"Score!" Hayato said with a laugh as he pocketed Hazel's number. He expected she'd hit him for that too. But once things had settled down again, he'd ask: "And what about you, Hazel? What's your reason for wanting to be the best? You're already, what, A rank?" Just then, the doors burst open, and Taeion walked in. Hayato raised an eyebrow as the normally lazy boy walked over to make his order. From the smell of smoke around him, he must have just come back from an assignment. The Indolent Ninja took Special Assignments? When Ryouta eventually brought out the Sprite and activated it, the group was teleported back to the school, their mission completed. With a beep, the holoscreen in the telepad room informed them that the rewarded Academy Credits had been deposited into their accounts. It was about half past five in the evening, and the sun was just starting to get low in the sky. "Oh, so you're here about the tutoring!" Professor Kirby said. "A Summoner, eh? Just what I needed at the moment, actually." He pointed over to several students in robes in the corner, most of whom were sitting in the stands watching while another stood in one of the sparring zones. The "Cage Fight" setting had been activated, raising a holographic barrier. The green, transparent cube seemed to only be made of light, but was strong enough to withstand the power of most Skills and Spells. Inside the sparring ring the student had placed a large sheet of paper with a complex rune on it. This was a True Summoning ritual, a magical process to directly create a short-term rift to Excaledvol and call forth an Exbeast. Only students who had help from the teachers would be able to cast these, as it was an incredibly complex ritual, and couldn't be used normally. "Those students are all Summoners, but because they're freshmen, none of them have contracted an Exbeast. We only know they're summoners in the first place because of the results they got on the Magi Placement part of the entrance exams. Could you walk them through how to properly contract and control an Exbeast, and stand by in case anything goes wrong with that summoning?"

Soka was in line ordering some food. After getting his food, he was about to go back to his dorms, but decided he would stay around in the cafeteria for a while. Sitting at a table, he looked around at everyone for a moment, before beginning to eat.

Her eyes focused on the weird mechanical bug from Abigail Intresting device you have there. she said to to Abigail with her ussual calm voice Is it your weapon of some sorts? she talked to the boy while walking over to the big bird again looking in its beak to see if her Kunai could still be found, they were really expensive to buy a piece but they worked so nice. She took a closer look in its beak but it already fell further down its troat it seems. She sighed a little and looked at the hole in the bird its head that the device just made to find out what it had done. It wasn't special or anything just a hole nothing more to be seen. She walked back over and found herself all quickly teleported back by the sprite It has been a pleasure to serve you all. I'll see you all around sometime. She walked off without any more to say to then. After a few minutes of walking she finally got to the cafeteria. She grabbed a tray and got some traditional curry on her plate with chop sticks Instead of a fork or a spoon You need to stay well fed for fighting She walked over to the many tables and sat down by some random boy in silence. She sat across him without much saying in complete stealth. She looked at the boy for a moment more and talked short after I don't think its much of a problem if i sit at your table right. If he said no she would have probably kept sitting there anyway she grabbed her chopsticks and closed her eyes placing both her hands together with het chopsticks still in one Itadakimasu she soon began eating her curry across Soka.

Hazel sighed at Hayato's comment. This time she somehow found the power to restrain her fist, but her annoyance was visible. Only this moron could make me regret something like that this quickly, she thought to herself. Hayato's next question, however, caught her off guard. Why do I want to be the best? Somewhere deep inside her she knew that she really wanted to prove she was worth something, anything. But those words didn't come easy. Instead something else came. "Why do I want to be the best? I think the better question, Hayato, is why don't you want to be the best? I don't see the point in settling for anything less."

