[Last Time, on Battle High: The team won their placement fight three wins to two losses. Hope and Mariah decided that they sucked. Now, they've got to take their _academic_ placement tests. They've still got a couple hours until then to recover from the fight and get some lunch, though. They better use it well.] [Hope and Karasu have just started their... sparring session, just in time for Atsuko and Kairi to arrive in their rooms. Mariah is still missing.] [Lunchtime Battle... FIGHT!] * Atsuko wanders into the common room and looks around for anyone. * Kai walks into the common room, in a quiet, contemplative mood. "Well..." * Hope growls and rushes forward, launching a series of punches at Karasu. ... huh. * Kai continues over towards the sounds of the growling. "Hope? Karasu?" * Atsuko blinks at the sounds of fighting and heads to the entrance of the practice room. * Karasu moves deftly around most of them parrying a few. "Harder." * Hope growls and attacks faster, her fists becoming a blur. "FLURRY OF FISTS!" * Karasu ... doesn't quite dodge all of those. * Kai takes a good look and his eyes widen a tad. "... well." * Karasu falls, but rolls and is on his feet in an instant. He charges at hope, throwing a kick. * Hope moves back, but is still clipped by the kick. She responds by jumping into the air and aiming a kick at Karasu's head as she comes down. * Atsuko blinks again. "Wow. At it already." So it seems. I hope it's for the best. * Karasu catches Hope's foot with his hand, and redirects her attack to the side. * Atsuko smiles. "I'm sure it will be. If she can get up and spar so quickly, she'll be fine." ^_^ * Hope is thrown to the ground. She quickly jumps up and gets back into a battle stance. * Kai nods. "You have a point..." * Hope rushes forward and launches a series of kicks and punches at Karasu. * Karasu ducks, sidesteps, and parries all of them, except the last one. He spins with the blow, though, bringing his foot around for a roundhouse. * Hope is unable to avoid this attack, and is smacked in the head. She quickly recovers. ... mmmn. Resilient. * Kai is watching closely by now, actually smiling a bit. * Atsuko grins. "Hope is tough." * Karasu changes stances and launches at Hope with three rapid kicks in succession. * Hope dodges the first two kicks, and blocks the third. She reponds with a sweeping kick towards Karasu's legs. * Karasu takes the hit and falls to the ground, sweeping at Hope's own legs as he goes. * Hope is hit by the sweeping blow and falls to the ground. * Karasu rolls onto his feet, and just waits. (And wonders how long this is going to go before the GM does something :P) Oh, Atsuko! How's your foot doing? * Hope stands back up, but wobbles. She's looking pretty tired again. Mmm? Uh...well, it's feeling better. Still sore, though. * Karasu frowns. "For the time being, we should stop." Not that he's looking all too great either, mind. ... we do have academic tests later on, you two. Don't wear yourself out too much. * The door opens, and then... "Hi, guys. Sorry about that." * Hope growls. "Fine. This isn't over." ... Mariah! * Kai turns and smiles brightly. "Feeling better?" No, it's just beginning. * Mariah walks in the open door. She looks much calmer than she did, although that's not hard. "Yeah..." * Karasu goes to look for more of the magic energy schtuff. Good, good... * Atsuko looks over at Mariah, and smiles at her. "Glad to see you're back." * Hope calmly picks up her zanbatou and surprisingly, smiles. "Welcome back. Nice fight." I'm really sorry. I just got kinda upset back there, you know? * Karasu comes back with two of the drinks and hands one to Hope. "Here, drink." He then drinks his own. * Karasu looks at Kai and Atsuko. "You didn't stay with her...?" It happens, Mariah... and no. She didn't want us to, so we didn't force it. * Hope grabs it in midair and drinks. She looks less tired. * Mariah nods. "Yeah. I, uh... look, I really am sorry." * Karasu frowns and shoves his hands in his pockets. It's okay, it's okay. Really. Why are ya' sorry? You didn't get your ass beat as bad as I did. Thanks. ... uh, so, how much time do we have? I'd say a little under two hours or so... rough guessing it. * There's a sharp squeal from out in the hall, and then someone bangs a triangle and shouts "Lunchtime!" * Atsuko perks up a bit. "Ooh, lunch." * Kai looks alot happier allova sudden. ... *food*. * Kai puts rubber to road and moseys on to eat something. "Pardon me..." * Hope heads for the lunchroom. Oh! ... guess I won't have a chance to change clothes. Darn. * Mariah follows suit. * Atsuko smiles happily and trots off towards the lunchroom. * Karasu follows behind the others. * The lunchroom, now that it's lit, is a bright, cheery, and mostly suitable place for having a good meal. The statues between the entrances add a nice atmosphere, and all the tables are inlaid with various gameboards for strategy games from all over the world. Meals themselves appear to be served in a line against one wall from which there are no entrances. There are already students forming a long line. * Atsuko quickly joins the line. * Unluckily for you, it appears you start on the opposite end from the head of the line, giving you just about the longest walk of all the halls. * Hope joins the line. * Mariah files into line. .oO(Good thing I'm not hungry.) * Karasu joins the line. * Kai joins the line and bounces on his toes. .oO{foodfoodfoodfoodAUGH long line. >_<} * At least half the students in the school appear to be in line now, and there are no perceptible patterns to the nationalities. People of every race of humanity are represented, and they're dressed