Blood Blue Kuro no Ōji [ IC / Started / Not Accepting ]

[Hotaru987]

[font=verdana,geneva,sans-serif][size="3"][color="#000000"][size=3]Minawe nodded at Uyagiri, gratefully accepting his help. “Y-yeah I’m ok.” When he said that she should be more careful she just laughed sheepishly, “I’ll try Prof. Onigiri.” Rei just sat in his seat not bothered by the recent turn of events. As long as Minawe wasn’t seriously hurt he wasn’t worried. He noticed the ice demon – Rikka he thinks her name is – get the two boys back for what they did to Minawe. He chuckled to himself before closing his eyes again. Minawe saw as well, having been previously glaring at the two, and saw them slip over ice that appeared out of nowhere. The only one who could do that was Rikka. Right afterwards, Uyagiri said that it was time they leave and asked everyone to get in a single-file line, but no one was listening to him as they all tried to get out as fast as possible, leaving Uyagiri to shout after them.[/size][/color][/size][/font]

[size=3][font=verdana,geneva,sans-serif][color="#000000"]Now outside, Shota exclaimed now he could stretch his legs, to which Rikka mocked him saying he was too short to even have legs. Minawe laughed, “Hehe. Oh, by the way, thanks for getting those to back for me earlier Nemo.” Shota then said that Minawe would probably fail at whatever it was they were doing since it was field practice. Minawe turned red with embarrassment, “Oh shut up Shami! I’m sure whatever it is I’ll at least be able to do better than you! Besides with Rei as my partner-“[/color][/font][/size]
[size=3][font=verdana,geneva,sans-serif][color="#000000"]Rei looked up hearing his name, “Wait what?”[/color][/font][/size]
[size=3][font=verdana,geneva,sans-serif][color="#000000"]“-There’s no way I could fail!”[/color][/font][/size]
[size=3][font=verdana,geneva,sans-serif][color="#000000"]In the background Rei could be heard saying, “Who ever said I was doing anything?”[/color][/font][/size]
[size=3][font=verdana,geneva,sans-serif][color="#000000"]Minawe didn’t hear him though and continued, “So what do you have to say now Shami?”[/color][/font][/size][size="3"] [/size]

[.:Blu:.]

Being thanked by Minawe, Rikka smiled calmly. "It was nothing. I was getting annoyed by their obnoxiousness anyway." Rikka said with a cool demeanor. "So you made them slip, big whoop..." Shota said with an unimpressed tone. "Humph, if it were you, you'd probably just stand in their way and they would be tripping over a stump." Rikka replied, calling Shota a stump referring to Tatsuya's earlier mocking of Shota after having kicked him out the door. Hearing what Rikka said, Shota went into a comically furious state as he held his fist up and flames were shown blazing in his eyes. "That damn Tatsuya, who do he think he is kicking me and calling me a tree stump?! I'm gonna beat the crap out of him next time!" Shota stated. After Shota had mocked Minawe, Minawe's face became red and she told Shota to shut up. After that, Minawe mentioned that she would do better Shota due to having Rei as her partner. This prompted a reaction of unexpectedness from Rei.

Not hearing Rei speak, Minawe confidently asked Shota what he'd have to say to Minawe's proclamation. A sweat drop formed on Shota's forehead and a blank look appeared on his face. "Okay first off, and for the thousandth time, my name is Shota. Secondly, I don't think that lazy partner of yours is gonna help you do anything unless it involves doing nothing. Finally, I'M GONNA BE BETTER THAN YOU AGAIN!" Shota suddenly and confidently exclaimed with a grin. "What does a stump like you have to prove by [i]trying[/i] to be better than everyone?" Rikka asked. "Arrg, stop calling me a stump! Anyways, we'll settle this on the field Minawe! The competition has begin!" Shota exclaimed.

"Alright, alright Shota, stop shouting. Just get on the bus, you're holding up the line." Uyagiri said, snapping Shota back to reality and showing Shota the line of students behind him that were waiting to get on the bus. "Hurry up!" "Stop wasting time!" "Move it short stuff!" some of the students yelled at Shota. "S-Sh*t...!" Shota said quietly in embarrassment before going on the bus. Shota took a seat near the window and Rikka took the seat next to him. As Rikka sat down, she crossed her arms and closed her eyes. "Don't bother me Shota or else I'll leave you frozen in a block of ice for an hour." Rikka warned. "Yeah, yeah, whatever..." Shota pouted childishly.

Nobody dared sit next to Tatsuya after he had given them a "death glare". "Suddenly, Shin arrived on the bus. "Hmm, Shin, I thought you were in the front of the line?" Uyagiri asked. "I was but then I dropped my cross pin so I had to go to the back on the line." Shin explained before rushing to get a seat. However, Shin didn't see too many seats open, and the ones that were opened belong to the delinquents of the class. Then he saw an empty seat next to Tatsuya. "(Well, at least Tatsuya won't start picking on people for no reason... If I just leave him alone then maybe everything will be okay.)" Shin thought before cautiously taking the empty seat next to Tatsuya. "H-Hi Tatsuya, I hope you don't mind me sitting here." Shin said with a nervous smile.

"Alright then, everybody's here. Take us off." Uyagiri said to the bus driver who was a man in his late fifties wearing a dark uniform.

As the bus was taking off, Shota looked over to Minawe and made a mocking face at her essentially trying to get the message across that there was no way Minawe could be better than him at whatever they were going to do.