"You mean Beat? Yeah, he's part of the glaive. Simple stuff really. I just send him off, he steals something from the enemy, and gives it to me. Evens the playing field, I think." says Abigael, all the while looking at his glaive. Upon teleporting, Abigael stumbled around a bit, still not quite used to the method of transportation. After regaining his balance, Abigael sighed. "Those'll take some getting used to... Anyways, it looks like the mission's over, so I'll catch ya guys later. Maybe I'll actually go to class tomorrow and see you guys there." Without another word, Abigael walked off, giving a half-effort wave goodbye to the group. Looks like that's all I needed. I guess I still got some time to kill. I mean, I don't have to report immediately. Abigael did a small spin to see his full surroundings, looking for things to do to pass the time. Let's see... There's a cafeteria... Some grub actually sounds pretty good right now. He headed towards the cafeteria. Upon reaching the selection of food, he inspected it while being deep in thought. Let's see... Well I might as well try something I've never had before... Question is, what do I try...?

"I see, that's quite the coincidence. Is there anything in particular that I should know or tell them?" John honestly found it a bit odd that he would be dealing with an entire group of Summoners, but he wasn't gonna look a gift horse in the mouth. Hoping that Prof Kirby wouldn't think he was being rude, he walked over to the students stopping in front of the barrier. looking at the rune, he tried to remember all the ways a True Summoning could go wrong, but he could only remember what happened if a Summoner tried to make a Contract with an ExBeast that was too powerful for them to "control".

"I wouldn't mind being the best." Hayato said, taking another bite of his burger. He chewed and swallowed, wiping the corner of his mouth with a thumb, before continuing. "But for me, it's a means to an end. A Rank, SSS Rank...I'll be whatever I need to be to find Rikuto." He looked at Hazel for a moment, taking careful stock of her expressions. "But, I guess you don't really need a reason. Having a lot of drive is a good thing, and of course doing well here means doing well in the future, too." He decided to change the subject. "So, what did you think of the mission, earlier? Obviously you said it was boring, but I mean, the team? Anybody in that group strike you as a candidate for future team ups?" "Just tell them about your own experiences." The teacher pulled up a holo screen and looked at John closely for a moment. "Your profile says you've got one contract, right? Maybe tell them how you contracted it, how the relationship between you and the beast works, how you fight together, etc." When John examined the True Summoning ritual, he could tell that it was meant to summon a Sylphid, a weak level of Exbeast associated with the Wind element. "Hey, what's up?" asked one of the students sitting in the stands. "Are you a Summoner, too?"

Hazel pondered for a moment on Hayato's question. For her the team was only really one random pick-up group, similar to many others she has been a part of, and she hadn't really considered teaming up with them again, except for Hayato of course. But Hazel decided to humor him. "Well... the Adept, his magic was interesting, but he doesn't really know how to use it that well. I supposed if he became a little more experienced that wouldn't be much of an issue. The Summoner was useful, I supposed, but it seemed like he also didn't really have enough experience with his abilities either. You notice how he used Fusion for one enemy, which we had taken care of? If more enemies had appeared a waste of mana like that would've been dangerous. The Striker wasn't bad, but he seemed to me like he'd be the kinda guy that's a bit brash... but I guess I can't really judge. But they all were E or D-rank, if I recall correctly, so maybe my expectations are a bit high."

Taeion had made his order at the counter. He pointed towards the menu seemingly putting no thought into it. The persona at the counter knew better, and able to discern what he was ordering without any voice prompt on Taeion's part. It was quite clear he had done this sort of thing before. Taeion collected his order - an entire pizza. It was something which he had requested several times to be on the cafeteria's menu early last year, something which the academy's higher-ups reluctantly complied with in order to get Taeion to stop bothering them. However, the menu itself was never actually updated to include this information, and it became something which only sophmores of the academy were aware of. Freshmen tended to be confused when Taeion would enter the cafeteria with nothing, and would return with such an out-of-place order. Paying for his food with 20 AC, Taeion made his way to the first table he saw. Placing his food on the table, he began to eat. While he did not notice it - likely due to his half-closed eyes, there were two other students at the table. One, a male who appeared to carry no weapons. He likely belonged to one of the Magic Classes. An Adept, maybe? The other had a Class which was harder to discern. She was eating curry, but was using chopsticks to do so - something which Taeion would find strange, had he even managed to notice the other students.

