Baron Weatherbee's Story

The morning was slowly passing as the first day of the new year at The Survival Kit Academy was just beginning. Most students were already making their way to their classes and once again, like every year, there was a new batch of mages and demons just waiting to be dealt with. This task always fell onto one person especially to handle.

There stood a particular woman with hair that seemed to embody the essence of fire, with her body tilted ever-so-slightly at an angle before her hips swayed casually to her own personal rhythm. A look of both keenness and daring curiosity bore knowingly upon her curved face, a frightening smirk laying evident on her lips as her pinky orbs gazed intriguingly over the many heads that were grouped before her. Well, what a crowd we got this year.

Within the classroom there was a desk sat in front of her, the woman tapped repeatedly against the hard surface as her eyes exchanged glances between a piece of paper that was held firmly in her hand and the youthful heads that bobbed about in front of her. "Looks like we got everyone -- what luck. Things be already looking up for us." She spoke softly yet boldly with a nod of her head. Confidence radiating from her ever word. And yet, despite the outwardly impression she presumably gave Iris was no fool. She knew that the vast majority of juvenile stares was anything but thrilled to be within her presence, those feeling that way were most likely the demons, she assumed.

"Alrighty. Listen up closely boys and girls, as today is the first chance you get to work in your groups. Even though today is your first ever day here and all, I find that throwing students into the deep end is always guaranteed to produce some… interesting results. With that said, you will be designated teachers to supervise your group, ok?"

Then she remembered, "Oh. The last remainder of your belongings have been sent to your dorms directly."

Pursing her lips together in a momentarily brief thought the young woman glanced towards one of the few windows within the classroom, her ponytail swishing sharply, as her head tilted to the side. "Your teachers will be waiting outside at the academy‘s entrance for you, please make your way directly to them. You all know who your teacher is and what groups your in, though if in doubt just check the papers you were given prior to this induction. They will inform you of your teammates, teacher, and everything else." Slowly refocusing her attention onto the students she continued, ”And by the looks of it lucky group five has me as their supervising teacher -- what fun.”

Moving away from the desk the fiery haired female took a few steps closer towards the rows of students, before raising a hand and pointing the tip of her finger in the direction towards the door. ”I assume you all know how to get to the entrance, right? Now, this will be your first group exercise, so don't blow it -- just yet. You have a whole year to go. Catch you later!” With that the red head skipped over to the door and pushed it open wide, allowing herself to exist first before continuing on and making her way towards the entrance of the academy to meet the teachers.

---

Baron stood with a rather absentminded gaze filling her reddish orbs. She had been waiting idly at the academy’s entrance beside her fellow teachers; Mr. Kurayami, Miss. Bombardier and Mr. Alignak. The headmistress had specifically asked each of them to be at the entrance to greet their groups before watching over those students under their particular care. Such a thought made the short girl a tad bit nervous.

”I wander what kind of students I will be tasked with.” The young girl spoke with a curious tone, asking no one in particular except perhaps herself. It was open knowledge that the girl hadn’t been at the academy long, if anything, she was the rookie teacher who felt she had to prove herself a little.

Glancing upwards, the pale blonde looked to the clear sky that hung above her. She watched the clouds floating along before witnessing some birds soar overhead. I hope I get along with my students like birds get along with each other. They stick together. Will my students feel the same? Directing her eyes to the ground for a moment, the girl let out a tired sigh, before eying up her colleagues. To her, they seemed much more experienced.

Could she match them? Equal them? She was still young though eager to better herself.

Of course, just as her time at the academy was knowingly short, a bit like herself, her demon and mage in-heritage was also freely known to much of the students and staff. Baron was always getting questioned on her past, why she was a mix-bred, what her intentions are towards mages and demons, and lord knows what-else. She doesn't mind the hoards of questions so long as they are in good taste -- not everyone is as accepting, but that is a small majority.

Raising an arm halfway she glanced at her watch before turning to the other teachers. ”The induction will be finishing soon and the students should be making their way to us. The headmistress said she would inform us of what exactly the exercise entails once everyone is here. Everyone remember their groups?”

---

A short while later the headmistress in question arrived and greeted her staff. As a sign of innocent affectation she ruffled the small girls hair just a little, causing Baron to huff and fiddle with her blonde tangles, whilst Iris began to address the teachers and fill them in on what the group exercise would exactly be. "Righty-o! Ladies and gents. You know I thought long and hard over this, and I figured a group exercise of this nature was right up the students alley. We need to know what their made of, who's really in need of help and who's going to be a handful -- you get the idea." She began, moving her hands to her hips before continuing, and taking a deep breath beforehand.

"With permission from the locals I have set up five loose doppelgängers in the town nearby, with each team expected to handle one between them. You, teachers, will watch over them and see how they handle it. The groups must form a strategy and plan to win. If it seems unlikely they can defeat the creature I expect you to deal with it."

Taking a step back the red head stood and waited for the arrival of the students. She could hardly wait, the joy of informing their little minds of the fun she had planned for them. "Let the fun begin."

This was the day, wasn't it? Kris groaned as she rolled out of bed, she hadn't gotten much sleep that night and of course she wouldn't admit it, but it may have been due her to nerves. As she got dressed she gripped the brass bracelet she often wore around her left wrist tightly before slipping her it onto her arm. After a moment of fishing into her pocket she retrieved the piece of paper that detailed her team, she was relieved to see they were all girls at the very least, but she was unsure what to do. From the sounds of it, she was going to be stuck with these people for quite some time. What kind of impression should I make? If I intimidate them right off the bat I figure I can get them to leave me alone... Would that be best?

With an aggravated sigh she scratched her head and roughly tucked the paper back away into her pocket before spending a final moment sitting atop her bed and staring down at her bracelet. As she stepped through her door and into the hall she shook her head to move a few rebellious strands of hair from her face as she looked up at the ceiling and felt her face assume it's typical aloof and bored expression. She made only one stop on her way to the classroom, at a vending machine to purchase a small carton of milk which she sipped quietly as she walked.

The classroom wasn't too far off from the dorms, so Kris ended up arriving unexpectedly early. She gave a slightly annoyed click of her tongue as she looked over the mostly empty classroom and tossed her empty carton of milk deftly into a nearby trashcan. She was the third to arrive by the looks of it, the other two girls had gone straight for the window but Kris took the seat closest to the door, it would be the fastest way out of the room and she certainly didn't want to spend a moment longer in here than she needed to.

It wasn't long after that the rest of the students poured in, followed by their rather ridiculous looking headmistress. She couldn't help but smirk at the woman's odd get-up and hair, at the very least she didn't look all that stuck up. Kris shrugged the thoughts away and simply leaned forward with an elbow on her desk as she half-heartedly listened to the woman drag on.

"Oh. The last remainder of your belongings have been sent to your dorms directly."

Kris gave a small frown at that. I don't suppose that means they plan on giving me back any of my weapons... I need some new ones, though, getting a gun around here might be pretty hard, a knife though... Easy. She sat up and stretched her arms into the air as the headmistress began wrapping up, giving them instructions, and heading out as quickly as she came. Without a moment of hesitation Kris rose to her feet and walked to the door. Before walking out she glanced over her shoulder at the class, easily spotting the bright heads of hair belonging to her group. Surely they had just as easy a time spotting her, so she decided to simply head out ahead of them and to the front gate.