-Meanwhile-

"Ugh..." After having been knocked down by Hisao, Isa stood up and clenched his fists. Hisao simply smirked. "Are you kidding me? What you wanna fight me? Stop being a f*cking idiot." Hisao stated. "Just what was that punch for? Are you trying to start something?" Shiratori asked Hisao angrily. "Shut up Shiratori, unless you wanna be knocked down like your pathetic loser friend too." Hisao stated. Shiratori knew that there was no one he could take on Hisao. Hisao and Jun were on a whole other level. "What? You scared sh*tless? Haha, figured as much. Know your place you damn lose-" Before Hisao could finish what he was saying, a fist came flying by, hitting Hisao on his left cheek and sending him stumbling a few feet back. "Don't call my comrades losers..." Masanori stated, revealing himself to be the one who had just punched Hisao.

Regaining his composure, Hisao had more of a bruised ego than cheek. "The f*ck...? Did you actually build up the guts to punch me just now...? Bad decision!" Hisao shouted before charging at Masanori with his right fist ready to deliver a punch. Hisao was fast, too fast for Masanori. Masanori acted tough but he knew that he couldn't hold his own against Hisao. "Now I'm gonna knock your f*cking teeth out you little sh*t!" Hisao shouted before aiming a punch at the paralyzed Masanori. Standing beside Shiratori, Isa's eyes were wide with the intent to jump in and stop Hisao. However, his legs were unable to move. "(W-Why am I hesitating...?)" Isa thought. Then a loud "smack" occurred as Hisao's fist collided with something. Fortunately for Masanori, that something wasn't him. "What...?!" Hisao was surprised to see his fist was caught with one hand by the person standing in front of Masanori.

"Are you done acting childish...?" a younger, and still handsome, Tsukihana asked Hisao. "Tsukihana..." Hisao gritted his teeth angrily as he saw Tsukihana. Hisao struggled to free his fist from Tsukihana's hand but it was to no avail. "Unless all of you want to get into trouble, I suggest stopping your foolish behaviors now especially you two Hisao... Jun..." Tsukihana stated. "Get out of the way Tsukihana! This isn't your fight! Stop trying to be the damn hero!" Masanori exclaimed. "Hero...? No... I'm simply preventing a meaningless altercation from escalating any further... It's childish to fight over little things and it's even more childish to start fights..." Tsukihana stated with a righteous tone. "After all, isn't one of the duties of a Knight is to prevent the escalation of conflict if possible? You should know this Masanori..." Tsukihana stated to which only angered Masanori even more.

"T-Thanks for your help Tsukihana." Shiratori said in relief. Isa couldn't say anything, but he was grateful for Tsukihana stopping things. Isa didn't want to enter the state of being in which his powers would go out of his control. "Arrg, I'm tired of your f*cking lecturing!" Hisao exclaimed before aiming a downward, angled kick with his left leg towards Tsukihana's left shoulder and neck. Reacting quickly, Tsukihana freed his grip on Hisao's fist and quickly aimed a punch towards Hisao's chest. The punch had just enough force to send Hisao sliding back a few feet without any intention of causing harm. Tsukihana knew that his punch would arrive first and Hisao knew this as well. "(Sh*t!)" Hisao thought. Suddenly, a black figure moving at a blindingly fast pace and in a sleek, phantom-like movement appeared between Tsukihana and Hisao. The figure's next move was raising his left palm upward, stopping Tsukihana's punch completely.

As the figure's movement stopped, it was revealed that the figure is Jun. "What the- Who told you to get in the way Jun?!" Hisao asked angrily. Without a verbal reply or warning, Jun used his right palm to strike Hisao's stomach, sending him back a few feet. "Oof!" Hisao grunted as was sent sliding back. "(T-That guy is fast...! Maybe even faster than me...!)" Isa thought to his surprise. "Hey, what the hell was that for a**hole?!" Hisao asked Jun after regaining his composure. For a few seconds, Tsukihana and Jun stared at each other, neither attempting to make a move. Then, Jun began talking. "We're done here Hisao. You can have your fun next time..." Jun said before walking towards Hisao and then passed him. "What? You're done already? You're such a party pooper ya know that?" Hisao said before running after Jun.

"H-Hey, Tsukihana, are you alright?" Shiratori asked. "Huh? Y-Yes I'm fine..." Tsukihana replied hesitantly. "Arrg, whatever, I'm outta here..." Masanori frustratingly said before walking off. "W-Wait, hold up Masanori!" Shiratori exclaimed before running after Masanori. Tsukihana stood there looking at his hand. "(It's like he redirect the force behind my punch back into my body... Luckily I was able to disperse that energy throughout my body or I would've been the one being sent sliding back...)" Tsukihana thought. Suddenly, Tsukihana's train of thought was interrupted by Isa. "T-Thanks, for stopping that..." Isa shyly said. "It was no problem... I didn't want you three getting into trouble especially you considering you're a new student... 'It's best to avoid conflicts but when conflicts are unavoidable, make sure you can stop it before it escalates.' Remember that..." Tsukihana told Isa.

"Did someone teach you that?" Isa asked. "I overheard it from Captain Nagamoto, Masanori's father..." Tsukihana replied to which Isa was pleasantly surprised. "Masanori is a good person albeit stubborn and seemingly cold at times. Shiratori, well, as you can see, he's easy to get along with. You've made some good friends Isa. Keep them close." Tsukihana told Isa before walking off. "(Keep them... close...)" Isa thought to himself as memories of Isamu and Aiko resurfaced. Suddenly, Isa's train of thought was interrupted. "Hey, Isa, you're coming with us to do the exercise or what?!" Shiratori called Isa from afar. Isa looked back seeing Shiratori happily waving to him and Masanori standing by with closed eyes and crossed arms, waiting as well. A small smile appeared on Isa's face. "I'll be right over!" Isa shouted back before running towards the two.

