[Last Time, on Battle High: The group woke up to the announcement that they had
another battle, just a day after the placement test.  They also discovered, much
to their dismay, that the captain, Kairi, was missing.  They went to the fight
and discovered that they'd have to fight a man down, and that if they didn't
take it by the fourth fight, somebody would have to fight twice, or they would
forfeit.  They managed to pull it out...
...in spite of Karasu and Atsuko losing their matches, as Mariah pulled out an
entirely new move just in time to hit her opponent right in his weakness, while
Hope did the same to her first opponent, and barely hung on to win the fifth
match, against a fresh opponent.  When they returned to their rooms, Kai's body
mysterious turned up just outside the door.]
[Now, it's nearly lunchtime, and Kai hasn't woken up in the half hour since he
was discovered.  There's still no word on the normal classes you'll be facing,
but they should be starting soon.]
[First Day of Class Battle... FIGHT!]
* Atsuko hovers(not literally, of course) over Kai, looking worried.
* Hope is (gasp) practicing.
<Mariah> ... hey, Atsuko, is he up yet?
* Karasu is leaning against a wall doing nothing, and managing to look cool
while he does it.
<Atsuko> Nuhuh.
* Mariah looks up from her backpack-organization to go over to Atsuko and Kai.
"Aw, man."
* Hope finishes practicing and goes over to check on our newest paperweig.. err,
Kai.
* The bang of the cafeteria doors being opened rattles through the halls,
swiftly followed by the ringing of the lunch bell.
* Atsuko sighs. "What should we do?"
<Mariah> I dunno. We'd better go to lunch; if he wakes up, he'll know where to
go, right?
<Karasu> It's time for lunch.  We should eat.
<Atsuko> I guess...
* Hope heads for lunch. "He'll find us. Now, we eat!"
* Atsuko nods and heads for the...ugh...cafeteria.
* Karasu heads for the cafeteria.
* Mariah follows the group to the cafeteria.
* By the time you slowpokes get out into the hall, the other occupants of your
hall are through the doors into the cafeteria, and the line is already twice as
long as the first day when you got there.
<Mariah> Nnnnn.
<Atsuko> Aw.
* A short, stocky boy with black hair forces his way into the line just in front
of Hope.  "Scuse.'
* Hope does not excuse the boy.
<Hope> Hey! What the hell are you doing?
<Lance> Getting lunch.
<Hope> Why the hell are you pushing in front of me then? Get in the back of the
line.
<Clinton> Hey!  Mariah!  Back here! ^_^
<Mariah> -- oh! Hi!
* Lance turns around and looks Hope up and down.
* Clinton waves from near the back of the line.
<Lance> ...no.
* Mariah turns and waves back.
* Hope rises her eyebrow. "Excuse me?"
* Atsuko looks at Lance and folds her arms. "How rude."
* Hope also notes she has her very big sword with her.
<Lance> I said no.  Now be quiet.  I'm trying to think, and I don't have time to
deal with your yapping.
* Karasu shoves his hands in his pockets and regards the man.
* Lance turns back towards the front of the line.
* Hope calmly pushes Lance out of line.
* Lance moves a step or two to one side.
<Lance> ...
* Lance walks back in front of Hope.
<Hope> I said get the hell to the back of the line. You're not special, and you
can't bust in front of other people.
* Hope pushes him again, and harder.
* Lance stumbles backwards.
* Lance glares daggers of ice at Hope. Not literally.
<Hope> Get in the back.
* GregK sits down with his tray near the end of one table, leaving seats for six
on between him and the end.
* Lance walks back in front of Hope, standing there facing her, but doing
nothing.
* Hope eyes Lance again, and gives him another shove.
* GregK is Greg King, the guy who beat Hope in the placement fight.
* Lance grabs Hope's right wrist as she attempts to shove him, and quite
suddenly she is encased in a thin coating of ice, which makes it rather hard to
move.
* Mariah looks back at Lance. "... ?!"
* Atsuko scowls angrily, and shoves her hands right in Lance's face. "HEAVEN'S
GLORY!"
* Light bursts from Atsuko's hands, briefly illuminating most of the people in
line with blinding light.  Totally unprepared, almost all of the people in line
are suddenly blind and aching from Atsuko's attack.  Hope's bindings crumble and
break around her as she flexes, but nobody can tell.
