As Fall began, the leaves transitioned from green to brown and tumbled from the trees. Jax awoke, chilled by an unusual breeze that had left a touch of frost inside their dojo dorm. "I can't believe it's already Fall," he murmured, shivering in the cold.

"Are you alright, Jax?" Tethyus asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just a bit cold," Jax replied. He glanced at the sun's position and realized what time it was. "Wait, it's the first day of class and we're almost late!" he exclaimed. He woke Lionel, Felix, and Kiyoshi with a shove each.

"Just a few more minutes," Felix groaned, turning over onto his other side.

"If I let you sleep for a few more minutes, we'll be late for our morning classes and Sensei will give us detention," Jax warned him. At this news, Felix jolted awake.

"Crap," he muttered as his eyes snapped open wide.

Jax tried to kick Lionel awake but found something soft beneath the blanket instead of Lionel's body. "Hmm, that’s weird; why is he so soft?" Jax mused aloud before throwing off the blanket to reveal pillows stacked atop one another.

Felix roused Kiyoshi with a swift kick to his gut. "Sorry man, it was the only way I could wake you up," he justified before landing the blow.

Kiyoshi woke with pure white eyes and stumbled through their paper-thin walls into the grassy area outside their mini dojo. Clutching his stomach in pain and shivering in the wind he complained about not being warned beforehand.

"I'll explain later while we're on our way to class," Felix promised as they started running towards their main building which seemed miles away.

"We aren’t going to make it in time," Felix groaned.

"Not if we keep complaining about it," Jax retorted, already a good distance ahead.

"I'm coming," Kiyoshi called out, struggling to catch up with them as they ran against the wind towards their main dojo building.

Meanwhile, Lionel was standing right in front of the building, annoyed at his tardy teammates. "I can’t believe I’m going to get detention because they couldn't wake up on time," he grumbled as he sensed their arrival through their spirit guardian.

"There they are," Zebeon noted.

"I see them," Lionel confirmed. "What took you guys so long? The class started five minutes ago!" he chastised them upon their late arrival.

"Why didn’t you wake us up?" Kiyoshi demanded angrily.

"Because I thought you guys were responsible enough to wake up on time and that I wouldn't have to babysit you all," Lionel shot back before heading towards the classroom. Kiyoshi balled his fists and marched after him, attempting a punch which Lionel easily caught without looking back. He swiftly countered with a kick to Kiyoshi’s head before continuing on his way.

"One of these days, I will get you back for all the times you hit me!" Kiyoshi yelled in anger.

"Will you guys cut it out? We have to get to class before it's over!" Felix intervened.

"Yeah, I agree with Felix on this one," Jax chimed in as they finally arrived at the classroom door just as Sensei Yuriko glared at them disapprovingly.

"Late again Team Mystical Force? That's an automatic two days of detention! Keep this up and we might have to revoke your team tournament privilege,” she warned sternly.

"We're sorry Sensei Yuriko, it won't happen again," Lionel, Felix, Kiyoshi, and Jax apologized in unison before taking their places on the mat.

"Hello, fighters, welcome to a new year at Zokor Academy; I am Sensei Yuriko. My Spirit Guardian is Orion the lizard tail Crystal Eagle," she introduced herself. She was tall compared to her students, with a ruby bun atop her head and a white-tipped ponytail. Her yellow eyes were accentuated by red eyeliner and her cheeks were subtly painted to give the illusion of blushing. She wore a crystal white gi with a red belt cinched around her waist and an emblem of a Lizard tail eagle emblazoned on her back.

"Can anyone tell me what type of Spirit Guardian I have?" she asked.

Lionel quickly answered, "Hybrid."

"I read about it in the academy's dojo scroll once; it's a rare type of spirit guardian that can be produced when two parents from different spirit genes mix to create offspring," he explained.

"Excellent, Lionel," praised Sensei Yuriko before turning to Orion and saying, “Our plan is still in effect. The boy is intelligent and so is his team.”

"Alright fighters, today's lesson is all about team trust,” she announced. "Your grade will be based on today’s lesson."

"Oh great, we're going to fail miserably," Lionel muttered as he facepalmed.

"Rest assured, sir, we will be the finest team on the island," Zebeon declared confidently. "Perhaps in a million years," Lionel retorted. Sensei Yuriko, taking charge of the situation, called out, "Fighters, follow me!" She led them from the dojo classroom to a large platform resting precariously on a sharp object.

"This is today's lesson," she announced. Then she asked for volunteers willing to try out the task at hand. Kiyoshi eagerly raised his hand and volunteered their team. Lionel frowned at this decision, grumbling about inevitable failure and detention.