[Desu the Blue Nerd]

Tatsuya let out a sigh as Shin asked him if he could sit next to him. It was clear that the other seats were taken up. A known wimp would never speak to the infamous brute unless he absolutely had to. With that much obvious Tatsuya looked at his seat and then at Shin. "You have two legs, right? How about you stand?" Tatsuya flat out rejected Shin. In three years or so he really hadn't changed much. But..."Eh, what am I kidding? You look like such a wimp that you couldn't handle five minutes of standing normally." He scooted over a bit to make room for Shin. He may have actually been a bit nicer just a few years ago. "Just don't bug me or they'll find your body thrown into a ditch at the side of the road." Or not.

[Hotaru987]

Minawe was about to respond back to Shota, but Uyagiri told him to stop shouting and get in the bus since he was holding up the line. After he and Rikka finally entered the bus, Minawe and Rei followed right after them, quickly taking a seat. Rei sat by the window in order to use it to lean on and his eyes were already closed. One would wonder if he ever got any sleep during the night. Minawe, however, was still a bit mad at Shota. She would show him, and everyone else that she wasn't just some klutzy idiot. Minawe was determined to not have this field practice turn out as bad as her entrance exams field test. She winced just thinking about it. Minawe came too from Shota's teasing face. In response she stuck out her tongue. "Just you wait Shami. You are so going down." She murmured to herself determined to beat, at least him. As a result a red, fire like aura of determination surrounded her, and a white gleam came to her eyes.

Rei sighed aggravated, and began fanning away bits of the aura that came to him. "You're determination is making it hard to sleep."

"I will not lose!!" Minawe shouted standing up and punching her fist out.

"You might want to sit down." Rei said boredly.

His advice came too late. The bus hit a bump in the road making Minawe fall face first in the middle isle, her feet and arms in the air and slightly twitching. "O...ow...."

[.:Blu:.]

With Tatsuya's first reaction flat out rejecting Shin from taking the seat next to him, Shin felt a bit saddened but the result was expected. "A-Alright, I guess I'll just-" Shin mumbled, but before he could finish talking, Tatsuya began to talk once again. After calling Shin a wimp and saying that he probably couldn't even stand for five minutes, Tatsuya scooted over, giving Shin the right to sit down. Shin's face lit up seeing that. Before Shin could take his seat, Tatsuya did warn Shin to not bother him or else the consequences could be dire. Even so, Shin was grateful Tatsuya was showing a kinder side. "T-Thanks." Shin said before taking the seat.

After being mocked by Shota, Minawe decided to retaliate by sticking her tongue out at him. Seeing that, Shota turned the other direction in an attempt to ignore what Minawe had just done. With a frozen sweat drop on her head and a blank expression on her face, Rikka let out a sigh as she has just saw what happened. "How childish..." Rikka said quietly. Murmuring to herself, Minawe's determination surrounded her in a fiery aura as well as a white gleam shone in her eyes. Suddenly, Minawe stood up and punched her fist into the air while shouting that she would not lose.

Minawe's sudden outburst caused most of the students on the bus to turn their attention towards her. "What is she jabbering about?" "Who knows..." "That girl is weird." were just some of the comments made by the students on the bus. Of course those comments were unheard by Minawe who was still basking in her powerful determination. "Jeez Minawe, stop being such an idiot..." Shota told her. "You were yelling something similar outside of the bus shrimp..." Rikka told Shota. "H-Hey that was different!" Shota responded. While still standing up, Minawe was then warned by Rei to sit back down but as luck would have it, the bus hit a bump in the road and caused Minawe to fall flat on her face in the middle of the isle with her arms in the air and slightly twitching. "Haha, what a klutz!" Shota laughed. Rikka then quickly smacked Shota on his head. "Ouch! W-What was that for?!" Shota asked. "Don't make things worse." Rikka responded.

Uyagiri then cautiously went over and helped Minawe back onto her seat. "*Sigh* What am I gonna do with you? Don't stand up out of your seat again, it's dangerous." Uyagiri warned Minawe.

[Later]

"Alright class, we've arrived at Okamori. This place is famous for being the third largest fores- Whoa!" Before Uyagiri could finish his introduction of the forest, the students quickly stormed off the bus and trampled all over Uyagiri. "I-I thought I had a class of teenagers... not children..." Uyagiri muttered to himself while he twitched on the ground. After the students have gathered and calmed down, Uyagiri began to explain what the class was going to be doing. "Right, now today at Okamori, all of you will be formed into groups of four. After which, I will use a verse to trap you within a magical field that you must escape using Verse Reversion. As you may recall from yesterday's class, Verse Reversion is basically using your soul energy to create an opposite energy signature that will allow you to cancel the effects of a verse. So if you are successful in the exercise, you'll be able to slip through the magical field from inside." Uyagiri explained.

Uyagiri then turned to look at Tatsuya. "Now, there are some of you who may try to break through with brute force alone. I suggest you don't or it's minus ten points for you and you'll have to redo the exercise." Uyagiri warned. "However, and here comes the good part, if all members of your group can escape the magical field than you'll be rewarded thirty points of extra credit." Uyagiri stated.

