exams. I'm worried about Kugo. We're both best friends, but we're in different departments. It's hard for us to study together if we learn different lessons from different departments.”

Khelsi nodded. “Oh. I see.” Then, she let out a slight giggle.

With that, Khelsi and Zeno continued eating their lunch.

With Izugail, she, Liyah, Ryoske and Shang-Yo were sitting with each other around a different table. In between eating their lunch, they conversed with each other.

“So, when and how do you usually hold study sessions, Izugail?” Shang-Yo asked.

“Usually, we start when it's announced that exams are near. We hold study sessions every after school and every weekend in my house. Nidoria and I tutor Liyah and Khelsi about lessons that they're having a hard time understanding. Sometimes, whenever Nidoria needs help, she comes to me and I tutor her,” Izugail explained.

“Oh,” Shang-Yo nodded. “I see what you mean.”

“Liyah, what lesson are you having a hard time understanding?” Ryoske asked.

“Most subjects are hard for me, especially those that include calligraphy-writing. The only subject I'm best at is Arts,” Liyah answered.

“Oh, I see,” Ryoske said, nodding.

“We can help each other with the subjects we're having a hard time with,” Shang-Yo said. “That is if it's okay with you.”

“Sure. Maybe after tonight?” Izugail asked.

Shang-Yo nodded. “Yeah.”

Liyah nodded. “Sure.”

Ryoske nodded. “Yeah. We can do that.”

“Okay. That's settled then,” Izugail said with a smile.

With that, Liyah, Izugail, Ryoske and Shang-Yo continued eating their lunch.

Meanwhile with Gianso, he sat with his training mates around the table meant for Non-bending Protectors-in-training. Although he did enjoy his time with his training mates, he missed hanging out with his friends in the dorm building.

In between eating lunch, Gianso glanced at his friends sitting around different tables. First, he glanced at Zeno and Khelsi. Next, he glanced at Liyah, Izugail, Ryoske and Shang-Yo. Then, he glanced at Nidoria, Kugo and mainly Bokio. Sadness occurred in Gianso.

A few minutes later, a voice brought Gianso back to reality.

“Hey, Gianso!”

Once Gianso was brought back to reality, he turned to see who got his attention. Turns out, it was a brown-skinned boy with dark brown straight hair and blue eyes. He wore a light blue shirt, blue pants and brown shoes.

“You good?” the boy asked. “You looked zoned out.”

Gianso flashed a fake smile as he nodded. “Yeah, I'm fine.”

“Ya sure?” the boy asked.

Gianso nodded. “Yeah. I'm sure.”

The boy shrugged. “Okay. If you say so.”

With that, the boy continued eating his own lunch. Gianso glanced back at the food he was eating. After a few moments, he continued eating.

———————————————————

That night...
Dorm Building

After the Protector-training session was finished, everyone went back to their dorm buildings.

Once Nidoria, Kugo, Izugail, Liyah, Khelsi, Zeno, Bokio, Shang-Yo, Ryoske and Gianso entered the dorm building, they let out sighs of exhaustion.

Nidoria, Kugo and their friends walked towards the living room sofa and landed themselves there on their butts.

“This Protector-training session was intense. Do I really feel the need to study for the written exams?” Bokio asked.

“I'm not sure. My mind tells me I have to study, but I don't feel like it,” Nidoria said. She slowly rose from the sofa. “I'm gonna get some water.” With that, Nidoria walked from the sofa and into the kitchen to grab water for herself.

Shang-Yo raised his hand. “Me, too.” He rose from the sofa and followed Nidoria.

“Yeah, same,” Ryoske said. Then, he rose from the sofa and followed Shang-Yo and Nidoria.

Bokio rose from the sofa. “I'm going, too. Everyone needs to be hydrated before our study session.”

With that, everyone else rose from the sofa. They, including Bokio, walked towards the kitchen and grabbed cups of water for themselves. While drinking water, they discussed the plans for their study sessions and their times to train for the practical exams.

In the end, everyone agreed that for tonight, girls should do their study session in Izugail's dorm while boys should do their own study session in the living room.

———————————————————

Izugail’s Dorm

Izugail and Liyah sat on the bed. Izugail was seen tutoring Liyah with most of the subjects. She had pointed out the flaws in Liyah’s answers to the questions Izugail had written for her in her notebook. Liyah nodded at every word Izugail was saying.

Nidoria and Khelsi sat beside each other on the floor near the bed. Both sat in silence. Their legs were raised and their notebooks laid on their thighs.

Nidoria analyzed every word she wrote in her notebooks. She was mentally keeping the keypoints in her brain as she scanned her notes.

