"Wait… WHAAAAAAAAAT!?" Amu fussed. "I don't know how to spar!"

Kavi smirked. "You should have been paying attention at the match, not at Lloyd."

Lloyd's cheeks burned red as he went into the sparring ring.

"Go on, Amu-chan!" Ran cheered on.

Zane tensed again, but Kai told him to sit down. "We can figure that out later, Zane."

"I'm sorry Kai, but that voice is… um…"

"What voice?" Cole said.

Zane face palmed himself.

"Very well… GO!" Wu declared.

Lloyd began circling Amu. Amu decided to mimic him, so she circled as well. Suddenly she knew that none of her Charas, even Ran, would be able to aid her in this situation, they knew nothing about combat and besides, she'd already noticed Zane, the Nindroid, getting suspicious!

Then a voice came into her head.

Lloyd is punching you, dodge it!

Lloyd WAS punching her, and she stepped back so the punch barely touched her helmet. She knew that voice.

Kavi.

But how could she be telling her commands? Then she realized another thing. This was from a time when she had taught her a little bit about sparring. It was like she was her personal coach.

Throw some combatives.

Amu threw a series of punches and a round kick. Lloyd was able to dodge most of the punches, but the kick made contact and sent him skittering to the edge of the ring. Unfazed, he stood up and regained his composure and prepared to strike.

He's going to try to get you now.

Lloyd lunged at Amu and uppercutted her, which made her fall on the ground. Amu, now at the edge of the ring, tried crawling around Lloyd, and retreated to the other side of the ring. Amu was at 2 points- she needed just one more to win the match.

Again, Lloyd lunged at her and tried uppercutting her, but this time Amu was ready. She dodged and punched him in the face shield.

"TIME! Amu is the winner of this sparring match," Wu announced. Amu removed her face shield and opened her mouth in shock, her face shining with sweat. How did she win? Lloyd did so as well.

"Hey. Good match out there. You… uh… fight…. Well?" he said, trying to put together words.

"You too," Amu said. She sat down by the benches next to Jay, and Lloyd sat next to her.

There were only three who hadn't sparred yet now- Kai, Kavi, and Zane.

"Next match- Zane vs. Kavi!" Both of them bowed into the ring.

"Whoever wins this match will spar the champion." Wu indicated to Kai, who bumped his fists together.

Kavi put up her protection stance, waiting for Wu's signal.

"GO!" he shouted.

Kavi stared hard into Zane's cold, grey eyes. He looks handsome, Kavi thought to herself.

No time to think about that now. Zane tried delivering a solid punch at her and Kavi quickly blocked it. She tried to return the punch but in a blink of the eye… he was gone. Kavi quickly turned around to deliver a back fist to him, and it met its mark.

Stealth is his strength, I see… she thought. Not too shabby. But two can play at that game.

Zane kicked her in the groin- or at least tried to- but this time Kavi disappeared, and she punched him in the face again. Zane started a series of punches at Kavi, who dodged every one of them but the last one, perfectly timed a few seconds after the previous, when she was off guard. Kavi staggered back a little. No big deal, this is just like sparring back on Earth, she thought, as Zane tried round kicking her but it blocked. Kavi then stated throwing her series of combatives at him, perfectly accurate, precise, strong, and with speed.

Wow, she's actually really good at sparring! Zane thought to himself. She's just as talented in hand-to-hand combat as Kai, if not better. Time to see if she'll survive my last resort move, so I can win. Zane completely stopped throwing moves, and just focused on blocking Kavi's hits. This continued on for about a minute.

What's wrong with him, how come he isn't fighting back? Kavi wondered.

Then Zane finally made a move. He lunged at Kavi's knees.

Suddenly, Kavi felt great pressure on her knees, and she immediately knew what was happening: Zane's trying to take me down. Horrified, she tried to escape his grasp, but she was pulled down to the ground. Suddenly, a plan formulated in her mind- right before Zane pounced on her back. The moment he pounced, Kavi slid out of the way towards an edge of the ring.

Wha- where did she go? Zane thought. Then he felt a weight on his back and sides squeezing him with vigor. In vain, Zane tried to squirm out of Kavi's grasp. But it was no use.

"TIME!" Wu shouted again. "Very good, very good!" Kavi nimbly jumped off Zane's back to allow him to get up.

"You… outsmarted me," Zane said, shaking the joker's hand.

"That's okay. You still make a great warrior, Zane!"

Zane's insides flipped in an awkward way. I cannot take this in- did she just say I'm a great fighter? He slightly blushed as he went to sit next to Lloyd, awaiting the final match.

Kai stood up. "So, you won against Zane, huh?" he said confidently. "Let's see if you can make it through me."

What Kai expected of Kavi was How am I going to win against this guy. What Kavi actually thought was: He's so confident. And his eyes… oh his eyes and his hair…

"I'm ready too, Sensei," she said, reenergized. She took her place in the ring as Kai bowed in.

"Do you really think Kavi will stand a chance?" Amu asked.

"Possibly," Lloyd said.