"Now for the groups, Minawe, Rei, Shota, and Rikka, you four are group one. Tatsuya, Shin, Jenos, and Katsuo, you four are group two." Uyagiri continued to assign the groups until all of the students had a group. After splitting the groups at a distance from each other, Uyagiri was about to create the magical fields.

Shota then looked to Minawe. "Hey, get ready to eat my dust." Shota said confidently. "You do know we're not racing right?" Rikka asked Shota. "Arrg, well duh! That was a figure of speech!" Shota replied, annoyed. "Humph, whatever, it doesn't matter. Good luck Minawe, Rei." Rikka said. "H-Hey, why don't I get a 'good luck'?!" Shota asked. "Because even luck won't help you." Rikka replied. "Ahh that's messed!" Shota instantly exclaimed afterwards. Shota then looked at Minawe one more time. "Heh, get ready to lose Minawe." Shota said. Within the group consisting of Tatsuya, Shin, Jenos, and Katsuo, Shin began to talk. "Umm, good luck everybody." Shin said. "Thanks bro!" Katsuo replied with an upbeat tone. "Y-You too..." Jenos replied shyly.

"Alright then, begin!" As soon as Uyagiri said begin, a blue-colored, transparent dome of soul energy formed, entrapping the individual groups. "(Alright Shota, show 'em how to do this!)" Shota thought to himself. As he finished saying that, his jaw fell to the ground as he saw Rikka had already escape. "W-What the hell?! H-How did you got out so fast?!" Shota asked. "Humph, unlike you, I have actual skills." Rikka coldly answered. "Arrg, I'll show you!" Shota shouted. Shota, determined more than ever, turn his attention back to the magical field and placed both hands on the field. "Arrg... HAH!" Shota exerted soul energy into his palms to temporarily cancel out the field's energy, however, instead of cancelling the energy out, a burst of weak energy occurred. "Gah!" the energy outburst sent Shota flying back onto the ground. "O-Ouch..." Shota said as he rubbed the back of his head after sitting up.

-Meanwhile-

"Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever." Shiratori chanted with closed eyes. Then, opening his eyes, Shiratori took a wooden cross hanging from his waist and touched the forehead of the dummy. As the cross touched the dummy's head, a release of energy caused Shiratori to fall back on his butt. "Oof!" Shiratori grunted. "Shiratori are you okay?" Isa asked as he helped Shiratori up off the ground. "Yeah, I'm fine. Looks like the exorcism backfired again." Shiratori stated. "Yeah... Maybe it's because you're repeating the chant wrong." Isa suggested one possible factor for the exorcism backfiring.

"It's not that... It's because you're not exerting enough soul energy into your cross. Let me try." Masanori said before calmly walking in front of the dummy. "Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever!" Masanori exclaimed before pressing his cross against the dummy's forehead. At last, it was the same result sending Masanori falling onto his butt as well.

"Not enough energy huh? Maybe we should use a little less..." Shiratori said. "Arrg, I refuse to believe that I can't perform a simple exorcism!" Masanori stated. "You guys wait here, I'll try to ask Prof. Sakihara for some advice." Isa said before running over to Shiyo. "Prof. Sakihara-" Before Isa could continue, Shiyo began to talk. "Oh Isa, I'm glad you're here. Prof. Uyagiri's class has arrived and I need someone to bring him this miniature Verse booklet that I borrowed from him. Isa, will you be willing to bring it to Prof. Uyagiri for me?" Shiyo asked. "Umm, sure, but I wanted to ask for some advice about exorcism for my team." Isa said. "Don't worry, I'll give Masanori and Shiratori some small advice and they'll tell it to you when you get back." Shiyo replied. "Alright, thanks." Isa said. Shiyo then handed Isa the booklet. "You'll find Prof. Uyagiri's class just passed that small forest path over there. It'll take you two minutes. Thanks again." Shiyo said.

After that, Isa headed for Uyagiri's class. A little bit later, Isa arrived at the field Uyagiri's class was training at. Seeing as how Uyagiri was the only adult, Isa walked up to him. "Umm, excuse me, are you Prof. Uyagiri?" Isa asked. "Hmm, why yes I am? Can I help you? Huh, you're wearing an academy uniform. You must be apart of Prof. Sakihara's class aren't you?" Uyagiri asked. "Yes, Prof. Sakihara wanted me to return this booklet to you." Isa said before handing Uyagiri the booklet. "Well thanks a lot. Tell Prof. Sakihara 'hi' for me." Uyagiri smiled. "Right." Isa replied before walking off.

As Isa walked, he stopped and noticed what Uyagiri's class was doing. "Wow, so this must be a Verse class..." Isa said to himself. Look around for awhile, Isa then noticed a girl, that girl was Minawe. Right as Isa saw her, he began to blush. "T-That girl... She looks a bit like Aiko...!" Isa said, surprised to see Minawe's face being similar to his friend.

[Desu the Blue Nerd]

Still on the bus, a large sweat drop appeared on Tatsuya's face as he heard Minawe yell for all to hear. "That girl's an idiot...no...that may actually be a compliment to her..." Arriving at their destination all the children began to charge out of the bus and actually manage to trample over Uyagiri in the process. Sighing he began to walk out of the bus and heard what Uyagiri said. "Thirteen year olds aren't really teenagers. We're just children with hormones. You should have thought about that before deciding to chaperone alone." He then proceeded to continue walking towards the others and in the process stepped on Uyagiris face.

