The Protectors: A Hero's Heart (Book 1: Growth; An A:TLA Fanfiction)

Chapter 9: Codenames

The next day…
Fire Department Room, Main Training Area

The usual morning classes and lunchtime were over. This time, during lunchtime, everyone got to sit anywhere they want, regardless of what department they’re in. Mr. Kon-Li had announced it to the teachers in Protector-Training Island Academy, then the teachers announced it to the students. Now, it was time for today’s Protector-training session.

Nidoria, Bokio and Kugo stood before Flame-Lady and listened intently to her words.

Flame-Lady clapped with an impressive smile. “I’m impressed, trainees!” Her hands laid on her hips. “You’ve passed the 3rd Quarterly Exams! Congrats!”

Nidoria scratched her nape as a warm and nervous smile appeared on her face. “Oh. It was nothing.”

“Thank you, Flame-Lady,” Bokio said with a smile. “Although, Nidoria led us to victory in passing the exams.”

“Yeah! You should’ve seen the way she planned things out in the final obstacle!” Kugo said enthusiastically. “We worked together as friends and together, we passed the exams! Mr. Kon-Li even thought we’re a team!”

“I gotta say. That’s pretty impressive,” Flame-Lady said. “I heard from Mr. Kon-Li that you joined forces with Liyah, Izugail, Ryoske and Shang-Yo from the Water Department, Zeno and Khelsi from the Earth Department, and Gianso from the Non-bending Department.”

Kugo nodded. “Of course! They’re our friends!”

“Well, that’s nice to hear,” Flame-Lady said. She closed her eyes with a smile and clapped twice. “Alright! Let’s get on with this!”

As she said this, two men in black clothes slid what looked like a square-shaped board underneath the gray cloth behind Flame-Lady. Once the center of the board faced Flame-Lady’s back, the two men walked towards the left side of the room.

Flame-Lady opened her eyes and she laid her hands to her sides. Her eyes faced her trainees. “Alrighty! You all know what happens after the 3rd Quarterly Exams, right?”

Kugo raised his right fist. An enthusiastic and excited smile appeared on his face. “We’re having our first Internships!”

Bokio smiled as curiosity appeared in his eyes. “I wonder whom I will train under. Hopefully, someone decent and not terrifying like Fire Lord Ozai.”

“I can’t wait! I’m looking forward to learning more firebending techniques!” Nidoria exclaimed with a delightful smile.

“In a few days, you’ll be leaving Protector-Training Island with your mentors via their ships. Then, after you get to certain destinations, that’s when 1-week Internships will begin,” Flame-Lady said. “The Pro Protectors had watched how the Protectors-in-training deal with the situations in the 3rd Quarterly Exams and see which one to recruit for a certain nation.

"They will also do the same for the 1st and 2nd Quarterly Exams. There are three Quarterly Exams every year. One for each season. The 1st Quarterly Exam happens every fall season. The 2nd Quarterly Exam happens every winter season. The 3rd Quarterly Exams, which you did yesterday, happens every spring season. As for the summer season, everyone can relax and have fun.

“That’s why the Breaks Area exist. People can feel real’ sweaty while training during the summer. So we built the Breaks Area, so that you can relax and have fun. If you wanna train during the summer, there’s an area on the other side of the Breaks Area. It’s called the ‘Intensive Training Area.’

“The 1st and 3rd Quarterly Exams are similar. Both are simple, but difficult to pass if you can’t see the lesson behind it. After the days of those exams are finished, there will be 1-week Internships in a few days and several weeks, depending on which destination you’ll use for the Internships.