just as wildly. About half of them are carrying weapons. Why anybody would take their weapon to lunch might elude you folks, though. * Clinton gets in the back of the line and waves, trying to catch Mariah's attention. * Hope has her sword, so the reason doesn't elude her. ... oh! Hi! * Mariah turns and waves back. * Marcie walks in from her hall and looks over the line. * Kai doesn't *seem* to have his bo, but, well, you know. * Greg steps up behind Marcie, followed by the rest of his team. Hi. Decided to stop brooding, I see. ^_^ Yeah, I'm feeling better now. Still a lot to do today, y'know! * Clinton is a very, very pretty girl, with long, blond hair. He's wearing a loose white shirt that makes him look a little flat-chested, along with a pair of blue jeans. * Marcie spots Atsuko. ... ... YOU! * Kai is still bouncing on his toes, visions of edibles dancing in his head. * Atsuko smiles at Marcie. "Hi! I wanted to thank you for the fight. You were really great!" * Marcie leaps forward and tackles Atsuko right out of the line. Gack! Aw, crap. * Hope does her best to pull Marcie off Atsuko. * Atsuko is taken flatfooted and makes no attempt to dodge. * Greg runs forward and manages to pull Marcie off Atsuko, with Hope's help. Get the hell offa her. Stupid bitch, blinding me like that! I'll KILL HER! * Atsuko gets to her feet. "I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to be unfair or anything..." * Greg wraps his arms around Marcie from behind and gives Hope a sheepish look. "Thanks. Sorry about this. She's a little hot tempered." ^_^; .... whoawhoawhoa.... You won Atsuko. Don't apologize. A little?! * Mariah abruptly looks away from Clint towards Marcie and Atsuko. "... oh geez." * Hope grins at Greg. "A little? This is the kinda girl you want under lock 'n key." We tried that. She chewed through the handcuffs. I DID NOT! Betrayed by my own team! * Atsuko looks sadly at Marcie. "Please don't be mad at me. I didn't want to upset you." LIAR! You better hope I never get my hands on you! * Kai raises an eyebrow. "Please... learn to control your temper. It's not always your best friend in a fight." ^^; * Hope stands between Marcie and Atsuko. "Listen, she just wants lunch. If ya wanna fight, you fight me." * Marcie pales. * Marcie gets real quiet. * Karasu shoves his hands in his pockets. ...no. Thanks, but no. ...you can let go now, Greg. ... that, or Hope can threaten you. ^_^ * Greg lets go. * Marcie stalks to the back of the line with the rest of her team. * Atsuko watches Marcie sadly. * Hope gets back into line and peers at Atsuko. "She hurt ya?" Er... sorry about that. Really. ... glad that got taken care of. Kento is our captain, but he can't control her. I'm the only one that's strong enough. * Atsuko shakes her head. "I'm not injured." * Karasu shrugs at Greg. "Suppose there's nothing you can do about it. You got stuck with her." * Kai sighs. "She's a liability if you can't help her control herself." * Atsuko returns to the line, looking somewhat bummed. She's a psycho, is what she is. Sorry ya got stuck with her. .... oh. How's Kento? Is he alright? * Kai looks to Greg. It's not really a problem to me. She won't mess with me, since she knows I'm better. Oh, and Kento's fine. He came to a few minutes ago. * Kai nods. "Good... I'm glad he's alright." So everybody's okay? Yeah, pretty much. We should be fine by this evening. You all did well... we hope to meet you all again. ^_^ That's good. It's a lot easier to deal with when we heal so fast. We'll fight again. If nothing else, we'll fight in the tournament at the end of this year. You better get in. * Atsuko mumbles "I didn't want to hurt anyone's feelings..." * Karasu looks at Atsuko. "Then you never should have come here. It's unavoidable." We'll do our best! * Hope eyes Atsuko. "Then ya should go home. You can't avoid that here." Luck of the draw. * Kai gets back into his 'want food' dance. * Atsuko looks up. "It was just a fight...it didn't mean anything. Why'd she have to get so mad?" * Hope narrows her eyes and glares at Atsuko. "You may think this is a game, but fights are important to some people." * A couple people ahead and behind you turn and STARE at Atsuko as she says that. Atsuko... ...I don't believe you just said that. It's no wonder Marcie wants to kill you. What kind of fighter ARE you? * Atsuko looks at Hope very seriously. "I know fights are important. But I don't care much if I win or lose. As long as I learned something from the fight, and it was a challenge, that's what matters to me." I just want to get stronger. And if you always win, how can you get better? * That earns Atsuko a few more stares. * Karasu folds his arms. "Not everyone's the same as you." Er... I think you might want to quit while you're ahead. * Atsuko shrinks back a bit from all the staring. For some people, the fight's all-consuming. They take it very, very seriously... so those of us who're not as gung-ho hafta really prove our mettle. I... I subscribe to your philosophy to some degree, but I fight to win. If I don't win, I still learn. * Atsuko mumbles "I never said I didn't want to win." ... sometimes it feels good to win, though. * Kai smiles a little. "Indifference can be taken as that with fighters, sometimes." It's kinda hard to say. You just said you didn't care much if you won or lost. I can't believe this. * Atsuko looks at Karasu. "It feels good to win, but so does eating ice cream, or playing DDR, or singing..." * The cafeteria seems to stop for a moment as a new group walks in and stands at the end of the line. True... but you're here, Atsuko. Winning means a whole lot more now. * Hope peers at the