For some time now, Yuriko felt vaguely dissatisfied with her training regimen. She got up before dawn, alternated sprinting and jogging for at least a league, then proceeded with either body weight, flexibility, or agility training. Afterwards, she would practice her sword dances with five different styles, which took her about an hour and a half. Lately, she hadn’t even broken a sweat while running, she barely felt warm during the next phase, and only had a light sweat by the time she finished her sword dance practice.

Her after training Golden Recovery meditation ended after ten seconds which basically meant that her muscles didn’t tear and weren’t in need of any kind of healing or rest. Her familiarity with the sword dances continued increasing, at least, and she felt she could more easily transition between any of the three without leaving herself vulnerable for more than a blink of an eye.

She was correct in her assumption that practising the dances with more than one set of weaponry helped with her understanding but that was the only satisfying part of her daily training.

With a sigh, she headed up to their room to take a bath and complete her morning ablutions. Kato had just come out of the bathroom when she entered their common living space.

“Good morning!” he said cheerily.

Yuriko grunted, “Morning.”

“Is something the matter?” Kato frowned, coming close and staring at her face. Yuriko just shook her head.

“I’ll tell you over breakfast if you don’t mind.”

“Sure, but don’t take too long. They’re releasing the Elite trail results today.”

And now another butterfly to flutter in her tummy. She sighed and went into the bath, still cloyingly humid after Kato’s use. There was an odd musky scent in there, too, from whatever cologne her elder brother used.

She stripped out of her clothes and scrubbed herself clean before soaking for a short while in the hot water bath. When she felt more relaxed, she got out and dried herself. The mirror above the sink caught her eye and she stared at her reflection with a frown. Her face still hadn’t recovered its normal tan after her coma, oddly enough. It was as pale as the parts of her body that barely felt the sun’s touch.

Her arms were slender, with hardly any muscle definition unless she flexed and the same was true for the rest of her. Were her hips starting to widen? Shaking her head ruefully, she braided part of her hair and looped it around her usual ponytail, put a bathrobe on, and left for her room.

There she picked out a light blue summer dress from the closet, a matching beret, and a dark leather belt that she used to hang her side-blade and pouch on. Her safety pouch, which held her license cards and other identification papers, hung on a thin silver chain around her neck and was tucked carefully under her dress, just over her chemise.

Although the pouch didn’t really show under her dress, it was still a bit uncomfortable now. Maybe she should buy a dress with deep pockets instead, or more likely, have them tailor-made.

Kato had already gone to the dining hall and she quickly made her way down after buckling her side-blade on her belt and putting on a pair of sandals. Not the most stable of footwear when it came to a fight but she could easily kick them off just in case.

At the common room, she found Kato and the twins with a plateful of sausages, ham, and bread. She nodded her greetings to Braden and Orrin while she headed to the breakfast table and piled on some kind of cured meat, scrambled eggs, sliced bread, and a spoonful of orange marmalade. Still no lavan berry juice so she settled for a pot of tea sweetened with honey.

“Nervous?” Braden asked when she got to the table.

“Well, today I’ll learn if I enter the correct academy and find out if my dreams and goals will remain attainable.” She took a deep breath. “So, yes. I am.”

“Huh,” Orrin grunted. “You don’t look nervous.”

Yuriko rolled her eyes and started eating, finding herself full after polishing off the plate. The hot tea helped settle some of her nerves but she nearly jumped when Kato cleared his throat.

“So what’s bothering you? Other than the trial results anyway. It’s already over and nothing you do will change it. So just relax and accept it. If you passed, then great! If you failed, then at least you gave it a shot. Besides, Sharom produces the best runescribes and spellweavers.”

“You’re right, of course,” Yuriko muttered, “and I know I can’t do anything else to change things around at this time, but that’s not really what I’m thinking of.”

“What then?”

Yuriko tapped her fingers rhythmically on the table. Her teacup was empty and she glanced at the pot sitting on a side table. “Just a moment.”

“Sure, take all the time you need. But we have to leave in half an hour.”