<Hope> What the HELL?
* A moment later, the cafeteria explodes as two dozen of the most hotheaded
students open fire without being able to see.
* Hope gets the hell down.
* Mariah , yes, ducks and covers like she's never ducked and covered before.
* Atsuko hits the dirt.
* Karasu scowls and follows suit.
<Hope> Atsuko, what the hell were you thinking?
* It's nearly impossible to hear yourself think, let alone what people are
saying, in the noise of explosions and screaming.
<Atsuko> I dunno! I just couldn't let him get away with that!
<Karasu> I suggest we get out of here.
<Hope> Hey, we didn't get lunch. I'm not moving until I get to deck that icehole
in the face.
<Mariah> ... uh, I think we should go.
* Two minutes later, it's all over.  There are only a few people left standing. 
The entire so called "Shuffle Alliance," along with a few other people who are
likely seniors and higher juniors.
* Hope stands up.
* Karasu stands up.
<Hope> Atusko, note for the future. No attacks in the lunchroom. I swear, I felt
a fireball graze my ear.
* Domon wipes his eyes a bit and waves his hand to the rest of his team as he
walks out of the lunchroom.  They follow.
* Mariah stands up. Slowly.
* Atsuko nods from her prone position. "Uhuh."
* The others that are still standing follow suit, since lunch will quite
obviously not be served today.
* Hope sighs and walks out, cursing Atsuko under her breath.
* Atsuko gets to her feet and follows Hope, shamefaced.
* GregK sits in the middle of the carnage on his slighly damaged stool, eating
what's left of his lunch.
* Mariah follows very carefully, trying not to step on anyone or do anything
even slightly aggressive.
* Hope heads straight back to the room and begins beating the shit out of the
punching bag. "I just know we're gonna get in trouble for this."
* Quentin comes walking down the hall, flanked by a pair of teachers, one male,
one female.
* Atsuko hangs her head. "I'll take the blame."
* Karasu waits a bit longer before following the others back.
<Mariah> ... oh, geez...
* Some fifteen minutes later, there's a knock on the main door.
* Atsuko cringes and goes to open the door.
* Hope stops and goes outside, just knowing this will bring trouble.
* There's a tall woman there, the one who was flanking Principal Nagawa earlier. 
She's tall, fairly average looking, for someone in her mid thirties, with long,
black hair, wearing a rather reserved looking suit, with pants rather than a
skirt.
* Sallah looks down disapprovingly at Atsuko.
* Karasu leans against the wall :P
* Mariah waits on the couch in the common room.
* Sallah steps inside, not waiting to be invited.
* Sallah closes the door behind her.
* Hope eyes the woman curiously.
* Atsuko steps out of the way.
* Sallah grabs Atsuko by the upper arm and tosses her into the commons area,
over the first couch in the way, sending her rolling up against the other couch.
* Atsuko is tossed. @_@
* Sallah walks out into the main commons after her.
<Sallah> What was that?
<Mariah> ... uh.
* Atsuko gets a sitting position. "Um. What was what?"
<Sallah> The... disturbance in the cafeteria.
<Hope> I think she's talking about you shooting off your attack.
<Atsuko> Uh...well, he froze Hope, and I didn't want to let him get away with
it...I'm sorry. I was an idiot.
<Sallah> Well, at least you're smart enough to know when you've been stupid.
<Sallah> You've earned yourself a week's worth of detention.  You and your
entire team.
<Hope> What?
<Atsuko> But...but it was just me!
<Atsuko> Don't punish them!
* Sallah sneers at Atsuko.
* Karasu looks up at that, frowning.
<Sallah> Remember that, girl.  When you do stupid things, you don't just hurt
yourself.  You also get your team punished.
<Hope> I couldn't even have stopped her if I wanted. I was frozen solid. Why the
hell are we getting detention?
<Atsuko> ...I understand.
<Mariah> *Man.*
<Karasu> How... annoying.
<Hope> What total bullshit. I could be using that time to train.
* Atsuko hangs her head, looking miserable.
<Sallah> A week's worth of hard labor should be enough to make you hold your
attacks back in the cafeteria.
<Sallah> And if it's not enough for YOU, I'm sure your teammates will happily
pound you if you forget yourself.