new group. * Kai shrugs. "Just don't think about it too much... relax. Eat. Smile." ^^ * Kai then notices the 'stop' and looks back as well. * Atsuko nods. "Uhuh. I guess. But I still won't hold it against someone for beating me. Unless they cheat." * Karasu shoves his hands back in his pockets. He takes note of the new group, since their presence seems to have stopped time. * The new group consists of a large, large man sporting a ball and chain, a small boy with a staff, a frenchman with a rediculous haircut and a rapier, a strange looking guy dressed in what appears to be some sort of dude-ranch uniform, and a spiky-haired japanese boy covered in a cloak, though you can see a katana peeking out from underneath. * Atsuko looks up at the ceiling. "Maybe she thought I cheated..." * Atsuko breaks out of her reverie and looks over at the new group. * Mariah looks back as well. "... huh. Who are those guys?" * The group seems to almost radiate power. They start conversing among themselves, though, and soon the cafeteria goes back to the business of getting and eating food. * Hope idly peers at the group. "Huh. Wonder who they are." Must be the bigshots, or something. They're last year's champions. They're seniors now, and the favorites for the tournament this year. Huh. * Karasu looks to the front of the line. They're... strong. Can see it. Wow! * Kai smiles... then goes back to food-dancing. * Atsuko shrugs and returns to her place in line, thoughts of food, and more importantly, dessert, occupying her mind. They're one of the few groups that's ever made it to the senior year totally intact. They really look it... ... totally intact? People leave, or fail, or...? Must be powerful. Rumor has it they vowed to always be together, and got tattoos as a symbol of the vow. Oh, they're powerful. Can't you feel it? Sorta. I suppose. * Hope shrugs. "Just another obsticle in my path. I'll beat them someday." * Just a few minutes later, you're at the end of the line, looking down at your tray of cafeteria food. It doesn't look appetizing, but if it's anything like the drink, it'll work wonders. ... I wish I had confidence like that, Hope. ... wow. It's... food? * Karasu shrugs and finds a table. Yeah, it's food. Hard to tell what, though. * Hope sits at a table and digs in. * Greg sits down next to Hope, and motions for his group to join you guys when they're through the line. * Mariah sits down and looks around for Clint. * Atsuko sits down with everyone else, and stares at her food with dejection. * Kai pokes at his like it may rise up and slash at him for disturbing its slumber, then sits down where everyone else seems to be going. * Marcie sits down next to Greg. * Marcie is quickly followed by the rest of her team. * Clinton sits down across the cafeteria with his team, unfortunately for Mariah. * Atsuko continues to stare at her food, then prods it a bit with a fork. "...I'm in hell." * Kento looks over at Kai and nods. "Oi." * Karasu eats quickly. He doesn't seem to mind the food at all. .oO(... aw, man. I'll see him later, though.) * Mariah makes a game attempt at having something to eat. Go home then. * Kai devours. The look on his face is... mixed. "It's... food." * Atsuko slowly, carefully, dramatically tries a forkful. * Hope finishes her food. "Not good, but good enough." * Karasu finishes. "Serves its purpose." Yeah... * It tastes like normal cafeteria food. Unidentifiable, and mostly bland and tasteless. * Kai eats as a disturbingly fast pace, either to ignore how the food tastes or because he's hellishly hungry. "It's... food." He shrugs. * Kento digs in voraciously. * Atsuko sighs with relief. "Looks worse than it is." She quickly digs in. * Hope is looking a bit less homocidal, and a bit more like her old self. That may or may not be a good thing. * Mariah doesn't eat fast, but she almost cleans her plate nonetheless. ... ah. Kento. Good to see you. * Atsuko finishes her food and sighs exaggeratedly. "I guess dessert is too much to hope for." Mmm. Good to be awake in time for... lunch. * Kai smiles... then pauses to wipe his mouth with a napkin and smiles again. "... yep. Yummy stuff, this." He rolls his eyes. * Marcie points at what used to be a black lump of stuff. "_that_ was supposed to be dessert." I'm not surprised you didn't recognize it. You eat like a pig. Hearty eating is the sign of a healty body! * Kento smacks Marcie right between the shoulderblades as she tries to swallow another bite, making it go down the wrong way. * Atsuko smiles at Marcie. "Nah. You should see me with REAL food." * Marcie breaks into a fit of coughing. * Kai tries not to snicker. * Atsuko then looks at the black lump with a glare. "...that...is dessert. It's almost...blasphemous." * Karasu frowns and stands up. It's food. Stop complaining. * Karasu deposits his tray where ever it's supposed to go. ... I dunno if it's blasphemous, but it's prolly pretty bad. * There are strategically positioned trashcans with tray holders on top, like in fast food restaraunts. Pretty average. Maybe you're just accustomed to better. * Atsuko looks at Hope, slightly annoyed. "Hey, to ME, food is important." * Marcie sneers at Atsuko. * Atsuko blinks at Marcie. * Karasu deposits his tray and comes back. * Kento smacks Marcie again, causing her to go into another fit of coughing. Don't let her get to you. She just doesn't like losing. * Kai disposes of his mess, then sits back down. "I don't, either, but I get used to it." * Karasu stands for a minute, considering something, then he sits back down. * Marcie stabs Kento's hand with her fork. "ARE YOU SAYING I'M A SORE LOSER?" * Atsuko sighs as she looks at