She poured a fresh cup, added a double dollop of honey and came back. The sweetness exploded on her tongue. Just right.

“So?”

“Well,” feeling a bit shamefaced, Yuriko kept her voice low, “I haven’t been feeling any improvement when I trained the past week.”

“Oh?”

“Yes, I’ve been doing my usual regimen but it's not the same anymore. I’ve even increased my load but the improvements are minuscule.”

“I see.” Kato hummed. He held out his hand.

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“Huh?”

“Grab it and squeeze.”

“Uh, sure.” Yuriko took Kato’s hand and started squeezing gingerly. Kato did the same with a rather serious look on his face. She could feel the pressure he exerted but that was it.

“Harder,” he ordered.

She increased the pressure, noting the slightest change in the look on Kato’s face.

“Again,” he said and this time, she could see she’d actually managed to squeeze hard enough to cause more than a little bit of pain.

“Stop.” Kato winced and shook his hand loose. “Ancestors, little sis, you’re already stronger than I am. Well, I suppose it makes sense since you have a melee focus. Anyway,” he coughed, “it seems like you’ve reached a plateau in training. Either you switch it up or drastically increase your load and training time. I don’t recommend that at all though. You look like you’ve already got a good balance between strength and agility. Besides,” he muttered half under his breath, “I don’t want to see my cute little sis turn into a musclebound oaf.”

Yuriko gave him a side-eye.

“Ahem,” he continued, “this should be as good as you’re going to get with your physique without extreme training and at this point, you’re better off using the time to polish your other skills or learn new things.”

Yuriko nodded slowly.

“You could also ask the Academy professors for other options,” Orrin piped up. “No offence, big brother, but having multiple opinions could help.”

“None taken,” Kato nodded agreeably. “Wait,” he said with narrowed eyes, “who’s your big brother?’

“Ahahaha...” Orrin chuckled disarmingly.

“We should go already,” Braden cut in. “We don’t want to be late. Are you done, Yuri?”

“Yeah, I’m done.”

They placed the dishes and utensils on a tray and brought them to the bussing area. Afterwards, they headed to the waiting shed for the Circuit Tram.

When she first came up to the Upper Ring, and in the subsequent times for the rest of the tests, Yuriko had been too preoccupied to observe the place. The roads were wide, the narrowest at least as wide as the Mid Ring’s boulevards. Each had a strip of earth between lanes and more often than not, there were flowering trees planted there, each one carefully trimmed so that most of the leaves fell into the plots rather than the cobblestone. They were tall enough for their shadows to touch the sidewalks at dawn and dusk but no more than that.

The buildings were evenly spaced with a wide lawn and trees or shrubs in between each building. No building wall touched another at any point in time. Although considering the Upper Ring had ample space compared to the Mid rings, it made sense and gave the place an airier feel.

The Tram went through the waiting sheds, going by several sprawling mansions. It even stopped at Central Square where all the government institutions were located, from City Hall to the Grand Temple of the Everlasting Order. The tallest spire of the temple was of a height with City Hall’s clocktower.

Yuriko thought that was a frivolity. The clocktower told time but just a quick glance told her it was already late by a couple of minutes. Well, the face and hands were made of a jade and gold alloy, so it glimmered with the sunlight. As soon as it hit the hour, third after dawn, a small bell tolled a simple melody. It was only audible near the square which explained why she never heard it on campus. It was nice, actually. Quite upbeat.

They alighted at the campus waiting shed. Orrin stretching and yawning while Braden scratched his back. Kato yawned, too, showing off his slightly crooked teeth. Yuriko rolled her eyes and poked Kato’s side and he grunted in annoyance.

Apparently, they weren’t that early since a lot of examinees had turned up. There were hundreds across all four academies and they were all heading to the same billboard near the Central Reserve. The four of them took their ease while walking, letting the more anxious kids rush past them on the road.

“Excuse me,” a cold yet familiar voice said from behind them. Yuriko turned to look and Gwendith and her posse were behind them.

“Gwendith,” she nodded amiably.