Not long later Uyagiri was explaining to the class what their assignment was. "[i]I should just be able to bust out with pure brute for[/i]-" His thoughts were interrupted when Uyagiri said that'd make him lose points. "[i]Dang. There goes that plan.[/i]" Uyagiri began to assign them teams. Tatsuya sighed as he heard his. "[i]My team is just a bunch of wimps. there's o way I'll get the extra credit.[/i]" Turning around he looked at his group members. "listen up you maggots. If a single one of you aren't able to make it out I'll make sure to beat the daylights out of all of you!"

Just as quickly as they were told about everything they were surronded by a barrier created by Uyagiri's verse. "There's no way in hell I'm going to be stuck in here with you guys for more than five seconds." Tatsuya placed his hands onto the wall of the barrier. "[i]Now to just create an opposite soul signature...[/i]" He began to send some of his own soul energy into the barrier constantly changing it until it had any effect on the barrier. After a bout ten seconds he found the right frequency of soul energy and walked through the newly created hole that closed quickly behind him. "Damn, that was about ten seconds. I don't even know how I was able to handle that extra five with them."

[Hotaru987]

Minawe nodded to Uyagiri as he once again helped her off the ground. "Yeah, sorry about that." She apologized her nose now red.

Now at the training area, Uyagiri explained what they would be doing. Minawe sighed, as versed weren't really her strongest field. Actually, Minawe didn't do well at anything other than written test. It was actually pretty sad. Prof. Uyagiri further explaind that they would be in teams of four, and to Minawe's disappointmnt she was paired with Shota. Rikka was ok. "Great you better not slow me down Shami." She said, glaring at him but it didn't do anything but make her look like an angry clown since her nose was still red. Once Uyagiri placed them in their verse induced fields they were given the ok to start.

"Alright, time to show what I'm made of." Minawe said with a smirk. However, just as she went to try shoa was seen flying back having tried, and failed to get out. She laughed and pointed at him, "That's what you get Shami! Let me show you how it's really done." Minawe walkedup and plced her hands on the field as well, concentraiting on nutralizing the energy. For a moment it looked as though she would do it but the next moment she met the same fate as shota. Only she shrieked in surprised. "M-man, that's harder than it looks." She said finally noticng Rikka on the other side. "N-nemo!? When did you get out there!l"

"Darn it! Rei, come on we gotta beat the-Rei?" Minawe questiond in confsion not seeing Rei beind her. She the began a frantic search around her, "Rei? Rei, where did you go? Rei.....REI!!" Her last time saying his name she yelled it in disbelief since she fund him on the other side o the field and sitting under a tree.

"Seems like Rikka and I arethe only competent ones in this group." Rei chuckled. "Yo Rikka, you might as well have a seat. Those two won't be getting out any time soon."

"He!" Minawe shouted, "You take that bac." She said walking towards Rei - forgetting she was stll inside w and was again pushed back.

Rei just sighed, "Idiot."

"Crap, I ned to focus." Minwe sighed now taking the exercise more seriously, as shown by her natural determination showing in her eyes. Again she tried closing her eyes to try and block everything out. Sadly it didn't seem to help as she was yet again blown back.

[.:Blu:.]

As the Verse exercise, or rather now, competition continued with Uyagiri's class, some of the more capable students had already escaped. Most notable of the students are Rei and Rikka who had escaped seemingly instantly as the exercise begun. The next fastest was Tatsuya who was able to escape around fifteen seconds. "Way to go Tatsuya!" Katsuo cheered. Shin continued to create an opposite soul signature but with little success as his soul energy is already weak to begin with. Katsuo was taking his sweet time while acting without a care in the world even after Tatsuya had delivered his threat. Jenos, with closed eyes, was in deep concentration. "(Focus on the barrier's soul signature... Now rearrange my soul signature to oppose the barrier's signature and-)" Just as Jenos' thoughts stopped, a hole was created within the barrier, allowing Jenos to slip through before it closed. "I-I did it...!" Jenos said quietly to himself, surprised that he was able to complete the exercise.

"Hmm, almost got it... Now!" Shin exclaimed as he found the opposite soul signature. With that, he exerted the soul energy to his palms and was able to slip through the barrier. "I did it!" Shin rejoiced. "Looks like we're in the lead with only Katsuo left to escape the barrier. You can do it Katsuo!" Shin cheered. The other teams had about three to two members left to escape. Some of the weaker teams still haven't had one person escaped.

Back onto group one, Minawe's attempts have resulted similarly to Shota. After trying to find Rei, Minawe had discovered that he had already escaped and was resting under a tree. Rei then told Rikka that she should take a seat as it will take awhile before Minawe and Shota could escape. "Don't mind if I do." Rikka replied to Rei before walking to the other side of the field. "Good luck Minawe." Rikka said one last time before walking off. "Well you two won't be waiting very long cause I'm gonna bust out of here now!" Shota proclaimed before pouring more of his soul energy into his palms. This time, a larger burst of energy occurred, causing Shota to fly back to the other side of the barrier and hitting the barrier as well. "Oof!" Shota grunted as he made impact with the barrier and fell to the ground.

"The key here isn't to exert large amounts of soul energy to try and break the barrier but to find an opposite soul signature then adjust your soul energy to that signature and finally exerting your soul energy to temporarily cancel the effects of the barrier." Uyagiri explained as he walked over to the barrier containing Minawe and Shota. "Yeah, yeah, yeah, I got it." Shota replied with a frustrated tone.

As time passed, more and more students were able to escape the barriers but not one team has yet to have all of its members all escape. Minawe and Shota were still trying to escape with hopeless results while Katsuo was still doing things at a slow pace.