Marcie. "Look, I know you're mad at me. So how about a rematch? I won't use any cheap tricks this time." Argh! DAMNIT! You didn't use cheap tricks the first time. If you're going to lose just to make someone feel better, you're wasting their time and yours. ... ow. * Mariah frowns. .oO(Really shouldn't say anything.) * Atsuko gives Hope an indignant look. "I'd never throw a fight." Fine. Right after the placement tests, outside the remains of the main auditorium. * Kento pulls the fork out of his hand. * Atsuko nods at Marcie. "Great!" If you're not fighting will all your strength against a powerful enemy, then that's what you are doing. * Hope sighs and peers at Greg. "I think we better go along to make sure she doesn't kill Atsuko." You know I'm going. * Greg shrugs. "I'll be there, probably. Never miss a good fight." * Kai smirks. "Can't leave a teammate behind." ...I'll be there. If I haven't been punked by my own teammate again. I'll come too. I'll think about it. * Atsuko smiles at Kai and Mariah. * Noreen pipes up from further down the table. "Hey, I want a rematch with you, mister one shot wonder!" So you better be there! * Karasu shrugs. * Kai flashes Atsuko a thumbs-up. Captain's gotta do, and all that mess. * Atsuko grins. "Thanks, Kai. Thanks, Mariah. And...thanks, Hope. I think." Yeah, Captain's gotta be supportive. RIGHT, CAPTAIN? Er... right, Marcie. Whatever you say. Just keep your fork away from me. * Mariah stands up to dispose of her lunch stuff before coming back. "It's nothing, really... * Atsuko gets up and disposes of the remains of her lunch, giving the tray and it's contents one last scowl before returning to the table. * Hugh finishes his "food" and leaves after he disposes of his tray. Anytime, Atsuko. * A pair of women walk in the main doors to the cafeteria, each holding a roll of tape and a sheaf of papers, and begin taping them up on the doors as they walk around the room. * Mariah watches Hugh leave. .oO(He doesn't talk much.) * Karasu decides to go see what that's all about, as he's not doing much else. He makes his way to the doors. * Atsuko watches the two women. * Kai watches as well, idly muttering something about choco bars. * There's a small crowd around the first papers posted on either side of the main entrance, and smaller crowds form as they post new sheets at each side of each doorway. * Hope idly stands up and goes to see what the papers are. * Mariah follows, walking idly over to see what's going on. * The papers are a listing by room numbers of team rankings, by class. * Atsuko gets up and walks over to look. * Hope looks up her number. * Kai follows, raising an eyebrow. * Alexander The Great #103 is listed as #54 of 55. #55 of 55 is Alexander The Great #102. ... well. ... ... * Kai chuckles. "A challenge, then!" * Atsuko blinks, and sweatdrops. "Eheheh..." ... I guess we'll just get better. Exactly! * Atsuko nods. * Kai clenches his fist and would probably be sporting a battle aura is he had one. Yeah! * For the record, you need to make it to #14 or higher by the start of the Principal's Favor tournament. * Greg stands up and comes over to the listing. How'd we do, guys? How'd +you+ do, for that matter? I wonder how they determine these ranks after only one fight. * Atsuko smiles sheepishly at Greg. "Second last." Ouch. * Greg pokes his finger at the top of the list and starts reading down. ... Yeah, it does seem kinda weird.. * Greg gets halfway through. ...where are we? ... * Greg gets all the way to the end, and pales. And we're _dead_ last. Right behind you guys. Listen, nobody tell Marcie, okay? Could be wo.. well, no it couldn't. You guys'll do good. We both will... how else're we gonna make it to the tournament.... oh, and sure. ^^; Uhuh. Right. We'll meet you in the tournament. * Greg offers his hand to Kai. "Swear it. We'll meet in the tournament, and one of us is gonna win it." * Mariah nods to Greg. "Yeah... * Atsuko smiles brightly at Greg. "We'll all get way stronger!" Alright. * A hand reaches through the group to land on the few senior rankings, on its back bearing a "King of Hearts" crest. * Hope peers at the hand's owner. * Atsuko turns her head to look. * Mariah looks back at the owner of the hand. * It's the spiky-haired Japanese kid from before, still wearing his cloak. * Karasu looks at the man too. Sure, why not. *Domon withdraws his hand. "Number one. Good. Now to keep it." * Atsuko smiles at him. "Hi! You guys must be really strong!" * NinjaDebugger smiles at Atsuko. All the seniors are. All the people at the school, really. .oO(Seniors. I can't believe how powerful you'd have to be then...) How did you guys do? Second to last. Last. Dead last. * Kai eyes the guy and smiles eventually. "We're doing well... well, as well as can be expected, but we'll get better in time." * Domon nods. "Gotta start somewhere." Pretty much. Who knows, we might face you one day! It's a pipedream right now, but I'd welcome the challenge. * Domon turns away. "Maybe. Maybe if you work hard enough, I'll see you in the tournament. Laters." He departs with a backwards wave of his hand. * Kai watches him go. "... I'll be that strong someday." I'll be stronger. * Karasu shoves his hands in his pockets. We'll all be strong. Or we'll be... somewhere else, I guess. * Atsuko grins. "I can't wait." It's a long time off. For now, I'm going back to the room. Alright, Karasu. Take it easy. Bye. * Greg walks back over to his group. * Greg sits down. Well? What was it? Nothing important. * Karasu heads back to the room! I'm gonna head back to the room and practice s'more. * Kai stays quiet as he walks back. See ya. Okay, Hope. * Hope heads back