On the other hand, Khelsi was reviewing her notes with a smile. Because she's described as a reliable person, she had to study her lessons in order to earn decent grades and remember things just in case someone needed help from her.

Sometimes, Nidoria and Khelsi would ask help from each other whenever they had trouble understanding something.

There was one time when Nidoria encountered an ancient Chinese writing that she couldn’t understand. Mostly because she had never encountered one before and she had to copy it for the sake of reviewing her notes. She turned to Khelsi.

“Excuse me? Khelsi?” Nidoria asked, whispering.

As Khelsi turned to Nidoria, she saw her pointing at the writing she could not understand. She leaned closer to the writing.

“Can you translate this?” Nidoria asked.

Khelsi examined the writing. A few moments later, she turned to Nidoria. “Hope,” she said.

“I see,” Nidoria said as she pulled her notebook close to her. She nodded in gratitude. “Thanks, Khelsi.”

“You’re welcome, Nidoria,” Khelsi said with a smile. “You can tell me whenever you have more problems.”

Nidoria nodded. “Okay.”

With that, Nidoria and Khelsi went back to reviewing their notes.

After about 10 minutes, a curious question popped in Nidoria's head. She turned to Izugail. “Um… Izugail.”

Izugail turned to Nidoria. “Yes?”

“Tomorrow after the Protector-training session, where do we do our study session?” Nidoria asked.

“In the living room, or if possible, somewhere in the park,” Izugail said.

“Is there a park in the Protector-Training Island?” Liyah asked.

“I don't know. I guess we'll find out soon,” Izugail said. “Let's go back to studying. After a few hours, we can have dinner break, then back to studying, then we do our nighttime routine and sleep.”

“Okay,” everyone else said, nodding in agreement.

With that being said, the girls continued their study session.

———————————————————

In the living room…

Gianso and Bokio sat beside each other on the left part of the sofa. They conversed about different lessons taught to them in different departments. They also helped each other with subjects they couldn't understand.

It's the same with Shang-Yo and Ryoske, who sat next to each other at the right part of the sofa. As they reviewed their notes on the Northern Water Tribe history, Ryoske pointed out things he did not understand and Shang-Yo helped interpret those things, then vice versa.

Zeno and Kugo sat next to each other at the center of the sofa. They reviewed their own notes from their respective departments. After a few minutes, Zeno helped Kugo understand his own notes by interpreting the things he couldn't understand. Although, Zeno didn't know much about the history of the Fire Nation, he put all his effort to help Kugo review his notes, especially the ancient Chinese writing. 

In response to that, Kugo smiled at Zeno in gratitude.

During the whole study session, chatter spread among the boys. They mostly talked about topics that were taught to them in morning classes and Protector-training sessions. Sometimes, chaotic moments exploded out of nowhere.

There was one time when Gianso accidentally splattered the ink on his calligraphy paper while attempting to write calligraphy properly. Panic exploded in his and Bokio’s minds. Their screams also caught everyone else's attention.

“AAAHH!!! No!! The ink's on my shirt!!!” Gianso screamed.

“Somebody get the ink off Gianso’s shirt!” Bokio screamed.

Curiosity, surprise and slight panic appeared on Ryoske’s, Shang-Yo’s, Kugo’s and Zeno’s faces. Then, they became shocked when they noticed the splattered ink on Gianso’s shirt.

“Wait, what happened?!” Ryoske and Kugo asked as they leaned towards the calligraphy paper's direction.

“Gianso was trying to practice writing calligraphy, but he accidentally spilled black ink on the paper!” Bokio exclaimed, panicking.

“It even got splattered on my shirt!” Gianso exclaimed, panicking.

“Okay-okay,” Shang-Yo said as he raised his hands to calm Bokio and Gianso. “Calm down. We'll get you something to help you clean up.”

Bokio and Gianso let out sighs of relief.

“Oh, thank you, Shang-Yo,” Bokio said as he bowed respectfully at his friend. “Thank you!”

“You are a life-saver!” Gianso said, pointing at Shang-Yo.

With that, everyone attempted to get ink off of Gianso’s shirt. Unfortunately, nothing worked. In the end, everyone agreed that Gianso should change his clothes.

Soon, Gianso was dressed up in a new outfit. He was wearing a blue shirt with matching pants and black shoes.

After everything was resolved, the boys continued their study session.

———————————————————

Later on…

After a few hours, Nidoria, Kugo and their friends ate dinner. After dinner, they continued their study sessions.

A few hours later, everyone did their nighttime routines. Then, they bid goodnight to each other before going to their respective dorm rooms. Lights were out, everyone was tucked in bed and all drifted off to sleep.

