Kenan stood in front of Cole, spear in hand, and waited for Edith to give them the single so they could begin. They were currently in the training room still within Shepard''s Tower. All the other cadets that came with them to the officer division were on the sideline waiting to witness the spar.


    Cyril and Virgil secretly hoped Kenan would get the same treatment they did when they fought against Cole. It was downright embarrassing whenever they thought back on it.


    Cole and Kenan were eyeing each other, almost having an unspoken conversation.


    Cole knew it would be a different type of fight from last time just by how Kenan held and stood with the training spear.


    “Remember, gentlemen, this is a strictly martial arts fight with no Superior abilities,” Edith said, standing between the two. She would be acting as a referee.


    Kenan and Cole slightly nod without taking their eyes off one another.


    “They''re pretty intense, huh?” Cornelia leans over to talk to Cyril.


    He nodded. “I''d assume so; they are both newly awakened Sentient, so they are in complete control of their muscles, meaning that any slight movement from their opponent could mean an attack.


    Edith looked between Cole and Kenan again and shouted. “Being!”


    Before Cole''s next heartbeat, the tip of a spear was in front of his eyes. It was a training spear, of course, but it had enough speed that it wouldn''t matter too much that it wasn''t real. He weaved his head to the side and threw a counterpunch. A palm blocked his punch.


    After the exchange, they both leaped back. “The spear really is core to your martial art,” Cole said with a smile.


    Kenan smiled in return, “Yeah, it is, but as long as it''s a polearm, I can use it.”


    “He could do a spear thrust that quickly with just one arm? He''s definitely at a level of mastery that may be even greater than mine. “I will ask to spar with him in the future.” Edith thought.


    Cole raised his fist again, indicating he was ready for another exchange. Kenan readied his spear.


    This time, Cole took the offense and blitzed Kenan. He used a footwork technique to close the distance between them, but Kenan held him back with spear thrusts.


    “He''s the worst opponent for me to fight. He has the reach that keeps me at a distance whenever I''m a close-combat fighter. It would be a lot easier if I could use my heat vision.


    Cole sped up his footwork and broke the pattern of spear thrusts Kenan was using against him. The moment Kenan''s spear pulled back from the thrust, Cole attacked. He aimed his punch at Kenan''s face.


    Cole was coming from Kenan''s spear, which was almost impossible for him to defend because his spear was still half extended. Still, when Cole''s punch landed, it was shallow because he got a palm strike in his abdomen.


    “He attacked under his spear thrust! Why?! Did he know that was going to be my only opening?” Cole thought.


    Kenan held his jaw while trying to hold back his laughter. “That’s my weak side, so I guessed you would go for the head. I''m not some adaptive fighter like you are. With that said, I''m ending the sparring session right here. You win.”Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    “What, why!?” Cole protested.


    “Because you''re just going to keep getting better at fighting me. I''m starting to think you don’t just have heat vision but another eye ability. You adjust at an alarming rate to people’s fighting styles, not in the traditional martial arts.”


    “Mhmm, I''d say that too, bro, if I’d lost. I can''t wait to tell my mom about this because she didn’t think I would beat you.” Cole said, pulling out his NCD.


    “I didn’t see you all fight the first time, but I will say that he outperformed you on that second exchange,” Edith said while walking up to Kenan. Do you think he’s naturally talented in martial arts, or does he have some other eye ability that even he isn''t aware of? “


    “Both,” Kenan replied.


    ***


    Two days flew by, and Kenan and the rest of the cadets were walking to their first day in class in their Cadet Officer uniforms. The uniform was a formal dark brown kaftan with gold trimming and buttons. The Enlisted Cadet uniform was the same, but dark blue instead of brown.


    Kenan was leading the group of six cadets admitted to the officer program. Edith was standing to his left while he tried to explain how he only partially mimicked his body.


    “It''s just focusing on the specific nerves within the desired body part you want to mimic. Luckily, the metal I transform into isn''t heavy, or I might have ripped my arm off.” Kenan chuckled.


    “Nerves? What do you mean by that? Edith asked.


    Before he could answer, they were already at the door to the classroom they were supposed to enter. Kenan walked in and immediately heard a scream as he entered the room.


    “KENAN!! Why have you been ignoring me!” the voice yells.


    Kenan''s face deadpans as a gust of wind shoots past everyone behind him, and he almost gets tackled. He smelled the Southwind along with White Sage.


