I hear the sound of cutting blades as I open my precious tessen.

"Everything here is real." I think to my lone self, "Don't do something that you will regret for the rest of your life." The cool air is sliced as I make my first sharp swing. There is no time to go back now. As I moved the other fan in the same motion as the first, the other goes in a upward motion, almost as fast as lightning.

The next motion takes me to see the world in a slower eye, slow enough to see the morning dew on the trees, to hear the birds chirp as light pale yellow fills the sky. But that feeling is soon lost and the colors of the rising sun is replaced by a silvery taste from the air. I see a silver-aured mist surround me as the next fan cuts the air into pieces.

My mind goes back to another time my life was on the line with fog around me. It wasn't just here on this planet, but in a virtual world. My mortal enemy, whose name will always be in my head, decided to surround those digital mountains with a similar fog. But that time, I was the target.

Those damn hornets had the advantage on me. They could rise above the fog and their master would certainly have a lock on me that they could follow. Their deadly lasers could have killed my life with only a few shots. But, I couldn't be virtualized. Aelita would be left all alone and it would certainly get her. It would kill her and make us lose her forever to the digital void.

So, the voice echoing above the landscape was my guide. He was a little less versed in actually being in the landscape. But, he was the reason Aelita was with us. He was the reason we were able to save the world from the hornets' master who is known by the name of XANA.

XANA had hurt us way too many times to count. It has hurt my friends too many times to count. That rotten, digital son of a bi-!

"Calm down, Yumi. Anger like this will result in you making a false move. You have to be aware. You have to be present. That is the way of a warrior as Sensei once said."

I calm down once more as I breathe in and out a deep breath. I decide to quickly finish my kata as the mist thickens. The sharp movements as the fans move in unison in a deadly dance. The wind is whipping around me as I move with it, feeling like it and I are become one. The mist surrounds me as if I am moving on clouds. After I feel like I have reached euphoric bliss, I slow down and I descended through the low clouds around me, making me seem like I have disappeared.

As I close the fans with a sound "Shring", I put them in my backpack as I walk through the forest to Kadic. I think back to that attack.

It was when XANA took control of Yolanda, the school nurse, and Jeremie decided to "jermify" Odd to fight her on equal terms as he put it. XANA had decided to take control of Jeremie's activated tower and wanted to drain all of his energy, rendering him dead. I remember my anger and the pain from hearing that even though Jeremie didn't outright say it to me, Aelita and Ulrich.

But, I had this feeling in my soul at that moment that I wasn't going to allow XANA to take one of my friends away from me even though Odd could be a pain in the ass. I can relive the feeling of that protective, angry feeling that surrounded my body and filled my head so that was the only thing that was there. That feeling expressed when I asked Jeremie "Where's the activated tower?" and all of I could think was riding on my overwing to that tower with Aelita right beside me and deactivating that tower. Then, Odd would be free from the villainous clutches of XANA once more and we could get our nurse back from her virtual possession as well.

That was just one of the daily things for me and the rest of the Lyoko Warriors. We woke up, went to school and saved the world all while trying to live our normal lives as much as possible. Sometimes, it felt to much and the real world consequences seemed too great for us to handle.

But, we had to. If not, then XANA would have free reign over the entire world and everyone would be powerless to stop it. As I approach the school ready for another day of boring classes, hard tests and the looming threat of another attack, I see my fellow Lyoko Warriors, the best friends I could have ever had.

Our last few years had strengthened the bond between us that no one else at Kadic could have ever imagined. Heck, XANA is the only reason we would have ever met Aelita and our group wouldn't be the same without her, even if she didn't make life easier for the first few weeks with her naivety. But, she's incredibly sweet and kind. She always has a smile on her face that everyone needs with all the bullsh*t we have to put up with thanks to XANA.

Odd, as previously mentioned, could be a bit annoying and he is egotistical to the 11th degree. He's also a bit of a womanizer and he has this goal to date all of the high school girls at Kadic. The only ones he hasn't gone after are me and Aelita. But, he seems to push Aeltia and Jeremie together all of the time. It's the same with me and Ul-. Well, he just doesn't want to deal with either Ulrich's jealous wrath or my rageful wrath. But, his warm, friendly and lively nature always provides the group with a good laugh, even if he doesn't always intend it.

Jeremie was a loner like me before discovering Lyoko but we couldn't have done anything without him here including having Aelita on Earth. I see Jeremie as a little brother to me, but not in the one Hiroki can be with his constant pestering nature. Jeremie can be a bit socially awkward and bossy, but he also is a great guy to have study with anything related to math and science.

Finally, there's Ulrich. Ulrich and I are complicated to say the least. He can be really stubborn, reserved and jealous. But, I wouldn't want anyone else to have my back on Lyoko. He's a skilled fighter both on and off Lyoko, and sparring matches can get quite fun in ways the others just can't offer. I don't know about his feelings towards me, maybe they're just platonic or maybe it's something more. I can say the same thing about myself. I just don't know want to do about Ulrich. I'm not sure if I should make the first move and pursue this relationship or just leave it be.

As I finally approach them around the bench, I hear them talking about a new girl that Odd is dating. He's apparently gone after a girl 2 years older than him in the 11th grade named Atlanta from what I can hear of the conversation before everyone warmly greets me. Aelita offers me a seat next to her on the bench as I place my bag under it, leaning back.

The day looks hopeful today with a partly sunny sky and the silver mist lightly floating above the ground. As I relax before classes, I am aware of everything my friends are saying, feeling like I truly belong with these people.

As I move my arm to push Aelita closer to me, she naturally leans into me, looking content with no care in the world. I look around to notice the boys more closer. Jeremie standing next to Odd, trying not to look frazzeled when Odd makes these spasmodic movements with an ecstatic expression on his face. Ulrich leaning over the back of the bench between me and Aelita putting his hand lightly on her shoulder with a sense of protection and care.

This is something I could have never imagined just from agreeing with Ulrich and Odd to fight as Lyoko Warriors. This is something I know will last past XANA's constant plots to kill us. I can definitely say from both my head and my heart that this is something that I fully have come aware to.