Once again, Lucius found himself lounging outside, doing nothing. He was seated on a seat facing the massive training field of Theta magic academy, where multiple students were training, or holding mock battles. Flame, and wind spells were whirling around everywhere, and debris was being kicked up and smashed into the protective dome like barrier that surrounded the field, which prevented any damage from occurring to the rest of the campus. Lucius slowly turned around as he scanned the massive outside area of the school. He went from the training field, to the lunch room, and then over to a small forest of wisteria trees, tucked away to the far left side of the school. That was known as "The Forest of Life." One of the many "mutations" that occurred when magic was first introduced into the world. A forest filled with wisteria trees the size of redwoods. Not only that but it was also surrounded by a protective barrier, just like the one that surrounded the training field.

It was said that along with the massive wisteria trees, all of the wildlife in the forest was also mutated by the original influx of magic into the world. The barrier was erected to keep whatever was in that forest out, and away from society. Lucius heard the sound of footsteps approaching him and turned to see the same black haired boy who couldn't stop laughing at him in class approaching, with the same smile on his face. "What exactly do you want? Hayato?" Lucius gave a harsh greeting.

"That's no way to greet a friend now is it?" Hayato pulled up a chair to face Lucius.

"You call yourself a friend, but you don't ever really show it."

"Yeah whatever you say. If I recall correctly, every time you needed someone to join you in your escapades, who was there?"

Lucius tossed Hayato a glance that read, "You can't really be serious with that, right?"

"Maybe Raiden was there, but I always followed along." Hayato leaned back in his seat before turning his eyes to face the direction Lucius had been staring at throughout their conversation. 'The Forest of life?' What about that drab old place could have caught your attention?"

"Drab? Your taste appalls me." Lucius stretched his hands out into the sunlight, slowly stretching and moving his fingers around as he watched the light and shadows stretch and tighten. "Have you ever wondered what's really hiding in those forests? beside what we're told?" Lucius proposed the question out of nowhere, and Hayato seemed fairly taken aback.

"No, why ask? We've been there once before, and that might have been the most traumatic experience of my life. It's blocked off, and we're expressly banned from heading there. Nothing of value there, or at least, nothing of value to me." Lucius was just about to ask what Hayato was trying to insinuate with the emphasis on me, however he was cut off by another voice from behind him.

"Have you ever heard about the tale of the seat of the complacent king?" Lucius turned his head around to see Raiden approaching them with a discontent look on his face, barely concealed by his white hair. "The king of the underworld, known for his complete and utter lack of competence, and his tendency to be complacent. It was said that he rarely ever left his throne and eventually, it became his own prison."

"Your point here?" Lucius asked, unamused by Raiden's sudden appearance. "Spare me from your fairy tales."

"Moral of the story, you should really get off your ass." Raiden kicked the back of Lucius' seat, causing it to rise a few inches into the air before coming back down. Then he pointed over to the training field where multiple students were holding mock battles. "What exactly do you think their training is for?" Raiden posed a question so obvious it could pass for a rhetorical, which it probably was. However Lucius made a point to answer the question, and to purposely answer it wrongly as well.

"Obviously they're simply trying to improve their skills in order to perform better in class." Hayato snickered, but Raiden was unamused.

"Tell me something, are you going to participate in the tournament?"

"No way." Lucius gave a quick and concise answer, leaving no room for ambiguity.

"And why?" Raiden pressed on, clearly dissatisfied by Lucius's answer.

"What other reason do I need but not wanting to?"

Knowing that he wasn't going to get anywhere asking questions like this, Raiden turned to Hayato, who always had a way of convincing Lucius to go along with things, and gave him a look that read, "a hand?" Hayato really didn't want to involve himself in whatever petty little argument that Lucius and Raiden were going to have this time. He considered himself a pro in disengaging himself from situations, especially when it came to disagreements between Lucius and Raiden. However against his better instincts he decided to involve himself this time.

"Raiden is asking a valid question. Your lack of a reason to not participate, is a reason to participate in and of itself." Lucius remained unconvinced however, simply shrugging his shoulders. Hayato was prepared to drop it there, but something told him to press on, namely the item that Raiden had just slipped under the table to him. "You do realize what's at stake here, don't you?"

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"No I don't, please enlighten me." Lucius replied sarcastically. However Hayato was the one person who was able to match Lucius' energy, and he replied in kind.

"Well I'll explain it to you. This tournament is to decide the champion of the princess, who will be decided by the royal selection." Hayato spoke slowly and enunciated every single syllable, as if he was talking to a child. Lucius rolled his eyes slightly before gesturing for him to continue. "And one of the candidates just so happens to be your older sister."

* * *

"So Lucius refuses to participate?" Yami leaned back in his seat with his feet kicked up on the desk while smoking a cigarette as he reiterated what Raiden and Hayato had just told him. He breathed out a puff of smoke that slowly floated into the air. With a weak flick of his finger the smoke completely dispersed. "Well. As I already stated in class, he can't be forced to participate unless he is given a teacher recommendation." Yami looked over his glasses to see the pleading look on the boy's face. "So you guys want me to give him a recommendation, therefore forcing him to participate?"