It was a short walk to the front gate and the group of teachers and a few students was rather easy to spot. Kris simply and quietly walked up near Baron, only glancing at her and giving a nod of greeting to the tiny woman-child before slipping her hands into her pockets and waiting for the rest of her group to catch up.

Yuuto awoke in the shrine temple. The sunlight was just beginning to gleam through the windows. His sensitive ears heard the soft footsteps of an impatient hunter. Since the night before they had been guarding him diligently. He arose from his futon and began to prepare for his descent into madness. He didn't mind living alone at the temple but the hunters had other things in mind.

Something about an academy that would teach him to be a good demon. He believed that they just wanted to use his power once he became a trained dog; not that he would allow them to do that. Yuuto pulled on his lavender yukata and tied it at the waist. He pulled on his purple colored jacket and a plain purple scarf on before briefly checking himself over. He turned to face the sliding door and sighed, feeling irritated already as he spoke up, "I'm ready. Let's get going before you dig a hole in my lawn. I'd like it to look the same for when I return, hunter. " The responding grumble brought a smirk to his face. One last amusement before he left.

Yuuto stepped into the classroom. The hum of students annoyed his senses as he made his way to his seat. His olfactory scent caught the smell of humans and disgust crossed his face before a scowl settled deeply on his face, the lines between his brows indicating his ire. Those hunters! They want me to attend this hellhole with humans? They took me away from the shrine for this? He almost growled but kept his jaw shut tightly. His tail flicked grumpily beside the stands of his chair. His ears were angled back. Yuuto wasn't going to make any attempt to appear friendly especially to those human mages. He hadn't had a friend in several hundred years and it was way too late to make some.

A human woman walked into the classroom after all the seats had been filled. Her hair looked like moving flames and her attitude startled Yuuto. She walked as if she were a prince of hell. Yuuto straightened in his chair even though his hostile demeanor didn't change. Only his expression changed. A glimmer of curiosity danced in his gaze as he watched the woman warily. She must be the headmaster then. The big boss, huh? She seems stronger than I anticipated. Yuuto inwardly mused. The headmaster quickly informed them of the upcoming process and Yuuto remembered that he had stashed the pamphlets in his jacket pockets. He pulled it out and viewed the map of the school campus. It was an expansive landscape and he thought back to being dropped off at the gates. That walk to the classroom had been enough of a hassle. He shot a quick glare to the headmaster as she escaped the classroom and watched as students filed out of the classroom hurriedly. He simply sat rooted in his seat. Yuuto didn't feel like brushing shoulders and getting filth on him from all those trifling mages. His gaze spotted the mage that would be in his group and he felt the urge to leave. He stubbornly sat still though and waited. He wouldn't let those hunters think he was weak either.

Minutes later after most of the students had all filed out, he stood and moodily strode out to the front of the buildings, avoiding the crowd. Eventually he made his way outside and took the path to the gates. From what he had glanced at on the pamphlets, he was with group four and his teacher was Kurayami. Yuuto neared the front gates and he focused on the group of figures standing in line as younger-looking people stood in front of them. He gazed searched for Kurayami and he found the teacher with the appearance that he remembered faintly. He approached the man and looked up to the man with a frown. His eyes narrowed and his ears angled back again. "Kurayami?" He grumbled the inquiry.

---

---

Zita Bombardier stood next to Mr. Kurayami, waiting for her students to arrive. Although she appeared to seem bored and uninterested in her surroundings; in actuality Zita was so excited she felt like jumping up and down. Zita's hammer, affectionately nicknamed Ark, was braced on her shoulder, held by her left hand. Her right hand rested on her hip. The woman's sky blue eyes caught on the shortest teacher. Miss Weatherbee seemed to be deep in thought. She even murmured something that Zita didn't quite catch in her distraction and Zita raised one slim brow.

Ms. Weatherbee looked to the sky and Zita followed her gaze, tilting her head up to view the endless expanse of blue. She wondered what was so interesting up there before looking back to the woman curiously. She expected that the woman might feel nervous as she was relatively new. However, it would be pointless to say anything positive. Baron was a wonderful person and would find her own way to teach. Ms. Weatherbee glanced at the clock on her wrist and then to the other teachers. "The induction will be finishing soon and the students should be making their way to us. The headmistress said she would inform us of what exactly the exercise entails once everyone is here. Everyone remember their groups?” Zita straightened in anticipation which made her height stand out a bit more. She was roughly five foot eight inches. The green-haired demon stood as tall as most men. In fact, she was taller than Mr. Kurayami. The only teacher that stood taller than her was Mr. Alignak. It made her feel uncomfortable to be around him because she was unused to looking up at people even if only by a few inches, especially men. It was a strange overpowering feeling that put her at odds with her usual mellowed calm. Zita pulled her gaze away from the woman to watch the incoming figure.

The headmaster, Iris Blackwrath was coming at them. The woman's hair caught her gaze briefly. Zita thought her hair was beautiful and had remarked upon it once, only to find out that Ms. Blackwrath had a very contrasting attitude to her extraordinaire appearance. Ms. Blackwrath affectionately ruffled Ms. Weatherbee's hair and Zita's heart warmed. It reminded her of being around her family. She hoped that she would grow such close bonds with the students as well. Her attention focused once again on Ms. Blackwrath. She was taller than Zita two by one inch or so but it didn't bother her as much. She felt that Ms. Blackwrath was a kind person and was not scary at all. The woman did so much for her students and teachers that she definitely deserved her title even though she acted in a crude way. "Righty-o! Ladies and gents. You know I thought long and hard over this, and I figured a group exercise of this nature was right up the students alley. We need to know what their made of, who's really in need of help and who's going to be a handful — you get the idea." Zita nodded excitedly, yet, once again it still didn't show on her face. It only showed from the shining twinkle in her eyes. "With permission from the locals I have set up five loose doppelgängers in the town nearby, with each team expected to handle one between them. You, teachers, will watch over them and see how they handle it. The groups must form a strategy and plan to win. If it seems unlikely they can defeat the creature I expect you to deal with it." Zita tapped the hammer on her shoulder in contemplation. Her team didn't seem to be weak. She had read their files a million times over unable to keep herself contained. However, just because the abilities they had were decent didn't mean they would be able to use them effectively or efficiently. Zita pushed the doubt away. I believe in them. If they are my students then they will exceed. She assured herself.

It was then Iris turned to face the incoming students. Zita could see the excitement humming in the headmaster's body and it brought her own excitement to euphoria. This was going to be a fun event. "Let the fun begin." Iris spoke and Zita smiled just for a short moment before her complacent expression returned. Her thrill didn't fade with the smile though.

A tall student approached her and Zita watched her carefully. Her observant gaze made her aware of many things at once and the first was that the student seemed to be irritated about something. That was the most obvious fact. Zita searched her mind for her name and she remembered the student's file. Ah. Danica Catori. Demon. Zita thought inwardly. Zita went to address the student even though she appeared to want to be left alone. "Danica Catori, It is a pleasure to meet you. I will make more official introductions after all of your group arrives. If you have any questions in the meantime, I am happy to be able to answer them." She didn't offer a hand, but that was simply Zita's way of doing things. She didn't mean any harm in it. After all, demons in her family didn't offer to shake hands since you never know what the other party would do. Her hammer tapped her shoulder again as she assessed the student based on the information in the file. Danica seemed like she might be able to complete the mission. Zita hoped the others would be just as competent.

