Meanwhile, at Ticu’s hospital, Cygil questions Zachary about the incident.
“Alright, Zachary. I want you to be honest with me here.” says Cygil, " Why did you do it?”
“How’s Kareem?” asks Zachary.
“Kareem’s fine, but he’ll be stuck here for about a month, thanks to you.”
“I messed up, Mr. Cygil. I let my emotions cloud my judgment, and I almost killed someone. I’m no Warrior.”
“Yes, it’s true you messed up. A true Warrior must keep their emotions in check at all times.”
“I hate being like this. It’s all his fault…”
“Who’s fault?”
“My uncle, Zane Nelson. Zachary goes on to explain how he was manipulated, abused and experimented on by his uncle as a young child. “This is the first time I’m telling anyone this. He told me he’d kill me and my entire family if I ever said anything.”
“Where is your uncle now?” Cygil asks, “We need to get this man behind bars.”
“He’s gone, long gone. He randomly packed up and left sometime last year, and none of my family has heard from him since.”
“I see…”
“I really am sorry about all of this. I understand if you want me out of the Academy.”
“To be honest, Kareem himself was the only thing that stopped you from being kicked out. Accidents happen, although not typically this big, and we want you to better yourself. But Zachary, I’m not the one that needs an apology.”
“Right… I owe Kareem an apology. Can I see him?”
“Seeing as you can hardly move, I doubt you could go apologize to him now.”
“Oh, okay…”
“But, I’ll see if he’ll come here for a bit.”
“Thanks, Mr. Cygil.”
Cygil leaves and returns with Kareem a few minutes later.
“I’ll head out and let you two settle things.” says Cygil.
“Uh, hey.” says Kareem, “You wanted to talk to me?”
“I wanted to apologize.” says Zachary, “I let my emotions get the best of me, and I took this way too far. I’m not asking you to forgive me, but-”
“No, you also deserve an apology.” Kareem sits down next to Zachary’s hospital bed.
“Huh? For what?” Zachary asks.
“For me coming off as cocky. I never wish to sound that way, but the truth is, I’m sort of socially awkward.” Kareem explains, “I’ve never really known how to talk to people or make friends.”
“That much was obvious.”
“I just want everyone in the class to become as strong as possible together. That’s why I tried to push you into competing with me. But you see how that ended up.”
“We both almost died…”
“Yeah, I know… sorry. Are we good now?”
“Yeah, we’re good.”
“Great, I hope the two of us can become friends.”
“I don’t know about friends… how about rivals instead?”
“We’ll have a rematch in the future, rival.”
“And I’ll win again.”
“Not likely.” Kareem gives Zachary a fist bump and leaves the room.
“So, how’d it go?” asks Cygil.
“We’re good now. We worked things out.” Kareem replies.
Cygil smiles. “Good to hear, now let’s get you back to your bed.”
Meanwhile, back at the Academy, Kaito and Kenshin rap up their last story.
“So yeah, that’s about it.” says Kaito.
“Those were great stories!” says Jackson.
“Yeah, thanks for sharing.” says Kian.
“Mr. Cygil said that whenever we’re done here, you all can leave for the day.” says Kenshin, “It was nice meeting you all.”
“Yup, see ya’ everyone.”
Kenshin and Kaito leave the classroom.
“Hey, Kaito!”
Kaito turns around, and Amber walks up to him. “What’s up?”
“Uh, thanks again for yesterday. I had no idea what to do.”
“Oh, don’t worry about it. There's no need to thank me.”
“No, I do have to thank you. You saved my friend's life; I’ll have to make it up to you someday.” Amber begins to cry. “Seriously, I don’t know what I’d do without Zachary. He’s the first person to truly understand me.”
“Please don’t cry; I promise it’s okay! Don’t worry about it.”
Amber wipes the tears from her eyes and turns to return to the classroom after thanking Kaito again.
“You’re a good guy, you know that, Kaito?” says Kenshin.
“I’m just trying to be the best version of myself.”
“I’ll be the one to support you through it all. You’ll be one of the strongest to ever live.”
“You think so, Kenshin?”
“It's inevitable.”
The next day...
“Morning everyone!” says Cygil, “How were Kaito and Kenshin yesterday?”
“They were great!” says Jackson, “They told us a lot of interesting stories!”
“I loved the stories!” Apollo agrees.
“I knew you would enjoy their stories. Kaito and Kenshin could’ve become official Warriors this year, so they already have quite a bit of experience.”
“Really?” asks Kian, “Then why are they back?”
“Have any of you heard of the Warrior Showcase?”
“Isn’t that the tournament for Warriors in training? Jett told me all about it after he won.” says Amber.
