Akira Tererra's Story

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It was finally the entrance ceremony beginning another school year of Tererra Academy. Students of all years and ranks filled the seats. The four purple ranks stood with two on either side of the stage. Everyone waited patiently as the headmaster walked onto the stage, clapping erupting in the hall.

Alexander Tererra settled everyone down and began to speak. "Thank you for coming students. We're gathered here to commemerate another year of the TRA!" Claps erupt in the room."We welcome our freshman to the Academy and hope you enjoy your time here. Do take note that more students will be joining us soon, and will join classes along with you all. Now, to make sure new students know what our duty is in this world. As students of Tererra Academy, we train to protect and help those who are inexperienced in the art of weapon summoning. You will fight with all you have, and learn many valuable information. Students here in the TRA are ranked by color. Blue being the lowest and inexperienced, green being the average fighters, red being the masters of their class, and purple-" He gestures toward the students standing on the sides of the stage, who then proceed to nod their heads. "Being the best of the best; the legends of the Academy. Ranking tests will be held right after the ceremony. Proceed to the gym to participate. Now, freshmans, your instructor and guide for all you need to know will be Akari Tererra, my successor, who is a red rank brawl class. She will now be telling you whatever other rules there are in the academy."









Akira walked over to the podium and took her grandfather's place. "Freshman! Here at the TRA we have rules. Rules that you must follow or you'll face the consequences. This is also a review for older students. Curfew after classes end is 10:00. You may go to the nearby town after school hours, but you must be in your dormitory by 10:00 pm. Anyone caught outside after curfew will be severely punished without mercy no matter the situation. Summoned weapons used against other students without permission is also not tolerated. Same punishment goes as well. If you must go somewhere during school hours, you must have a valid reason approved by your head weapon class advisor. And you must be in class before or directly at 8:00 am before the school bell rings. Tardy students will be given a task to complete during free period and one to complete after school. Please understand that we are very strict with our rules and misbehaving students constantly causing havoc to these rules will without exception be expelled. Thank you for your time and you are all dismissed. Check the map and board in the hall to see where the gymnasium is located and who your advisor is." So, the school year officially began.

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Seth sighed in resignation. His uniform was not only plaid, but the color scheme had no function in his opinion. It didn't serve to camouflage, so why such a bright red? And why didn't it have more pockets? He was used to his normal pants that front, back, and cargo pockets. He felt naked in a way since he could not carry as much. But, he decided, this is the school uniform that they require and as such he has done choice but to find some other way to store gear. Regardless, he didn't have time to figure that out now, it was nearly time to get to the auditorium for the ceremony. He took his duffle bag to his room and left it at the foot of the bed for now. He would have to come back later to sort his belongings.

Making his way to the auditorium, he noticed that while the uniform may have appeared very tight fitting and inflexible, that the case was actually the opposite. It was as if it was at least meant for comfort and ease of movement in combat. Perhaps more thought went into these uniforms than he first thought.... He stopped for a moment at a board to check the map again. He wanted to be sure he knew the building inside and out so that he knew where all his classes were, where the exits were, and any place he would have to gather at for any other reason. After that, he finally entered the room and found his seat.

The entire time before the ceremony, he was looking around and trying to analyze everyone he saw. People's heights, weights, the way the sat or stood, the way they spoke, anything that would hint at what type of person they may be. His father had always taught him to be ready for any situation, and one method to ensure that was to know your surroundings. If you knew where an enemy would attack from, you would know how to react. If you knew who your enemy might be, you would know how they might attack. If you knew them on a more personal level, you would know how to defeat them. While it seemed like most of the people here were kind and happy and that he wouldn't have to worry for the time being about an attack, he knew there was no way to know 100% because humans are just that- human. They are never always what they seem to be on the surface.

Once the ceremony started, he sat quietly listening to what he was being told. He took all the information to heart and did his best to remember it all. Another thing his father taught him was that information was worth its weight in gold; if you have a chance to get it at no cost, take it. Information was one thing that could never be stolen from you. He also took note of who talked to their friends during the speech, who sat quietly and listened, and who just didn't pay attention to anything. After the man finished speaking, a young red hair dedicated woman stepped up. She seemed very driven, with a lot of motivation. He also noticed she may have been slightly nervous and that she was using her energy and passion to hide it and to give herself more confidence. But if she were nervous, it was only very slight. If not, then the room was just hot, which would make sense since a lot of people were gathered in a single room. After the ceremony was complete, he went straight for the gym, ignoring the board he had already looked at four times since he arrived. "Who knows, this might just be fun." he said to himself.

Speech Color - #D45222

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Truth be told, this was the first time I would be looking at life through my own eyes. I know that some people might think that I am referring to how this would also be the first time I slept or lived elsewhere than my own home, but that is not it. No, rather, I am referring to the fact that I have only ever known my life through the third-person, for that is how my story was written. Because of this, I am a bit uneasy. While I normally enjoy new experiences, this was much more drastic than anything else. Like if I were to start seeing out of my hands instead of my eyes, or something strange like that. But, because God has willed it (I believe his name was FamishedPants or something), I now live life like this. The only thing left to do is press onwar--- wait, what? Oh, it seems like God doesn't want me to continue like this. Wait? Why? We just got started! ....Who is this "Fey" you speak of? You're worried about Fey realizing that I'm simply the Deadpool to his Deathstroke? What does that mean?....Don't worry about it? How can I not? You're changing how I perceive the environment around me, why would I not worry about that? At least let me try it for one pos---

A young man stared confusedly at the room he would apparently be sleeping in for the duration of his stay at this academy. Rubbing his head as he entered, he inspected the room. It was... small. Small, yes. Much smaller than the room he had been used to resting in for the past 15 years of his life. Worse yet, he would also be sharing it with somebody, if what he was told wasn't some falsehood. He could not be sure if this was a form of punishment for something he had done, or if this was a new form of training, but he did not see any relevance to becoming a better summoner through sleeping like this. Either way, this was unpreferable to him. He would rather have a larger room where he could place all of his properties that he had gathered over the past couple of years. Because he had technically lost so many years of his life, he had saved up a sizable fortune simply from the allowance he was given. Yes, though he was never allowed to leave the household back then, he was still given money with which to purchase things of interest. Unfortunately, he lacked wants for such a long period of time and never really bought anything with the money, but that had changed. He could now buy these nifty little picture books with photos of beautiful girls. He, however, was made to leave the ones with nude women at home, which was fairly irritating, but he knew that neither his brother nor his parents respected his love for thighs, so it was likely because they thought this would hinder him in some way. Luckily, that was merely an annoyance and nothing more.

Speaking of annoyances, his roommate was nowhere to be found. Aside from the young man himself, the room was devoid of any life. Weird, he was sure the man was supposed to be here. But why did it have to be a guy? That was boring. It would be much better if the person he shared this tiny room with was a gorgeous girl, right? Then he could admire her and her thighs all the time when he was here! Maybe, just maybe he could even get her to wear actual kneesocks! He had seen the ones in the uniform and, although better than what he was expecting, they were still not that good. He wasn't sure why they had skimped out on the best part of the female uniform, but perhaps the headmaster was also corrupted, just like his brother. Could it be that he was an ass man too? Or maybe he preferred breasts? He was out of lucky regardless, and had to accept that things were just gonna have to be this way.

Issei Barusak decided to leave the room, closing the door behind him after making sure he had his key. He was wearing the school uniform as instructed by the letter he had received. To him, it did not matter that the uniform was plaid, that it did not have an abundance of pockets, or something silly like that. Honestly, he did not mind it one bit, because it did not feel very restricting and was comfortable enough. He had only one complaint about the uniforms at all and that was already mentioned beforehand -- the females weren't wearing kneesocks. But aside from that, there was no reason for him to complain about clothes, for he only cared what cute girls wore. He couldn't care less what he wore unless it somehow managed to hinder his movements or was actually uncomfortable.

Disappearing into the hall full of other students on their way to the assembly, Issei wondered just what kind of things this academy would have in store for him. He was unused to an actual school setting. He was always privately tutored by his lonesome, so this was very foreign to him. But, in that way, it was also very exciting.

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It was not until the young Akira Tererra had stepped up to the stage that Issei bothered to pay very much attention, but the slightest spark of interest did appear in Issei's eye when the Purple-ranked students were mentioned. The girl seemed quite serious about the speech she was giving, but Barusak almost couldn't care less about any punishment that wasn't expulsion, really. What could anybody here possibly do to him that he hadn't already experienced countless times from his own flesh and blood? The kinds of beatings his brother gave him were beyond anything he could feasibly comprehend a red-ranked redhead to dish out. After all, his brother, the genius, was comparable to a purple-rank before he was even as old as Issei was now.

...was beating that guy even possible? Is Subaru even human?