Today was a really nice day. The sun was shining brightly, the wind slowly blowing the dandelions away, the clouds drifted peacefully up in the blue sky, though it always seems to be kinda lonely in Midora's eyes, somewhat really similar to him. He knows that he is surrounded with people now and then, and even though that they have treated him like a normal person like he used to desire back when he was young, he couldn't help to feel as if he was isolated no matter how crowded it was. Is it because the trauma of grief that has been bothered him for many years still makes him feel that way? Midora couldn't understand himself. It was really peaceful and silent here in the garden, this is the only place that Midora find to be suit him. But even though every minutes is slowly passing away, Midora couldn't forgot which day today was - The first day of a whole new year in the Survival Kit Academy. Yeah, even though Midora thinks that he could never had the feeling of happiness and joy that he once enjoyed before, but he has never regretted that he has chosen to follow this life here, in the Academy, despite the fact that Midora could very well continue to live his old title with the power he was gifted with.

Midora now is closing his eyes while sitting in meditation position on the usual rock and meditating. He felt like he has to clear his mind a bit before greeting his new students. While Midora is meditating, he still thought about the very reason that he accepted the former Headmistress' offer to work for her back then. Of course, he wanted to teach the others what he has learnt, so that they won't fall like he did. But he knows that there are some other reasons, which again, Midora has to find out someday. He just sat there and drifted in the peaceful and silent atmosphere as if he is totally forget about the world around him. Midora would enjoy to just sat there like an atoning criminal for a whole day, however, he still has works to do.

Guess I should be going now. Ms. Blackwrath has specially required them to be at the entrance today to greet the newcomers. Well, he has been here for a pretty long time now and he has met all kind of demons and mages, with different manners, so he guessed that this time they won't make much of a difference for Midora. He stood up and got through the entrance to the garden. He walking through the halls cavalierly, knowing that there's no reason to be rushed. Since the students had gone back to their classes, the halls was quite deserted now. Only a few students which Midora put in detention for tardiness are cleaning the floor. Midora looked around him and then said to the students, "It seems that you've worked pretty hard. Okay, you may stopped now. Put the cleaning brooms back to where they were and go back to your class."

"Thank you, Mr. Kurayami", a student said and then all of them bowed to him before they took their leaves. Midora silently watched as the students leaving. Those students are now much better than when they just enrolled. It is good to know that they're still progressing. Then Midora continued to walked towards the Academy's entrance.

When he got there, he saw that his fellow teachers have just got there too, except for Ms. Blackwrath who is still inducing the newcomers. He walked towards them and stood between Ms. Bombardier and Ms. Weatherbee. Then all of them just stood there and wait for the students to come. They've done this for many times already, but to Midora, he felt just like the first time. He actually enjoyed to be watching his students progressing and giving them advices. And to give them punishments. He looked around to his collegues. Ms. Weatherbee seemed to be in a deep thought and murmuring something to herself. She's just a rookie, but she has shown many potentials and perhaps she'll did her job well. Ms. Bombardier is also gazing at the sky while bracing her hammer on her shoulder, as always. Somehow, people may thought that it must be really awkward for Midora to stand next to a tall lady like Ms. Bombardier. Yeah, Midora knows very well about what people will said when they first saw him. He's kinda shorter, his build seemed to be smaller and he looked younger than the other teachers, except for Ms. Weatherbee. But people always say that never judge a book through it covers, Midora presumes that his students might be surprise a bit when they know that he is actually the oldest teacher around here.

”The induction will be finishing soon and the students should be making their way to us. The headmistress said she would inform us of what exactly the exercise entails once everyone is here. Everyone remember their groups?”, asked Ms. Weatherbee. She seemed to be really looking forward to meet her students. Midora has read his group's profiles earlier. His group is consists of strong individuals, but their attitudes and manners seemed to be really opposed with each other. However, this isn't Midora's first time dealing with students like this, so he'll come up with a way to help them soon. He is also well-awared that his students will definitely hold a grudge with him, but if he tried, there's nothing that he can't fixed.

A few moments later, Ms. Blackwrath walked out from the entrance to them. Her hair is always the thing that caught Midora's eyes first because of its firey style, just like her personality. Come to think of it, Midora has always know how contrast she is with him. But she treated him and the other teachers well. Just like her mother. Despite that she seems much more out-going than Midora, she really knows how to makes her students listening to her. After she has ruffled Ms. Weatherbee hair like a caring sister, she began to intrigued the teachers. "Righty-o! Ladies and gents. You know I thought long and hard over this, and I figured a group exercise of this nature was right up the students alley. We need to know what their made of, who's really in need of help and who's going to be a handful -- you get the idea." Midora nodded to Ms. Blackwrath as he swallowed every words that she said. Ms. Blackwrath moving her hands onto her hips before continued, "With permission from the locals I have set up five loose doppelgängers in the town nearby, with each team expected to handle one between them. You, teachers, will watch over them and see how they handle it. The groups must form a strategy and plan to win. If it seems unlikely they can defeat the creature I expect you to deal with it." Midora brushes his fingers through his hair a bit and get ready to greet the students. This task wasn't easy as it sounds, especially for newcomers who still think that they have the right to stick their noses up to the air and think that they're oh-so-powerful without realizing their own flaws yet. But Midora will always be ready to fix whatever problems they may cause.

After that, Ms. Blackwrath turned around and watched as the students started to coming out. He could felt everyone's excitement in the air. "Let the fun begin", said Ms. Blackwrath. Right after that, the students coming out and standing in front of their teachers, forming groups. A cute little white-haired boy with two fluffy fox-ears came towards Midora and looking up to him with a grumpy frown. "Kurayami?", he asked as grumpy as his frown. Midora then gave his soon-to-be student a quick glance. I see his problems now, well, he's a typical fox demon after all. Still keeping his posture and acted as if he didn't care about the boy's attitude, Midora replied with a calm, yet cold respond,"Well yes, that's my last name. But please, it's Mr. Kurayami for you. I assumed that you're Yuuto the great fox demon then? Now stay in line, if you would." Midora rolls his eyes and saw another two tall young ladies was coming towards him. The mage student - Akiko seemed to be kind of flamboyant while the other demon student - Kou was acting more defensive, as if she's trying to avoid any contacts with everyone around her. When they've stood as a group in front of Midora, he greeted them, "Welcome students to the Survival Kit Academy. As you have known, my name is Midora Kurayami and I will be the teacher that will supervise and help you with your progress.", Midora said as he bowed gracefully in front of them. Just looking at the group, Midora can already guessed some of their personality. They're strong, indeed, and it'll be interesting to see them dealing with the task ahead of them. But will their egos be the obstacle that slow them down on their ways? Midora can only watched, for now.