———————————————————

The next day…

After the next Protector-training session was over, everyone went back to their respective dorm buildings. When Nidoria, Kugo and their friends entered their dorm building, they signed in exhaustion like yesterday.

As usual, Nidoria, Kugo and their friends limped towards the sofa and landed themselves on it with their butts.

Nidoria let out a sigh. “Seems like it's not going as planned. I don't think we have time to go to the park for our study session.”

“Yeah, no kidding. It seems like they're not letting us take a break,” Shang-Yo said.

“If they don't allow us to take a break, why did the Breaks Area exist?” Gianso asked.

“Exactly my point,” Bokio and Izugail said in unison.

“But isn't it announced that there'll be a day-off tomorrow? Earlier, Cornerstone announced it because he noticed how tired we are during yesterday's Protector-training session,” Khelsi said.

Everyone turned to Khelsi in astonishment. “A day-off?!”

“Khelsi, is that true?!” Gianso asked.

Khelsi nodded. “Yes. It's true.”

“Why didn't you tell us sooner?!” Gianso asked.

“Because I thought all of you would know that,” Khelsi said.

While Khelsi and Gianso conversed, Nidoria took a deep breath and exhaled calmly and relaxingly. All while gently tapping her left chest with her right hand.

After her mind and heart rate calmed down, Nidoria rose from the sofa and turned to the others. “It's great that we have our day-off tomorrow. So why not have a study session at the park in the morning, then after lunch, we'll spend the rest of our day-off at the beach in the Breaks Area?”

Bokio nodded with a smile. “Sounds good to me.”

“Yeah. I thought so, too,” Liyah said.

“I'm in,” Shang-Yo said.

“Same,” Gianso said.

“Same,” Ryoske said.

“Me, too,” Khelsi said.

“I'm in as well. It's not everyday I get to have a day-off,” Izugail said.

From the moment Nidoria mentioned the word “beach,” adrenaline immediately rushed through Kugo's veins. A determined grin appeared on his face and his intimidating aura surrounded his body.

“I'm looking forward to this,” he said in a slightly gravelly tone.

Once everyone turned to Kugo, they — especially Nidoria and Zeno — were all spooked out.

Oh no. Don't tell me… Nidoria thought.

He's gonna do it again, isn't he? Zeno thought questionably.

Is he okay?! everyone thought questionably.

Kugo turned to Zeno with a serious glare on his face. “Hey, Zeno!”

Zeno turned to Kugo, concerned.

“Tomorrow afternoon...” Kugo rose from the sofa and ignited his flames in his hands. “...I'M GONNA BEAT YOU IN KUAI BALL!!!!!”

Kuai ball?! everyone except Nidoria, Bokio and Zeno questioned.

I knew it, Nidoria and Zeno thought in unison.

He's playing kuai ball and he's challenging an earthbender like Zeno to a match? What was he thinking?! From what I know, kuai ball is only played by people in the Fire Nation, Bokio thought.

Khelsi slightly raised her hand. “Um, may I ask?”

Everyone turned to her.

“What's kuai ball?” Khelsi asked.

“Kuai ball is a sport played by people in the Fire Nation. It is mostly played on the beach. To play the game, one team has to hurl the ball over the net using one's hands or feet, with points being scored by having the ball hit the ground on the opposing team's side of the net, and vice versa. The game ends when one team reaches ten points. The team that reaches ten points wins,” Bokio explained.

“So… like volleyball?” Khelsi asked.

“Yeah, something like that,” Bokio said, shrugging. “Firebenders and acrobats have an advantage in kuai ball, as the game requires moving the legs and the rest of the body quickly, in a similar fashion to firebending.”

“The reason why Kugo is excited to go to the beach is because he loved playing kuai ball with others, but when he was playing kuai ball with Zeno, he had a hard time winning because Zeno blocked Kugo’s spikes with his earthbending. In the end, Kugo lost. Since then, Kugo has had one goal: he wants to defeat Zeno,” Nidoria explained.

“Yeah! Because it's unfair how he uses earthbending to block my spikes! That's cheating!” Kugo exclaimed in annoyance.

“Sorry, Kugo. I didn't know the rules about kuai ball. You used firebending in the game of kuai ball, so I thought I'd use earthbending in the game,” Zeno said.

“But still! It's so unfair!” Kugo exclaimed.

“I haven’t seen anyone use firebending in kuai ball,” Bokio said with his right hand on his chin. “Is that against the rules?”

Kugo playfully glared at Bokio and growled at him.

