Kaito awoke in the morning, to his older brother Kaid tapping him on the head, "i'm only waking you up since I don't want dad being super hard on you today." He says.
The two of them go out and enjoy breakfast with the family, feeding the younger twins Kailey and Kaley. Once all that is done, the trio leave home to attend the regular Kaya training hosted by Sun.
They arrive at the training ground. There's dummies around along with practice gear such as, bows, swords, spears, daggers, and staffs.
Sun smiles as he greets the Kaya children. Amire smiles brightly seeing Kaito. "Heya Kaito."
"Good morning everyone, hope you slept well because today will be just as brutal as always." Sun says with a bright smile.
Jake looks away. "Why's he always so happy about this?" He quietly says. Sun notices. "Something to say?"
A chill runs down Jakes back. "N-no sir!"
Sun instructs them all to grabs swords. He decides to start off with training circuits and they run the drills for hours.
Sun watches intently at Kate. "My daughter, one of the best talents this clan has ever seen, smart a fast learner, truly will grow up to be amazing." He says before switching gaze to Kaid. "But you, are something else entirely, the youngest person to ever awaken to magic, managing to keep up and rival your older sister, you my boy are a true prodigy."
His gaze then shifts to Kaito, "then finally, Kaito, my biggest disappointment, at your age the others could already use magic, so far behind, I fear for his future."
Sun sighs. "Kids ready your swords i want to see improvement in your techniques."
"Kaid, Kaito, you're up first, don't hold back against eachother, any wounds will heal with time." He instructs.
Kaito and Kaid look at eachother smiling. Kaito loves sparring his big brother.
Kaid starts the bout by circling Kaito and they both track eachother. Kaito rushes in and swings his wooden blade for Kaid's head. Kaid quickly ducks his attack and punches Kaito in his stomach. "Only use your sword this time, Kaid!" Sun yells and Kaid apologizes.
They back off and the boys clash blades. They smile as Kaid breaks away and goes for an overhead strike. Kaito reacts quickly and goes for a block. Kaid smirks since Kaito fell for his fake.
Kaid quickly redirects his attack, and he strikes Kaito in his side. Kaito holds his side and Kaid stops his next attack.
Sun seems puzzled, when Kaid stops fighting after Kaito lowers his sword. "Why are you stopping?" Sun asks. Kaid says, "He lowered his sword, Dad. That means I won." But Sun says, "No, he lowered his weapon because he's weak. Don't show him pity!" Kaid stammers, "But..." and then says, "Okay, Dad." Kaito smiles and says, "Don't worry, Kaid, I'm tough!"
They start the next round and Kaito starts again.
Kaid is a prodigy, a fast learner, and very strong. He's one of the best fighters at his age, not to mention his skills in magic. Sun knows that Kaid is a prodigy who must be honed to become an amazing talent.
Kaito goes for Kaids legs this time. Kaid leaps over Kaito's attack, and he laughs at how easy it would be to kick Kaito in his face right now. He lands, and backs away.
He then goes in for another side attack. Kaito tries to read Kaid's attack but he can't tell what he's going for, so he plays it safe and goes for a block.
Kaid dodges around him and chops him in the back of his head. "I win again." Kaid says as he offers Kaito his hand. Kaito looks over and sees Sun shaking his head.
He bows to his father. "I'm sorry dad, Kaid's just really strong." He says. Sun doesn't answer, just nods.
As the day progresses Kaito also loses to Amire, but the other kids don't wanna fight Kaid or Kate so they end up against each other.
Kaid smiles confidently at his sister. "You know Kate, Our fights won't always end in a tie." He says.
Kate pushes her glasses up smiling back, "true, what's the tie streak?" She asks.
Kaid thinks. "About ninety-nine matches straight now."
Sun smiles. "No training wheels you two, show your brother how far he can go."
The air between them crackled with tension. Kate's hand twitched, arcs of blue-white lightning sparking across her knuckles. Kaid grinned, his palms already glowing with the molten-orange shimmer of fire.
