Chapter 6: Elite Beginnings

Moto, despite having a house now, chooses to sleep on the roof. He gazes at the stars, a wide smile on his face. "I'm one step closer, Amber. I'm gonna give it my all. Especially now that I have a rival." A gentle breeze blows past Moto. We follow the breeze over to Sheu's window as she prepares her uniform for the next day. She holds her father's letter tightly, then sets it next to her bed and sleeps.

The next morning, the three meet outside Ginimbi's mansion. Moto compliments Sheu's uniform, noticing how the navy blue shirt matches her blue eyes and dark skin.

Moto: "You look great, neat as always."

Sheu: "Thank you, wish I could say the same."

Moto: "Function over form. My body is a weapon, not a doll."

Sheu: "You could have at least washed your hair."

Moto: "I did."

Sheu: "...right," she says with skepticism.

Najo walks out, hair slicked back, dressed in an expensive-looking blue tracksuit.

Sheu: "Wow, nice."

Najo: "I know, right? I told the old man I wanted to do sports, and he said he'd make a call."

Moto: "So cool."

Najo: "Don't like the hair, though." He scruffs it up a bit. "That's more like it."

Moto: "Yeah, now you look almost as good as me."

The three end up going back and forth until they reach the school. The elite school is massive, with multi-story buildings and numerous buildings and arenas. They are greeted by a prefect at the gate who directs them to their class. As they walk up the crowded hall, Sheu feels nervous and walks closer to Moto.

They walk into class. The class is full of students in their cliques. Moto scans the room and notices a blue-haired boy sitting with his arms crossed in front of his face, glaring at him from a distance. He is surrounded by other students who follow suit and stare at Moto. Moto wonders what their problem is. Amongst them is another student with long hair and fair skin who looks at Moto with concern. The dirty look is starting to get on Moto's nerves.

Najo: "What's that guy's problem?"

Moto: "Dunno, let's go find out."

As the boys step forward, two tall twins hold Najo's shoulder. "Hey, you're Najo, right?"

Najo: "Who's asking?"

Dope: "I'm Dope, and this is my twin Gango. We're also from the Lightning," they say as sparks of lightning crackle around their arms. The boys are prefects, and they offer to show Najo around. Najo agrees, and Moto is left alone with Sheu.

Moto: "Let's go sit down."

"I thought you wanted to find out what's up with that guy," teases Sheu.

As they sit, the senior teacher walks in, and the class quiets down. He greets the class.

Mr. Jumbo: "For the sake of our new students, I'll remind you that this is the elite school because it focuses on training talented students to master their abilities. Because of this, our school is the closest to the Earth ore, and because of our proximity to its radiation, your powers are at their strongest here, allowing you guys to train at your best."

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Mr. Jumbo sees the confusion on Moto's face. He sighs. "Looks like we're due for a quick history lesson," he says.

The boy who was glaring at Moto raises his hand.

Mr. Jumbo: "Yes, Prince Mukai."

Moto: "Prince?"

Mukai: "Allow me, sir."

Mr. Jumbo: "Go ahead."

Mukai looks directly at Moto. "This is prerequisite knowledge to even qualify to be here, so pay attention. The Earth ore is one of six fragments of the meteor that gave humans their powers. Each nation has its own, giving them control over one of the six concepts that make up reality. Our Earth ore gives us control over physical matter, or in layman's terms, the elements. And so the closer you are to its radiation, the stronger your natural abilities become."

Mr. Jumbo: "Well said, Prince."

Sheu whispers to Moto, "My dad explained it better."

Mukai notices the whisper and glares at her too.

Mr. Jumbo: "Now that we got the basics out of the way, split up into your elements. Sheu, join Cyclone. Moto, join Volcano."

Moto high-fives Sheu and tells her she's gonna do great. They split.

The training grounds for the Volcano squad are in an indoor center with fireproof equipment and temperature-measuring instruments. They do a warm-up run around the arena, and Moto does very well since he is used to physical training. However, when it comes to the power tests, Moto quickly realizes how heavily outmatched he is. Some students can melt steel in their palms, while others can cover themselves in pillars of fire.

Meanwhile, Najo trains with the Lightning group, with Dope and Gango helping him get up to speed. Sheu is outmatched in her class as well; other students can summon massive tornadoes, and one of the students can fly. The gap in their abilities is obvious, but Moto is not discouraged.

The three meet on their way home. They accompany Najo to his mother's place. When they walk in, they find Naomi there with another woman dressed in black. The lady greets them, and Naomi reveals that it's Dope and Gango's mother.

Naomi reveals that when Najo was born, Nawick sent his chief guard, Ryan, to kill her and the baby. However, Ryan couldn't bring himself to do so since his wife had just given birth to twins. He lets Naomi escape and asks that she let his son know once he is in power. Ryan didn't make it, leaving his wife a widow. And so now she had come to meet Najo herself. She is pleased to hear they have already met. However, Moto senses an ominous aura about her.