Sunlight really is a beautiful thing. It’s warm, comforting, and a real blessing in the darkest of times. The best place to see the sun was from the highest of points, like the roof of an old brick building in the middle of a small-scale city. The scent of the miniature rooftop garden drifted on the wind as a few potted trees let loose their dancing leaves. Ferain Hirigaya stood by the edge instead of using one of the several benches that were left up there for the comfort of visitors and residents alike. Her shoulder-length brown hair flapped softly in the wind as her blue school coat did the same. Her pleated skirt billowed around her covered legs, which were shielded from the morning chill by a pair of black tights.

As the sun rose over the eastern coast of the island of Olirian, she found herself staring up at the sky with her bright golden irises, watching as the few existing clouds swam through the cerulean expanse above. A gust of wind picked up, bringing with it the faint traces of salt in the air as the breeze blew in from the ocean that surrounded them. A grin creased her lips as she closed her eyes and let herself grow lost in the sensation of the morning. The warm embrace of the sun, the light trace of cold from the seabreeze, and the general knowledge that today was going to be another step forward, another step that put her farther and farther from the nightmares that have become increasingly rare intrusions. Using her bandaged right hand, she swept back some of the scruffy mess that was her hair. Afterwards, she stepped up towards the edge, sucked in a breath, and fell forward.

She dove, the brick wall of the dormitory becoming a momentary blur behind her as she felt the liberating sensation of free-falling. It only lasted half a second really, the briefest of moments, but that short time of weightlessness filled her with joy before she had to leave it behind. Blue and white static surrounded her small body and as she opened her eyes, the gold within them shone as if they had absorbed the very sunlight she’d been bathing in just moments before. She flipped before kicking off of the wall with both feet, launching her towards an adjacent building of similar make and style. Like a blue blurry pinball, she kicked from one wall to the next, traveling through the district in a flash. She didn’t have a destination in mind, Ferain simply wanted to move, and to do so freely.

When it was just her in these moments, she didn’t need to hold herself back, nor did she have to be concerned with the old worry of hurting people. There was literally nothing to hold her down at times like this, so she pushed as much power into her movement as she felt safe doing. A zig-zagging path of sapphire lightning was left in her wake, which would vanish in only a second or so, but if she moved fast enough, she could get to a stopping point and look back at most of her trail. It was a sort of marker for her, a way for her to see how much faster she’d been this morning than she was the previous. If the trail lasted longer, she succeeded in breaking her previous record, or it simply meant that she didn’t get more distracted than she had during that last ‘run’. There were times that she just ran and jumped and bounded from one place to the other with reckless abandon, having no concerns for her progress or her speed.

Ferain shot towards one wall and then propelled herself up towards the roof with a single kick, which resulted in her flying into the sky like an azure bolt of lightning. Softly, she landed on the roof, panting lightly as she turned to look back at the glowing blue streams of static that she left behind. She hadn’t been faster, seeing as most of the trail already vanished, but it was still a pretty sight to see, and one that filled her with a sense of accomplishment and pride that was very new to her.

“Good enough.” she said, in a voice that was so quiet, some might mistake it for a whisper. A glint of light reflected off of a blue teardrop crystal that dangled from her left earlobe, attached to a silver ring by a similarly metallic chain. Her left hand raised towards it and she took the blue crystal in between her index finger and thumb, turning the jewel back and forth slowly out of pure habit. She took a steadying breath as she finally caught it again. “Now to go back.” she said in a quiet tone.

As if on cue, the sleek black band around her left wrist beeped next to her ear, which was an alarm she had set to remind her of her next obligation. She tapped the screen, dismissing the alert, and then stepped back over the edge, starting her journey back to where she began this morning. It was a shorter trip back, seeing as she took a more direct route to avoid being late. As she returned to the old-fashioned dorm, she saw an angel standing on the roof, seemingly waiting for her to arrive. This heaven-sent being was a girl taller than Ferain, and she had a more filled out figure on top of that. A shining veil of silver hair fell around her face, and draping down her back were two braids that she had tied some of the excess into.

She wore the same school uniform that Ferain wore, which consisted of a black skirt, a white button-up shirt, and a heavier styled coat that had the school’s phoenix crest on one shoulder, and two black bands near the other. Ferain landed softly on the roof in front of her and smiled as the angel’s storm-gray eyes narrowed impatiently.