Perhaps not. Even the youngest Barusak knew that such a goal as defeating his genius brother in a serious fight would be comparable to wanting to rule the world. It simply was not going to happen in the foreseeable future. Besides, getting to be that strong would only make his family happy, if anything. Two world-renowned genius summoners in one generation? They would be so delighted and they would wear only the smuggest faces as they received all the praise the world could give them! Issei did not want such a thing for this family. Rather, if anything, he wanted them to taste humiliation. Perhaps he could do so here. After all, there was mention of ranking tests in just a little bit. If he were to do poorly on them, would it not shame his stupid parents? That ought to be a fine way to get back at them.

Issei decided that he would attempt to go for a blue rank. He did not mind being beaten. Pride was not really something Issei had in anything other than his love for thighs. Though he was very likely to be as skilled as a red rank, he did not want that kind of attention. A freshman starting off at such a high rank would be beneficial for the Barusaks, which was detrimental to Issei's plot. Hell, even a green rank would be too much. He wanted it to look like, despite all the training a Barusak had been given, even by somebody as revered as his older brother, that he was completely inept. That a Barusak was incompetent in his own trade! Then, they would rue the day they ever attempted to keep him from thighs! The whole system would all come crumbling down!

Ok, well, it would probably just embarrass them or something, but that was perfectly fine with Issei.

"It's all done now?" Issei wondered to himself aloud as Akira had exited the stage, followed by the mass of the student body swarming to the boards to see the map of the school. Issei, however, did not need to do so. As a member of the Barusak household, he was given a tour earlier in the month and remembered where the gym was to begin with. He immediately decided that if he were to get to the gym first, then he would be able to admire all the thighs as they entered the room. That, of course, would be wonderful! And, with such a ulterior motive for being the early bird, Issei had set off.

But wait...if I am early, then wouldn't that make me seem...well, better? Would it be better to piss the family off if I were late? Likely, but it would also be kinda pointless. I do not want to get too petty, after all. Besides, there would be less of a chance to admire such lovely thighs if I were to be the last one to enter.

Truly important matters had restricted Issei's awareness on the world around him. It was because of this that he unknowingly bumped into the back of another student, which surprised him had managed to surprise him just a little, as he thought he was the first one to leave. This snapped him out of his intense thinking and presumably, the student had turned to face him to see what had happened. It was a she, and a quite beautiful she at that. His eyes had decided to save the best part for last, so this initial judgement was based solely on the upper half of her body. A red hair much darker than his own, even her eyes were the same. Part of him inside knew she must have been from some form of lineage that had done that, but it really didn't matter enough for him to care about that. Just that, aesthetically, he thought it fit. She also had a sizable bust which, although lesser in importance than thighs, was still something to note.

"Oh. Sorry about that." he began with more of a straight tone that almost sounded like he was saying it with sarcasm. His eyes then finally traced the girl's body, leading down to her legs, and he did so without a single attempt at hiding it. He noticed she was wearing a fairly tight fabric beneath the uniform she had donned. It intrigued him. "Balance is necessary for perfection." he commented when he was apparently done, looking at her straight in the eyes as if he was serious and not guilty of a single thing and wearing an unfittingly determined smile. Since it was about her legs, of course he was entirely serious about the matter at hand. "If there is too much covering it, then there is no hook. However! People also want to be teased, so if you were to wear too little, it would not capture their attention as long. That is why kneesocks are great -- they have balance!"

So saying, the Barusak began to head towards the gymnasium with more gusto. If he beat her there, then he would be able to enjoy said thighs again AND the others. It was a perfect scenario for him. But, he remembered something just before he got too far ahead, and turned back.

"But it seems that fabric like that makes the matter gray, rather than black and white" he told her. This was one of few idioms he was properly aware of. "You still manage to have great thighs!"

And so, he continued on, forging his path to the gymnasium.

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Akira waited for the rest of the students to arrive. She was excited for the ranking test, for she had not been ranked yet either. She was determined to get a purple rank, even a red rank was a close second. Either way, she was going to show her skills. She wanted the freshman to see what was expected of them. As the last students arrived, she made her way to the front of the group, facing towards them. "Alright! Who's ready for some epic battling?" Cheers filled the humongous room. She closely watched Mairi, just in case she tried something funny. "Okay! How this works is we'll have two students come up and battle with whatever personal knowledge they have. Give it all you've got! The winner will most likely be ranked higher then their opponent, but it's also based off of control, agility, and attack power. One more thing. Girls, go to the lockerooms to put on provided leggings. It's only appropriate." Akira already was set for the battle. She waited for the girls to come back.

After everyone settled, she randomly pointed at a boy with blonde hair who's face screamed, I'm gonna win! This girl ain't got nothin' on me! "You! You're up first. Your opponent is me." Akira smirked. She didn't like people who underestimated her. He got into his battle stance, as a blue light formed into a long, sharp sword. A blade class, eh? Works for me. Akira thought. Akira then got into her own battle stance as a red light engulfed her hands. Then appeared her pair of magenta gauntlets. The boy made the first move. He ran at her with sword in hand, letting out a battle cry. Akira simply side stepped and drew her fist back, as pink Vika formed at the tip of her right gauntlet. POW! Her fist connected with his face as his body flung to the other side of the room. She waited for him to recover.

The boy stood, and ran at her again as she stood there, swinging his sword at her chest. Akira jumped up and landed on the tip of his sword, proceeding to place her hands on his head, front flipping off of him. She quickly turned and swiped her leg at his, causing him to fall forward. He stood up once again and ran at her another time. As Akira began to step away, the boy took out a hidden knife and sliced her cheek, causing a small cut to form. She frowned and ran at him, jumping onto his chest, pinning him down. Her fist stopped about a centimeter from his face, pink Vika visible at the tip. Akira giggled. "I think this battle is over. Don't make the same mistake of being a sexist prick again." Akira stood, and waited for the students' reaction.

Fintan had eventually figured out the board. Following its instructions he strolled towards the gymnasium in no rush. Milling in with the other students he found a spot he felt comfortable in. It was away from the larger crowd and seemed to draw less attention to him. Leaning against a wall he tucked his hands in his pockets as the red headed girl whom had made a speech before began to lead the ranking tests.

"Alright! Who's ready for some epic battling?" Cheers filled the humongous room as she tried to pep everyone up.

"Okay! How this works is we'll have two students come up and battle with whatever personal knowledge they have. Give it all you've got! The winner will most likely be ranked higher than their opponent, but it's also based off of control, agility, and attack power. One more thing. Girls, go to the locker rooms to put on provided leggings. It's only appropriate." As she finished explaining Fin sighed.

So this was going to be a one battle at a time sort of deal? They may be here a while considering the number of students. Gazing around he decided to check out his fellow freshmen, some of them seemed zealous with confidence. Others wrung their hands nervously. It was probably the nervous ones that would put up a better fight, overconfidence tended to be the downfall of most people Fin had met.

He wondered if his new 'room mate' was amongst them. He hadn't met them yet after all, it would be interesting to see what they were capable of.

As the girls returned after getting changed the red head kicked things off. She picked out one of the overconfident students Fin at noticed. The boy seemed a little too peppy for Fin's tastes. Now just what type of fighting style did this Red head have? She sure acted confident herself, however, her eyes told him she could probably live up to that confidence unlike most of the students here.

Intrigued Fin watched the battle proceeded.

A brawler versus a blade, the battle was over in minutes. The blonde boy hadn't stood a chance, he had underestimated his opponent that much was true. A foolish mistake. It was always dangerous to rush into battle head first before reading your opponent. Predicting your opponent was the strategic way to ensure victory. If the blonde boy had taken a second to notice the fire in the red head's eyes he may have been more precautious of his attacks. She excelled in close range tactics, as brawlers do. His best bet would have been to try and tire her out, or at least defend her attacks rather than go on the offensive. It was the choice of someone unused to combat.

Fin glanced over at them as the blonde boy moved from the floor his shame of defeat plastered on his expression. A small smile cracked from Fins lips as he heard the Red Head's statement.Sexist prick? probably more like a foolish idiot. He thought to himself amused.

Who would be next into battle?

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Isamu Hisoka had been watching with bated breath for the opening assembly to begin, and when it did, his eyes were glued to the front. When it was revealed that they'd be sparring, Hisoka was equal parts excited and nervous. He likes sparring—maybe a little too much—but whenever he does it, his personality completely flips. Sighing a little, he looks down at the packaging that the uniform was tucked away in. He holds his breath and undoes the packaging, hoping that for once maybe they'd remember to give him a boy's uniform instead of a girl's one. It isn't that he doesn't particularly like girl clothes, but it's always very, very awkward when you get a girl's uniform.

