When we finally got into the void, Caya informed us she’d be overseeing our training more directly. She was already pretty hands on, so I personally wasn’t looking forward to harsher training sessions. That said, if I had to pick a teacher to get us ready to go against Wildfire Hearts, it would be hard to think of any more suited for the job than Caya.

Another plus: I finally got my beloved bloodsaber Minty back. She was fixed up after getting busted during Fang Moon Web. Swinging her against void monsters as we wandered around the field of flowers trying to hit our hunting quota for the class made me feel like some wrongs were finally righting. Our group that class was myself, Oka, Kalei, Lillia, and the Matora sisters. Ko tried to impress Lillia with some overtly dramatic moves as she slashed through knee high void monsters. Somehow that turned into the Matora sisters grappling around as Lillia intently watched.

“Can’t believe Iris got into a fight,” Kalei said as she watched the Matora sisters wrestle. “Though it is Scrungy, so maybe I shouldn’t be too surprised.”

“I hope she’s not our new roommate…” I said.

“Oh, right, one of those four will be with you.” Oka said. “Are you guys gonna be alright?”

“As long as they’re cool, I’ll be fine,” I said. “And as long as we don’t have Scrungy.”

“That goes without saying.” Kalei said. “Give that girl her own room. A padded room.”

“The other ones didn’t seem too bad,” I said. “Caeda seemed a little…weird.”

“Also, here’s something weird,” Oka said. “Why are you not immediately cutting class and not rushing to find Nikki?”

Kalei coughed. “Well. That’s uh, classified, that uh, you see.”

“I’m teasing, don’t worry.” Oka said. “How are you feeling now?”

“Kinda…terrified?” Kalei said. “Like, right as I get a better hold on my gayness like. She’s back? Seems, I dunno. Like a wish came true. And I kind of don’t trust that.”

“That might be nerves.” I said. “I still get like that with Oka, that too good to be true feeling.”

Oka nodded. “I get that like. Every day.”

I suddenly remembered something Kalei and Lillia had talked about late into the sleepover. “Are you and Lillia still going to ask…the hang out thing?”

“Oh…” Kalei said. “I was just gonna text Nikki, but…I guess I still could. I wasn’t prepared to like actually see her today.”

“It may be better to visit in person,” Lillia said. “I’d rather…ask after class though.”

“Yeah, same here.” Kalei said.

“I can still motivate you if needed.” Lillia said.

“Right back at ya, we’ll do this today.” Kalei said, sounding like she had to make a call to reschedule an appointment.

Caya summoned us to go back to her.

“Now that the monsters are cleared out here, we’re going to do something different today than our typical training.” Caya said.

Dr. Diast and Ms. Letoh took places beside Caya.

“One of the events that will be the most likely during the Recreant Protocol is a display of your powers.” Caya said. “The most common form of that is a simple gift gauntlet.”

“That sounds dangerous.” I blurted out.

Oka immediately leaned in and whispered, “I’ll protect you.” Which sent shivers down my spine and I blushed so fast that I barely registered anything else Caya told us.

“It’s completely safe.” Caya said. “For this, your power blockers will do a lot of the setup work.”

“It’s basically volleyball with your powers,” Diast said. “And I could go into a great amount of detail on the hows and the whatnots going on here, but it might be easier if you guys just see us do it.”

The three teachers used their wristbands together, which seemed to project out a big energy net around them, giving them about a volleyball court’s worth of space.

“First, it makes a shield around the entire group of players,” Caya said.

“The shield tech is actually Haven based,” Diast said. “So think the physical side of Cani powers and the country where they wrestle all the time."

The Matora sisters cheered. “Haven represent!” Kai called out.

“Right, right,” Diast said. “For more competitive Cani fights, these shields are the basis, but since this is just practice, uh, that might be on the test though.”

“For now, all you have to do is think of this as the field,” Caya said. “Then…”

A ball of energy formed in the center of the field. It looked like it was just a projection, but Caya was able to pick it up like it was a normal physical object. She served it into the air, changing the ball’s color from a generic white to the same swirl of rainbowy colors as her Cani energy. Diast smacked the ball into the air next, turning it a more metallic silver. Letoh hit it next, turning its surface to swirling wind.

“Then you can volley it back and forth, and the ball picks up speed. Whoever it hits…” Diast tried to spike it at Letoh, who easily blocked it and slammed it back to Diast, causing the ball to dissipate upon impact. Diast’s wristband blinked red, and she sighed. “Is eliminated. It doesn’t hurt when it hits you, so totally safe. So really, we’re just looking at a fun way to practice your inherent powers, using them when you don’t even know it.”

“We’re going to start off with just partners,” Caya said. “Then after that we’ll go with the entire class.”

Oka clung to me right away, so we were paired up as partners for the first round. Or partnered up to be opponents, rather. Diast, Letoh, and Caya showed us all how to set up the field generator deals.

“Are you sure you want to go against each other here?” I asked.

“It’s just a game!” Oka said. “Second, I was…” She kicked at the ground. “I dunno, hoping we could be all flirty competing against each other here.”

“Oh!” I said, my eyebrows shooting up. I couldn’t believe I didn’t think of that. “I’ll…erm. I won’t hold back.”

“Ohohohoho,” Oka said. “See? We could use a little competition between us, Zeta.”

The rest of the class didn’t matter for a moment as our energy sphere was conjured. Oka served first, the ball turning green with her plant-based powers. I swatted it back, making it look like a thunderstorm contained in a crystal ball. Touching the ball felt like touching something made of the static-y feeling of a limb falling asleep. Oka blocked it, letting the ball swirl in her hands for a second before sending it back.

“I won’t hold back either, boo.” Oka said.