<Atsuko> ...what sort of hard labor?
<Sallah> Since every time you screw up, they'll be punished for it.
<Sallah> You're going to be rebuilding the cafeteria.  Piece by piece.
<Sallah> You break it, you build it.
* Atsuko winces.
<Karasu> Can one change teams?
<Atsuko> ...when do we start?
<Hope> Wonderful. Wonder-fucking-ful.
<Mariah> ...
<Sallah> No.  Teams don't change.  If people drop out, or are expelled, the team
simply fights short of people.
<Sallah> You don't like your team, too bad.  Learn to live with them.
* Karasu looks to the side, closing his eyes. "How... annoying."
* Atsuko looks over at Karasu, lower lip trembling.
* Mariah whimpers a little. .oO(I don't even know *how* to work on the
cafeteria.)
* Karasu looks back over to the teacher. "How long do we have?"
<Sallah> For what?
<Karasu> To rebuild the cafeteria.
<Sallah> One week of detentions.  Four hours each day.
<Mariah> ... we don't have to miss class or anything, do we?
<Karasu> And if we want to put in more time, could we lessen that sentence?
<Sallah> No.
* Hope grumbles.
<Atsuko> So...we start after class today?
<Sallah> yes.
<Sallah> Your class schedules will appear soon.  Don't be late for class.  That
means more detention.
<Mariah> 'course, ma'am.
* Atsuko nods.
* Sallah turns around and leaves the suite.
<Mariah> Uh. So...
* Atsuko just sits there, head down. "I...I...I'm not going to cry. But...I'm so
sorry! I'm such an idiot!"
<Hope> Damn straight.
<Mariah> ... everybody makes mistakes. I'm sure we'll all do dumb stuff
sometime.
<Atsuko> ...not this dumb.
<Mariah> I dunno. Lots of dumb stuff to be able to do.
* Karasu remains silent.
* Hope goes to practice s'more.
* Atsuko goes into the girls room and slams the door shut.
* Mariah folds herself up into a meditation stance on the couch and closes her
eyes.
* There's a slight scratching from... somewhere.
* Hope doesn't hear it, as she's busy beating the shit out of a bag.
* The door of the suite opens, and then closes.
* Karasu investigates. He doesn't have anything better to do.
* Hope hears that, and goes to see who came in.
* Mariah continues meditating, heedless.
* Hope stares at Karasu. "What's that on your back?"
* There's a piece of paper in Mariah's lap.  She hasn't seemed to notice it.
* Karasu pulls off whatever it is.
* Karasu looks at it. "You, too."
* It appears to be Karasu's class schedule.
<Mariah> ... oh?
* Hope pulls her off.
* Mariah opens one eye and looks around... and then down. "Oh! There it is!"
* Hope gets her class schedule!
* So does Mariah!
* Atsuko opens the door a crack and peeks out. "What...what is it?"
* Hope reads over it.
* Mariah reads over it. "... uh, our class schedules."
<Mariah> ... your back, Atsuko!
* Atsuko blinks, and feels around her back.
* Atsuko gets her school schedule.
* Atsuko looks at the schedule, confused. "How...how'd that get there? Ninja
schedule delivery?"
<Mariah> I guess so.
* The schedules all appear to be the same.  Biology, Geometry, Physics, Sex Ed,
and World Literature.
<Mariah> ... lots of science.
<Atsuko> ...yeah.
<Hope> Huh.
<Karasu> Probably changes by day.
<Mariah> Maybe...
* The schedule indicates which days include which subjects.  You only have three
classes each day.  Today appears to be Biology, Physics, and Sex Ed.
* You have one hour before class.
<Mariah> Oh, man. I probably oughta get ready.
* Hope goes to look for class then.
* You _are_ all pretty dirty from the cafeteria explosion and the fight earlier.
* Hope goes to take a shower first then. ((_^;
[Fifty minutes or so later, the group has proceeded to the Tower of Intellect,
and up to the fifth floor.  They have only to find the appropriate room.]
* Mariah drags her backpack -- and her staff -- up with her.
* Atsuko looks at her schedule again, and looks for the correct room. She's
carrying a typical shcoolbag for a Japanese schoolgirl in her other hand.
* Hope has her stuff in a bag. And her sword. Why she has her sword? Who knows.
She looks for the room.