to the room. * Greg waves absently to Hope. We better get going, guys. Okay... yeah. I kinda need to change clothes... * Mariah waves to the group before walking back to the room. I guess I'll go back too, then. * Kento stands up, and is followed by Noreen. Don't you forget our fight this afternoon. * Atsuko turns to the other group and smiles brightly. "See you after the tests!" * Greg stands up and follows Kento. I won't forget it. * Marcie walks out the doors, but stops to look at the paper. ... * Atsuko turns and waves, before heading back to the room with everyone else. * Marcie gets so angry you can see clouds of steam jetting out of her ears. * Kai winces a little, then skedaddles after the others before Marcie blows a gasket. GREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEG! * Marcie runs after Greg. * Atsuko 'eeps' a bit and runs after her teammates. * Greg ducks into his team's common room just in time, forcing Marcie to follow him in. ... wow. Talk about a temper. * Hope is praciticin'. * Atsuko scratches the back of her head and laughs nervously. * Karasu goes into the sparring room and watches Hope. Well, I'm glad she's not on our team... I doubt I could deal with someone like that. Yeah, she's... I bet she's hard to have around. * Karasu looks out of the room, then makes his way back to the others. * Atsuko plops down on the couch, looking pensive. * Mariah heads into the girls' room. * There's a sort of scratching noise at the door. * Karasu looks to the captain. Mmmmn? Are you going to open the door? * Kai walks over to the door and opens it. "yes?" * There's nobody there. There is, however, a piece of paper on the floor underneath the door. * Kai takes the paper and reads it. Academic Placement Tests: Room 304, 2:00 PM. * Atsuko pops up and looks over Kai's shoulder. .... tests. Room 304. Fifteen minutes. Ooh. Better get going. Shall we boogie? * Mariah comes back out of her room; she's changed clothes and has freshened up a bit. "Fifteen minutes?! ... we'd better go.," * Hope is still practicing, but stops when she hears that. "Tests? Already? Well.. guess we better go." I suppose so. * Kai nods and heads on out to the stairs. * Karasu follows the captain. * Atsuko runs into her room and comes back out with a typical schoolbag, then follows Kai. * Mariah follows Kai. .oO{Hopefully the stairway didn't change or anything.} * The stairs are still right where you left them. * Kai heads on in, then! * Hope follows. * Atsuko keeps following. * NOt too long later, you're on the third floor, looking at room 304. It's the same room you just fought in. There are still impact craters in the walls, in fact. * There's nobody in the room. .oO(... this doesn't help.) .... alright. * Karasu looks around. Er... * Atsuko scratches her head. This is where we were told to go. * There's nobody around, not even the ref. ... wait. Last time it said "Fight Room 304," right? Maybe this is a different 304. Like, this is Fight Room 304, and there's a different Room 304 somewhere? Hmmmm... ... yeah. * Kai walks out and peers at the room placard again. There were two towers. Maybe.. it's in the other tower? ... ohman... ...that'd suck. ^^; Yeah, it could be. I suppose it's possible. We might as well go check. * Kai busts ass on out of the room. * Karasu follows the captain. * Atsuko runs after Kai. * Hope follows. Two towers... so there's gotta be another set of stairs... but where? ... gah! * One breathtaking dash down one set of stairs and up another set you're lucky enough to find, and you're on the third floor of the other tower. You can hear a teacher in one room saying, "You may start now." * That room, incidentally, is labeled 305. * Kai boogies to 304. "Pleeeease don't let us be late..." * Hope rushes into 304. If it's hopefully there. * Atsuko dashes along after fearless leader. * You rush into the room. Your proctor for this exam is standing at the head of the room, looking at her watch. "Five... four..." as you run in. Excellent. You were nearly late. Let me guess, you went to the _other_ 304? * Mariah follows Kai in. "... we made it?" * Kai finds a seat and drops ass in chair. "... unfortunately. And looks like." * Hope sits. Well, take a seat. Keep at least one seat between each of you, we don't want any temptation to cheat. * Karasu finds a seat. Whew. ^^ * Mariah finds somewhere to sit. * Atsuko grabs a seat. * Teacher walks around the room placing a thick, thick booklet in front of each of you. "If you can't answer a question, don't agonize over it, just go on to the next. You're freshmen, so we don't expect you to know most of the questions. If you do well, your team will go into the advanced classes for whatever section you did that well on. Do your best." The more you do, the more likely we are to place you correctly, so please be sure to do as many as possible. * Atsuko nodnods. Right. You may begin. * Karasu begins. * Mariah does so. * Atsuko gets a pencil out of her bag and starts. * Hope starts. * Kai opens the book and glances at the first question. * You feel almost instantly overwhelmed as you open the booklet and look at the small print questions inside. There are at least a dozen questions on each page. It's a nightmare comparable to the ones the GM had after seeing The Blob at the drive in theatre when he was 8. Some four hours later, you stumble out of the room, desperately wishing for some energydrink. [Time: 6:00 PM] ... my head aches. * Atsuko slumps against a wall. "Gaaaah..." That was... wasn't very good. * Hope wobbles. "Who's up for going back and sleeping for a year?" * The questions on the test, for the record, ranged over every subject a