Standing from his chair, Hisoka trots towards the gymnasium, looking down at his uniform. Luckily, they had gotten it right this time, and Hisoka smiles to himself. Unfortunately for him, though, he hadn't been looking where he was going on his way to the gymnasium until he ran into someone else—a boy with black hair. He yelps and scrambles back a few steps, dipping himself into an apologetic bow.

"E-E-Excuse m-me...! I'm sorry I didn't mean to run into you, I should've been watching where I was going!"

Almost too embarrassed to look up, Hisoka forces himself to meet the gaze of the other, who he seems to have interrupted his watching of the spars going on. He can feel tears welling in his eyes.

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It was no surprise that Eve was late. Even if she was leisurely strolling, that wasn't surprising either. Honestly, she woke up on time, but got a bit sidetracked during the journey. Of course, her stepfather set the GPS settings in her headband to inform her step by step directions to the school. But out of mere curiosity and severe ADHD, she somehow managed to become adrift.

It all started when a puppy walked over to her and licked her ankle, not far from her dwelling. The thing about the inter-workings of Eve, is that it doesn't take much for her to think of one of her philosophical questions. A rather gruesome question, but she thought "Do puppies go to heaven?" A fine question indeed. Well, considering the facts, it wouldn't take long for someone to deduce negative. But for someone of Eve's intellect, it took her all of the morning. She also decided to conduct some experiments.

The puppy that has licked her seemed to be lost, so with a swoop of her hand. She picked the dog up and set the animal on the park bench. With a deep breath, she asked a question to the innocent beast in her monotone speech. "Would you like to learn about our lord and savior Jesus?" Of course, the dog didn't respond, but if Eve couldn't pick up on human emotions, trying to emphasize with the dog is a lost cause. "I see you are hard to convert, but don't worry. God loves all creatures, even the ones who don't love him back. Do you understand? The dog stared at Eve for a few second, before running over to a girlfriend and a boyfriend a few feet from Eve. The couple thanked Eve, but instead of responding with the standardized, "Your welcome." She handed the two a bible and said "This is for your dog." With that she walked off, clearly sidetracked.

She arrived into the gymnasium a few minutes late. She wasn't a freshman, but she still didn't know the directions to anywhere on the campus. She seemed to have been just on time to hear the beginning of Akira's speech. But of course she wasn't listening. She was still hooked on her own question. Fortunately, Eve had a keen memory and when asked a question about the speech she has heard many times during her time at the academy, she would be able to answer. But she has a talent of forgetting the rules only at the time she is accidentally breaking them. Mostly the curfew one as wandering around is a hobby of her's, especially at night. Though since she is a problem child, she is usually let off with a stern talking to.

Her roommate found her right after the ceremony. She was a nice girl, as she volunteered to take care of Eve. Alice was her name. Eve had a habit of volunteering first for the match-up tests, so she could sleep all day due to her side effect, despite not knowing exactly how she has formulated a plan so complex for her mind to handle. Alice urged her not to do it again for her 3rd time in a row, but it fell to deaf ears.

After the freshman boy was humiliated, no one dared to step up. Of course, Eve wanted to get this over with as fast as possible, even if it wasn't required, she felt obligated. So she walked up rather quickly. Since people were scared of the females now because of Akira's display, no one dared to challenge her. As Alice knew her friend's conviction to always go relatively early couldn't be convinced otherwise, she stepped up.

Alice summoned her weapon, it manifested as a Kusarigama, a chained weight and sickle. Though Alice made no attempt to attack Eve as she already knew what she was going to do. Eve summoned her metallic angel wings and cannon to go with. In one swift motion, she aimed the cannon up and after 3 seconds of charging, the cannon blasted a hole into the school that was the same size as the sand part of a baseball field. With that, Eve fell to the ground, her weapon disappearing as she dropped. Alice sighed and her weapon vanished as well. Alice picked up Eve's hand and dragged her off the stage. The hole in the ceiling is a staple of the entrance ceremony.

Speech Color - #D45222

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"Black? Hmm, I guess that could work. Well, we have the entire school year ahead of us, I'm sure she'll be able to show me an even greater beauty at some point!" he concluded as he disappeared further down the hallway, having heard the girl's attempt to convince him she was perfect.

Issei was in a great mood. After all, the first girl he had a chance to admire was perfect, at least physically. The only thing that left him dissatisfied was the mediocre uniform, but thems were the school rules apparently, so it was not as though it was her fault. Whatever skin-tight fabric she was wearing underneath was interesting to him, so maybe he'd get to see that in action sometime soon? He could only hope. But I digress. Issei thought that if the very first girl he stopped and admired was great, then this school certainly held a promising future for him. A future with perfect thighs and bodies!

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Issei was not the very first person into the gym, of course, but he had beaten the other freshmen who had attended the assembly. Because of this, Issei had gotten a front row seat to disappointment! These leggings were a sham! Not even B-rank material here! How was he going to enjoy thighs with those monstrosities, huh!? Okay, well, they were THAT bad in his opinion, he was just very disappointed and had to let loose somehow. Unfortunately, he could not simply go on a run in the middle of school, so the OKAY leggings would have to deal with this mental abuse if only for a few moments. Issei realized that he had wasted any energy trying to get ahead of the others. How unfortunate, but nothing he would cry about. It was simply annoying that he had made it a point to beat the crowd here, only to find that any effort in the process was more or less wasted. His bright mood from before had sunk, though he realized that if anything good had come of beelining for the gym, it was those thighs he did manage to capture! She had such great thighs, so there was definitely potential here. He could not allow himself to fall into a depression because of what the school was doing to them! Justice would be served.

...now that he thought about it, what was her name? He was told that it was polite to introduce yourself to people first and foremost, but because he had to apologize and also because of thighs, he totally forgot to do that, didn't he? Issei made a mental note to introduce himself next time they met.

But for now, he had to watch the stage.

The girl from before, Akira, had taken it upon herself to demonstrate the power of a red-ranked individual. For Issei, combat was his religion. He was confident that the school would teach him very little in the way of how to fight, if anything at all. That was all extensively covered since before he could admire thighs, after all. All that was left was an actual education. Needless to say, Issei was perceptive when it came to combat-related matters. What he saw in this fight, he saw it not as a strong display of the power of a red-rank, but a pitiful display of an unfair fight and a failed chance to show off. The man was clearly incompetent. Battle cries were silly in practice, and only served to waste your breath if anything. Furthermore, he walked straight into a punch and it was so obvious that that was going to happen because of his dumb stance that Issei had predicted the outcome within mere moments. This wasn't a fight, it was a slow slaughter.

In the end, since the man was nothing to worry about for her, Issei could only tell that she was a good fighter. He wasn't sure how good, but he felt she at least knew how technique, rather than relying solely on powerhousing her way through. Her movements betrayed experience, just like his would if he was not careful. He was hopeful that he could see her go up against something actually challenging to see just how strong she really was. Also, so that he could admire her. Her legs were those of a brawler class, with the right amount of muscle and meat. Truly, a sight to behold in action! But that would have to wait. It seemed nobody else was really willing to step up to the stage immediately after that fight, so Issei figured it was time to go ahead and see just how hard it would be to go easy on someone.

It was not like he had ever been able to do so before.

That was a lie. Two girls had beaten him to the punch, but the events immediately following could not be described as a fight. He waited for a moment, but the staff seemed to consider this a relatively normal occurance, so Issei figured there as no problem in continuing. The young Barusak took to the stage, wearing an expressionless face. "I'll go next." he said with a tone that contradicted his proactive attempt at getting things started. He was not concerned with the act of having to fight itself, but rather how he would go about it. It would make sense for the other freshmen to be around the same strength as that boy who had just gotten destroyed but mere moments ago. After all, this would be the place where they learned to fight, but that simply made it harder on Issei, who did not want to seem like he was very good. To bring honor to his family would be a shame and work against him. But, of course, he was aware he was only knowledgeable of giving it his all -- everybody he had trained with were always leagues ahead of him. He was never on even ground or high ground, so he was not given a chance to be lax in his fighting. Clearly, things could go wrong if he got someone so pathetically weak and accidentally won the fight. But, of course, if he just let his opponent hit him, then it would be quite obvious that he was throwing the fight. Issei was not a good actor, so this would be one of the most complicated fights in his life.

As if inspired by his appearance on the stage, another student stepped up, wearing a very confident expression almost reminiscent of the blonde-haired boy from before. "Then I'll be your opponent! Me, Fei Bleu!" he declared, throwing his arms out to the side and summoning his gauntlets with a bright green light. It would appear that this fight would be a mimic of the last one. A Blader vs a Brawler. But would the result be the same?

*Fei Bleu attacks!

