Will stood in front of James, his hands raised, waiting patiently. He didn’t have to wait long. James struck out with his fist, a telegraphed punch that Will was able to sway to avoid. He pivoted on his back ankle, swinging his front foot out in a small hooking gesture. His foot clipped James’, knocking the older youth prone. A loud round of laughter rang out around the group of watching Nexians as James got back to his feet, glowering.

“You think you can do better than him?” Will asked them, his eyebrows raised. They didn’t reply, of course. “Of course not. He’s probably the best among you.”

He didn’t mean for the words to sound condescending, but that’s how they came out. Judging by the reactions of the others, they were none too pleased. Will caught himself wondering how long it would be before one of them tried to hit him for how he was speaking to them. He redirected his attention to James, who was giving him an approving look. James caught his eye and quickly got back into his stance. Will nodded.

“Your form is getting better,” he assured James. “You just need to work on the control as you move.”

“Speaking of control,” A voice said from behind him. Suddenly, a red-hot something struck him in the back. Even without turning, he knew that Noratuk had just appeared and threw fire at him. He’d conjured his own fire just in time to take the worst of the impact, but he knew that he hadn’t stopped it completely. He grimaced as he felt the back of his shirt start to smolder before he withdrew the heat. He’d finally learned the trick only two days after Hitori had left, and had been siphoning heat out of things every chance he got.

“Almost got that down,” Noratuk said loudly. Will turned in time to see her dropping off the short six-foot-high wall that led down to the large yard that was their training area. Why she never took the stairs, Will would never understand. Maybe she just wanted the extra cool factor, he thought. “A little more practice, and you’ll have it down pat.”

“I can already block flame,” Will said, trying to twist his head to assess the damage done to his clothing. “James, Charlisa, you, even Edward have thrown fire at me, and I’ve blocked those.”

“But that’s a conscious effort,” Noratuk said, for the hundredth time that week. “You need to be able to defend yourself even if you’re not expecting it.”

That had been the theme for the past four days, Will thought morosely. No matter what he was doing, be it training, eating, or just relaxing in his room, Noratuk would appear at random times and throw fire at him. This even carried over into the night, interrupting his sleep with the constant attacks. He felt a certain pride at how fast he was able to wrap his body in fire nowadays, but it still wasn’t enough. Each time, he got a burn. Sure, the burns were smaller and less severe with every passing day, but he was getting tired of the ambushes. Hell, he was just plain tired.

Sensing that he might be distracted, James lunged forward again, trying to punch him while his guard was down. It nearly worked. Will smacked his fist aside with a casual move, then hooked one of his legs behind James’ and rammed his shoulder into the other’s chest, knocking him down again. James hit the grass with a surprised ‘oof’, followed by a groan. More snickers from the spectators.

“Nicely done,” Noratuk said. “And sorry I’m late for the lesson. Been discussing plans with Edward.”

“What kind of plans?” James asked, clambering to his feet. “Is it about the tournament?”

“You should focus more on your business,” Will said. “Let the grown-ups handle their plans. You’re still flailing like a duck.”

He’d grown quite accustomed to trading banter with James by now. That awkward moment in the cafeteria had been the first step, and now Will was more confident when interacting with the other Nexians. Part of it was James. An even bigger part of it was Edward’s declaration that he belonged in the Fire Nexus. But more importantly, it was Charlisa. She had his back when it came to standing his ground against the others’ snide comments. With her by his side, he was getting more confident every day.

Noratuk let out a snort of laughter as she passed Will and assumed a stance beside James. “Starting to think you’re letting the fame go to your head, Will.”

“Nonsense,” Will said, gesturing for James to back off and rest. James obeyed at once, giving a small sigh of relief that he thought Will wouldn’t notice. “Just getting used to the politics.”

Noratuk started without him having to tell her. She was much more competent than James at this. In fact, Will thought that she was one of the best in the Nexus, only really outpaced in her growth by Edward and Charlisa. The Ambrose family, it turns out, were very athletic, and picked up physical skills very quickly. But Noratuk held her own, striking with hands and feet. She got about ten moves in before Will caught her first mistake. As she lifted one leg high to kick him, her other foot was grounded wrong, all her weight focused on the front of her feet. Will dropped low under her kick and swept her leg out from under her.

“Damnit!” She cursed, rolling to her feet at once, unaffected. “I keep forgetting!”

“No worries,” Will said. “That was good. For a start.”

She glowered at him and attacked again. This time, she was more reserved, sticking to short jabs and low kicks. There wasn’t anything for Will to punish for nearly twenty seconds, but he also didn’t feel any threats from her attacks. She was attacking just for the sake of it as if to see how long she could go without making a mistake. He frowned thoughtfully as he noticed this. How could he best teach her not to do that? He settled on just waiting it out. Sure enough, she grew impatient with the slow pace of events and threw her entire body into one punch. Will caught her wrist, turned so his back slammed into her chest, and threw her over his shoulder.