"She was pretty good in her first match- better than my first anyway!" Jay complimented.

"Jay, she's a seasoned sparer," Cole said.

"She has won many trophies in her sparring tournaments," Amu recollected.

"Still, the chances are small of her winning," Zane objected, polishing his helmet. "Remember how Kai was able to fend us three off for his final test for quite a while? I think he would have single-handedly defeated all of us if it hadn't been for Sensei!"

"True," Jay said.

"Kavi was horrible when she started out," Amu muttered. "I don't know how she'll fare now, I mean, she wasn't a born to be a fighter." Little did she know that she'd be proven wrong.

Meanwhile, a minute before the final match was to start, Kavi stood at the edge of the ring, educating herself on the opponent. He's the fire ninja, I know that. Which means the fire inside of him makes him the champion sparrer. I don't know how I'm going to win against him, but I'll try my best. At the least, he'll be like that Black Belt with super hard attacks that I kept getting hurt by.

"Sparrers, take your place in the ring!" Wu said.

"This sounds like a boxing match," Jay commented.

"3..."

Kai met contact with Kavi with his eyes. She was staring right back at him. With blazing confidence, like him. Kai felt something spark inside of him that he'd never felt before.

"2…"

Once again, Kavi scanned her position and went into her guard stance. She kept her lego hands up and looked straight at Kai, trying to intimidate him while trying to shoo away the thought that he was sure hot. Ha, what a pun! She realized.

"1…"

"Do you really think she'll stand a chance?" Amu asked, worried. "I mean, I don't want Kai to beat her up or anything…"

"She was a dominating matchup against me, so I think she'll do fine. I hope she does well…" Zane trailed off, eyeing Kavi with a gaze. She's so pretty, talented, and smart, Zane thought to himself. I know I have P.I.X.A.L. But… Anyway, she'll be Kai's perfect matchup.

"GO!" Wu shouted.

"AAAAAHHH!" Kai roared, rushing at Kavi.

Great, so this is how he starts, Kavi thought to herself. She stepped to the side and Kai quickly stopped. She heard Amu gasp in the onlookers.

Kai proceeded to try stunning her with a moveset which was a mix of all the elements of sparring- speed, agility, accuracy, and power. Kavi successfully blocked all of them, but her arms hurt after. This guy's a master sparer, I need to get my guard up. She responded with her own set of combatives, equally as well. Or at least she thought so. Kai blocked all of those with success and showed no signs of fatigue. Darn, he's good! Kavi thought. Maybe attacking is his skill, that's why he's so good.

Suddenly, Kavi was knocked to her feet, and her head hurt and felt slightly dizzy. She'd taken a blow to her head, and it didn't feel good. She knew that Kai wouldn't stop there, he was already rearing up with another punch. He was merciless.

Well, Kavi could be merciless when she wanted to also.

She quickly got to her feet and circled around Kai, and round kicked him in the side. Kai winced in pain. She quickly followed up with a series of uppercuts, punches, and more kicks, just to stun him.

Meanwhile, Kai was having other thoughts. She fights well for a girl, Kai thought. She's providing a formidable match to me! And she's so pretty… Distracted in this thought, Kavi took the chance and rushed at him, her warrior cry snapping him back to focus. But Kai wasn't quick enough on his defenses. He fell onto the ground and Kavi mounted him. Oh no, no, no, this is bad, I don't want to be beaten by a girl. Kai punched her face and she recoiled back, giving room for him to stand up. That was an advanced move, he thought. Eyes blazing with anger and vigor, he yelled and shot at Kavi's legs, and she toppled down, only supported by holding Kai's belt. How'd she know that? He wondered.

HA! Takedown, Kavi recounted. She trapped him into an armbar and tried not to let him go.

Amu turned white and shook a little. "I-I thought this was only a sparring match!" she jabbered, pallid with fear.

Lloyd put an arm around Amu's shoulder. "I think she's doing great, there's no need to worry," he said calmly. "From what I've seen, she's very advanced in our levels."

Amu looked up into Lloyd's emerald eyes. Oh, they're so mystical, Amu thought to herself. She couldn't help but become captured in his gaze. "It's ok, you're with me, nothing will happen when I'm around," he murmured.

Lloyd was actually having opposite thoughts. It's ok, I'm with Amu. He looked back into Amu's honey-golden eyes. She was so caring… and strong. Then his attention turned to her pendant. It was golden cast with a diamond flower consisting of four separate petals. It looked to be a lock of some sort.

He was looking at the Humpty Lock.

Which he started a conversation with.

Kavi looked with a resounding fierce gaze at Kai. Her energy levels were running low, and if she didn't make another move, she was sure Mr. Hot- uh, Kai- would take her down. Unknowingly, Kai was having the same thought himself. Kavi peered at her audience. Wu and Garmadon were spellbound, unable to speak, Jay and Cole were suspenseful, and as for Amu and Lloyd… they looked to be talking to each other, uninterested in the battle. Could Amu be getting a THIRD boyfriend? She wondered to herself.