normal high school has, from sciences to arts, and included a few things that most standardized tests do not, including chess and go problems. * Karasu shoves his hands in his pockets. ... Karasu? Hm? Why do you always do that? ^^; Why not? Can't sleep. I'm getting one of those gross drinks, then heading for the auditorium. * Atsuko staggers in the direction of the team's room. * Karasu follows Atsuko back. * Mariah shakes her head, as if to clear it, and heads for the auditorium-type ruins. * Hope heads for the room to get her sword, and hopefully a energy drink. Then, to the ruins. * Kai tags along with Atsuko, quite brain-blasted. * There is indeed a fresh supply of energydrink in Kai's room. After retrieving that and various weapons, you all arrive at the ruins of the main auditorium. They're quite impressive, as the main auditorium must have been immense. * sitting on the main steps are your rivals. * Atsuko looks around. "Nice place..." It's about time you got here! Well, it was a nice place, I bet. ^^; Well. This should be an interesting fight. What happened, did the big bad test fry your puny little brain? * Atsuko smiles sheepishly. "A little." Eh, it was okay. Ohyeah. ^^; * Atsuko steps forward. "So, you ready to start?" * Karasu looks around. Are they all here, or just those three? * Noreen and Hugh are also present, but the GM doesn't have the mojo for _six_ simultaneous sessions. So you came after all. Gonna give me that rematch? * Karasu nods. "If you like." ...good. I'll show you what a REAL fight is. * Karasu shrugs. Me first, buffalo girl. I owe her this one. .oO(Buffalo girl?) * Noreen flushes red. "I told you to stop calling me that." Hey, hey. if you fight each other, there'll be nobody to fight _them._ * The two girls calm down in a remarkably short time. ... just don't get carried away. * Marcie hops up off the steps and whirls her tonfa. "Now, let's see what you've got." * Kai nods to Atsuko. "Do your best." * Hope looks at Marcie. "Warning you. You try to kill her, and I'm gonna have to stop ya." She looks over at Atsuko. "Same goes for you." * Marcie levels a tonfa arrogantly at Hope. "I'll do what I like, and if you interfere, you'll get the same thing SHE gets." * Atsuko gives her teammates a thumbs up, then stops and gives Hope a confused look. "Kill? Why would I try something like that?" * Atsuko turns back to Marcie. "I'm ready." Just warning you. You won't hurt my teammate if I can help it, so keep yourself reigned in, Marcie. * Mariah takes a seat somewhere out of the way to watch. * Marcie drops into a crouch, but only stays there for a moment, launching herself almost immediately for Atsuko, right tonfa whirling out for Atsuko's ribs. * Atsuko attempts to leap to the side. * Marcie whips her left tonfa forward to catch Atsuko as she heads straight into it. * Atsuko 'oofs' as the strike knocks the wind out of her. * Atsuko grits her teeth and leaps whirling into the air, kicking out as she spins and aiming her foot towards her opponent's head. Mmmn... c'mon, Atsuko... * Marcie dives forward beneath Atsuko, avoiding the kick neatly, and rolls back to her feet in a crouch just as Atsuko lands, only a foot or two away. She rises straight up, heel of one tonfa coming up wreathed in flame as she shouts, "CRIMSON SUN!" * Atsuko flows out of the way of the strike with blinding speed, turning to face Marcie as she does so. She takes a few steps towards Marcie before launching herself skyward, crying out "Atsuko KICK!" as before. * Marcie takes the kick right in the face, falling backwards into a roll and popping back to her feet a moment later, ready for action. * Atsuko lands lightly on her feet. * Marcie launches herself at Atsuko again, leaving a trail of dust as she runs. Strangely, she doesn't stop to attack, she just barrels straight ahead for Atsuko. * Karasu watches. watchwatchwatch. * Atsuko leaps upwards. * Marcie grabs Atsuko around the waist as she jumps, and they're both dumped to the ground, but Marcie keeps a firm grip around Atsuko's waist. * Kai is bouncing a little with the flow of the fight. "C'mon..." * Atsuko struggles to break out of Marcie's grip. * Marcie grunts in frustration as Atsuko forces her way free. Damn you! Unless she fights with her full strength, she's gonna lose. Which one? Atsuko of course. * Marcie hops easily to her feet and then jumps into the air, coming down with her leg wreathed in flame. "RAIN OF FIRE!" Marcie really is good. Atsuko won't hold back... at least I hope she won't. Think so? Hm. * Atsuko seems to blur as she dashes underneath and behind Marcie, spinning around quickly. * Marcie embeds her foot about four inches into the ground, leaving a singed hole behind. Stay still and DIE! * Marcie yanks her foot angrily out of the hole. * Atsuko calls out "Atsuko KICK!" again, performing another spectacular backflip kick. * Marcie is booted in the head again just before she gets her head out of the hole, and she falls backward. There's a dull snap as her ankle breaks. AUUUUUUUUGH! Shit! * Atsuko turns white as a sheet. * Kento stands up. Ow... * Kai winces a little. OHMYGOD! * Marcie rolls over and stands, albeit unsteadily and on one foot. * Karasu scowls and moves to inspect the wound. * Marcie grits her teeth. BACK OFF. ... Yow. THIS ISN'T OVER YET. You can't fight any longer. Girl, you can't stand. The match is over. ... oh, *geez.