"Ready to lose?" Kate teased, her voice calm but her eyes razor-sharp.
Kaid barked a laugh. "Not this time, sis. Don't hold back."
Kate Nakaya: Age 12 - Magic: Lightning - Summoning. More to awaken.
Kaid Nakaya: Age 10 - Magic: Fire - Metal. More to awaken.
The ground erupted as they launched forward at the same instant. Kate blurred first, lightning threading through her veins and snapping off her heels as she shot across the arena like a thunderbolt. Her fist came down faster than a blink, only to slam into a molten barrier Kaid conjured just in time. The heat licked at her arm, forcing her to backstep, but she never stopped moving.
"Too slow!" she called, vanishing in a blur to his flank.
Kaid spun, dragging molten fire into the shape of jagged metal shards. With a snap of his wrist, the glowing blades launched outward, cutting through the arcs of Kate's lightning. Sparks and embers burst in every direction as the two forces collided.
Kate ducked, lightning wrapping her legs and boosting her leap high overhead. She hurled a spear of electricity straight down. Kaid responded instantly, the earth beneath him swelled up, twisting into a dome of gleaming steel that drank the blow and shuddered with impact.
But Kate was already on him, landing with a burst of speed and driving a crackling elbow toward his chest. Kaid dropped his shield, flames swirling around his arms like coiled serpents. Her strike met his guard, lightning and fire colliding with a roar that blew both siblings back across the arena.
They hit the ground at the same time, skidding through dust and smoke. Kate rose first, sparks dancing wildly across her skin. "That all you got?!"
Kaid followed, grinning, his hands wreathed in fire and molten metal dripping between his fingers. "I'm just getting started!"
For a moment, neither moved. Then both charged again, trading blows faster than most eyes could follow. Fire-cloaked fists clashed with lightning-charged strikes, each blow shaking the ground.
The other Kaya kids just watched on, glad the backed out of the fights. Kaito watched on silent.
Kaid forged blades mid-swing, only to have them shattered by Kate's crackling kicks. Kate hurled a lightning storm across the arena, only for Kaid to meet it with a whirlwind of flaming shrapnel.
The battle would end in a final clash, Kate driving forward with every ounce of speed she could muster, Kaid pouring fire and metal into one last strike. Lightning and flame collided in a blinding explosion, the shockwave knocking both of them flat.
When the smoke cleared, Kate and Kaid lay on opposite ends of the arena, chests heaving, hair singed, but both grinning.
"Call it a tie?" Kate panted.
Kaid chuckled, raising a shaky fist. "Until next time."
Their fists bumped across the battlefield, sparks and embers still swirling in the air.
Sun stood and clapped his hands. "Well done, you two truly."
Kate looked over smiling. "Can i go read the new ruin books now?"
But as everyone looked around they wondered where Kaito had gone.
Amire smiles and salutes. "I'll find him uncle Sun!" She says.
Sun shakes his head. "No need, i'll handle it.
Kaito sprinted through the forest, heart pounding, breath ragged but grinning like he was on the edge of some great discovery. The echoes of Kaid and Kate's battle still rang in his ears, lightning splitting the sky, fire roaring like a beast, the ground trembling beneath their clash.
"Fine, you two can show off all you want," he muttered between gasps. "I'll just go find my own way to catch up!"
He had no plan. He didn't need one. The only thought in his head was stronger, stronger, stronger! If there was a way to push past his limits, he'd stumble into it by sheer force of will.
Branches clawed at his arms and shoulders, but he tore through them without slowing. Every step felt like a challenge from the world itself, and he relished it. His reckless determination burned brighter than any caution.
Then, without warning, the ground gave way.
His foot caught air, and before he could curse his luck, he was tumbling forward. The world flipped, sky above turning to jagged rock below. Wind howled in his ears as he plunged into a ravine, bouncing off ledges and branches that shattered under his weight.
Finally, he slammed into the bottom, groaning as the world spun around him. Dust settled slowly, carrying the sharp scent of stone and damp earth.