Note: I actually changed Charlene's name to Jade's name for the character of Gui Gui's friend in the earlier chapters. Please take note of the change in names and don't be surprised if Charlene later appears as another character!

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Aaron looked around him. The garden was really a rare beauty, like a garden straight out of the many fairytales that existed. The air was filled with the fragrance of the many blooms present and the butterflies flitted through the air, going from one blossom to the next.  He walked towards the pillars, stunned by their astounding height. He was a dwarf in comparison to them, such was their height. He estimated that they were about 4 metres tall or so and they reached up tall into the sky, standing magnificently above him.  Aaron stared up at them, his expression one a mix of awe and disbelieve. How was he going to get up those poles? He looked around, looking for anything he could use to propel himself. Nothing. There was nothing available, not a single rock nor a single foothold that he could use. There was nothing except vegetation around him.

'Unless I use the rosebushes,' he thought. 'That's crazy! They won't even hold my weight!' Resigned, Aaron could only resolve to the foolish act of trying to JUMP up the poles. But no matter how high he jumped, he could not get up the poles. With all his samurai training intact, he knew he had the strength to pull himself up the poles if only he could reach their top. But that was the problem. He couldn't even reach the top of the pole, not even with his fingertips. The poles were just too tall. What was he to do? At the end of his wits, he could only turn to the rose bushes. It seemed an absurd idea to use the rosebushes as footholds but perhaps he was meant to do so? The rosebushes would obviously not hold his weight so he needed to put as little weight as possible on them while using them as footholds. Targeting a particular rosebush, Aaron took a few retreating steps before running full speed towards it. As his raised foot descended upon the rosebush, it didn't support his weight at all. Instead, the many leaves and buds of that beautiful plant parted as his foot crashed right through it. As Aaron retrieved his leg from within the thorny bush, he felt a sudden prickle of pain. Looking down, he saw that a single thorn was buried in his shin. Luckily, his ninja uniform was thick and the thorn did not dig deep. Removing the thorn from where it was lodged into his uniform and partly into his skin, he realised that this was probably part of his training. He knew that training in martial arts were often carried out in absurd ways, sometimes involving immense torture, if only to build up the students' perseverance. Pursing his lips in determination, he made up his mind. He would try again and again until he succeeded. He retreated and once again, attempted the seemingly impossible feat of getting up those domineering poles. Little did he know that he was being watched. Gui Gui giggled as she watched Aaron through a cleverly camouflaged panel. Located at a remote area of the garden, it was further hidden by the reflective covering that was upon it. Peering through the panel, Gui Gui studied Aaron, who was repeatedly attempting the seemingly impossible feat he had taken to doing. 

'Perseverance, Aaron. One day, you will succeed,' she thought before taking down notes on Aaron's progress.

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The cafeteria was busy and bustling and on top of that, noisy beyond believe. During mealtimes, all the students, no matter if they belonged to the elite class or not, gathered at the cafeteria to have their meals together. That was the only time when they could totally relax and release themselves after the strenuous and non-stop training they went through everyday. That precious 2 hours they had to partake in their meals was also their 'play' time and they definitely did not hesitate to use it to full use! People were running and shouting, not at all acting like the ninjas they were. Everyone had thrown down their status as a ninja for that time, and Gui Gui was no exception.

'Kevin! Come back here!' Gui Gui shouted at the top of her voice, running as fast as she could after him. She was as fast and lightning and caught up with him in no time, jumping on his back and clinging there with all her might.

'Eh! No using of martial arts during lunch!!!!!!!!' Kevin exclaimed as he tried to shrug her off.

'You are bullying me again!'  Gui Gui protested, hitting him playfully on the arm.

'That's because you are my darling!!!' Kevin shouted, lifting Gui Gui easily by the waist, swinging her about in a huge circle.

Aaron looked at them, watching their loving gestures towards each other. He looked down, not wanting to watch further. But images of them insistently played in his mind's eye and his heart ached slightly as he saw their wide smiles in each others' presence. 'She's already taken,' he thought, swallowing his grief. Over the days he had spent in seclusion, he had come to miss Gui Gui more and more. Sometimes when he was training, her face would suddenly appear in his mind's eye and that distracted him, no matter how much he tried to focus. Perhaps that was why he kept failing to succeed in his training. He sighed. But he could not help it. Everytime he managed to get a glimpse of her, whether it was during mealtimes or the little time they had between lessons and bedtime, he savoured the sight of her, savoured the little time they spent together. Slowly, he had grown to realize that he liked her. But she was already taken and he would have to forget his feelings towards her. While he had not sunk deep into the feelings he had towards her, while his feelings were still on the surface level, he had better forget them, give up on them. Afterall, who was he to snatch someone's girl? Who was he to introduce confusion into their perfect and blissful lives? He sighed dejectedly before tucking into his meal. Then , through his peripheral  vision, he spotted someone rising from her seat. Turning his head, he saw Genie, a girl he recognized to be in the elite class, talking to a stranger he had never seen before. The stranger was fully dressed in black, a cloak around him and hood over his head. That black hood of his covered his entire face, casting his features into the darkness. Aaron couldn't see who he was nor how he looked like. All was just so mysterious about the stranger and dressed in the way as the stranger was, he-Aaron assumed it was a he-looked like a messenger of death. He was whispering something into Genie's ear and as his mouth moved,  Genie's already black face only became blacker. Her expression visibly darkened and her eyes seemingly hardened , glinting with anger and hate, suddenly sharp to the point where Aaron flinched at the thought of being under her gaze. She looked dangerously beautiful, like a deadly cobra poised and ready to strike without a moment's notice. Her fists were clenched , her emotions obvious. In her fury, she bit her lip to control herself as the stranger walked away. How she wanted to beat that stranger! How she wanted to make sure that the stranger would never bring the same dreadful news to anyone ever again! Seeing the stranger retreat, Genie closed her eyes and took in a deep breath in a hopeless gesture. Forcing herself to calm down, Genie once again took her seat, lips pursed in a grim line. 

The stranger walked away with painstakingly slow speed. The dark figure of the stranger wanted to walk as slow as she possibly could, if only to cause Genie more pain. She knew that Genie hated her very being for she was the bringer of the worse news any of them could ever receive. When she had reached the exit of the cafeteria, she turned slightly to see the glorious reaction she had caused. Genie was there, sitting on a bench, listlessly lifting her spoon to , the food not even fully entering . The pain on her face was evident and at the sight of that, the lips of the stranger curled slightly into a menacing smile. Her eyes glinted with victory before she turned to exit the cafeteria, a sudden new found energy entering her steps.

Aaron's eyebrows furrowed as he studied Genie. Something seemed dreadfully wrong. Something was up, and it was not something good, that he could tell just by looking at Genie's earlier uncontrolled or rather, impossible to control reactions. What could have caused such wild reactions from her? Something was wrong and he could sense it. Curiosity seeped into his heart and he found a desire to get to the bottom of what he had just seen. That was, afterall, what he had been sent here for. 

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OMG! im sooooooo sorry for not updating for so long but ive just been really busy with the many tests coming my way! SORRY!!!!!!!