The Warrior Showcase is an event that takes place every year in the independent town of Lindow. Teams of two or three students (depending on that year's format) from multiple Academies gather and compete in a combat tournament. The academies of the top three teams are awarded extra money and supplies for the following school year.
“That’s right. Last year, Kaito, Kenshin, and their third teammate, Dani, entered the tournament to compete. Those three were by far the best in the Academy, so we had no doubt they’d do fine.” Cygil explains, “They easily swept through the first few rounds and made it to the final eight. In their next two matches, Dani started disagreeing with the team's approach and started doing things his own way, messing up the team's chemistry. Despite this, the three won those two matches by a slim margin and made their way to the finals.”
“Did they lose in the final match?” whispers Darren.
“Yeah, they did, but there is a little more to it than that. The truth is, Dani never showed up to the final round, which left Kaito and Kenshin at an extreme disadvantage. They were beaten quickly and finished in second place.”
“Why the hell would he do that?” asks Kye, “Where’d he go?”
“No one knows. We checked the cameras and saw Dani talking to a man in a hoodie shortly before the fight.”
“Was he kidnapped?” asks Allen.
“It didn’t seem that way. The video shows Dani voluntarily leaving with the man. Plus, Dani is the type of kid who does whatever he wants. He had no family, so he was always tasked to make decisions independently. Anyway, I’m getting carried away here. In conclusion, Kaito and Kenshin decided to stay in the Academy to redeem their final loss and bring more income into the Academy for future generations.”
“That’s sweet of them!” says Amber.
“Yeah, it’s pretty cool, but I wonder what happened to Dani.” says Allen.
“I want to join the Warrior Showcase!” announces Kye.
“You aren’t good enough to join.” Kian jokes.
“Yeah, you’d get smoked.” adds Jackson.
The class laughs.
“Okay, shall we begin today’s lesson? Apollo, can you tell me what Spiritual Energy is?”
“Spiritual Energy is the energy within all living things.” responds Apollo.
“Correct, and can anyone explain the process of controlling that energy?”
The class shakes their heads.
“To control your Spiritual Energy, you’ll need concentration and a good imagination.”
“Good imagination? What does that have to do with anything?” asks Kye.
“Here’s a basic exercise that will help you understand better. I want each of you to close your eyes, steady your breathing, and try to visualize the Spiritual Energy flowing inside you like water in a stream or river.”
Each student closes their eyes and tries to imagine the Spiritual Energy flowing throughout their body like a stream of water. Darren and Allen struggle, but everyone else completes the task successfully.
“Is there really that much energy inside of us?” asks Kye.
“Yeah, this is kinda overwhelming.” says Kian.
“I barely see any. Why’s that?” asks Jackson.
“Everyone is born with different amounts of Spiritual Energy reserves in their bodies. Starting with a lot will surely be a big help, but with training, one can dramatically increase their Spiritual Energy capacity.” Cygil explains, “Kye and Kian, could you come up here for a second.”
“Sure.” Kye and Kian walk to the front of the class, and Cygil places his hands on their foreheads.
“Is something wrong?” asks Kian.
“No, not at all!” Cyril exclaims, “In fact, this is amazing! I’ve never sensed this much Spiritual Energy in kids your age before. Your reserves may rival even mine!”
“Seriously!?” shouts Apollo.
“They have more Spiritual Energy than you?” asks Amber.
“Could that really be true?” whispers Darren.
“I thought it seemed like a lot.” says Kian.
“Yeah, same here.” adds Kye.
“From the looks of it, yes. This is a truly remarkable discovery! Alas, I shouldn’t get off topic; you may return to your seats.”
The twins sit back down, and Cygil continues the lesson.
“At its base state, your inner Spiritual Energy roams freely throughout your body.” Cygil explains, “Sometimes, you may have to take energy from one part of your body and transfer it to a different location. For example, let’s say a powerful kick is heading towards your right rib cage, if you quickly concentrate your Spiritual Energy into the spot of impact, you can lessen the damage done to you.”
“That makes sense… but how do we do it?” Jackson asks, “Sounds like it takes a lot of concentration.”
“Yes, at first, it will take an incredible amount of concentration and willpower. But with some practice, you will eventually begin to shift the location of your Spiritual Energy self-consciously. Go on, everyone, give it a shot.”
The class begins to practice moving Spiritual Energy throughout their bodies. After hours and hours of training, most of the class becomes able to move small amounts of Spiritual Energy at command. Cygil wraps class up for the day, and each student heads off to do their own thing. A bad storm passes through Ticu the following day, unfortunately resulting in classes being canceled on Thursday and Friday.
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