Jacky and Hiron stood in the middle of the field. Their one versus one was about to begin.

“You stand right in the middle, and I’ll do my best to make you move from your spot. If your feet leave the ground, then the timer will end. We can only attack from each other’s front, to keep things fair, alright?” Jacky said.

“I don’t care. Just hurry up and get this over with.”

Jacky’s eyebrow twitched. “Haha. I’ll be sure to do my best.”

Hiron rolled his eyes. She’s so fucking weak. I won’t even have to use Justice to deny her.

He went and stood on the spot in the exact centre of the field.

Rai and Colt stood on the side of the field, near the seating stands. Rai looked pretty optimistic; all things considered. Pitting oneself against one’s would-be instructors wasn’t often a good plan of action, but it was certainly one that Rai would come up with.

Sin whispered over to Rai.

“Psst! Hey! You got this!” She shot him two thumbs up and a very determined look.

“Thank you!” Rai said with a warm smile.

Sin nodded triumphantly.

Maya watched the interaction with multiple thoughts banging around her mind. She still couldn’t see it. Rai had a lot going for him, but Sindyl could be with anyone she wanted, so why did she choose Rai? Maya didn’t think badly of him or her, it was just something she found herself curious about.

However, there was something far more interesting at hand, so Maya turned her attention back to the clash between Hiron and Jacky.

Feris watched with intrigued eyes. He wanted to know what kind of strength the youngest son of the Arbiter could wield.

“Good luck!” Jacky yelled.

“Don’t need it.”

Jacky felt the disrespect in Hiron’s voice. Her pride as a teacher was on the line here.

“Start the timer.”

Colt started the stopwatch. It began counting the seconds.

Jacky dashed forward and threw a punch aimed at Hiron’s chest.

Hiron caught her fist and stopped its impact. He didn’t budge.

“That all you got?” He couldn’t believe just how weak that punch was.

Jacky roared as she pivoted into a roundhouse kick. Her foot was imbued with flames.

Rai was impressed. He wanted to try something like that himself, similar to the ice thing that Kallad did to him but with fire instead.

Hiron shot a consistent, and powerful, blast of wind out of his hand towards Jacky’s leg. Just before it connected, the leg slowed down enough to avoid contact.

Jacky dashed back. She quickly turned to Colt.

He shouted out, “Twenty seconds!”

She returned her focus to Hiron.

Jacky’s face showed nothing but her determination to win. Nothing less would satisfy her.

Jacky shot herself forward with propelling wind magic. She imbued her legs with flames again as she jumped towards Hiron.

Hiron’s eyes widened. A dropkick?! Shit! He blocked it with both arms. They were imbued by a radiant protective light.

The shield held. Hiron smirked a touch. I didn’t fall over!

“Time!”

Hiron turned and stared at Colt. What... How? He looked down.

... fuck...

Hiron had skid backwards against the sands of the field. Jacky’s dropkick was powerful enough to force him to move.

“Twenty five and a half seconds!”

Hiron was frustrated. Not even a minute. He looked at Rai. That fucker could’ve lasted a minute. Easily. Why didn’t I just use Justice? Even if it was just when she hit me, I could’ve used it in those few seconds and turned it off again. What the fuck are you doing, Hiron?!

His thoughts were interrupted.

Rai placed a hand on his shoulder.

“That was great. You probably saved that light technique for the attacking round right? I think that was a smart decision, since now she can’t prepare for it. You got this!” Rai gave him a pat on the shoulder, then returned to where he stood beside Colt.

Am I just... pathetic? That freak is giving me advice now. He stared upwards at the sky. Fine then! I won’t hold back...

Jacky stood on the spot in the centre of the field. She called out to Hiron, “Hey. You ready?” She smirked at him.

Hiron giggled quietly to himself. Jacky tilted her head at him. She thought Hiron had lost it.

Hiron abruptly sighed. He stood loose and relaxed. Up went his hand. Jacky stared at it. Confusion was plastered across her face.

Hiron grinned. There was a manic look in his eyes.

“Five seconds. I’ll end this within five seconds.”

Rai smiled to himself upon hearing Hiron’s words. There’s that fighting spirit. It was about time you showed up!

Jacky was confused at first. It was an insult to her that Hiron would even think about winning within five seconds. But, she prepared herself nonetheless. Even if Hiron was strong, there was no way that he’d get her to move within five seconds!

“Start the timer!”

Click.

Smash!

Click.

Jacky was slammed so hard against the back wall of the field that it got deformed by her body’s imprint. She coughed, wheezed, and panted for air. Breathing nearly impossible. She was winded completely.

“H-... Half a second!”

Colt ran over to Jacky and helped her up after she could breathe easier again.

“I won’t lose so easily next time, lightning freak! In our next fight, you’ll face my Justice.”

Rai was amazed. The golden lines from Hiron’s technique were different from before. They felt more... eloquent. He’s stepped it up. Rai grinned. Good. It’ll be a good fight then.

Hiron withdrew Justice.

The students were shocked. They would’ve gossiped amongst themselves about the result, but they were completely and utterly shocked. Hiron had just dismantled the teacher.

Colt stared at Hiron. “What a cheap shot!” He muttered angrily.

Jacky held his forearm, “... No... He won fair and square. I don’t think you could’ve even taken that hit... I-... I’ll be fine after a little while.”