The other girl sniffed but nodded in greeting. Her eyes darted to the twins, lingering on their faces, a common reaction when meeting identical twins though Orrin and Braden weren’t completely identical in looks. Their general demeanour was also distinct enough that Yuriko never had a problem telling them apart. Gwendith’s gaze shifted to Kato and Yuriko saw her eyes widen and her jaw drop.

“Senior Kato Davar!” she squeaked.

Squeaked?

Yuriko goggled while Gwendith rushed up to Kato and started babbling.

“Oh, Ancestors! I didn’t expect to see you on campus before the actual term started! Oh, you were so wonderful the Season of Earth’s Wargames! Oh, you were so brilliant in turning around a nearly hopeless situation by outmanoeuvring the other team!”

“Er, you look a bit young to be anything but an incoming fresher…”

“Oh, oh, my elder sister brought me over to watch. Hahaha, she was in the opposite team, but oh well!”

‘Was this the snooty girl she met during the practicals or did she have a twin, too?’ Yuriko thought, bemused. She glanced at the posse, recognizing Ella-Mai, Peyton, and Agwain. They looked at Kato with sparkles in their eyes too.

Yuriko glanced at her brother. He was rubbing the back of his neck and was chuckling awkwardly while Gwendith and some of the other girls yakked at him. Gwendith was just a bit shorter than Yuriko was and the other girls were all shorter than her, so Kato looked like an adult surrounded by children. Which was what it was, in all honesty.

“Ahem, er, excuse me, my sister, her friends, and I are all headed to the board to check their results.

“Oh, sister, ah, that’s why!” Gwendith clapped her hands. “Here, let us help you clear the way! Come on, people let’s move!”

And just like that, they parted the crowd and bulled towards the Central Reserve. Yuriko, Orrin, and Braden shared a three-way glance. Kato’s neck was flushed, though he kept on an emotionless mask. Yuriko walked up to him and poked his side.

“What?”

“I didn’t think you were this popular.”

“Hmm, well. Your brother’s a handsome man.”

“I see. Should I let Caera know when she gets here? She must be proud,” she smirked.

Kato gave her a side-eye then glanced pointedly at the twins. “Uh-huh. You’re one to talk,” he snorted.

“Huh, what do you mean?”

Kato rolled his eyes and then ruffled her hair over her beret.

“Hey!” she protested while he chuckled.

“If you think I’m popular, you should have seen it when Marron was here.”

“Oh?”

“I’ll leave it to him to regale you with his adventures.”

They came up to the board where dozens of papers were displayed, each with tiny, tiny names with a pass or fail right next to it. Gwendith glanced at Yuriko then turned her nose up and sniffed.

Shaking her head, Yuriko looked for her name on the list. Each Academy had their own list and she headed eagerly for Agaza’s.

“Fallen Sun!” Orrin moaned. When Yuriko glanced at him, he shook his head ruefully. “Failed both,” he sighed.

“Well, that’s awkward,” Braden said, “since I passed Aneurin’s.”

“Congratulations!” Orrin grinned and hugged the other.

“Yeah, sure, easy enough, heh.”

“Congratulations,” Yuriko said. “You’re still entering Sharom’s regular?” she asked Orrin.

“Of course.”

“Ah, well, I think you can keep trying for elite class every year, right?”

“There’s a trial every term,” Gwendith said just loud enough for Yuriko to hear but when she looked at the other girl, she was pointedly looking away.

“Huh.”

Yuriko continued to look, praying to the Ancestors under her breath. She found her name soon enough and when she looked, it wasn’t a pass. And it wasn’t a fail either.

The word “Guidance” was next to her name instead. Frowning, she looked at some other names and found a couple with the same marks. She looked at the other lists and saw a fail on Aneurin’s and Lunette’s, which she completely expected. Sharom’s was the same as Agaza’s, Guidance.

“What now?” she muttered.

“It means you need to meet with the panel,” Kato said. “Let’s go, maybe we can see them immediately.”

“Yeah,” Yuriko said. The butterflies were beating the inside of her tummy and she felt nauseated. “Let’s go.”