"So basically you just think everyone needs more experience." Hayato said, finishing his meal. He was a quick eater, as it gave him more time to do other things with. "I'm in that bucket too, though. Professor Gene was telling me the same thing earlier today." He leaned back in his chair and put both hands behind his head. "Fighting Exbeasts was definitely way different from a sparring session. If I had been on that quest alone...I'd be dead. No questions asked. Those Blight creatures were weak, but with their numbers and their different abilities--trapping movement, attacking from range and from up close--they were really dangerous. And they're only D Rank! I can't imagine how screwed I'd be against something you're used to fighting." He sighed and shook his head. "Anyway, if it's alright with you, I'll definitely be calling you in the future. I think having an A rank around to learn from would be a big help." Then, suddenly joking again, he smiled and gave Hazel a wink. "Plus it'll make other people think we're dating, which will raise my reputation through the roof."

Soka was eating his food, when he noticed a girl sit down near him. He looked at her for some moments, before nodding. "Sure, go ahead. I'm Soka, who are you?" Soon after, someone else sat at the table as well. Someone WITH AN ENTIRE PIZZA! "Whoa, how much did that cost!" he said aloud, without even thinking about it.

Hazel nodded in agreement as Hayato spoke of his own inexperience. "Of course, you're also pretty green. And things don't get much easier as you climb the ranks, so just keep doing assignments and practicing. I'm sure you'll get there eventually," She paused for a moment, and decided to give him a little bit of encouragement, "That being said, I am comparing you to the people I usually fight with, I'd say you might be a little better than most E-Ranks I see." However she didn't quite agree with what he said next. "Plus it'll make other people think we're dating, which will raise my reputation through the roof." This guy really is a moron, isn't he? Hazel thought to herself. She rose her fist, but lowered it with a sigh. At first it appeared there would be no physical retaliation, but Hazel had observed that Hayato was leaning back in his chair. She drove her foot into the chair, knocking him off balance, hoping it would make him fall on his ass.

"Yes I am, in fact I 'm here to give you guys some pointers. Oh yeah, before I forget, you can call me John." He quickly introduced himself. With that out of the way, he turned to the the student currently inside the transparent cube. "Remember, when the Sylphid appears don't show fear, but don't make the mistake of thinking it will automatically listen to you either. And if necessary give the order to drop the barrier, so I can deal with it." John then faced the other students again."The second the barrier drops get to safety. Preferably somewhere where you can see how I handle things, but that shouldn't be your main concern."

"Whoa, how much did that cost!" Taeion looked up from his meal to see another student. Had he been sitting here all this time? Taeion hadn't noticed. The boy was asking about the price of the pizza which the Indolent Ninja had. Taeion stopped eating for a moment to answer. "...20 AC." Upon answering, he also noticed another person at the table. Taeion was sitting opposite to a female student. He blinked once, turned to the boy and spoke again. "Am I...interrupting something...?" Taeion asked, interlocking the fingers of both of his hands as he said this, trying to suggest that the two students were in some kind of relationship.

Joe spend some time just literally standing still and observing the ground around him. Before he moved he would try to figure out a certain pattern, maybe a characteristic that more uneven, unbalanced ground that would use gravity to send him tumbling potentially would share. First thing he would do was lower down and grab what was in arm reach without moving a step. After he done that, he would take a slow step, without much weight added on it yet, to the direction that had the most ground. God this was so boring to him. He grabbed every mana herb in arm reach, there were so many. He thought they would be much more rare.