Adrianne opened one of her eyes and stared at the ceiling. Today was the day. Today was the day that she would take the first step to making her parents proud of her. She opened both eyes and sat up in her bed. She stretched a little bit. She patted her mouth as she yawned. She made her way out of bed and then she made her way to the shower. She made it quick because she still needed to pack all of her things into suitcases that she brought from home. As she turned off the water, she quickly grabbed a towel so that she wouldn't get cold. She quickly dried herself and dressed in her usual outfit. It looked like a school outfit, but it wasn't. She never attended public school once. She looked over to a piece of paper sitting on the desk which showed her what her team members looked like. She was the leader and the mage of the group but she wasn't sure if she would be able to accomplish this job. She sighed. It doesn't matter what I think now, I can't fail. It's not an option. She looked around her room at the gigantic mess that awaited cleaning. She quickly packed up all of her things and put all the suitcases next to the bed. From what it seemed like, they would come and pick up her luggage. She had stayed in a separate room from the dorms because she didn't want to feel like a burden to her team members until school started. As she looked to make sure she got everything she needed, she moved towards the door.

She opened the door and made her way outside. She walked around the town for a while, needing guidance as she went. She got lost a few times, but she eventually found her way to the school. She stood in front of the front gate and hoped that she wasn't late for her class. She took a deep breath as she ran toward the direction of her classroom. She opened the door quietly and it appeared that she was one of the people that had arrived later than everyone else. She breathed a sigh of relief. She wasn't late for class. She looked around for an empty seat when she looked around and saw Kris sitting in the seat right next to the door. The seat a few feet next to her that was open, so she sat there. She thought Kris looked a little scary, so she decided against sitting with her.

A lady wearing a very unorthodox outfit of clothing walked into the classroom and stood at the front of the room. She never introduced herself and Adrianne was extremely confused as to who she was and why she was talking in the classroom. After a few sentences, she realized that that... was the headmistress. She felt like an idiot and slunk down in her seat in shame. She thought that she would've remembered her because of her amazing ability to memorize anything and everything she read. She sat for the rest of the lecture in that slunk position. By the time she was done explaining, she wanted to walk behind Kris, but by the time she looked up... She was already gone.

She walked out the door and began to memorize the faces of the people that were in her class as she walked. She tried to determine who the demons were and who the mages were, but she had a bit of a hard time with that. Some were easy to spot, while others... Not so much. As she was analyzing one of the people's faces, she tripped on a crack in the sidewalk and tumbled right in front of her supervising teacher, Miss Weatherbee. She quickly got up and took a small bow. She was extremely embarrassed as she said, very quietly, "Excuse my slip up. I... I am the leader of group three, Adrianne Libuth. Pleased to meet you." She knew that she had to make an introduction to her teacher because it would rude if she did otherwise. She then noticed that Kris was there as well. She looked at her and gave her a slight nod. She then turned back to her teacher/supervisor and awaited her response.

Iris hadn’t been waiting long before her eyes clasped directly onto the incoming view of her designated group. She recognized them from the earlier induction and had already taken the time prior to the induction to look over the files of the students within group five. So far, she was certainly interested in them. As the trio approached the woman, the headmistress offered only a mere smirk of intrigue to begin with until the students introduced themselves.

"Good morning, I'm Razin Vamada, and this is Saiko Takashi Decio." One of the demons spoke.

Followed by the young mage, "Hello Ma'am, I'm Roze."

The smirk that stained her lips gradually formed into a soft smile, as Iris kept her hands on her hips and glanced down towards the blonde mage. "It‘s nice to meet you, Roze. I‘m Iris Blackwrath though you can call me Ivy if you prefer, or Miss Blackwrath -- whatever takes your fancy." Shifting her stare she looked to the two demons. "That goes for you two as well, fell free to call me whatever suits your mood, alrighty? Nice to meet you, Razin and Saiko."

Taking a step back the red head eyed up the three individuals and gave the group a swift overall look. So, this is what I'm working with, eh? An all-knowing grin weaved itself onto her features once more, the headmistress feeling optimistic towards the soon-to-be group exercise. Perhaps this little group will surprise me, I hope.

"Even-though I be the headmistress of this academy, I'm still your designated teacher and therefore I am here for you in-case you should ever need me, got it?" She spoke, attempting to sound as non-headmistress-y as she could and try put the group a little more at ease. "All of you are under my care, mage and demons. We are a team."

Sparing a moment to look elsewhere, Iris could see that there were still a few students to appear, and therefore she thought best to hold off from telling the groups about their group-exercise. Not that it was a bad thing, it just meant she'd be more excited when eventually telling them. I can only imagine the looks on their faces.

To pass the time just a little, Iris shifted her weight from foot to foot casually and asked, "So, how you liking the academy? Any problems, questions, or something you gotta say? Don't worry -- I can take it."

---

Baron soon noticed one of the members belonging to her group arriving. It was a girl with sandy coloured hair, though she didn't say much to the teacher and only offered a nod of acknowledgement towards the mage-demon.

Ah, Kris if I am correct? The girl thought to herself as her eyes secretly looked over the student. Taking a moment to recall the information from the files she had been given, it was clear that the young demon was Kris. When about to open her mouth and say something Baron suddenly caught a glimpse of a student tumbling just near her.

Just as she was about to offer help the girl had already straightened herself upright once more, before bowing towards Baron. "Excuse my slip up. I... I am the leader of group three, Adrianne Libuth. Pleased to meet you."

”Are you alright Adrianne? You are not hurt are you?” Baron looked the girl over with a hint of concern merging within her soft voice, debating whether to examine her more closely. ”It is a pleasure to meet you too.” It was clear that the girl was another of her students, to which the mage-demon gladly welcomed. Looking to Adrianne and then Kris, she continued, ”I am Baron Weatherbee and I am your designated teacher. Whatever you may need please do not hesitate to ask, I am here to support you and assist you in any way. You may call me Barry if it helps.”

So far two students had arrived, which left only one remaining. By the looks of it she would dealing with girls mostly, an all-girl group being of a particular favourite of the young teacher. Maybe I can do this after all, if I try my best.

Just then she had a thought. ”Do you have any questions? About your groups, the academy or even myself? The headmistress will be explaining your group exercise once all students are present, so we have some time.”

How dull. A sigh escaped her lips as she stood by in the morning sun, the area around her slowly but steadily filling with students of all sorts. She could overhear several conversations starting up around her, teachers trying to be nice, demons being rebellious, and young mages being nervous, none of it really interested her. As the thought to strike up a conversation with her new teacher entered her head, the sound of uncertain feet nearly tripping nearby caught her attention.

What her eyes found when they identified the source of the noise was the slightly disheveled image of her mage leader, Adrianne if memory served correctly. The impression she had gotten from the girl's picture didn't seem too off the mark so far and as she gave an embarrassed and unnecessary apology to their teacher, Kris glanced away and shook her head. It was only the two of them there, their third member seemed to be absent for the moment. Maybe she had the right idea and stayed home... She smirked lightly to herself before looking over to Baron as she spoke up to the two of them for the first time this morning.

”I am Baron Weatherbee and I am your designated teacher. Whatever you may need please do not hesitate to ask, I am here to support you and assist you in any way. You may call me Barry if it helps. Do you have any questions? About your groups, the academy or even myself? The headmistress will be explaining your group exercise once all students are present, so we have some time.”