* If you try to go on, you're only going to make things worse. She's not out, and she's not going to give up, Karasu. * Atsuko 's eyes are wide as she stares at Marcie. "But...but...but..." * Marcie takes a step forward and nearly falls, but she manages. Barely. YOU'RE MINE. Just knock her out Atsuko, and they can take her to sick bay. * Atsuko winces, and nods. If you're sure you wanna do this... * Karasu scowls. "This is foolish." Some people will fight until they can't fight anymore, Karasu... that, and Marcie's a fireball, literally. * Marcie takes another step forward. This proves to be a bad idea, as her ankle gives out in spite of her willpower and she crumples to the ground, unconscious. * Karasu looks over his shoulder at Kai. "An attitude like that is stupid. Fighting to your limit is fine, but fighting beyond that is just wasting effort. At this point, Marcie can't do anything than get herself hurt some more." * Greg shakes his head sadly. Well. She tried. * Atsuko rushes over to Marcie, pale faced. ... at least her body finally gave in. Exactly. And... perhaps that was Marcie's limit. * Kento walks out and gathers Marcie up in his arms. "I'll be in the infirmary with her." * Karasu nods. "She tried to fight when she was no longer capable. That's not commendable; it's stupid." * Kento eyes Atsuko. "You're lucky." He walks off towards the main building. * Atsuko watches Kento leave with Marcie sadly. I don't know about that... I mean, she could still have won. I've pulled out wins in worse condition. Like this morning. She did her best. And ... I wouldn't want to fight her. Perhaps. She's still the weakest person on the team. * Hope twitches at that. "And you're so strong?" ...and I barely beat her. * Karasu looks to Noreen. "I suppose you'd know better than I, but I'd beg to differ." Only if you count her bad temper and inability to learn from experience. Hehheh. She is powerful... once she learns to control herself, she'll be a terror. ... Atsuko. * Atsuko walks back to her waiting team. "I...I did it. But..." If you think you're so powerful, why don't ya fight me? No. I'm going to fight the one-shot wonder over there. Unless he's gonna chicken out. * Karasu shrugs. "I'll fight you." Mm. ... I guess I just wouldn't know what to do if anybody got that angry at me out there. You know? No regrets. * Kai places a hand on Atsuko's shoulder. "No regrets." * Noreen picks her shield up from the steps and fits it to her arm, and then picks up her spear. This is a bad idea. * Atsuko nods slightly, her face downcast, and sits down next to Mariah. "But...I didn't want to hurt her so much." It is, but you think you can talk them out of it? Shut up, you. I'm prepared this time. I won't be taken down by a special attack. * Hope peers at Atsuko. "You think you can fight without hurting people? Do you ever know what fighting is? You didn't mean to hurt her. * Noreen walks to the base of the steps and faces Karasu. * Atsuko looks at Hope. "I expect people to get hurt. But...in a fight like this...we should know when to stop. If we weren't at this school, she'd be out of commission for a long time." There's nothing you could have done about it, really. * Karasu walks to the fighing area and waits. * Atsuko looks up at Greg. "Thank you..." You didn't meant to, but it happened. You can't change the past, so don't beat yourself up over it... be strong, okay? * Noreen rushes straight at Karasu, thrusting her spear at Karasu's leg. * Kai smiles, then lets go of Atsuko, turning to the fight. * Atsuko looks over at Kai. "Yeah. Thanks." * Atsuko manages to summon up a slight smile, and turns her attention to the fight. * Karasu spins to the left, twice. As he ends the second spin, he brings his foot around for a roundhouse. * Mariah looks once at Atsuko again before paying more attention to the fight. * Noreen catches the roundhouse on her shield, deflecting it upward, while she whips her spearpoint around to slash at Karasu's ribs. * Karasu leaps over the spear as it's swung at him, kicking horizontally at Noreen as he does so. * Noreen is still turning to swing the spear and is caught on the shoulder, pushing her back a short distance. She flips her grip on the spear, raising it her shoulder as if to throw it, and screams, "SPEAR OF THE THUNDER GOD!" in an absolutely thunderous(pun intended) voice. A bolt of white lightning streaks from the spear straight for Karasu. * Karasu takes the bolt full in the chest, * Karasu takes a fews steps back. He spreads his arms outwards in an X-shaped slash, shouting "Raven Wing!" A raven-shaped blast of darkness flies forth towards Noreen. * Atsuko watches in rapt attention. .... wow. * Noreen raises her shield and the raven's head impacts the shield dead center, but the wings wrap around to strike at the girl behind it, who grunts in response. * Noreen jumps into the air, going at least forty feet up, and hangs there for a moment. This is... a lot more... wow. * Karasu can't do much besides the same thing, since she's so high up. So he tosses another wave of dark energy at her. "Raven Wing!" * Noreen starts to descend just as the blast arrives, and her shield drives straight through it, barely interrupting her cry of "THUNDERBIRD DIVE!" She falls, shield first, directly on top of Karasu, who is still recovering from his projectile. He collapses to the ground under her momentum and the impact puffs up a large cloud of dust, obscuring the two. ... Karasu! Wha...oh no! * Karasu staggers to his feet and coughs. Then he charges slicing at Noreen with a knifehand wrapped in dark energy. "Raven Nine-Needle Slasher!" .... that move! * Atsuko stares. "He's still up! Wow!" I... wow. Just... * Noreen comes flying out of the dust cloud and rolls to a stop against the stairs, her shield lying a few feet away, torn from her arm in the roll. * Noreen coughs. * Karasu staggers out of the dust cloud. * Noreen sits up and looks at the broken