Raiden nodded.

Removing his legs off of the desk, Yami straightened his posture and looked the boys in the eyes. "First of all, allow me to remind you of what occurred during the fifth period, not to mention that Lucius is a serial offender of nearly every rule in the book. I can't endorse a student like that." Raiden lowered his head into a bow before beginning to speak.

"I know, and for what it's worth, I'm sorry. I know it's selfish of me to ask this considering everything-"

"It's not just that." Yami cut Raiden off before he could finish. He snubbed the flame of his cigarette out before tossing it away. Raiden and Hayato watched tensely as the cigarette seemed to be completely erased from existence. "Even if Raiden was as good of a student as Alice or Suijin, I still wouldn't give him that recommendation." Raiden and Hayato were taken aback, but before they could ask why, Yami continued. "The reason you guys are trying so hard to get Lucius to participate is because you want to compete with him right? You want it to be all three of you competing. You couldn't care less about the prize. You all just want one opportunity to compete against each other with all you got, just like you used to."

Once again Raiden and Hayato found themselves left in utter shock by Yami's words. His reading of the situation was perfect. "If you understand, then why won't you help us out?" This was Hayato.

"As your teacher, it is my job to help you guys. However, that does not mean I'm here to solve your problems for you. I could very well give Lucius that recommendation, and force him to participate, and that might seem like the right thing to you guys, but trust me it's not. You three are childhood friends, are you not?" It was an obvious rhetorical question, as Yami knew all about these three and their shenanigans. However Yami didn't continue until the boys nodded. "Then work to understand each other. I could force him to participate, but that wouldn't help bridge the gap in your friendship. You boys are growing. It's not as simple as it was when you were kids."

"Then what do you advise that we do?" Raiden asked, understanding Yami's point, but still confused as to what options it left them with.

"My advice? It's to do something that will help remind not only Lucius, but all three of you as to what made you guys such good friends in the first place. Make Lucius agree to participate of his own accord."

* * *

"Do something that reminds all three of us of what made us such good friends in the first place?" Raiden pondered over Yami's advice to them, not exactly sure of how he should go about it. He thought back to the day he first met Lucius and Hayato. It was in elementary school, and they had become friends due to their similar nature. Two boys who just had too much energy, and not enough ways to burn it all away. Anytime there was any sort of trouble, it could always be traced back to him and Lucius. Hayato, on the other hand, was a smart kid who kept to himself, and tried to avoid being involved in any trouble. Despite that, he managed to get involved in their shenanigans, and it was all because of...

Before Raiden could finish his thought he heard footsteps approaching and looked up to see a girl with dark brown hair and eyes the same color as the sea. She stood above him with her hands on her hips, her hair and skirt swaying in the wind. "Well, look what we have here. You're the last person I'd expect to be sitting around doing nothing." Suijin said.

"Believe it or not, I'm taking part in what's known as, 'silent contemplation'"

That actually made her laugh, causing her brown curls to bounce up and down. The sun shined down strongly, turning her brown skin gold. "Silent contemplation, huh?" She looked up in the sky, actively searching for something.

"What are you looking for?"

"The flying pigs."

"It's not that unbelievable is it?"

"Depends on what you're 'silently contemplating' about."

"Could you not say it like it's something you're surprised I even know exists." Raiden picked up a stone on the ground before tossing it as hard as he could. The stone flew across the entire length of the massive training field of the school and near light speed before crashing straight into the barrier of the forest of life, getting incinerated on impact. "Could I ask you a question?"

"Sure." Suijin said, as she lowered herself onto the grass next to Raiden, lounging with her hands behind her head and her feet crossed. "Ask away, a prodigy such as myself will have the answer to any question your plebeian mind couldn't solve on its own."

Raiden ignored her jab. "When you think of me, Lucius and Hayato, what do you think makes us friends?" Raiden looked over at Suijin, who took a second before answering.

"If I had to say, it would be nothing. You three aren't alike in any way. Lucius is a good for nothing trouble-maker who skips school. Your an overly-energized, cocky bastard, and Hayato is a useless, quote on quote, 'prodigy.'" Raiden refrained from pointing out how hypocritical Suijin's comments were. "If you're looking for what made you guys such good friends I'd probably think about all of the things that you guys used to do together. Namely your stint in the forest of life."

Raiden's eyes widened. Now that he thought about it, she was right. It was not as much of their personalities,-even though they did play a part in Raiden and Lucius' case- but more of their shared experiences that helped build their friendship. "Recreate those experiences." Raiden muttered to himself. He bolted up. preparing to go, but before he left, he turned to ask Suijin another question. "It's not like you to walk around doing nothing either. Why are you out here?"

Suijin took a second to consider her question before finally answering with, "Checking people out."