“I’ve been waiting here for a while now, Fera.” said Anita, Fera’s partner and girlfriend. She said it in a chastising manner, but Fera knew there was no malice in the words.

“Eh, only a minute or two. I just left.” Fera said softly.

“This is why you’ve been tardy several times since coming back from your suspension.” said Anita, shaking her head as she pressed a finger to her temple. “You’re going to get in more trouble if you’re not careful.”

“It’ll be fine.” Fera said assuredly, walking towards her partner before kissing her lightly on the cheek. “Come on, we’ll be late if we stay up here forever.” she added cheerfully, walking past her to head for the metal door that led back inside.

“Nevermind the fact that I’ve been waiting on you, not the other way around.” stated Anita, walking after her. “So, you have a good run?”

“It was okay. I’m not breaking any records, but it’s fun enough.” replied Ferain.

“Oh, don’t underplay it. I know how much this means to you. Your mood has really improved since you started doing it last month.”

“Has it?” asked Fera, grinning over her shoulder, only to be lightly shoved forward. “Hey, no pushing.”

“You’re lucky pushing is all I’m doing, Hirigaya.” said Anita, lightly bumping into her again.

“Oh really, Caswell?” retorted Fera, nudging her back.

“Yeah, really.” Anita said back, summoning a light gust of wind that blew Fera off balance as she reached the top of the stairs they needed to descend. Just before Ferain fell over the first step, a swirling mass of wind forced her back into Anita’s arms, which then promptly shoved Fera into a wall. Her gold eyes were wide as Anita pressed her body up against hers and a mischievous grin creased her lips. “Saved you.”

“Nevermind the fact that you almost killed me.” Fera replied.

“Details, Fera, details. No need to sweat them.” Anita whispered, moving closer until their lips softly connected. When they broke apart, Anita giggled beautifully.

“We really will be late if we start this here.” Ferain pointed out, grinning as her typically pale cheeks turned a soft shade of scarlet.

“I know.” Anita said before kissing her again. Almost unbiddenly, Anita laughed and pressed her forehead to Fera’s, which was becoming rather warm from the interaction.

“What?” asked Ferain.

“Nothing. I’m just happy.” Anita slid away, hopped down two steps, and turned to look up at Ferain. “Let’s go, silly. We’ll be late.” Anita then spun on her heels before starting a steady descent, one step at a time.

“Right behind you.”

The stairwell led to each of the fifteen individual floors, and so they continued down until they reached the tenth, where their room was located. Apparently, Anita already had their bags sitting in the entryway, so she ran in real fast to retrieve their belongings while Ferain waited in the halls. She looked up and down the corridor while she waited. The walls were a kind of bronze, faux sort of paint job that also added hints of gold in with the darker hue. The floors meanwhile were a maroon carpeting, which matched the lobby, as well as the other floors perfectly. Really, despite the older, outdated exterior, it was a rather nice place to call home. Ferain had a few shaky moments recently, a couple of times where her judgment was a tad off, and she’d decided that this wasn’t a place where she belonged. However, in her newfound clarity of mind, she decided that this older view of hers was just simply wrong.

She’d been through a lot in her short time at this school, and she changed drastically as a person when compared to who she was before ever boarding the ship to come here. In these lapses of who she was and who she was becoming, her views continued to change, or more specifically, they were like a tennis match, where two opinions continued battling back and forth for relevance. One of them, the earliest of her mindsets, decided that there was no better place to call home. The second player in those battles wanted nothing more than to leave. This current version of who she was agreed wholeheartedly with the first. She loved it here, despite all of what happened, and despite whatever has yet to pass. There was just no better place for her, and she knew that now.

Even the faces and voices of the other students around her filled her with a sense of belonging now. She saw other students, all dressed in their uniforms, rushing out of their rooms to begin their short trek to school. Their laughter filled the halls, as well as the groans of students that were not such early risers, and the jovial cheeriness that accompanied those that were. Fera grinned at the atmosphere around her before realizing that Anita was taking a while to grab two bags that were apparently just past the door. She began stepping towards the slightly ajar opening to their apartment but was stopped short by a boy’s voice.

“Hey, Hirigaya, can you give me a hand with something?”

She turned to see a boy with an almost tanned complexion, though it looked natural instead of something he gained from too much time in the sun. His dark hair and dark eyes led her to believe that he had a latin ethnicity, as well as the very faint accent he still possessed as he spoke. She gave him a curious look as he approached, not solely because of his request for assistance, but also because she had no idea who he was. It wasn’t out of the question that somebody she didn't know knew her, but still, it took her by surprise to be approached so out of the blue.