Nidoria raised her hands to calm Kugo down. “Okay, that's enough, Kugo,” she said with a smile. She laid her hands to her sides. “I'm sure you'll find time to play kuai ball tomorrow, but don't overwork yourself in the game.”

Kugo turned to Nidoria and nodded with determination. “Yes. Of course.”

“Right,” Nidoria said with a nervous smile. Then, she turned to everyone with a bright smile. “Anyways, let's all eat dinner and do our usual nighttime routines. We got a big day-off tomorrow.”

“Okay,” everyone else said.

With that, everyone ate dinner. After dinner they did their usual nighttime routines, bid goodnight to each other and went to their respective dorm rooms. Lights were out, everyone was tucked in bed and all drifted off to sleep.

———————————————————

The next day…

Nidoria, Kugo and their friends had their study session in the park. Some were having a hard time, but at least they're doing progress.

A few hours later, Nidoria, Kugo and the others took a break from studying lessons from morning classes and switched to training for the practical exams. Everyone practiced their bending abilities, combat skills and weapon skills. Gianso passed his knowledge on using weapons to his friends.

Then, a few more hours later, they had lunch at Cheng's Noodles. After lunch, they went to the beach to spend the rest of the day-off. Adrenaline rushed through Kugo's veins as he and the others walked to the beach. The determined grin on his face told Nidoria and the others that he's looking forward to defeating Zeno.

Then, when Nidoria and the others got to the beach, everyone settled themselves there. After things got settled, Nidoria, Bokio and Zeno played a 3-on-3 kuai ball match against Kugo, Gianso and Shang-Yo.

During the kuai ball match, the ball was sent over the net by Bokio's high kick. In response, Kugo ignited his flames in his hands and pushed himself in the air like a rocket ship. He let out an angry grunt. As he readied himself to kick the ball, Kugo let out an angry cry. “DIE!!!!!”

With that, Kugo kicked the ball with full strength. This sent the ball in the direction of Bokio's side of the court. Unfortunately, Kugo’s attack was countered by Zeno rising a block below the ball. The ball laid ontop of the block.

Kugo landed on his feet and his eyes widened as he saw what had happened. Rage took over his gut. Again?!?!?!

Then, Zeno pushed the block's upper part forward. When it reached Kugo’s side of the court, he tilted the block forward, sending the ball to the ground.

Zeno smirked in victory. You could hear Kugo yelling at him for cheating in the game. He launched towards Zeno, but was pulled back by Gianso and Shang-Yo.

Bokio walked towards Zeno and laid a hand on his right shoulder. “That's not how the kuai ball game is played properly.”

Zeno turned to Bokio, surprised. “It's not.”

“Yes. It's not,” Bokio answered. Then, he knelt down and told him in a voice only Zeno could hear. “The game requires athletic skills, and your hands and feet have to hit the ball. You can't use your earthbending.”

“Zeno,” Nidoria said.

Bokio and Zeno turned to Nidoria.

“Yeah, Nidoria?” Zeno responded as Bokio stood on his feet.

“Think of this game as training for the practical exams, except that you can't use your earthbending,” Nidoria said with a smile.

Zeno was surprised at first. Then, a few seconds later. His surprised expression turned into a smile. “Right.”

Nidoria and Bokio smiled at Zeno in return.

With that, the game of kuai ball continued.

The rest of the kuai ball game played out smoothly. With the help of Nidoria and Bokio, Zeno learned to play kuai ball without using his earthbending. Blasts of flames, and acrobatic kicks, slaps and punches were applied to the ball. On Kugo’s side of the net, Kugo did everything in his power to hit the ball to Zeno’s side of the net. Gianso and Shang-Yo tried to calm Kugo down, but it’s not working.

There was one time when Zeno’s team earned another point by having Nidoria jump up and kick the ball to Kugo’s side of the net. When Kugo witnessed this, he was straight-up shocked. His sister kicked the ball to his side of the net mercilessly.

A few seconds later, Kugo turned to Gianso and Shang-Yo. “LET’S HAVE OURSELVES ANOTHER POINT!”

Gianso quickly approached Kugo and raised his hands to calm him down. “Dude, chill out. It’s just a game.”

Shang-Yo followed Gianso’s actions. “Yeah. It’s only a game. It’s not a battlefield we can use to win against our opponents. Also, kuai ball is meant for fun, not for war. It is played by two teams, not two people. It’s us versus Zeno, Nidoria and Bokio, not you versus Zeno.”

It took a few seconds until Kugo turned his head away in silence.

Soon, after a few minutes, Zeno’s team won by ten points. Because of Kugo’s attitude and drive to win against Zeno, they only earned five points.

In the aftermath, both teams shook hands with each other.