* The room turns out to be quite easy to find, since it's currently rather loud,
with twenty students present, many of whom you know, having defeated them
before.
* Clinton jumps up and waves to Mariah. "Over here!" He points to a desk next to
him.
* Marcie jumps to her feet.
* Atsuko sees Marcie, and cringes.
<Mariah> Oh, sure!
* Clinton jumps up and waves to Mariah. "Over here!" He points to a desk next to
him.
* Marcie levels a finger at Atsuko. "YOU! How could I be in a class with you?!"
<Hope> No fighting, okay? We're not in the mood.
* Mariah walks over to where Clint's indicating and sits down cheerily, setting
her things down next to her.
* Atsuko hangs her head. "I dunno."
* Clinton smiles happily at Mariah.
* Atsuko looks for a free desk, preferably far away from Marcie.
* Karasu finds a free desk somewhere and sits down.
* Hope finds a seat.
* Greg smacks Marcie on the back of the head and she sits down in a hurry.
<Mariah> What other classes do you have?
* Dais smirks evilly at you all as you walk in.  "I see you're STILL short a
man."
<Greg> We've got Bio, Physics, and Sex ed today.  Why?
* Hope smirks right back. "Funny. I remember that we still won."
* Mariah was talking to Clinton, actually.
<Dais> Only because your little friend there got a lucky shot on me.
<Hope> Excuses, excuses.
* Atsuko sits in her desk and slumps down on it, arms folded in front of her.
* Clinton looks down at his schedule. "Um... Bio, Physics, Sex Ed, world lit,
and geometry. Why?"
<Mariah> ... hey, wow! Does your whole team have the same classes, or is it just
us?
<Clinton> Yeah, we've all got the same classes.
<Clinton> I think all the teams have classes together.
<Atsuko> . o O (At least Marcie isn't taunting me about the cafeteria...)
<Mariah> That's cool. We've all got the same, too -- looks like we have class
all the time with you guys.
* Marcie grumbles to herself, but loudly enough for the people around her to
hear, "She's dumb enough to blow up the cafeteria, she shouldn't be in a class
with me."
<Clinton> It's too bad the new standings didn't go up.
<Mariah> Yeah... bet things have changed some.
* Atsuko turns red, and buries her face in her arms.
<Clinton> Yeah.  We've gotta get high enough to make it into the tournament, at
least.
<Mariah> Yeah, we really *have* to... it's gonna be hard, but I think we can do
it.
<Greg> Hey, anybody could've done that.  It's probably a school tradition.  I
mean, _somebody_ has to blow up the cafeteria. 
<Greg> Heck, I figured it'd be YOU, Marcie.
<Mariah> ... and yeah, didn't the upperclassmen blow up the auditorium?
<Greg> Yeah.  Now _that's_ power.
* Atsuko looks up at Greg. "Th-thank you...I think."
<Greg> I mean, it took all the freshmen just to blow up the cafeteria.
<Greg> Well, there might've been a few sophomores in there.
<Mariah> Yeah.
<Marcie> Stupid overpowered upperclassmen.  I'll burn them all before the year
is out.
* A rather fruity looking japanese boy dressed in what could pass for Hogwarts
formal robes speaks up from near the front, "Yeah, but that kid who froze her
teammate won't be cutting in line anymore, I bet.  I saw him being carried out
on a stretcher.  He musta been hit by at least half a dozen attacks."
<Hope> Good.
* Atsuko winces a bit.
<Mariah> He kind of had it coming to him, I guess. Still, that's really rough.
<Marcie> Bah.  It should have been HER getting hit.
<Marcie> Stupid people can't aim.
<Marcie> I think they should BOTH be expelled.  Fighting in the cafeteria. 
Jeez.
* Atsuko sinks down onto her desk again.
* An Arab girl with a scimitar speaks up from the back, "It's not really that
big a deal.  I mean, we'll fight them eventually, and we can take it out of
their hides then."  She grins evilly.
* Karasu waits for the class to start.
<Mariah> ... uh... so...
*** Marcie is now known as Sallah
* Sallah walks in the door.
* Almost instantly, all the NPCs stop speaking.
* Mariah shuts up.
* Sallah looks over the class.
* Sallah frowns. This is probably a bad sign.
* Sallah mutters to herself a little.