"D'oh!" Hayato rolled backwards as his chair clattered to the floor, over his shoulder and coming up on one knee, specifically his left, with his right foot on the ground as if ready to rise. Instinctively he had grabbed his sword and brought it with him during the fall; his position now was just like that of the classic Japanese sword drawing stance from a crouch. Of course, he'd fallen into it out of habit, not because he meant to attack anyone. For that to be an instinctive reaction, however, was evidence of just how often he'd been training. "Alright, alright, enough with the jokes I guess." he said, standing up and dusting himself off. He smiled and gave Hazel a small wave. "Anyway, I'll be heading out now I guess. Just make sure you pay me back before the end of the week, okay? See ya around." The student preparing to make the summons looked at John nervously, nodding and hanging on to every word he said. "What should I do when it appears, though? Is there anything specific I should say or do to...to prove my worth, I guess? I mean, do you have to prove your dominance over the summon or something?" Joe soon had more than enough that if he wanted to head back to the school, he would have a decent addition to his credits. The mission had warned that staying too long might lure Exbeasts...but then, Joe didn't really seem worried about that. Behind him on the clifftop there were a few woody areas where trees managed to cling to the sides of the craggy rocks or find purchase in the loamy soil beneath the thick cushion of vegetation. And somewhere in those trees, something rustled...

John really didn't want to make the kid that nervous, but he had to be aware of the risk."That is a good question, too bad the answer is that it depends on the EXBeast.Some you can basically bribe, others you do have to prove your worth too, but there are also ExBeasts that consider a human trying to fight them a joke. So there is no way to know in advance." He purposely didn't remind the student that some ExBeasts, including summonable ones, hated humans in general though even the hostile ones could sometimes be reasoned with.

Abigael stared at the kid with the large pizza as he walked by. More specifically, he stared the pizza. Well crap. Now I want some of that. When he overheard the cost of the order, he looked back towards the cafeteria, ordering the same item. As soon as the order arrived, he grabbed the large pizza and seated himself down at an empty table. He didn't know anyone, nor was he in the mood to meet people at this time. Stuffing my face while talking to someone doesn't exactly leave a good impression anyway. He thought to himself, meanwhile grabbing a slice and munching happily away.

Hazel smirked. Oddly enough it seemed that the rest of the cafeteria payed little mind to Hayato's 'accident'. She supposed that they couldn't be blamed. At an academy designed to train young kids into warriors small scraps happened all the time. Hazel almost laughed when Hayato's sword turned on her, as he recovered in an admittedly graceful way. She knew there was no malicious intent in him, and he only pulled it out through instinct, but that didn't stop her from scolding him. "Only turn that thing on me if you intend on trying to skewer me, Hayato." She nodded as he reminded her of her promised payment. "Yeah, sure, sure, I'll pay you back." Hazel didn't intend to pay him back. "Well, I guess I'm heading out too. See ya." She rose from her chair and turned her back against Hayato, leaving quickly. As she set out from the dining hall a distinct feeling of wrongness settled over her. Why do you want to be the best? Hayato's question echoed back and forth through her head. She couldn't help but wonder. She knew only what she told Hayato, but she also knew that those words weren't right. A feeling of helplessness colored the maelstrom that swirled about in her head. And soon the helplessness was joined by its everlasting companions, doubt and sadness. She picked a slow and ponderous path back to the A-Level dorms. She felt that tonight would be a lonely and bleak night.

After bidding farewell to Hazel and heading back to his dorm, Hayato took off his torn and dirty blazer and threw it into the trash. No real point trying to repair it after all the wood Blights had done to it. He had plenty more where it came from. Removing his shoes and tie and untucking the white button-up shirt he wore beneath the blazer, he settled down at his desk to read over his subjects and do his homework. But despite trying his best, he couldn't focus. His head seemed to have room for only one thought. Rikuto, where could you be? Eventually he managed to finish his studies, and by that time it was late enough that he decided to go to bed. Early to rest, early to rise, as they said. The student inside the barrier nodded. "So it's a little like the SMT games, huh? Just gotta negotiate and hope for the best." He sighed, and returned to his summoning ritual. One of the other students in the stands spoke up next. "So, as a Summoner, it's a little different than being another magic class like Adepts and Binders, right, since we can't cast spells on our own? When we're in a fight with another Exbeast, should we just stand back and let our summons do the work, or what?"