bindings of her shield. "...damn it. Now I'm gonna have to stay up all night repairing them." Are... we through? * Noreen picks her spear up from where it lies and drops down into a two-handed stance. "I'm still going. Come and get some, raven-boy." This is what my school does. We endure and grow strong! * Atsuko grins excitedly. "This is great!" * Karasu stays where he is, spreading his arms and sending another wave of darkness at her. "Raven Wing!" * Noreen jumps to one side, letting the raven dive into the remains of the auditorium, which sustains a little more damage. * Mariah remains silent. * Kai nods at Atsuko's remark, amazed as all get-out. * Noreen rushes up to Karasu, but stops just outside his reach. * Karasu throws a sweep kick in an attempt to knock Noreen to the ground. * Noreen stands there and lets the sweep connect with her ankle. When it does, there's a flash of darkness and light, almost a strobe effect. * Noreen jerks and goes rigid. Huh? * Karasu falls down? AUGH! What happened? * Atsuko blinks in confusion. No idea. * Noreen closes her eyes tightily, and when she opens them a moment later, they're black. Not the irises. All of it. Pits of blackness. * Atsuko stares. This is odd. ... what... * Hope has her hand on her sword. * Noreen shudders and slams her eyes closed again. * Karasu isn't moving, so he doesn't do anything. * Noreen opens her eyes again, and they're normal again. * Noreen sighs in relief. * Noreen kicks Karasu while he's down. .... what in the... That was a dirty trick, asshole. Trying to take over my body. ... He did what? * Atsuko 's eyes widen. "Take over...?" * Noreen walks over and retrieves her shield. * Karasu pulls himself to his feet. * Mariah winces. C'mon, guys. Let's get out of here. * Hope storms over to Karasu. "What the HELL did you try to do?" I didn't do anything. * Atsuko stares at Karasu, looking frightened. * Noreen storms off for her rooms. * Greg follows, as does Hugh. She...you... You tried to take over her body. What the hell is wrong with you? I did not. Right, and I suppose that was just my imagination? * Mariah stands up. "Uh, something happened..." Might be better... If it was. But...her eyes...they went all black...and she said... * Atsuko trails off. I'm going back to the room. ... what happened? I... I don't understand. Karasu, just tell us what happened. * Karasu staggers down that way. * Hope blocks Karasu's way. .... Karasu! No-uh. * Atsuko runs after Karasu. "Tell us!" You're not going anywhere until we settle this. If we're going to work as a team, there can be no secrets. We need to know. * Karasu pulls himself to his full posture, and shoves his hands in his pockets. Just tell us what happened? ... or whatever? It's better for you if you don't know. Bull and shit. Explain now. * Atsuko keeps looking apprehensively at Karasu. "Why...why did it happen? Why did she think that?" We'll probably find out eventually.... but I won't press. For now. Think about this, Karasu... Look, if it's gonna happen again... it'd help. Hope, let him pass. He'll talk when he's ready. Not a chance. * Kai sounds less than happy about saying that. You might regret knowing afterwards. Don't care. * Karasu looks over his shoulders. "And the rest of you?" ... Hope. For now, please. We'll ask later. For now, let's just rest and give him time to consider. * Atsuko lowers her eyes. "If...you really don't want to talk about it..." No. I'm going to find out what's going on right now. ... Hope. As team captain... I'm asking you to let it go for now. We'll get an answer. But let's have clear heads about it first. * Karasu shrugs. "I've no problem with telling you. But only if you want to hear it." ... wait. You don't? If you don't, leave now, because you won't have a second chance. Start explaining. * Kai kinda blinks. He didn't expect *that* fast of a turn-around. * Atsuko looks up. "I...I think I need to know." * Mariah waits. If you're foolish enough to want to hear it, then no, I don't. Listen pal. I'm stuck in the same room as you, so you better start explaining. * Karasu looks around at the others. "Last chance." ... I'll hear it if you're going to say it. Stop giving last chances and start talking. * Atsuko stands and watches Karasu, somewhat apprehensively. I'm not going. Suit yourselves. * Karasu draws one hand from his trenchcoat and uses it to gesture as he gives his explanation. "Simply put, there's something inside of me. Something evil. Noreen probably drew on that when she tried to do... whatever she tried to do." ... how evil? ... oh. Depends on how you define evil, I suppose. You've got a demon inside ya? Could be. Could be something else. * Atsuko looks somewhat frightened. "You don't know?" Hm. I know there's something there. That's enough, for now. Just as long as you're in control, Karasu. I think...I think it's good you told us. It's scary, but we're better knowing about it. I think. Well, as long as it doesn't try to eat my brain while I'm sleepin', I can handle that. I should be. You try to take over my mind, and I'm gonna have to kick your ass though. Just warnin' ya. * Karasu shrugs at Hope. "You don't want it, don't try to take it, like Noreen did." * Atsuko looks thoughtful. "Is it what makes your attacks all...dark and stuff?" * Karasu nods. Well... I could ask my mother...she knows ninja secrets and stuff and her clan always had powers with light...maybe she'd know something that could help you! Been tried before. Oh. * Kai chuckles softly. "I think we've found our team optimist." * Atsuko 's face falls. But... Well, there's gotta be SOMETHING. [Lunchtime Battle... Win by KO: Atsuko, Loss by KO: Karasu]