“Sure?” she said questionably. “What do you need?”

The boy held up a phone and charger as he gave her an awkward grin. “I forgot to charge my phone. Would you mind a quick buzz?”

“I’m not an outlet, guy.” said Fera, crossing her arms over her chest.

“I know, I’m sorry for asking. I needed to call my mom today and–”

“No need to lie.” Fera said softly. “Hand it over.” she added, holding out her hand. He plugged in the phone and she took the charging block, holding the prongs between her thumb and index finger. With a bit of focus, she was able to put just enough power in it to cause the screen of the phone to show a charging bar, but not enough to fry the circuitry in the device.

“Thank you. I’ll pay you back for it.” said the boy.

“No need, just don’t make a habit of it.” she replied, grinning.

After a minute, Anita came marching out with two bags in her hands and some rectangular snack stuck in her mouth, one that had a layer of chocolate on the outside and what looked like some sort of marshmallow stuffing on the inside.

“Sowwy, Era, I was ungr–” she said, her mouth stuffed with food, making it hard to make out what she was saying completely. She stopped short as she saw Ferain and the boy in the hallway. One bag fell and she took the snack out of her mouth. “What’s going on here?” she asked, looking incredulously at the boy, causing him to take a step back from her.

“Just charging his phone real quick. Almost done.” answered Ferain, smiling amusedly at the boy’s frightened expression, as Anita’s eyes began to glow dimly.

“Ferain, you shouldn’t–”

“It’s fine.” she said, cutting her partner short.

“It’s not. People will start coming to you for this all the time if you start–”

“I already told him it’s a one-time thing.” Fera interrupted again.

“That doesn’t mean he won’t–”

“He won’t.” Fera said. “Will you?” she asked, looking up at him with one closed eye and one glowing open one, as if winking at him.

“O-of course not. One time, that’s all. I’ll be better about it in the future, promise.”

“See?” Fera said. The boy’s phone dinged and she handed him back the charger. “All set.”

“Already?” he asked, looking at the screen, which now showed a fully charged status in the upper right corner. “Damn, you’re pretty useful to have around.” He then looked up to see a grinning Ferain eyeing him viciously. “Er, I mean, uhh… Right, well, thank you, Hirigaya. Won’t happen again. See you in class.”

He collected his things and hurried away from the pair of them, giving Fera the time and ability to point at the warm treat in Anita’s hand. “What is that?”

“Oh, I forgot about it. Here, have a piece.” Anita broke off a corner and handed it over. “It’s like a smore. Just got them a few days ago and I’m a bit addicted.”

“I haven’t seen you eating them.” Fera said, raising her piece to her mouth.

“I eat them at night when I’m playing around with my music. A bit unhealthy but there’s nothing to be done about it.”

“Hmm.” hummed Fera, sticking the corner in her mouth and chewing. “It’s okay.” she then said. “A bit much for breakfast, don’t you think?”

“Nah, it’s perfect. Here, your bag.” Anita said, handing over Fera’s black messenger bag. Anita bit a large chunk from her treat and grabbed her fallen bag before walking towards the elevator. “Et’s o, Era.”

“You need to stop talking with your mouth full. I can hardly make out what you’re saying.”

Anita swallowed and smiled back at her partner. “Sorry, can’t help it.”

“Pretty sure you can, actually.” Fera said, following suit.

As they joined the crowd of students walking towards the District-A checkpoint, the two of them continued to talk about an upcoming event, one that Ferain was quite familiar with at this point, thanks mostly to her morning elective. It was a race, one that would consist of reaching certain checkpoints all over the city. Any year could participate, and it was one of the few events that didn’t allow teams. If Fera and Anita were to join, they would be against each other, which she didn’t entirely see as a bad thing. If anything, it might be pretty fun to go up against her partner, who she hardly ever got really serious with in any of their recent training sessions.

In fact, Fera had already decided to join it almost a month ago, when she first found out about the event. A couple of months had passed since her trip back to the city, and after sorting herself out over the course of her first month back she decided it would be good to start participating a bit more in school activities. Really, she thought it would be better to just do things that intrigued her or sounded interesting, things that would make her feel good, like her morning runs. The first month was spent healing, in a way, and this last month was spent finding things that helped to keep her sane and happy. For most, that was such a simple concept, something that wasn’t always even necessary, but for Ferain, it was without a doubt the most important thing she could do.