<Sallah> I'm supposed to teach you people biology, if you're capable of learning
it.
* Atsuko looks up, and prays silently to any Kami that may be listening that the
course will not involve dissection.
<Sallah> You're freshmen, so you'd better learn.  You don't stand a chance of
getting out of your exams, so you're going to regret it if you don't study. 
You'll have books waiting for you in your rooms when you go back after classes.
* Mariah just watches Sallah, either attentively or with fear. It's hard to
tell.
<Sallah> As far as I'm concerned, this is your only class.  I will assign
homework.  This homework is NOT optional.
<Sallah> Tests will be difficult.  I expect most of you will fail.  Some of you
may have heard rumors about me, or about this class.
<Sallah> They're all right.
<Sallah> You'll be dissecting something each and every week, and I expect a full
formal written report about it the beginning of the next week.  This is in
addition to your homework.
* Atsuko pales.
* Hope 's heard worse.
* Karasu doesn't react.
* Mariah mouths a silent "oh."
<Sallah> If you're squeamish about dissecting, get over it, or drop out.  If
you've got religious problems, leave them at the door, or drop out.  If you're
against hurting the animals, drop out.
<Sallah> Dissection is an essential part of this class, and I refuse to take it
out.
* Atsuko looks down.
<Sallah> Now, let's get down to business.
* Sallah begins the lecture.
<Atsuko> . o O (Someday, I'll be strong enough to fight her. And I'll kick her
butt.)
* Hope cuts things with a big sword. You think she has a problem?
[An hour and a half later...]
<Sallah> And that's all.  I can see your next teacher waiting outside.  I expect
you to read the first three chapters of the book, and have all the chapter end
questions done by next class.
* Jaws drop all around the room.  It's practically thunderous.
<Hope> ... Well, shit.
<Atsuko> ...
* Karasu doesn't react.
* A chalk laden eraser appears in Hope's mouth.
* Hope spits it out. "What the hell?"
<Mariah> ... okay.
* Sallah keeps her pose for just a moment, and then recovers.
<Sallah> That's inappropriate language for a young lady.  I'll not have it in my
classroom.
* Sallah bundles up her teaching materials and exits.
* Hope eyes the lady.
<Greg> ...wow.
<Marcie> Holy crap.
* Atsuko mutters "...horrible woman." as soon as she's sure Sallah is gone.
<Marcie> What an old battleaxe.
* Atsuko nods at Marcie, then blinks, as she realizes what she's doing.
<Mariah> I hope the others aren't like her.
<Karasu> Unfortunately, she never mentioned whether she was capable of teaching
biology.
* A rather average looking man enters the room and sets a small folder down on
the table in front.
* Alan sighs loudly.
* Hope peers at the guy.
* Atsuko looks at Alan, watching him carefully.
* Alan is, as stated, a rather average looking man, dressed in a casual polo
shirt and slacks, both khaki.
* Alan has short, light brown hair, slightly spiky, and a pair of no-rim
glasses.
<Alan> So, you had Sallah.  Wonderful woman.  Really. A tough act to follow.
* Mariah nods.
* Atsuko begins to look a little hopeful.
<Alan> She'll be back, unfortunately.  You'll have her for sex ed.  I don't know
why, I don't think she's ever had any in her life.
<Alan> Then again, that might be why.
* Alan pushes his glasses up.
* Atsuko 's face falls at THAT bit of news.
<Mariah> ...
<Clinton> Oh no.
<Marcie> You have GOT to be kidding me.
* Atsuko mumbles "She's the last person I wanna learn about THAT from."
* The fruity looking boy speaks up again.  "Her idea of sex ed probably amounts
to 'Sex is bad.  Don't do it.'"
<Alan> I'm the primary math and physics professor here at Battle High.  You'll
be learning physics today, and geometry today.  Relax.  Neither of them is that
difficult.  Yet.
<Alan> An old professor of mine used to say, "Education is the process of lying
less to the student over time."
* Atsuko smiles a little at that.
<Alan> So we'll start off with a lot of lie and a little truth, and as you
understand more, we'll strip the lies away.  That's when things start to get
hard.
<Alan> Oh, by the way... I do assign homework, but I don't care if you do it. 
If you don't, it'll show on your tests.
* There's a collective sigh from all across the classroom.