"Katsuo, you gotta hurry, there are some teams with only one person left in the barrier. You have to escape before them." Shin pleaded. "I'm trying my best but I just can't find the right signature." Katsuo said with a calm smile. "Hey, hey, I think I got it!" one student from another team rejoiced as he was about to escape the barrier. If that student were to successfully escape the barrier, then his team would be the winner of this exercise. "Katsuo!" Shin exclaimed. "Alright, guess I should stop fooling around." Katsuo smiled and almost instantly escape the barrier. "W-What the-" Shin was left speechless seeing how easily Katsuo had escaped. "Sorry, I actually found the right signature awhile back. I just wanted to create some suspense hehe." Katsuo explained.

"And it looks like we have our winners for the thirty points extra credit. The winner is group two consisting of Tatsuya, Shin, Jenos, and Katsuo!" Uyagiri proclaimed. Hearing that, the other students reacted with frustration especially the student who was mere seconds away from escaping. "Damn it!" Shota cursed. "However, the fact still stands that to receive your points for today, you'll still need to escape the barrier." Uyagiri explained.

Hearing that, Shota looked to Minawe. "The competition between us two are still on! I'm still gonna escape first!" Shota proclaimed.

[Late Noon]

With the sun beginning to set, all but two students have escaped the barriers. Those two students are Minawe and Shota. Panting heavily and exhausted, Shota limped to the barrier wall to try to escape once more. "I'm not... gonna... lose..." Shota mumbled. Most of Uyagiri's classes were either on the bus or near the bus sitting on the grass. They were waiting with bated breath to see who was going to escape first. "Man, these two sure don't give up do they?" Katsuo asked. "Guess not. I hope they can escape." Shin said. "My, what a mess..." Uyagiri said to himself. "Minawe, Shota, you two can stop trying! I'll give you your points for the day anyway, let's just go back to the academy!" Uyagiri yelled to them. "No way! I'm not done yet!" Shota shouted back to Uyagiri before exerting his soul energy into his palm. Of course, once again, Shota was blown back. Uyagiri then walked over to the barrier. "Why are you two so determined?" Uyagiri asked.

From the other side of the field, Isa was still watching Minawe. "(I wonder if she can do it...)" Isa thought. Even though Isa had yet to meet Minawe, a part of him wanted Minawe to succeed. Isa didn't know why, but he wanted to see Minawe accomplish her task. "(You can do it.)" Isa hoped.

[Hotaru987]

Minawe once again shrieked as she was sent flying back. She had gotten frustrated with the exercise and tried to force her way out but it didn't do anything but make her fly back even harder. So now she lay on the ground sweaty and tired. Moments later Shota ended up beside her on the ground, also having failed to get out. Minawe groaned and stood up. [i]'At this rate I'll never get out of here!? Just what am I doing wrong?' [/i]She screamed at herself in her head again stepping up to the barrier and placing her hands on it. "Ok...Just try to match my soul signature with the verse's own and th-[i]BOOM!!" [/i]Again Minawe was sent flying back this time more violently than earlier.

She tried not to pay attention to all of the other people, but hearing that more and more people were escaping their barrier made Minawe more anxious. Sadly her anxiousness didn't do anything for her but make it harder for her to concentrate. Suddenly she heard Uyagiri exclaim that Tatsuya, Shin, Katsuo and Jenos were the first to all escape and was awarded the extra credit. Minawe sighed, but offered her congratulations anyway. Shota then proclaimed that even though they weren't the first to all escape, he was still going to beat her. Hearing that Minawe seemed to find more energy to try again, "Yeah right! I'm going to be the own to get out first!"

That was easier said than done. The morning had turned into late noon, and everyone had managed to escape their barrier except for Minawe and Shota. Shota seemed to be tired, breathing heavily and limping. Minawe was more or less in the same state. She wanted nothing more than to go to sleep right now. She was so tired and sore that her eye-lids felt like bricks. Even while feeling like that Minawe even more determined than she was when she started to escape. She tried to complete the training only to fail yet again, with Shota following her lead moments later. Having seen enough Uyagiri told them that they could stop trying now and that he would still give them the points. Shota was the first to yell that he wasn't finished yet, then attempted to escape again. Sadly it worked just as well as his other attempts. Uyagiri then asked why they were so determined, and Minawe stood up deciding to try again.

"We can't just give up. What kind of exorcist would we be if we gave up?" Minawe asked holding out her hands and touching the barrier. "If we quit while trying to do a simple task like this, then whats going to happen when something really bad happens? It's just not in our nature to give up Prof. Onigiri." Again she focused, but now way too tired to fight against the flow of energies, and found it easier to match up the signatures. "I don't care if we're the last ones to finish, and people can laugh at us all they want. I don't care, and I'm sure Shami doesn't either." Suddenly a hole started to open in the barrier and a tired smile came to Minawe's face, "I want to be able to go through my life with no regrets, and to do that I do the best that I can with what I was given. My determination is what gives me my strength."

There was now a fully opened hole in the barrier but just as she went to walk out she fell backwards, having finally succumbed to the exhaustion in her body. Though she managed to open a hole, she didn't get the chance to leave the dome before it closed back up.

[.:Blu:.]