Sensei Yuriko beckoned Team Mystical Force to step onto the unstable platform. Lionel, Felix, Jax, and Kiyoshi complied with her instructions but soon found themselves struggling to maintain balance as the platform wobbled dangerously atop its pointy support.

"The goal is to balance yourselves as a unit for one minute without falling off; if you fall off, you fail today’s lesson," Sensei Yuriko explained. The platform tipped suddenly as they all clustered on one side and began sliding towards the edge.

"Jax! Felix! Move to the other side quickly so we don’t fall off!" Lionel instructed urgently. They managed to redistribute their weight effectively across the platform and stabilize it once more.

"That's all you've got?" Kiyoshi taunted his teammates who merely facepalmed in response. Suddenly small wooden logs started being hurled at them from nowhere.

Stolen novel; please report.

Frustration was evident on Jax's face as he said sarcastically, "Great job man! Now we have an impossible task." Felix echoed his sentiments claiming that it wasn't fair at all.

Their complaints were short-lived as they all tumbled down when Kiyoshi lost his balance after getting hit by one of the logs. Sensei Yuriko declared their collective failure since they had fallen off the platform as a team. Kiyoshi tried to argue, blaming the unexpected logs but Sensei Yuriko dismissed his excuses.

Lionel's temper flared at this point and he yelled at Kiyoshi, accusing him of being the reason for their failure. Kiyoshi fell silent and returned to sit with the other fighters.

Sensei Yuriko called for the next team, known as X-Fangs. This team was new on the island, evident from their white gis. Lionel voiced his inability to sense their spirit guardians which led to a discussion among Team Mystical Force about possible reasons for this anomaly.

X-Fangs executed the task flawlessly, dodging thrown logs while maintaining balance on the wobbly platform. Everyone except Sensei Yuriko looked shocked at their performance.

Sensei Yuriko used their success to highlight how teamwork should work. Lionel dismissed it as beginner's luck but Jax was optimistic about their own potential with practice. Felix and Kiyoshi agreed with him.

Class was dismissed but Team Mystical Force had to stay back due to prior tardiness. Their punishment involved doing handstands on the platform until Sensei Yuriko said they could stop.

Orion then revealed his knowledge about each member's unique powers and spirit guardians based on their backgrounds and abilities. He spoke of Jax's special eyes that gave him power boosts, Felix's dangerous potential during a full moon, Lionel's ability to blind opponents with neon lights and sense spirit guardians along with an undiscovered ability of predicting opponents' moves; and finally Kiyoshi who held immense potential but struggled with controlling his violent spirit guardian.

"Thank you for the information. It's certainly beneficial to have a spirit guardian who knows everyone's past and future," Sensei Yuriko said with a sly grin. Felix, Jax, Lionel, and Kiyoshi made their way towards the nearby ramen shop close to their dojo dorms. "What a grueling first day back," Kiyoshi commented. "Well, it's not going to get any easier than today," Lionel replied. "I still can't sense Kitaro; I'm trying hard, but nothing," Kiyoshi confessed. "Keep trying; he'll come back to you one day," Jax reassured him. "If not, we're going to be in trouble throughout the year," Lionel warned. Felix merely twirled his ramen around with his chopsticks. “Are you okay?” Jax asked Felix with a smile. “I’m fine; I just can’t believe we were outmatched by a bunch of new fighters,” Felix admitted. “It was just beginners’ luck,” Lionel suggested optimistically. “Yeah… don’t let them discourage you; we will show them that we are just as good as they are,” Kiyoshi encouraged.

“Oh, really?” an unfamiliar voice echoed from behind them followed by another voice saying, “It sounds like a challenge to us.” A third voice chimed in from behind the first one, “I'm ready to take on these second-year fighters.” Recognizing them from class earlier that day, Kiyoshi alerted his friends and they all rose from their stools to face the newcomers.

“When and where?” Jax asked defiantly crossing his arms over his chest.

“The woods and now,” the first voice responded firmly.

They all headed towards the nearest wooded area adjacent to common ground where they agreed on the rules of engagement: four versus four fight with one-on-one rounds playing up to three points.

“Who are you guys? We didn’t catch your names,” Lionel inquired.

“My name is Tyson Solomon, the leader of the X-Fangs team,” the first voice introduced himself. He had blue eyes and medium-length messy brown hair. His height was average compared to most fighters on the island, his skin was fair, and he had short normal ears. His blood type was O+. As a new fighter on the island, he wore a white gi. “Next to me is Mickey Joubert; he's from Australia,” Tyson continued as he introduced Mickey who had yellow eyes reminiscent of daisies and yellow hair with two sharp bangs that resembled wolf fangs. He stood taller than most fighters on the island with long fingers on each hand, fair skin, and a triangular nose. His blood type was B-. Like Tyson, he also wore a white gi adorned with an X-Fangs patch symbolizing their first-year group.