She had many questions in truth but she wasn't sure what she wanted to ask first and she certainly didn't want to just assault the small woman with her inquiries. "Baron huh?... That's an odd one... But yeah... I've been wondering for a while, why do you look like a little girl? Gives me this urge to just pat you on the head." A small grin formed on her lips as she placed her hands on her hips and looked down at the woman. She wasn't sure how seriously she could take her as a teacher or a figure of authority, but then again this their first time meeting. She didn't bother introducing herself to Adrianne, she figured the mage was already well aware of who Kris was and she wasn't particularly keen on the idea of getting friendly with person who was here to be trained on how to control her.

Raising a slightly bewildered eyebrow, Iris hushed herself and listened to the demon.

"Well, little lady, Takashi here is the Saiko Alpha, the leader of all Kitsune kind, and he has a vast reputation for being very controlled of his abilities. To do that, he has to control his emotions. And this woman just confused the hell out of him enough for it to show on his face, a very rare happening, so it always funny when it does happen."

"Ooh, so we have an actual leader amongst our little group? I must've overlooked that fact." She stated and casually sighed at the realization. "Well, I'll be sure to mind how I go around you, Takashi. No disrespect meant."

As the mage and demon conversed a little more Iris watched quietly and took mental notes now and again. By the looks of it she'd be needing them, quite a lot in fact. As the blonde girl became a tad flustered the headmistress calmly placed a hand to one of her shoulders. "Calm your head. We both got a lot to learn about these demons."

As Razin soon spoke up to her, the woman couldn't help but take notice. He seemed to have a lot to say.

"To tell you the truth, ma'am? I hate it. I was taken here against my will, see. With the re-exposure of the existence of demons, a small town of humans I had been living near realized what I was, and had me captured and sent here out of fear when the mage they called failed in making me go away. They locked me up, threw me in a cell here for a few days, and only let me out this morning. This place smells disgusting, as well. Like humans and their cities."

Raising a hand and lazily scratching the back of her neck the red head shot a glance elsewhere momentarily as she gathered her thoughts. "I hear what your saying though not all us humans are a like -- just like you demons are so different from one another. You get the good with the bad in every batch, eh?" She began, adjusting her view back onto the group before her, though Razin especially for that moment. "I admit, sure, your journey and time here already was not-as-good as it ought to have been. For that, I'm sorry. If you'd allow me to make amends to you for that, I'd be sure-as-hell happy to change your opinion on humans. After all -- I'm here to help you."

Towards his last remark, though, the fiery haired woman smirked with amusement. "You got a hell-of-a nose on you, Razin. But, you'll have to like it or lump it I'm afraid. We humans can't help our smell." Directing her orbs down towards the mage, the woman to a closer look at the young girl before continuing, "What of you girlie, you got anything to say? Or... how about you, Takashi? "

---

A few silent moments passed between the group of three, before soon the sandy haired girl finally spoke up with a quesiton of her own. "Baron huh?... That's an odd one... But yeah... I've been wondering for a while, why do you look like a little girl? Gives me this urge to just pat you on the head." She said and placed her hands to her hips, grinning.

At first Baron merely tilted her head slightly, her pale locks flowing over one of her shoulders whilst doing so, as her orange-y orbs traveled upwards to greet the face of the student. Holding her stare for a moment longer the mage-demon studied the taller girl curiously, saying not a peep during these passing seconds, before a minute or so later, as her mouth slowly moved and a gentle sound echoed from within -- her voice, to be exact.

"Physically I age slower whereas mentally I am far advanced." She answered somewhat bluntly, or rather factually, to the girl. Her gaze towards the student never seemingly breaking. "It is a result of my in-heritage of both demon and mage characteristics. In reality I am twenty-three years of age though my appearance says otherwise."

Blinking, and adverting her stare to the ground, Baron took a moment to pause for thought. After doing so, her eyes refocused on Kris, before the young teacher mimicked the student a little and rearranged her own hands, before placing them snugly against her hips. "You may pat me on the head if you wish. Though I may do the same to you, if I can reach." She said, offering the smallest of smiles in her attempt at slight humour. She wasn't the most naturally funny, but she tried. Baron never really got the whole concept of humour but she understood that it helped to lighten the mood. Perhaps her students would like it, somewhat.

She turned to face Adrianne. "Do you have a question?"

Whilst awaiting the girls response, Baron looked to Kris once more before asking, "Tell me, if you would not mind, but what powers, or abilities do you posses? I have read the files provided, though I feel I learn more from you directly."

Her grin faded ever so slightly as the mini-Baron looked up at her with her blank expression and tilted her head. As the teacher seemed to examine Kris over those few quiet seconds Kris began to feel a bit uncomfortable and returned the teacher's stare with an arched brow, her hands unmoving from her hips. Much to Kris' relief the girl finally spoke up.

"Physically I age slower whereas mentally I am far advanced. It is a result of my in-heritage of both demon and mage characteristics. In reality I am twenty-three years of age though my appearance says otherwise."

By this time the amusement on Kris' face had all but totally faded, what a boring, dry response. With a slight sigh she looked off to her right at some other group as a girl shouted out about something and stormed off. She gave a shrug and as she heard the small teacher speak up once more she turned her attention back down on the woman. What she saw was Baron impersonating Kris with her hands on her hips.

"You may pat me on the head if you wish. Though I may do the same to you, if I can reach."

Kris blinked as Baron gave her a small smile. "Ha!" Her grin returned as she reached over to pat the woman not-too-roughly but not-too-gently on the head. "Well good luck with that, I've got almost a foot on you." Much of the apprehension Kris had felt from earlier had vanished, at the very least she liked her teacher so far and her mage was quiet, which was fine by her. She spent a brief moment glancing back over her shoulder towards the school before stretching an arm up into the air, wondering how much longer she'd have to be waiting around.

"Tell me, if you would not mind, but what powers, or abilities do you posses? I have read the files provided, though I feel I learn more from you directly."

With a deeply exhaled breath Kris lowered her arms and once again looked down to address Baron. Silently she held out her bare right arm towards the girl as the steely grey of her irises began to tint red. Much like how cracks spread out across glass, from the back of her hand spiderwebbed out crimson lines that looked random at first but quickly began to shape into strange patterns that were undoubtedly magical in origin. The markings traveled up on her arm and to her shoulder before stopping.

"Well, this is probably my most noteworthy ability, I've got markings like this all over my body." As she flexed her hand open and closed one could almost see the heat rising up from her arm. "I can activate these tattoos to dramatically increase my physical performance... Strength, speed, those sorts of things." She began to shake her hand and with that motion the markings began to fade. "It ain't perfect though. Super strength isn't worth much without super strong bones too... If I hit something hard enough without being able to properly reinforce myself I'll just end up shattering my bones... Which is something I'd rather not do, but I will if I have to." With her explanation finished she gave a shrug and rolled her right shoulder a few times.

"After that... Well, I'd rather not show this one. But if you cut me open you're gonna get burned, blood's like fire once it leaves my body." She flexes her hand open and closed a few final times before the markings are fully gone and her eyes are back to their usual color. "And last but most certainly least..." She jabs her thumb pointing up towards her face as her nose twitches and sniffs the air. "I could probably tell you what you had for breakfast by smell. Having a strong sense of smell isn't always the most useful but it comes in handy on occasion."