The moment the area was cleared of anybody but the two of them, the fight had begun. With his opponent far enough away when the fight started, Issei had no problem summoning his own weapon in a brilliant white light -- The V-blade! It took the form of a one-handed blade, and Issei took a proper stance to accompany his intended strategy for this fight. Because it was light and only required one hand to wield effectively, this was the blade he used the most when he felt that weaving punches and kicks, grapples and other hand-to-hand techniques into his style would be appropriate. That is to say, this would be the version of his sword he would use against other Bladers, because Brawlers were most likely to be great at hand-to-hand, so it would normally be risky to try something. He couldn't punch as hard as they could, after all. Yet his intention was not to win this fight, so it made sense he wouldn't pick the optimal variant of his blade for this battle.

Rather than bluntly charge at the young Barusak, Issei's opponent had taken the brighter approach and closed the distance to them with a closed stance. It was only when they were toe-to-toe did Fei decide to pull back his fist and launch a straight aimed for Issei's head. In response, Issei swiftly moved to avoid the blow and attempted to trade back with a quick swing of his sword, but found he needed to abandon mid-swing to block a follow-up attack by the man's other fist. A series of punches then followed behind it, with Issei unable to immediately respond with any offensive options, instead being put on the defensive. Ironically, this is what he was supposed to be doing, at least in a serious fight.

To presumably a lot of the spectators of this fight, Fei held the upper hand in this fight. After all, Issei was not even given a single chance to return a blow, and one could only defend from an onslaught for so long before succumbing to a devastating blow. However, most people do not tend to look at the faces of a combatant when they are fighting. Those who did decide to see the expressions each fighter were holding would clearly notice a rather... bored expression on Issei's face. He did not look the least bit troubled. And, although having not attacked once, he still had not been struck either. Issei was dodging the blows as if he could see each of them before they were thrown. That was impossible, of course. Issei was just much, much faster than Fei Bleu in reality. It did not actually take much effort on his own behalf to evade for as long as he had been, simply because, although this young man was not completely incapable of fighting, he simply was on a much lower level than someone who had been fighting for the entirety of their life. Issei was simply dodging out of habit, rather than intentionally. He wanted to get punched, to be beaten, but it was very hard, surprisingly. He could not bring himself to break out of the habit of evasion he had developed over the course of his life. And this began to frustrate him.

I WANT TO LOSE, LET ME LOSE, ME!

In a moment, Issei's apathetic expression twisted into one of intense hatred. Fei, his opponent, hesitated upon seeing this face. In the brief moment this happened, Issei threw out a powerful kick, knocking his foe off his feet, as it had not been protected. Despite not having the power to send him to the other side of the room, that did not keep it from looking like it hurt really bad. Fei, presumably a boxer due to their fighting style (which consisted of nothing but punches), obviously had not expected such a retaliation from Issei. He struggled to get back to his feet, and while instinct had told Barusak to finish him off right then and there, he did not do so. Winning was the worst possible outcome. What if they decided he was good enough to be a red!? No, that was bad. This whole situation was bad. He was bad at being bad at fighting, curse his family for this!

By now, it seemed as though that Fei had noticed he was being toyed with, and any confidence he had at the beginning of the fight was no longer showing on his face. Rather, he was cautious and wore a very uncharacteristically serious expression. His thoughts were of simply surviving this fight he had picked, and it was clear that he knew he was in over his head. But contrary to Issei, who had no such thing, Fei had an abundance of pride. He was the best fighter in every school he had attended up to this point! Ever since he was a bully in preschool, he knew his goal in life was to become a strong fighter! With each nerd he beat up, he hoped to one day get closer to reaching his father's strength. His father was an infamous thug in the local area he had been born in, and made his name through physical displays of strength. Of course, this was because Fei's father was forced into such a situation when his own father had lost everything they owned to loansharks. Fei on the other hand simply did this because he thought it was cool and liked the feeling of bullying people.

So anyways, the point was that Fei Bleu could not allow himself to simply surrender in face of what he thought was an unstoppable monster. Even though his body wanted to give up after only a single kick from a goddamned Blader, Fei could not allow such an embarrassment! What would the girls think? That he was some loser throwaway NPC? Hell no! He was Fei goddamned Bleu! Bully of nerds! Strongest boxer NPC there was! He had to continue fighting. He would only stop when it was impossible to keep going, because even NPCs have dreams too! So, he picked himself up off the floor and removed any traces of arrogance from his mind. He was often told that his overconfidence would be the end of him, and the kick that landed right there was evidence of this. If he had been paying more attention to his opponent's moves, then even when surprised by that frightening expression, he would have at least been able to mitigate some of the damage.

Issei was glad that he did not win in a single blow. Especially because it was a kick, and he could see people getting excited over that, considering he was a Blader. He knew that he had kinda blown his cover if only a bit though, as anybody with a decent eye would probably have noticed he was holding back up until this point. But, of course, this would be impossible to prove if he managed to break out of the dumb (not really) habit of evading slow blows like Fei's. Issei decided that the best way to do this would be to instead allow Fei to counterattack, because at least then it would be easier to put himself in a situation where he would be unable to dodge an attack. So, it was this time that Issei had attacked. He made a large motion with his vertical swing that he normally would never do, and thankfully, Fei took advantage of this. A burning sensation was felt as a powerful uppercut sent Issei rocketing into the sky, and then painfully down back to the ground. This much was not enough to actually keep him from getting up, but it sure as hell looked like it. This would do. Hopefully everybody would simply assume that he had gotten a lucky shot in and that was it. While it had been incredibly hard for him to do so, he was glad that he had successfully made it seem that a member of the Barusak household was an incompetent figh---

*BAM*

Issei rolled out of the way of the audible blow that cracked the ground where his head had been merely moments earlier. Of course it was Fei who had attacked him. Unfortunately, because he managed to dodge that blow, it would not be possible to pretend he was too hurt to continue fighting. Issei was, of course, fairly pissed. STOP TRYING TO ATTACK ME AND LET ME LET YOU WIN! Issei desperately wanted to say something like this, but for clear reasons did not. Instead, he hopped to his feet and clutched his sword tightly, frustration clearly getting at him. That did not stop Fei, who once again went on the offensive. All of his attacks were so slow, however. How come this man was allowed to be like this? So weak! Maybe Issei was pampered in his own way when it came to people he was allowed to train with. It was a lot more irritating to fight someone you could beat so effortlessly if you were trying than someone who could do that very same thing to you.

Is this how his brother felt? Issei couldn't help but feel sorry if that was the case.

Having become too damned angry to even bother with this fight anymore, Issei simply ended it. Evading a downward punch from Fei, he quickly made a slice on the man's thigh, then followed up with a vertical slash to the man's chest. While he was recoiling from the sudden attack, Issei gave the man a strong kick/push that sent him down onto the ground once more. Neither attack from Issei was something meant to end a fight, but rather to disrupt the person's flow. If he was taking this fight any seriously, Issei would have followed up with stronger attacks that those two moves would have made available to land with relative ease. But, Issei instead unsummoned his Blade, stopping himself halfway through a sheathing motion that might have looked odd to people watching.

"Ah, whatever! I concede defeat!" he yelled angrily, hopping off the stage and leaving Fei looking dumbfounded. Fei's reaction wasn't anything unique, either. A lot of people weren't really sure what just happened.

---

---

Ridley listened to the Headmaster's announcements, his anxiety skyrocketing at the mention of the ranking tests. His granddaughter's speech only made his fears worse. The rules seemed very strict. Oh God. What if he accidentally broke the rules?He'd be expelled! Ridley made a mental note to memorize the rule book. Even worse, he really hadn't expected a test on the first day of school. Things were not looking up. Along with the other students, Ridley headed to the gym, eyes glued to the floor. It was a very nice floor, all polished and shiny. Ridley let out a shaky breath. He was probably going to die during the exam. It would be the most embarrassing way to go out, ever.

He'd arrived at the gymnasium just in time to see the headmaster's granddaughter—Akira was her name, if he remembered correctly— beat up a blond freshman. Her weapons seemed similar to his, though she was better at using them in every way. Ridley winced at each blow Akira landed. Adjusting his tie, he wondered how the Academy handled first aid. They didn't just... leave the students to suffer, did they? He ducked his head again and examined the gym's floor. It was not as shiny as the hallways. Instead, it seemed durable, and the slight patina suggested that it was VIKA-resistant. Unlike the ceiling, which now had a hole in it.

Ridley tugged on his coat. He liked the uniform. It was blue and comfortable. What more could he ask for? Well, he could ask to skip the ranking tests, but Ridley suspected that Akira would kill him herself if he tried. Ridley did not like tests. He also did not like fighting. Ridley especially did not like tests that dealt with fighting. (Why'd he sign up for this Academy again? Oh. Right. It was prestigious, and Ridley needed to learn to defend himself if he wanted to be a field doctor. Also, the school let the students live in it, which was a plus. Still, Ridley was seriously reconsidering his chosen career path. Being a janitor sounded really nice right now.)