“So, who will go first?” Kiyoshi asked.

“You will,” Lionel decided pointing at Kiyoshi.

“I've got this; this match should be over within two minutes,” Kiyoshi confidently declared while Jax facepalmed at his friend's bravado.

After being chosen by Tyson through a secret handshake, Mickey faced off against Kiyoshi who turned around and complained about their lack of cool team rituals like their opponents’. Lionel jokingly suggested that they weren't sure if Kiyoshi would still be part of their team after this match which sent Kiyoshi into panic mode but no one else said anything more about it.

“That was a bit cruel,” Felix commented.

“I was just joking around a little,” Lionel defended himself.

“Maybe it'll help him focus,” Jax suggested with a smile as Mickey and Kiyoshi bowed towards each other and assumed their fighting stances. They began to circle each other cautiously waiting for the other to make the first move. Kiyoshi was the first to attack with a punch but Mickey was quick and responded with a crouching punch to Kiyoshi’s gut. Kiyoshi’s eyes went white for a few seconds as he was sent flying back by Mickey's attack.

“Things are not looking good for Kiyoshi,” Lionel observed causing Jax and Felix to look worried.

Kiyoshi slowly got up, clutching his gut. “It looks like Mickey has this fight in the bag,” Tyson muttered to himself.

“Nice to see you didn't give up after that blow,” Mickey complimented his opponent.

“That was just a warmup shot,” Kiyoshi retorted before launching at him with a shadow kick which connected with Mickey’s face sending him crashing hard into the ground. His friends cheered but their joy was short-lived as Mickey quickly got back on his feet and declared, “That was my warmup shot.” He then launched an onslaught of punches and kicks at Kiyoshi who managed to dodge them all and counterattack with a series of shadow punches and kicks. However, Mickey caught one of Kiyoshi's punches, kicked him in the face, pulled him back using his leg, and slammed him down onto the ground.

Mickey stood over Kiyoshi who managed to get back up despite being heavily scarred and having his purple gi battle-worn. “I thought you had enough,” said Mickey.

“I still have one more trick up my sleeve,” said Kiyoshi before shouting out his super move: Shadow Roar Blast!!! He formed a small purple ball between his hands before releasing it at Mickey who tried blocking it but failed as the blast broke through his guard hitting him full force. After absorbing the blast, he collapsed onto the ground unconscious while Tyson muttered under his breath, "He is powerful." Despite winning, Kiyoshi did not celebrate, but Lionel, Felix, and Jax did.

"I can't understand it; why was my blast so much smaller than the other times I've used it?" Kiyoshi questioned. "Perhaps it's because Kitaro isn't here to provide you with that extra mobility," Lionel suggested. A wave of sadness washed over Kiyoshi. "Don't worry about it; I'm confident he'll return eventually," Felix reassured him. "Actually, I'd prefer a best two out of three," Tyson backtracked. "Agreed," Lionel responded.

"Allow me to take this one on," Jax volunteered, stepping forward in front of his team. "I want to challenge this guy myself," Tyson declared, striding up as well. They exchanged intense glances for thirty seconds before bowing simultaneously. After assuming their stances, they charged at each other - Tyson leading with a punch and Jax initiating with a kick.

Tyson threw another punch but Jax evaded it and retaliated with a leg sweep that sent Tyson off-balance. "It seems like you guys only function as a team and struggle individually," Jax taunted. Anger flaring, Tyson sprang up and lunged at Jax with another punch.

Jax’s back faced Tyson but he anticipated Tyson's move effortlessly, executing a backflip and tapping him on the head mid-air. “What?” exclaimed Tyson, scanning his surroundings in confusion before spotting Jax behind him. “He’s incredibly fast,” he admitted breathlessly.

Undeterred, Tyson sprinted towards Jax again, launching a flurry of punches which Jax deftly dodged before landing a lightning-fast punch on Tyson himself. The force of the hit sent Tyson flying backwards towards his team.

As he approached the fallen fighter, Jax thumped him lightly on the head causing Tyson to collapse face-first onto the ground unconsciousness. The X-Fangs group watched in shock, quickly scooping up Tyson and retreating.

“What just happened?” Kiyoshi asked in disbelief. “Clowns,” Lionel dismissed them. Felix chuckled at the spectacle. "That wasn't even a proper fight, but they outperformed us in the classroom today," Jax commented. “There’s definitely something off about that group,” Lionel agreed. “Indeed,” echoed Kiyoshi.

“Alright, guys, it's time for us to get some rest. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow,” Felix declared, stifling a yawn and gesturing towards the moonlit sky. They all began their journey back to the dojo dorms.