* Alan turns around and starts writing quickly on the blackboard, lecturing
quickly, but in such a way that everything seems to make quite a bit of sense.
An hour and a half passes like lightning, and then he is interrupted by the door
opening to admit Sallah again, who is wearing a rather ugly looking scowl.
* Atsuko sighs.
* Sallah clears her throat loudly.
* Alan jumps six feet into the air and bangs his head on the ceiling.
* Mariah doesn't say anything, but the expression on her face should leave no
question as to what she's thinking.
<Alan> Sallah!  Don't DO THAT!
<Sallah> You've gone overtime again.  Get out.
<Alan> Fine, fine.
* Alan grabs his folder and rushes out of the room, glad to get out of her Aura
of Schoolmarm.
* Sallah takes up a position at the head of the classroom again.
* Hope sighs and thinks. "Wonderful. The bitch is back."
<Sallah> Now, you horny little fools have probably already explored each other
thoroughly, so most of this will be old news to you.
* Karasu doesn't react. He's been this way for 3 hours :P
* Atsuko 's eyes widen, then her face settles into an offended looking scowl.
* the next hour is a slow descent into hell.  I'm not going to describe it,
since this sort of thing is best left to the imagination.  Suffice it to say,
it's all your nightmares and then some, about the worst a sex education class
can be, complete with lots of technical terminology that you'll never remember
or use unless you're a gynecologist.
* Sallah scowls as a bell rings, signaling that you're free.
<Atsuko> . o O (Like I even know HOW.)
<Sallah> Next class, you'll be watching a film.  NOw get out of my sight.
<Mariah> .oO(A film? ... oh, geez.)
* Atsuko grabs her bag and bolts.
* Hope sighs and heads for the damn Cafeteria.
* Karasu gets up and leaves the room. "With pleasure." He follows Hope to the
cafeteria.
* There's a stampede as everyone tries to get out of the room first, and the
doorway nearly bursts.
* Mariah picks up things and heads to the cafeteria; no use letting everyone
else wait on her.
* Atsuko heads for the cafeteria once she's safely away from Satan-sensei.
* When you get back downstairs, you see that the cafeteria doors are closed.
* Hope knocks on the door.
* The door swings open.
* Inside, the cafeteria is a mess.  There are several large holes in the ceiling
and walls, scraps of wood and broken stone everywhere, and scrambling around the
wreckage are at least a dozen four foot tall vaguely humanoid creatures dressed
all in black, including black hoods.
* Atsuko stares at the creatures.
* Standing in the middle of the mess is Alan, who must be the detention monitor
today.
<Hope> Spooky.
<Mariah> Uh, hi? We have detention today?
<Hope> Yep.
* Alan nods. "Yeah, I know. Come in, come in."
<Alan> You might have wondered how you're expected to repair the cafeteria when
you're not construction workers.
* Atsuko enters the wrecked cafeteria. "Wha...what ARE those things?"
<Alan> Those are peps.
<Atsuko> Peps?
<Mariah> Kind of.
<Alan> School spirits.  They're caretakers, messengers, and repairmen.
<Alan> They deliver those messages you've been getting.
<Hope> Neat.
* Mariah giggles, just a little.
<Atsuko> ...oooh! So that's what it was!
<Alan> Anyway, you don't have to know anything about construction.  What you'll
be doing is providing muscle, moving things that are too big for the peps to
move, things like that.
<Atsuko> Okay.
<Mariah> Oh, okay.
<Hope> 'kay.
<Karasu> If it's too big for us to move?
* Pep tugs on Hope's pant leg.
* Hope peers at the Pep. "What's up?"
* Pep points to a big chunk of stone laying under one of the larger holes in the
ceiling.
* Pep motions upward.
* Hope shrugs and lifts it as best she can.
* Another pep walks over, bearing four large brooms.  It lays them in front of
the group and gestures to the gravel littering the floor.
* Atsuko picks up a broom and starts sweeping, then.
* Karasu picks up a broom and sweeps. Sure.
* Mariah takes a broom and begins to sweep.
[Four hours of backbreaking work later, the peps disappear, leaving you alone
with Alan.]
<Alan> Ah, looks like time's up.
<Alan> Dinner will be served out in the main courtyard in an hour or so.  You
can do whatever you like until then.