Cringing, he hunched down. Maybe if he made himself smaller and unnoticeable, he'd get away with not fighting. Ridley was more than okay with being a blue rank. He shuffled closer towards the mass of people, intent on blending in with the crowd. Unfortunately, it was difficult to navigate while staring at the floor, so he ended up bumping into another student. The slightly taller individual, whose features were somewhat difficult to make out without actually raising his head, shuffled slightly to the side, mumbling something under their breath that could have been either "Oh, do excuse me for standing in your way," or possibly "Why do people keep walking into me?"

"Um, thanks! I mean, sorry!" he said sheepishly, looking up. Ridley's eyes widened. The student was, in one simple word, absolutely stunning. No, that was two. Either way, he gaped at her, face turning as red as her hair. The girl blinked, looking down at him with a curious expression on her face.

"Wow, it really does keep happening," she said, seemingly addressing nobody in particular.

Ridley took the bait. "If you don't' mind me asking... what keeps happening?" He steadily kept his eyes on her face, as tempting as it was otherwise.

"Well," she said rather casually, turning fully away from the crowd and giving a somewhat exaggerated shrug, crossing her legs as though slouching against thin air. "First people bump into me, and then they always stare at me. I can't imagine why." The apparent innocence - or maybe it would be better called obliviousness? - in her voice was palpable. "This is the second time today. I'm not really sure why it keeps happening. Is there something on me? Maybe some kind of strange stain somewhere...?" She pushed out her chest and craned her neck back, trying to look over her shoulder as though checking her garment for spots. Evidently, she didn't realize that with this one motion, she'd ended up practically forcing her breasts right towards Ridley's face.

He turned even redder, his willpower strained to the max. In his head, he chanted a constant mantra of 'don't look down, don't look down, don't look down...'

"N-No, I mean, I'm so sorry! Really! Are you hurt? Do you need some help?" Ridley looked to the side then back to her. "There's nothing on you! Don't worry! I mean, there's nothing on your clothes. You're wearing clothes, which is on you, so your clothes are on you... as in, there are no spots. Nope!"

"Oh. Okay," she said, straightening herself back out and giving a nod to the boy, evidently completely unaware of the rapidly brightening shade of red that had appeared across his face. "Thanks for checking me out." She probably meant checking for spots. Probably. The double meaning wasn't lost, in any case.

"No problem!" he squeaked out. "I'll check you out anytime!" Ridley mentally slapped himself. No, that wasn't what he meant! How could he be so rude to this nice girl? She seemed so innocent! It was all his fault for finding perverted meanings in ordinary sentences. "Sorry, sorry! I meant, I'll help you out, anytime." Trying not to embarrass himself any further, he held out his hand. "I'm Ridley Sigivald. Nice to meet you?" It came out as more of a question.

The girl seemed to be watching him intently. As he frantically tried to salvage the situation, she merely grinned at him, seeming amused rather than offended by his verbal slip-up. That, or maybe she hadn't noticed it and just thought he was stumbling over his words? He couldn't really tell.

"I'm Màiri," she introduced, taking his hand and giving it a gentle shake. "You're astonishingly nice, aren't you?" She observed suddenly, seeming more to be stating a fact than trying to compliment him.

He blinked at the non-sequitur. "Uh... th-thank you? I think? I'm not very nice though," he said, flustered. "You're really nice! You're really nice, too!" Ridley paused, trying to think of something to say. "So, do you come here often?" Dammit! Of course she came here often, it was a school! A boarding school, to top it off. "As in, do you hang out at the gym a lot?" Okay, that was an alright save. It brought him from terminally-stupid to somewhat-stupid. "Are you a freshman?" he added weakly, though she seemed to be a few years older than him.

Màiri kept grinning, giving a slight chuckle as he tried his best to return her compliment. As he desperately tried not to kill the mood, she shook her head.

"No, not really. Mostly all they do here is mock battles, and I guess you could say that I don't really enjoy those very much anymore. I am a freshman, though, although I may not look it. I failed my first year, so now I'm retaking it," She explained, shrugging slightly.

Ridley frowned sympathetically, wondering how a nice (and, from her toned body, physically skilled) girl like her had failed freshman year.

"That really sucks," he said, unsure how to respond. "I'm not a very big fan of mock battles, either. Or real battling. Or fighting at all, really." Then, Ridley realized what she'd said. "Wait, you said that you don't enjoy those anymore?" He couldn't help the curious note to his voice.

She shook her head as though to dismiss the subject, brushing a few strands of hair out of her face and back over her shoulder as she spoke. "It was kind of fun, even if I did fail, so I don't really mind. As for fighting... well, I guess after a certain amount of one-sided battles, it just gets tiresome."

Ridley nodded glumly. "Yeah, I get what you mean." He looked at the stage and sighed. "I'll probably get someone like Akira to fight against. Then, I'll end up dying in my first fight." He gave an awkward chuckle. "Talk about one-sided, huh?"

"Ah, right, Akira... She's my roommate, so we ended up sparring a lot last year. The first few times I fought her, it usually ended in just a few seconds. And once things started getting dragged out, she was nearly impossible to hit... Talk about annoying..."

"That does sound annoying," he agreed. Grinning brightly, he turned back to her. "That's okay, though! I'm sure if we work hard, we'll be able to not die!" Just as quickly as his enthusiasm came, in faded away. "At least, you'll be able to not die..."

"Aww, don't worry about it," Màiri said cheerfully. "Even if you aren't all that good at fighting, Summoned Weapons can usually compensate for that, to a certain extent. I'm really out of practice, myself, but I think I can probably pull something off. Doesn't really matter whether I do or don't, though, since I'll be blue-ranked either way." The redheaded girl sighed, shaking her head. "That being said, I honestly don't really get why I'm even here. Maybe as practice for the incoming Freshmen...?"

"Maybe you're right." Ridley winced as the one of the fighting freshman punched the other in the face. "I guess the weapons really do help a lot." He hesitated, wondering if he should ask her about her blue-rank status. After a moment, he decided not to. "Do you plan on fighting against any of the freshman?" Bashfully, he looked at the floor. "Well, I'm glad you're here, even if you don't have to be..." Ridley thought for a moment, wondering what he should for Màiri. It was the least he could do after bumping into her and acting all awkward. "Is there anything I can do to help out? To cheer you up or something?"

"Eh, maybe, maybe not. I'll probably just end up waiting and seeing if they even have anybody left for me to fight," she said, beginning to answer right as Ridley himself began speaking, seeming not to hear his added comment. Still, as he spoke up again, she grinned. "Help me out, hmm...? Well... Hey, it looks like the last fight just ended!" She suddenly stood up on her tiptoes, peering over the heads of the assembled crowd of students to see as a certain red-headed swordsman threw his spar and swiftly vacated the stage. For a moment, the other students seemed too confused to actually step up themselves, leaving the stage wide open. "

I know! Since we're both in the same boat, why don't we spar each other?" she asked, smiling innocently. "Regardless of who I fight or what I do, it's not like it'll have any real impact on my record, so I may just as well fight you as anybody else," Màiri explained.

"Uh, um... well..." he stammered, desperately trying to think of a way to say oh hell no without being rude. Unfortunately, no such way materialized. "I don't know if I'd be the best fighter, but... if... if you want..."

"Great!" Màiri beamed. "In that case, let's go! Quick, before somebody else steps up!" Reaching out, she grabbed him suddenly by the wrist, before turning and forcing her way between the loosely packed crowd with surprising speed, pulling him along in her wake. Within a matter of seconds, they were suddenly standing at the center of the room atop the stage. Màiri released his hand and strolled to the opposite end of the stage. "Hey, Akira, we'll be taking the next spar, okay?" she called by way of explanation before turning back to face Ridley. The grin on her face seemed to shift suddenly, fading to a... frown? If anything, for just a moment, she almost looked sad.

---

---

... and then everything suddenly shifted to a haze of red. Màiri had raised her hand at some point, but it immediately disappeared into an overwhelming, spiraling cascade of crimson, the very presence of which seemed to force down on Ridley's shoulders with an almost tangible weight. For a split second, this fog completely concealed the girl's form, before collapsing in on itself in an instant: revealing the weapon that had taken shape within Màiri's hand. The spear was even taller than the one who held it, somewhere between seven and eight feet in total length.

An odd, vein-like pattern crisscrossed its haft, while its blade gleamed with a faint internal light that seemed to pulse in time with the beating of an unseen heart. Màiri took a deep breath, spinning the weapon in her hand idly as she twirled it first around her hand, then behind her back, before finally spinning it around under her left arm, forcing down the spiked end of the spear into the floor of the platform with her right hand while suspending the weapon behind her back in the crook of her left elbow. Settling back onto the haft, she sat impossibly suspended despite the fact that the spear probably should have just fallen over on its side. She crossed her legs, giving a breathy sigh as she kicked her feet back and forth.