With that done she cleared her throat and reached a hand up to run her fingers through her hair as she looked up at the sky. It wasn't until now that realized how strange talking so much felt to her, it had been quite a while since she had really had much of a conversation with anyone that wasn't strictly about business. As she looked back down to Earth her hands reached back behind her head and rested there. "So what about you? What sort of tricks do you do?"

Iris silenced herself for a moment or two as she quietly observed the two demons. Clearly, one was easier to get along with than the other, though the headmistress was never one to be beaten down easily.

"Alrighty, you two. Simmer down for a moment." She said as politely as she could, offering a smile as she did so before shifting her hands from her hips. "Takashi, or Saiko, you don't need to worry. I would never harm your... people, and I certainly don't plan to keep you here forever. Just do what you have to do, and I'll do as I have to, ok?"

Once all was said and done the headmistress turned her attention to the many heads that surrounded her. She figured, it was now the time to get the students into action. What fun. Walking over and heaving herself up onto a nearby small wall the woman stood high and proud as she waved her hands in the air to gain everyone's attention. Of course, Iris never struggled to attracted a group, and her students and staff were no different.

"Right everyone, listen up! It is time for your group-exercise to commence!" She snapped suddenly before dropping her arms to her sides "Your exercise will involve each group tackling a doppelgänger which will be located within the town nearby, that I have set up just for you. In order to win you must work as a team, plan ahead, and look-out for one another if you want to actually survive this ordeal. Failure to do so will result in... failure."

Pausing for a brief moment she allowed the information to sink into the students minds, awaiting secretly to see their expressions, before daring to continue, "Your teachers will supervise you and ensure you don't get in way over your heads. This exercise is mainly to see what your made of and show us what sort of students we're working with."

Hopping off the wall and landing squarely on her feet, the headmistress patted herself down before strolling in and amongst the groups of students. A challenging smirk was plastered on her features as she eyed up the youthful stares. Once more her hands returned to their respective place against her hips. "If anyone dares view this as an opportunity to cause hell and step out of line they're be in my office before their feet touch the ground. And no -- that's not a call to action. I do not wish to see anyone in my office at the end of this, understand?"

With friendly warnings and introductions out of the way, Iris casually handed out maps to the teachers, on which marked out the exact location the groups would find their designated doppelgänger. The maps also showed where each other groups would be, and a way leading back to the academy.

"Please do not mistake this exercise as some menial task to do. The doppelgängers can hurt you and will require some brain-power and skill to take down. Teachers will deal with the creature if they're group is unable to defeat it. Do not worry though this will not affect any of your standings here at the academy." She said calmly and clearly for all to hear. "With that said we will begin to head over to the town. Please keep to your groups, do not separate, and do as your teacher says and asks. Bad behavior will not be tolerated."

Turning to her own group Iris motioned with her hand for the trio to follow her. Once it seemed they were moving the headmistress began to lead the way out of the grounds of the academy. She waited until all students and teachers had moved before continuing onwards.

---

Baron listened keenly to what the young girl had to say about herself. Really, she was truly fascinating, and it always intrigued the mage-demon to learn more about others and their capabilities. As the girl witnessed the fancy patterns move around across the outer surface of Kris, the teacher unknowingly awed ever so slightly. She really was amazed.

"You certainly have quite an array of powers. I am sure you will be quite the asset to this group." She said with a confirming nod to her words. "It should be interesting to watch you in the exercise."

"So what about you? What sort of tricks do you do?"

Baron was a little caught off-guard to the question, taking a moment or so to gather her thoughts before responding with, "I can grant wishes, if you put it that way. Whatever any mage thinks or wishes for, I can make it come to life before they're very eyes. The power itself is limitless and works with good and bad requests. I must admit however that I have not gotten my ability to work with demons for some reason."

Just then another girl arrived. "Sorry I'm late, I fell asleep. Anyway! Kali Minami at your service!"

So this is the other girl. Baron smiled and offered a nod to the blonde student. "Pleasure to meet you kali, you are just in time for the group exercise. By the look of it the entire group is here now." She spoke softly and warmly.

Just then Baron witnessed Iris on-top of a wall of some sort requesting the attention of everyone. Listening to what the women said Baron immediately knew that the exercise was now beginning. Listening further, the mage-demon gave a swift nod as the headmistress came to the end of her words. It is starting now.

Once accepting the map that was given to her Baron promptly glanced over the image and details and made mental notes on all of the important information. She understood where her creature was and how to get to it. Having re-read the map the teacher proceeded to show the map to her students and allowed them to look at it briefly. Of course, the map would be staying with the teacher during the exercise.

"Alright everyone, you heard the headmistress. It is time to begin the exercise, though do not worry as I will be with you the entire time. I will ensure your safety throughout this experience." She said to the three girls and retained the same smile as before. "I will lead you to the area where you will find the doppelgänger and then it is up to you three. Please think ahead and stick together, you will need one another to succeed in this exercise."

With that said Baron began to lead the girls in the direction of the Headmistress, who stood waiting for everyone. Once all groups and teachers were set they began to move onward.

Adrianne watched as each the rest of her team got here. Kali Minami was the only one left that had not arrived yet. When she did arrive, she was a lot cuter than in the picture that was given to her and she had no idea as to why she would be sent to this school for bad behavior. She made a confused face as she looked at the ground.

Suddenly, the headmistress stood on top of one of the gate walls and explained how their exercise was to commence. There was a doppelgänger somewhere in the town. From what it sounded like the teachers were to take them to their specified locations and then they were to deal with the threat accordingly. She then saw the headmistress hand out maps of the town.

Her teacher only showed the map to her briefly, but that was all she needed. She saw all the streets, shops, and buildings in the area where they were supposed to go. She also saw the location of the spot where they were supposed to go. She started to form a 3D version of the map in her head, even though she never saw the heights of the buildings, she had seen the buildings before and was somewhat familiar with the area of town that it was in. She guessed that she would be able to get a vantage point of the enemy if they were able to get on top of one of the nearby buildings. She started to form a strategy, but after every attempt, she realized how utterly hopeless it was. She didn't know the enemy and what powers it had. It might be a doppelgänger, but she didn't know who the doppelgänger was of. If she had that information, she would be able to tell what weaknesses it might have.

Baron lead started to lead them toward the area where the doppelgänger was. Most likely, we're going to fail. I'll still go all out, but the teachers are going to show us that it's a lot harder than we think. They may say it poses a slight challenge but I'm sure it poses a deeper, harder challenge than we expect.

Wishes huh?... And only for mages?... What a useless ability. Towards the end of their little discussion of her powers with her miniaturized teacher their final member made their belated appearance. She was rather animated, one might even call her cheery as the strange girl dipped her head dramatically before giving the group a salute. A brow arched in curiosity and some small confusion as Kris turned to regard the girl, just like in the picture but perhaps even more so in person, this girl was cute and even reminiscent of someone Kris would have preferred to forget. Regardless she gave the blonde girl a nod and introduced herself in response, "No worries... You probably had the right idea, I'm Kris."

