The following day, I was back at the celestial shrine. All the guardians were present and we were all in the arena where I had watched them spar yesterday. Today, I was gonna attempt to awaken the power inside of me.

Raiden was standing  in front of me, ready to instruct me on what to do. The others all stood back to witness my progress. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, why wouldn't they be eager to see some new abilities in action.

"Alright. First things first." He begun. "In order to active your power, you need to focus your energy. Just breathe in and out, concentrate on your emotions and feelings, visualise it channeling into one ball of energy." I nodded in response. "Feel it flow throughout your body. Like when you transform, only think about what makes it ignite." He described.

"Right" I answered, while maintaining my focus.

"Once you manage to grasp it...." Raiden made a static ball of red energy within in his palm. "...you can do anything with it!" He reached his arm up confidently, and the ball of red lightning spread out in all directions above. It was if he had brought an actual thunderstorm inside. It soon disappeared when he put his arm back down.

"Wow.... Okay." I responded.

I closed my eyes and breathed in and out. I focused hard and thought about all the things that made me feel emotional. I imagined that feeling igniting.

Then before I knew it, a small flame appeared in the palm of my hand. I gasped in amazement. It didn't burn me, but I could feel the heat coming off of it. 

"I did it I did it!" But my joy was short lived, as the flame suddenly went away in an instant. 

"Hey what happened? I just had it!" I pouted.

Raiden chuckled. "You're not gonna acquire a massive amount power in one go Sakura. Power takes energy and for that you have to train regularly.  Gaining a new skill always takes practice, time and effort. Also you have to maintain your focus."

"He's right Cherry Blossom." Misa added. "It's like waiting for a flower to grow. You have to give it time and nourishment, until it can bloom into something amazing." 

"But how long is it gonna take?" I questioned. "What if I don't have much time? What if can't get the hang of it? And what if I end up wasting all of your time?" I worried.

"Don't worry about not being able to do things." Raiden reassured. "Only focus on the task that's in front of you, doubt is what keeps you down. When you put your mind towards a goal, you just need to believe. If you keep doing that, then you can achieve anything." He concluded.

"Don't worry we're behind ya all the way!" Hikki encouraged.

"Hikaru's right. We will all be here to support you and teach you everything you need to know in order to become a Celestial Guardian." Enyo commented. The others all agreed with him.

"Thanks everyone, I will do my best". They were all so kind a supportive. They truly believed in me. That made me want to do my best, so I wouldn't let them down.

Each day I visited the guardians and we would train together. I would practice really hard as I was determined to become like them and make them proud. It was difficult, but I kept on trying.

While I was there, I spent some time with each of the guardians. I would get to know them and they each showed me their own special training techniques. They would give me tips on how to harness powers and what they do to improve theirs. I learned things about each one of them and what they did during their down time. I guess even guardians have to enjoy themselves too.

Raiden would learn more about the constellations and history of the guardians. Not only as role of the leader, but it was also fascinating for him to learn about the history of the stars and previous heroes. He also loved to practice with his sword even when it wasn't for training purposes, he liked doing it for fun too.

Hikki loved to play sports and games. Given with how energetic he was, it was no wonder he loved to use up his energy in a competitive way. He would often encourage the other guardians to play along with him. But he had to restrain on using his super speed, because it would be unfair on the other guardians. Though he mostly did this because they wouldn't play with him otherwise. He often loved to play pranks on them too. Hikki had a great sense of humour, he was like the fun little brother of the group.

I already knew Matsuo loved to cook. I didn't expect a big strong guy like him would have such a passion for it and he clearly loved to do it. If he didn't, then why would his food always be so delicious. But that wasn't the only thing he did, he'd also love to work out constantly. Which was clearly a no brainier, due to the size of his ripped muscles. Some might think he would be a hostile delinquent just by looking at him. But I knew in actuality he was just big guy with a big heart.

Kira was an optimistic and cheerful girl who also had a sassy and feisty personality. She was very supportive of her friends and considered all of them her family. She loved fashion and told me she'd often like to go shopping at the mall, whenever she had free time on her hands. She loved buying new outfits and trying out new styles. She especially loved leopard print. Plus she loved cats. I wasn't really surprised by that since, she was kind of a cat herself. 

Chiyu was kinda like the big sister that everyone would want. Always looking out for friends and willing to do anything to protect them. I liked how even though she was tough girl, she had that sweet soft side to her. A big mama grizzly bear, but a cuddly teddy bear on the inside. She loved eating food and would sometimes sneak extra snack for herself. She especially loved sweets. She was the kind of person who would eat a whole cake! Matsuo would sometimes tell her off for stealing most of the food he made. Also she did martial arts as one of her hobbies, which I thought was really cool. You certainly wouldn't want to get on her bad side.

Asahi didn't just play music, he loved it. It was his one true passion. Every time he performed I could tell that he always put his heart and soul into it. As well as singing and playing piano, I learned that he played all kinds of instruments. He was obsessed with keeping his appearance looking radiant. I guessed he had to do it daily if he wanted to sparkle all the time. He and Matsuo would constantly argue over the smallest things and they would tease each other, it was actually really funny. They were like a pair of squabbling siblings who were total opposites of each other.

Souta lived for the thrills. He obviously loved flying, I figured since he was an eagle. He seemed like the kind of guy who wouldn't ge afraid of taking risks or chances. He like extreme sports and fast food. Although he was a thrill seeker he was also a really chill guy, always trying to help lighten a damp mood and having a good time with all his friends. He was closest with Aimi and Kuro. I wasn't sure if it was because they were all birds or that just got a long. It didn't matter though anyway.