Exhausted but still determined, Minawe stood up off the grass-covered ground to give the exercise another go while she answered Uyagiri's question. Far away, Isa watched as Minawe approached the barrier's wall. "(She's giving it another go...)" Isa thought before crossing his fingers in hopes of Minawe's success. Before Minawe focused her energy, she asked Uyagiri that if she and Shota gave up on something simple then what would they do if something really bad happens. Minawe then told Uyagiri that it was just not in their nature to give up, slightly surprising Uyagiri. "(It's amazing how determined they are...)" Uyagiri thought. Without trying to fight against the flow of energies, this time around, Minawe found it easier to match up the signatures. Minawe continued by telling Uyagiri that she doesn't care if she and Shota are the last ones or if they're laughed at. In the next moment, a hole opened on the barrier's wall and a tired smile appeared on Minawe's face.

Seeing that, Isa's eyes widened. It was also a surprising sight for the students of Uyagiri's class. "S-She did it." Shin said in disbelief. Seeing what Minawe had done, a proud smile formed subtly on Rikka's face. The nest few things that Minawe said really struck Isa deeply and that's what caused Isa to develop a crush, even more so, an admiration for Minawe. Minawe told Uyagiri that she wanted to live her life without regrets and to do the best with what she has been given in life. Lastly, Minawe proclaimed that her determination is what gave her strength. Hearing those things, Isa was brought back to an earlier point in his life for a moment.

[Flashback]

"Hey Isamu... You want to be an exorcist right? Then... Then do you blame God for what has happened to you...?" Isa asked in a tired voice as he was crouched against a corner of the confinement room where he, Isamu, and Aiko are kept. Isamu was looking through the reinforced plate glass wall as he listened to Isa. After Isa had finished, Isamu spoke. "No... I don't... I'm sure God did what he did for a reason and he has no regrets, so I have no regrets about what had or will happen to me. All I can do now is make the best of the cards I was dealt, and I'm determined to play with the cards I'm dealt till the very end." Isamu answered confidently. Hearing that, Isa's eyes slightly widened with surprise. "I-I see... Then... Maybe I shouldn't have any regrets either and I should continue playing..." Isa said.

[End Flashback]

"(That girl... She's the two people I admired the most in the world in one person...)" Isa thought about Minawe before a bittersweet smile formed on his face.

As a hole was fully opened, Minawe slowly made her way outside but due to exhaustion, she then felled backward into the barrier's perimeter just as the hole in the barrier was closing. Some students gasped seeing what was happening. "Minawe-" Uyagiri called but then something else caught his eye. Suddenly, Minawe was caught in one arm by Shota. Panting heavily and on the verge of collapse himself, Shota placed his free hand against the barrier's wall. "If you ain't giving up, then I'm not going to either... After all, even if I can't beat you, at least I can tie with you..." Shota said in a weak voice before pouring his energy into his palm. This time, a hole finally opened and Shota made his way outside in just enough time before the wall closed back up. Finally outside, Shota gently placed Minawe on the ground and then collapsed onto the ground, unconscious.

And with that, the final barrier disappeared. Uyagiri then rubbed the back of his head. "They've spent quite a good amount of energy on this simple exercise. But," Uyagiri paused before picking up Shota in one arm and Minawe in the other, "at least they had the determination to get out..." Uyagiri finished as he carried Minawe and Shota back to the bus.

[Present]

Back at the battlefield where Minawe is facing Isa in the battle exams, Isa was charging a large amount of his energy for one final attack. Even though Isa still had a good amount of energy left to continue the battle, due to his sustained injuries, prolonging the battle was not a option and so he had to bet his hand on this one final attack. "(The determination in those eyes...)" Isa thought as he looked at Minawe. "(That's right, no regrets... One last attack to determine the winner... Let's so who's determination is stronger in the end, Minawe...)" Those were Isa's last thoughts before all of his energy formed the blazing red aura of a demon's arm around his left arm. Closing his left hand into a fist which was copied by the aura, Isa then charged towards Minawe in a straight line. "AHHHHHH!!!" Isa shouted as he charged towards Minawe to deliver his final attack.

Above the audience and examiners watched with bated breath. "This is it..." Tsukihana said. "C'mon Minawe..." Shota cheered quietly while Rikka crossed her fingers. Kinsei couldn't help but become drawn in to see the conclusion of the fight. Masanori and Shiratori watched quietly.


[center][i][b]The conclusion of the first battle on the verge of reveal... No more regrets from this point on...![/b][/i][/center]

[Hotaru987]

Rei watched quietly in the back ground as Minawe and Shota finally made it out of the barrier that Uyagiri made. He looked away as Uyagiri picked both of them up and headed towards the bus. "It took her forever to get out of that stupid thing." He muttered arms stuffed in his pockets. [i]'Even so...I am glad she didn't give up...I can tell her stubbornness is going to be a headache in the future.[/i]' He thought all the while smirking, finding himself looking forward to the days a head.

~Present day~

[i]'I can see I won't be able to change your mind.' [/i]Rei said to Minawe as she poured the last of everything she had into her one last attack. Rei sighed, [i]'I knew your stubbornness was going to be trouble. But fine...I don't have much left either but, let's win this.'[/i]

Rei said as he stopped trying to fight Minawe's decision. Minawe smiled, "Thanks Rei." She whispered, her voice being drowned out by the loud cackling of lightening around her. She looked up and saw Isa's own power being condensed into his own hand for one last attack. Looks like he wasn't kidding when he said he would stop holding back. Isa was really going all out to win this, and Minawe wouldn't want it any other way. Isa's energy then exploded around his arm forming a giant red hand, which closed into a fist as his own hand did the same. "I...Will not lose." She whispered tensing up, ready to attack. Suddenly Isa lunged towards her, running in a straight line. Almost at the same time Minawe took off toward Isa, rearing her lightening claded fist back. "AAAHHHHHHH!!!!" She yelled as her and Isa's final attack was preparing for a head on collision course.