Just then the headmistress called everyone to attention. Conversations were silenced as the crowd turned to face her, Kris crossed her arms and looked up to where Iris stood with only mild interest. They were apparently going to take down a doppelganger as their first exercise, they knew its location but were told nothing else. As Kris' gaze left the headmistress and turned back to her group she wondered, Wonder if either of these guys could even hold their own... I'm not sure what Kali can do but our mage here doesn't strike me as all that capable... And besides that how the hell is this Baron gonna ensure out safety when her power is to grant wishes? She leveled a critical eye down at their teacher for a moment with her brow raised once again before letting out a short sigh.

As they began to walk to their destination Kris would occasionally steal a glance at their mage, she looked to be in thought but she hadn't spoken up once yet, so either she wasn't confident in any of her ideas or she simply had none. Kris usually wasn't one to plan too far ahead but the silence irritated her, it seemed to her that this mage would only be a handicap, that her group was fighting with a man down. Unable to deny the spark of a competitive spirit and pride that came to life inside her she finally spoke up. "Well look, we're lacking a lot of critical information here... Any plan we'd make would be based on a lot of assumptions and well, assumptions and plans tend not to work so well together. Basically the only things we know for sure are where this thing is, and what we're capable of. I'm not sure how strong this thing is but chances are I could beat it to a pulp if I get the chance, alternatively I could chase or lure it somewhere, I'm pretty confident in my speed."

She glanced at her teacher with a smirk and spoke in a manner that was only half-joking, "Of course, our chances would go up if I could get a gun maybe and some knives?" Still smirking she turned to Kali, "But what about you? What are you able to do? Any ideas on how you could handle this creature we're after? Something you're confident about, I don't want anything half-hearted 'cause personally I don't wanna lose to any of those other groups or that headmistress." Kris placed her hands on her hips as awaited her response. She hadn't directed her questions at Adrianne or even looked in her direction all this time, her last statement was just as much for her as it was Kali. If Adrianne had something to add Kris only wanted to hear it if she was confident about it, and from what she had seen so far the girl was anything but confident.

Baron listened and directed her eyes towards Kris as the girl spoke, offering a nod or two here and there. Though she raised an eyebrow towards something in particular the student said. "Of course, our chances would go up if I could get a gun maybe and some knives?" The girl spoke with a smirk, somewhat halfheartedly joking.

Baron shook her head in response. ”Unfortunately, as some would say, you have no chance of that.”

The demon-mage allowed the students to talk amongst themselves for a short while, before the time came as she began leading the young trio away from the academy grounds and progressing towards their desired destination. When passing the headmistress, Baron offered a cheerful wave before the group set out towards the town.

The journey itself wasn't long. Upon arriving at the town Baron immediately directed the girls through the open streets and guided them past a handful of bystanders who went about their daily lives. After a few moments of strolling along the street-ways, the demon-mage lead the group to a secluded area hidden away behind many houses and buildings. Not many townsfolk ventured to this little open patch of land so it was ideal for a group exercise.

Wasting little time, Baron took a step forward before spinning round on her heel and confronted the group. ”I know that you do not want to do badly on this exercise and want to get stuck in, however this creature will take as much thought as skill in-order to be conquered.” She said calmly with an attempt to encourage the group. ”Before you is a doppelgänger, roughly half as strong as the headmistress or less. The creature's only purpose is to defeat you, it is up to you to prevent this from happening. As a team you must work together and look out for one another.”

A short distance from the group a shadowy figure emerged and took shape before them. The doppelgänger, taking on the appearance strikingly similar to that of the headmistress, with the exception of mischievous eyes that gave off the intent to cause harm. The creature stood there waiting, eying up the students in a challenging manner.

Baron stood to the side next a wall, arms crossed, as she watched the three girls. "Be warned. Once you begin to strike the doppelgänger it will immediately do the same. Make sure you are fully prepared.” She advised from her spot near the wall. "You may use the entire area to your advantage. I wish you luck.”

Adrianne watched as Kris said a number of things. Including the question of whether she could have a gun or knives. It seemed intriguing that she needed weapons after she saw her powers, which appeared to be extremely strong. Baron, of course, said no. This was supposed to be a team exercise, not a training session for weapons. This was to showcase her talent, her team's talent. She didn't know much about their powers, but she had an idea of what each of them could do. Soon enough, she was walking with Baron in the direction of their doppelgänger. She was extremely curious to see who it was that the doppelgänger was made after. They saw all the people and she came to an area that she had visited before. A place she found a few beat-up books and some shattered glass bottles once. This place was the area where she was to initiate battle with her doppelgänger.

Baron explained what exactly was happening and she understood. But she stopped thinking when Baron had said that the doppelgänger was made after the image of the headmistress. Wait... WHAT?!?! If it's made after the headmistress... I have no idea what-so-ever of their weaknesses! I don't even know what power it could have! She started to play with her hair and bite her nails in nervousness. This was bad. She had no idea how to attack it. She would have to learn from attacking it. But that would put her teammates at risk. She looked at Kris and Kali. She was scared. This was a situation she didn't predict. She looked around at all the buildings. Then, she stared right into the doppelgänger's eyes. As Baron had said, it was indeed ready to defeat us. It had some kind of murderous intent in its eyes. She thought about this for a second. She looked at Baron in a moment of desperation. "C-Can it talk?" She thought it was a strange question, but she thought it needed to be asked. If it had some sort of intelligence, that would show it wouldn't follow a pattern, but it couldn't... It might follow a pattern. She wondered what pattern it might follow. It was some sort of artificial being. Not an actual person. It had to have weaknesses, but not ones that might be easily spotted. She shook her head as so many thoughts went through her head.

She decided that it would be best if she started off in background because she didn't really have any very good close-range attacks. She was sure Kris would make the first move. Kris had a personality that was of a leader. She would provide the role of fighter. She couldn't remember what abilities Kali had, but she thought she would a striker like Kris... Though, she had no idea. She sighed as she readied her arm, calling forth her weir lights. She sent them in the four corners of the small battlefield. She stared at Kris. "Whenever you're ready to strike, I'm ready."

---

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---

Rabesach had been staring so intently at the flood of students on their way to town that he had almost missed the fact that Raisa was speaking to him. She'd actually listened to his sloppy introduction to his abilities. "That may prove quite useful. Maybe between the two of us, we can get Makoto to stand down before he does anything else rash," she said, then continuing on about how much danger Makoto was in and how serious the matter was. It was all rather morbid, much to the distaste of the young demon.

"You must be fun at parties," he muttered under his breath. However, he had to admit that he was quite surprised by her words. She was offering him a choice? He hadn't really figured that he got one, but even so, he wouldn't be eager to step out on a chance to fight. Before he could reply, however, his partner began to glow, engulfed in a bright red illumination, before rocketing off into the sky. Rabesach stared at the energy she'd left behind, like the trail of vapor that hangs in the air behind an plane. He'd just been about to inform her that he'd never miss the opportunity to use his blades, and now he'd been left behind. He folded his arms, pouting. "It's like everyone but me can fly," he whined. Looking over at his teacher, who seemed eager to let them figure this mess out on their own, he let out a loud, rather dramatic sigh. "Can I see that map?-Thank you," he said, not really waiting for an answer before snatching it and looking it over. The town was more complexly laid out than he had hoped for, and he wasn't sure how easy to navigate it would be. Could he find his teammates in that jungle? What if he was approached by someone else's doppelgänger while he was still on his own?