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This was because she still felt a poison in her veins. It was the taint that Itani inflicted upon her. After so many lessons with him, after all that he had told her and done to her, she had so much anger and hatred in her body that it had become a part of her. Whenever she used her powers, she could feel it under her skin, fighting to come to the surface. Her runs, her resolve to keep herself happy, and her friends more than anything, were a necessity to keep that anger from drowning her again. She doubted it would ever go away, at least completely, but she could distract herself from it by finding enough happiness to counter it. Anita’s laugh in the morning, Maple’s bubbly aura, Victor’s stability, and even Guji’s confidence and aid, all played a part in keeping that anger at bay, otherwise, she might explode again on anybody around her. This was the last thing she wanted, so she vowed to do everything she could to avoid that.

From now on, she had to avoid that. It wasn’t who she was or who she wanted to be. This Fera, the one that laughed and loved and had fun every day, that was who she desired to become and to remain as. There was no room for rage and hatred, not anymore. Ferain thought about this constantly, but during this morning’s walk to school, it was interrupted by something suddenly lifting her into the air. Ferain gasped as she was thrown over the shoulder of her largest friend, Victor Crimson. Behind him, where she was usually to be found, was Maple Asani. She was about Ferain’s size in almost every way, though where most people compared Ferain to a wolf, Maple was undoubtedly more feline-esque. The fangs in her small mouth and the claws at the ends of her fingers and toes certainly helped people make that comparison, which were permanent features given to her by her power.

The exact opposite of both of them was Victor, who was the largest student in the school, and possibly the strongest physically, with or without adding his powers in that equation. Maple’s long reddish-brown hair was ruffled and swaying behind her with each step, and her honey-colored eyes looked at Ferain lovingly. Victor’s black hair was cut short, so there was no movement from it, and since she was hoisted over his shoulder, she couldn’t see whatever his charcoal tinted irises were gazing at.

“You need to stop kidnapping my girlfriend, Vic.” said Anita.

“She enjoys it.” Maple said playfully. “Don’t you, Fe-Fe?”

“I don’t honestly know how I feel about being tossed around like a toy.” Fera remarked. “But… I suppose it is nice to be a bit higher up than normal.” she then added, smiling down at her similarly sized companion.

“Just giving you a lift, Lightning Bug.” said Victor, chuckling as he spoke. “You looked tired.”

“No I didn’t.” she argued. “I got plenty of sleep, and I feel fine. There’s no tired Fera to be found around here.” she said.

“It’s nice of him to taxi you around though,” said Anita. “If only he’d offer us the same courtesy, right, Maple?”

“I know. It makes me a bit jealous, to tell you the truth.” said Maple. “You know what? I think it’s my turn now, big guy.” Maple jumped up onto his back and wrapped her arms and legs around him, keeping herself in place. Victor didn’t really buckle from the added weight, but he did groan a bit, possibly from the surprise of it.

“Warn me next time before you just hop on.” he complained, stopping to set Fera down. “Alright, get yourself comfortable.” he then said to Maple, who climbed into a better position. He reached behind him and clasped his hands under her bottom to keep her supported. Maple pointed ahead and laughed.

“Onward!” she shouted. She then lightly pounded him in the head. “And watch where your hands are going, Vic. I’m still innocent, it’s wrong to touch me in weird places.”

“I’m not touching anything weird.” he groaned, shaking his head as he started walking again.

“Sure you are, I can feel where your hands are. Don’t lie though, you like touching my butt, don’t you?”

Victor sighed. “If you keep talking like that, I’ll drop you.”

“No you won’t.” Maple said, sounding certain that he wouldn’t do such a thing. “Now, I said onward, so keep moving. Go, go!” Victor kept a steady pace, but apparently it wasn’t fast enough. “Run! Put some back into it!” Maple ordered, slapping his head again.

“I feel bad for him.” Anita said, giggling quietly as the large student began jogging towards the checkpoint.

“He likes it.” Ferain said, smiling at that pair of them.

“You think?” Anita questioned.

“I know. He likes her, she likes him, I can’t see why he would hate it.”

“I don’t know, she’s a bit clingy. Who would like that?”

