Instructor Aziz was overly eager to settle Gaius and Nakama into their new arrangements and lodgings, but the young boy wasn’t going to budge until he and his little tag-along were getting some meat for lunch.

The other children once again watched enviously as two people this time bit into a hearty meal of meat, mashed potatoes and two sausages. The latter was an extra treat for the soldiers, which earned Instructor Aziz a couple of pitying looks from the serving soldier when the soldier was told to serve sausages and meat for the two kids.

Of course, the instructor had no way of telling whether the pitying looks were a result of his defeat spreading throughout the soldiers, or because people thought that his job here was essentially babysitting two young masters in a boot camp.

Some twenty-plus pairs of eyes followed the last sausage as Gaius brought it up to his mouth. Of course, there had been some rather daring children who wanted to extort Nakama’s share, but after a couple of punches, no one had even dared to look at the little girl by his side anymore.

“What, you want some?” Gaius bit into the sausage, and some glossy oil spurted out. “You better work hard then. Go and train more at night. Go do some cardio— I mean, running. Don’t just lie in bed all night long, weaklings.”

The others glowered, but they had nothing to say. No one had completed the run like he did, after all. The brighter ones were paying close attention to his words, although they weren’t showing it on the surface. If too many people started to meet the instructor’s expectations, the qualifications to have meat for lunch might change…

Gaius chewed on the other half of the sausage, before turning around to wipe Nakama’s mouth. “Instructor Aziz, we’re done!”

“Good.” The soldier, standing at the sidelines, perked up. “Let’s get you guys settled in a more advanced program.”

Nakama tugged at Gaius’ uniform, who nodded reassuringly in return.

“Let’s go then.” Gaius stood up, satisfied with his goading of the other trainees. It was probably going to be the last favour he would do for this instructor of his. It was very much possible when he met the instructor again, he would be speaking from an entirely different position.

He did feel that it was a pity he never got to experience the wilderness training, but judging from the memories he had unlocked, and the fashion in which they had done so thus far, Gaius had a hunch that he wouldn’t need these classes all that much.

“So,” asked Gaius, “how did you do that whisper in the mind trick you did just now?”

“It’s called a voice transmission, boy.” The soldier cocked his head. “You get to do it once you’ve reached a certain level in cultivating qi. In essence, it allows you to whisper to anyone ten metres around you, and that’s all. Not very useful at the best of times, but it has its niche.”

For a moment, Gaius thought that he was talking to an acquaintance, not the stern-looking instructor that had taken him for one and a half days’ worth of lessons. It seemed, at any rate, that Instructor Aziz was treating him like an equal now, although that didn’t stop him from engaging in pretty much what was baby-talk with Nakama after his clarification.

He found it cute for the first five seconds, and then made sure that there was a three-metre gap between him and the instructor after the other soldiers started noticing. Gaius even wanted to grab the man by the shoulders and yell at him, but he couldn’t find it in himself to stop Nakama from having fun.

After a couple of twists and turns, Instructor Aziz was stopped by a particularly burly pair of sentries.

“Halt,” the one on the right said. “What’s your business here?

“I’m here to send this boy here for the Resurgence initiative,” replied Aziz. “The older one of the two has these qualifications.”

Gaius narrowed his eyes slightly. The program’s name was rather…telling.

“And the younger one?”

“His sister. You know the rules as well as I do.”

“Yeah, I know.” The sentry produced a book and a writing instrument, which upon closer inspection, looked very much like an old fountain pen. “Just sign here, and I’ll take care of the rest.”

The instructor smiled as he wrote in the book. “I’ll leave them in your care, then.”

He looked at Gaius, then at the little girl beside him and then walked away. “See you around, boy.”

“Bye, Instructor. And thank you.”

“It’s been a pleasure training you.”

Nakama tilted her head as the two exchanged niceties, clearly confused as to why two people who had barely known each other were talking like this. The sentry on the right waited for another five seconds, and then beckoned the little duo to follow him.

“Not bad, if a kid like you managed to impress any instructor here,” said the sentry. “I suspect I’ll be seeing you two around quite often, especially the little miss here. What’s your name, little one?”

“Na-Nakama.”

“Ah, named after the Champion Solaris. What family are you from?” asked the soldier.

She shook her head, and Gaius stepped in to reply. “Both of us don’t have many memories regarding our origins.”

“Which means that the both of you were probably abandoned or separately shortly after the war began,” replied the sentry. “You must have led a rather horrible childhood in that case, fighting and stealing just for survival.”

“You sound experienced.”

“I came from the slums myself,” said the sentry. “And before the war reached Ark City, the guard was usually occupied with crimes going on in the slums, especially the gangs. It’s hard not to sympathise with children if you see them die or get crippled on pretty much a daily basis.”

“Ah, we’re here.” The sentry stopped at an unusually large tent, and the duo followed suit. “You just need to go in and report, and the duty officer would take it from here.”

“Thank you, mister. For everything.” Gaius hesitated for a moment, before he extended his right hand. “I’m Gaius. I’ll be in your care from now on.”

The sentry’s eyes widened, and then a smile broke out on his face. He clasped Gaius’ hand. “I’m Soyinka. I’ll be in your care too.”

Gaius and Soyinka exchanged another polite nod, and then the latter turned and left. Nakama grabbed Gaius’ free hand and held it closely, eliciting a slight smile from Gaius as they headed inside.