Colt nodded at her. Still, he was furious. In the end there was little he could do, given Hiron’s status.

“Hiron has won. Next will be mine and Rai’s battle of mobility.” Colt announced to the students.

“Shall we begin then?” Rai asked.

Colt nodded. He gestured to Rai to come and join him on one end of the field.

Jacky had the stopwatch. She stood beside Hiron and was ready to begin.

As Colt looked up in the air, rings formed for both him and Rai to fly through. They started low from the left side of their edge, and slowly rose diagonally to the right. They made a loop in the air towards the centre, and copied the same slow descent on the right side of the opposite edge of the field.

Colt explained to Rai that they had to make it through the hoops consecutively, until all hoops had been passed through. But they weren’t allowed to touch the ground until the end. The single rule being that they cannot use the flight spell.

After the brief explanation, Rai was ready.

“I’ll go first, so you have an idea of how to do it.” Colt said. “Watch, as I pass through the rings, they’ll change from red to green.”

Rai chose to be a slight bit sarcastic.

“Great! I’ll learn from you as best I can.”

Colt was ticked off, but he still had to show that he wouldn’t get so angry at a student, or his reputation as a teacher would go down the drain.

Hiron stood next to Jacky, which was exactly where he didn’t want to be. But at least from here, he could make sure that she didn’t try any funny business with the stopwatch.

“Begin!” Jacky shouted.

Colt called up a platform made of rocks and dirt from the ground. He stood on it.

Rai already began to question the legitimacy of this test, considering that Colt had technically stood on the ground. Regardless, since it was part of a technique, Rai didn’t think much of it. That was, until Colt used telekinesis to literally fly through the hoops.

Sin shouted out from the stands. “Hey! That’s cheating! He’s literally flying on a rock!”

The other students shared her sentiment and started shouting out against the teachers. Most of the students blasted their honour as instructors.

Jacky had no choice but to ignore them and kept the timer going.

Colt made it through the hoops and landed on the other side.

“Forty seconds!”

Hiron sighed. “So you resort to cheating. Disappointing.”

Jacky whipped her head around to Hiron. She looked desperate. “It’s not cheating if it’s a technique that isn’t flight. Remember the one rule?”

Hiron scoffed. It’s bullshit and she knows it...

Rai laughed. He laughed so hard that he couldn’t stop laughing. He cheated by flying, but how was he so bad at it?! Rai found it hilarious.

The students’ outrage simmered down as they watched him.

Colt and Jacky scowled at him.

Colt shouted out from the other end of the field.

“What’s so funny?!”

“That was so slow! Start the timer!”

Click!

Jacky didn’t want to afford Rai any time. He told her to start the timer, so she did.

He eyed Jacky suspiciously. “You’re a little impatient... Oh well. Watch me smash that record!”

Rai imbued wind propelling magic into his feet. He recreated the manoeuvres that he used in the Phoenix’s Trials to dash around the huge tree.

Through all of the hoops, Rai moved quickly. There were no inefficient movements in his body.

Colt could tell. This boy was too much for him to have handled.

Rai landed beside him.

Click!

Jacky stared at the stopwatch with wide eyes. Her hands began shaking. “Fif... Fifteen seconds.”

Sin cheered first. Maya followed, then many of the other students did the same. “You cheated and lost, haha!” Sin shouted.

The teachers were embarrassed by two of their students.

Feris heard the owl from above him flutter away.

“How was that?” Rai asked Colt.

Colt let out a sigh. He’d resigned himself to accepting the loss after he watched Rai in the air.

“... It was great. I’m honestly impressed.”

They all reconvened in the middle of the field.

Rai and Hiron stood as the victors, and the teachers begrudgingly agreed to keep the classes together, but allow students to take part in either one. They would split the field in two, and have the classes take place concurrently.

The bell rang, signalling the lesson’s end.

As the lesson finished, Sin shook Rai wildly.

“That was really cool! Teach me how to do that thing with the wind around your feet!”

“I’d love to.”

Maya looked back on the day’s lessons, and smiled to herself. “Today was really fun!”

Rai and Sin agreed.

“HEY! ASS CLOWNS!”

Rai and Sin froze. They’d forgotten.

“Good luck, haha! I’ll see you all tomorrow at the evaluation.” Maya said as she left to go home.

Rai and Sin waved her goodbye.

They made their way to Rodrick’s office with Feris.

Rodrick made it short and snappy.

“I need you three to accompany me on stage tomorrow at the ceremony for the beginning of the evaluation. Sorry it’s short notice. You won’t have to say anything. Just sit next to me. That’s all, thanks.”

He teleported out.

Feris stared at the empty space that he left behind, “WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT OLD MAN?!”

Rai and Sin were used to Rodrick being jarring by now, so they just accepted it. Still, it wasn’t something that either of them were looking forward to. Neither of them wanted to have to deal with a crowd staring at them. They’d hoped to have a choice in the matter at least.

Feris continued to shout at the empty space as if Rodrick was still there.

Rai and Sin looked at each other, and decided to just leave quietly. It would probably be better to avoid Feris’s fury right now.

In the end, Rai and Sin returned to the Secret. They spent time with Naam and Lilly, prepared their techniques for the evaluation, and then slept soundly after what could be considered a calm and moderate day.

Moderate for their standards, that is.

The next day, however, wouldn’t be quite as moderate. Or calm.

The Technique Evaluation was upon them.