“I always do whenever you’re like that.” Fera admitted, her face turning bright red. Anita then instantly made her regret her words. At once, she grabbed Ferain’s right arm and forced herself right against Fera’s body.

“Really? So, does this make you excited?” After a second, Anita gasped. “Oh, I can hear your heartbeat. Definitely excited.”

“Shut up.” Fera said, giving off a light enough zap to force her to let go. She then cleared her throat. “Anyway, I think that’s why he likes it. It’s because he likes her.”

“Hmm, hmm. Very sagely.” Anita said, nodding her head. Fera lightly shoved her while shaking her head.

“Quiet, you.”

They laughed as they passed through the checkpoint, one after the other, and once inside the school, they went their separate ways. Fera headed for her class with Professor Seven Itani, the worst part of her day, while Anita went to her lessons with Professor Lian Point, her own Lvl-Studies teacher. Of course, as a lvl-2, neither of them really needed that much in the way of mastering their powers anymore, or that was at least the way the teachers always described it. The only one of the higher lvl-studies teachers that seemed to think they could still grow was Itani, though he only thought it was possible through extreme measures, such as beating students bloody and throwing them around until somebody got angry enough to surpass their level.

It was actually something she was curious about since coming here, or at least since reaching lvl-2. As a lvl-4, she did actually learn things about her powers, and how to control them. Professor Sara Yakuma was, despite her apparent lack of caring, a pretty good teacher in that regard. This, however, was exclusive to the lower level teachers, like the fives and fours and sometimes threes. Any higher teacher just seemed to go through the motions, as if they were just wasting time. Fera originally thought this was because it would be up to the students, not the teachers if they desired to level up, but now, she had a different theory. She suspected that maybe, strangely enough, their purpose was to not teach. Guji had an odd outlook on the academies, especially as the headmaster of one. He didn’t seem to really approve of how much they were being taught where their powers were concerned. He didn’t want to raise soldiers, he wanted to raise humans here. He wanted to make wielders more human-like, having them leave their violent origins as weapons behind, and instead integrate into normal society without the risk of damaging their human counterparts.

For this to be achieved, only basic levels of control were necessary. After her lvl-4 class, and the extra lessons she had with her partner and with her late friend Yarin Olira, she was more than capable of going back to a normal life without much concern. Theoretically, this meant that he probably disliked the idea of taking their lessons further than that. As she entered Itani’s classroom, which looked almost exactly the same as the rest of the classes in the academy, she thought about this. That is until the bell rang and the class was full of students. Once a majority of the seats were filled, a lean man stood in front of them. This man, who had once been sallow and sickly, now looked rather fit and healthy. His stark white hair had a new sheen to it, and the scarlet eyes he possessed now had a light within them that hadn’t been there at the start of the year. Ferain knew why, of course, though she kept the nature of Itani's powers a secret from even her closest friends. She thought it was better to not worry them with that detail.

He wore some black trousers, a white shirt, and suspenders, but no jacket or tie. His sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, revealing his pale, muscular forearms. He always had a wicked aura about him, a venom in his ever-present leer, but they no longer had the same effect on Ferain as they once did. She glared back, and she did not falter when their eyes met, his red to her yellow. It was in this class that she felt the most threatened, not by Itani himself, but by the anger he helped to cultivate within her. In her current position, she felt her blood boiling, and she could feel her powers buzzing murderously beneath her skin. They wanted nothing more than to burst out and attack him, but she had to remain calm, and had to keep herself contained.

He was the top member of the Enforcers, a sort of wielder police force for the Japanese branch of Sakura’s government. They handled dangerous matters involving rogue wielders, or situations otherwise unmanageable by human means. According to Guji, he was one of the more dangerous members, which was why he was sent to the academy in the first place, as he was the only one trusted to keep the school under control after the string of murders that happened the previous year. From his spot at the head of the room, he looked directly into Ferain’s eyes and smiled cruelly before finally turning his attention elsewhere.

“Welcome, class,” he hissed wickedly, as was his way of speaking. He sounded like a snake capable of human language. He sounded evil, poisonous, manipulative. “Today, we will be going over a bit more about what we talked about yesterday. Get out your notebooks and get ready to start taking notes. We’ll have a short lesson before moving on to the physical exam I warned you about last week. Are there any questions before we get started?” He looked around but saw no raised hands. “Good. Then I believe I’m safe to assume that you all understood the assignment. That’ll make things much easier as we continue forward in the lesson. Now, we’ll get started right away. Time is short and every second matters.”