Aimi was beautiful inside and well as out. She was always so kind and considerate to everyone around her. She was like one of those fairy tale princesses. She said that she loved to ice skate. Her friends gave her the nickname 'ice princess'. It seemed very fitting since she had ice powers too. She loved to try on different dresses, sometimes she and Kira would pick out some together. She always liked to keep her appearance nice. Not as addictively as Asahi but just now and then. Like how a swan would gentle prim themselves up to look nice.

Kuro was a shy boy but he revealedthat he loved to read and write. He mostly liked to write poetry. That way he could express all his thoughts and feelings in written form, however he pleased. It seemed to fit a quiet, gentle soul like him.  With reading he could lose himself in another world and express his words through poetic writing. He and Souta had like a brother like relationship. Souta appeared to be the older one and he took Kuro under his wing when he needed it.

Misa was a gentle soul. When she wasn't practicing physical training, she would like to meditate. Not only was this calming for her but it also helped her to focus her inner energy and thoughts. She even invited me to try it out with her. She also loved to garden. She mentioned that she had her very own garden near the shrine that she would often visit. As well as flowers, she would grow fruit and vegetables and even herbs used for medicine.

Enyo was a guy who was very disciplined. He always like to kept things organised and tidy. I heard he was an excellent swimmer (being a fish there was no surprise there). He also had a creative side to him. He especially loved to paint and create his own art. He mostly like to use watercolours as they added a nice effect to his pictures.

Though I couldn't really learn much about Yuto. He was not the kind of person who liked to  open up to others, he was quite introverted. All I knew for now, was that he liked to concentrate on sharpening his skills. As much as I was curious, I didn't care to ask him about anything. Especially why he had that scar on his face. It wasn't my business to pry anyway.

They also showed me more around the shrine. I got to see what all of their rooms looked like. From how they were designed, they really fitted them. For example: Matsuo's room was like a workout gym. Asahi's room was full of instruments, mirrors and vases of roses, Kira's room had a lot of leopard and cat-like designs. Chiyu's room had a load of plushies in it which I thought was adorable, but she also had a punching bag in it to keep up her fighting skills. In Souta's room, he had posters of planes and bikes and he also had a darts board to practice aim. Aimi's room was pure white like it was made of snow. Kuro's had a sort of dark goth-like appearance, with a writing desk and a bookshelf. Misa's was similar to a meditation room with loads of pot plants and insense. Enyo's was neatly organised and he even had a little aquarium in it! Hikki's room appeared to be a typical teenage boys room filled with manga, games and sports balls. In Yuto's room he had knives on his walls which kinda disturbed me a little. Finally, Raiden's room was quite interesting. It was similar to a Japanese dojo. He had sword kept in it, he also had a picture of a man who looked just like him. I guessed that was his Grandfather. 

They showed me the gourmet kitchen, where Matsuo prepared all the food. They had a large food supply and storage for all kind of equipment. They had a ginormous bath. It was similar to a Japanese public bath, only much more fancy. It had small fountains and waterfalls in it, just the sort of thing you'd find in a palace. Of course it was split into two parts to separate genders. Chiyu said it was like being at a spa, I could not wait to try it myself, if I ever got the chance.

Everyday, I was slowly working on my power. But I couldn't control it yet or even do any proper moves with my magic.

Sometimes I would see them at night, since they could show me how much the magic power was stronger at night. Also, it would help me grow my newly awakened abilities.
While most of them were off fighting the monsters the others would stay back and try to teach me. I wished I could see them fight in action, but that was obviously out of my league since I wasn't a guardian and I was only just learning. I did get to see what they looked like though. They were all different but just a mesmerising. Like Leo, their outfits were sparkling in vibrant colours, they had animal ears, tails and even wings for some of them! They all wore a particular insignia on their chest. It was similar to the one I saw on the front door of the shrine: a shield with a twelve pointed star in the middle. They looked just like real life superheroes. But seeing them in their celestial forms only made me want to watch them in action even more.

Although I was gradually making progress, I would admit it was starting to get on my nerves. How it was often difficult to get the hang of it, or how slowly the process was taking. There were times where I got so frustrated, that it took nearly all my willpower to not let it show.

However, there was one time where I let my frustration get so out of hand, that I nearly screwed up big time. It happened when I was having another power training session with them. I was trying to conjure up ball of energy and launch it at a target. Raiden noticed that I was straining myself.

"Concentrate Sakura, just try and embrace it." Raiden encouraged.

"I am trying!" I protested as I tried to focus on the magic fire power.

'Come on! Do something!' I thought hard.

The ball of energy rapidly started to grow bigger and I struggled to keep it in my grasp. "Easy Sakura! Keep it together!" Raiden warned me.

However I lost balance and the fire ball power shot out, like an out of control firework. It exploded everywhere, setting fire to almost everything! Nearly everyone cried out in shock and alarm. I even burned half of their clothes off! 

I was absolutely shocked and mortified. I could not believe I just did that! HOW EMBARRASSING! Not to mention dangerous! What was I trying to do kill someone!? I could've seriously hurt somebody with the fire. Enyo and Aimi immediately began using their water and ice powers to put the flames out. Luckily they had just the magic to combat fire.

"Oh my God! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" I cried out, while covered my face in shame. I hurriedly ran out of the room, almost as fast as Hikki.

"Sakura! Wait!" Hikki sped after me down the hall. I had disappeared from his sight, but he was not gonna stop looking for me. "Come on! Where'd you go?!" He called out. He zipped around from place to place, desperately trying to find me. He knew I couldn't have gone far, because there was no way I would be able to out run him.