A wild grin appeared on his face, as well as an equally sadistic gleam in his eyes. He handed Alak back the map before sprinting in the direction of the town, taking the path for all those who were unable to defy gravity. If anything of the sort happened, he'd just have to deal with it. He tightened his grip on his blades, ready for action. He pushed past the slower people in the crowd, making his way towards where he needed to be as fast as possible.

And then he arrived, excitement bubbling up within him as he hurried into the city's limits. He didn't take the time to admire its decor, merely racing along its streets, careful not to trip over the occasional crack or bump in its rather smooth, stone pathways, though he certainly did pick up on a few things as he went. The smell of food still hanging in the air, paired with the occasional piece of trash lying upon the ground told him that this village was certainly lived in. He wondered how its occupants could be so willing to evacuate on a whim, just so the Academy's students could make a mess of their home. But, on that same subject, if no one was around, maybe they could head over to a candy shop and just take a few...

That's not important right now... Though, good idea for later. He was still yet to find his group, though he ran into a few of the others, most of which were in combat. He also nearly slammed into a teacher, a blonde woman watching her group fight from a place along a nearby wall. The collision wasn't his fault! She had to be at least a foot smaller than him, and he hadn't been too focused on where he was going nor watching out for whatever might have been below him. He murmured some half-hearted apologies to the woman, but he had more important things to do. "Wrong way," he scolded himself, quickly leaving their site of battle as to not distract them. Where on earth was his group?

However, he didn't have to wonder for very long, as his head suddenly snapped to attention toward a spot much deeper in the maze of the city. It was Raisa. He was certain of it. Why he knew this... he didn't know. And his feeling of certainty washed away only a few seconds later. Why had he been so positive that she was there? Had he gained some cool new Jedi-mind-trick?! Well, he did know that it wouldn't hurt to find out, taking off toward the spot the mage had, unknowingly to him, used her attention-grabbing ability.

How lucky had he been? The spot that he'd been directed to was exactly where his teammates were, both Nick Fury and Rainbow Dash! And they were alive, which was good. Funerals were so expensive, and he wasn't intent on attending one either... However, they both looked like they could use a bit of help, help Rabesach was eager to provide. "Did you guys think you could get rid of me that easily?" he sneered as he charged at the doppelgänger, not waiting for instruction, and swinging his metallic claws in its direction. "How do we kill it?" he cried. He was eager to stab the creature, though it swung back at him. Unknowing of the headmaster's abilities, he figured it'd be best to not let it lay a finger upon him, so he dodged, only able to barely scrape its arm before falling back.

Kris couldn't help but smirk as she rolled her shoulders and narrowed her eyes at the creature that stood off in the distance. Just like before her eyes began to shift to their dangerous shade of red and the same crimson lines crawled out along her skin and all over her body. With a sigh and look of disappointment she glanced over shoulder at Baron at her reply to her question, "Aw, not even a knife? You know, I could just pick one up from the kitchen or something, I promise I won't use it on any of the people in the Academy."

As Kris began to prepare herself to charge at the doppelganger she heard the timid mage of her group finally speak up. She wasn't exactly sure what the girl was capable but she was definitely wielding some kind of magic, it seemed she was going to try and support Kris from the back. Fine by me... She'd just get in the way if she was up in the fray, hopefully I won't have to worry about protecting her. With a nod as Adrianne announced her readiness Kris replied, "Let's go then."

In an instant Kris took off in a sprint towards the doppelganger at an inhuman speed. The doppelganger of course was ready for this and prepared itself for the demon's onslaught. The distance between them was closed in the blink of an eye before Kris took off into the air to make a leaping attack at the creature. Their bodies collided with a loud thud and the two rolled several feet before they separated, sprawled out on the concrete. Kris quickly rose up to her feet looking only lightly scratched, the doppelganger however rose to its feet looking a little worse for wear after their tussle. Despite this the creature only grinned, unbeknownst to Kris the doppelganger had managed to place its hand over Kris' heart. After giving an inhuman chuckle the creature activated it's imitation of Iris' Heart Break.

Kris' eyes widened as a sharp pain burst in her chest. The color in her eyes began to dissipate rapidly as she fell to her knees clutching her chest. She heaved with each deep and desperate breath of air she took as the tattoos on her body slowly disappeared. She wasn't sure what had happened, she wasn't familiar with the headmistress' powers, maybe she should've asked before but it was a bit too late now. The pain began to turn to numbness and her ears began to ring loudly, pushing all other sounds away into the background. She simply had to hope that Adrianne would be able to do something until Kris could recover, she knew if she had another chance at attacking the creature she could avoid this happening again and likely take it down.

"Alrighty, here we go!"

Iris lead the group out of the academy grounds and proceeded to guide them over towards the town. The walk itself wasn't long, and soon enough the four of them were on the towns streets before they knew it. Leading the way through the narrow alleys, the headmistress took the trio to a secluded small patch of ground otherwise abandoned by the townsfolk. It was ideal for their exercise, and sure enough, before them stood the infamous doppleganger.

"Righty-o, there's your target. Any questions?" The woman was all willing to give them any answers they wanted, however everything else was up to them. As she stood calmly beside the three, she looked at them curiously.

---

"C-Can it talk?"

Baron looked to the young mage and offered a simple shake of her fair-haired head. "No, the creature is incapable of communicating with our language, however that does not mean that it lacks intelligence." She advised the girl, encouraging her in a small way as she offered a reassuring smile. "I am sure you will do well."

"Let's go then." She heard the demon speak, a sign that Kris was ready to begin. Baron made sure to watch the pair carefully, she was truly intrigued to see how they would work together. "Good luck." She quietly mumbled.

Almost instantly, the demon student was already rushing over to face the creature, headstrong and confidently as Baron would expected from Kris, as she kept a watchful eye on the girl. Silently, she stood and witnessed as the demon struck the doppleganger, quite powerfully, as the student and creature fell to the ground hard. Although, her initial awing manner promptly faded the moment she noticed something was wrong with Kris. It didn't take Baron long to conclude that she must have been hit by the attack, Heart Break. It made perfect sense. Practically, almost immediately, Baron was on edge. As of yet she hadn't experienced having injured students under her care. It was certainly a first. As she continued to watch Kris her heart only sank further as she feared for the student.

Quickly she turned to Adrianne and snapped, "Your demon needs you, assist her to the best of your abilities! I know it may seem scary but I know you can help her!" Of course, she would've jumped in herself however this was a student exercise, and she had to see what the mage was capable of. At least for now. Adverting her attention only momentarily, Baron caught a glimpse of something, a girl perhaps, though she didn't seem too good.

"Distract the creature, do something, but make sure to cover Kris whilst she recovers!" The teacher advised, though really it was entirely up to the student to do as they personally saw best. She could only hope things worked out before she would have to step in, if need be. Taking the chance, she moved over to the apparently injured girl, Baron very lightly touched her to check if she was conscious.

"Hello? Can you hear me? Are you alright? What is your name dear girl?" Whilst checking the strange female over, the mage-demon kept a close eye on her students at all times, in-case she would be needed.