[.:Blu:.]

[center][size=5][b]CHAPTER 28: THIRD PART 4 - THE LOST[/b][/size][/center]


[spoiler=Chapter 28 Synopsis]The first exam battle between Minawe and Isa concludes. During the days leading up to the next exam battle, Shota trains with Rikka.[/spoiler]


"They're giving the rest of what they got into this final clash." Uyagiri noted as he saw Isa charged at Minawe. Albeit a bit slower, Minawe then charged at Isa with her fist enveloped in lightning. As Minawe and Isa continued their charge, the ground beneath them rumbled subtly due to the powerful release of soul energy by the two. Suddenly, the two combatants neared and thrust their attack forward towards the other. "AHHHHH!!!!" both of them shouted as their attacks collided with one another. Just milliseconds after the collision, the collided soul energy formed into an expanding white sphere of pure soul energy that enveloped both Minawe and Isa, trapping the two within the sphere of energy. As the sphere slowly and gradually expanded, the ground was literally being blown away by the outward release of undetectable energy caused by the sphere of soul energy. "W-Whoa, that's a lot of energy soul energy being released!" Shota remarked. "And both Minawe and Isa were caught inside. Who knows what that energy will do to them." Rikka added, concern about the two combatants' safety.

"Prof. Uyagiri, we should do-" a concerned Tsukihana hastily said but was interrupted by Uyagiri. "Don't worry. While that release of soul energy is a large amount, it's a controlled amount. They'll be fine, well, not in the sense that the energy will cause them harm anyway..." Uyagiri explained.

Suddenly, the sphere stopped expanding and within seconds afterward, it shattered and faded into the atmosphere. With the sphere gone, the examiners and the audience could see what have become of Minawe and Isa. The two stood within the crater created by the sphere, motionless, with smoke coming off of their bodies. Seeing that, Rikka gave a sigh of relief. "(Looks like they weren't damage too badly by that sphere of energy...)" Rikka thought. "Both of them are still standing...?" Kinsei asked, surprised at the result. "So- Does that mean this battle is a tie?!" Shota asked. Back at the battlefield, the two still stood there motionless. However, after a moment, Isa fell backward towards the ground with Minawe left standing. As Isa hit the ground, it was revealed that Isa has became unconscious though there was a certain peacefulness that was shown on Isa's face. It seems Isa is content with the results. There he was, lying defeated by Minawe.

"D-Does that mean-" Shota was then interrupted by Shiyo who stood up to announce the first exam battle winner. "And the winner of the first exam battle is Minawe Kanoyu!" Shiyo announced prompting cheering from Shota and Kuro, who was still using his false persona. Hearing that, Rikka smiled. "(Good job Minawe... I knew you could do it...)" Rikka thought. Tsukihana also smiled and applauded Minawe winning. "(I didn't expect any less from my student.)" Uyagiri thought. Even Kinsei had to praise Minawe for her win. "Humph, not bad..." Kinsei said. "So Isa lost..." Masanori said to Shiratori. "Humph, one can only guess what would be the outcome if he used his full power in the beginning. Maybe he would've won..." Shiratori proclaimed. "For Isa, winning doesn't matter... Even though he lost he looks content..." Masanori stated. With that said, a group of medics arrived and placed Isa onto a stretcher before carrying him off.

Suddenly, Shota and Rikka jumped down to the battlefield below and ran towards Minawe. "What the hell do they think they're doing?" Kinsei asked himself, not knowing if what Shota and Rikka was doing is okay. However, it seems it was okay as the even Uyagiri and Tsukihana came down to congratulate Minawe. The medics also brought another stretcher to carry Minawe but they waited as they saw the people coming to congratulate her. "Congrats Minawe, guess you got some skills after all hahaha!" Shota boisterously said. "I'm proud of you Minawe." Rikka smiled, crossing her arms and smiling. "Yes, that was a wonderful performance." Tsukihana walked over smiling. "I knew you could do it Minawe, I'm proud to call you my student!" Uyagiri sobbed comically as a river of tears flowed down his face. Seeing Uyagiri's reaction, Kinsei had a blank expression on his face. "You got to be kidding me..." Kinsei stated.

[Hotaru987]

[i]'Is it over?' [/i]Minawe thought as she stood in the middle of the crater, arm still outstretched from her last attack. She couldn't see anything anymore excepts for darkened shadows. Her vision had completely failed her by now, and her hearing was the next thing starting to go. She wanted to fall to the ground but her body locked in place, not allowing her to move another inch even if it was to fall to the ground. She just faintly heard Shiyo announce her the winner. [i]'I...Won...? No...We won...Rei...'[/i] It was then her arm slowly fell back down to her side, just as the others ran over to her. She slowly turned to face them, though she couldn't see anything but darkened shadows. Her eyelids were only half opened. Minawe was only able to catch half of what the people around her were saying. It was then the lightening she used to numb her pain receptors finally left her system and all of her pain returned to her.

The second they did she doubled over hugging her stomach, her entire body trembling. Suddenly her eyes turned completely blank, and blood spewed from her mouth as she collapsed backwards. At the same time her possession had expired and Rei separated from her body falling forward. Both of them hitting the ground at the same time. Even though Rei was also unconscious, he was much better off than Minawe.