<Mariah> Really? ... it went faster than I thought.
* Hope looks exausted.
* Atsuko slumps. "Alright. Thanks..."
* Alan leaves via the main doors, closing them behind him.
* Hope goes to get some EnergyDrinkTm and (guess what?) practice!
* Karasu looks tired, but manages to look pretty while he's doing it.
* Karasu heads back to the room.
* Atsuko trudges back to the room to get a drink.
* When you return to the room, strangely enough, your books are there, but
there's no EnergyDrink.
* Mariah goes back to collapse a little before dinner.
* Hope sighs and decides to practice Study-fu instead.
* Atsuko sighs, and picks up her biology text, flopping back down on the couch
to read the assigned chapters.
<Mariah> ... geez. It never stops.
* Mariah picks up a biology text and retreats to the girls' room.
* Karasu takes his books and gets started on the reading.
* An hour passes quickly, you've hardly dented the bio homework, which you have
two days to complete.  The dinner bell sounds, and you can feel, more than hear,
the stampede of people out the main doors, since only a few people had lunch.
* Atsuko dogears her page, puts the text down, and trudges off for supper.
* Hope heads for supper.
* Mariah leaves her book on her bed with a bookmark in (a Tarot card, if anyone
checks) before heading out to dinner.
* You all head down the main hall to go out to the main courtyard.  Ahead, the
main door stands open.  The halls are deserted as you pass the entrances,
flanked by statues of great leaders, tacticians, and warriors.
* Karasu heads for supper. He doesn't LOOK tired.
* You pass out through the great doors and are faced with a long, long line of
people leading into a large tent set up in the courtyard.
* Hope gets in line.
* Mariah falls into line, hoping that this one can stay normal.
* Atsuko gets in line, keeping her head down and hoping people don't pay much
attention to her. Unfortunately, her mom hasn't taught her any of those nifty
invisibility techniques yet.
* From above and behind you comes a cry of "WING BLADE!"  A white blade flies
through the group an instant later and slams into Atsuko's back, throwing her to
the ground and propelling her forward, digging an inch deep ditch in the ground
of the courtyard.
* Karasu gets in the line, too, looking... well, like he always does.
* Atsuko flips herself over, quickly, looking for the source of the attack and
ready to defend against another.
* Mariah looks in Atsuko's direction and winces. "Oh, Goddess!"
* Karasu scowls and looks towards wherever the blade came from.
* The source of the attack is apparent.  Perched on top of the main entrance to
the great hall is a girl, your age, with long, blonde hair and dressed in a
white, form fitting dress.  She's rather well endowed, for a freshman.
* Girl laughs. "OOOOOOOOOHOHOHOHOHO!"
<Atsuko> ...
* Hope stares. "The hell?"
<Mariah> ... uh?
<Atsuko> ...great. She bitchlaughs.
* Girl also has, strapped to the backs of her hands and forearms, long nasty
looking steel blades that project about a foot out from her knuckles.
* Atsuko slowly gets to her feet. "I am NOT fighting you here."
* Hope is too tired to care.
<Girl> I'm not giving you a choice!  You disrupted my lunch, and caused me to
fall asleep in class.  I got a detention because of you!  I, Serena Albon,
captain of the #1 freshman team, will not forgive you!
<Hope> Shut up you annoying little girl. We're tired, and not in the mood for
this shit.
* Atsuko sighs. "Look, if you want to fight, talk to me tomorrow. I'm tired. I
just want to eat."
<Mariah> ... if you're going to make us fight, we'll fight. But not right now.
Okay?
* Girl leaps upwards, curving in accordance with the laws of physics down
towards Atsuko.
* Karasu turns his attention back towards the front.
* Atsuko jumps to the side.
* Serena lands where Atsuko was standing just a moment before, sending up a
cloud of dust.
* Atsuko whirls to face Serena.
* Mariah stands in line and watches the fight but doesn't intervene.
* Serena steps foward menacingly as the dust settles.
<Atsuko> Not now! Do you want MORE detention?
<Serena> OOOOOHOHOHOHO!  You begin to see the brilliance of my plan!  You cannot
use your silly blinding attack, lest you recieve still MORE detentions!
* Atsuko settles into a defensive stance.
<Atsuko> I'm not gonna fight you.