As Kugo shook hands with Zeno, he applied a squeeze in Zeno’s hand. A surprised expression appeared on his face. Once Zeno turned to Kugo, he was met with a glare on his face.

“Best two out of three,” Kugo said.

Zeno’s lips widened to a smirk. “Sorry, Kugo. No can do.”

Kugo mentally groaned in annoyance.

With that being done, everyone decided to take a break from playing kuai ball.

Ryoske and Khelsi had watched the kuai ball the whole time. Their faces were filled with shock and amazement. As they saw Nidoria, Bokio, Shang-Yo, Zeno, Kugo and Gianso exiting the kuai ball court, Ryoske was the first to speak.

“That… was scary,” Ryoske said. “Especially Kugo. He looks fierce in the game.”

Khelsi nodded. “Yes, but it’s also fun to watch.”

As Nidoria, Bokio, Zeno, Kugo, Gianso, Shang-Yo, Ryoske and Khelsi took a break by eating ice cream and slushies, they watched Izugail surfing on the icy surfboard. Everyone stared at her in awe, especially her movements.

As for Liyah, she sat on a rock nearby the sea to enjoy the view of other people playing and relaxing in the beach. Then, when Izugail passed by her, Liyah turned to her in surprise. A few seconds later, it turned into awe.

The waves guided the icy surfboard across the sea. Izugail stood on the surfboard with bare feet. All while maintaining balance on it. Her arms opened and her hands helped the burbling water guide the surfboard across the sea.

As Izugail continued surfing, she levitated the water under the surfboard to create an ascending spiral. This left everyone at the beach in awe. Then, after a few seconds, she surfed mid-air using her waterbending. The water under the surfboard sailed across the whole beach. Everyone let out “oohs” and “ahhs” as Izugail did so.

After about thirty seconds, Izugail made a safe landing near Liyah. The surfboard landed on the sand and Izugail transformed it back to the water. As she did, she heard Liyah commenting, “That was impressive, Izugail. How did you manage to surf like that?”

“My dad taught me how to surf. He surfed a couple of times just for fun,” Izugail said with a smile.

“Is your dad a waterbender?” Liyah asked.

“Yup,” Izugail said.

With that, Izugail and Liyah walked towards their friends to regroup.

When they did, Izugail, Liyah and the others continued to relax on the beach. Chatters about random topics were spread across the group. As everyone continued to relax, Nidoria was the first to speak.

“That was fun. We should do it again sometime,” she said with a smile.

“I agree,” Liyah said.

“Same,” Izugail said. Then, her arms and body wiggled. “I’m looking forward to surfing again.”

Everyone laughed.

As night began to dawn, everyone packed their things and headed back to their dorm building.

———————————————————

5 days later…

From one classroom to another, everyone was seen writing answers on their own exam sheets. Sharp and intense expressions appeared on their faces.

As the scene went on, Nidoria narrated to the readers, “After a decent amount of study sessions we have, the day of the 3rd quarterly exams arrived. Everyone did well in the written exams, although some were having difficulty. After three days, the written exams were finished. Now, it was time for the practical exams.”

———————————————————

3 days later…
Main Training Grounds, Main Training Area

Everyone from different departments walked towards the Main Training Area. Once they did, everyone gathered around Mr. Kon-Li in the grounds.

All Protectors-in-training from different departments had their eyes and ears on Mr. Kon-Li. They waited for him to speak.

After a few seconds, Mr. Kon-Li finally spoke.

“Well done, trainees. You have finished your written exams. Today is the day that you’ll take your practical exams,” he said.

“Hopefully, we could fight the dummies again,” one of the male Non-bending Protectors-in-training said as he raised his right fist. Then, his hands moved to his nape. His eyes closed as a cocky smile appeared on his face. “That’ll be way easier.”

A female Non-bending Protector-in-training turned to him. “I think it would be too easy.”

“She’s right. We should prepare for something unexpected. I read a book that has a scene of the protagonist being informed of the test he should take, but he ended up encountering unexpected content from it. Believe me, he was shocked when he first discovered it,” Nidoria said.

“Nidoria is right,” Mr. Kon-Li said.

Nidoria turned to him in surprise.

“We should expect the unexpected. For this practical exam…” Mr. Kon-Li said.

Nervousness occurred in the Protectors-in-training. Sweat rolled down on some of their foreheads and temples.

After a few moments, Mr. Kon-Li spoke. “...you will complete an obstacle course challenge.”

Everyone fell silent. Then, after a few seconds, confusion and shock in disbelief occurred in their — except Mr. Kon-Li’s — faces. Isn’t it that easy?!