Oh wow! 3 years of not posting... guess you guys really hate me huh? XD Thanks for support from so many of you :) I got this idea from a review from: Shadowhunter3803. Hope you enjoy!

Sandor's POV

"Sandor, can I fight with the others?" Nine asks me.

I sigh and pause our little combat session to squat down to his level. I want to make sure he hears me loud and clear; I have repeated it way too many times.

"Nine, we've been over this: no, you can't fight the other Cêpans, and no, you certainly cannot fight the other kids!"

"Why not? All the others are allowed to!"

"Because!" I exclaim. I'm tired of having to explain this to him over, and over, and over again. Man, Nine was quite a handful. "A lot of the other kids are younger than you, which means they're not as strong, nor as trained as you are. If you fight them you'll kill them, which is the opposite of what we're trying to go for."

Nine continues to fight me on this. "What about Eight? He's about my age. Or Six! She's had just as much training as I have!" Nine looks around the training room at the two kids he pointed out. My eyes follow his gaze, where I see Eight play-fighting Seven and Six training with her Cêpan, hard as ever. I have almost no doubt that Nine could sweep the floor with Eight; so he's out of the picture. Six, however, could be an even match...

No, I think. Why was I actually thinking of allowing Nine to go beat up the other Garde?

Because it'll be amusing.

Shut up.

"Nine, no."

Nine looks up at me defiantly. "Fine."

I stand back up to continue the training, but Nine stops me. He clings onto my sleeve and looks right at me, an evil glint in his eye. It almost makes me nervous. Almost.

"What if I beat you?" Nine bargains.

I can't believe my ears. "Come again?"

"On our next battle. If I beat you, can I go fight with the others?"

I look down at my Garde in bewilderment. This kid, who's no more than half my height, wants to try to take me? Sure, all right, why not? Not like he's gonna win, and this would put this whole 'battling the other Garde' thing to rest.

"Fine, okay then." Nine's face split into a Cheshire grin, one that this time made me nervous. I shake the feeling off and get into fighting stance, waiting as Nine does the same.

"You ready?" Nine nods. I quickly take note of everything that needs to be fixed about his stance, before counting down.

"Three...Two–" A sharp pain shoots through my body before I can reach one. My vision gets blurry, and in a mixture of shock and pain, I double over and fall to the ground, clutching my groin. Out of the corner of my eye, I can see Nine standing triumphantly over me, smiling in a maniacal way.

It suddenly hit me. The little... little...! He kicked me in my... nether regions... Before I was ready! What a cheap shot!

"You... you cheated!" I gasp. Nine's wide smile turns sickly sweet and he leans down to my ear.

"Be ready at all times," he whispers in my ear. Then, as if he flipped a switch, his back straightens and his maniacal grin is back. "I'm gonna go fight Six!" he announces, before marching off to the young girl.

With a pained groan, I push myself off the floor and stagger over to the bench at the side of the room. Brandon sits on the bench, giving me an amused smirk.

"I let him win," I lie, sitting next to him. Brandon raises an eyebrow at me.

"Shut up," I say. Brandon laughs.

I look back at Nine, who is pleading his case with Six's Cêpan. Six looks mildly interested in the proposal to fight, and she whispers something into her Cêpan's ear. Her Cêpan shrugs, and stands off to the side, giving them her approval.

Nine is practically bouncing in excitement, but my attention is on Six. She cracks her knuckles in anticipation, and her face wears a large grin, a grin that's too familiar...

I chuckle in amusement at Nine, who is still excited about getting to claim victory over his fellow Garde. Ah, what it's like to be so naïve.

The little idiot.

Hope you liked it! If you any other suggestions, please review them or PM them to me! Also, please review in general! Thanks!

See you again in 3 years! LOL.

- UF