    “Hello, Yalissa, Kenan says, hugging the girl around his neck.


    Yalissa was tall and had long box braids, with wooden breeds at the ends of each braid. Well tall for a young woman, she was the same height as Kenan, at 5’10".


    Turning around, Kenan starts to introduce Yalissa to his friends. She had a big smile on her face as he did so.


    “Guys, this is Yalissa, my childhood friend.” He gives a flat tone.”


    From what Kenan could see, Cole looked speechless, and Edith looked like she had a strange twitch in her eye. He looked down at his arm and noticed Yalissa hugging it. “Anyways,” he said, pulling himself free.


    “This is my sworn brother Cole Justus and my Other Friend Edith Gardner.” Kenan points to his friends.


    “My name is Virgil,” Virgil sounded from behind them.


    Cyril lightly shakes his head.


    “My sworn brother never told me he had such a beautiful childhood friend. I hope we can become friends in the future. Cole says, shaking Yalissa''s hand.


    “Is Yalissa beautiful? I never thought about it. She''s always been that snotty-nose little sister to me. Kenan thought, shrugging his shoulders.


    “Hello, Yalissa, glad to meet you. I didn''t think Kenan had any friends other than Cole. ” Edith said, sticking out her hand


    “Oh, we''re not just friends. We were betrothed as well,” Yalissa said with a smile, shaking Edith’s hand.


    “What!” Both Cole, Vigil, and Edith say in unison.


    Kenan put his hand on his forehead. “I''m not about to go through this again with you, Yalissa. I''m not a part of that family anymore, so the betrothal is off. Plus, I want to pick my wife and not have someone else do it for me.”


    “It''s not like we''d want you anyway,” a voice behind them in the classroom said.


    Three people were sitting together in the classroom—two guys and one girl. The one who said something spoke again.


    “Grandpa misses you, though,” said the young man with the short afro twists. He was built stocky even when he sat down.


    “Kane. . .” Kenan said


    “Kenan. . .” Kane replied.


    There was a staredown between the two, and the silence in the area was loud—until Kenan broke the silence.


    “Have you awakened? Are you still amongst the flock?”


    “Of course, I''ve awakened and didn''t need my daddy''s elixir to do it.”Kane Spat


    The young man behind him chuckled in agreement. “ He probably thought he would be the only one among us awake.” He had deep melanin skin and dark honey-blonde hair, and his eyes matched his hair color.


    “Apollo, I still see you co-signing everything this idiot says, “Kenan says, gesturing to Kane. Tell me, Calypso, do you still let your twin speak for both of you? “Kenan says to the female of the group.


    Kenan didn''t even give her a chance to reply before he said, “Thought so. It looks like you all are the exact same as I left you.” He went to find a seat in the classroom and didn''t look in his cousin''s direction again.


    Cole gave a scowl of his own and headed toward Kenan. On the way, Edith leaned over and whispered. “Kenan is a part of the Ogun Elder Family?!”


    “Yeah, ask him about it later. He only told me last night,” he replied.


    After Kenan and his friends sat down, someone in the back of the class broke the silence. “As always the Ogun family is getting along so well. The voice scoffed.


    Before even turning around, Kenan knew who the voice belonged to. He was at every Elder Family event along with Yalissa.


    “Kyron, how did you even end up in this Shepard class with us? Aren''t you still 14?” Kenan says, turning around.


    Kyron was a dark Caramel teen with green eyes. Although he was sitting down at a desk, he could tell that he was probably around the same height as Kenan. “Why is everyone in the Oya family so dang tall?” he wondered to himself.


    “I was able to join because I''m awakened and the Elder Families want this generation''s descendants to be grouped as much as possible. Although there''s no one in the Yemaya family represented in our generation. They are either older or younger.” Kyron said, his feet were propped up on the desk like he didn''t have a care in the world.


    There were murmurs whenever he mentioned being awakened. After all, he was only 14. He was a genuine genius. Even if he used an elixir that Kenan suspected he had, it was still an impressive feat.


    There were around 11 people in total in their class. Kenan was sitting next to Cole and Yalissa, and Yalissa would not stop talking his ear off. Just when he was about to tell her off again, Templar Vena Stepped through the door. Immediately, Everyone stood at attention and greeted their instructor.


    “Greeting Templar Vena!!” They all


    said in unison.


    “As you we''re Cadets today I''m going to teach you all how to awaken as Sentient beings and gather Ruah effectively."