Ridley suddenly felt very, very nervous. Well, even more nervous than he'd been before, which he didn't know was possible. Slowly, Ridley's gaze went from the spear to the girl wielding it. Màiri looked, if anything, comfortable, treating the spear like an extension of her body. He shifted his feet into a parallel stance, a shoulder length apart, and bent his knees slightly. He raised his arms, curling his hands into a half-fist, putting his right hand in front of his left. Soft green light began to coalesce above his foreharms, flaring brightly before becoming a set of gold and black vambraces. They felt awkward and foreign on his arms, more like a clunky cover than a real weapon.

"Why did you say you failed freshman year, again?" His eyes flickered back and forth between Màiri and her weapon. "Was it really because you couldn't fight? I... I thought you said that your fights ended in a few seconds..."

"It was," Màiri said, giving a slight nod. Her expression seemed disinterested and vacant, as she simply stared expressionlessly back at him. "All the battles I fought... ended so quickly that skill was never a factor. All I needed to know to use my weapon was how to land a single thrust. Because of that, I wasn't deemed to have mastered any of the techniques my teachers considered necessary for advancement. So, I failed. That's why I said that sparring was boring to me: because all of the hard work I put into trying to master it ended up being completely pointless. It wasn't exciting. It wasn't even a challenge anymore. Armed with a weapon such as this, anyone could do the same."

He blinked rapidly. "Well, that's rather nice of you, isn't it?" Ridley said, blinking rapidly. He looked at the crowd and gulped. All those people made him nervous. Well, the girl in front of him made him nervous too, and he was trying really hard to not freak out, because dying while screaming and running away wasn't very dignified—Ridley cut of his train of thought and took a deep breath. "I mean, it's better than toying with your opponents or rubbing it in their faces, right?" He slid one foot in front of the other. "Though... I don't appreciate you lying to me," he mumbled. "You made it seem like you... I dunno, weren't really strong. Not that that's a bad thing," he added hastily.

Màiri cocked her head to the side, seeming confused by his statement. "I never lied. Everything I told you was the truth. I thought I was just being polite about the whole arrangement. Would you have preferred if I'd started boasting about my power and talking about how hopelessly outmatched you are? I don't really like insulting people, so I figured it would be better to just not bring it up." She innocently rubbed in the difference between them, still seeming as absentminded as ever.

Ridley's answering laugh was high-pitched and almost hysterical. "So you're the Obi-Wan to my Luke Skywalker, huh? I mean, your spear is an awful lot like a lightsaber... Don't tell me you have force powers, too."

"I'm the what to your what?" she asked, seeming even more confused, blinking several times as she shifted slightly where she sat perched atop her spear.

"You know, 'What I told you was true, from a certain point of view...' " he trailed off. "No? Not familiar with Star Wars?" Ridley winced. "Never mind." He shook his head. "Just... kill me quickly, ok?"

"Nope. Don't wanna," Màiri replied, shaking her head with the air of a rebellious child. "Akira here already knows full well what I can do, so there's really not even much point in my being here. Really, you should consider this your chance to shine. If you manage to beat me, think of how impressed everybody will be!"

Ridley did a double-take. "I thought you said... wait a minute, you just told me you ended all your battles quickly!" he exclaimed, hopelessly confused by her sudden turnaround.

"I do. But since you haven't made a move yet, this isn't a battle. This is just my pre-fight warmup." She punctuated her rather implausible excuse by releasing her spear from her arms, kicking up off the ground with her feet and spinning herself around like a top before falling back-first off the weapon towards Ridley, hooking her legs around it to catch her fall and ending up dangling upside-down in front of him, staring him down with her vacant red eyes. Stretched taut as she fully extended her legs, the bodysuit she wore shimmered beneath the light fixtures above, framing her body just a bit too well.

Ridley desperately tried to drag his thoughts away from the direction they were going. While before he would have pegged it—what an unfortunate word choice—as unintentional, he had an increasing suspicion she was doing it on purpose.

"Come on," she said coquettishly, a gasp working its way into her voice as she placed her hands on the ground, stretching herself out like a cat lounging in the sun. "There must be... at least some part of you..." Her words were interrupted as she stretched to her limits, letting out a high-pitched sigh that sounded less like she was simply warming up and much more like something else. "...That wants everybody to see how good you really are, right?"

Finishing her coaxing, she kicked up with her legs, using the leverage as the bent haft of her spear snapped back into place to push herself upward into a handstand, before hand-springing up to her feet, landing beside the weapon she'd planted in the stage. He coughed, feeling his face turn redder and his ears warm up. Ridley glanced away before snapping his attention back to her. Despite how much he really, really wanted to look at anything besides her performance (this wasn't entirely true, but he pretended it was), Ridley knew it was a bad idea to take his eyes off his opponent.

"Besides..." she added, slowly pulling the spear out of the small hole in the boards it had been wedged between and turning back towards her opponent once more. Propping it upright, she wrapped her left arm around it, hugging it tightly to her chest while winding her right leg around its base in a manner that seemed less like she was threatening Ridley with a weapon and more like she was offering to pole-dance for him. "I don't know about you, but I'd be more humiliated to get up in front of everyone and give up without trying than I would to give my all and lose," she added all-too-innocently.

Ridley tried to reply, but all that came out was a tiny creak. He opened and closed his mouth several times, feeling an awful lot like a stupid goldfish.

"And how humiliated are you right now getting up there and trying to seduce your opponent instead of just wiping him out?! Seriously, get on with it! Some of us want a turn!" somebody yelled back suddenly from the crowd. Encouraged by the one who'd spoken out, more began to join in.

"Stop gawking at her and take her down! Can't you see she's just trying to get in your head? I'll bet she's not even that tough!" another voice shouted.

"Don't fall for her ruse! She's just hazing you! The tits are a lie!" The watching students, previously restless, were now growing outraged. Yet, to Ridley's surprise, it wasn't him their anger was directed at. Rather, it was all pointed at his opponent.

"Skill isn't a factor my ASS! Take that cocky bitch down a peg!" More and more continued to call out to him, their voices cheering as one. Frankly, Ridley thought the other student's comments were a bit too mean. Sure, Màiri was... er, unique, but that didn't mean people had to insult her. For the first time, he felt a spark of anger among the hopeless confusion that engulfed him. Not just anger for Màiri, but anger at the whole situation. Why the hell was he here again? Then, he remembered that everyone was watching (and rooting for him, even worse), and the nervousness returned tenfold.

Màiri glanced from side to side, lowering her spear to her side and sliding it out from between her legs in favor of holding the weapon more normally, evidently having decided that enough was enough. Looking back to Ridley, she gave an unexpected smile, seeming not to care that most of the students present were currently cheering for her downfall. Actually, if anything, it almost seemed like she was trying to encourage Ridley, too. For the oddest reason, he found that slightly reassuring.

He took several deep breaths, feeling the tension begin to drain from his body. He could do this. He could totally do this. No, he totally couldn't. But he had to try.

"Are you ready?" asked Ridley, feeling a little better. "Would you like to go first?"

"Naturally," returned the girl in black, leveling her spear. "Although, you may regret offering me this chance...!" With these words, she spread her stance, drawing back her arm, and then suddenly—

And then suddenly what? What was even happening? The world was bathed in red, seeming to twist and shift. Màiri's form seemed to grow smaller, as though she'd suddenly gotten further away... or was it larger? Suddenly, she seemed only feet in front of him. As she lunged forward, bringing her spear towards him, he tried to step back on instinct, only for the spear to extend after him. Its tip collapsed inward, forming an incomprehensible red spiral that was reduced to a single point.

It didn't matter how far away she had been when she had started. It didn't matter how far he tried to run. Somehow, in the blink of an eye, the thrust had reached him. Or had he reached it? It felt like he was being sucked in somehow. Time seemed to slow to a crawl, as though he was falling into a black hole. The whole world seemed twisted and bent, like he was looking at reality through the cracks of a broken mirror. It was an utterly, completely, and totally unreasonable attack, but even before it connected, he could already feel it pushing against him, as though trying to cave his chest in on itself with its very presence. Màiri's arm stopped moving when the spear was just an inch short of him, pulling the attack at the last minute—but even if it never reached him, its power certainly would.

Instinctively, he brought his arms up, starting a block he had practiced hundreds of times in the dojo—though Ridley felt it wouldn't make a difference—and bright green VIKA began to converge in front of his vambraces, in amounts he had never managed before. Ridley felt the opposing power slam against him, and the force nearly pushed him back, causing his balance to teeter precariously, and then... nothing? The fog shattered, and he found himself staring at the spear and Màiri.