Fera did no such thing as taking notes. She didn’t have a desire to focus on him at all, and halfway through the morning lessons, an alarm beeped from the band she wore around her left wrist, signaling that it was time to leave for her next obligation. She, as well as a few other students, collected their things, and without waiting for Itani’s dismissal, left the room behind them. While the other students continued towards other teachers, Ferain made her way to the headmaster’s office on the fourth floor of the school. Directly up the large center staircase, she saw two wooden doors, one of which easily opened at her touch.

“Ah, Ferain, it’s a pleasure to see you.” said Guji Hakamura, in a much more fatherly tone than Itani would ever possess.

Ferain closed the door behind her and smiled at the sight of the thin man that sat behind a desk opposite of the door. “You too, sir.” she replied, walking towards a smaller desk he had brought in when she first started studying under him.

Besides their desks, and their respective leather-backed chairs, there were a few other things in the room. Some old pictures were on the walls or on his own desk, images portraying his time at school or his travels around the world shortly after graduation. There was a circular rug in the center of the room, one that was black mostly, but had a golden phoenix embroidered in the center of it. There were also a few potted plants, which Ferain knew to be fake. Guji didn’t exactly have a green thumb, or so he said. He once told her that he couldn’t even get a weed to sprout if he wanted. Whether he actually tried before, she didn’t know, but it wasn’t like it mattered anyway. The realness of the plants didn’t really concern her, since she wasn't much of a fan of flowers and such.

After setting her bag down and sitting at her desk, she looked over at the headmaster of Olirian Academy. He was as well dressed as usual, with his flawless black suit and the golden phoenix pin clasped at his collar. His hair, which was all black except for a streak of white by his left temple, was slicked back. He had a bit of facial hair, though it wasn’t really anything more than stubble at this point. Ferain assumed he’d just forgotten to shave in the last few days or something. The kind, warm eyes that looked back at her were almost identical to her own, bearing a similar shade of gold and the same tinges of black mixed in.

“So, what am I doing today?” she asked him.

“In a hurry?” he asked her, raising an eyebrow.

“No, but… I don’t know, I’m just ready to get something done. What’s on the agenda? Are you going to teach me how to run the school or take me on a tour around the school to check on teachers?”

“No.” Guji said, laughing slightly. He reached down into a drawer by his leg and pulled out a folder. “You’ll be doing the thrilling task that is known as paperwork.”

“Paperwork?” asked Fera. “Really? Why me? Aren’t you the headmaster?”

“Aren’t you the one that wanted to study under me? What exactly did you expect to do, hmm?”

“I don’t know, it’s just, I always do paperwork. I mean, you took me around the school a few times, but…”

“But it’s mostly paperwork,” he finished. “I know, and it must seem incredibly droll, but that is my job and that is what you signed up to learn. Besides, I really do believe that you’ll find this to be of some interest. Here, take a look.”

Fera reached over her desk to take the offered folder. She opened it and gasped at what she saw. “The advancement test?” she asked, looking up at him. “But that’s not for another month. What is this?”

“It’s a list of already signed up participants. I want you to go through them and try to help me decide on proper opponents for each student. Remember, the examiner has to be a higher level than the challenger, and the way I choose them is by their compatibility.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” asked Ferain.

“It means that I think about how well they suit each other. Will there be something to learn, will it be a challenge, do their powers compliment each other, things like that. If I threw the hardest hitter at a person that isn’t fit for combat, what would there be to learn from that? The lower level student would get thrown around for nothing, and nothing would’ve been gained. You need to pick people that suit each other’s strengths and weaknesses. This will be your assignment for the next few days, so I advise that you give it some thought, even when you’re not in my office.”

“Aren’t you going to help? You said that I’d be helping you.”

“I will be,” said Guji, with a grin. “I’ll review the list you put together when you’re done and we’ll make revisions together if need be. Oh, and I’ll add one more tidbit. I am offering you the opportunity to be an examiner if you desire. If you wish to do so, just put yourself in the listing and if your opponent is somebody I agree with, you’ll be permitted to participate.”

“What if I want to take the test myself?” she asked, glancing at the first page of the list.

“Then you can write yourself in as a challenger, I won’t stop you. However, you can only be one or the other, not both in a single exam. If you are an examiner for this go-around, you’ll need to wait until the next test to be a challenger.”