* Serena blurrs forwards towards Atsuko, vanishing for a split second as she
peaks in speed, and then reappears on the other side.
* Atsuko grits her teeth.
* Atsuko turns around to face Serena. "Go away! You crazy freak!"
<Serena> If you won't fight me, all the better!  Take your beating like a real
fighter!
* Hope steps between Serena and Atsuko. "Lady, I'm hungry. I'm tired. Go the
fuck away."
<Serena> Silly girl!  Not even TWO people from your low class team are capable
of defeating me!
<Hope> Whatever. Just go away.
* Atsuko sighs. "Where's a teacher when you need one?"
* Serena rushes forward towards Atsuko again.
<Mariah> It can be three if you're going to keep acting like that, you know.
* Atsuko leaps skyward.
* Karasu trips Serena.
* Serena trips on Karasu's deftly extended leg and flies straight for Hope, who
has been abandoned by Atsuko.
* Hope launches a solid punch at Serena. "Mega Punch!"
* Serena catches Hope's fist right under the chin and rockets up into the sky.
<Hope> Looks like Team Ignorant Bitch is blasting off again.
* Mariah grits her teeth and aims her arms upward... "And don't come back!
Pebble Spray!"
* Atsuko lands lightly on her feet. "Thank you, guys...even after what I did..."
* Hope gets back into line. "I'll be glad when this stupid day is over."
* Atsuko gets back in line, too.
* Karasu puts his hands in his pockets and looks towards where Serena went. He
doesn't respond with words.
* Serena begins to recover as she nears the top of her arc, and as she hits the
top and flips over, opening her mouth to cry out an attack name, she is struck
by Mariah's shotgun spray of rocks and knocked even further up. This time, she
doesn't recover, and crashes to the ground in a colossal bellyflop.
* All around you, unfamiliar people are giving you some rather nasty looks, but
they don't actually do anything.  Yet.
* Hope just doesn't give a damn. She's tired.
* Mariah looks around, smiles *very* nervously, and returns to a normal line
posture.
* Greg comes walking down the line with a plate of food in one hand, and a fork
in the other.
* Atsuko ignores them.
<Greg> Oi, guys.  Who's the unconscious chick?
* Karasu turns his attention from Serena to the front of the line again.
<Hope> Stupid idiot who tried to attack Atsuko.
* Atsuko looks up at Greg. "Some crazy girl named Serena."
<Mariah> I think her name's Serena. She attacked Atsuko.
* Hope cracks her knuckles. "Not in the mood for her right now."
<Greg> Huh.  Interesting.
<Greg> Torqued off about the cafeteria?
* Atsuko sighs and hangs her head. "Uhuh."
* Greg nods and munches on some unidentifiable grey stuff.
<Mariah> Yeah.
<Atsuko> I probably made enemies of half the school today.
<Greg> Wouldn't doubt it.
<Mariah> Because, uh, she slept through a class or something.
* Atsuko 's shoulders sag. She looks very depressed.
* An english boy wearing a suit of plate armor and bearing a longsword at his
hip speaks up from just up the line.  "Yes, and you just painted a large target
on yourselves by triple-teaming the captain of the number one team."
* Atsuko looks over in his direction. "Number one team?"
<Hope> I honestly don't care.
<Boy> Yeah, number one in the rankings, and since they won their last bout, I
doubt they'll have dropped.
<Karasu> Statistics.
<Mariah> She took us on first. We were just defending our teammate -- that's
what we're supposed to do, right?
* Boy shrugs. "That's not how a lot of people see it."
<Boy> What most people saw was you guys interfering in a one on one challenge.
* Atsuko frowns. "I didn't accept any challenge. It was an ambush."
<Karasu> If there was a challenge, Atsuko had denied it.
* Boy shrugs.
<Boy> Whatever.
<Boy> It doesn't matter to me.  But don't underestimate them.  They're number
one for a reason.
<Mariah> ... I dunno. We just did what we had to.
* Atsuko sighs. "More enemies."
<Greg> Everybody has enemies.  You just seem to have a talent for making them.
* Atsuko winces.
* Karasu shrugs.
<Mariah> Heh. I guess so.
<Atsuko> ...gonna be a rough year.
* Too right, Atsuko.  Too right.
[First Day of Class Battle... Win by Triple Tech, GreatAl103.]