“Ow!” She exclaimed, hitting the dirt harder than anyone else had that day. “What the hell?”

He released the grip on her arm, taking a step back to let her collect herself. She had the dazed look that was typical of someone who had been thrown as if the world were still spinning for her, and she was trying to sort it out in her head. But she was back on her feet at once, swaying slight, though all too clearly ready to continue. He put up one hand to calm her, and after a second or two of confusion, she shook her head to clear it and lowered her stance.

“Sorry,” Will said quickly. “I know we haven’t discussed throws yet. Take a second to gather yourself.”

She shook her head stubbornly. “I’m fine. I can continue.”

“You will, but first take a break. In fact, everyone should take a thirty-minute break. When we come back, you’ll work on mobility.”

The others broke away at once, talking quietly among themselves. Only Charlisa, James, and Noratuk remained. Charlisa approached Will with a tired sort of smile, putting one warm hand on his forearm as she tilted her head back to look at him. “I think this is the hardest they’ve had to work all year.”

“Good riddance,” Noratuk growled, making both James and Charlisa laugh. Will offered a weak smile, his thoughts on the same people but for a different reason. “Does them good to get off their asses. I swear, once they finish their training, most of them become lazy pigs.”

Almost as an afterthought, she flicked her hand, sending a firebolt at Will. He was caught completely by surprise as the fire hit him in the gut, knocking him flat on his ass. He groaned as he got up, once again withdrawing the heat from the burn and glaring at her. Her face was turned away from him as she studied the other Nexians, but he thought he could see her cheeks lifted in a satisfied sort of smirk.

“I have a question for you Will,” Charlisa said. Will started as if he’d forgotten that she was there. “What are you going to teach us to deal with the other Nexuses? We should know how to face water, earth, and even air.”

“Well, I’ve had some thoughts about that,” Will replied. Truthfully, as he’d never seen another Nexian fight before, he knew nothing about their styles. So he’d thought about elements used in popular fiction and anime he’d seen. He still wasn’t sure if it was right to judge by fantasy, but it wasn’t like he had any other credible sources. “It’s kind of hard to do that when I’ve never seen another Nexian fight.”

“That’s a fair point, Noratuk,” Charlisa said. “Why don’t we show him the recording from your fights?”

Noratuk’s face darkened, but it was almost imperceptible. “I could. I’d have to ask Edward since they’re in his safe. We have footage of one of the Earth Nexus fighting too.”

“What about the Soul Nexus?” Will asked. “Have you seen any of them fight?”

“Well, they only fought twice that I know of. Once, at the end of the war, when they broke Edward and Rachel apart. Then later, when Hitori killed Bai Jian.”

Will felt a cold hand clutch at his heart as he remembered. Bai Jian had been furious with the abrupt end to the war, as he’d been funneling weapons and other supplies to both sides. He’d managed to keep his involvement to a minimum, but when Hitori put a stop to the fighting, Bai Jian had invited Hitori to a meeting with the intent of killing him. Nobody quite knew how, but Hitori had turned the tables, even after his companions had been killed. He defeated the ambush and took Bai Jian’s life. It had been the most shocking revelation following Hitori’s appearance and put the other Alphas back on their heels. Suddenly, with the fear of a mortal death facing them, they retreated, and peace had been established.

“Do you have a recording of the first time?” Will asked, pressing further in an attempt to stave off remembering that horrible event. “Or do you at least know how they fight? It’s been three years, someone has to know something.”

“It’s not exactly a well-kept secret,” Charlisa said. Her tone suggested that it should have been obvious, even if her face was apologetic. She still wasn’t quite used to how little Will knew about the Nexuses. “I mean, I doubt there are any recordings, but we’ve all seen them training at some point, and even if we haven’t, we’ve heard.”

“The Soul Nexus,” Noratuk said, cutting Will off before he could ask his next question. “Fight using their bodies. They can’t use fire or water, and they can’t throw rocks. So they use their bodies. They’re all martial artists like you, except that they can heal almost any injury.”

“Wait,” Will said, holding up one hand to stem the flow of new information. “So you’re telling me that the power of the Soul Nexus is just… healing? That’s all they do apart from fighting?”

Noratuk could only shrug. Charlisa, thankfully, explained a bit further. “Hitori and his old Nexus were masters in martial arts, Will. They also had the element of surprise, so they were able to put a quick end to the fighting. And since they could heal any injury they got right away, they couldn’t be beaten. At least, that’s how they seemed at the time.”

“Is the Soul Nexus taking part in the tournament?” Will asked. “Are they fighting?”

Both Charlisa and Noratuk nodded in confirmation. James cleared his throat, looking a little put off at being ignored for so long, but they continued to ignore him. When Will continued to stare at Noratuk, his eyes wide with disbelief, she finally shrugged. “Hitori said he insists on it. Said it was only fair. Everyone that isn’t an Alpha has to compete.”