“I don’t know why I’d want to be an examiner, but whatever. I guess I’ll look through the list and decide later.” Fera then looked up at Guji. “One more thing. If more people sign up as we get closer to the test, am I responsible for them as well?”

“Yes, you will be. Make sure you keep all of your fellows in mind for the foreseeable future. It will help you when picking pairs.” Guji then smiled as Ferain scanned the page again. “You’re wondering why I chose Victor, aren't you?”

“Hmm?” she hummed, looking up at him.

“Victor. You’re wondering why I chose him to fight you last year.”

“A bit. I’m also a bit curious as to why you chose a lvl-2, not just Vic specifically.”

“It’s because I thought you had the potential to rise to lvl-2. That also goes into my consideration. If I only think a person can rise from lvl-4 to lvl-3, I’ll put them against a lvl-3. I don’t want to overdo it. I didn’t think you could handle a lvl-1 yet, but I knew you had what it took to be lvl-2. As for why it was Victor, I thought his unmovable strength would be an educational match for you, as well as a good opportunity to show the school how hard you’d been working to improve. Victor Crimson is a powerful wielder in his own right, and is well known for that strength among the students. If you could handle him, I figured the school would see you for what you are currently, not what your past had made you before coming here.”

“Hmm. You really gave it quite a bit of thought.” Fera muttered.

“I tried to, yes. I take advancement assignments rather seriously, and I expect you to give it a similar level of commitment.”

“I’ll try,” said Ferain. “But I won’t promise I’ll get all right. I’ll probably mess up a couple of times.”

“Like I said, I’ll look through it when you’re done. I'm not expecting you to get it right the first time. It’s a learning experience, that’s kind of the point. Besides, it’s not like I always choose correctly either.”

“Fair enough.” Fera said, turning her attention to the pages in the folder.

This list stuck with her throughout the rest of the day, all the way up to the dinner table late that night. Fera sat across from Anita, one hand holding onto a pair of chopsticks that was partially dipped in a hot bowl of instant ramen, the other hand holding up the list.

“Have you even looked at the second page yet?” Anita asked.

“I thumbed through them.” Ferain answered, putting the folder down and sighing. “Sorry, I know I’m a bit distracted. It’s a huge task. I didn’t expect something like this so early on.”

“You did ask to study under the headmaster, Ferain. You should have expected he’d test you with some of his own responsibilities.”

“I guess so. Still, how am I supposed to do this? I don’t know the students like he does. I don’t know what everyone can do or how they’d be in a fight against each other. How am I supposed to choose that?”

“I don’t know.” Anita said softly, giving a faint shrug of her shoulder. “But, I do know that you’ll figure it out. Stop doubting yourself, you got this.”

“Maybe.” Fera murmured.

“Okay.” Anita said, scoffing a bit. She rose and approached Fera’s side of the table before pulling her chair back away from it, making enough room for her to fall into Fera’s lap. She draped her arms over Fera’s shoulder and pulled her close enough to kiss her. “Calm down a bit, okay?”

“I’m trying, but… I have a list of examiners and challengers and it’s probably going to grow every day leading up to the test. He gave me limited access to the registry so I can see what abilities people have, but that will only help so much.” Fera raised a hand and began playing with the blue gem hanging from her left ear. “What if I can’t do this? What if I can’t pick the right pairs or what if I can't pick anything at all? What if I go back to Guji with an empty list right before the test? What then?”

Anita swatted Fera’s hand away from the earring and giggled. “You’re stressing over nothing, Ferain. He’s the headmaster for a reason. I’m sure he’s making his own list just in case you do miss a couple. Really, it’s not a big deal. You can go back empty-handed and I’m sure he’ll have something prepared just in case. Relax, and just give it some thought when you have the time. For now though, why don’t we take a bath and get to bed, yeah?”

“What about dinner?” asked Ferain, looking at her half-full bowl of ramen.

“You don’t seem all that hungry right now,” said Anita. “And I already finished mine like five minutes ago. You’ve been staring at that paper for a while.”

“Sorry.” Fera said.

“No biggie. Come on, time for a bath.”

Anita rose, took Ferain’s hand, and helped her from the chair. One bath later, she was curled up next to Anita in her bed, with her partner breathing quietly behind her. Ferain, taking Anita’s advice, did her best to relax and to ease her mind. She closed her eyes, and focused on her partner’s steady breaths until she managed to finally fall asleep.