The girl in black looked, quite simply, astonished. Her face was frozen, eyes wide, as she simply stared at him from across the platform—had she always been that far away? Her spear, nowhere near long enough to have crossed the distance between them, wasn't glowing anymore, and aside from the rattling of the windows on the far side of the gym, there was no evidence of any of the overwhelming power he'd just felt.

"You... How...?!" Màiri gasped. "I hit you head on with Bradamante, but you're still standing? That's..." She got no further than this.

In a smooth movement, Ridley stepped inside her guard, moving parallel to the shaft of her spear. Màiri drew back, trying to bring her cumbersome weapon in to defend herself, but didn't have enough time to do so. One step, then two, and Ridley had covered the distance, drawing back his fist in a movement too quick to be telegraphed. VIKA, this time a paler green than before, accumulated at his right hand, and Ridley struck.

His fist hit her just below her collarbone. She gave a shrill yelp, taking a step back to try to regain her balance—only to be violently thrown several feet backward as the VIKA surrounding his gauntlet was released with the force of a miniature explosion. The crowd cheered. She slammed back down against the stage, barely managing to right herself in mid-air and landing on one knee, spinning her spear as she rose. In an instant, Ridley was upon her again, however.

"Sorry!" he blurted out, bringing a second fist down, aiming for her jaw. The gold ridges on his vambraces began to turn a pale green, extending in two claws. Panicking (he didn't want to kill her!), Ridley switched hands, punching with his right fist again. Seeing his first strike coming, Màiri had tried to leap to the side, this time bringing up her spear to intercept the first punch, only to be blindsided as he pulled it at the last second, striking her in the gut instead with a right hook and nearly knocking her off the stage.

However, planting the butt of her spear on the edge of the platform, she used its leverage to stop her momentum, before sweeping the blade back up to try and intercept the oncoming brawler. This upward lunge, however, didn't seem to contain nearly the same power as the last strike she'd leveled against him. Unfortunately, Ridley's hastily conjured block stopped her attack at an angle, and the blow pushed him to the side. He grunted at the blow, feeling it jar his left arm. He took advantage of the gained momentum (unintentionally) and twisted, bringing his leg into a kick at her side. At the same time, he gathered VIKA with his right hand, the green energy even brighter and paler than before.

However, he wasn't the only one who took advantage of the momentum of her turning strike. As her blade ricocheted off the rim of Ridley's gauntlet, she twisted the spear, bringing up its haft just as Ridley raised his foot to kick at her, hooking his knee from underneath. Although the spear itself didn't exert much force against him, something did, sending his knee far upward from where he'd intended it, and knocking him wildly off-balance. Bowled over by the force of his own inexplicably redirected strike, Ridley fell, just managing to catch himself on one knee. What in the world? The spear—the weird energy field pulsing through it had to be the cause of his blunder. He wasn't the best at aiming, but even he wasn't bad enough to miss by several feet. Now, practically kneeling, he was a sitting duck for Màiri's counterattack.

Sure enough, in an instant, she'd raised her spear overhead... but she delayed a moment, twirling it twice above her, a fresh pulse of light flowing through it with each rotation. Now it made sense. She must have been gathering energy between attacks... which gave him the time to do the same! Catching the base of the spear as it spun, she brought the bladed tip down like a guillotine towards him, and at the same instant, he jumped forward, managing to bring himself to a half-standing position as he grabbed at the center of the spear's haft.

Sure enough, some intangible force fought back, trying to push his hand away, but by releasing the energy surrounding it, he managed barely to force his way through, laying hold of her weapon mid-stroke and stopping it inches above him. A mighty wind tore over his head, the air rushing into the vaccuum left in the strike's wake before bursting backward over his head with an audible crack. The windows rattled in their frames, and the stage shook... but Màiri's spear got no further, for the instant he'd laid hands on it, the strange power surrounding it seemed to fade to nothing.

Regardless of this, however, she struggled against him, trying to force the weapon down upon him, while he pushed back with all his might. He had the advantage of strength, but Màiri, standing fully upright, while he himself was still half-crouching, had the advantage of leverage. Nevertheless, he'd come too far to quit now, and so he gave one final push...

... and suddenly, he found himself met with no resistance. The spear twisted easily in his grasp, rising up and turning its bladed end away from him. Only too late he realized that his opponent had simply stopped pushing back, and had started raising the spear instead, causing it to slip suddenly and violently from his fingers. Having put too much force into his final shove, he stumbled to his feet, crashing headlong into Màiri, who in the same instant seemed to be trying to bring the weapon down.

Was she trying to hit him? He was in much too close for that. Regardless of her intentions, however, he found her arms reaching around over his shoulders as she stumbled from the collision, bringing down the spear horizontally behind him. He tried to disengage himself, only to be pulled down as she fell backward, the spear hooked around his back carrying him right down on top of her. To an onlooker, it might have seemed like he'd simply overpowered her... but somehow, he had a feeling that this wasn't an accident.

Ridley suddenly realized the position he was in. Fully splayed on top of her, faces close, chests... touching... the blood rushed into his face all at once, and his eyes widened. Letting out an undignified (and very unmanly) squeak, Ridley tried to jerk backwards off of her, but the spear behind him only caused him to fall back onto her, this time pushing him even closer. Màiri shifted beneath him, giving a quiet moan as she blinked several times, seemingly disoriented by the impact. Her expression seemed to clear, and she stared up at him, giving a sly grin.

"Ah... I would prefer to be the one on top, but I guess being held down is fine, too," she sighed in a manner that made any further assumptions of her innocence impossible. However, after a moment of gazing up at him, seeming somehow triumphant despite being unquestionably defeated, she let her arms slump to her sides, her spear dissipating into the scarlet mist from whence it had come.

He flailed, physically, mentally, and verbally. "I'm so sorry—I'll get off you—A-Are you alright? I didn't mean to be on top—I mean, it's ok if you're on the bottom, no, that's not what I meant! Are you ok? Is it ok if I..." Finally, Ridley managed to extract himself from the awkward position, dismissing his weapons in a flash of emerald light. Màiri didn't answer at once, instead pushing herself up as Ridley swiftly extricated himself from where he'd ended up inadvertedly straddling her lap. However, as she did so, Màiri unexpectedly leaned forward, whispering in his ear as she rose.

"See? You're really quite strong, after all."

Dusting herself off, she turned to Akira, beaming innocently - although her much more prim and proper roommate would doubtless be scowling at her with unbridled murderous intent for all the stunts she'd pulled in front of the entire freshman body by now. "Hey, Akira, I lost, so give Ridley here a good score, okay?" She tossed up her hands in evident surrender, before turning back to Ridley and, rather uncharacteristically, gave him a very proper bow.

"Good fight!" she said cheerfully as she lifted her head, seemingly unperturbed either by her loss or by the uproarious cheering of most of the students who'd been disgusted by her antics prior to the battle. Tossing her hair back over her shoulder, she walked off the stage without another word, leaving a very baffled Ridley in her wake.

"... what just happened?" he asked the air. He stared after her. "That was..." Ridley paused, trying to think of a word to describe the girl. "That was Màiri," he said finally.

If the rest of the year was anything like his first day, Ridley had a feeling that his time at the Academy would be very, very... different.

Fintan quietly watched the battles proceed. Shuffling he adjusted his position leaning against the wall when suddenly he felt a thumb against the side of his shoulder. Surprised Fin looked to his right to find a small boy scrambling back almost falling into a bow of apology.

"E-E-Excuse m-me...! I'm sorry I didn't mean to run into you, I should've been watching where I was going!" the boy stumbled for her words and by the look of his expression when he lifted his head Fin would have guessed it was because he was embarrassed.

"Don't worry about it, these things happen." Fin waved his hand as a gesture to the boy he wasn't upset by the incident. It was then that he noticed the boy was still carrying his uniform. "You know you should probably get that on already" his eyes glanced at the folded uniform in the boys hands. "We are 'officially' students as of today after all" he smiled warmly, trying to be polite. It wasn't his strong suite, being polite.

'BAM'

Suddenly a loud crash echoed as a young girl had exploded a cannon through the ceiling. Fin didn't flinch but he noticed the young girl being dragged away by another. His lips opened slightly to let out a small chuckle at the new gaping hole "Well, if that isn't a sure way to kick off the year I don't know what is" he said amused.

"Are you here to watch the fights? I find it best to learn what you can about an opponent so I'm thoroughly enjoying this" he spoke with a little sarcasm but was honest.


Next to battle was an orange haired fellow, from his movements and actions Fin could see clearly he wasn't an amateur like some of the students here. However, something was off... It was almost as though the guy was holding back, he couldn't fathom why and then to his surprise the boy threw in the towel and admitted defeat. He was definitely a skilled swordsman, he would need to watch out for this Orange haired fellow.

