Training has been exhilarating and frustrating. Aurora has been rank one since the first week. Of course, I am second, but I never would have expected her to come in first. I thought the only person that stood a chance would be Morgan since she can control water, but she isn’t particularly good at it. 

When I spar with Colbee, I easily win. Turns out his swords can melt pretty easily. As far as hand to hand… or hand to sword combat… he fights well. He’s gotten tough since the beginning of training. He was lean before, but now his muscles are starting to grow and bulk out. I can tell his confidence has been boosted as well, he could barely handle being around so many girls, and Aurora is so quick to praise us, and his face would turn beet red. I wonder if he has a crush on her. I hope he is realistic enough to realize she is way out of his league. He might be starting get muscle, but he will never be as strong as me. Nowadays, when she compliments him, he only smiles at her and walks away.

Sparring with Ombra is quite tedious. If the point of sparring was running away, she would be ranked one. Anytime I try to attack she would just jump into a shadow. I have to burn bright enough there are no shadows left for her to hide in. Only then she would begin hand to hand combat. She is still as timid as she was when we first came to the institution. At least she is comfortable enough to talk to us without clinging to Aurora. 

Morgan really struggles with her ability. She must see the water to control it. We have to fight in a special arena that has water on either side so she can get more practice using her ability. Fighting her is quite easy. All I have to do is evaporate all the water and she is left helpless. Her other combat skills are good enough to make up her lack in ability use some, but not enough to take me. 

Ambrose is similar. He can’t keep his plants from being burnt to a crisp by me, cut down by Colbee, starved from Ombra’s shadows, or flooded by Morgan’s water. Sometimes he can use her water to make them grow more, but it took him a long time to figure that one out. And to think he was so cocky when we had just arrived. Not like his pathetic ranking has made him any less cocky. “Being the fifth best of the best of the best still means I’m better than most,” He would protest.

Aurora is the only person I really get excited to spar with. None of us have any idea what her special ability is, and we all have given up on trying to guess. She does not seem to use any special ability while sparring. At least, not one that anyone has noticed. She is an incredible fighter and beyond fast. But speed is not her special ability or martial arts. She can’t teleport or freeze time, and everything we guess related to how she is so fast has been wrong. She is still smaller than me yet can take me down without breaking a sweat. 

The way she fought was extremely elegant. Like she wasn’t even fighting but leading you in an extravagant ballroom dance. I was a little jealous, as my fighting style is more brutish. Even compared to Colbee’s. Maybe it is because that is what pairs best with my ability. As least I didn’t use methods not suited to me like Ambrose. After his first spar with Aurora, he tried mimicking her style only to look like an utter fool.

Colbee told me he could not tell her ability either. He said he never has been able to land an attack on her, she dodges too quickly. She would be in front of you and once you attacked, she was suddenly to the side or behind you. We had even asked Ombra is she knew what her ability was since they grew up near each other, but she also had no idea. In fact, other than when she found her here after being recruited herself, she had no idea she had a special ability. 

“I thought it was a possibility because of the color of her eyes, but they were like that for as long as I could remember. My parent’s said her eyes were that color since she was a baby. After my appearance changed, I asked her if she also had one. I don’t remember what she said after that 

After years and years of training with each other, we all have grown close. I can even tolerate Ambrose, although he still annoys me to no end. I just gotten used to it and having Aurora to defuse any tough situations helped. She was kind of the leader of the six of us. Everyone looked up to her and she would never look down on any of us, even the weaker ones. She couldn’t give her family visit to anyone due to some rule the institution implemented after she offered to give it to me a few weeks in. I had said I missed my family, and her kindhearted self, offered me the visit right after I mentioned it. She gave her dessert away to the others too. I got tired of so much sweetness, so I would often give mine away too. It made the others happy to share a little bit of the benefits. Honestly, she was the reason all of us became close. Without her, I would likely have killed Ambrose, Colbee would still the quiet angsty kid, Ombra would never leave her shadow, and Morgan would feel inferior standing next to greatness. 

After vigorous training all afternoon, it is finally our dinner time. We get into the cafeteria one after another. First, Ambrose is always sitting there waiting for us. Acting as if he couldn’t care less. Followed by me, Morgan, Colbee, then Ombra. Always last was Aurora.

When she walked into the doors of the cafeteria, the whole room would light up. It’s not like we couldn’t get along without her, but she made us be around each other easier. Maybe we just found her presence comforting, I did at least.

She would always greet us with a friendly smile and say, “Looks like you’ve all worked hard today.”

Even though she was always last because her training often ran late, she never complained or made us feel less than for it. She has grown even more beautiful in the past years. Her eyes are as soothing as the lavender they remind me of, and her hair was always put in a half up-half down style that allowed her hair to swayed with her every movement. Her bangs would gently caress her face and lad perfectly. She constantly looked perfect even mid fight. I had to tie my hair back in a high ponytail to keep it from getting in my way, and my bangs would often become disgruntled but were easy to fix. 

“Y-you have too!” Ombra replied. 

She chuckled and said, “Thank you, but I am excited for our evening break.”

“Ugh, me too. Sometimes I feel like they’re working us to the bone,” Ambrose added as Aurora made her way to choose her meal. She always chooses the option without meat, and if that wasn’t an option, she would give it to me.

“It’s an important job we must be ready for!” Morgan exclaimed. 

“Yeah, yeah. Peace or whatever. I just want to have fun. It is so boring here and I want to finally beat some bad guys up. My rank may be low, but I’ll show you all in the field how great I am.”

“Fun is not what’s important about our jobs! We must keep the peace and protect our nation!” Morgan would refute. I was not the only one who couldn’t stand Ambrose and his conceited remarks. 

“Well, we can keep peace and have fun. Getting stronger is always a good time,” Colbee interjected to no avail. Those two kept bickering until Aurora sat down with her meal. Aurora is the only one who could keep a smile on her face and benevolently change the subject; however, I’ve noticed Colbee has begun to also try to be a mediator. I don’t know why everyone feels the need to copy Aurora. They could never compare. It’s not just her words or actions, it’s the atmosphere she lightens.

And just like that the six of us were getting along again. We finished our meals and waited for Aurora to join us in the common room. She walked in and right behind her was a man in a sophisticated suit that made him look like an important CEO or something. Following him was two goons. The goons look eerily similar to the two we saw when the presentation was given to us years ago. Dressed in all white, tall, at least six feet tall, bulky, and menacing faces. They surely were made for a job like this.

Aurora quickly sits down and the man behind her stand in front of the six of us. His goons separate; one stays at the closed door on the left side and the other goes the far-right side. No doubt a full-grown man would not want to get into a fight with either of them. Both of them stare daggers at us. Like they’re looking down at us, but still cautious. They likely don’t think we would be able to stand a chance against them, but I’m sure they know about what we are. 

After the two guards at in their positions, the man introduces himself.