Her attention turned back to Kai as she thought of all those people watching her. She wanted to make a good impression, that was all! She didn't want them to think she was a sissy…

She needed to give this last strike her best shot.

She charged for Kai from one edge of the ring… just as Kai was doing so on the other. Are we really thinking the same thing?

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" they both screamed, charging like two bulls.

Time seemed to go in slow motion. Kai recoiled his punch as much as he could and aimed it straight at Kavi's face. Kavi jumped and chambered her leg. As they released their final strikes, Wu shouted "TIME!" while both of the hits met at the same place- right in front of their faces- and hit each other, making both fighters fall onto the ground.

"Co-champions!" Cole exclaimed. "We've never had that happen before." Everyone was walking to the dinner table. Kai and Kavi were still breathing hard.

Immediately, Kai found Zane walking next to him. Then he noticed Kavi, far ahead of them.

"Her hair is messy…" Kai started.

"…yet it has some order to it," Zane finished.

Then the two looked at each other intently.

"How'd you know I was going to say that?" they both said. "Jinx, you owe me a soda. Jinx, you owe me another soda. Jinx! Jinx! Jinx…!"

Cole looked at the two in dismay. "I thought it was just Jay and I. Now it's Kai and Zane, the blacksmith/hothead and the Nindroid out of all people…"

"Maybe it's because of her…" Jay said. pointing at Kavi.

"It's rude to point, Jay," Garmadon intervened.

"Hey, where's Lloyd, anyway?" Jay asked.

"He… ah… is already engaged in conversation," Garmadon said, looking back at his son. True to his word, he and Amu were jabbering away.

"I can't believe Lloyd might have a potential girlfriend!" Cole said softly. "Where's Sensei Wu?"

"He's at the very front," Garmadon answered.

He was having a semi-conversation with Kavi. "I'm quite surprised at your knowledge and ability of sparring, Kavi. Where did you learn such advanced techniques? I mean, I sensed it in you, but…"

"At my school, I'm a black belt," Kavi said. "We were taught how to spar from purple belt onwards. The way we learned is that sparring is a game of tag. It's completely unrelated to actual fighting. What really mattered was your accuracy and footwork. I mean, from my perspective, I can kinda relate it to real life but… how did you teach it?"

"I taught it along the lines of how you were learned," Wu answered. "Except that I involved weapons, elements, and Spinjitzu in it at some point. Well, enough about sparring. I have a request for you and Amu…"

Kavi looked at Wu. "What is this request?" she asked with interest.

"I would like you two to stay at the monastery and train, as ninja," he said. "I see the potential you both have, and yet you still have not quite reached it."

Kavi thought about my Guardian Characters. "But isn't potential your dreams?" she queried.

"Er… well, that depends on the type of potential you have. Anyway, I sense an element inside both of you, but I do not know what. In fact, I do not know how powerful you can become either."

Silence.

"However… I DO see the possible future. You two being ninja. Learning new techniques, as well as Spinjitzu. In reality, I'm just building on Kai's offer. Now, the question is not if you want to learn Spinjitzu. You already answered that when you willingly turned in the Techno Blades. On a side note, VERY important weapons. It is, do you want to become a ninja? I shall warn you that choosing to accept this offer will change your life forever. You will fight for honor, protect those who can't protect themselves. Unlock your potential. I will let you take your time to decide your answer."

So Kavi thought. About her Guardian Characters. About X-Eggs, Mystery Eggs, and Surprise Eggs. About being a joker. She was already putting her life on the line as it was, along with Amu and to a lesser extent, the other Guardians. What could she lose by becoming a ninja?

"I've come upon a decision… Sensei," she said.

"What, so soon?" he said in surprise. "Please, take your time and think about it some more. Let it brew, like tea. Ingest its full flavor and open your buds when you are truly ready."

"But I have already thought about it, and I've made a decision I won't regret later. Promise. I know this is a life-changing opportunity, but… I've already opened my buds. This is one out of many times. Sensei…"

Kavi was met by silence. She went on.

"…Amu and I will become ninja."

Sensei furrowed his brows.

"This feels like a half-thought decision. Please, take it back, and think again. Remember, I said you and your friend," he reprimanded.

"No. My decision is final. We will learn. We will become ninja."

Sensei took a deep breath.

"And what is your reason?"

A slight pause.

"My reason is because… well, it was already mentioned earlier. I've already opened my buds. My life is already at stake. I know what it feels like to fight, and protect those who we love. And I know I'm saying 'I', but in truth, Amu has experienced just as much. In fact, she's felt much, much more love for whom she cares for than me. In other words…"

Kavi stopped and looked at Sensei straight into his eyes, with intense focus. The ninja stopped as well.

"…we already know our dreams and ambitions. We can see our futures. And we use our dreams to make others' possible."

(Well, there you go! Sorry you guys, I haven't updated for what seems like, IDK, YEARS!? JK ;} Looks like romance is sparking, and this is a major turning point. So, have a Terrific Thursday and thanks for reading!)