Following the Orange head up was a boy with black hair much like Fins. To Fin's interest, the boys weapon was a rifle. Adjusting his position Fin began to watch this fight more closely than the others. He may be a sniper, but Fin understood more than anything else what it took to handle a fire arm. His shots weren't random, he aimed well and was precise. The boy knew how to use his firearm, however, when he had an obvious hit the boy froze. Fin raised his eyebrow as he watched the boy sweat, and suddenly yell the name 'Sarah' before passing out. "I wonder.." Fin muttered to himself in thought. It was unusual for that to have happened, but from what he could see the boy was a good shot, it was only his self-will that prevented him firing. There was likely more too him that met the eye.

Third was a woman who looked a little older than some of the other students. She was definitely confident in herself, she walked with the air surrounding her full of her confidence and her words backed that up. Her opponent was boy, he seemed a little hesitant to start when she summoned her lance. It was an impressive lance Fin had to admit. Some of the audience began to holler at the girl causing Fin to frown. "Arrogant, I'm sure there' only saying those things because she probably beat them in the past' he said shaking his head. Some people just can not accept their own weakness. As the battle began the boy summoned vambraces. From the stance of them both Fin half expected the girl to win but he knew battles could always take a turn. The boy turned out not be half bad, but his was still hesitant even apologising at one point for a perfect block of her attack. Watching them Fin was impressed by them both as the boy won the battle after a rather awkward looking tussle. It was a fair fight.

"Entertaining isn't it?" Fin mused to the green haired boy who had bumped into him. Now that he thought about it was unsual to see green hair these days.

"YOU!" A Shout from the center of the room caught Fin's attention. He looked over to the stage and saw a medium height girl pacing rather itching to fight. "I choose you as my opponent" she looked directly in Fin's direction. He paused and blinked for a moment before glancing towards the red head who was in charge of all this, from the chatter he had overhead her name was Akira. He didn't know this opponent but Fin let out a heavy exasperated sigh.

"You sure?" he rubbed his temple stepping away from the wall.

"Oh, i'm sure. You've done nothing but sit and watch all day I bet you'll be easy" the ginger haired girl seemed pleased with herself.

"Fine" Fin knew he needed to get his battle over with sooner or later. Pausing Fin turned back to the green haired boy "See you round?" he nodded to him before heading towards the center of the stage. It was then he realised he hadn't yet got the green heads name. He put on his to do list.

"Alright then, shall we start by introducing ourselves?" Fin said flexing his fingers as he moved to stand dead spot center. Might as well have a civilised fight and at least know each other's names thought.

"Harriot Winterfall, otherwise the person you're about to loose too" She smirked.

Fin raised an eyebrow at her comment "Fintan Fletcher, but I prefer Fin" he didn't feel a need to respond to her comment.

"Like it matters" she moved nearby his left but left some space in between them. She was waiting to see what his summon was before getting closer. Smart.

"Ready when you are" Fin also chose not to respond to that comment.

"I was ready yesterday" she beamed moving her right hand and opening her palm. A flash of purple smoke sank up from her palm stretching out and solidifying into a blade. It was a crude curved blade, teeth marks etched into it, the hilt a simple design. "Here I come! she shouted again and swiftly began to run towards Fin her blade raised.

Fin didn't move a muscle. He stayed where he was stood not watching her directly but he kept her in vision. As she reached him she seemed a little hesitant to attack but continued none the less. Swinging her blade she aimed the curve to strike directly at his neck.

"Childs play" Fin muttered and faster than was humanly possible he ducked. The girl's sword flung through thin air where his head had been the momentum causing her to fall forward and catch her balance. She sharply turned around to stare at him, anger in her eyes. Not wasting time she ran towards him again instead, this time, she aimed to propel her blade up towards his chest.

"My turn" Fin smirked at her. In one quick movement, Fin thrust both of his arms beside him, palms facing out. A shimmer of white smoke purged from his elbows snaking around his arms, crawling towards his palms before it expanded around his hands evaporating as soon as it appeared. However what was left behind were two semi-automatic guns. Within his left hand was a dazzling silver gun, his right held onto an onyx black. Within the space of 3 seconds, this happened.

Bending at his knees Fin turned his torso to face Harriot charging towards him. She realized to late what had happened, that he had summoned his weapons, as the shock in eyes to try and change direction proved so. Fin raised his eyebrow at her before letting his forefingers press against the triggers. White light flashed through both of the guns chambers following the trajectory of the bullets as they were shot.

Some had described them as Fin's ying and yang weapons.

Harriot pulled up her blade to block the bullets. She managed to block one, however the guns were both double barrelled, they each produced two bullets at a time. The second bullet flung past her ear scraping across her earlobe, the other hit directly onto her shoulder, the third hit into her thigh. She fell to the floor in an instant.

"You son of -" she angrily glared at him clutching her leg withdrawing her summoned blade.

"Maybe don't get too big for your shoes next time. Fin sighed at her also withdrawing his weapons. White smoke appeared but instead reversed back up his arm in contrary to how they had been summoned. "be glad they were only blanks" he said turning away from her as some other girls ran to help her stand up. She was going to have two hefty bruises from those hits.

Before Fin left the stage he paused to glance towards the red head in charge, "Akira Right?" he asked "You've got your work cut out for you" he stated before tucking his hands in his pockets and sauntered back towards his spot on the wall to ponder.

Some students stared at him, others muttered around him. Fin had no care for them. He was at this school to improve his skill and no other reason.

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Akira observed as the fights happened. She was confused as to what was going on with these students mentally. They all had different personalities, and apparently one kid like thighs? Akira shook the thought from her mind. She could already tell it was going to be one roller-coaster ride of a year. She glanced at the hole in the roof and sighed. Taking out her walkie-talkie (she didn't like calling it that, since it sounds silly), she signaled, "Can I get a repairman or builder? One of the students blew a hole in the roof during the ranking battles. Thank you." Yep. This was an odd bunch.

She watched more battles before a black-haired student walked past her. "Yeah, that's me. I certainly can't deny that." The battles went on for about another two hours, before ending. She sauntered up to the front once again. "Now that the ranking test is over, it's time to mingle! Meet some new friends. You'll need them. And then, after about an hour and a half or so, Report to the dining hall for supper. Tomorrow, Your ranks will be posted by weapon class on the same board with the map in the hallway. Also, breakfast will be held at 7:00 tomorrow morning. You don't have to go if you don't want to though. Classes will begin tomorrow as well. Don't be late for your first class either! If you have any questions at all, you can ask me at any time. Your dismissed!"

She wasn't looking forward to meeting anyone, but she had to anyway. A group of students, mostly boys with a few girls sprinkled, walked up to her and asked a lot of questions. She didn't like getting swarmed with so many people, but she coped. She could only hope that somebody would talk some sense into these people. Teach em' what personal space is. She couldn't do that herself, because she knew they wouldn't listen to her. Akira rolled her eyes and answered as many questions as she could.

{OOC: Sorry my posts are so short. They should get longer as more interesting stuff happens and people interact with Akira more.}

Leilani rolled her eyes at the displays going on. Half the people she had witnessed were holding back for bullshit reasons and the other half were treating combat like some ritual with rules. Her musings were interrupted by a girl tapping her on the shoulder, some white-haired brat with a rapier. "Excuse me, but that getup makes you look like a total dweeb, I bet you're not even Green-Rank!" Leilani smirked, knowing exactly what this girl was about to say.

"And if I was, you'd say it doesn't matter because you're a Red?" The girl was just on the verge of her snotty remark before shockingly stopping and looking at Leilani, who stretched out and summoned Auburn Gleam, letting it coil around her arm. "Alright, prove it. I'll up the stakes, since you're confident, loser goes on a five-mile run around the school wearing a shirt that says 'I was wrong', deal?" The girl took a step back, then nodded, joining Leilani in the center area, each taking three steps back before leaping at the other. The girl swung her rapier, ice and fire wrapping around the blade... and stopped her swing midflight, Auburn Gleam having wrapped around her arm and locked its position so it wouldn't move. Leilani yanked Auburn back, and the girl was promptly pulled off her feet, her flight stopped by a solid roundhouse kick to the stomach. Auburn unraveled from around her arm and sent the white-wearing wannabe flying several feet back, the fight over as soon as it started. Leilani jogged over to the girl and helped her up, dusting her off before whispering in her ear "See you out there at six tomorrow morning, I'll have the shirt ready." With the girl still reeling, she walked off, trying to hide the slight limp she had given herself from screwing up her kick and twisting her ankle. If there had been a mindreader nearby, they'd have been learning several new swears from her at the moment as she jogged off towards the nurses office.